House Of Thurn Und Taxis by Princess Mariae Gloria Thurn und Taxis and Todd Eberle

About the book: House of Thurn und Taxis (2015) is the first cocktail table book on the legendary Thurn und Taxis family and their palace in Regensburg, Germany, a 500-plus room estate considered to be one of Germany's finest examples of historicist architecture. 

The marriage of Gloria, Countess von Schoenburg-Glauchau, and Prince Johannes von Thurn und Taxis in 1980 was an extravagant, joyful affair. They built a life together at the sprawling, sumptuous St Emmeram Palace in Regensburg, Germany, one of the largest private residences in Europe.

For 200 years, the Thurn und Taxis family have called the palace of St Emmeram home. Regarded as one of Germany’s finest examples of historicist architecture, the Regensburg residence’s myriad rooms trace centuries of distinctive styles: a Romanesque-Gothic cloister built between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries, a neo-Renaissance marble staircase, a number of Rococo and neo-Rococo staterooms, and a Baroque library frescoed in 1737. 

Princess Gloria and Prince Johannes filled many of those rooms with an art collection, including Warhols, William Gail paintings, and dozens of pieces by Jeff Koons. The resulting juxtaposition - contemporary art, on a backdrop of ornate and carefully preserved structural design - makes the palace a home like no other.

Celebrated photographer Todd Eberle captures the confluence of high art and grand architecture within the 500-plus room palace to reveal the curious tale of the Thurn und Taxis family. 

Complete with stately portraits and scenes of life at St Emmeram, this monograph offers a glimpse into the world and glamour of one of the most important dynasties of the European aristocracy.

(Partial source: Architectural Digest, 16 November 2015)

About the authors/contributors: Sir John Richardson is a British art historian and Picasso biographer. 

Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis is the matriarch of the princely house of the Thurn and Taxis. 

André Leon Talley is an author and contributing editor of Vogue. 

Alexander Count von Schoenburg is a journalist and author. 

Elisabeth von Thurn und Taxis is an author and writer for Vogue.

Because The Days Are Evil (Ephesians 5. 16)

Fools And Criminals

A Map Of Monasteries Dissolved By King Henry VIII

Blessings by Chukwuebuka Ibeh

About the book: 'It's one thing to love a child, but it's an entirely different thing for the same child to feel loved... A home is the last place a child should feel conditionally loved.' - Blessings, page 153.

Moonlight meets Purple Hibiscus in this gay coming-of-age novel from an astonishing young talent, set in post-military Nigeria and culminating in the Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act of 2014.

Obiefuna has always been the black sheep of his family - sensitive where his father, Anozie, is pragmatic, a dancer where his brother, Ekene, is a natural athlete. 

But when an intimate connection blossoms between Obiefuna and a boy from a nearby village, happiness is fleeting once his father catches them together and banishes him to boarding school.

Obiefuna finds and hides who he truly is as he navigates his new school’s strict hierarchy and unpredictable violence. Back home, his mother Uzoamaka must contend with the absence of her beloved son, her husband’s cryptic reasons for sending him away, and the hard truths that they have all been hiding from. As Nigeria teeters on the brink of criminalizing same-sex relationships, Obiefuna’s life, or the life he wants to live, becomes even further out of reach and more dangerous than ever before.

Told from the alternating perspectives of Obiefuna and Uzoamaka, Blessings (2024) is an elegant and exquisitely moving story that asks how to live freely in a country that forbids one’s truest self, and the love that can flourish in spite of it all.

Blessings is named one of Esquire‘s most anticipated books of 2024 and Book of the Day in The Guardian (17 February 2024). This copy is purchased from Shakespeare and Company on Rue de la Bûcherie in Paris, France.

About the author: Chukwuebuka Ibeh is a writer from Port Harcourt, Nigeria, born in 2000. His writing has appeared in McSweeneys, The New England Review of Books and Lolwe, amongst others, and he is a staff writer at Brittle Paper. He was the Runner-up for the 2021 J.F Powers Prize for Fiction, a finalist for the Gerald Kraak Award and Morland Foundation Scholarship, and was profiled as one of the “Most Promising New Voices of Nigerian Fiction” in Electric Literature. He has studied creative writing under Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Dave Eggers, and Tash Aw. He is currently a student on a fully funded MFA program at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri.

Rating: 5/5

Book Bill

Two And Sixty Years

Saint Bernadette Soubirous (1844-1879) by Abbé François Trochu

About the book: But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. For, amen, I say to you, many prophets and just men have desired to see the things that you see, and have not seen them, and to hear the things that you hear and have not heard them. - Matthew 13. 16-17

Saint Bernadette Soubirous is a two-fold story: that of the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Lourdes, France, in 1858, as well as that of the 14-year-old peasant girl - raised in dire poverty and unable to read - to whom Our Lady appeared.

But more, it is also the story of Saint Bernadette's hidden life as a seemingly ordinary nun in her convent at Nevers, where she reached such holiness that after her death, God saw fit to preserve her body incorrupt - as it remains to this day!

Beautifully set forth in this book are Saint Bernadette's childhood and life at home, her character - honest, intelligent and straightforward - her description of Our Lady, the events surrounding the 18 apparitions, the opposition of the civil authorities, and the shrine and miraculous spring at Lourdes. 

Also described are Bernadette's life in the convent, where she suffered a martyrdom in body and in soul.

Saint Bernadette Soubirous (1844-1879) (1957) is translated and adapted from the French by John Joyce, SJ. Saint Bernadette Soubirous (1844-1879) was first published in France under the same title by Librairie Catholique Emmanuel Vitte, Paris, in 1954. This English edition is published by TAN Books and Publishers in 1985.

About the author: Bernadette Soubirous (1844 -1879), also known as Bernadette of Lourdes, was the firstborn daughter of a miller from Lourdes (Lorda in Occitan), in the department of Hautes-Pyrénées in France, and is best known for experiencing apparitions of a "young lady" who asked for a chapel to be built at the nearby cave-grotto. These apparitions occurred between 11 February and 16 July 1858, and the woman who appeared to her identified herself as the "Immaculate Conception".

After a canonical investigation, Soubirous's reports were eventually declared "worthy of belief" on 18 February 1862, and the Marian apparition became known as Our Lady of Lourdes. In 1866, Soubirous joined the Sisters of Charity of Nevers at their convent in Nevers where she spent the last years of her life. Her body is said by the Catholic Church to remain internally incorrupt. The grotto where the apparitions occurred later went on to become a major pilgrimage site and Marian shrine known as the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, attracting around five million pilgrims of all denominations each year.

Pope Pius XI beatified Bernadette Soubirous on 14 June 1925 and canonized her on 8 December 1933. Her feast day, initially specified as 18 February – the day Mary promised to make her happy, not in this life, but in the other – is now observed in most places on the date of her death, 16 April. (Wikipedia)

Writers In Families

Heatwave by Victor Jestin

About the book: Heatwave (2021) is the winner of the Prix de la vocation 2019; the winner of the Prix Femina de lycéens 2019; and was longlisted for the Crime Writers Association 'Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger' 2022.

Oscar is dead because I watched him die and did nothing.

It is the end of August and the long summer holidays are drawing to a close. Seventeen-year-old Leonard is on a camping holiday with his family in the South of France. Awkward and ill at ease, he is an outsider who creeps away from parties unnoticed after a couple of drinks.

On the final Friday of the trip, unable to sleep, Leonard goes for a walk and sees one of the boys from the campsite, Oscar, hanging from the rope of a playground swing. Leonard watches as the rope slowly strangles Oscar. Then, unable to think straight, he buries the body in the sand, and returns to his tent.

The next day is the hottest in seventeen years. Disoriented by the oppressive heat, and distracted by his desire for a girl named Luce, Leonard spends the ensuing hours trying not to unravel.

A literary sensation in France, Heatwave is an unsettling and utterly original debut novel that examines our darkest impulses.

Heatwave (2021) is translated by Sam Taylor from the original La chaleur in the French language.

About the author: Victor Jestin is a twenty-six-year-old writer (now thirty years old) and screenwriter. He grew up in northwestern France and now lives in Paris. Heatwave is his debut novel. Originally published by Flammarion under the title La chaleur, it won the Prix Femina des Lycéens and was nominated for the Prix Médicis and Prix Renaudot.

About the translator: Sam Taylor grew up in England, spent a decade in France and now lives in the United States. He is the author of four novels and the award-winning translator of more than sixty books from the French, including Laurent Binet's HHhH, Leïla Slimani's The Perfect Nanny and Maylis de Kerangal's The Heart.

Rating: 5/5

Antichrist And Apocalypse by Taylor R Marshall

About the book: Can you answer this question: Who is the Antichrist and what is the Apocalypse? 

"The Antichrist will not be so called; otherwise he would have no followers. He will not wear red tights, nor vomit sulphur, nor carry a trident nor wave an arrowed tail as Mephistopheles in Faust. This masquerade has helped the Devil convince men that he does not exist. When no man recognises, the more power he exercises. God has defined Himself as 'I am Who am,' and the Devil as 'I am who am not.' 

"He will set up a counterchurch which will be the ape of the Church, because he, the Devil, is the ape of God. It will have all the notes and characteristics of the Church, but in reverse and emptied of its divine content. It will be a mystical body of the Antichrist that will in all externals resemble the mystical Body of Christ." - Archbishop Fulton Sheen (1895-1979), American bishop of the Catholic Church

The earliest Christians following the Twelve Apostles often spoke and wrote about the arrival of the Antichrist before the return of Jesus Christ at the end of time. 

Best-selling author and professor Dr Taylor Marshall provides an easy to understand collection of Church Fathers, Saints, and Mystics as he pulls back the curtain on the end times prophecies of the Book of Revelation - the Book originally called The Apocalypse.

In these exciting pages, you will discover:

The meaning of Apocalypse and why Christ uses the term Apocalypse.

The ten prophecies about the future Antichrist.

The meaning of the seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven plagues.

The true meaning of Armageddon.

How the Mark of the Beast and 666 relate to Old Testament prophecies.

The identity of the Harlot of Babylon and the Beast.

How the Book of Revelation/Apocalypse is the most hopeful book of the Bible.

Antichrist and Apocalypse (2022) is a commentary on the 21 prophecies in the Book of Revelation.

About the author: Dr Taylor Marshall is the best-selling author of 11 books, including Infiltration: The Plot to Destroy the Church from Within; Eternal City: Rome & the Origins of Catholic Christianity; Thomas Aquinas in 50 pages; and The Catholic Perspective on Paul. He is also the author of the popular historical fiction Sword and Serpent Trilogy about the Roman persecution of early Christians. He is the founder of the New Saint Thomas Institute. He and his wife live in Texas with their eight children. Please learn more at taylormarshall.com

Charles III by Robert Hardman

About the book: By acclaimed royal biographer and author of Queen of Our Times, Robert Hardman, Charles III (2024) is a brilliant account of a tumultuous period in British history, full of intriguing insider detail and the real stories behind the sadness, the dazzling pomp, the challenges and the triumphs as Charles III sets out to make his mark.

How would – or could – he fill the shoes of the record-breaking Elizabeth II? With fresh debates about the monarchy, political upheavals and a steady flow of damning headlines unleashed by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Charles could not afford to put a foot wrong. 

Hardman draws on unrivalled access to the Royal Family, friends of the King and Queen, key officials and courtiers, plus unpublished royal papers, to chart the transition from those emotionally charged days following the death of the late Queen all through that make or break first year on the throne.

This book also reveals how Charles III is determined to move ahead at speed, the vital role played by Queen Camilla, the King’s relationships with his sons and the rest of his family, his plans for reforming the monarchy and how he is taking his place on the world stage.

Charles III is a fascinating portrait of a hard-working, modern monarch, determined to remain true to himself and to his Queen, to make a difference, to weather the storms – and, what’s more, to enjoy it.

About the author: Robert Hardman is an internationally renowned writer and broadcaster, specializing in royalty and history for more than twenty five years. He has previously written the acclaimed books Monarchy: The Royal Family at Work, Our Queen and Queen of the World, along with the BBC and ITV television documentaries of the same name. Among other television credits, he wrote and presented the BBC Two documentary George III – The Genius of the Mad King and wrote the BBC series, The Queen’s Castle. Hardman interviewed the Prince of Wales for the BBC’s Charles at 60, the Duke of Edinburgh for the BBC’s The Duke: In His Own Words and the Princess Royal for ITV’s Anne: The Princess Royal at 70. He wrote and co-produced the BBC’s Prince Philip: The Royal Family Remembers, for which he interviewed a dozen members of the Royal Family. He is also an award-winning newspaper journalist for the Daily Mail in London. Queen of Our Times: The Life of Queen Elizabeth II is his fourth book.

‘Girl Reading By The Hearth’ by Artist Claire Burnett

A Reader Is A Reader (excusemyreading)

The Accidental Duchess by Emma Manners, Duchess of Rutland

About the book: When Emma Watkins, the pony-mad daughter of a Welsh farmer, imagined her future, she imagined following in her mother's footsteps to marry a farmer of her own. But then she fell in love with David Manners, having no idea that he was heir to one of the most senior hereditary titles in the land. When David succeeded his father, Emma found herself the chatelaine of Belvoir Castle, ancestral home of the Dukes of Rutland.

She had to cope with five boisterous children while faced with a vast estate in desperate need of modernization and staff who wanted nothing to change – it was a daunting responsibility.

Yet with sound advice from the doyenne of duchesses, Duchess ‘Debo’ of Devonshire, she met each challenge with optimism and gusto, including scaling the castle roof in a storm to unclog a flooding gutter, being caught in her nightdress by mesmerized Texan tourists and disguising herself as a cleaner to watch filming of The Crown. She even took on the castle ghosts.

At times the problems she faced seemed insoluble yet, with her unstoppable energy and talent for thinking on the hoof, she won through, inspired by the vision and passion of those Rutland duchesses in whose footsteps she trod, and indeed the redoubtable and resourceful women who forged her, whose homes were not castles but remote farmhouses in the Radnorshire Hills.

Vividly written and bursting with insights, The Accidental Duchess (2022) will appeal to everyone who has visited a stately home and wondered what it would be like to one day find yourself not only living there, but in charge of its future.

About the author: Born Emma Watkins, the Duchess of Rutland is the daughter of a farmer from Knighton, Powys. She worked as an estate agent, marketing properties in London, and later as an interior designer. Today, the Duchess runs the commercial activities of Belvoir Castle, including shooting parties, weddings and a range of furniture. She has presented on various television programmes, including ITV’s Castles, Keeps and Country Homes, and has produced a book about Belvoir Castle. The Accidental Duchess is her fourth book.

In 2021, the Duchess created a podcast titled Duchess, where she interviews chatelaines of castles and stately homes throughout the United Kingdom. In her podcast’s first season, her interviewees included Lady Henrietta Spencer-Churchill of Blenheim Palace and Lady Mansfield of Scone Palace.

Watkins married David Manners, 11th Duke of Rutland, in 1992. The pair have five children.

Definition: Explaterate