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Health & Fitness

Conspiracy on the Housatonic, an SAT novel by Kendall Svengalis

Want to grow your vocabulary, and enjoy a good read at the same time?  Conspiracy on the Housatonic is a novel approach to vocabulary building that harnesses the didactic potential of fiction by weaving nearly 1,500 SAT words into the narrative.

Conspiracy on the Housatonic takes the reader back to 1942 Stratford, shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.  

 

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Conspiracy on the Housatonic is not only the first SAT novel set in Connecticut, but the first illustrated SAT novel. Utilizing over one hundred illustrations, including period postcards and images, photographs, maps, and original drawings by Stratford native, Melissa Benson, it provides readers with an entertaining and educational window into life on the home front during one of the most critical eras in American history.

An abandoned Victorian mansion on the shores of the Housatonic River in Stratford, Connecticut provides the setting for Conspiracy on the Housatonic, an illustrated World War II-era mystery with a novel twist.  Conceived in the tradition of Jack Finney’s illustrated novel, Time and Again, Conspiracy on the Housatonic takes the reader back to a Connecticut coastal community in the thick of Allied war production, namely that of the Chance Vought F4U Corsair, one of the most impressive fighter aircraft in history.

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Join Swedish-American girl detective, Ellen Anderson, and her boyfriend, Ken Swenson,  a bibliophile who works part-time at a Stratford bookstore, as they attempt to unravel the inexplicable activities of the mansion’s unknown occupants, with profound implications for national security.

Conspiracy on the Housatonic will appeal to readers of all ages: students preparing for the SATs, anyone interested in growing his or her vocabulary, mystery buffs, fans of historical fiction, Swedish-Americans, as well as those interested in World War II.   The Connecticut setting will be a particular draw to Connecticut students interested in finding out what it was like during the early 1940s, when the state, and nation, were unified behind the effort to defeat Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. Each of the vocabulary words, and other historical terms, is highlighted in boldface and defined in a glossary at the back of the book.  

The novel’s educational premise is that most vocabulary words are learned from context, rather than by rote memorization, particularly when the context facilitates mastery.  Conspiracy on the Housatonic is designed to promote the high level of reading comprehension essential to academic success and professional achievement. 

Kendall Svengalis has woven an interesting tapestry of fiction and fact in recreating the wartime milieu, military events, the political environment, popular culture, life in Connecticut’s Swedish-American community, and in Stratford, where the famous Corsair aircraft were manufactured by the thousands.  The story also takes the protagonists to New York City.

Conspiracy on the Housatonic is an ideal supplement to classes in SAT preparation, or for use in English or history classes where vocabulary building is emphasized. It is the perfect gift for a child or grandchild, niece or nephew, friend or neighbor that will reap the lifetime benefits of enhanced reading comprehension.

Author, Kendall Svengalis, is retired as both the Rhode Island State Law Librarian and adjunct professor at the University of Rhode Island’s School of Library & Information Studies.   Since 1996, he has authored the annual Legal Information Buyer’s Guide & Reference Manual, the award-winning consumer guide to legal information.  He is also the author of Gary, Indiana: A Centennial Celebration, reflecting a lifelong interest in the city of his birth.  Conspiracy on the Housatonic is his first work of fiction.

Conspiracy on the Housatonic is available at www.dunelandpress.com at a cost of only $12.95.

Duneland Press will be represented at the Stratford Main Street Festival on Saturday, June 7, from 10 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

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