Rebecca Jenkins

The global spectacle that is the modern Summer Olympics games can obscure the troubled early years experienced by the international sporting event. Though the first Olympiad held in Athens in 1896 proved an inspiration, the games held in Paris in 1900 and St. Louis in 1904 were poorly organized and overshadowed by the international expositions to which they were appended. While the 1906 “intercalated” games in Greece were more successful, the prospects for future games were so dismal that Rome, the site originally selected for the IV Olympiad, backed out, diverting the resources for the game instead to rebuilding Naples after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius that April.

Among those who visited Naples in the aftermath of the eruption were two Englishmen, Theodore Andrea Cook and William Grenfell, Lord Desborough, who were traveling to Athens to participate in the Olympic contest there. Their involvement would prove integral to the relocation of the 1908 games to London after Rome’s withdrawal, as upon their return home they used their social connections, particularly their relationship with King Edward VII, to offer London as a substitute. As Rebecca Jenkins details in her engaging study, this proved critical to the development of the Olympics into the event with which the world is familiar today. This she does by offering not just an account of the games but of the events surrounding them and how they reflected the broader debates over athleticism and sportsmanship – ones that would exert a lasting influence over the Olympics and athletics more generally.

The London Olympics that Jenkins describes is one that is both familiar and strange to the modern observer. Even though barely a decade had passed since the original games in Athens, national rivalries already overshadowed what was intended as a friendly sporting competition. In London the main conflict was between the British and the Americans, who were determined to show up their hosts. While much of this was driven by American egotism and the anti-British sentiments of the Irish Americans who figured prominently among the ranks of the participating athletes, what proved more influential in the long run were the conflicting visions of athletic competition held by the two sides. As firm believers in the gentlemanly amateur tradition the British looked down upon the win-at-all-costs attitude demonstrated by the American athletes and organizers, while the Americans believed that the British were exploiting amateurism and their status as the hosts to undercut the undeniably superior performances of the American contenders.

This conflict played out over the course of the London Olympics. After summarizing the controversial opening ceremonies – when the American flag-bearer refused to lower the flag in deference to the king – Jenkins focuses her narrative on the key contests between the British and American athletes. From her retelling of the tug-of-war between the Americans and a team of Liverpool policemen, the 400-meter relay that was re-run after allegations of lane-crossing by one of the American runners, and the marathon that famously ended with the Italian Dorando Pietri being helped across the finish line by the British umpires, she shows the pettiness and bitterness that too often characterized the games. Nor was this simply a matter of athletic pride, for as Jenkins illustrates the competition between the two teams was depicted by many contemporaries as a microcosm of the shift taking place in the world more generally, with the brash upstart power from across the Atlantic demonstrating its vibrancy against Britain’s tired and faltering empire.

Yet for all of the ill-will between the two sides and the bitterness fanned by newspapers on both sides of the Atlantic, Jenkins sees the 1908 Olympics as vital to the history of the games. Not only did the success of the IV Olympiad demonstrate the viability of such events, but Jenkins notes how the organizers established many of the aspects of the games that have become indelible parts of the modern Olympics, such as standardizing the rules for international competition and requiring athletes to attend as part of national teams. Her focus predominantly on the contests in the Olympics that contribute to her argument, however, comes at the expense of a more all-encompassing summation of the London games. A more comprehensive account might have also strengthened her argument for their legacy to the development of that multinational competition, as well as providing the sort of all-encompassing history of the first London Olympics that a curious audience deserves.… (mer)

Captain Frederick Raif Jarrett has returned from war and while recuperating from an injury he has taken the task of an agent to the Duke of Penrith. He is on his way to Woolbridge to investigate the death of the Duke's steward and possible pilfering of funds. But he becomes intangled in the death of a young female.
I really enjoyed this mystery, a well-written one, slowly starting but which increased its pace as the story continued. With a good selection of characters portrayed.
Overall a good solid start to what I presume is to be a series.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from Sapere. All thoughts and opinions are my own… (mer)

While out riding Duke's agent Raif Jarrett is waylaid by the owner of the Bucket and Broom Inn and tells him that a guest was discovered dead that morning. But he is not the first and he will not be the last suspicious death. More problems arise when Colonel Ison, M.P. and magistrate brings in the army as he expects trouble at the annual Easter fair held this year of 1812.
I like the strong, likeable male characters in this series. An interesting and enjoyable well-written mystery.
A NetGalley Book
… (mer)

Reverend Faith Morgan is being considered for a new assignment near her hometown of Winchester. On her first Sunday in the area, she visits the service at St. James' of Little Worthy, where she had been an occasional visitor during her childhood. Faith and the rest of the congregants are shocked when the incumbent drops dead during the celebration of the Eucharist. As a former police officer, Faith is the first to realize the signs that this wasn't a natural death. The police investigation puts Faith back into close contact with D.I. Ben Shorter, her live-in boyfriend during her days in the police force. The issue that drove them apart is still unresolved, and this causes some awkward moments as they each carry out their current duties arising from the murder.

This first-in-series mystery shows promise. The mystery plot is better than many, with plenty of suspects and red herrings. Even though I caught the clues that pointed to the motive for the murder, I wasn't sure of the murderer's identity until the very last minute since the circumstances affected several characters. On the other hand, the secondary characters weren't developed as well as in other series debuts, where the mystery plot often takes a back seat to the development of the characters and setting. This must be difficult to get just right. The book combines elements of cozy/village mysteries, police procedurals, romance, and Christian fiction, and may appeal to a broad readership as a result.… (mer)