The Love Letter

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The Love Letter
By Rachel Hauck

What a delicious love story! Actually, with this novel, you get two for the price of one. I love the time-slip format for novels, but this one truly integrates an historic story intimately with a contemporary story. Plus, since the story is Christian Fiction, the story goes soul-deep.

It all begins with a very old love letter written by Jesse’s great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather. He writes a screen play about it, and enter Chloe Daschle, actress. I love that the contemporary story takes place in Hollywood and gives us a behind the scenes look at filming a feature film. What I love even more, is when the film acts out the historic story that happened in the fictional past.

The novel takes us back to the Revolutionary War, where we have a love story between a Patriot and the daughter of a Loyalist. If that’s not enough drama, add in war injuries, secret meetings by the willow tree, and a misplaced musket shot.

I don’t want to give too much away, but I’ll say this…unrequited love, frustrations, miscommunications, and lost letters all play critical roles in both love stories, and the ending is so perfectly sweet, you won’t even need to spring for the cheesecake. I’m serious.

Have you ever written a love letter? How about a love note? If you love someone (I mean anyone: kids, friends, spouse, etc…) try writing a love note and see what happens. Then drop me a line and let me know how it turned out!

I listened on Audible and highly recommend—the narrator is excellent.

Jennifer Fromke writes from North Carolina, where the skies are blue, the tea is sweet (not that she drinks it), and the summers are so hot she writes in the shade of her back porch, literally sweating over each novel she writes. She talks about books ad nauseam and recommends books to everyone she meets, so she started a book review blog for sheer joy: www.shetalksbooks.com.

Hollywood Gold

Hollywood strikes gold when it pairs certain actors and actresses such as Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan or Richard Gere and Julia Roberts. But movie producers have been creating twosomes for decades. Remember Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers? How about Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn or Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.

Another such duo is Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland who were paired for nine films, the last of which released seventy-five years ago this month. Girl Crazy couldn’t help but be successful. Based on a 1930 stage play of the same name, the film includes music written by George and Ira Gershwin. Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra are featured, and June Allyson appears in her film debut.

In a December, 1943 article in The New York Times proclaims, “Hold on to your hats, folks! Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland are back in town. And if at this late date there are still a few die-hards who deny that they are the most incorrigibly talented pair of youngsters in the movies, “Girl Crazy,” now at the Capitol, should serve as the final rebuttal.” The piece goes on to say, “For all his {Rooney} cocky precociousness, he is an entertainer to his fingertips. And with Judy, who sings and acts like an earthbound angel, to temper his brashness-well, they can do almost anything they wish, and we’ll like it even in spite of ourselves.”

Married several times, but never to each other, their on-screen chemistry reflected their friendship that was deep and long-lasting. They met in 1933 when both were attending the Lawlor School for Professional Children. Perhaps they were drawn together by the similarities in their lives: they had been performing with their vaudeville families since they could talk, came from homes where troubled fathers had abandoned them, and had gone to work to help provide for their single mothers.

Twenty years after the release of Girl Crazy, Mickey guest starred on Judy’s short-lived television show, and their performance (on YouTube) is just as endearing as their first.

What is your favorite “pairs” film?

Linda Shenton Matchett is an author, speaker, and history geek. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, a stone’s throw from Fort McHenry, Linda has lived in historical places most of her life. She is a volunteer docent at the Wright Museum of WWII and a Trustee for her local public library. Active in her church Linda serves as treasurer, usher, and choir member. To find out more about Linda and her books visit www.LindaShentonMatchett.com. Sign up for her newsletter for links to free ebooks, book reviews, historical tidbits, and more.

Stormy Weather Premieres

On July 21, 1943, the film “Stormy Weather” premiered at two New York theatres to rave reviews. Starring Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, in his last role, and Lena Horne, the film is based on Robinson’s life, a WWI vet who returns home to pursue his dream of becoming a dancer. It was the first of two movies produced in 1943 featuring a predominantly African-American cast.

Groundbreaking because it starred African-Americans in lead roles and broke stereotypes of black characters (typically servants and comedic buffoons), the movie was selected in 2001 for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. A who’s who in the entertainment field, Stormy Weather featured Fats Waller, Cab Calloway, the Nicholas Brothers, F.E. Miller, Ada Brown, and Katherine Dunham.

Even if you haven’t seen the film, you may have heard many of its twenty musical numbers such as “Ain’t Misbehavin,” “De Camptown Races,” “That Ain’t Right,” “Jumpin’ Jive,” and of course the title track, “Stormy Weather.” Famed dancer Fred Astaire commented that “the Jumpin’ Jive sequence was the greatest musical number he had ever seen.” High praise indeed.

The day after the premiere the New York Times wrote a glowing review stating that “Stormy Weather is a first-rate show, just the kind of spirited divertisement that will make you forget all about your own momentary weather troubles…Musically, it is a joy to the ear…to single out each entertainer and skit for even a sentence will run this report to considerable length. In short, “swell” is the adjective for all twelve of the principal turns.”

An interesting aside is the critic’s observation that “the sets are believable, gaudiness having been ruled out by the $5,000 war set-ceiling limitation under which Stormy Weather was made.” Something today’s movie makers don’t have to deal with.

Have you ever seen this classic Hollywood production?

Linda Shenton Matchett is an author, journalist, blogger, and history geek. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, a stone’s throw from Fort McHenry, Linda has lived in historical places most of her life. She is a volunteer docent at the Wright Museum of WWII and a Trustee for her local public library. Active in her church Linda serves as treasurer, usher, and choir member. To find out more about Linda and her books visit www.LindaShentonMatchett.com. Sign up for her newsletter to get links to free ebooks, book reviews, historical tidbits, and more.

A Salute to Volunteerism

With nearly 400,000 members, the American Women's Voluntary Services, known as the AWVS, was the largest U.S. women's service organization during WWII, yet perhaps the least remembered. Founded in January 1940, nearly two years before the attack on Pearl Harbor, the organization offered opportunities for every interest and skill level. Initially tasks focused on preparing the country for war.

However, because the AWVS began before the war, it was accused of being alarmist and was viewed with suspicion by isolationists. In addition, the social mores of the time frowned on married women working. However, once the U.S. entered the war, it was considered one of the few “acceptable” organizations where women could volunteer.

Women provided support services such as message delivery, ambulance driving, selling war bonds, emergency kitchens, cycle corps drivers, dog-sled teamsters, aircraft spotters, navigation, aerial photography, fighting fires, truck driving, and canteen workers. Later, many of these same tasks were performed through other organizations such as the Office of Civil Defense and Red Cross.

AWVS was one of the many non-military organizations that allowed their members to wear uniforms. Utilitarian in nature, they were designed to use as little fabric as possible. In addition, with metal in short supply, buttons were often made of wood and painted gold to resemble brass.

Some of Hollywood’s elite such as Joan Crawford, Betty White, Hattie McDaniel, Jeannette MacDonald, and Lillian Randolph joined the AWVS. Movie columnist Louella Parsons also regularly volunteer with the organization. The men did their bit to help out, too. According to a collection of essays titled Going My Way: Bing Crosby and American Culture, the crooner opened his home for a day “to aid the American Women’s Voluntary Service.” In February 1943, Peter Lorre appeared in “All Star Convoy,” a benefit performance for the AWVS.

What’s your favorite place to volunteer?

Linda Shenton Matchett is an author, journalist, blogger, and history geek. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, a stone’s throw from Fort McHenry, Linda has lived in historical places most of her life. She is a volunteer docent at the Wright Museum of WWII and a Trustee for her local public library. Active in her church Linda serves as treasurer, usher, and choir member. To find out more about Linda and her books visit http://www.LindaShentonMatchett.com. Sign up for her newsletter for links to free ebooks, book reviews, historical tidbits, and more.