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Film Review: Glory
Glory Encyclopedia Entry Note: I had written this film review for an encyclopedia and then the project itself got canceled. So, I decided to upload it to my site. Glory is a 1989 Civil War film that shares the story of the 54th Massachusetts Voluntary Infantry Regiment, one of the first units comprised of African American soldiers. Directed by Edward Zwick, the screenplay was written by Kevin Jarre, and the film merges historical people and events with fictional characters and subplots. Its ensemble cast shares the story of this unit from its formation to its most prominent place in history:
Film Review: Car Wash
(photo by https://findbyplate.com) Car Wash Encyclopedia Entry Note: I had written this film review for an encyclopedia and then the project itself got canceled. So, I decided to upload it to my site. Car Wash is a 1976 Universal Studios film produced by Art Linson and Gary Stromberg, directed by Michael Schultz, and written by Joel Schumacher. This 97-minute musical comedy contains elements of drama and romance with at least one reviewer calling it reminiscent of 1930s theater. This blaxploitation film, set in the Dee-Luxe Car Wash located in Los Angeles, California, covers just one day of interactions among two
Calvin Caswell
Calvin Caswell played a significant role in the life of Wells Waite Miller (the Civil War soldier whose life I’m researching). Calvin was his father-in-law—and the two of them seemed to be quite close, so it made sense to research Calvin’s life. Plus, he is a fascinating man all by himself. Tribute to Calvin Caswell In his obituary in the Sandusky Daily Register, it notes the following: “As a private citizen, as a father, a husband, a counseller and friend, Mr. Caswell was ever loving, kind, helpful and generous. Himself pure in thought and purpose, he suffered no morally loose
Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All (Allan Gurganus)
Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All The Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All is a 718-page historical fiction novel written by Allan Gurganus and published by Ivy Books in 1989. Written as if dictated to someone who visited ninety-nine-year-old Lucy Marsden when she lived in a nursing home, it tells the story of Lucy who, at the age of fifteen, married fifty-year-old Confederate veteran Captain William Marsden around 1900 and had nine children with him. This book explores issues of race through the lens of the Confederate South and serves as a journey of self-discovery for Lucy, and it stayed
The Republic of Suffering: Book Review
Republic of Suffering The Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War by Drew Gilpin Faust is an extraordinary book that provides a look back in time to see how 19th-century Americans viewed death. She also describes how the Civil War fueled the growth of the funeral industry and the creation of national cemeteries, and caused the military to expand its functions dramatically. This book shows the sheer gruesomeness of the war in ways that books focusing on the battles never could. In modern times, we try to fight off death, to slow down death, to focus on living
Who Created Miss Marple?
Several years ago, I was writing entries for an encyclopedia—and the project lost its funding. So, this meant that I could use the entries I wrote in another way. One of them was titled “Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple Series” and, while I don’t claim to have a super high traffic website, after I posted it on my blog, it has consistently gotten the most keyword traffic. In fact, I have fifty-nine keywords on the subject of Miss Marple in Google’s top 100. So, I thought I’d address answers to questions posted in those keywords. Who Created Miss Marple? The creator