An Unoffical Queen

     There are prom queens, parade queens, and royal queens...some gorgeous and some not so much.  Let me introduce you to a queen with an extremely dominating nature, Emma Sweringen known as the Idaho Sheep Queen.  In the fictional novel The Sheep Queen written by Thomas Savage, you'll meet a woman who receives 2 sheep upon her marriage and ends up with 10,000 of them.

     Emma is the strongest character in this book set in the first half of the 20th century.  The story centers around Emma's granddaughter, Amy, who was given up for adoption 3 weeks after her birth.  

The Sheep Queen art journal page

    After both of her adoptive parents die, Amy sets out to discover what she can about her natural family.  She is able to locate a writer, Tom, on the East coast who actually turns out to be her brother.  Of course, Tom knows that there is no way Amy could be related to the family - she must want something from them.

     Denial continues to plague Tom until he finally learns the truth about himself, Amy, and their parents.  "The Sheep Queen", highly respected by the Idaho people she lived among, might not be so well thought of if they only knew the part she played in Amy's adoption.

     In my opinion, the book is an average read.  I had expected historical fiction when I ordered the it, and the story may be about his family since Mr. Savage did grow up in the west, and his grandmother was known as "the Sheep Queen."  Other parts of the story are also similar to his own life story.  Since it's labeled as "fiction," though,  I can only assume that it isn't a true or at least part of it is made up.

     However,  if you want to read about a fascinating female character, read The Sheep Queen.

     So, remember the ladies.

                       Carol

Two Wives at Once - Oops

     Recently I read a book, The Wives of Henry Oades by Johanna Moran with the interesting question, "who is the real Mrs. Henry Oades?"  Last night I just happened to watch an old 1940s movie, My Favorite Wife staring Cary Grant and Irene Dunne.  The movie had a somewhat similar theme as the book.

     In both, the man is married to a woman who disappears and, after a number of years, is declared dead.  The man, although very much in love with his first wife when she was living, decides to remarry.  You can guess what happens.  The first wife miraculously survives and turns up shortly after the second marriage.   Our hero is now married to two women.  Is he a bigamist?  Which one is he really married to now?

Book journal page

     The Wives of Henry Oades was a more serious look at the situation than the comedy, My Favorite Wife.  Henry Oades has married a much younger woman and is consumed with her.  When his first wife, Margaret, suddenly reappears, he is no longer attracted to her.  Margaret has suffered much in the previous years since she and their children were kidnapped by New Zealand's Maori natives.  The new Mrs. Henry Oades won't give Henry up and neither will the first Mrs. Henry Oades.  Annulment of the first marriage would make the children illegitiment and divorce in 1900 was scandalous.  Besides, she still loves Henry.  Soon the second Mrs. Henry Oades becomes pregnant, and she's very much in love with Henry.

     California's legal system comes calling at the Oades' family farm where they are all living in the same house.  The situation is resolved in a way that suits everyone.

      The Wives of Henry Oades was written based on a
situation that actually came to light in a legal abstract.  It recently appears that the abstract may have been a hoax by the New York Times newspaper to point out a falacy in Californa's laws in the early 1900s.

     The movie, My Favorite Wife, isn't nearly as complicated as the book because Cary Grant has been married only a few hours before he realizes his first wife is still living.  He knows he is still in love with her.  The movie revolves around him timidly trying to tell the new wife what's what and then getting back in Irene Dunne's good graces.  Everything turns out right just like a good 1940 movie should.

     Read The Wives of Henry Oades if you'd like an interesting look at an unusual situation.

     And, remember the ladies.

                      Carol