history Archives

Marie Antoinette: The Journey

An Empathetic Look Into a Misunderstood Monarch Author: Antonia Fraser Historically, Marie Antoinette is known as a vicious, yet fashionable queen, with her two-foot-high powdered pouf and miniature recreated village in the Trianon. Famous for stating “let them eat cake” when confronted with the poverty and starvation of French peasants, she was also known for her perversions and anti-France political machinations. But was Marie Antoinette as evil and extravagant as history has painted her, or was she in truth the victim of propaganda and discrimination? Antonia Fraser takes on Marie Antoinette’s life, from infancy to her execution, in this 500+ [...]

Frances Carden2024-07-27T13:47:52-07:00July 27th, 2024|Tags: biography, book review, France, French Revolution, history, Marie Antoinette, read, reading|

Grapes of Wrath, The

A Nihilistic Classic Author: John Steinbeck Tom Joad, convicted murderer, is walking the long, dusty road to his Oklahoma home. He doesn’t regret what he did – he would do it again. But he does miss his family and wonder what happened to them while he was in jail. What he finds, after teaming up with an ex-preacher (Casey) on the road, is his family preparing to abandon their only home, the farm that has been with them for generations. It seems that there is hope, there is money, to be made in California. The government is taking over the farms, [...]

Frances Carden2023-12-08T16:24:56-07:00December 8th, 2023|Tags: book review, classic, grapes of wrath, historical fiction, history, read, reading|

Consumed by Hate, Redeemed by Love: How a Violent Klansman Became a Champion of Racial Reconciliation

A Modern-Day Saul Story Author: Thomas A. Tarrants I first discovered Tom Tarrants’ story through a C.S. Lewis Institute event. I’ve recently been accepted into the Fellows Program, which is a yearlong intensive course of reading, studying, and working in groups to fully commit to and live for Jesus Christ. To get ready for the program, I’ve been exploring the events in addition to looking for more reading material. Tarrants’ shocking story, which starts with intensive hate and extremism, is a radical account of miracles and the patience of God to lead one man away from hate and into a life [...]

Frances Carden2023-07-29T14:42:44-07:00July 29th, 2023|Tags: Christian, history, memoir, non-fiction, sociology|