Difference between revisions of "Newest Historical Fiction Reviews"
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| + | |author=Antonia Senior | ||
| + | |title=The Winter Isles | ||
| + | |rating=5 | ||
| + | |genre=Historical Fiction | ||
| + | |summary=Scotland 1122: A son is born to a warlord on the Scottish Islands. The warlord GilleBride, is a man who doesn't realise his glory is receding. One day the realisation does hit him, along with a Viking raid. In the heat of invasion his son, although only 15, must take over. Can a lad actually lead a people? History will tell and legend will embellish for that boy is Somerled and this is his story. | ||
| + | |amazonuk=<amazonuk>1782396586</amazonuk> | ||
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|author=Simon Marshall | |author=Simon Marshall | ||
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|summary=SPOILERS FOR BOOKS 1 & 2 AHEAD: Henry IX is still in love with his childhood sweetheart Minuette and is determined to marry her, despite being betrothed to Princess Elisabeth of France for political reasons. What he still doesn't realise is that Minuette is married to the third member of their childhood trio, his trusted advisor Dominic, Duke of Exeter. Meanwhile there are some who feel that Henry's sister Princess Elizabeth would make a better ruler than he. Then there's his half-sister, Lady Mary, who is starting to realise what she's given up for Henry's future. The beginning of the end has started… but whose end/ends will it be? | |summary=SPOILERS FOR BOOKS 1 & 2 AHEAD: Henry IX is still in love with his childhood sweetheart Minuette and is determined to marry her, despite being betrothed to Princess Elisabeth of France for political reasons. What he still doesn't realise is that Minuette is married to the third member of their childhood trio, his trusted advisor Dominic, Duke of Exeter. Meanwhile there are some who feel that Henry's sister Princess Elizabeth would make a better ruler than he. Then there's his half-sister, Lady Mary, who is starting to realise what she's given up for Henry's future. The beginning of the end has started… but whose end/ends will it be? | ||
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0091956501</amazonuk> | |amazonuk=<amazonuk>0091956501</amazonuk> | ||
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Revision as of 12:14, 9 November 2015
The Winter Isles by Antonia Senior
Scotland 1122: A son is born to a warlord on the Scottish Islands. The warlord GilleBride, is a man who doesn't realise his glory is receding. One day the realisation does hit him, along with a Viking raid. In the heat of invasion his son, although only 15, must take over. Can a lad actually lead a people? History will tell and legend will embellish for that boy is Somerled and this is his story. Full review...
The Long Drawn Aisle by Simon Marshall
Edward and Richard Wilson are born into a comfortable and, indeed, powerful family. Their father is the MP Jack Wilson who is everything a Victorian father should be: severe, distant and occupied with his career. As the 20th century arrives and advances all three will feel the labour pains of conflict, the sons while living in Austria and the Balkans and their father through the lens of Britain's Parliament. It will be a bloody birth and its effects far reaching as two great empires prepare to fight, drawing in the rest of Europe. Full review...
Wars of the Roses: Bloodline: Book 3 (The Wars of the Roses) by Conn Iggulden
The Wars of the Roses continue. Margaret of Anjou becomes a catalyst for what lays ahead and then rescues her husband, the debilitated Henry VI, from the forces of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick and the recently executed Richard of York. However York's last words weren't empty rhetoric: by killing the father Margaret has indeed unleashed the sons. Edward of March for one is out for revenge; a fact that throws the English throne and the safety of Queen's spymaster Derry Brewer into grave doubt. Full review...
Digging Up Milton by Jennifer Wallace
Digging Up Milton appealed to me because from the description it sounded like something a little bit different. I like that it is dark but yet not entirely serious, and I always appreciate it when an author tries to write in a different way, or give a book an individual voice. Full review...
Sons of York: Volume 2 (The Sprigs of Broom) by Lesley J Nickell
15th Century London: Through a quirk of fate young widow Janet Evershed finds herself running her late husband's cloth business, far from her York home. It's in this very shop that she meets Richard Neville, Duke of Warwick and his ward Edward, Earl of March. They may be much higher than commoner Janet but she has caught Edward's eye and what Edward wants, he gets, be it a woman or, indeed, the crown of England. Full review...
Charlotte Bronte's Secret Love by Jolien Janzing
This is the second novel by Jolien Janzing, a Dutch author who lives in Belgium. Originally published in Dutch as The Master in 2013, it is already being made into a film. The flawlessly translated story zeroes in on two momentous years in Charlotte Brontë's life, 1842–3, when she was a pupil and then a teacher at the Pensionnat Heger in Brussels. I read this in tandem with Claire Harman's new biography of Charlotte Brontë; it was particularly fascinating to see that the two books open with the same climactic episode: lovesick Charlotte making a confession at a Catholic church, even though she was an Anglican parson's daughter. Full review...
West by Julia Franck and Anthea Bell (translator)
Put yourself in the shoes of a young mother to two children, who declares her intention to leave the Communist East Germany for West Berlin, and thus loses her scientist job. What would you expect on the other side – shops full of attainable products, pleasant neighbourhoods, nice neighbours, an active and busy new life, where things might feel alien but at least you speak the same language? Well, for Nelly Senff, this is hardly the case. Once past the depressing Eastern exit procedures she is confronted with more desultory interrogations from those 'welcoming' her to the West, beyond which she and her children (their father, whom she never married, is long assumed dead by the authorities, if nobody else) are practically left in a shared accommodation in a transit camp. The shops are full of what is still unobtainable, the children hate their new school – and people still look down on them as being foreign, even if they have only moved across a city. Full review...
Ascension by Gregory Dowling
Alvise Marangon is an artist 'resting' between commissions and so using his guile and enterprise as a tour guide to those taking the European Grand Tour in 18th century Venice. Everything has a business as usual feel to it for Alvise until he notices a fellow gondolier paying his friend not to take a couple of English tourists. Then, as the new Doge is inaugurated a man's head is thrown into the crowd. Showing people around a typical Venice is becoming increasingly hard for Alvise – Venice is not behaving typically! Full review...
The Stolen Queen by Lisa Hilton
Nine-year-old Isabelle of Angouleme is betrothed to Hal, son of Hugh de Lusignan. She doesn't like him much but she's learning to gently manipulate those around her so she feels life will be interesting and rewarding. Howeverwith England's King Richard the Lionheart all changes. Isabelle will marry King John instead – a totally different prospect for all concerned. This is a match that will not only be a challenge for the young girl but will show her the true heart of her mother and the true art of political manoeuvring. Isabelle may be the pawn in all this but it's not a role she takes to willingly, despite the nightmares of the horned man and the occurrences of a certain May night that will haunt the rest of her life. Full review...
Blind Arrows by Anthony Quinn
1919: A cohort of British spies meet in the depths of Dublin Castle, the prison and British intelligence hub. Their main focus is the infiltration of the IRA in a bid to neutralise their leader, Michael Collins. However there is a distraction from their usual agenda: an increasing number of IRA women are escaping, only to be found murdered shortly afterwards. Martin Kant, an English journalist in Ireland is charged with investigation and reporting back to the government powers as well as his newspaper editor. Meanwhile Lilly Merrin, a Dublin Castle employee has also gone missing. Her loyalty to the Crown seems beyond question in the eyes of her boss, but others would argue with that... Full review...
Wheels of Terror: The Graphic Novel by Sven Hassel and Jordy Diago
War books and anti-war books, in my mind, have a lot in common and only a couple of easy things need be changed to turn one to the other. This is dressed as an anti-war book, but here is the lead character surviving against all odds – the platoon whittled down several times while he and his few friends go strong; here he is overcoming all kinds of difficulty and adversity and still coming out the other end; here he is doing proper heroic deeds – or his colleagues saving the day at the last minute – and the war carries onwards towards its inevitable end. The difference perhaps is in the minutiae of what those difficulties and deeds need be, with the anti-war book having a simple honesty about them and their overall worth that the gung-ho, militaristic piece would patently lack. And when you face the guts and gore of the kind of warfare on these pages, you don't really expect jingoism and 'hoo-rah!' attitudes. No, even if the DNA is pretty much the same, the result here is definitely, grimly and firmly anti-war. Full review...
Queen & Country: A Hew Cullan Mystery (Hew Cullan Mystery 5) by Shirley McKay
It has been three years since Hew was banished from Scotland and manoeuvred into working for Elizabeth I's spymaster, Walsingham. His loyalties remain with the Scottish Queen Mary but he must hide them as well as he can lest he becomes a victim of the conspiracy fever cutting through England and keeping the hangman busy. There's also another fever cutting through Scotland – the plague, providing even more reason for Hew to worry about the wellbeing of his sister, brother in law and nephew. If he could but go home he'd have a surprise for them. When he gets there, there's a surprise for him in the form of a death prophesy picture, followed by a murder. Full review...
Churchill's Rogue: Volume 1 (Rogues Trilogy) by John Righten
Sean Ryan grew up in Ireland during the 20th century's first quarter and so understands death and loss. He learnt to defend what he felt right during his time as a bodyguard for Michael Collins. Therefore when Winston Churchill called upon his services in 1937 to bring a mother and child out of Germany, Ryan doesn't say no. However Ryan soon discovers this is no easy escort duty. The mother and child in question are for some reason being hunted by an elite German force led by Cerberus, a code name for a sadist incarnate. On the plus side, Ryan soon discovers he's not alone. There are more like him across Europe; those with pasts that forged them into violent defenders of the vulnerable in an increasingly dangerous world. These are the Rogues and, this time, Ryan needs their help. Full review...
The Duke Can Go to the Devil by Erin Knightley
As Regency ladies go, Mei-li Bradford is anything but conventional. For most of her life, she has travelled the world with her sea-captain father and seen exotic sights and locations that others could only dream of. Her upbringing amongst sailors has clearly rubbed off on her, however. Mei-li, or May to her friends, can drink and curse like a man and has no respect for propriety and convention. She may look like a well-bred lady, but certainly does not act like one. Therefore, disaster surely beckons when an uptight Duke shows an interest in her. His stuffy ways and conventional habits are anathema to May's free-spirited nature. Full review...
The Last Pilot by Benjamin Johncock
You'd be forgiven for assuming that debut novelist Benjamin Johncock is American: The Last Pilot has the literary weight of a Great American Novel, with a limitless desert setting plus the prospect of soon dominating space, and the spare yet profound writing style of Ernest Hemingway or Cormac McCarthy. Johncock is British, but you can tell he's taken inspiration from stories about the dawn of the astronaut age, including Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff and films like Apollo 13. His protagonist, Jim Harrison, is a fictional Air Force test pilot who rubs shoulders with historical figures like Chuck Yeager and John Glenn in the quest to break the sound barrier and conquer space. Full review...
Fortunes of France: City of Wisdom and Blood by Robert Merle and T Jefferson Kline (translator)
1566: Brothers Pierre and Samson de Siorac have been sent from their Perigore home to further their education at Montpellier. During their time there they learn more than their ascribed logic, philosophy and medicine. Indeed Pierre's focus is on his stomach and the affairs of the heart, as befitting a lusty 15 year old. Not all of the adventures are learned, culinary or romantic though; some lessons are a lot more dangerous. Full review...
Brothers at Arms by Jemima Brigges
Certain decisions are pivotal points in time; key moments that define everything that follows and create waves that ripple with repercussions for years to come. Kindly squire Tom Norberry could never have foreseen the impact that taking in two orphaned relatives would have on his future happiness. This single, altruistic act of kindness would set in motion a chain of events that would eventually cause a deep household rift and threaten to sully the good family name that he had worked to hard to uphold. Full review...
The Blackthorn Key by Kevin Sands
Seventeenth century England isn't always a comfortable place to live. Apart from the obvious differences from the modern day – no National Health Service, no laws to protect orphans like Christopher from cruelty and exploitation, and a constant foul smell from poor sanitation - fear and suspicion are a daily fact of life. In 1665 Charles II has been back on the throne for several years, but not everyone is happy about his extravagant and luxurious life-style, even among those who found the Puritan rules of Cromwell's time excessively strict. There are spies everywhere, and rumours of conspiracies fill the streets. It's a time to keep your head down and avoid attention from the authorities. Full review...
Rape of the Fair Country by Alexander Cordell
When we meet Iestyn Motymer it's 1826 and he's just eight years old, but starting work at the Garndyrus furnaces near Blaenavon. His father sees it as the right thing to do and his mother knows that the money will be needed as there's another child on the way, but Iestyn's older sister, Morfydd, is adamant that it's wrong for women and children to work in either the mines or the ironworks. She believes in the aims of the Chartist movement whilst her father, Hywel Mortymer, is loyal to the ironmasters, but events involving his own family will later force him to question this loyalty. The Mortymers are better off than many in Blaenavon, but they're still at the mercy of the ironmaster and the agent: suspension or blacklisting (which can extend to relations) can leave any family penniless and starving. Full review...
Swords Around The Throne (Twilight of Empire) by Ian Ross
Centurion Aurelius Castus' time in Britain is over but not his propensity for being on the wrong side of danger. Due to an adventure on the journey he comes to the notice of Emperor Constantine, and is promoted to his elite bodyguard – the swords around the throne. The multiple emperor model that has evolved to govern the Empire is shaky to say the least, riven by plots, conspiracies and worse. Therefore Castus' new job is neither safe nor easy but it's not something he can refuse… unfortunately! Full review...
Field Service by Robert Edric
Morlancourt, France 1920: World War I may be over but a grisly job remains. The soldiers killed and buried in battle are to be exhumed, identified and brought to War Commission designed cemeteries for reburial. Captain James Reid and his corps are responsible for receiving and burying in the embryonic burial grounds while Alexander Lucas' detachment go out to collect the corpses or check the veracity of claims that British and Commonwealth troops have been uncovered in various settings including farmers' fields. It's a job that may take its toll on any man and it does. Full review...
Sirius by Jonathan Crown and Jamie Searle Romanelli (translator)
Meet Levi. He's a humble little dog living with a loving family. They've spent so much time with him he has learnt some tricks – not only the usual ones, of begging, or playing dead, but walking on two legs, somersaulting on to his two other paws, and giving the Hitler salute. If this was 2015 in the UK he would be shoe-in for Britain's Got Talent (although the Hitler salute might lose him a few votes, to be honest) but this is 1930s Berlin, and things are starting to get horrendously tough and nasty for Jewish families like his. Querying the statute laws that demand a formalisation of Jewish names his owners rename Levi after Sirius, the Great Dog in the night skies. But nobody can foresee what happens when Jews are pushed harder and harder from their neighbourhoods, and nobody can see what a Great Dog star Sirius can become, in the most unlikely of milieux – Hollywood… Full review...
The Red Shoe by Ursula Dubosarsky
They may be quite far apart, but three houses in a row in the rural suburbs of 1950s Sydney contain some incredibly unusual people. In one, a solitary old man of very few words, shuffling to the end of his days, but brandishing a Japanese sword he's purloined after WWII, and with a gun in the corner of his lounge. In the middle, a family of five, with a father figure suffering from PTSD due to the same war, a mother feeling friendless and alone in the isolated time and location, and their three daughters – one of whom has given up on school after an alleged nervous breakdown, the middle one who barely speaks more than the neighbour, and Matilda, our key interest, who likes the idea of spies, and has an imaginary friend who came out of the radio. The third house however might be where the most interesting people live – after all, it had been empty, but now the luxurious building is home to several shady men in suits, who turned up out of the blue in luxury cars, and with at least one gun of their own… Full review...
The Gypsy's Tale by Sally Wragg
There's a new resident at Loxley. Bronwyn's niece, Lottie Colfax is tired of school, desperate to join up and 'do her bit', to the frustration of her family who hope that some time away from home will encourage her to see sense. But from her family's point of view there's a bad example at Loxley: Hettie, Duchess of Loxley has joined the WAAFS and is serving in London - usually driving people from place to place. Her grandmother's not at all pleased about this: Katherine sees Hettie's duty as being at Loxley. Nothing comes before Loxley in Katherine's view - even King and country must take second place. Fortunately Katherine doesn't know that Hettie is going to be doing something far more dangerous. In the meantime Lottie has discovered a secret in Loxley's cellars and met a young man who is also determined to join up, no matter what his mother says. Full review...
Liberty Bazaar by David Chadwick
Confederate General Jubal de Brooke is sent to Britain as an envoy to raise awareness and funds from the English aristocracy for his southern brothers in arms in the American Civil War. Meanwhile slave Trinity escapes to England and immediately becomes an icon for the liberal elite. However soon Trinity realises there's more to the English support than just talk. She uncovers a secret – and highly illegal – plot with far reaching effects for her homeland, not to mention dangerous consequences for her. Full review...
Savage Magic by Lloyd Shepherd
London, 1842: Magistrate Aaron Graham is missing his wife. She's left him, taking their daughter to live with her cousin in a very uncousinly way. Yet her distance doesn't prevent her discussing the goings on at her new home with Graham; as these goings on resemble witchcraft and seem to be taking a toll on his daughter's health Aaron is rightly worried. He calls upon Constable Horton to investigate… this is the Horton whose wife Graham encouraged to enter one of the more exclusive madhouses. Under the circumstances it seemed the right thing to do but Horton still hasn't forgiven his superior for it. However, as the investigation goes on and Graham is distracted by a murder case with a rising body count, these bubbling undercurrents of enmity reduce in importance. The important thing for each of them has become survival. Full review...
Dreams That Veil by Dominic Luke
12-year-old Eliza Brannan is looking forward to a wonderful summer. She and her older cousin Dorothea will be joined at home by Eliza's university student brother Roderick and the sun-drenched days will stretch out before them. Unfortunately the reality isn't the same as the dream; this is the summer when life changes. Dorothea and Roderick will pursue futures that no one had predicted and a foreign house guest will open Eliza's eyes to the world outside her outgrown nursery. There again, this is 1914; a year heralding a change in life for more than just the Brannan household. Full review...
The Boleyn Reckoning (Anne Boleyn Trilogy) by Laura Andersen
SPOILERS FOR BOOKS 1 & 2 AHEAD: Henry IX is still in love with his childhood sweetheart Minuette and is determined to marry her, despite being betrothed to Princess Elisabeth of France for political reasons. What he still doesn't realise is that Minuette is married to the third member of their childhood trio, his trusted advisor Dominic, Duke of Exeter. Meanwhile there are some who feel that Henry's sister Princess Elizabeth would make a better ruler than he. Then there's his half-sister, Lady Mary, who is starting to realise what she's given up for Henry's future. The beginning of the end has started… but whose end/ends will it be? Full review...
