Recently PBS aired a rerun of a show I'd seen before: Secrets of the Tower of London. I watched it again just to see if it included the author of a book I finished the day before, and it did! One of the Yeoman Warders introduced was Christopher Skaife, who wrote The Ravenmaster: My Life With the Ravens at the Tower of London. This a delightful, charming read! There's the history of why there are ravens at the Tower, how care for them has changed over the years, and where to find ravens in literature and poetry. And, having seen the author 'live', it's easy to imagine him giving tours, which, by the way, are always the same. It is a planned and rehearsed script so that there is no omission of facts, or embellishment of the same.

It might be hard to believe that Rodgers and Hammerstein's musicals were considered 'revolutionary', but they were. For a nice history of all that, plus how they worked (in reverse order of most musical teams), where they got their ideas and so on, read Something Wonderful: Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway Revolution, by Todd S. Purdum. I enjoyed the historical perspective here, learning when and why these musicals fell out of favor, and then back in again. The author didn't gloss over the bad stuff, either. Loved the little bits of trivia: Rodger's father delivered two of Hammerstein's children. Tickets for shows were so popular there was a market for fake stubs to display on your coffee table. There was a hair curling product that was popular when South Pacific was playing. Well researched and written.

Just how much of what you see in the stage play and movie of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas is true? Find out in Inside the Texas Chicken Ranch: the Definitive Account of the Best Little Whorehouse, by Jayme Lynn Blaschke! In another time, and profession, 'Miss Edna' would have been a remarkable business person. There were rules, and they were followed, period. There was no alcohol other than beer (and even that was in moderation), no drugs, no swearing, no fights, and anyone (staff or client) was tossed out if they disobeyed whether they were the son of a local farmer, or a high ranking politician. The 'girls' had good food, good health care, and had time off each month. It really did cause very few problems for the local sheriff, paid all the necessary taxes, and supported local schools and so on. Remember Charles Durning and his wonderful 'dance a little two step' from the movie? It could have been based on some of the speeches found here. If you liked the movie (or stage version) you should enjoy this, too.

Reading Hermit With Dog