Blanche

During World War II, a young German girl's curiosity leads her to discover something far more terrible than the day-to-day hardships and privations that she and her neighbors have experienced.

Suggested level: primary.

From one of the world's most acclaimed authors comes a tale that explores the complex relationship between Blanche Whitman, the famous hysteria patient of Professor J. M. Charcot and Marie Curie, Polish physicist and Nobel Prize winner.

Blanche Parry – Chief Gentlewoman of Queen Elizabeth I’s Privy Chamber and Keeper of Her Majesty’s Jewels – was born in Herefordshire’s Golden Valley to a noble family connected, via the Herberts of Raglan, with the House of York. She lived to the great age of 82, and for 56 years was a constant presence in the future Queen’s life, from infancy, when Lady Troy was Elizabeth’s Lady Mistress, until 31 years into her reign. Blanche was discreet, meticulous, trustworthy, elegant, respected and well-liked; her responsibilities at Court more varied and far-reaching than previously supposed. This book brings to life the day-to-day realities of Elizabeth’s Household, throwing new light on the Court, with all its hierarchies and intrigues, and revealing the selfless and influential role played for so long by the previously overlooked Blanche. Her family background, upbringing, education and religious influences are explored, together with the effect that Blanche’s views may have had on Elizabeth. The book draws extensively on original documents, many never previously transcribed, including a ‘revelatory’ corpus of bardic poems concerning Blanche’s family. This revised edition includes the results of recent research on the Bacton altar cloth, proving it to have been part of one of Elizabeth’s dresses – the only known part of more than 1,900 of her dresses to have survived. The motifs and embroidery shed fascinating new light on Elizabeth’s Court. This edition also includes a lost portrait of Elizabeth, rediscovered as a result of the first edition of this book. The whereabouts of another lost portrait, this one of Blanche herself, remain tantalisingly unknown.

Fans of Jana Deleon's Miss Fortune Mystery series and Tonya Kappes A Camper and Criminals Cozy series will fall hard for the colorful characters and exciting misadventures in the Blanche Murningnan Mysteries, now available in a convenient three-in-one boxed set. Saving Tuna Street After Blanche "Bang" Murninghan's grandmother left her a cabin on Tuna Street, life starts looking up for the part-time journalist. But when a development company moves in from Chicago, Blanche must fight tooth and nail to keep her new-found inheritance. Matters only worsen when her friend is found murdered in the parking lot of the nearby marina. The harder Blanche pushes against the source of trouble, the more she is sucked into the vortex of greed, murder, drug runners, and kidnapping (hers). Trouble Down Mexico Way When Blanche “ Bang” Murninghan visits an exhibit of ancient Mayan ruins in Mexico City, she sees that all is not ancient. One of the mummies has a pink hair clip embedded in its hay-like do, and the texture of the skin is not quite right. Blanche digs for answers and gets tangled in the mystery of the mummy at the Palacio Nacional, a murder with more complexity than anyone at the museum expected. Mission Improbable: Vietnam Blanche's amateur sleuthing skills have become local legend, and Jean McMahon needs her help. It' s not a simple favor Jean asks: Will Blanche go to Vietnam with her and look for Jean' s mother? As they trace Jean' s mother' s steps, they meet more than one shady character who thinks it better to let things lie. Against her better judgment, Blanche beats down the doors of the past. She is looking for Jean' s mother and following her father' s trail. He left without a trace. Or did he? Does anyone? These cozy mysteries are perfect, light-hearted, world-traveling fun from the comfort of your own couch.

On October 30, 1897, S.J. Shwartz, Gus Schullhoefer, and Hartwig D. Newman--with financial backing from banker Isidore Newman--opened the Maison Blanche at the corner of Canal Street and Rue Dauphine in New Orleans. Converting Shwartz's dry goods store into the city's first department store, the trio created a retail brand whose name lasted over a century. In 1908, Shwartz tore his store down and built what was the city's largest building--13 stories, with his Maison Blanche occupying the first five floors. The MB Building became, and still is, a New Orleans icon, and Maison Blanche was a retail leader in the city, attracting some of the best and brightest people in the business. One of those employees, display manager Emile Alline, created the store's second icon, the Christmas character "Mr. Bingle," in 1947. Mr. Bingle continues to spark the imagination of New Orleans children of all ages. Even though Maison Blanche has become part of New Orleans's past, the landmark Canal Street store lives on as the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.