Who Would Have Thought It?

28 October 2021: "What would the good and proper people of this world do if there were no rogues in it,--no social delinquents? The good and proper, I fear, would perish of sheer inanity,--of hypochondriac lassitude,--or, to say the least, would grow very dull for want of convenient whetstones to sharpen their wits. Rogues are useful." --Rev. Hackwell, in the opening paragraph of Maria Ruiz de Burton's Who Would Have Thought It?

With both of my conference papers ready to go, with the Scarborough Lecture done, and with the Provost search winding down, I can finally turn my attention back to my book, I started reading Ruiz's novel today. I knew almost nothing about her or her work before, but so far, it's a fun and quick read. I am writing "ha!" in the margins quite a bit.