Newest Historical Fiction Reviews
The Windsor Faction by D J Taylor
I jumped at the chance to review this novel. I enjoy reading books based within this period and was fascinated by the premise of what if? proposed on the back cover. The prologue was beautifully written and I hoped that was an indicator for the rest of the book. Full review...
The Care and Management of Lies by Jacqueline Winspear
The long hot July of 1914 is a good one for friends Kezia and Thea. Kezia marries Thea's brother, Tom, bringing them even closer as life-long friends. Kezia then learns how to be a farmer's wife, translating her love into imaginative meals – sometimes overly so. Out of the two friends, Thea is the passionate one, fighting for women's universal suffrage and, as war approaches, pacifism. However, when war starts, Thea goes to the front as well as Tom, leaving Kezia at home to be more than the farmer's wife; necessity dictates she's now the farmer. Full review...
The Spider of Sarajevo by Robert Wilton
Four enterprising free thinking people are invited to speak to the military in London: James Cade (fiercely independent business man), David Duval (ladies' man and occasional cad), Fiona Hathaway (a young woman too intelligent to squander in marriage) and Ronald Ballentyne (anthropologist and Balkans expert). It's spring 1914 and their military hosts are actually recruiting spies on behalf of the Comptroller General for Scrutiny and Survey. The four think that they're serving their country and they are, but not in the way they think: they're bait. They are the flies that the high-ups hope will lead British intelligence to the anonymous phantom figure that is the Spider of Sarajevo. Full review...
Succession by Livi Michael
15 year old Margaret of Anjou is brought to England to marry King Henry VI, little realising she'll rule in his stead in all but name. Then little 3-year-old Margaret Beaufort marries John de la Pole, son of the Duke of Suffolk. This is the first of three marriages she'll embark on by the time she's 14, one of which will produce a king and all will produce suffering. The War of the Roses and the Tudor dynasty are both waiting in the wings; these are the women who will raise the curtain. Full review...
Friend and Foe (A Hew Cullan Mystery) by Shirley McKay
1583 and King James VI of Scotland is paranoid and, after the events of the Ruthven raid the year before, who can blame him? Surely this won't affect humble academic lawyer Hew Cullen? Oh but it will, eventually causing more turmoil than even he is used to. Back at the beginning though, while Hew continues, unaware of what's to come, he has more pressing domestic worries that, for once, don't affect his herbalist sister Meg or his doctor brother-in-law Giles. Indeed, this time the concern is the love of Hew's own heart. Full review...
I, Hogarth by Michael Dean
How similar in many ways was Hogarth’s London in the middle of the Eighteenth Century to the London of today. A city where it was easy enough to end up in debtor’s prison, as indeed did Hogarth’s beloved and unworldly father, having been condemned to the Fleet; a sad fate for a brilliant Latin scholar and writer of erudite texts. He opened a Latin speaking coffee house in St John’s Gate. Here the governor and authorities were open to high levels of corruption, as later in Dickens time and very reminiscent of the scandals of G4S today. Full review...
The Cartographer of No Man's Land by P S Duffy
Canadian sailing boat captain Angus McGrath joins the army in 1917 as a cartographer. However, the cosy London war offices are full of map makers and artists and what's more the career choice is a luxury when the high mortality rates at the front means the infantry needs constant replenishment. Angus therefore finds himself in France as a 1st lieutenant in the Canada Corps. Meanwhile his family continue their life in the small fishing village back home in Nova Scotia, his wife worrying about her brother who has been declared missing in action. Angus is ideally placed to look for him but there are also other things demanding his attention, staying alive being only one of them. Full review...
Goodbye Piccadilly by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
It's July 1914 and the world is becoming unsettled. There's fierce unrest brewing in Ireland and Sarajevo is being put on the map for all the wrong reasons. Back in England life is continuing as usual – at the moment. Viscount Dene, Charles Wroughton wants to marry for love rather than materialism. Laura Hunter is fighting for women's suffrage. As for Beattie Cazalet, her main worry is the rumour concerning the manner in which her servant Ethel is carrying on in public. All fears are about to deepen and worries put in sharp relief though: war is coming and a war like none the world has fought before. Full review...
The Marriage Game by Alison Weir
Elizabeth I ruled England for 45 years and she is widely regarded as one of our most successful monarchs. Yet controversy surrounds her. Was she legitimate or illegitimate? Why did she never marry? What was her relationship with Lord Robert Dudley? Alison Weir follows the story of her reign and gives us her own theories about the Virgin Queen and her motivations and intentions, whilst describing the colour and pageantry of the English court. It's going to be a must-read for all Tudor fanatics. Full review...
The Wedding Gift by Marlen Suyapa Bodden
Half-sisters Clarissa and Sarah couldn’t lead more different lives. Clarissa is a typical 'Southern Belle'; the apple of her daddy's eye with every whim dutifully indulged. Sarah, the daughter of a slave, lives in a cabin on the plantation with her mother and has been born into a life of servitude. Their father is plantation owner Cornelius Allen, a man prone to violent mood swings: at one moment a benevolent patron, the next, a cruel tyrant. Full review...
Dodger of the Dials by James Benmore
Dodger is back! And oh, how I’ve missed him! Benmore’s excellent debut novel Dodger left me hungry for more Dickensian escapades and it was with greedy anticipation that I began the sequel, Dodger of the Dials, eager to see what our eponymous hero had been up to in the two years since his last adventure. Quite a lot, it would seem, as Dodger has reclaimed the coveted spot of ‘'Top Sawyer' and has a gang of his very own, as well as the heart of the fair Lily, the new lady in his life. Full review...
The White Russian by Vanora Bennett
It's 1937 and Evie leaves her home and controlling mother in the US to look up her estranged grandmother, Constance, in Paris. Constance is a mystery no one talks about so Evie is distraught when she dies soon after Evie's arrival. However, Evie chooses to stay for a while to discover more about her grandmother and carry out her last wish: to track down a mystery man from her past. Not only is it a difficult mission, it'll expose Evie to danger in a city harbouring fierce enmities from the Russian ex-pat community that Constance nurtured. Full review...
DYFED ODYSSEY: Connell O'Keeffe and The Spider's Web by Patricia Watkins
Connell O'Keeffe looked to be settled. His stud was prospering. He was deeply, enduringly happy with his wife who was expecting their second child and despite the loss of his arm some years before which had put an end to his acting career, life was good. Then one morning Morgan, his manservant brought bad news before he was even out of bed. Khayri, one of his brood mares, was missing from her stable and there was a ransom demand. Reluctant to lose the mare - or to be beaten - O'Keeffe and Morgan set off to retrieve Khayri, hoping to be back that night, or - at the worst - the next day. Little did O'Keeffe know that it would be many months before he saw his home again. Full review...
The True and Splendid History of the Harristown Sisters by Michelle Lovric
The seven Swiney sisters are growing up during Ireland's 19th century potato famine so know what it is to go without. Therefore when their eldest sister Darcy works out a way for them to earn money using their talent and long, long hair, the other six follow on. (They'd be daft to cross the dangerous Darcy anyway.) Gradually their hair becomes their future and the 'Swiney Godivas' are created. However, fame doesn't always bring happiness with the adventure; in fact for the sisters it brings notoriety – a different thing altogether. Full review...
The Flower Book by Catherine Law
Violet’s flower book is her secret treasure; a way to glimpse inside her soul. So much more than a mere diary, Violet uses the secret language of flowers to convey her innermost thoughts and feelings. She takes inspiration from nature and uses it to tell a story across the pages of her private journal. A simple pressed gorse flower brings back warm memories of a carefree day at the cove with her best friend, a bold peony is a bitter reminder of an unwelcome suitor and a handful of poisonous tansy is the key to her biggest secret of all... Full review...
Home is the Hunter by Helen MacInnes
Seventeen years after he left home to fight in the Trojan War (that's also seven years after it had finished!) Ulysses returns home. A lot has changed; his wife is at home with eleven men for a start! Penelope is being held under virtual house arrest by eleven strangers. How will Ulysses manage to free her and regain his hearth with only his son and a pig herd to help? Gods only knows! Meanwhile Penelope is visited by another man. His name's Homer and he wants to write an epic poem. Not a good time Homer, not a good time at all! Full review...
The Steady Running of the Hour by Justin Go
Tristan Campbell, an American graduate, receives a phone call from an English law firm summoning him to London for a secret meeting. Mountaineer and adventurer Ashley Walsingham died in 1926 without any direct heirs. Since then his family's legacy has been in limbo while an heir is traced. They believe Tristan could be that lucky person but there's a catch. He has to prove the family connection within 7 weeks (when the 80 year limitation on the fortune runs out). The clock is ticking while Tristan starts a hunt that will take him across Europe. Full review...
The Twelve Children of Paris by Tim Willocks
Knight of the Order of St John the Baptist, Mattias Tannhauser, does as he has promised. After surviving the 1565 siege of Malta, Mattias goes to Paris to look for Lady Carla (his heavily pregnant wife) and Orlandu, her child by birth and his by adoption. Carla went to sing and play at the royal wedding but seems to have disappeared. It's definitely not a good time to sample Parisian hospitality: one of the city's bloodiest chapters is about to begin as the Catholics seek to cleanse the city of members of the Protestant Reformist Church of France, better known as Huguenots. It gets worse though: not only are all Huguenots (and anyone who gets in the way) being hunted down and killed grotesquely, guess which church Carla's hosts belong to? Full review...
An Appetite for Violets by Martine Bailey
Biddy 'Obedience' Leigh is the under-cook at Mawton Hall, but although she is passionate about cooking, her dearest wish is to marry her young man. The date is set for her to leave the Hall for married life and she is looking forward to it. But the master of the house surprises everyone when he gets himself a very young wife – and Biddy’s world is rapidly changed. Lady Carinna takes a shine to Biddy, and when Biddy proves herself to be resourceful and entrepreneurial, her fate is sealed. Full review...
Sisters of Treason by Elizabeth Fremantle
Now that their sister Lady Jane and father, Henry 1st Duke of Suffolk, have been beheaded for treason, the remaining Grey sisters, Katherine and Mary have hidden all signs of their protestant reformist faith. Their mother Frances can escape court but Mary Tudor has other plans for the girls, keeping them under royal scrutiny. This is a dangerous spotlight to be subjected to. As the trademark heretic burning of the Spanish Inquisition comes to England, the Greys must work harder to impersonate good Catholics. Their lives depend on it. However Katherine is less than tactful and set on her own path. Is Mary strong enough to protect both of them? Full review...
The May Bride by Suzannah Dunn
Dateline approximately 1527: Edward Seymour marries Katherine Filliol and takes her to live with his family at Wolf Hall. The days pass happily as coquettish Katherine proves to be a breath of fresh air for the household of Sir John and Lady Margery. Of all John's Seymour siblings she's drawn to young Jane the most, the two developing a close friendship punctuated by fun and confidences. (Including some of which Jane is too young to understand fully.) However there is one secret that Katherine doesn't confide and that's the secret that will pull the Seymour family apart. Full review...
The Good Italian by Stephen Burke
Enzo is an Italian living in Eritrea, part of Mussolini's new Italian empire of 1935. In charge of the quiet Massawe Harbour he leads an equally quiet life, trying to adhere to gentlemanly standards; being the good Italian. His friend Salvatore, a Colonel in the occupying Italian army, thinks Enzo should live a little and have some fun with the local women, just like his peers. Enzo isn't so sure but decides to engage a local cook/cleaner - see how it goes. The streetwise Aatifa gets the job, both she and Enzo being surprised by things that weren't in the job description. Meanwhile Mussolini has plans for Massawe that will change Enzo, Aatifa (and everyone around them) forever. Full review...
Poppy by Mary Hooper
Poppy is a parlourmaid at the de Vere family's country house when World War I breaks out. Poppy is a very bright girl but had to enter service rather than continuing on to college after school because her family is poor. But the war is changing everything - even for working class girls - and Poppy's old teacher sees an opportunity for her intelligent ex-pupil. She suggests that Poppy become a volunteer nurse, a VAD. Full review...
August Folly by Angela Thirkell
Richard Tebben came down from Oxford in June with an undistinguished Third and little idea of what he wanted to do with himself. It was a pity that money dictated the need to remain in the Barsetshire village of Worsted (just a little way from Winter Overcotes) with his family and others who were not really up to scratch (his mother had taken a First...) particularly as there was little in the way of diversion other than Mrs Palmer's Greek play, into which everyone was roped willy-nilly. Then the Dean family arrived for the summer, impossibly glamorous and accompanied by six of their nine children and Richard was immediately smitten by Rachel Dean, mother of the family and more than twice his age. Full review...
Rough Passage to London: A Sea Captain's Tale, a Novel by Robin Lloyd
Elisha Ely Morgan leaves his native Connecticut to go to sea, partially but not entirely to escape his father's cruelty. There's a second reason: the sea has been blamed for the loss of two of his brothers, the exact circumstances of his elder brother's disappearance never having been clear. But Ely has heard a rumour; a rumour that will take him as far away as London and obsess him for decades. His brother Abraham may not be dead. Full review...
The Legacy of Elizabeth Pringle by Kirsty Wark
Elizabeth Pringle bequeathed her house on Arran to Anna Morrison even though she didn't actually know her. Anna just happened to walk past and ask to buy the house decades earlier. Elizabeth hadn't said yes but always remembered the young lady, walking past with the baby in the pram. The baby, Martha, is now an adult visiting Elizabeth's house – Anna's house – after Elizabeth's death. Through the belongings that Elizabeth left with it, Martha sees glimpses of a past life while hoping that that this refuge will now become a haven for her mother before it's too late and while she still has a mind to take her back to the good times. Full review...
After the Bombing by Clare Morrall
On 28th March 1942, the city of Lubeck was attacked by RAF bombers. The medieval buildings were reduced to rubble and hundreds of innocent people lost their lives. In retaliation, Hitler decided to bomb the most beautiful and culturally rich cities of England, using Baedeker’s tourist guide as a reference. The cities he chose were Exeter, Bath, Norwich, York and Canterbury. 'After the Bombing' follows the story of an Exeter schoolgirl and her friends in the aftermath of the attack. Full review...
Midnight in St Petersburg by Vanora Bennett
Inna Feldman is in the Kiev theatre the night that Prime Minister Stolypin is assassinated in front of the Tsar. Fearing the retribution against the Jews in general and being picked out as a suspect in particular, Inna flees to St Petersburg and her landlord's cousin Yasha. Her arrival causes complications. Not only is she unexpected but Yasha is a revolutionary, a dangerous occupation in Russia during 1911. The family that Yasha is living with takes her in anyway, unaware that darker times are ahead for all of them. Full review...
The Illusionists by Rosie Thomas
Devil Wix is a great Victorian illusionist. Admittedly Lady Luck hasn’t been too good to him lately and he may look a little ragged but he's talented and repeatedly tells himself so. One particular night as he's reassuring himself over a drink or three, he runs into Carlo Boldoni. (Or rather Carlo runs into him as he's picking Devil's pocket at the time.) Formerly Charlie Morris and a dwarf to the Victorians/person of restricted growth to us, Carlo was part of a performing troupe but now finds himself alone due to tragic circumstances. They join forces but little do they know the future nor the part that a certain young lady will play in it. Full review...
Love and Treasure by Ayelet Waldman
Jack and his granddaughter Natalie are both at a cross roads in their lives. She is single again after a short disastrous marriage and he is dying. Natalie comes to stay and during her visit Jack asks a favour. He asks her to embark on a mission for him involving a peacock pendant and some unfinished business from nearly 70 years ago. Full review...
The Eagle Trail by Robert Rigby
The Nazis have occupied Antwerp, where Paul lives with his English father and French mother. But Paul doesn't think things are too bad. Life is going on pretty much as normal if you are a teenaged boy, Paul feels. But Paul is wrong.
In the space of an afternoon, Paul's world is turned upside down. His father is shot in front of him, having been discovered as an early resistance organiser. His mother is arrested. And Paul finds himself fleeing for his life, hunted by the Nazis for what his father knew. The journey is a long and dangerous one - through Belgium and France for the Pyrenees and Spain and then, hopefully, for England. Every stage is dangerous but the final one - the Eagle Trail across the mountains - is the most perilous. Full review...
