Sunday, March 5, 2017

The Top Ten of 1917. Six Down - Four To Go.

I've finished books numbers 5 and 6 on the list of top ten best selling books 0f 1917. #5 (Wildfire by Zane Grey) actually surpassed my expectations. Not bad, for a western.

#6 (Christine by Elizabeth von Arnim) surprised me as well. I knew I'd enjoy Christine - as I've enjoyed everything I've read of von Arnim's work - but going into it, I knew that the book was fraudulent. Arnim and her publishers presented the book as a true story, but it was actually a fictional work of propaganda, written to convince the American public to enter the First World War. I couldn't help but be saddened by Christine's death, so I can only imagine how the readers of 1917 felt - believing the story to be true.

As mentioned earlier, I began reading The Great Boer War by Arthur Conan Doyle (not on the list) to help me get through the dull parts of Wildfire, and now, I will begin  #7 on the list, In the Wilderness by Robert S. Hichens while finishing Doyle's book.

In the Wilderness will be the fourth novel by Hichens that I've read. In 2014, I read three of his novels: The Green Carnation, The Return of the Soul , and The Garden of Allah.

On a side note, in Christine, the young girl mentions having read a novel called Jerusalem by Selma Lagerlöf. Naturally, I'm curious to see why von Arnim includes this little tidbit in the story. To satisfy my curiosity, I've downloaded the e-book, to be read at a later date.

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