Orphans of the Storm: Celia Imrie

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This is not the kind of book I usually read, but I was drawn in by a combo of the Titanic on the cover and the bargain bin price I got it for new. ORPHANS OF THE STORM is quite an impressive looking silent film from D.W. Griffith, who was obviously the Cecil B. DeMille of his day. He has an instinct for showing surging crowd scenes involving all the unrest during the French Revolution and these scenes are highly detailed and very arresting visually. All the sets and costumes look as though a lavish budget was spent on this story of two sisters who survive the French Revolution after many melodramatic twists and turns of their fortune. Honestly, I got through 50% of the book before I just lost interest in how the dialogue was so wonky. Mostly due to the modern turn of phrases being "supposedly" used in 1910s France. Oh, for example, when Micheal calls Marcella a "drama queen" or when Micheal makes reference to Disney's version of Snow White to Marcella "did an old woman with a spinning wheel and apple...." and just a bunch of other likewise things sprinkled throughout...l Griffith used historical events to comment on contemporary events, in this case the French Revolution to warn about the rise of Bolshevism. [5] The film is about class conflict and a plea for inter-class understanding and against destructive hatred. At one point, in front of the Committee of Public Safety, a main character pleads, "Yes I am an aristocrat, but a friend of the people."

Robespierre and Forget-not send Henriette and her lover, the Chevalier de Vaudrey, to the guillotine, for hiding de Vaudrey, an aristocrat, who returned to Paris to find her. However, Danton manages to obtain a pardon for them. After a race through the streets of Paris he just manages to save Henriette and offers her to the Chevalier, when the two orphans unite. A doctor restores Louise's sight, she approves marriage between Henriette and the Chevalier, and a better-organized Republic forms in France. The last Griffith film to feature both Lillian and Dorothy Gish, it was a commercial failure compared to his earlier works, such as The Birth of a Nation (1915). Broken Blossoms (1919) and Way Down East (1920). [4] I'm going to be honest, this was very hit or miss for me. I didn't like any of the main characters, I found them boring and irritating. The plot took a while to get started (almost half of the book), but once it did I was interested. I just wish there was more to love, the writing was easy to read and understand and the ending was sweet. It was an amalgamation of good writing but bad characters, unfortunately. You can be a hero to a deserving dog or cat. Almost without exception, people who adopt older animals feel a special sense of pride and purpose in opening their heart to a hard-to-place pet. Doing a good thing really does make you feel good! The year is 1911 and Marcella and Michael have been married for three years. They have two young children and live in Nice, France but their marriage has been far from happy as Michael has proved himself to be both abusive and controlling. Marcella decides to take matters into her own hands and takes the unusual step of filing for a divorce. But then Michael disappears one night, as do the two young children and Marcella embarks on a desperate mission to find them. The third main character in the book is Margaret Hays who has been on a European tour and is returning to New York on the maiden voyage of the Titanic. The way in which their lives all become entwined is told in this book, but the rudimentary facts are documented in history.Orphans of the Storm is a beautiful story following the lives of 3 people, Marcella, Michel and Margaret. It follows the journey of their lives centered around 2 young boys "Lolo" and "Monmon".

Margaret has been touring around Europe with friends, but she is bored and wishes to return to her home in America. When the chance to travel home in style on the RMS Titanic, Margaret makes the fatal choice. Joseph SCHILDKRAUT is very impressive in an early American screen role, demonstrating charm and skill of the kind that would land him important parts in future costume films like "Marie Antoinette." MONTE BLUE is Danton, a man who meets LILLIAN GISH early in the story and later becomes the defender who saves her and Schildkraut from the guillotine. Older pets have manners. Seniors have spent years living with a family and being socialized to life with humans. They may have received obedience training and respond to commands like Sit, Stay, and Down. Many are house trained and it takes a matter of hours or a day or two to help them learn the potty rules in their new home. I didn't realize first that this book is based on true story. It was little slow at the times but yet good. You can see how much power men had over women as they decided everything. The whole life depends on how her father, husband is managing it for women.The story is very illuminating about the attitudes toward women and divorce in France during the early 1900’s although I’m sure it wasn’t any better in America. However it wasn't until the end of the book while reading the epilogue that I learned that this book is factual history. Each person and their story in the book is a documentation of actual people found through meticulous research. I was dumbfounded and even more impressed with the author's ability to write wonderful flowing dialogue and remarkable descriptions of the world that was of that time.