River Tune

A late post i know. But had  been awake due to a stuffy nose and now relieved by some Olbas Oil. A gentle piece of clasical music is in order and for this i have chosen Berdrich Smetana  from Ma Vlast and the movement called The Moldau.

Enjoy.

Samba Morning

This morning tune is  mainly for pigshitpoet who thought that the Smetana tune i posted last night was a Santana tune , so here is a Santana tune, Samba Pa Ti.

Enjoy.

Sniffles

After some sneezing the other day i now have a case of the sniffles. Argh! Summer cold syndrome.  Olbas oil at the ready. I wonder if it was because i got soaked in rain on a couple of days this week. 

Book 76 - Wilkie Collins "No Name"

Wilkie Collins "No Name" (Penguin Classics)




This is one of the lesser-known of Collins' novels, which surprises me, as this is a cracking good read in the best 'sensation novel' tradition.

Sisters Magdalen and Norah Vanstone live an idyllic life with loving parents until tragedy strikes. Their father's death is followed quickly by the death of their mother. Not only are the sisters left orphans, but - because their parents weren't actually married when the girls were born - they are not entitled to inherit any of their parents' money or possessions. The entire fortune goes to their uncle, who has had no contact with his brother for years and has no love for his nieces.

Norah takes this change in her circumstances philosophically, resigned to finding work as a governess. But Magdalen cannot accept her situation. A very active and independent heroine, she sets out to exact her revenge. When she discovers that her uncle is dead, she turns her attentions to his sickly, miserly son. Magdalen is aided in her plans by Captain Wragge, a distant relation. He is a self-confessed swindler, and is a great comic character - quite as memorable as many of Dickens' grotesques, but he is also likeable because, whatever his other faults, he has a strong streak of humanity running through him.

It is difficult for a modern reader to disapprove of Magdalen too much, even though what she sets out to do is questionable in the extreme. Collins shows us how her character grows, and her humanity it shown in her fondness and consideration for Captain Wragge's tall, nervous wife. The other memorable character is Mrs Lecount, the possessive housekeeper of Noel Vanstone, the man who inherits the money Magdalen believes is rightfully hers. One of the great joys of the novels is the cat-and-mouse plotting and counter-plotting that goes on between Wragge and Lecount, each trying to keep one step ahead of the other.

Terrific.