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My boyfriend bought this book for me 22 years ago and it has followed me around through seven changes of address. I can honestly say that but for this book, I don't think I would have read Crime and Punishment or The Grapes of Wrath. I wanted to be sure I was getting all the jokes. It was funny in 1984 and it is still funny.

To save the Cleavers from the network axe, past and contemporary literary giants pour forth their own "episodes" for the Beave and crew. Everyone's character --including Eddie Haskell--gets fleshed out in ways you'll never see on Nickelodeon. Personal favorites include Tennessee William's turn on Miss Landers and June. Brilliant and absurdly funny blend of high prose and Americana 50's schmaltz. Made me laugh out loud at every read.

When I first read the Dostoevsky episode ("Hey, Wally, do you think it's OK to kill an old lady?" "I don't know, Beav. We haven't gotten that far in civics."), I was in convulsions. This is the funniest book in the history of Western Civilization, even funnier than "The Lazlo Letters," and that's saying something. That it is out of print is some kind of culture crime.

In an attempt to save "Leave It To Beaver" from going off the air in 1963, famous authors submit scripts hoping their influence will persuade the network from dumping the show. Scripts include "Lady Cleaver's Beaver" by D. H. Lawrence, "Beavermorphosis" by Franz Kafka (where Theodore actually transforms into a giant beaver), and my personal favorite "And Thus Spake Beaver" by Nietzche ... "And Beaver descended alone from the house encountering no one, and all at once there stood before him Larry Mondello who bit into an apple. And thus spake Beaver unto Larry Mondello, 'Shared cookies make a friend, not getting in trouble together', and he punched Larry Mondello in the stomach." If you love the Beave and love Literary Parodies, you'll love this book.

Wow -- it's nice to see that there are other people out there who have read this book and loved it as much as I did. I bought the book when it first came out in 1985 and I was in college. I almost peed my pants reading it in the bookstore, so I figured I'd better buy it before they threw me out. I still have it on my shelf, and it's provided countless hours of amusement ever since. About the only books I would consider funnier than this one are George Ade's "Fables in Slang" and "More Fables in Slang", which are sadly almost unknown today. They should really reprint this, because it's as hilarious today as it was almost 15 years ago.

If you like reading celebrity autobiographies, and you even have a passing interest in this actress, don't miss this book. It really is a very engrossing read. She speaks of her life in a very honest and forthcoming fashion, and she has had quite an interesting life, the most dramatic part being the blacklisting of her actor husband, Larry Parks, in the 1950's, and her "guilt by association."

Also, if you happen to be a fan of either Lloyd, Beau, and/or Jeff Bridges, you should know that Betty and Larry are/were(Larry is deceased) very close to this family -- Betty is Jeff Bridges' godmother.

So, if you know Betty from her movie work (she tells such a funny story about Frank Sinatra, from when they were filming "On the Town"), her stage work, or her TV work on "All in the Family" and "Laverne and Shirley," I think you will more than appreciate this book.

I hope you read this and enjoy it as much as I did!

betty garrett was the best in those mgm movies and she could have been so much more famous

I like Betty Garrett very much! From Laverne & Shirley, All In The Family-very funny! I like that the book is her autobiography! I can't wait to read all about the life & times of the lovely Betty Garrett! I also have David L. Lander's autobiography & the unofficial Penny Marshall book! Any one who's a fan of "Laverne & Shirley" e-mail me @: tiff_lisatony7@yahoo.com. We can chat about Betty, Penny, David, Cindy, Michael, Phil, & evrything else related to "Laverne & Shirley".

I have loved the movies of both Betty Garrett and Larry Parks for years, and now feel that I have read their love story. Betty's descriptions of her multi-faceted career and personal life were written with humor, warmth, and love. She and Larry endured the 'unofficial' blacklist and other obstacles together, and showed what "in good times and in bad" really meant. I admire and adore them both even more now. Her book is a wonderful read and her career isn't even over.

Betty's wit, wisdom and reflections prove that there's a lot more to her than a pretty face and wise-cracks. Talent, sensitivity and grace make her a beautiful author with something important to say. Show business enthusiasts and historians alike will greatly enjoy her story. And, since her career is enjoying a recent resurgence, we can only hope she'll write a sequel, soon!

This book is a shortened version of the TV episode, "Blue's Big Birthday." It's interactive, as well as has the clue game of, "What does Blue want for her birthday?" Like the show, it features Steve, Blue, and the gang, and introduces Blue's turtle, Turquoise--although Blue doesn't name her in the book.

This is pure "Blues Clues," pure and simple. Blue is having a birthday and we are asked to give a hand. The format is like that of the excellent TV show. The art work is quite well done, the text simple and easy for the little ones to follow. This is a fun book to read with your preschooler. This entire series is quite good and I do recommend them quite highly.

It's party-time for Blue --- it's her birthday! The "Blue's Clues" house is fully decorated, with plenty of balloons, confetti and more. We arrive just a little early, so we help to get everything ready for the party. And there's a game of Blue's Clues as well --- Blue needs a present.

This is a good story --- it's a lot like the TV show and the text is readable, but sufficiently complex that it should keep kids that are used to the level of the TV show engaged. Kids will also enjoy seeing Steve, Blue and all the fun party stuff.

I got this for my little boy's 3rd birthday. He loves Blue, and loved this book. We read it every night, and every night he loves to find Blue's clues and show me all the things he remembered about the story.
Great buy!!!

This a great book. If you kids love Blue's Clue. They will love this book.

There is also a wonderful video that goes along with this book. It is wonderful. Blue's Clues - Blue's Birthday

This book is one of the ultimate companions to the blockbuster show of the same title.

In a day and age when show creators and producers have gotten into the habit of talking down to their ausiences, Whedon again breaks the mold by sharing the direct scripts with us, the loyal fans.

I remember how happy I was when I heard that BTVS was going to be a television series and this book brought back the early euhphoria that I experienced with the revival. Thank you again Joss for everything.

Of course it's not all in the dialogue. You've got great acting, directing, editing, costuming, etc. HOWEVER, the Buffy writers obviously not only love what they do, but are also very good at it.

The pop culture references mingle freely with the historical. Renaissance Poetry class was never so much fun.

These scripts give you a chance to catch anything you might have missed the first time around. It's peppy. Is Poppy a word? Well, I know it's a word, but is it a word the way I mean it? Anyhow, I would recommend this book for any Buffy fan.

Watching "Buffy" T.V. series or cassettes is huge enjoyment already. Reading this script brought pure delight: sharp wit, self-derogatory under-/overstatements, punch and speed - this script is, quite definitely, for lovers of language. Stage directions, as indicated between parts of dialogue,are about as savoury as dialogue itself. I've just one reservation:I suppose, to really relish this book as it should be relished, one should obviously have seen related episodes on either TV or cassette. One then remembers Charisma Carpenter's studied drawl, Sarah Gellar's brisk deadpan humour, and Nicholas Brendon's fantastic "fool's faces". Only then does one realize, not just how good the writing is, but also, how brilliantly the whole cast has done its job. Yes, this definitely does show just how brilliant the whole "Buffy" act was - and still is. Can we PLEASE have scriptbooks of what follows?!...

The good news is that original shooting scripts of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" are available, as in this volume offering up the first six episodes of Season One. But the bad news, relatively speaking, is that we just get the scripts without any extras. The pages are your traditional Courier style font (including the title page), and while the pages are not in blue, pink, green, yellow, goldenrod and salmon to reflect the various revisions, if you follow the revision dates on the top of the pages you can figure that part out. Therefore, while I appreciate having the original scripts in front of my while watching the episodes so I can see what has been deleted/added/changed (these are not transcripts; big difference), I would have really liked to have a bit more such as introductions by the writers talking about the genesis of the script ideas or problems they had to overcoming in putting the script into production, beyond the production notes and stage directions. Certainly some of what I am looking for can be found in "The Watcher's Guide," which covers the show's first two seasons, but given how first-rate the BtVS companion volumes have been I am rather surprised this is a comparatively bare bones effort.

Included in this volume for those of you who do not have the first 100 episodes totally memorized are "Welcome to the Hellmouth" and "The Harvest," both written by series creator Joss Whedon, "Witch" by Dana Reston, "Teacher's Pet" by David Greenwalt, "Never Kill a Boy on the First Date" by Rob Des Hotel and Dean Batali, and "The Pack" by Matt Kiene and Joe Reinkemeyer. After the two-part pilot these other episodes reflect a time when the Buffy mythos was just starting to get organized. After all, Buffy has yet to find out about Angel's true nature and the emphasis is on how high school is a living hell if you are a teenager, but even more so when you are perched on the Hellmouth. Besides, once you get the first half of Season One you have to pick up the second half as well. Then there is Season Two...

It's valuable for fans of Buffy, full of hints and descriptions that make the tv episodes even more enjoyable; it's also a very cool book for anyone interested in writing tv scripts who're curious about the format, or looking for insight into how to blend comedy and suspense and juggle an excellent ensemble cast without shortchanging anyone.

The message of the novel and film adaptation are essentially the same:
if you deny your true self, you will be left feeling empty and unfulfilled in life. You cannot give in to fear or society's definitions of who and what you should be at any point in your life. Scorsese and writer Richard Price took a lot of liberties with the story for the film adaptation. I like what they did, but I found the novel The Color of Money compelling for somewhat different reasons.

Tevis does a wonderful job of updating his Fast Eddie Felson character from the original novel, The Hustler, and the opening scenes in this book where Minnesota Fats "coaches" a middle-aged and tired Felson are outstanding. I have even more appreciation for Fats than I did in The Hustler, and it's unfortunate that Scorsese and Price choose not to include him in the movie.

Tevis has a great understanding of what drives certain people to excel at something as opposed to just getting by in life. The winner's mentality is at the heart of this novel -- as it was in The Hustler -- but now the idea is centered more around not giving up, despite what society tells each of us about what we can or cannot do (based on factors such as age, etc.).

Felson's midlife crisis is the bane of his existence, and it is only the acceptance of who he is and what he loves to do that can deliver him from his ennui. Relationships and suburban comforts are merely distractions for Felson. He needs to get back into the game that made him touch greatness when he was in his 20s.

For fans of The Hustler, this is a great compliment. If you've seen the movie a bunch of times, you will still discover a fresh story here. The angle is a bit different, and Tevis' perceptions about what it takes to rise about mediocrity are priceless.

Classic novel by a classic writer.

I'm a big fan of the movie, particularly the first restaurant scene with it's triangle of small timer, scheming girlfriend, and semi-retired hustler. But, thought the book was MUCH better. I enjoy his writing style, and although the ones I've read were on short side (Hustler, Queens Gambit, and COM), he always seems to draw me into the story. His writing is always anchored in the drama of recognizing/overcoming the psychology of self doubt and making ones way to redemption and/or self improvement. Highly recommend the book.

Great book -- maybe better than the Hustler. Ignore the movie. This is a handbook for living. It didn't change my life but it would have if i read it when i was 15. Will make an excellent bar mitzvah gift.

If you enjoyed the movie "The Color of Money" try the book from which it is loosely based. Not giving anything away, there is no Tom Cruise character, nor his movie girlfriend. If you are an "early to mid-boomer" you may especially relate to this work even if your eyes glaze over at the mention of "pool". If you read/saw "The Hustler", even better.

I have to admit I'm a fan of Scorcese's film sharing the same title, but these are two completely different stories. I was shocked at how little the two have in common, which is almost nothing.

Tevis's book paints a very different picture of Fast Eddie in the 80's. Tevis shows us a dejected man who let years of his life just pass by idly while he ran a small pool hall, as opposed to Scorcese's Fast Eddie who had become a successful liquor salesman (ironically, Tevis's Felson failed as a salesman). Not only that, the Vince character (and his t-shirt) does not really exist in Tevis's book - Felson does not take on a prodigy at all. Even Fats is back in the book.

All this drivel I've written here is to encourage you to read the book. A completely different story than what the movie offers, but one more plausibly in line with The Hustler (the book). As usual, Tevis is deft at writing the intricacies of pool and the psyche that surrounds it.

I've seen "Monty Python's Flying Circus" so many times that I can recite long stretches of it. But those guys are always using weird accents and manic deliveries ("My neeples explode with delight!"), and sometimes they're hard to understad.

Fortunately for those times, Python fans have "The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus: All the Words," a series from the second half of the classic comedy skit show. These are only trascripts (a bit lacking in details), but still enormous fun and full of delightfully quotable lines ("And now my lords, my ladies... your LUPINS!").

It opes with the weird "Conquistador Coffee" sketch, in which a boss berates his employee for changing the brand's name to Conquistador Instant Leprosy. ("The tingling fresh coffee that brings you exciting new cholera, mange, dropsy, the clap, hard pad, and athlete's foot." "It was a soft sell, sir.")

And then it contains plenty of others: the cheese shop with no cheese, films with giant teeth, spam spam spam, cannibal undertakers, Njorl's it's-not-that-terrible saga, the BBC's financial troubles, the Money Programme, the pantomime horse, hairdressers climbing Everest, the war against pornography, Gumbys, Dennis Moore, kamikaze highlanders, and the golden age of ballooning ("I am so excited I can hardly wash!").

The dialogue to each one is carefully outlined, with each character identified as being played by one of the guys (like "Interviewer (JOHN)"), although we usually don't get to hear much about Terry Gilliam's mad animations. Most of these episodes are one long continuing sketch that spills from one scenario to the next, but occasionally we'll have different ones patched together.

These guys had a rare, crazy talent -- these sketches are crammed with glorious dialogue ("Drop your panties, Sir William. I cannot wait till lunchtime") and bizarre insults ("you cloth-eared heap of anteater's catarrh"). Not much description of the action in places, although in a few we get plenty of detail when it's called for (such as the weirdness convention).

The problem is that this should only be read after you've seen the series. If you don't, it all seems like a befuddling string of of stream-of-consciousness comedy numbers, full of in-jokes and surreal twists. You have a better chance of finding Ilchester in a cheese shop than understanding this without seeing the skits first.

In case you couldn't understand what Eric Idle was bibbling in one episode, or John Cleese was screaming in another, "The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus: All the Words Volume 2" will tell you what is going on. No time to lose!

This item was purchased for my daughter and she absolutely loved it. It was received in good order and in a timely manner

The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus: All the Words, Volume 2 is the second half of a set containing the scripts of the entire series (45 episodes). This book, volume 2, contains scripts for episode 24: "How not to be seen" through episode 45: "Party Political Broadcast". This book is more fun than an endless supply of "lupins". Both volumes make great companions to the MPFC video/dvd collection ("There you go, can't be bad.") and also unlike the DVDs, there are no edits, these are the original words. So that horrible "m" word that Graham said in episode 31: "The All England Summarize Proust Competition" is in this book. Enjoy!

Yours etc., Brigadier Mainwaring Smith Smith Smith etc., Deceased etc.

FYI-This is the same as the review of Volume 1. There was no real sense in distinguishing the two.

As a fan of MPFC since it first aired on PBS in 1973, these two volumes sort of put a cap on a 30 year fascination with the team. Maybe like me, you've watched every Python-Marathon or taped every show, but having these scripts really is the icing on the cake.

What's striking to me is the simplicity of the scripts. When you watch the episodes, the gags seem so complicated. Then to see The Dead Parrot sketch reduced to just a few pages, you realize how brilliant those guys were in terms of compression, and in terms of acting. An added plus, for me at least, was to finally see the words and phrases that I never quite "got" because they were unique to British English. From there, I logged on to a few websites on British slang and, boy, I realized what MPFC got away with...some of it was pretty raunchy. Anyway, this is two-volume set is priceless for any fan.

"It's satire."
"No, it isn't. This is zany madcap humour."

With that immortal exchange, nearly everything Pythonian is summed up. For those who haven't memorized every single Python skit (or for those who have and who are looking to free up some short-term memory), this book and its companion volume ("All The Words, Volume I") are must-haves. Every single word from every single bit ever done on "Monty Python's Flying Circus" is in here. It's a joy and a treasure and a non-stap laff riot.

Every Python nut is familiar with the "wink, wink, nudge, nudge" tale, the dead parrot sketch, the Ministry of Silly Walks and so on. But even beyond these justly famed classics, there is wonderfully silly stuff herein. I never realized until buying this and the companion Volume I how utterly the Python crew had mastered the gorgeously silly non-sequiter. To wit:

"Would Albert Einstein ever have hit upon the theory of relativity if he hadn't been clever?"

"Don't call me señor! I'm not a Spanish person. You must call me Mr. Biggles, or Group Captain Biggles, or Mary Biggles if I'm dressed as my wife, but never señor."

"I'm afraid we are unable to show you any more of that letter. We continue with a man with a stoat through his head."

"Were you worried when his head started to come loose?"

It just doesn't get any better than this, and being able to sit and peruse the scripts without watching the frenetic activity on the screen only goes to strengthen the generally accepted view that these guys were genius writers. As the book back states, these volumes are the winners of "the 1989 PYTHON PRIZE for their own books." ARE there higher honors than this?

A theatre writer, Riccardo Molteni, cannot write anymore because his wife, Emilia, does not love him anymore. Moreover, she despises him, all of a sudden.

The search for the reasons which led to this sudden change of feelings, makes Moravia rewrite a modern versin of Ulyse's myth. In a few words, Penelope did not love Ulyse anymore, though she remained faithful to him even before he left for Troja. Why did she not love him? Because the king's behaviour was not masculine enough towards her admirers at the court.
Therefore, Ulyse wins his wife's contempt and consequently leaves for Troja to free himself in a way. After the war, he postpones sine die his return to Ithaca, obessed by the same thing: Penelope's contempt.

When he finally decides to go back home, he knows he has no other solution but to violently kill all Penelope's admirers, in order to get her admiration and love.

And this is how Homer can be well combined with Freud. The moravian style, vivid and direct, manifests itself in this novel, keeping alive the pleasure of your reading.

I think Alberto Moravia is one of the greatest Italian writers of all times. All his novels deal with important issues our society has to face, problems we all have. Many of us will recognize ourselves in his characters.

It will be a very challenging reading that will make you ask a lot of questions about yourself and your life. Enjoy it!

After a second reading of Contempt, I feel compelled to call the short, tautly written novel a masterpiece. Told from the perspective of a neurotic egotist, the narrator accounts how he "sacrificed" his literary writing career to debase himself in the tawdry task of writing screenplays so that he can afford to lavish his wife with a bigger more opulent living quarters. The narrator convinces himself that not only does his wife not appreciate his "sacrifice," but that she no longer loves him. It's horrifying to read this narcissist's account of his marital disintegration because you begin to realize that he is projecting his own lack of love toward his wife (a pefectly fine, loving woman) and you realize that he is so emotionally arrested that he is incapable of loving anyone. Further, a close reading reveals that the narrator never sacrificed his writing career for his wife's opulent tastes, but rather is debasng his writing talents for his own greedy materialistic acquistion.

Many see Moravia's novel as the quintessential example of "modernism," the movement that emphasizes the human limitation for self-understanding and the understanding of others. Also, the novel explores Freudian themes of projection, paranoia, and the powers of the unconscious.

The novel is fast-paced save for a few chapters where the writer and director indulge in long-winded discussions about the mythical exposition of their film but overall the novel is a real page-turner full of suspense and psychological realism.

If you enjoy this suspensful novel told from the point of view of an unreliable narrator, I recommend Asylum by Patrick McGrath, Despair by Vladimir Nabokov, and The Horned Man by James Lasdun.

somehow there is a new found celebration for contempt and everything associated with it. a year and a half ago, godard's contempt was finally re-released; a couple of months ago, two new books about casa malaparte allowed us to view the importance of the film's setting, most notably capri and it's culture, but now this new publication of moravia's contempt will allow everyone to view the masterpiece it truly represents.

Finally, someone had the common decency to reprint Moravia in translation. And they also picked the best titles. Il Disprezzo (The Contempt) is the best, most honest, unflinching look at the disintegration of a relationship that I have ever read. Last released in the States in the 1950's under the title A Ghost at Noon, this is the same excellent translation by Angus Davidson, who translated almost all of the authors works up until his death in 1990. If you've ever experienced the conclusion of a long-term relationship and for some masochistic reason want to remember what it was like, this is the book for you. I guess that's not a ringing endorsement. But trust me, Moravia's penchant for psychological details is so devastatingly on-point, you'll find yourself nodding nauseatingly at the pathetic delusions and convoluted rationalizations taking place between the couple. It should be noted that this isn't the book's only focus. Quite uncharacteristically, Moravia tackles popular culture and the highbrow-lowbrow dichotomy in a darkly humorous fashion. I haven't seen Godard's film adaptation but I understand that it is an incredible achievement in itself.

Moravia's writing which I would not have encountered were it not for these elegant new paperback versions of his work is open to the bone. His honest revelations through his all too human characters are poignant, pointed, and penetrating. To any one interested in looking deep inside themeselves and their relationships: I recommend Contempt. Prepare to squirm.

Everything from a Disney Nautilus to George Pal's Time Machine. Tons of tips and how to do casting, making molds, tricks for better details on models. If you like to scratchbuild, this books is chocked full of good information.

I picked up Cult's book at WonderFest with egar anticipation. What was contained in the book did not dissapoint. It was filled with great kits I never knew existed (& now want) as well as great ideas & tips on building them. I can't say enough about this book & how it will help me build a better kit.

If you love to build scale models from classic sci-fi movies, then this is the book for you. This book covers a wide range of subjects: plastic model kits that you would remember from your youth, some of the coolest offerings by the contemporary garage industry, and techniques for beginners and experts. Since no single project requires EVERY modelling skill (typical of the hobby), each chapter takes a classic movie robot or spacecraft and details the building process in its own unique way.

CultTVman's guide offers tips on building, painting, customizing, and displaying some of the more obscure kits out there - kits that are only offered in the "garage scene", never produced by a major plastic model company. It was a blast to see these familiar subjects built by some very talented people.

Few books devoted to science fiction modelmaking have punctuated the monotonous and predictable landscape of model building related books, and this one is a stand-out! "The Ultimate Modeling Guide..." covers a broad range of science fiction hardware and model making techniques. Excellent photography supports detailed and authoritative text. I've found it to be instructional and inspirational. This book is for anyone interested in modelmaking. And for the sci-fi specific modelmaker, you library is sorely incomplete until you get this book. I highly recommend it!

Reference books and how-to books for modelers are a small niche in the market, and they've been almost entirely oriented toward the military modeler. Now at last is an in-depth how-to book for the science fiction kit builder. We're not out in the cold any more! Steve Iverson has gathered a gaggle of the best sci fi modelers from around the CultTVMan internet community, and they've given us step-by-step articles on building and improving such kits as Polar Lights' Robbie the Robot and C-57D spaceship, Lunar Models' Proteus and Discovey, and many other mainstream and garage industry models. The book is capped off with a fascinating history of the filming model of the Starship Enterprise from Star Trek: The Motion Picture through its retirement, with some wonderful reference photos of the ship - worth the price of admission alone!

This book is a great book for young kids-- it is very durable with sturdy pages and has a convenient plastic handle for them to carry it around with them. It also has a plastic clamp on the side to hold the book closed while carrying it, but very easy to operate for little hands. This is a great book for toddlers and preschool-aged children who enjoy Toy Story and it's characters Buzz Lightyear and Woody. My son loved this book and carried it around everywhere.

My daughter loves the Toy Story movies. This book follows the story closely and has great photos. Since it is a board book the pages won't get ripped and it will last a long time.

This book has been a favorite to bring along in the car, whether it is for long trips or even short ones. The children get to read about their favorite movie, instead of watching the whole movie! It's been great! And the handle means they can carry it, one less thing for me to carry!

This book is great for the rough and tumble child. My son loves this book and since its super sturdy, I don't worry about him destroying it. The illustrations are incredible and the book is constructed really well. A great find for the buzz lightyear fan.

My son loves this book. The handle makes it super easy for him to carry and he loves to take it with him everywhere.

Julie Beard's THE DUCHESS' LOVER, is a multi-faceted, sparkling gem of a book! She deftly weaves the subplots while keeping the readers' emotions focused on the sensual, yet poignant, unfolding lovestory between a lonely duchess and her forbidden lover. Several secondary characters enliven the story with their authenticity and humor. Beard always manages to delve deeply into the dark complexities of human nature to mine out shining shards of humanity and compassion and love and hope.

Lady Chatterly isn't the only woman who loves her gardener--but Julie Beard tells a much more compelling, satisfying tale than the classic by giving us a heroine and hero who develop their own dreams while making each other's come true, societal pressures be damned! And she leads us down a delightful primrose path with plenty of misleading clues as we discover who dunnit to the Duke.
It's been a long time since I've enjoyed a cast of such well-developed, interesting characters, and I literally couldn't put this one down.

If you read the other reviews you should know that Oliva is in her 40's and Will, the gardner cum artist is in his twenties. Her husband dies, they get together, fall in love and he helps find a killer. Besides the murder mystery, the story looks at society's ills and examines not just the main couples relationship (although it does focus on them) but the fascinating secondary characters' as well.

What really is astounding though, is that Ms. Beard makes this whole May/December plot work. Completely.

Ordinarily, I don't really go for the older woman/younger man scenario. I have the usual hangups about it and wonder what will happen when she is 60 and he is 40. But the author really sells the whole kit and kaboddle. It's so well written and the characters are so well defined that I can picture Livie and Will falling in love. I can see them facing anything to be together. I can feel the love they share and I believe that they can each change enough to make a life together.

This is no small feat, let me tell you. ;-)

So if you're squeamish at all about the older woman/younger man scenario, please, don't be. It's a terrific book. One of the best I've ever read. I've read it many times now and it will definitely be on my keeper shelf for many years to come.

Beard triumphs in this well-constructed and touching tale. The hero and heroine are well-rounded and beautifully developed. Any woman who's had to or is reassessing her life will immediately relate to Olivia. Her courage is inspiring. And the hero is everything such a woman could dream of. Theirs is a powerful story of unexpected love and passion in spite of the strictures of society and differences in age and social rank.

In addition to the wonderful love story, one that had me wondering how Beard would manage to come up with a happy ending, there are a number of wholly satisfying subplots, including a secondary love story that parallels Olivia's discoveries about love and life and a who-done-it murder mystery with plenty of red herrings, possible suspects, and titillating clues. On top of all this are penetrating looks at social mores, societal ills, and personal foibles, dreams, and heartaches. The doubts, joys, and anguish experienced by the characters ring true, allowing the book to do what the best literature should do: question ourselves and the world around us, reevaluating what we believe and how we live.

"The Duchess' Lover" is a riveting book that should be on everyone's to-be-read list, reminding us that real love truly is the most important thing. This is probably a book that needs to be read periodically, just to remember all these things when the tyranny of the urgent and the expectations of others begin weighing us down.

Olivia "Livie" had been very young when she married Quinton Thorpe and became the Duchess of Brandhurst. For almost twenty-five years she lived with her husband's cruelty by shutting off all emotions. As the book opened, I learned Quinton had been murdered, stabbed in the back with a letter opener by an unknown person (while trying to kill Olivia), and Livie was still in shock.

Few knew the Duke had been murdered. Those few, which included Olivia, felt the Duke had gotten what he deserved. So the murder was covered up and kept quiet. The title fell to Andrew Thorpe, an American. Until he could settle his affairs and get to England, Livia was to be in charge.

Neville Thorpe, second in line for the title, was jealous. He stayed by his Aunt Olivia's side and took charge of everything in her for her. He used his time to plot and scheme ways of obtaining the title he so coveted. He was aided by Quinton's wicked valet, Antonio. Neville found Olivia to be easily controlled until ...

Clara Peabody was an advocate with the Ladies' National Association. She approached Olivia, a year after the Duke's death, about helping fight to help the suffering of the match factory ladies. Olivia's eyes opened to possibilities and she developed a backbone.

Willoughby Barnes was an unknown artist. Since his deceased father had worked in the Duke's garden, Will had grown up learning the trade. He was asked to design the garden around the Duke's burial plot. Out of money for paints, he agreed. There, Olivia and Will met and fell in love. Olivia felt true love for the first time. However, Livie was forty and a duchess while Will was in his twenties and a gardner. It could never work.

***** The author, Julie Beard, keeps the reader guessing as to who really murdered the Duke. At the same time, she succeeds in keeping romance, betrayal, compassion, and several wonderful sub-plots going in the story. Normally this would not work. However, Julie Beard MADE it work! It all blends smoothly together and becomes as beautiful as Will's painting of Olivia! An enlightening and graceful story that I highly recommend to one and all! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.