Historical fiction
Little Bones by Janette Jenkins
While this might sound like the afterlife of a brilliant and unlikely cabaret mimic, it's not. It's a rich, evocative and engaging novel set in the last years of Victoria's reign, in the depths of her darkest London. Fate - and being abandoned by, in turn, her mother and older sister - leaves Jane Stretch living with and working for a doctor and his lumpen, housebound wife. Jane is alternatively called an 'unfortunate' and a 'cripple' for her disabilities and distorted frame, but she has enough bookish intelligence to pass herself off as an assistant to the doctor, who only ever does one operation - abortions, for music hall artistes. The plot is evidently gearing up to reveal how dangerous such a criminal business might be, for the both of them. Full review...
The House of Eliott by Jean Marsh
When Evangeline and Beatrice's father dies, the two sisters discover that he has left them with very little money and without any qualifications with which to support themselves. They struggle to find suitable employment before accidentally discovering their talents as seamstresses and fashion designers. The book follows their journey of independence after their father's death, and the new relationships they begin to build without him dominating their lives. Full review...
The Promise by Lesley Pearse
Belle has a lovely London life, a good career and a happy marriage. But she has a murky past, and although it’s shaped her kind heart and character, it isn’t something she wants to come face to face with again. But some people are not able to forget the past, for reasons good and bad, and against the dramatic backdrop of the Great War, Belle is about to come face to face with all sorts of things she thought she had forgotten. Full review...
Almodis the Peaceweaver by Tracey Warr
At the age of five Almodis de la Marche was taken as a hostage - a guarantee of her family's good behaviour - and she remained there until she was of marriageable age. It was all the harder for Almodis as it meant that she was separated from her identical twin. The situation was not hostile although she didn't get on well with her foster mother, Agnes - and never would. Her first marriage was to Hugh of Lusignan and Almodis felt something akin to love for this gentle man, but the sexual relationship between the two was tenuous to say the least and Almodis was determined that she would create her own dynasty. At a time when marriages were put aside if they were not producing the required heirs, Almodis decided that she had to move on. Her next marriage - to Pons of Toulouse - would be more productive but far from happy. Full review...
The Cocaine Salesman by Conny Braam
Picture a world of hellish exclusion, nightmarish noise and images, and horrid violence. Picture one person trying to live through the sleepless nights, the isolation among his peers, the permanent sense of dreadful threat. Picture him needing drugs. His best friend might even be called Charlie. But don't picture an inner city slum, 2012, but a man on the front in World War One. Full review...
The Gendarme by Mark Mustian
There are times when you will want to shut 'The Gendarme' and just walk away from the despair and disgust that this account of genocide engenders. Don't. Ultimately this tale of an old Turk revisiting his terrible past is both touching and important - an exploration of memory and forgiveness that shouldn't be missed. Full review...
Praetorian (Roman Legion II) by Simon Scarrow
Still in hock to the imperial secretary Narcissus, Praetorian opens with our heroes Cato and Macro kicking their heels at the port of Ostia. They're about to embark on one of their most challenging adventures yet - as undercover spies in the Praetorian Guard. Rome in AD50 is full of perils. Imperial authority is now absolute and the Senate really only exists as an old boys club. The real power comes from being an adviser to the Emperor and, as these advisors jostle for influence, plots and conspiracies abound. Claudius, never in the best of health, looks precarious - but which of his heirs will succeed him? Nero? Or Britannicus? And can he hold on for long enough that the choice is clear? Full review...
The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman
Set in the last desperate days before the Roman siege on Masada (70CE), the lives of four women collide and merge. They are Yael, the daughter of a Sicarii assassin; Revka, the wife of a gentle baker who witnessed her daughters' rape and murder; Aziza, raised as a boy with the skills of a great warrior and Shirah, born in Alexandria to a mother well versed in ancient magic. All four have crossed the heartless desert on separate journeys to arrive at the last outpost against the Roman Legion, where 900 Jews held out for many, many months. Here they have little power and less hope, but each refuses to be a victim. All are harbouring deep secrets about their pasts, as they become the Masada's dovekeepers. With supplies dwindling and certain death drawing near, their uneasy bonds to each other strengthen as their truths are unveiled. They find an uneasy comfort that becomes true loyalty and empowerment. While few in their company survive to recount the tale, their story has lived on to haunt the deepest of memories. Full review...
The Things We Cherished by Pam Jenoff
The rather sentimental title and Mills & Boon-ish front cover did not endear me to this book initially. The blurb on the back cover made up for this, however. The story opens - at the end, if you get my drift and we're in America in 2009. An elderly man called Roger is in prison, awaiting trial for (alleged) war crimes. Charlotte has been assigned to the case. Although she's a hot-shot lawyer she also has a conscience (unlike many of her colleagues) so therefore she's a bit of a rare breed. Full review...
The Courtesan's Lover by Gabrielle Kimm
This is a big thumping book running to almost 500 pages. We're in sixteenth century Italy, Naples to be precise and the scene is set for the entrance of the main character, courtesan Francesca. And what an exotic creature she is. But also charming, thoughtful and intelligent. Full review...
Highland Storms by Christina Courtenay
The publisher, Choc Lit Limited, gives a fair idea of what kind of read this book is. Romance with a capital R. Courtenay decides to go back in time to a Scotland rather weary of battles but strong in image especially in terms of the countryside. Is the book's purple hue suggestive of the purple heather to be found all over this area of Scotland, I wonder. It all conjures up a deeply romantic setting for many, myself included. Add in the odd fairy-tale castle or two and it's even better. Full review...
Fiennders Abbey by Jean Marsh
In was the end of the nineteenth century and the family at Fiennders Abbey might lead much more leisurely lives than the staff who kept the house running as it should, but their fortunes were inextricably linked. Mary Bowden was the tweenie when we first met her – she did all the dirty jobs which were beneath those higher up the ladder – as well as being the daughter of the gamekeeper. She was also intelligent, ambitious and very attractive with her straight, milk-blonde hair. As a child she'd always been very friendly with Richard, the son of the house, but it's not a friendship which either of their mothers wishes to foster. Full review...
The House of the Wind by Titania Hardie
I loved the intriguing title of the book and was hoping that Hardie explains it. She does: not only that but the wind element (no pun intended) is mentioned throughout at regular intervals. A nice touch, I thought and not over-played either. The short Prologue describes a young girl on the eve of her 'terrible fate.' But fate seems to have changed its mind at the very last minute. And this strange/weird/scary event happens at the Casa al Vento - 'The House of the Wind.' Full review...
Netherwood by Jane Sanderson
The cover of Netherwood features a bold promise - 'Perfect for fans of Downton Abbey'. The basic features of a reliable 'upstairs/downstairs' saga are all present; the landed gentry enjoying their estate, the staff servicing it and the locals, all relying on the fortunate family for their own income. Full review...
Silk Road by Colin Falconer
Falconer presents his readers with a handy map of the famous (or perhaps that should be infamous) Silk Road which stretches from Europe all the way to China. The story opens with a charismatic young princess who lives with her extended family in an area of Mongolia. She is clearly the apple of her father's eye. So much so, that he will often take advice from her, rather than from his two older sons. She would be a prize catch indeed as a wife for any man, but the feisty Khutelun has other plans. She wants plenty of adventure and glory in her life. She doesn't want to be a baby machine and besides, no man has caught her eye. Yet. Full review...
Nightwoods by Charles Frazier
If you have read Charles Frazier's 'Cold Mountain', or indeed seen the film, then you'll have a fair idea what to expect from his latest offering - 'Nightwoods'. As with 'Cold Mountain', the landscape of the Appalachians is the dominant character, this time set in the 1950s. He even manages to get his requisite bear into the story although thankfully it fares rather better than the unfortunate beast in his first book. The dark, oppressing majesty and beauty of the mountains and woods pervades the whole story. Full review...
The Thirty-nine Steps by John Buchan
Ask anyone about 'The Thrity-nine Steps' and I guarantee they'll be able to tell you it's a spy story with Richard Hannay at its heart. Most people will be able to tell you how it starts. But when you ask, 'Yes, but what ARE the 39 Steps?' most people will falter. Full review...
Barefoot on Baker Street by Charlotte Anne Walters
I must admit that I think the title a little cheeky, a little too near the bone as far as the iconic Baker Street and equally iconic Sherlock Holmes is concerned. The sepia front cover suggests a rather sugary, romantic read so I wasn't off to the best of starts. Full review...
A Lost Lady of Old Years by John Buchan
While I normally start with a plot description I'd better justify the summary first. (Translated, it reads - Warning - you must understand Scots dialect really well if you hope to like this book from the start. Well worth reading though, it's such a good story.)
Basically, this is a tale set during the Jacobite Rising of 1745-6 with authentic dialogue of that time; which is to say, rather hard to follow if you're anything like me. Most books, I can read in a couple of days maximum, this took me nearly a month and at some points I was reduced to asking my Scottish colleague to translate it for me. Full review...
The Edinburgh Dead by Brian Ruckley
The phrase 'jack of all trades and master of none' can apply to writers as well as anything else and I've always been suspicious of authors who switch genres, as they often prove less effective when they do so. Sometimes, however, it does work and having enjoyed Brian Ruckley's fantasy writings such as Fall of Thanes, I found that he's equally as enjoyable when writing a crime thriller. Full review...
Cavalier Queen by Fiona Mountain
We sweep back in time to a young Henrietta. Living the spoilt and pampered life of a pretty, little princess whom everyone (even her dog) loves and adores. She spends delightfully carefree days singing and dancing and playing with her little dog. But the subject of marriage is on the horizon. She's fourteen after all. Time to put away those childish things. Who has her family decided will be her future husband? The young princess has no say in the matter but hopes he will be just a little handsome and be gentle with her. It's not only a marriage of two individuals (that's almost inconsequential) it's a marriage of two nations - with strategy and long-term thinking in mind. In short, the French Royal Family want to do everything to appease other countries and hopefully keep war at bay. Full review...
The Quality of Mercy by Barry Unsworth
'The Quality of Mercy' picks up the story of the author's Booker Prize-winning 'Sacred Hunger' although if you haven't read the first book, you won't be greatly disadvantaged as the relevant story lines are explained. What you might miss out on is some of the feeling for a few of the main characters, most notably the Irish fiddler, Sullivan who, when this book picks up in spring 1767, has just escaped from prison where the remaining shipmates of the slave ship, the 'Liverpool Merchant' await their trial of piracy. Slavery and abolition thereof remains a central theme of this sequel, but the book draws some poignant similarities with those in bondage due to poverty, and particularly those working in the coal mines of County Durham. Full review...
Sworn Sword by James Aitcheson
The novel is set in the turbulent years following the Battle of Hastings. We follow the Normans as they set out to quell the restless and rebellious factions in the North of England. An ambush in Durham sees the Normans decimated and determined on revenge - this precipitates the events which follow. Full review...
Dreams of Joy by Lisa See
It's the late 1950s, and America's teenagers (the very idea a brand new concept) are beginning to live the all-American dream. For some of them however it isn't all 'Happy Days' diners and rock'n'roll. For the second generation Chinese immigrants there's an alternative: back 'home' there's a brave new world being forged, a world where 'we'd work in the fields and sing songs. We'd do exercises in the park. We'd help clean the neighbourhood and share meals. We wouldn't be poor and we wouldn't be rich. We'd all be equal.' Full review...
Greenmantle by John Buchan
I'm told that Buchan is still widely read. Really? "John Buchan? Oh yes, he wrote The Thirty-Nine Steps"… and that's as far as most of us get. Let's be honest most of us only know that one from the many film versions, just about all of which take huge liberties with the original plot. Full review...
Next to Love by Ellen Feldman
Babe, Grace and Millie are three American girls who have grown up together. Now young women each marry their sweetheart just as America becomes involved in the Second World War. But on a fateful day in 1944, sixteen telegrams arrive from the War Department bringing death to the locals, including Grace and Millie whose husbands have both been killed. Babe seems to be the lucky one as her husband, Claude, returns from the War, but in truth he will never be the same man again. Full review...
Isabella by Fiona Mountain
The fate of mutineer, Fletcher Christian in the 18th century remains a mystery even today but Fiona Mountain has pieced together a dramatic and powerful story based on rumours and clues that Fletcher returned to England to be with his long-lost love, Isabella Curwen. Fletcher, the son of a bankrupt family and Isabella, the sole heiress of a huge fortune are prevented from marrying. Their relationship is manipulated by those around them and a young, naïve Isabella is forced to marry her cousin, John. Full review...
Hannibal: Enemy of Rome by Ben Kane
Thanks to his Forgotten Legion trilogy, Ben Kane has recently bought Roman times to life in me far more than history and Latin lessons at school ever did. Having enjoyed this first trilogy, I've been eagerly awaiting his Hannibal trilogy, since he told Bookbag about it when we interviewed him. Finally, the wait is over and Hannibal: Enemy of Rome is here. Full review...
The Elephant's Journey by Jose Saramago and Margaret Jull Costa
This novel is inspired by a real event – the marriage gift of an elephant from Dom João III of Portugal to his cousin Maximilian, the Hapsburg Archduke of Austria. When the gift was accepted, the elephant Solomon, his mahout Subhro and numerous soldiers, oxen and porters, walked from Lisbon to Vienna to deliver the present, arriving in 1552. This is the story of that journey. Full review...
Cross My Palm by Sara Stockbridge
Fortune teller Rose Lee lives on the edge of London society in 1860, making her living by entertaining (and sometimes deceiving) the rich by reading their palms. She fears the fate she has read for herself in her own palm which is perhaps what makes her cautious of delivering the whole truth to the ladies that employ her. On one particular night Rose is called to the house of Lady Quayle, a woman of high society, who delights in having her fortune read, taking everything Rose tells her as gospel. One of the guests present is Emily, a young girl and friend of Lady Quayle's daughter Tabitha. Full review...
The Captive Queen by Alison Weir
Vaclav and Lena are both children of Russian immigrants, growing up in Brooklyn. Vaclav dreams of becoming a fantastic magician, with his friend Lena as his assistant, and as children they practise their routine together, making lists of the things they'll need, the costumes they will wear and the tricks they will perform. Vaclav is confident and happy, but Lena is quiet, withdrawn and struggles with speaking English. Yet Vaclav believes, always, that they are destined to be together. Even when Lena disappears one day and is gone from his life for many years still he hopes that, somehow, he will find her again. Full review...
The Reinvention of Love by Helen Humphreys
'The Reinvention of Love' is one of those stories that is so bizarre and strange that it could only be based on factual events. Essentially it is a good, old-fashioned love triangle set mostly in Paris in the period from the 1830s to the 1860s; a world where fighting duels is a commonplace event. The triangle features the great French literary writer Victor Hugo, his wife Adèle and the altogether strange critic Charles Saint-Beuve who narrates much of this story, with brief breaks for Adèle's side of events and some letters written by the Hugo's youngest daughter, also called Adèle (but let's call her, as she was known to her family, Dédé to avoid confusion). Full review...
The Queen's Governess by Karen Harper
Kat Ashley isn't a name one usually associates with the Tudor era, but just like the more famous characters of the period, she has her own fascinating story to tell, a story which this book captures perfectly. As Thomas Cromwell's spy, Anne Boleyn's confidante and later Princess Elizabeth's governess, Kat Ashley certainly knew the Tudor court well and it is through her fictional diary entries that the reader is invited to know the dazzling, yet dangerous Tudor court too. Full review...
Child Wonder by Roy Jacobsen, Don Bartlett (translator) and Don Shaw (translator)
1961 was a year of change, a time, as Jacobsen puts it, when men became boys and housewives women. At the outset Finn and his mother are leading a quiet, rather timorous life in a working class Oslo suburb. Then change overwhelms them, not through world events, but in the form of a mysterious child who is Finn's half sister. Linda is not like other children and Finn's attempt to deal with her impact on his family is the central thread in this quintessential story of growing up. Full review...
Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
Katey Kontent works hard during the day as a typist at a big law firm in 1930s Manhattan, but at night she likes to sample the nightlife – jazz clubs in Greenwich Village. There on New Year's Eve 1937, she and her roommate Eve meet the charming Tinker Grey. This is the start of a year of many changes for Katey and her friends. Full review...
A Different Sky by Meira Chand
We meet the first of the three main characters - Chinese Mei Lan on a trip with her devoted minder-nursemaid into town. The sights and smells intrigue the young girl as they are a far cry from her comfortable home and its surroundings. Rather than appreciating all that space and the beautiful objects in the family home, Mei Lan feels lonely (she's an only child) and even hemmed in. But perhaps she'll change as she grows up. Full review...
Blossoms and Shadows by Lian Hearn
I see from the front cover that Hearn is already a best-selling author with her Tales Of the Otori so I was looking forward to a good read. However, I did slump a little when I opened the book and was presented with several pages of the story's characters - sub-divided into fictional and historical. Full review...
Derby Day by D J Taylor
I read (and reviewed) Taylor's Ask Alice and took to Taylor's style straight away. Is this one going to be as good - or even better? Time to find out ... To set the tone we first meet a couple of no-gooders as they plot and scheme and it's all about horses and the Derby. And by degrees, Taylor introduces his main characters, chapter by chapter, to his readers. As this novel runs to over 400 pages, there's plenty of time for flesh to be heaped upon the bones of many of these characters. So, for example, we have a rather cold and calculating daughter living with her elderly father who appear right at the start of the novel. I got the sense that things were about to happen - and they certainly did. There's a strong sense of emotions just bubbling under the surface with this duo. Full review...
The Confession of Katherine Howard by Suzannah Dunn
Katherine Howard was Henry VIII's fifth wife. She was perhaps the most seductive of his wives and a considerable contrast to her predecessor, Anna of Cleves. She's been consigned to history as a silly girl, but careful reading gives the lie to this. Suzannah Dunn begins her story when Katherine was twelve years old and went to live in her step-grandmother's household. There she met Cathryn – generally known as Cat – Tilney, but the two girls were very different and didn't hit it off initially. Cat was quietly ambitious, aware that she needed to make a good marriage, whilst Katherine was image-conscious and very interested in the boys. Full review...
Wall of Days by Alastair Bruce
The front cover of this debut novel caught my full and undivided attention with Alone, ten years on an island, until one day... I couldn't wait to start reading. We meet the central character - we don't know his name just yet and in the grand scheme of things it doesn't really matter. He's living alone on an island, somewhere in the world. Is it the past, the present or even the future? As the story developed I decided on the former. Full review...
John Shakespeare: Prince by Rory Clements
This is the third in the excellent Elizabethan murder mystery series, featuring John Shakespeare, brother of Will. An inexplicable murder is linked to a much deeper plot of political dimensions, leading Shakespeare into danger and tragedy. A series of bombings, which appear to be targeting the immigrant population causes huge unrest and fear, and leads to the uncovering of further political dimensions. Full review...
The Map of Time by Felix J Palma
Like a lot of readers I cannot resist a book with an immediate hook that draws you into the story quickly and in a seemingly effortless fashion. From the very first page of 'The Map of Time' Felix Palma had me firmly in his grasp and continued to hold me there for the entirety of the novel. Not once did I become bored or distracted as I relished every word, page and chapter of this remarkable book. Full review...
The Golden Chain by Margaret James
It's 1931 and teenager Daisy Denham, along with her parents Alex and Rose, and two brothers have left their life in India and moved to Melbury House in Dorset, a place full of history for Alex and Rose. Daisy is not keen on her new life and surroundings and is desperate to escape, particularly when she discovers a long held family secret that casts a shadow across her past. She soon meets handsome Ewan Fraser, a young man forced to spend his holidays in Dorset thanks to his overbearing mother, and the two strike up an instant friendship that soon turns to love, spurred on by their joint interest in working on the stage. Ewan soon gives Daisy a golden chain and Daisy promises never to take it off. Full review...
The Doctor and the Diva by Adrienne McDonnell
We first meet one of the central characters, the successful, young obstetrician Dr Ravell as he mingles with the great and the good Bostonians at a high-level social gathering. His reputation seems to precede him as one guest enthuses 'After nineteen years in a barren marriage ... thanks to you, they had twins.' High praise indeed. And at this gathering he not only meets a future patient, Erika von Kessler, but he is also enraptured by her singing voice. He tries to explain all this but finds it difficult so ends up by saying 'It was not an earthly voice; it was a shimmering.' I loved that line. Full review...
River of Smoke by Amitav Ghosh
At over 500 pages, this is a big book and it's also a big book in terms of the subject matters that it covers; the whole colonial situation regarding parts of the East as well as the properties and problems of the poppy's product - opium. Ghosh also crams in a wealth of very different and diverse characters so that the novel has the feel of an exotic and at times, enchanting pot-pourri of a read. I have to say at the outset that I find authors such as Rushdie wordy, very wordy. I have Ghosh's The Glass Palace in my ever-growing 'to read' pile. I wonder if the latter will be as wordy as the former. Time to find out... Full review...