Rachel Lesch
Bio
New England Native; lover of traveling, history, fashion, and culture. Student at Salem State University and an aspiring historical fiction writer.
Stories (62/0)
Retribution: Chapter 20
Augustin retreated into his cell at the end of the day with a newspaper he had managed to get ahold of. Nights were simultaneously the best and worst time of the day. They were somewhat more quiet and he could be alone with his thoughts but the quietness and solitude came with a feeling of uneasiness, which is why he kept a sort of dagger he had fashioned under his pillow.
By Rachel Lesch7 years ago in Humans
Retribution: Chapter 19
It was a rainy afternoon and Charles saw nothing better than to take a nap. The air in the bedroom was warm, dry, and heavy. Adèle was taking a bath in the bathroom off of the bedroom and chattering on the telephone with Charlotte. Rain was drip-dropping on the roof and wind was whistling through the trees.
By Rachel Lesch7 years ago in Humans
William Blake and Childhood Poverty
The poet and artist, William Blake, spent most of his life living in London, eaking out a living as an engraver. The London of Blake’s day was a dark, violent, and oppressive place where violence and exploitation of the poor and vulnerable, specifically child abuse, was rampant. In 1822, the British Parliament passed the Martin’s Act, which prohibited the cruel treatment of animals; legislation preventing cruelty towards children was not passed until much later. During Blake’s lifetime, you could buy three children from an orphanage or workhouse for the price of a horse. (Mayall) Poor and unwanted children were subject to appalling living and working conditions and beatings from both their employers and parents. Corporal punishment was a fixture of the British school system and would remain so until the 1990s. Much of Blake’s work addressed the issues of his day rather directly or indirectly and was inspired by his strong but unconventional religious and spiritual beliefs. In discussing the themes of innocence and experience, Blake gives a voice to the abused underclasses. (Martin 1)
By Rachel Lesch7 years ago in Poets
A Review of 'Clarissa' by Samuel Richardson
At around 1,431 pages, Clarissa or The History of a Young Lady beats out Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (826 pages), Bleak House by Charles Dickens (813 pages) and War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (955 pages) for the title of longest book I have ever read. Such a tome seems like an overwhelming task to get through but fortunately they are often divided up into a number of sections, each a mini book in themselves. How I got through War and Peace was that I would read a section and then take a break for a few week and repeat until the book was finished. I am going to do the same for Clarissa.
By Rachel Lesch7 years ago in Geeks
Retribution: Chapter 17
Marianne had been told to go to Tante Catharine's instead when she made her Sunday visits that week. Tante Catharine was having a dinner party to welcome back Edmond and Mathilde, who had decided to return home from their honeymoon because they found Atlantic City terribly boring this late in the season. The word was that Agnès had spent the entire sail back sulking in the cabin and was not speaking to her sister.
By Rachel Lesch7 years ago in Humans
Retribution: Chapter 16
The last few days of August blurred into the first few days of September. On these days, the sun rose behind a cloud of reddish mist to greet dusty and oppressively hot days. Heat waves could be seen at street level and the dusty wind did little cool things down.
By Rachel Lesch7 years ago in Humans
A Double Feature
Part of my preparation for Jasmine’s visit was picking out movies for us to watch while she was down here. The three I chose were the 1990 film adaptation of The Handmaid’s Tale, since we both watched the recent Hulu series, and Moana, which we saw together in theaters on my last birthday.
By Rachel Lesch7 years ago in Geeks
The Hamiltons: Part 1
Eliza Hamilton smoothed the skirt of her new ball gown. The latest fashion was for high waists and a straight, column like silhouette. Gone were the tight corsets and immense panniers of her girlhood. All of the fashionable ladies in London and Paris were now dressing like figures from Ancient Greek vases.
By Rachel Lesch7 years ago in Humans
Retribution: Chapter 14
On Afternoon in late July, Catharine made her way to the building where her sister Mimi lived. She was dressed in black because that day she had made her monthly visit to the grave of her second husband, Bernard Mathieu, at Père Lachaise. It was a hike across town that she made more out of duty than any sentimentality. Bernard had died three years prior in the arms of his fat Dutch mistress not that Catharine had given a damn about that because he had left all of his money to her and her daughters. He had never been a faithful husband. Only two weeks after their wedding she had found out that he was sleeping with his busty Belgian secretary, full figured women from the Low Countries had been his personal kink, but Catharine had married him simply because he was rich and could provide her her and her girls. Catharine was not the most affectionate of mothers but she always made sure Mathilde and Agnès lived comfortably which to her was as good a proof of motherly love as any. She considered Bernard Mathieu the better of her two husbands.
By Rachel Lesch7 years ago in Humans
A Double Feature
The Beguiled is a remake of a 1971 film of the same name starring Clint Eastwood, in turn based on A Painted Devil, a 1966 novel by Thomas P. Cullinan. My dad rented the original film when he read that a remake was in the works. I enjoyed the movie and its 2017 update was on my list of must-watch movies of the summer especially because it had a great cast and I was sold on the idea of blonde haired southern belles in pretty, pastel dresses, tormenting a helpless man. I was originally hoping to do a double feature of The Beguiled with My Cousin Rachel, as they are both atmospheric period pieces dealing with suspicion and sexual tension.
By Rachel Lesch7 years ago in Geeks