Holmes, does your depravity know no bounds?

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♫ Tell me how you feel, riding with James Dean ♫. Hey there! First post of 2010, this is exciting. I've been poorly for days and everybody knows that reading and watching a lot of films is the only good thing about being ill. Happy to get to do both! Woohoo, it's going to be a good year, I can feel it.

Have you met Rumpole? Apparently he's a famous character in a TV show (Rumpole of the Bailey) written by John Mortimer, the show was broadcast between 1975 and 1992. I never saw it. However, the show was so popular that a series of books was published - the first few were novelized versions of the episodes and the most recent ones are new stories altogether. I met Rumpole through the first of these new novels, Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders, published in 2004. I don't think any knowledge of the character is required beforehand - at the very least, I didn't feel lost at all. I don't like mysteries much, or so I thought. Rumpole isn't a detective, first of all, he's a barrister. And he's super engaging, dedicated and funny. A reviewer on Amazon found a particularly hilarious quotation: "Mortimer first describes the appearance of Wystan as one that made him think of a "lobster who had been snatched from a peaceful existence at the bottom of the sea and plunged into boiling water." Followed immediately by a slight retraction, "but I have no wish to be overly critical of my future father-in-law." It's good too to feel privy to a world that's most of all very secret, I loved all the details about court politics interwoven with tales of Rumpole's own private life. I said I wasn't much for mysteries - I've tried Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers and several cosies, to no avail. I was pleased to find that if the narrative feels right, I can enjoy this genre as well.

This is partly the reason why I saw Sherlock Holmes - I wouldn't sit through an adaptation of one of Conan Doyle's cases but I absolutely loved this movie. This fast-paced, witty, interesting tale is great fun. The acting is superb on all accounts, Sherlock is this close to being portrayed as a misanthrope turned mad and Irene Adler, Irene Adler is nothing short of a true heroine. She outwits Sherlocks, engages with him in witty banter and still manages to stay classy from beginning to end. The plot is tight, Mark Strong gave me the chills, and the score is wonderful, highlighting the absurdity of the story in all the right places (Sherlock deduces, using the same strategy he uses to solve his crimes, how he can win a boxing match) and the end leaves it all open to a sequel which will star none other than Moriarty. If you know a bit about the canon, you'll know how important this character is and I for one absolutely can't wait for the next installment.
I read The Hound of the Baskervilles - I didn't think the mystery itself was all that interesting but Doyle has a talent for depicting an atmosphere, and I do love Watson's voice. He's very earnest and feels like a true friend. I'd like to give an example of this particularity of Doyle's writing:

"But the dining-room which opened out of the hall was a place of shadow and gloom. It was a long chamber with a step separating the dais where the family sat from the lower portion reserved for their dependents. At one end a minstrel's gallery overlooked it. Black beams shot across above our heads, with a smoke-darkened ceiling beyond them. With rows of flaring torches to light it up, and the colour and rude hilarity of an old-time banquet, it might have softened; but now, when two black-clothed gentlemen sat in the little circle of light thrown by a shaded lamp, one's voice became hushed and one's spirit subdued. A dim line of ancestors, in every variety of dress, from the Elizabethan knight to the buck of the Regency, stared down upon us and daunted us by their silent company. We talked little, and I for one was glad when the meal was over and we were able to retire into the modern billiard-room and smoke a cigarette.

"My word, it isn't a very cheerful place," said Sir Henry. "I suppose one can tone down to it, but I feel a bit out of the picture at present. I don't wonder that my uncle got a little jumpy if he lived all alone in such a house as this. However, if it suits you, we will retire early tonight, and perhaps things may seem more cheerful in the morning."

I drew aside my curtains before I went to bed and looked out from my window. It opened upon the grassy space which lay in front of the hall door. Beyond, two copses of trees moaned and swung in a rising wind. A half moon broke through the rifts of racing clouds. In its cold light I saw beyond the trees a broken fringe of rocks, and the long, low curve of the melancholy moor. I closed the curtain, feeling that my last impression was in keeping with the rest."

I love this passage, it's so distinctive. Alright! I think that's it for books and movies. I saw The Lovely Bones too - excellent acting (Saoirse Ronan is shockingly good but then I've known that since Atonement) but it was a mess. I'm watching The Big Bang Theory - it was good at first but it's becoming redundant, it's the same jokes over and over again. This is the first sitcom I've managed to be interested in so this is a letdown once again, it doesn't seem to be a genre I appreciate.

Some music before I let you go! I think I've talked about everybody I love here, so how about a compilation? Puttin' on the Ritz: Capitol Sings Irving Berlin was released in 1992. It's got a lot of excellent singers performing songs by this amazing composer. Judy Garland for Puttin' on the Ritz (one of my favourite songs ever), Margaret Whiting for Heat Wave (fun song, by the way, "Gee, her anatomy/Makes the mercury/Jump to ninety-three.") and Jo Stafford for Play A Simple Melody. I think the artwork of the cover ALONE is worth a few seconds of your time:

I can't find a way to stream the songs - if you have access to Spotify, it's on there, though. Or buy, borrow, steal.

Have an excellent month of January!

I can't get enough of him!

Sibylle

My God! How the Money Rolls in!

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Hey there! This journal always reminds me of how much I love my life. So here I am, listening to the amazing Boswell Sisters and writing about some of my most recent delights.

I read a great book entitled Anything Goes: A Biography of the Roaring Twenties, written by Lucy Moore. I read another book about the 20s earlier this year (also excellent), Flapper: A Madcap Story of Sex, Style, Celebrity, and the Women Who Made America Modern by Joshua Zeitz. However, while the latter focuses exclusively on women in the 20s, the former is about the 20s as a whole in the United States, or at least the gist of it. It works only if you include precise portraits of precise people and include them in a broader narrative of what happened on a national level. Lucy Moore does that very well, the word "biography" is really accurate - you learn as much about Al Capone's life , Bessie Smith's career (I loved that part of the book) as you do about Black Tuesday, the Scopes trial and the revival of the Ku Klux Klan. I like reading about this decade a lot, as you may have noticed, because in a way, it's a completely anachronistic era, sandwiched between two world wars, full of extremes. I like the cultural aspect of it a lot - a lot of the music and a lot of the films, but Moore makes it clear the decade was only roaring for a certain category of people only. In short, if you were white and could afford the excess, you could probably have a good time in the 20s. Not so much for the majority of people, though. I found it interesting that in her portrayal of the Fitzgeralds, Lucy Moore differs a bit from Joshua Zeitz. While Zeitz's section devoted to the couple is more complete, Moore's understanding of them is perhaps greater. They sure had an interesting life and even if a lot of it wasn't happy, it becomes clear really quickly that they did enjoy a great part of it. That's completely out of topic but the covers to both the paperback and the hardback editions are gorgeous. I could find no information about the artist, though - such a shame. Lucy Moore's bibliography is divided into chapters and she adds helpful comments for people to go further - I certainly will.

I also read two of Philip Pullman's books - The Tin Princess, which is the last book in the Sally Lockhart series, and Count Karlstein, a part novel part graphic novel book. I enjoyed them both, although my favourite book by him will probably forever be The Tiger in the Well, the third book in the Sally Lockhart series. In The Tin Princess, Sally doesn't make more than an appearance as the focus is on a much younger heroine - as usual, the plot is challenging as the political intricacies are very hard to understand but I feel are worth it in the end. The characters are really full of life and colourful even though they're not as developed as the characters from former books are, which does make them look like stereotypes. I thought the end was completely and utterly ridiculous, it reminded me of Edgar Allan Poe, and not in a good way. Still, I found enough to enjoy.
Count Karlstein was a lot better. I was very pleasantly surprised at all the author could do in such few pages. The book was so funny, to begin with. Two girls escape their uncle's castle where a terrible end awaits them and they meet several characters while on the run. It's a parody of Gothic literature, which is always hilarious anyway, and in this the characters are simply wonderful. A woman named Miss Davenport made a lasting impression on me.

I read another good graphic novel - Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon Hale, her take on the fairytale, in which Rapunzel saves herself and wouldn't be out of place in a saloon. The book was hilarious - fairytale clichés are poked fun at, and the story is highly entertaining. Here's what may be my favourite comic strip:

Now to moving pictures. I haven't seen a movie I liked in its entirety in a long, long while. The Purchase Price (1932) was a complete mess and yet some scenes were enjoyable on their own if you can forget the general structure and think of it as a series of shorts starring one of my favourite actresses, Barbara Stanwyck. However, I literally fell in love with the first part of Blonde Crazy (1931) starring James Cagney and the fantastic Joan Blondell. I must say I was really impressed with James Cagney's acting, I will definitely watch more movies with him. Bert (Cagney) makes sure Anne (Blondell) gets a job and that's how they meet. Very quickly, though, Bert reveals himself as a con with a heart and he convinces Anne to join him in tricking rich people (some very clever tricks there, my favourite being one in which Bert manages to steal a very expensive bracelet by placing it on a rich man's account and then lying about his identity to retrieve it once he goes to the rich man's place to take the bracelet away from the servants). The first half was so enjoyable - I don't think I have EVER seen that much slapping in a movie in my entire life. Anne doesn't take anything from Bert, when he's going to far, her answer is simple: she makes him think he's tricked her too but then she delivers a witty line, slaps him, and leaves. It must happen more than 10 times in the movie. The sexual innuendo is extremely funny as well as Bert's lines are barely toned down. Some scenes are complete classics: at some point, Bert tries to enter the bathroom when Anne is taking a bath, the audience sees both Anne in her bath and Bert at the door, then Bert leaves and tries to find the money Anne has hidden... in her bra. The moralistic end was a huge disappointment, and I do mean huge because I was enjoying myself until they decided to turn this movie into yet another sentimental "I'll wait for you forever while you go to prison for your crimes" story. It deserved better and I wish the director, Roy del Ruth, would have developed his vision until the very end. Shame for a pre-code.

James Cagney and Joan Blondell.

TV-wise, I gave up on two shows: Mad Men and Glee. I've always had a love/hate relationship with Mad Men but you can be sure I'm giving up for good now. This show has no point of view. You can't root for any of the characters - Joan makes quite a lot of racist comments in the second season, Pete is a rapist - I'd like to think the creator is saying that a rapist isn't special, you can't recognize him. A rapist is your milkman, a rapist is your co-worker, a rapist is your neighbour. I don't think the show is that smart, though, let's face it. Don and Betty, I have so many issues with these two I don't even want to go there. And the show has no point of view. It just films that, and moves on to the next shot. I hate this show. That's not being subtle, that's being in denial.

Glee. Oh dear, Glee. I watched it for quite a few episodes because it was catchy (clearly not my type of music as you may have noticed but still), the actors are obviously very dedicated and also I loved the characters. Rachel is one of the main characters - she gets a lot of criticism for being focused, for knowing what she wants and for going for it because she knows that if she's not the one who's going to audition for a part and been given more solos, nobody's going to do it for her. I personally see nothing wrong with that. Go Rachel. No, she doesn't need your help and she does what she wants. So obviously people hate her. Because she's her own person and she's a girl. Quinn is a cheerleader who knows what she wants and she's mean. People hated her at first, and then loved her because, guess what, Quinn is pregnant and she's lost about it. Quinn needs help, so Quinn is loved.
See where I'm going here?
Another BIG issue for me: Emma. Emma is a woman who works at the school the glee club is at. She's in love with a teacher who's married. He's miserable with his wife. Emma is the kind of person I want to shake and yell at. She longs to be with Will, but Will is married. So what does Emma do? She says yes when a complete ass she doesn't even like proposes to her. Because that's what women do in 2009. Right? WRONG. I can't believe they're actually writing a female character who prefers to be married to a guy she hates than be on her own and make her own happiness.
And then there's Sue. Sue is a witty character. She's funny because she's entirely mean and completely focused on what she wants: to win. Sue gets excellent one-liners and everything that comes out of her mouth is quotable and witty. Right? WRONG. Because Sue is so incredibly over-the-top and delivers deadpan lines like nobody's business, she can get away with racism. I'm going to quote an excellent review I found on a blog:

“Oh, but they’re just using humour to defuse tension when dealing with complex issues.” No, they are not, they are using humour to avoid dealing with complex issues. People who really think like this watch Glee and have their norms reinforced, the takeaway from the show being that, yeah, being racist and ableist and sexist is fine and dandy. People who don’t share these norms get to watch Glee and not have to confront the realities of how damaging these norms are, because the show glosses over them to make them all fuzzy and family friendly.

Here’s the thing: When you are in a position of privilege, you really do need to be reminded of that. You need to see the way in which your privilege can be harmful, can be a tool of oppression. If you don’t, you aren’t going to learn about how to manage your privilege. Glee does not make people uncomfortable (unless they are extremely aware of these issues). It just uses oppression as a humour vehicle. Which, can I say, yuck?"

So I stopped watching Glee. A few catchy songs don't make it okay.

Speaking of catchy songs, I know I've already mentioned Louis Prima here but he's truly one of my favourite singers. Louis, Keely Smith and Sam Butera would probably the three singers I would bring with me on a desert island because if we have to die, at least let's die swinging. Their songs are hysterical. Angelina and There'll Be No Next Time are some of my all-time favourites. I love singers who have so much fun they constantly ad-lib. That's music for me.

LISTEN HERE

Sam: But he took me to see
that little friend of mine

Louis: Oh that little motha'

Sam: hahaha DISTRICT JUDGE

Louis: I remember him

Sam: ROOM 229!!

Louis: Yeah! He was crazy!

Sam: He said sam
Your payments are wayyy behind
I said don't worry judge
It won't happen next time

Louis: What'd he say?

Sam: He said mmmmmmmmmmm Next time
There'll... be no next time
You're going to jail right now.

That's it! Tell me quick, wasn't that a kick in the head?

Groucho Marx

Sibylle

The principal benefit acting has afforded me is the money to pay for my psychoanalysis.

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I really had planned on posting more often: I found good books to read, good music to listen to. The only thing missing and preventing me from posting anything here was that I couldn't find any good movie or show to talk about. Oh, the anguish. It seemed as if I had watched everything I wanted to watch: everything I tried wasn't good enough to be finished, and I was desperate for some quality. I talked about it with a few people and one of them suggested I should try something different, something I don't usually watch. I wondered what I could possibly discover when I remembered that one of the latest books I've read about flappers contained a whole chapter on silent movies in the 20s. Here you go. Clara Bow to the rescue. So I watched It (1927). What a delight this film is! It's a romantic comedy, really, with a radiant Clara Bow whose smile is contagious. She plays a salesgirl who dates the director of the shop she works at but their affair is complicated when he thinks she's unmarried with a baby (in fact, she's been saying the baby's hers to protect a good friend of hers). It's a surprising film: besides being a commentary on women's condition during the 20s (Clara's character, Betty, never betrays her unmarried friend but it's obvious her friend is not considered good enough by the rest of society), it uses many different sets (they're aboard a ship at some point, it's quite original).It was immensely entertaining - the acting is superb (so different from the one used in talkies) and the score written by Carl Davis is excellent, very burlesque and carefree. Clara Bow is immediately loveable and Gary Cooper even makes a small appearance as a reporter (blink and you miss it).

I am currently watching the show True Blood, an adaptation of the Southern Vampire series written by Charlaine Harris, which I am also reading. Had you told me that a few months ago, I would never have believed it. True blood, a synthetic blood invented by the Japanese has allowed vampires to come out into the open and reveal their presence in society to humans since they can now feed without killing humans. Sookie is a waitress at a bar in Bon Temps, a small town in Louisiana, she meets a vampire named Bill , dates him and discovers a whole new world. True Blood is broadcast on HBO and I think the only reason it's produced by HBO is that True Blood shows things you can't possibly show anywhere else. Because you know what? HBO's best kept secret is that True Blood, or even the book series for that matter, isn't about vampires. It's about sex. The characters think about it all the time, do it all the time or if they don't, they talk about it all the time. The books and the show are different; while True Blood is a good adaptation of the books, it added a lot of material to develop the secondary characters. Both are extremely campy, pure entertainment and completely different from what's usually supported by HBO: it's pure fun, there's nothing deeper than that, don't look for a commentary on contemporary society or even on death or anything else. It is very disappointing on that level, I didn't expect it to be quite so shallow. Each book contains several mysteries and the heroine, Sookie Stackhouse, investigates best as she can while dating a vampire and meeting such creatures as werewolves and shapeshifters. Just so you get the picture: in these books, Bubba, a slow-minded vampire is actually Elvis Presley made vampire when he was still alive but heavily influenced by drugs. Nobody's allowed to say his name. Sookie goes to an orgy to investigate on the death of a friend of hers who attended such parties, vampire blood increases your libido so there's a huge market for it, Sookie disguises herself to infiltrate the Fellowship of the Sun, a cult whose mission is to kill all vampires, there's a pretty funny/creepy exorcism taking place in the show. The books are funnier than the show, but just as graphic in terms of sex and blood (it's everywhere). Both are pretty addictive, although I really don't feel comfortable buying either the books or the DVDs of the show, it's entertaining but nothing else. In fact, I'm very ill-at-ease in this world sometimes: everybody's extremely conservative (homophobia, racism are common and most characters are very religious) and yet extremely liberal about sex. It's an odd mixture, which probably explains the success of the series anyway. I think it's fun and frankly an intriguing story but it doesn't go further than that. It feels good getting this off my chest.

I read a few books before starting the Southern Vampire series, and all were excellent. I saw the miniseries Angels in America a few years ago, and it remains one of my favourite. It was high time I read the play the miniseries adapted. I was not disappointed: I was reminded of how essential this work by Tony Kushner is, it questions so many things, the imagery's beautiful and the whole story is of epic proportions. It tackles many important issues while being rooted in the lives of very real characters. I love this play, it changed so much in my life - my only regret is that I never had the opportunity to see it performed on stage.

Tony Kushner

I also read Singled Out: How Two Million Women Survived Without Men After the First World War by Virginia Nicholson, which was a terrific read, one of my favourites this year in non-fiction. It focuses on the lives of single British women after the First World War when there was a shortage of men, so to speak. It's brilliant in that Nicholson doesn't shy away from any topic: is it possible to lead a full live outside of marriage and children? By giving many examples of women who led very full and interesting lives (one of them says something beautiful when asked what she would most like to do now at the end of her life, "live this life all over again"), by questioning the importance of sexuality, of marriage and how it doesn't relate to sexuality, of freedom from society's conventions in a time when women were not welcome in important jobs, Nicholson masterly focuses on what's important in showing how a generation of women changed how women looked at themselves and at what their purpose in life should be. Writing a non-fiction book of this kind is always a balancing act: many diary entries are quoted, but Nicholson always gives them as examples to justify her point, so the entries are not overwhelming (journal entries can be tiresome to go through). Her analysis is spot-on and I thoroughly enjoyed this book, for which I am quite grateful.

I also started a series of fantasy books, the first of which is called His Majesty's Dragon. Naomi Novik's books have an very good premise: what if the Napoleonic wars where fought primarily by an air force of dragons? Alternate history is such fun, and I didn't know I would enjoy reading about the Napoleonic wars so much. I must try to find some books by Patrick O'Brian very soon. The first book is excellent - we meet Laurence, an officer in the Navy who's compelled to become an aviator when he captures the egg of Temeraire, a dragon. The friendship between the two has some strong homoerotic undertones: even if the books are heteronormative, Temeraire's jealousy when Laurence becomes interested in a woman is unmistakable. The first book focuses on Temeraire growing up and Laurence adjusting to his new life. It was engrossing and very well-written. I couldn't put this book down, the battles are very interesting to read about, surprisingly, and the characters are very strong morally and believable which makes for good fiction. The world Naomi Novik builds is full of details, beautifully evocative. She has a good sense of the period. I can't wait to buy and read the next books in the series.

Okay. Let's see what I can choose for you to listen to while I'm gone. I talked about the Ultra Lounge series on this blog, and thanks to it I discovered Sam Butera, a terrific saxophonist who often collaborated with Louis Prima. Great entertainer. So here he is for your listening pleasure.

LISTEN HERE

Enjoy August!

Sibylle

The lingerie shortage in this country...

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I am really looking forward to the third season of Mad Men. The first episode will air on August 16 and it seems that this will be the best way to end summer. If you've seen the first two seasons, and only if you've seen them, I strongly recommend watching this video, the 10 most shocking moments of the show so far (and god knows there have been many).It's not just a succession of clips since Matthew Weiner, who created the show, comments on each one of them, along with the actors.

Have you ever heard of Adventureland? It was released this year and it seems only Twilight fangirls have heard of the movie, because it stars Kristen Stewart, of Twilight fame. It's a shame, really, because it's a very sweet, real and smart movie taking place in the 80s. Several teenagers work at an amusement park during the summer and develop relationships in a way that's honest and beautiful. I was really moved by this movie and thought the two leads (Kristen and Jesse Eisenberg) acted really well.

July 2009 for me will be remembered as Potter Madness. The plan was this: read the first six books, then watch the adaptation of Half-Blood Prince, then read Deathly Hallows. That was the challenge and I completed it. Rereading a series that's so close to my heart felt like coming home after a very long day. It felt perfect, right, familiar in the best way. I reminisced on where I was when they were published and the thing is, my reactions are exactly the same as when I read them first. I cried buckets at the end of Half-Blood Prince, laughed at the same jokes, longed to be part of this world, cried in The Forest Again, was anxious for the fate of several characters even though I knew what was going to happen, marvelled at Jo's genius. Being completely immersed in this world for 10 days was just what I needed and this has been the best decision I made all year. The movie adaptation of Half-Blood Prince was beautiful. There's no other word. I finished rereading the book on the 14 and went to see a screening on the 15 at 9:45 and it was the best way to do it. The cinematography is gorgeous, the acting impeccable (the trio has evolved and learnt so much, they're actually good now, so is Tom Felton. The adults are impeccable except for Gambon who's never been my Dumbledore). I missed a few things, no Rufus Scrimgeour meant no "Dumbledore's man through and through" which is, in my opinion, one of the best lines of the entire saga, no "Don't call me coward!" which would have dropped a great hint for the next movie, no battle between Dumbledore's Army, the Order and the Death Eaters,(but they added a scene at the Burrow that was really well acted and chilling), not much explained about where to find the Horcruxes, but the good points were excellent so that's easily forgiven. The score is to die for. You can listen to it for free here. I personally have it on repeat and should buy the CD soon. There is a whole chapter at the end that's not adapted but for me a little gesture said it all and I realised I didn't need this chapter, that was a very smart move. The movie is deeply emotional but also incredibly amusing in the right places and effortlessly so, just like the book. The amount of romance (I for one thought Harry/Ginny in the Room of Requirement was really beautiful and I'm not much of a shipper) and comedy counterbalances nicely with the deeply disturbing plot, this movie's a riot in places. I just couldn't believe how outrageously funny it was, and everything taken directly from the book. The whole thing is so deeply tied up with the fifth and seventh adaptations that I think it would have been smarter to shoot them all after the whole series had been released. The actor who plays Tom Riddle is incredible and has nothing to do with the two-dimensional character we had in Chamber of Secrets. Shame they didn't wait. Bottom line is, this adaptation is beautiful and it's not even just a good adaptation, it's a very, very good movie by itself.

I managed to squeeze in the reading of a book after my Potter Madness this month, and what a book that was! Flapper: a Madcap Story of Sex, Style and Celebrity and the Women Who Made America Modern by Joshua Zeitz is delightful and delicious. I heart the 20s, I want to read more about this decade of absolute freedom and "unaffordable excess" (that's the title of one of the chapters) that came before the Great Depression that ended it all. Zeitz's prose is crystal clear and the book super interesting. It's divided into three parts, and even though it's not explicitly put that way, the first part is about how literature influenced and was influenced by the flapper lifestyle (focusing on the Fitzgeralds, what a life they had, but also Lois Long who wrote articles about her flapper lifestyle), the second about fashion (focusing on Coco Chanel) and the third about cinema (focusing on Clara Bow and Louise Brooks). So now all of Francis Scott Fitzgerald's books are on my list (Zelda was pretty much the quintessential flapper, her yearbook read "Why should all life be work, when we can all borrow. Let's only think of today, and not worry about tomorrow."), along with an impressive number of silent movies. Zeitz made so many good points: how flappers thought only white priviledged women could be like them (when African-Americans invented the dances they all danced and the songs they all sung in the Jazz Age), how it all relates to first-wave feminism (feminists despised this carefree attitude to life because flappers pushed limits but never politically, which would have benefited all women if they did), how the twenties and the flapper lifestyle was an incredibly good era for consumerism. About that, and because I've been obsessing over Mad Men, I found a pretty spot-on description of what advertising was about: "Sell them their dreams. Sell them what they hoped for and longed for and almost despaired of having. Sell them hats by splashing sunlight across them. Sell them dreams - dreams of country clubs and proms and visions of what might happen if only. After all, people don't buy things to have them... They buy hope - hope of what your merchandise might do for them." The San Francisco Chronicle said about the book that it "engagingly blends solid academic research with a pop culture sensibility." Truly excellent book, I learnt so much about a whole era and it has left me hungry for more, which is what the best books do, in my opinion.

What should I leave you with? Ooo, I know! How about The Drifters? I listen to them all year long but they're particularly good during the summer. It's so hard to find a compilation of their songs that's not been remixed but I managed to dig something up.

LISTEN HERE

In the park you hear
The happy sound of the carousel
You can almost taste the hot dogs
French fries they sell
Under the boardwalk
Down by the sea, yeah
On a blanket with my baby
Is where I'll be

Have an extravagant summer!


Sibylle

Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure

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I know I said I'd be posting more but I didn't expect to be called to work quite so often during the summer. I always welcome the money so my life had to take a backseat for a while. I still have things to talk about, though. The first season of Veronica Mars was so good. I can't believe how dreadful the show was afterwards - what happened? I remember thinking Veronica was one of the best characters I had ever met, along with Mac and Wallace they pretty much made the show. It was pure joy in its first season, so witty, smart and compelling. Please check out this picspam, I feel so nostalgic just looking at it. I miss you, Kristen.

I've just finished a really good book called Debs at War written by Anne de Courcy, which focuses on British debutantes's lives during the Second World War. The narrative relies extensively on extracts from diaries and direct quotes from many former debutantes, who explain how their lives was before 1939 and how much it changed during the War. What struck me most was how funny this book could sometimes be, something I absolutely did not expect. They all have a great sense of humour even reminiscing on the worst. It was full of everyday details and I enjoyed following such different and in a way such similar lives, all compelled to have a sense of purpose when war broke out. I knew a lot of what was described mainly through reading fiction books set in this period but it's still really fascinating realising now so many years later how much a country relied on very dedicated yet simple actions dictated by courage. The main change was work: going from being expected to go from your father's care to your husband's care to being expected to participate in the war effort was a serious change for everybody. As we are reminded at the end of the book, many women found the war liberating as they were able to continue working even after the war and when married, something that simply was forbidden in the interwar years (women were actually fired the minute they married, despite having worked during the First World War). As a consequence, most of the book focuses on the many different jobs those debutantes took in 1939, from nursing to teaching to breaking Enigma to flying planes to working in factories. However, something the author doesn't do is put the stories in perspective: one woman says "even in those days, boyfriends were more important", which is of course only true for the upper-classes. I can't imagine people living in poverty having these many options to work or ever having to choose between respecting curfew and run away to dance at a ball. Since it heavily relies on anecdotes, what I found the most exciting was the diversity: all sorts of things are being talked about and very much related to everyday life - it was simply very easy to get lost in this book. I really recommend it as a companion book to any history book about the Second World War as it explains a lot about what it meant to women on a daily basis.

Who knew the Myrna Loy and William Powell boxset contained such jewels? I saw the last movie, Evelyn Prentice, a few days ago. It was released in 1934, that is the same year as The Thin Man and Manhattan Melodrama. The movie does not disappoint - I must say it's pretty rare to find a boxset of 5 different movies which are all excellent but this one is definitely the real thing. Evelyn (played by Myrna) is the wife of a successful attorney (Powell is wonderful in that role, he had the same one in Manhattan Melodrama) and she crosses the path of a scoundrel, which will change her life. I think it's mainly a movie about guilt, but it was also a compelling mystery, the end completely took me by surprise, I thought it was an excellent twist and kuddos to anyone who realises what's happening before its being spelled out! The film also contains some lovely funny scenes: in one of them, the whole family is exercising at home and having a great exchange of lines.
When I say William Powell and Myrna Loy are among my favourite actors and actresses, I am usually asked about The Thin Man series: the problem is that I don't enjoy mysteries at all, so the parts that for me are the best in the Thin Man series are the ones focusing on Nick and Nora's life as a couple, and the detective plot bores me. On the bright side, I've recently seen the second movie in the series, After the Thin Man, which is my favourite of the series: it devotes more screen time to Nick and Nora and has some absolutely classic scenes. The first one is Nick's surprise birthday party and it superb from beginning to end. It also has a wonderful scene with Nick tracking a murderer while taking the stairs, it's all very slow, without music, and I thought the suspense was excellently played.
Talking about Evelyn Prentice, I have to say something about Una Merkel. It bothers me that secondary roles were often relegated to the margins and given such poor credits. Merkel plays Evelyn's best friend and she absolutely shines in that role, being sensible and very down-to-earth, often very amusing, I thought her performance was remarkable.

The very underrated Una Merkel

This last section about music will be a bit different this time, since I want to talk about a series of CDs focusing on a specific genre instead of about an artist. Have you ever heard of the Ultra-Lounge series? It's a series of 25 CDs that were released by Capitol in the 90s. You can find the complete list here. What's this about? If you've seen "The Jet Set", an episode of the second season of Mad Men (if you're not watching Mad Men you don't know what you're missing or you would) this is pretty much it. Lounge is an attitude: enjoying the good life by the swimming-pool with your sunglasses on, sipping a martini and watching girls in bikinis passing by. There are several things wrong with this picture. I'll quote a pretty spot-on reviewer on Amazon: "I suppose if I lived in the "swinging" era of night clubs, pointy bras, martinis, and ashtrays on every table, I would find it all a big drag; I don't smoke, don't drink, and I'm a feminist. But, at this safe distance, the swinging, Rat Pack era is an archaelogical trove of great fun." The keyword here is FUN. If these CDs aren't fun, I don't know what is! Think about it: Christmas music given a mambo twist, it's the lyrics without the spirit or rather Christmas in July, literally, the James Bond theme, Chihuahua, Dean Martin, Louis Prima, Julie London, Nat King Cole, Vic Damone, a track called "Music to be murdered by" introduced by Alfred Hitchcock. There's nothing more evocative and perhaps kitsch than these CDs - it's laughter in a slipcase, life with a twist and on the rocks. I'm posting my favourites here, and hope you'll give them a try, it's just different and awfully fun.

WILD, COOL AND SWINGIN'

MAMBO FEVER

CHRISTMAS COCKTAILS

CRIME SCENE

Readers, that brings us to the end of another In Training for a Heroine post. I don’t know when it will be possible to post again, but you can be sure I shall be back. Keep twiddling those dials: the next password will be ‘Mad-Eye.’ Keep each other safe. Keep faith. Good night!


Sibylle

Latest purchases

It's this time of month again! I bought more than usual because of the summer holidays. Also, the CDs were on sale and I've just received my free iPod Nano (16gb, it's pink and I named it Tonks! It was free because I bought a MacBook called Hermione, which accounts for my lack of updates recently, getting used to using a Mac after 11 years of using Windows takes a while) so I really feel the need to own as many of my favourite CDs as possible to listen to them everywhere.

BOOKS

Angels in America - Tony Kushner
The miniseries is one of my favourites so this was just a matter of time.

Temeraire - Naomi Novik
"A reimagining of the epic events of the Napoleonic Wars with an air force—an air force of dragons, manned by crews of aviators." It sure sounds really cool! It's a series of books, there are 5 books so far (the sixth one is being written as we speak) so if I really like this one, at least there's more to keep me satisfied. Peter Jackson optioned it for a movie. I've decided that one of my goals for this year will be to finish the series I've started, so here's hoping.

Revolutionary Road, The Easter Parade, Eleven Kinds of Loneliness - Richard Yates
I loved Revolutionary Road so obviously I want to read more by Richard Yates. I bought them in this anthology edition published by Everyman Library because it was cheaper but if I ever want more Yates, I'll buy them in the Vintage edition, check out the covers, they're stunning.

The Spell - Alan Hollinghurst
The last book by Hollinghurst I haven't read! I'll miss him so much, he's definitely one of my favourite new authors this year (that is, new to me).

Singled Out: How Two Million Women Survived Without Men After the First World War - Virginia Nicholson
I've always been interested in women's history. I find the product description to be delightful: "Tracing their fates, Nicholson shows that these women did indeed harbor secret sadness, and many of them yearned for the comforts forever denied them--physical intimacy, the closeness of a loving relationship, and children. Some just endured, but others challenged the conventions, fought the system, and found fulfillment outside of marriage. From the mill-girl turned activist to the debutante turned archeologist, from the first woman stockbroker to the "business girls" and the Miss Jean Brodies, this book memorializes a generation of young women who were forced, by four of the bloodiest years in human history, to stop depending on men for their income, their identity, and their future happiness. Indeed, Singled Out pays homage to this remarkable generation of women who, changed by war, in turn would change society."

Flapper: A Madcap Story of Sex, Style, Celebrity and the Women Who Made America Modern - Joshua Zeitz
The 20's, women, sexuality redefined, jazz music in the background. Enough said!


The Brontës Went to Woolworths - Rachel Ferguson
This book has been out of print for ages, a used copy used to go for hundreds of pounds so saying that I'm happy I won't have to spend that much to read it is an understatement. This is part of a Bloomsbury release (nothing to do with the Bloomsbury group) "a new library of books from the early twentieth-century chosen by readers for readers," according to the website. I also want to buy a copy of Henrietta's War and Miss Hargreaves, which will be published soon. Brontës is "a charming novel from the early 1900s that revels in young innocence prior to the First World War and celebrates the fantasies of childhood". There's a more complete, but spoilery summary here.

Suite Scarlett - Maureen Johnson
I've been trying to read more YA this year, with mixed results. This one's another try: Maureen Johnson is part of this group of New-York-based YA writers (along with John Green whom I must read, Scott Westerfeld who wrote a book I really liked, Peeps, but I have to give his other books a second chance, Justine Larbalestier whom I'd really like to read too, her journal is excellent and some dreadful writers I won't name here). Scarlett lives in a hotel suite in New-York, which has been my secret wish for quite some time. Johnson's blog is really funny, and I hope it's an indication as to the quality of the book.


DVD

The Line of Beauty
I've seen it earlier this year and can't wait to see it again now that I've read the book. Beautiful miniseries, different from the book but I like them both equally. Buy them both please.

The Awful Truth/Born Yesterday/His Girl Friday
I've never seen Born Yesterday but the other two pictures are absolute marvels. I don't know if I'll ever understand each line of His Girl Friday completely one day, it's the fastest-talking movie I've ever seen, and one of the best. The Awful Truth is great physical comedy and the actors are impeccable.

Forbidden Hollywood Collection - Volume 2: The Divorcee/A Free Soul/Three on a Match/Female/Night Nurse
I've only seen two of them so I'm happy I still have 3 to discover. There's also a documentary called Thou Shalt Not: Sex and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood which sounds like the perfect introduction to this very interesting era and the perfect introduction to the series of books I want to read on the topic this year.

CD

The Beach Boys - no introduction needed! It's summer and I need my Boys.








Muse - One of the few contemporary rock bands I like unconditionally.






Elvis Presley - No introduction needed either, I hope. I'll buy the first compilation CD soon (30 #1 Hits)

Sibylle