Svetlana's Reads and Views

Name of Book: Marlene Author: C.W. Gortner ISBN: 978-0-06-240606-4 Publisher: William Morrow Type of book: 1914-1946, Marlene Dietrich, WWI, WWII, Hollywood, defiance, Nazism, California, USA, movie star, jobs, Great Depression, movies, unconventional, Berlin, unconventional life and lifestyle Year it was published: 2016 Summary: A lush, dramatic biographical novel of one of the most glamorous and alluring legends of Hollywood’s golden age, Marlene Dietrich, from the gender-bending cabarets of Weimar Berlin to the lush film studios of Hollywood—a sweeping story of passion, glamour, ambition, art, and war from the author of Mademoiselle Chanel. Raised in genteel poverty after the first World War, Maria Magdalena Dietrich dreams of a life on the stage. When a budding career as a violinist is cut short, the willful teenager vows to become a singer, trading her family’s proper, middle class society for the free-spirited, louche world of Weimar Berlin’s cabarets and ...

Name of Book: 1906 Author: James Dalessandro ISBN: 0-965-44233-0 Publisher: Chronicle Books LLC Type of book: April 1906, earthquake, disaster, San Francisco California, corruption, history, natural disaster, revenge, fire, early detective methods, work, family, friendships, relationships, Enrico Carusso, opera Year it was published: 2004 Summary: Now available in paperback, James Dalessandro's "riveting account of corruption, greed, and murder in the City by the Bay" (Dallas Morning News) was a best-seller in hardcoverand production has begun on a major motion picture. Set during the great San Francisco earthquake and fire, this page-turning historical novel reveals recently uncovered facts that forever change our understanding of what really happened. Narrated by a feisty young reporter, Annalisa Passarelli, the novel paints a vivid picture of the Post-Victorian city, from the mansions of Nob Hill to the underbelly of the Barbary Coast to the arrival...

Book Description for The Florentine Deception: A seemingly mundane computer clean-up leads to an electrifying quest for an enigmatic—and deadly—treasure in this gripping techno-thriller. After selling his dorm-room startup for millions and effectively retiring at the age of twenty-five, Alex Fife is eager for a new challenge. When he agrees to clean up an old PC as a favor, he never expects to find the adventure of a lifetime waiting for him inside the machine. But as he rummages through old emails, Alex stumbles upon a startling discovery: The previous owner, a shady antiques smuggler, had been trying to unload a mysterious object known as the Florentine on the black market. And with the dealer’s untimely passing, the Florentine is now unaccounted for and ripe for the taking. Alex dives headfirst into a hunt for the priceless object. ​What starts out as a seemingly innocuous pursuit quickly devolves into a nightmare when Alex discovers the true technological nature of the...

Name of Book: The Rivals of Versailles Author: Sally Christie ISBN: 978-1-5011-0299-8 Publisher: Atria Books Part of a Series: The Mistresses of Versailles Type of book: France, Rivals, Jeannette-Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour, history, 1730s, 1741-1764, Versailles, romance, Marie-Anne Nesle, Morphise, Rosalie, friendship, depravities Year it was published: 2016 Summary: And you thought sisters were a thing to fear. In this compelling follow-up to Sally Christie's clever and absorbing debut, we meet none other than the Marquise de Pompadour, one of the greatest beauties of her generation and the first bourgeois mistress ever to grace the hallowed halls of Versailles. I write this before her blood is even cold. She is dead, suddenly, from a high fever. The King is inconsolable, but the way is now clear. The way is now clear. The year is 1745. Marie-Anne, the youngest of the infamous Nesle sisters and King Louis XV's most beloved mistress...