Bedlam South
Wingate Asylum in Richmond, Va., is nicknamed Bedlam South. Scratched into the walls in the cells in its bowels is the phrase: "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here. In Bedlam, all hope is lost."
It is 1862 and Dr. Joseph Bryarly has been summoned from a similar institution in England to head the medical concerns of Wingate Asylum, run by the sadistic and greedy Captain Percy. Scarred and maimed himself, Percy takes pleasure in the torture and suffering of Wingate's patients and prisoners, and the mayhem of the Civil War has allowed his misdeeds to go unaddressed. Despite Bryarly's desire for humane treatment of the inmates, he finds that overtly showing care results in the disappearance of his charges - and threats of the same for himself.
Amidst the suffering and gloom of Bedlam South, his only hope lies in the presence of the Dougall family, Irish immigrants who left Europe in the same vessel he did. When their son is called into duty, Bryarly is faced with a devastating choice and the possible loss of his hopes for happiness.
In the battlefields that lead to Richmond, 17-year-old Zeke Gibson joins his older brother, Billy, in an effort to defeat the Yankee onslaught. For weeks they march together, but a fierce firestorm leaves Zeke injured and Billy captured. As the war progresses and their lives diverge, we follow their stories and the extraordinary means they take in order to survive. Surrounded by chaos, lawlessness and greed, their stories wind through the alleys and fields of a deteriorating South and the story of its descent leads the reader back to the terror of Bedlam South.
Authors Grisham (John's brother) and Donaldson combine their loves of Southern history and the Civil War with those of mental health and psychology to offer their first novel - following the individual lives of not only the soldiers but of the collateral victims swept into the war's mix. With history at its back "Bedlam South" is an engaging and worthwhile read giving a broad scope to the effects of the Civil War. Their second historical novel has just been completed.
The Collection
Author Gioia Diliberto tells the tale of young and naÔve Isabelle Varlet, who, upon the death of her fiancÈe, escapes to Paris to work as a seamstress in the salon and backroom of the well-known couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel - referred to as "Mademoiselle" by her staff. She is offered little salary and less encouragement. The post-war era had brought with it change and Coco's designs and ideas of casual elegance prove her genius - as well as allowing for her glamorous and passionate lifestyle.
Flamboyant, intuitive about fashion, demanding and yet admirable, Coco is undeniably interesting, independent and appealing. Isabelle finds herself surrounded by a world of excess, greed, jealousy and deceit - where designs are stealthily copied before they are debuted on the designer's runways. Her ability to adapt and learn, while surviving the arrogance and antics of the industry and its players, are tools for her eventual survival.
Offering details of not only the creation of exquisitely designed dresses, Diliberto is exquisite in her description of the period as well. Historically accurate in a number of details, her novel is seamless in its entertainment and filled to the end with the scandals, affairs, deceit and genius that hold a reader's attention. Steeped in the romance and appeal of the jazz age, "The Collection" is an enjoyable read.