Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More


Age of Decadence by Simon HefferAge of Decadence by Simon Heffer

Thanks to Jen Rivera of Pegasus Books, I am giving away one print copy of ‘Age of Decadence’ by Simon Heffer.

Description Age of Decadence by Simon Heffer

The folk-memory of Britain in the years before the Great War is of a powerful, contented, orderly and thriving country. She commanded a vast empire. She bestrode international commerce. Her citizens were living longer, profiting from civil liberties their grandparents only dreamt of, and enjoying an expanding range of comforts and pastimes. The mood of pride and self-confidence is familiar from Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance marches, newsreels of George V’s coronation and the London’s great Edwardian palaces.

Yet things were very different below the surface. In The Age of Decadence Simon Heffer exposes the contradictions of late-Victorian and Edwardian Britain. He explains how, despite the nation’s massive power, a mismanaged war against the Boers in South Africa created profound doubts about her imperial destiny. He shows how attempts to secure vital social reforms prompted the twentieth century’s gravest constitutional crisis and coincided with the worst industrial unrest in British history. He describes how politicians who conceded the vote to millions more men disregarded women so utterly that female suffragists’ public protest bordered on terrorism. He depicts a ruling class that fell prey to degeneracy and scandal. He analyses a national psyche that embraced the motor-car, the sensationalist press and the science fiction of H. G. Wells, but also the Arts and Crafts of William Morris and the nostalgia of A. E. Housman. And he concludes with the crisis that in the summer of 1914 threatened the existence of the United Kingdom – a looming civil war in Ireland.
He lights up the era through vivid pen-portraits of the great men and women of the day – including Gladstone, Parnell, Asquith and Churchill, but also Mrs Pankhurst, Beatrice Webb, Baden-Powell, Wilde and Shaw – creating a richly detailed panorama of a great power that, through both accident and arrogance, was forced to face potentially fatal challenges.

Praise Age of Decadence by Simon Heffer

“A riveting account of the pre-First World War years. A gloriously rich history. Balanced and judicious. The Age of Decadence is an enormously impressive and enjoyable read.” – The Sunday Times (London)

“An impressively well-constructed book. Heffer weaves his wonderfully diverse strands of inquiry into a devastating critique of prewar It’s also disturbingly relevant to the world in which we live.” – The Times (London)

“Simon Heffer writes with admirable sensitivity about both music and literature. He does a brilliant job of exposing the rot beneath the glittering surface of late Victorian and Edwardian Britain.” – The Economist

About Simon HefferAge of Decadence by Simon Heffer

Simon Heffer has a PhD in modern history from Cambridge. He has published numerous history books in Britain, but The Age of Decadence is his first book to be published in the US. In a thirty-year career on Fleet Street, he has held senior editorial positions at The Daily Telegraph and at The Spectator, and he is now a columnist for The Sunday Telegraph. He lives in London.

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Giveaway Age of Decadence by Simon Heffer


This giveaway is open to the U.S. only and ends on April 23, 2021 midnight pacific time.  Entries are accepted via Rafflecopter only.

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Well-Read Woman: Life, Loves, Legacy of Ruth Rappaport by Kate StewartWell-Read Woman: Life, Loves, Legacy of Ruth Rappaport by Kate Stewart

Thanks to Nicole Andexler of Dandelion PR, I am giving away one print copy of ‘Well-Read Woman: Life, Loves, Legacy of Ruth Rappaport’ by Kate Stewart.

Description Well-Read Woman: Life, Loves, Legacy of Ruth Rappaport by Kate Stewart


The inspiring true story of an indomitable librarian’s journey from Nazi Germany to Seattle to Vietnam—all for the love of books.

Growing up under Fascist censorship in Nazi Germany, Ruth Rappaport absorbed a forbidden community of ideas in banned books. After fleeing her home in Leipzig at fifteen and losing both parents to the Holocaust, Ruth drifted between vocations, relationships, and countries, searching for belonging and purpose. When she found her calling in librarianship, Ruth became not only a witness to history but an agent for change as well.

Culled from decades of diaries, letters, and photographs, this epic true story reveals a driven woman who survived persecution, political unrest, and personal trauma through a love of books. It traces her activism from the Zionist movement to the Red Scare to bibliotherapy in Vietnam and finally to the Library of Congress, where Ruth made an indelible mark and found a home. Connecting it all, one constant thread: Ruth’s passion for the printed word, and the haven it provides—a haven that, as this singularly compelling biography proves, Ruth would spend her life making accessible to others.

This wasn’t just a career for Ruth Rappaport. It was her purpose.

Praise Well-Read Woman: Life, Loves, Legacy of Ruth Rappaport by Kate Stewart


“Stewart is frank about Rappaport’s prickly personality…Those details, coupled with more admirable qualities like curiosity and drive, serve to make her an entertaining presence. A lively, chatty exploration of a life that veered in many intriguing directions.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Stewart adeptly fleshes out the life and motivations of Rappaport…and succeeds in bringing to light a strong woman whose love of books helped inspire a life driven by purpose…Rappaport’s larger-than-life story will entrance readers.” —Library Journal

“A wonderful, nuanced portrait of a singular woman whose life, though fraught with personal trauma, persecution, and political unrest, was grounded in an abiding love for books and reading and the solace they bring. An inspiring story told with genuine affection and respect.” —Booklist

Well-Read Woman: Life, Loves, Legacy of Ruth Rappaport by Kate Stewart

(c) Joyride Foto


About Kate Stewart


Kate Stewart is a third generation librarian, born and raised in the Midwest. She graduated from Vassar College with a bachelor of arts in history and from the University of Iowa with master’s degrees in history and library science.

She has worked as a librarian and archivist for ProQuest, the Library of Congress, and the US Senate in Washington, DC. She is currently an archivist at the Arizona Historical Society in Tucson, Arizona. A Well-Read Woman: The Life, Loves, and Legacy of Ruth Rappaport is her first book.

Website: https://kate-stewart.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/katievenae

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Giveaway Well-Read Woman: Life, Loves, Legacy of Ruth Rappaport by Kate Stewart


This giveaway is open the U.S. only and ends on June 7, 2019 midnight pacific time.  Entries are accepted via Rafflecopter only.

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Anne of Cleves: Henry VIII's Unwanted Wife by Sarah-Beth WatkinsAnne of Cleves: Henry VIII’s Unwanted Wife by Sarah-Beth Watkins

Thanks to the author, Sarah-Beth Watkins, I am giving away one print copy of ‘Anne of Cleves: Henry VIII’s Unwanted Wife’ by Sarah-Beth Watkins.

Description Anne of Cleves: Henry VIII’s Unwanted Wife by Sarah-Beth Watkins


Anne of Cleves left her homeland in 1539 to marry the king of England. She was never brought up to be a queen yet out of many possible choices; she was the bride Henry VIII chose as his fourth wife. Yet from their first meeting the king decided he liked her not and sought an immediate divorce.

After just six months their marriage was annulled, leaving Anne one of the wealthiest women in England. This is the story of Anne’s marriage to Henry, how the daughter of Cleves survived him and her life afterwards.

About Sarah-Beth WatkinsAnne of Cleves: Henry VIII's Unwanted Wife by Sarah-Beth Watkins


Sarah-Beth Watkins grew up in Richmond, Surrey and began soaking up history from an early age. Her love of writing has seen her articles
published in various publications over the past twenty years.

Her history works are Ireland’s Suffragettes, Lady Katherine Knollys: The Unacknowledged Daughter of King Henry VIII, The Tudor Brandons, Catherine of Braganza, Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scots: The Life of King Henry VIII’s Sister and the forthcoming Anne of Cleves: Henry VIII’s Unwanted Wife.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SarahBWatkins

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Giveaway Anne of Cleves: Henry VIII’s Unwanted Wife by Sarah-Beth Watkins


This giveaway is open to UK and the U.S. only for print and worldwide for ebook and ends on November 16, 2018 midnight pacific time.  Entries are accepted via Rafflecopter only.

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