Maisie Dobbs - Jacqueline Winspear

This book is set in the 1920s and when we meet Maisie she has just established herself as a Private Investigator. As she starts investigating her first case we are given a view of her past as a young house maid and then, through hard work and kind employers, as a student in Cambridge University and after that as a nurse in France during World War II.

I particularly liked two things, the sense of time and place of the descriptions and the psycological approach to every situation. Maisie's interactions with other people are always analised by her according to the teachings of her mentor, Maurice Blanche. There's a part in the book where he asks her what she wants to do and she replies: I want to do what you do. I want to heal people!

The first case Maisie investigates while seeming just an ordinary infidelity case will make her revisit her past, relive the horrors of the war and the problem the wounded soldiers faced on returning home not whole and finally it will make her deal with the loss of her love.

I can't wait to get my hands on the second book, as a matter of fact I read this one as part of a bookring but I think I'll have to find my own copy soon. I want to keep it and reread it.

The Huntress by Susan Carroll

Completion Date: July 2007
Pages: 512
Publication Year: 2007
Received from Random House in 2007.
Book 4 in the Faire Isle Women Series

Reason for Reading: I quite liked the other three books in this series, so when I heard it was going to have more I was very interested to read this book.

In a time of intrigue and betrayal, the huntress is on a quest that could jeopardize two empires and two great queens: Catherine de Medici and Elizabeth I.

The year is 1585–and prophecy has foretold the coming of a daughter of the Earth whose powers are so extraordinary they could usurp the very rule of the Dark Queen herself, Catherine de Medici. Dispatched from Brittany to London, Catriona O’Hanlon, known as the Huntress, must find this mysterious young girl and shield her from those who will exploit her mystic abilities, which have the potential to change the course of history.

Catriona’s skill with weaponry is all she has to protect herself and her young charge from spies who snake through the courts of Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen-including the girl’s own father, whose loyalties are stretched to the breaking point. But Catriona will soon face menacing forces and sinister plots unlike any she has ever encountered.

From Susan Carroll, the celebrated storyteller of historical fiction, The Huntress is an unforgettable portrait of power and passion–and one woman’s courage to risk everything for those she loves.

The first three books in this series are about three sisters, the Cheney sisters. When I read the last book in what I thought was a trilogy, I felt that there were still things that could have been said and characters that could have been developed more. Many people thought that it was time for Martin de Loup to have his main character role, instead of being second-best to the man that the youngest Cheney sister eventually chooses. We all got our wishes.

This book has brief appearances from Ariana, the oldest Cheney sister, with an even briefer appearance from her husband, Justice. Otherwise, this is Catriona (Cat), Martin de Loup, and his young daughter, referred to by many as The Silver Rose. After the death of the woman that seduced Martin and came to be the mother of his daughter, Martin snuck off into the night with his daughter in an attempt to protect her from further evil. His hope is that she will put the life she had with her mother behind her and be a proper and respectable English lady.

This book deals with many things. The further threat of trouble from the Dark Queen, new troubles from the British monarch, her mothers supports still looking for their Silver Rose, a father caught in a risky situation, and Cat trying to keep everything together. I loved Cat, she was a very enjoyable person to read about. The book takes place in the 16th-century, so women were supposed to be very demure. Cat could be a 'respectable' woman, but at the same time she was often breaking the rules. She was deadly when she was mad, and could really hold her own in a fight. She also talks a great deal and can be rather comical!

For those that have missed Martin de Loup and wanted a book about him, you will not be disappointed! He is very stubborn in this book, which he always was, but it is very key to this storyline. He is a loving father that still has a hard time believing he has a daughter sometimes. As he looks to the future, he finds himself battling with the fact that he has not had his daughter in his life for long enough and he has to start making plans for her future marriage and respectable living.

I will say, not as much happens in this book as in The Silver Rose, so if you think of this book as the next book in the series, it is a slower book than the previous one. If you think of it as the first book in a new trilogy it is much more interesting. Either way, another very good book from Susan Carroll. It will be interesting to see 'The Silver Rose' grow up and come into her own. She gets the life that she wants during this book, even if it is not the life her father wanted for her. Oh, and one of the best things about this book that I have not mentioned is that someone is pregnant!

Overall, an enjoyable read, but I liked the previous trilogy, so far, better.

The Mummy Case - Elizabeth Peters

Ana says:


I really like this series. First it has a wonderful cast of main characters, I think Peabody, Emerson and Ramses really do make the book and I would love it no matter which plot was used. And then it's set in Egypt, to me one of the most fascinating countries in the world.

Radcliffe Emerson, the irascible husband of fellow archaeologist and Egyptologist Amelia Peabody, has earned the nickname "Father of Curses" -- and at Mazghunah he demonstrates why. Denied permission to dig at the pyramids of Dahshoor, he and Amelia are resigned to excavating mounds of rubble in the middle of nowhere. And there is nothing in this barren area worthy of their interest -- until an antiquities dealer is murdered in his own shop. A second sighting of a sinister stranger from the crime scene, a mysterious scrap of papyrus, and a missing mummy case have all whetted Amelia's curiosity. But when the Emersons start digging for answers in an ancient tomb, events take a darker and deadlier turn -- and there may be no surviving the very modern terrors their efforts reveal.

Like in previous books what I enjoyed the most was the scenes between logical, sensible Peabody and temperamental Emerson, they are so much fun to read. And how they behave towards their son Ramses, Emerson always protecting him and Peabody disciplining him all the time. And Ramses always taking her orders literally! I'm very glad with the way Peters is developing Ramses as a character and I can't wait to get to the next book.


Marg says:

Amelia and Emerson are back in Egypt, and this time their son Ramses along with their servant John accompany them.. However the season has not started well for them. The new Director of Antiquities has gleefully assigned them a site that is less than glamorous (no pyramids!) for our experienced archaeologists, and they are not happy! To make matters worse, Amelia is convinced that one of their old acquaintances has been murdered, and she is convinced that there is a Master Criminal behind the murder. Soon there are disappearing and appearing mummy cases, besotted servants, and numerous other events all keeping both Amelia and Emerson on their toes, both in the investigation and archaeologically!

The third installment in the Amelia Peabody series, The Mummy Case sees the real introduction of Ramses as a character in his own right. Whilst he appeared briefly in the last book, he is a major character here. He is a very precocious little boy of about 6 years of age...always getting dirty, finding his way into and out of trouble and able to talk himself out of any situation. At first I wondered if this was going to get in the way of me enjoying the story, but in the end I got used to it. To be honest, if Ramses was not like this, then he would have no place in the story between the two forceful personalities of his parents!

I have to admit to getting slightly lost in the some parts of the resolution of the mystery but overall this was another satisfying read from Elizabeth Peters. Her books are not only unique, but they are highly entertaining as well!


The books in this series in order are:

The Crocodile on the Sandbank
The Curse of the Pharoahs
The Mummy Case
Lion in the Valley
Deeds of the Disturber
The Last Camel Died at Noon
The Snake, the Crocodile and the Dog
The Hippopotamus Pool
Seeing a Large Cat
The Ape Who Guards the Balance
The Falcon at the Portal
He Shall Thunder in the Sky
Lord of the Silent
The Golden One
Children of the Storm
Guardian of the Horizon
Serpent on the Crown
Tomb of the Golden Bird

The Principessa by Christie Dickason

Robert Cecil, Secretary of State to James I, has a problem. He owes a vast and secret debt to the Prince of La Spada, who is dying and has called in the loan – and Cecil cannot pay. Even worse, he has staked as security, without royal authority, the King's Great Pearl. To Cecil's surprise, the Prince will agree to a hostage but he wants Cecil's firemaster: Francis Quoynt, the best in his dangerous business. Cecil immediately seizes the chance, for Quoynt also serves as his spy.

La Spada is a wealthy, beautiful Italian city–state – the gateway of Europe. Whoever controls the mountain passes of La Spada also controls the flow of intelligence and much of the trade from the Middle East. As his mind disintegrates into fantastic obsessions, the Prince makes his treacherous illegitimate son his heir. Which thwarts the deadly ambition of his daughter, Sofia – the Principessa.

Sofia is young, seductive, wily and recently widowed. Already a blooded player of politics, she could outdo Lucretia Borgia in the lethal game of survival. Which she must now play to save herself and her beloved state. As unpredictable as gunpowder, will she choose to seek Francis's heart, or his life? Or both?

Events in The Principessa start two years after those in The Firemaster's Mistress. In the intervening two years, Cecil has fulfilled his promises by being Frances Quoynt's sponsor, and as a result Frances has been the fireworks master of choice of the rich and famous of England. For all of his newly acquired wealth, Frances is somewhat dissatisfied with his life, and he knows that the day will come when the wily Cecil is going to call on Frances to once again undertake some deed for him. When the time does come, he is somewhat surprised to find that it means that he will have to travel to the distant principality of La Spada. The principality is at a critical crossroads in it's history. It's ruler is dying, and there are two possible successor - one is his legitimised son and prescribed heir Ettore, and the other his legitimate daughter Sofia.

As always when working for Cecil, nothing is as straight forward as it seems, because not only is Frances being asked to get lavish funerary fireworks ready and acquire the secret loan bond that could very well be the end of Cecil if anyone in England finds out about it. The Prince is also determined that, in order to ensure that he gets to heaven after a lifetime of debauchery, he must be made to fly towards heaven right at the moment of his death and that Frances is going to help him achieve this goal. The prince is dying of the pox and is completely mad, to the point of killing his attendants for the smallest of reasons. So not only does Frances have to survive the Prince by some how ensuring that he is attempting to do his will, but he has to survive the political manoeverings of the court at this time of change, and that means walking a fine line between Prince Ettore and the Principessa, Sofia. Adding to the complications, there is a smouldering attraction between Frances and Sofia - one that can go nowhere given that Frances is a common firemaster and she is royalty.

Whilst this is once again a very entertaining story, I do think that it lost something in moving away from actual historical events and moving towards fictional places and people. I did check and I could no reference to any place called La Spada, that was supposed to be at a crucial location in Europe - a multicultural crossroads located between the lands of the Hapsburgs, the Italian principalities like Venice, and the Ottoman empire.

One interesting group of people included in the novel were the Uskok's who were the loyal guard of the dying Prince, and who seem to be from a group of Balkan people that I haven't actually heard much about previously.

As a character, Frances was once again well written - a man driven by honour and learning, trying to do the best that he can in difficult circumstances. His relationship with Sofia was complex and twisting. He was constantly aware of the shifting sands in their relationship - never quite sure of whether she was using him or if she loved him. The resolution of their relationship was very surprising to me as it is not one that I could see Frances accepting, but I don't want to say too much more without spoiling!

Sofia was harder for me to warm up to. She was extremely ambitious, and I can see how living constantly in fear of her life would cause her to become as withdrawn and secretive as she was. She did open up to Frances eventually, but she was definitely using him for her own means for a long time. There were glimpse of a kind heart, especially in the way she treated the librarian of the castello, but it probably wouldn't have hurt to see a little more of that side of her.

The story was entertaining, if somewhat fantastical in parts, and is an interesting follow up to The Firemaster's Mistress.

We are Rockin' Girl bloggers

We've been nominated as Rockin' Girl Bloggers by both Daphne at Tanzanite's Shelf and Stuff and Ana at CosyWorld which is pretty amazing considering this blog has been going less than a month. Thanks girls!

In the interest of spreading the Rockin' Girl love, we nominate:

Michelle Moran from History Buff. She shares all kinds of fun historical articles about recent finds, and also has really good author interviews.

Arleigh from HistoricalFiction.net. She shares our love of Historical Fiction....of course she's Rockin'!

Elizabeth Chadwick - She's Living the History in more ways than one, and often gives lots of interesting insights into her upcoming novels.

Sarah from Reading the Past - Sarah always has something interesting on her blog. In the last couple of days she has had an interesting interview up with David Blixt, author of a new book called The Master of Verona, which I must say sounds really good!

History Bookshop.com

Saw this over at Unusual Historicals and thought that it might be a useful link to share here

History Bookshop.com

Looks to be a pretty good resource for all books historical whether they be fiction or non-fiction.

The Fire Rose by Mercedes Lackey

Completion Date: July 2007
Pages: 448
Publication Year: 1996
Owned Prior to 2007
Book One in the Elemental Masters Series

Reason for Reading: Selection for my online reading group, which I very rarely actually read with, so I am proud of myself for reading this book.

Rosalind Hawkins is a medieval scholar from a fine family in Chicago, unfortunately, her professor father has speculated away the family money and died, leaving young Rosalind with no fortune and no future. Desolate with grief, forced to cut her education short, she agrees to go West to take a job as a
governess to a wealthy man in San Francisco.

Jason Cameron her new employer is a man with a problem: An Adept and Alchemist, Master of the Element of Fire, he had attempted the old French werewolf transformation, and got stuck in mid transformation. Trapped halfway between wolf and man, over the centuries he has been slowly losing his humanity,
and with it his ability to discover a cure for his condition.

I am going to classify this book as historical fantasy, so for those that are wondering why Mercedes Lackey is on a historical fiction blog, that is why. For those of you that are not regular readers of my other two blogs, I will inform you that I really like fairy tale retellings, so if I know that a book is of that nature I am more apt to read it. The Fire Rose is a retellig of Beauty and the Beast. Beauty and the Beast has always been one of my favourite fairy tales and Disney movies, but this is actually the first time I read a retelling of it in novel form.

One of the things that I love about Mercedes Lackey is that she is all about girl power. She does not write weak and helpless women, when she writes a book she has the women in positions of power. Set in 1905, let's remember folks that this is historical fantasy. Mercedes Lackey is a fantasy author for the most part, so do not go into this book expecting perfect historical detail. She has some of it right, but she tweaks history to fit her novel, and considering it is fantasy I do not know why people get so mad that it is not historical correct.

Anyways, the pros of the book were that Rose had a brain. She came from a well-to-do family, but her father died leaving a lot of debts behind. She was expecting to have to give up her chance for advancement and work a conventional job, but James Cameron saved her from that. She's not perfect, she has thoughts of suicide, but she gets the job done and handles the situations handed to her during the course of the novel quite well, she does not just lay down and die. That being said, Rose could annoy me, she was a little too practical at times. Obviously this is a fantasy novel with magical things happening, and at times Rose was too scientific to really believe in the life that James Cameron was leading.

James Cameron was an interesting character. He was flawed, he had thought that he was a great elemental master, but now he is stuck in the shape of a wolf, so he learned his lesson. He has such loathing for himself, though, that it makes his interaction with others rather forced. Overall, though, for a man that was turned into a wolf, Cameron was an interesting character.

My biggest problem with this book was the ending. The book had the 'bad' guy (Cameron's archnemisis), there was a lot of potential for a big battle to insue, but I found that the ending happened and was over too quickly. There were a few issues that were not resolved, but the book sort of had an open-ending. Some other reviews I read think that the scene of violence in the middle of the book should have been worked out, but I found that the point of that was to show the battle between Jason's human side and his wolf side. While he was not punished, I think it served its point. Anything else I didn't like about this book was minor.

So, my parting thoughts. If you are one of those people that cannot read a fiction book and not expect non-fiction, do not read it. The historical aspect is there, but like I said above, it is not perfect. It is an entertaining read, it makes me want to read the rest of the series, and I think that it is the sort of fantasy that would appeal to those that are weary of the genre because it has romance and other elements to it. I think that Mercedes Lackey is one of the better female fantasy authors out right now, and the historical aspect of 1905 San Fransisco.

The Kitchen Boy by Robert Alexander

This was the book of the month for September 2006 over at Historical Fiction Forum - a welcome change from the usual selections which tend to always feature English royalty. As much as I love reading about those, it is nice to expand the horizons a little bit!

Though the events are almost a century old, the imprisonment and execution of Tsar Nicholas and his family still hold an aura of mystery that fascinates. In haunting prose, Robert Alexander retells the story through the eyes of Leonka, on the kitchen boy to the Romanovs, who claims to be the last living witness to the family's brutal execution. Mysteriously spared by the Bolsheviks, the boy vanished into the bloody tides of the Russian Revolution. Now, through Alexander's conjuring, he reemerges to tell his story. What did the young boy see in those last days of the Imperial Family? Does he have answers to long-standing questions about secret letters smuggled to the Tsar, thirty-eight pounds of missing tsarist jewels, and why the bodies of two Romanov children are missing from the secret grave discovered in 1991?

Marg Says:

This book is only about 200 pages long but for it's diminutive size it certainly was a captivating read.

It is told from the perspective of an old man telling his grand daughter the story of his life. The story he weaves in an extraordinary one. As a young boy, he was the kitchen boy assigned to the Romanov family. When the Romanovs were imprisoned at the Ipatiev house in Siberia, the kitchen boy Leonka was one of the few personal servants who were allowed to continue to serve the Tsar and his family.

Through the eyes of Leonka, we witness the last few days of the Royal family through several incidents, most notably when it seems as though they might be rescued as indicated in secret notes smuggled in to them. As the Tsarina and her daughters frantically try to hide the family jewels in case they are able to escape.

Incredibly, on the day that the Tsar, his family and his personal attendants are all killed, Leonka has been set free, thus saving his life. But for Leonka this has not necessarily been a blessing, for having snuck back to the house and been witness to the infamous events that followed, he is the last living witness, even able to give some clue as to what happened to the bodies of two of the Romanov children that were missing when the family's grave was finally discovered in 1991.

I really enjoyed the insight into the final days of the Tsar and his family...certainly a terrible incident in the long and turbulent history of Russia. There was a really interesting twist at the end of the book which I liked, although the author may have taken it just a fraction too far!

There is a really good website for this book as well, that can be found here.

Overall, an entertaining read!

Kailana Says:

I bought this book in August of last year, and I even read the first chapter back then, but it has taken me all this time to actually read the whole thing. It's sad, really because it is such a short book! The Russian Revolution has always been an aspect of history that interests me, including the untimely demise of the Czar and his family. While I have understood that the Czar was not a great leader for his people, I have always felt that things would have been a lot better if England had offered them protection or they had been rescued in time. To kill so many people is always a terrible thing, no matter if they felt it was justified at the time or not.

By reading The Kitchen Boy, readers get the chance to see the life of the Czar and his family from a person outside the main story. The kitchen boy was just a low part of society, so he would have very different opinions on what things should be like and were like than the royal family would have had if they were telling this story. Alexander makes you feel like you are right there in confinement with this Russian family, he wields a very good story that is believable and compelling. It shows royalty as real people instead of faceless idols, even if the royal family had very high-reaching opinions on their place in the world.

I always wanted to believe that one of the members of the royal family survived, that they managed to get away and live out their lives to completion. It would have been too risky if they had spoken out about it, so they likely would have sunk into the background of society. One can hope that all eleven of those people were not killed in that dark, damp cellar. That one of them manages to get away. Reading this book makes you wish so even more because Alexander writes a very real story that makes you feel compassion for the Czar and his family. Whatever they may have done wrong, they did not deserve a firing squad. Innocent children should not have been destroyed in such a brutual fashion. I am just one of those people that always believes that there is another way to do things.

I plan to read Alexander's other book on Rasputin's daughter that Alexander has written as well. Rasputin was a dark creature from history, it will be interesting to see how Alexander portrays his daughter.

A very interesting look at the royal family of Russia, especially in such few pages! I recommend this book.

Spotlight On: Temeraire series by Naomi Novik

WANTED

Daring young adventurer to take on a challenging role, fighting old Boney. Must be willing to take risks, wish to visit exotic locales, show exceptional leadership, and be willing to be scorned by society. Females welcome......Navy types need not apply.

Or so might have read the advertisements looking for new members of the Royal Air Corps.

Captain William Laurence is a reluctant recruit to the Air Corps - he is after all a navy man through and through, captain of his own ship, and definitely on his way up! Captain Laurence and his shipmates engage with a fierce battle with a French navy ship which surprises him seeing as the enemy seems to be starved and there doesn't appear to be any treasure on board. At least, it seems that way until they find a dragon's egg, very close to hatching. Given the state of Britain's own dragon breeding program, and the value of any dragon's egg, this is a major find. When the dragon is hatched he is supposed to bond with his designated handler, a man who has "volunteered" to completely change his life and his career pate, but the dragon, who we come to know as Temeraire, has very different ideas, and bonds to an unwilling Laurence.

In the first book, which could be published under the title His Majesty's Dragon or Temeraire depending on where you live, we read the story of how Laurence and Temeraire come to be together, and how they learn all about being a member of the Air Corps together.

The second book which is called Throne of Jade, follows Laurence and Temeraire as they travel to China to find out about Temeraire's beginnings in a land where dragon's are very much part of every day life.

The third book, Black Powder War, starts in China, and is the story of the journey back to England, with various adventure's along the way, including some very dangerous times in Istanbul.

On the left is the US cover for the fourth book, Empire of Ivory, which will have some action at least set in India. Empire of Ivory is due out in September this year. (All the covers above are the US covers, whilst the ones below are the UK covers).

Naomi Novik posted on her blog last week that the fifth book in the series now has a name - it is going to be called Victory of Eagles and the book will be out in June 2008

Novik has done a fantastic job of taking known historical battles and events and then just tweaking the events by adding in the Air Corps, of which the various types of dragons are an integral part. The books are entertaining on many, many levels and well worth a read.

Interested in reading some reviews?

You can read Kailana's reviews at the following links:

His Majesty's Dragon
Throne of Jade (apparently I seemed to have skipped reviewing this book)
Black Powder War (review forth-coming)

and Marg's reviews:

Temeraire (His Majesty's Dragon)
Throne of Jade
Black Powder War

The Seventh Son by Reay Tannahill

Ana says:

I was first introduced to the story of Richard III and the different opinions about him after reading Sharon Kay Penman’s The Sunne In Splendour. When I picked up this book I had no idea it was about Richard III, I decided to read it just because I had heard so many good things about Reay Tannahill and had never came across one of her books.

Reay Tannahill's enthralling new novel is a family saga in the grand tradition....

At the heart of it all is the dangerous, complex human being known to history as Richard III, a king whose reign is forever darkened by the murder of the young Princes in the Tower, but who also found a touching love with the woman he married, and possessed immense physical courage. Here, brought vividly to life in this most moving novel, is a man who inspired loyalty and hatred in almost equal measure, until at last the implacable enmity of one woman brought about his downfall.

I found this book to have a more rational, less emotional approach to the story thank the Penman book even if we will never know the actual truth.

Tannahill chose to portray the adult Richard. An austere man, with a strong moral sense, he believes in doing the right thing even when that’s difficult and dangerous. He marries Anne Neville for political and economical gain, even if they are showed here as loving each other deeply.

His life is first dominated by his loyalty and respect for his brother Edward IV and then dominated by his need to do what he believes is right, by duty. He is sometimes ruthless in the pursuit of that objective and I found that in context with the period he lived in even if he did seem very intolerant at times. However there isn’t much character development and we hardly ever know what the characters are thinking. The episode of the death of the princes in the tower is approached only briefly which I found a bit odd since it’s what is usually mentioned with connection with Richard’s life and deeds.

Although I actually liked Tannahill’s approach to the story I think I would have liked a bit more characterization, a few more insights into the characters. She does that a lot better with Francis Lovell, Anne and Constantia than with Richard. Since this is an historical fiction novel I think I would have liked a bit more fiction.

Grade: B

Marg says:

It's interesting to read Ana's thoughts now, because it has been several years since I read this book (and it was pre blogging days so I don't have anything written down about it). Like Ana, I picked this one up after having read Penman's Sunne in Splendour. I'm pretty sure I would have been disappointed with whichever book I read about Richard III after the fantastic Penman, but I do remember really struggling with this book.

Of the things that Ana mention, my memories of this book are probably most associated with Francis Lovell. Other than that I can't remember getting completely immersed in this book at all.

I do realise that it is probably very unfair of me to compare this book to Sunne in Splendour, but given the time frame and the characters...I can't help myself. I have since read other books on Richard III and enjoyed them, but there was a significant time lapse.

Rating: 3/5

Spotlight On: Camulod Chronicles by Jack Whyte

One of my favourite aspects of historical fiction and fantasy is Arthurian Legends. My current favourite is probably Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. I will likely do an author spotlight on her in the future, because I read all her books before I started blogging.

My current series that I am working my way through in regards to Arthurian Legends is the Camulod Chronicles by Jack Whyte. This series covers both the Arthurian Legend and the history of Britain and the surrounding areas in very vivid detail. The first two books in the series: The Skystone and The Singing Sword are narrated by Publius Varrus. It would actually be possible to skip these two books and not miss out on a lot. For the third book, The Eagles’ Brood switches narrators from Publius to Caius Merlyn Britannicus, who is most famously known as Merlyn. He will be the narrator for many of the books that follow.

With the first two books in the series, the story is set up. When Merlyn takes over as narrator, the Arthurian Legend becomes more of a focus. The series now has nine books in it, with two of the books being a duology related to the main series and Uther being a standalone book, but still related to the series. I am only on book 4, but I hope to read the entire series one of these days...

The Series is as Follows:

* The Skystone
* The Singing Stone
* The Eagles’ Brood
* The Saxon Shore
* The Fort at River’s Bend
* The Sorcerer: Metamorphosis
* Uther (Standalone)
* The Lance Thrower (Clothar the Frank in Canada) (Part of the Golden Eagle duology)
* The Eagle (Part of the Golden Eagle duology)

I consider Jack Whyte Canadian, but he was actually born and raised in Scotland. Right now he is working on a trilogy concerning The Knights Templar. They will be related, but not contain the same characters.

The trilogy includes:

* The Knights of the Black and White (out already)
* Standard of Honor (forth-coming, August in Canada)
* Fall of Baphomet (release date not known)

A Tapestry of Hope

A Tapestry of Hope
By Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller

Tapestry of Hope weaves together the heartrending and hope-building stories of two young women. Jasmine Wainwright is the sheltered daughter of a Mississippi plantation owner. When her father strikes a deal to sell his cotton to Lowell mills through businessman Bradley Houston, he throws an arranged marriage with Jasmine into the bargain. Kiara O'Neill and her brother escape starvation in Ireland by traveling to America as Bradley Houston's indentured servants. But Bradley has more in mind for Kiara than she wants to imagine. Both women suffer in the home of this unloving husband and merciless master.

This background is from Amazon.com as the library stuck a big sticker over the back of the book.

I found this book an easy read. It focuses on two women. One is born into a wealthy cotton growing family in the South and one born into a poor family in Ireland. They both end up in the North and in circumstances that neither ever imagined. I can’t really describe them much more then that because I never felt like I really got to know them. This book could have been an amazing book, the author briefly touch on slavery, fraud, rape, poor, unfair working conditions and survival but never really delves to deep into anything, which isn’t a bad thing but it meant that the story never really dragged me in. This book is quite predictable though not boring. I’m really struggling to review this book as it was just ok not bad or good just ok. I know that this is one of those books I won’t remember reading in 6 months time. I will quickly mention that there is a few religious references make throughout the novel though it does fit within the story and I never found it over powering.


There are two are books in the series
Book 2 – A Love Woven Tale
Book 3 – The Pattern of Her Heart

Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe by Sandra Gulland

I fear I have made a mistake

Set in Paris at the end of the eighteenth century, Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe opens as Josephine awakes to the reality of her recent marriage to 'the Corsican' Napoleon Bonaparte, now General-in-Chief of the Army of Italy. Through Josephine's diary entries and Napoleon's impassioned - and at times disturbing - love letters, an astonishing portrait of a canny and compassionate woman emerges set against one of the most tumultuous periods in European history. Written is a spare but compelling style, this beautifully crafted novel brings the amazing drama of the legendary Josephine to vibrant life.

Kailana Says:

I have to admit that I finished this book and almost immediately started book three, so I might have a hard time remembering what happens in book two and what happened in book one.

In the first book the main character was known as Rose, but now she is the beautiful wife of Napoleon. I really liked this trilogy. Josephine is a very interesting character. Some people are not fond of the diary-style of writing, but I thought it worked well for this trilogy. It feels more personal that way. You cannot help feeling bad for Josephine. She has not had a very easy life, most people in France at this time have not, but her luck does not seem to ever fully recover. As a result of her imprisonment during the Terror, she is unable to have Napoleon's child. They try all these methods, but we know that that the stress of her imprisonment likely resulted in her starting menopause at a young age. She can have children, she has two with her first husband, the timing is just wrong for her to give Napoleon any.

I thought that Napoleon is also an interesting character. You are not really sure if Josephine and Napoleon are going to hit it off at first, if you go into it with an innocent impression of what is going to happen. For those that know what happened in history, though, Gulland does a very good job sticking to the main historical facts. I cannot say that I liked Napoleon, though, he just had his good points. He loved Josephine, I never questioned that. He just tried to do what was best for France, and he had an atrocious family. At the end of the third book it tells what happened to all of them, actually.

Another thing I liked about the books were the footnotes. They explained things that happened in the previous book so you understood references, but they also included letters and things from historical records of Josephine and her family, plus providing references for off-hand remarks that were not explained. To someone living in Josephine's time, they likely made sense, but to people living today, unless you are very up on the time period, you might miss the reference. I have to admit that while I like history, and have taken many history courses in university, I have never had a course that covered the Napoleonic Wars in any great detail. They were mentioned, I know who they were, but even if it is a fiction book, this is the most I have ever read on Napoleon. When I graduate and reading non-fiction history books becomes fun again, this is a subject matter I would like to read more about.

I also have to briefly comment on the medical practices of the time. Normally I might have overlooked them, but I am taking a history of medicine course this year, and we just talked about medicine in about the time that this book covers, so it was interesting to see the methods I learned about in use in this novel. I mean, obviously I have seen it before, but in the past I did not have a medical history course to provide background information.


Marg says:

The events portrayed at the beginning of this book following on almost directly from the end of The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B.. Napoleon and Rose (now known as Josephine) are newly married, not without opposition from her children. Napoleon is rapidly rising through the ranks, and Josephine is along for the ride. They have a very strange relationship in some ways. He is jealously devoted to Josephine and yet she has to pay her own way, and finds herself deeply in debt on several occasions. This debt is exacerbated by the fact that the Caribbean islands are now pretty much incommunicado with France due to the problems with the British. Napoleon's family has also made it very clear that they do not want Josephine as part of the family and can be quite malicious in their treatment of her.

Napoleon goes off to fight in Italy and misses Josephine so much that he sends for her, but not before her enemies (also known as Napoleon's family) have planted doubts in his mind about her faithfulness. On arrival, she is feted like royalty and she begins to understand exactly how much power and authority her husband now wields, and once reconciled to him, continues on a journey with him that will take her far from her roots as a humble planter's daughter.

Once again, Gulland manages to make the diary format work. She brings alive the excitement and the tribulations of the life of Josephine during this time when her husband's star is rising in the sphere of French politics, to the point that she is close to the point of fulfilling the prophecy that she was given as a young woman, but that, I guess, is what will be covered in the next book.

Another very entertaining read from this author! I am looking forward to the third and final book in the series!

Rating 4/5

The books in this trilogy in order are:

The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B.
Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe
The Last Great Dance on Earth

Voyager by Diana Gabaldon

Ana says:

I must say I really enjoyed this book. However I thought it was more interesting till they leave Scotland. Once they start off to the Caribbean it loses a bit of it's appeal to me and it took me longer to read that part than the first one.

The book starts with Jamie and Claire 2 centuries apart. Claire discovers Jamie has survived Culloden and decides, with the blessing of their daughter, to go back in time.

Jamie has had a complicated life since surviving the battle, that includes time spent in prison, an illegitimate son and a loveless marriage with Laoghaire.
After professing their love for each other they have to deal with some of these issues and due to Jamie's current smuggling activities are forced to embark towards the West Indies trying to find Young Ian (Jamie's nephew). The story worked really well for me till this point, then it slows a bit during their time at sea and near the end it picks up it's pace in preparation for the next book.

I think Gabaldon's strongest point besides research is how well developed her characters are, and I think I prefer the parts where she focus more on the characters themselves than in their adventures.

In short – a very good book and if you haven't started this series yet you should because the first one is EXCELLENT!

Marg says:

It has been years since I read this book, but it is without doubt my favourite of the Outlander books by Diana Gabaldon. Now, that is actually saying something, because Jamie is one of the most droolworthy men in literature (Oh Jamie... sigh) despite the fact that my brother-in-law's name is Jamie, has Scottish heritage, and has auburn hair. Somehow I manage to differentiate the two very clearly in my brain...thank goodness! LOL!

I do agree with Ana that the action in the first half is definitely better. I love the research that is being done to try and find Jamie in the past, I love the scene where they find him, I love the blossoming relationship between Roger and Brianna, the race to physically find Jamie, and then Jamie having to actually explain to Claire exactly what his current living arrangements are when minutes after having found him again she is embroiled in, what shall we call it, one of Jamie's little adventures! In fact the print shop scene is probably my favourite scene out of the whole series! Oh, and Mr Willoughby is a fantastic addition to the cast of characters in this book!

Just thinking about it makes me want to pick up the book, open it randomly to a page and start reading! Maybe I will just do that! Sounds like a pretty good way to spend a Saturday night to me - me and Jamie....oh, and Claire as well!

The Firemaster's Mistress by Christie Dickason

The Firemaster is Francis Quoynt, recently returned from Flanders and dreaming of making fireworks rather than ordnance. Kate Peach was abandoned by Quoynt, then lost her entire family to plague, and has since been forced to live as a kept woman in Southwark. Now they meet again, and the circumstances are not good. Guido Fawkes and other papist hotheads are about to appear in their lives in the gaudy, conspiracy-ridden streets of Shakespeare's London.

One the fourth centenary of Guido Fawkes' attempt to blow up King James I and his parliament, here is the astonishing and never-before-told story of the infamous Gunpowder and Treason Plot. Guido Fawkes and Robin Catesby, Robert Cecil and Francis Bacon are among the historical characters that spring to life in Whitehall and the City - and the fishing village of Brighton - as a very surprising love story confounds expectations and a stunning new conspiracy theory unfolds.

I bought this book in December of 2005, and there it has sat languishing, waiting on the shelves for me to find the time to read it as I try to balance my ever growing TBR pile and juggle between library books and the books I own. And there it would probably have stayed except for the fact that I was notified that I have been selected to receive the sequel to this book, called The Principessa as part of the Harper Collins First Look program.

The thing is, if it had of just stayed there, I would have missed out on quite an entertaining read. It tells the story of the Gunpowder Plot, an event that is remembered each year in November at Guy Fawkes/Fireworks night celebrations. Given that this is an event that is still celebrated, I am somewhat surprised that I haven't come across more historical fiction about this event.

The central characters in this story are Francis Quoynt, his father Francis 'Boomer ' Quoynt, Kate Peach and Robert Cecil.

Francis has not long returned from the battlefields of Flanders, and is living with his father at Powder Mote, when he receives a request from Robert Cecil, English Secretary of State. The Quoynt family had a long history of being guns-for-hire and so Francis headed to London to see what was in store for him - not realising just how much his life was about to change. Cecil asks Francis to turn traitor, to try and infiltrate a group that was planning on trying to kill the King. The only thing that Francis needed to know was that Cecil would provide support to him secretly, but if he was caught, there would be a chance that he would not be able to be saved, and would be treated as a traitor along with his accomplices. So, the world that Francis agrees to enter is one filled with subterfuge, mistrust and secrecy. This becomes even more apparent when Francis is approached by Cecil's political arch enemy and cousin, Francis Bacon, who questions whether Cecil is really acting on behalf of the King or perhaps for other, more sinister reasons.

As Francis has to learn to walk the fine line between becoming embroiled in a dangerous and treasonous plot, yet still being loyal to either Cecil or England, he is approached by Mistress Kate Peach, the former love of his life - the woman he left behind when he went to Flanders. For Kate, the intervening years have been tough. She is the only member of her family left after her village was visited by the Plague, and she now lives in the seedy Southwark area of London, making a little spare cash making gloves, but mostly being a kept woman. It seems that Kate is somehow embroiled in this plot as well, and Francis has an added thing to worry about - how to keep Kate safe and away from the noose that awaits all traitors. That is made all the more difficult when Kate has some secrets of her own.

Meanwhile, Boomer is seeing events from 20 years ago come back to haunt him, and yet, it somehow appears as though those events are somehow connected to the mess that his son has now got himself into.

It took me a little while to get into this book, but in the end I did quite enjoy it. Dickason does propose an interesting new theory on what the Gunpowder Plot was really about. To be honest, I didn't quite buy it, but it certainly is an entertaining theory if nothing else.

There are some scenes in this books that are quite graphic, including some sex scenes, a scene where a Jesuit priest is hung, drawn and quartered, and the story of what happened to Kate when her family died. The latter does go a long way towards explaining some of Kate's fears though.

One thing that I am pleased about, is that the author didn't go the most obvious route when it came to the relationship between Francis and Kate. It was quite surprising to see what did happen, but I am not going to spoil here! One thing that I will say is that by taking the option that she did, it certainly left the opportunity for a sequel more open than it may have otherwise done. Oh, and the mistress referred to in the title isn't Kate, but it's not another woman - how's that for a tease?

Overall, this turned out to be an interesting read about an interesting time in English history. I am glad that I finally read this, and I am looking forward to reading The Principessa.

Rating 4/5

The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B by Sandra Gulland

You will be unhappily wed.
You will be widowed.
You will be queen

To the fourteen year old Rose, eldest daughter of a poor plantation landlord, the fortuneteller's prophecy is both thrilling and laughable. Poorly educated and without a dowry, it seems unlikely that she will find any husband - much less a king. But history tells a different tale, for Rose not only marries into a wealthy aristocratic family, she survives the French Revolution, outlives her first husband and is one day known as Josephine Bonaparte.

In this beautifully crafted novel, Sandra Gulland pulls back the veil of history to reveal an extraordinary life. From her simple childhood on the French island of Martinique to her first heady experience in French revolutionary Paris and her unhappy marriage to the unfaithful Alexandre, Rose's destiny lives with a man determined to rule all of France, determined to make her Queen.

The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B is the first book in the incredible trilogy inspired by the life of Josephine Bonaparte.

Marg Says:

On the odd occasion that I have read books that are in diary format, particularly historical fiction, they haven't necessarily worked for me, so if I had of realised that this was the format of this book, I probably wouldn't have picked it up. This is, however, one of those books where the diary format really, really works.

We meet the legendary Josephine Bonaparte when she is Rose, a young planter's daughter who lives in Martinique. She visits a fortune teller who tells her that she will be married unhappily, she will be a widow, and she will be a queen - all very unlikely given that she is uneducated, and from a poor family. Following tragedy within her family she is however betrothed to a man she has never met before and therefore has to make the trip to France - a country in uproar.

She marries Alexandre, Vicomte de Beaurharnais, and eventually provides him with two children, but the marriage is an unhappy one, and he is unfaithful to her many times. Eventually they undertake a legal separation, but there are many custody issues, particularly around their son, Eugene.

All of this takes place against a background of revolution, and eventually Josephine has to try and walk the fine line between being a revolutionary (necessary if one wants to keep one's head intact), but still being loyal and doing all she can to save her aristocratic friends. As Alexandre becomes more and more important in government, Rose finds herself under more and more scrutiny because she is still his wife, and when the tide turns against Alexandre they both find themselves in Carmes prison. Even during such a worrying time as that, Alexandre and Rose still find ways to torment each other, until finally Alexandre's name is on the list - which means that he is on his way to meet Madame Guillotine. Rose's name is also called, but she is deemed too sick to be killed, and luckily, through her influential friends, she is released, thus narrowly avoiding the same fate as her husband.

Once out of prison, life in post revolutionary Paris begins, and Rose, now a widow, becomes the mistress of several men. Whilst never rich, she does have influence, and does seem to fraternise with many men who form part of the new government. It is through these men that she meets Napoleon. At first, she is unimpressed, but as he pursues her, she eventually begins to see some advantages to being linked with this man.

This book is the first book in a trilogy, and focuses mainly on Rose's life prior to meeting Napoleon. He only appears in the last few chapters of the book, presumably as a kind of teaser for the next book in the series. And if that was the intention then it definitely works, because I have already requested the next book in the series.

Gulland is very successful at giving some idea of what life must have been like for people in France during this turbulent time - never knowing whether or not your neighbour that you have known for years might be the one person who will turn you in for disloyalty, not knowing if each time you see your friends may be the last time you see them, struggling to provide food and education to your children.

Through it all Rose manages to maintain her dignity, humour and grace. Overall, this was a very entertaining read, about a very interesting woman who lived in very turbulent times, and is still remembered today.

Kailana Says:

I have had this book since March of last year. I bought it when it first came out as a 3-in-1 book, and it is has been on my to be read pile since. I have no idea why, but I was on my way out the door the other night to work, and while I had a book picked out to read, I came back downstairs and selected this one off my shelf. It was really random and a spur of the moment thought, but I am glad that I read it!

I have a strong liking for historical fiction novels, so when I heard about this trilogy I knew I had to eventually buy it. Other than Naomi Novik's historical fantasy series about the Napoleonic wars, this is the first time that I can remember reading a book about this particular period in time. It was not an intentional thing, but for whatever reason, this is the first time I got around to reading about this time period.

I really liked this book. Let me point out that I am totally clueless. I was reading the book, and the main character in the novel is named Rose. It never even came to mind that it should be Josephine. I really wonder about myself sometimes, as it was clear that she was going to be the main character in all three books. It was not until she met Napoleon that her name became Josephine. I am still kicking myself for being so totally unobservant!

It is amazing what Josephine becomes in this novel. She begins the book living with her family, having never even been to France before, but one of her aunts sends a letter looking for one of her nieces to marry a young man that her aunt knows, Alexandre. For a large period of the novel, he is an important person in France's history. This naive young girl comes to France, and winds up married to a very important man. Too bad that he is not a very nice husband, and treats her more like a friend than anything else. He does give her two wonderful children, that present themselves and their personalities several times during the course of the book. It is hard to believe that the woman that marries Alexandre becomes Empress of France, because she can be quite naive. She is brave, but she holds onto romantic notions that make you wonder how she ever gets ahead. She grows up, though.

During the course of just this first book you see her go from this naive little girl to this very important woman in France. She may not have a lot of money, but she is very brave and puts her fellow man ahead of herself more times than I can count. She does not seem to care what happens to herself, she is more interested in helping others. She makes wonderful connections in doing so, though, that help her out in the end. I have to say, I know who Napoleon is, of course, but he was never given a lot of study in the history courses that I took. As far as I can tell, Sandra Gulland put a lot of time into making this diary-format book as close to accurate as possible. I learned a lot, and plan to track down a non-fiction book in the future to get a clearer idea of the validity of this historical fiction novel.

Overall, a very enjoyable start to a trilogy.

The books in this trilogy in order are:

The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B
Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe
The Last Great Dance on Earth

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

Ana says:

When I finished this book I was totally overwhelmed by what I had just finished reading. I think it is one of the best books I've read this year.

This is a book about women, about their strength and ability to keep their dignity and traditions in a period where men held most of the power. It also shows the importance of family bond's and story telling as a way to pass history and culture from one generation to the other.

This is also a book of historical fiction based on a biblical episode mentioned in Genesis 34. I couldn't resist doing some research to find out more about Dinah. She really is just a footnote in the Bible but Diamant gives her and the women of her tribe a wonderful dimension. Not only that but she makes the settings - Mesopotamia, Canaan, Egypt - come alive. We can almost smell, feel and see the places that she describes. We will never know the true story but this is a fabulous account of what might have been.


Marg says:

This is one of the earliest reviews that I wrote, because when I finished it I just HAD to talk about it to anyone I could. Even now, nearly two years later, if someone asks for a rec this is one of the first books I will mention!

Normally when I think of historical fiction as a genre, for me it is generally going to be about royalty of the years after about 1000AD and usually British, but not exclusively. However, I recently read The Red Tent by Anita Diamant, set in ancient times in Mesopotamia, Canaan and Egypt, and am really glad that I expanded my range of times to accommodate this book.

The Red Tent is the story of Jacob's daughter Dinah. She is mentioned in Genesis in the Bible and in Chapter 34 we are told the story of what happened to her. What Anita Diamant has done is filled in the outlines as provided in the Old Testament, telling stories of what it was like growing up as the only daughter of Jacob (who came to be regarded as one of the major characters of the Old Testament – no less than the father of Israel), of her life with her mothers, what it was like to practice as a midwife in those times.

Jacob had four wives, two of whom were named as sisters in the Old Testament, and the other two being their servants. Diamant names them all as having the same father, but only two of them (the beautiful Rachel and her older sister Leah) were acknowledged by him. What this means for the Dinah we come to know is that all four women are both her mothers and her aunts. During Dinah's childhood we come to know the four women, each of whom have different skills and hold different places in Jacob's heart. We hear the stories of the Red Tent, where the women withdraw each month at the new moon for rest and fellowship, we hear the stories of the births of children, and of some deaths in childbirth of both mother and children. Most of all we are treated to what it may have been like to live in fellowship as a woman with other women in Old Testament times.

Eventually, as Dinah grows she begins to follow one of her aunts and begins to train as a midwife. This brings her to the city of Shechem where Dinah's life changes completely. In the Bible, once we hear of the events as they occurred at Shechem we hear no more of her, and here Diamant takes Dinah on a journey that leads Dinah to eventually live in Egypt.

The story as written by Diamant is touching, and surprising, and gives plenty of thought provoking suggestions of how life may have lived in ancient times. The use of the household gods throughout the story surprised me a lot, but I can see how Diamant builds on what we have been told in the Bible and taken her story to this point from those references. I was so interested in this story I did find myself referring back to the Old Testament to try and work out which parts of the story were directly from there, and which parts were enhancements.

I loved this book and would rate it as 5 out of 5. I was sorry when it ended, but I am sure there will come a time in the not too distant future where I will find myself revisiting the life and times of the only daughter of Jacob.

Kailana Says:

This is one of the first reviews I ever wrote, so it is not the best review ever, but here are my thoughts.

I am not a very religious person, so this story is not something I am overly familiar with. It is the story of Dinah, daughter of Jacob from the Bible. Not even having to research the story, I can say that this is more information than appears in the story of the Bible. It is a woman's perspective of her life and the life of the people around her.

The story starts back in the time of her mothers. Four sisters that would end up marrying the same man: Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah. They marry Jacob, who is the important chapter in the Book of Genesis. Dinah tells the story from before she was born until the moments after she dies in the last pages of the novel. Leah was the woman that gave birth to her. She was the hard-working woman that gave birth to the majority of Jacob's sons. Rachel was the beauty, and the second wife. She gave birth to two of Jacob's sons, and was a midwife that influenced Dinah's later life. The last two wives were Zilpah and Bilhah. Zilpah had little interest in her husband, she always seemed to live in her own world. Bilhah was the calm and quiet member of the family, until she does something so shocking that Jacob turns his back.

Dinah grew up with her mothers' love, as she considered all these women one of her mothers. She was the only daughter, so she got special attention from these women that would sustain her through the rest of her life, even when they were apart. A great travesty happened in her life, and she turned her back on her family and travelled to Egypt where she had a son, met the man she would spend the rest of her life with, and discovered a whole new family. She was considered a great midwife, Rachel's legacy to her, and well-respected in her own world. Near the end of her life she travels to her homeland where she sees her grown up brothers that were still living, she has twelve, and makes peace with her past.

It is a lovely tale, it does not matter what part of the world it takes place in or the time frame. It is about the struggle of women to have a life in a male-dominated society and have a voice for their beliefs. Dinah overcomes great obstacles to become a great woman of Egypt. I recommend this book to everyone.

Harold the King by Helen Hollick

An Epic Retelling of the tide of Events that led to the Norman Conquest of England, through the Charismatic and compelling characters at its heart

England 1044, The Godwines are on the most powerful families in the country. As each of Earl Godwine’s six sons reach maturity, so they are rewarded with title and influence. Harold Godwin has inherited his father’s diplomatic skills – but none of his lust for battle.

In Normandy, William, bastard son of a duke, is trained to be a solider. A charismatic leader, he inspires those who pledge loyalty with the promise of ever greater victories.

King Edward both influenced and angered by his powerful mother Emma, is England’s reluctant monarch. His passions lie away from the tedium of government, as his ambitious wife Edith, soon discovers.

Meanwhile, Harold stature grows – and with it the pressure to abandon his love, Edyth Swanneck, and make an alliance of political advantage. William’s spirited young bride Mathilde has brought him land and wealth to further his cause – and a stormy partnership.

As a Power struggle begins to emerge, events take a dramatic and bloody turn. For the ultimate prize is England’s royal crown…

I got this book because one day at work I was bored so I decided to look at the library catalogue and this book grabbed my attention. There is one problem with ordering library books online, you never know how big there are until you pick it up. When I got this one I was quickly filled with dread, this book is just shy of 700 pages. I was concerned that the story would get bogged down with details. However once I started reading I was pleasantly surprise, yes the book is detailed and it involves a lot of character, however it flows really nicely.

This is the story of Harold Godwines battle to do what is best for England and what is best for his family. This story spans over 20 years and two countries, with many other countries making an appearance.

This story was set a long time ago yet the themes, Jealousy, Greed and Love in story a still very relevant and relatable today.

The Godwines are a very powerful family in England, and the King and his adviser Robert Champart do not always like this. There are many battles and many family problems through out the novel and this gives you the chance to get to know all of the important people. I felt that Harold really came alive through his love story with Edyth. He falls in love with Edyth shortly after he becomes Earl of East Anglia, Essex, Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire however as Edyth is not of noble birth and Harold can not take her as a Christian wife but he can take her as a handfast wife which was the tradition of the old laws. While Harold is the main character the story also focuses on William the Bastard, King Edward and most of Harold family.

The following quote from Harold to his son I think sums up the struggle that Harold faced throughout out the novel

“Which takes precedence, danger to yourself and your immediate family, or to the wider spread of the people you hold responsibility for? You or Your Country”

Overall I really enjoyed this book and found it rich in detail and a compelling read. Also I really liked the fact the author included a note at the back of the book explaining how she came to some conclusions and also what she modified within her story.

Spotlight on: Phryne Fisher Mysteries by Kerry Greenwood

Set in Melbourne in the late 1920's, the Phryne Fisher mysteries by Kerry Greenwood feature the delightful Lady Phryne Fisher, an independently wealthy, strong willed, fun loving young woman having a ball during the decadent time that was the late 1920's.











Whilst Phryne (pronounced Fry-knee as in rhymes with briny) is now a very wealthy young lady around town, she hasn't forgotten her humble beginnings and childhood when her family were very poor. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that her father inherited a title as a result of the death of the other people in line during WWI, she would be living a very different life. Phryne remembers exactly what it was like to struggle to find the next meal, and to wonder where money is going to come from, and she therefore has a great deal of empathy for many of the poor souls that she comes across in her work, to the extent that several of them find a place in her permanent household.


Phryne excels at living her life to the fullest...whatever that means. She has a penchant for danger, champagne, beautiful clothes, dancing and beautiful young men, and sees fit to indulge whenever she can, and always manages to track down the villains...no matter what kind of case she is investigating!



For me, one of the great joys of reading this series is to read the descriptions of Melbourne (which is where I live) as it was back then. In the last book I read, Greenwood described passing the fields between Preston and Reservoir - these two places are suburbs of Melbourne, and if you try to drive between the two of them, all you will find is traffic, shops and houses - no countryside left at all in that part of town!

The most recently released covers in the series really capture the personality of the main character and are gorgeous to look at!



The books in the series so far are:

Cocaine Blues
Flying Too High
Murder on the Ballarat Train
Death At Victoria Dock
The Green Mill Murder
Blood and Circuses
Ruddy Gore
Urn Burial
Raisins and Almonds
Death Before Wicket
Away with the Fairies
Murder in Montparnasse
The Castlemaine Murders
Queen of the Flowers
Death by Water
Murder in the Dark

Upcoming release: The Huntress by Susan Carroll

One of the upcoming releases that Kailana and Marg are very excited about is The Huntress by Susan Carroll, which is due to be released on July 31.

The year is 1585 and prophecy has foretold the coming of a Daughter of the Earth whose powers are so extraordinary, she could usurp the Dark Queen herself, Catherine de Medici. Caitlin O’Hanlon known as the Huntress must find this mysterious young girl and shield her from those who would exploit her mystic abilities which have the potential to change the course of history.

This book is the fourth book in the Fair Isle series. The first three books in the series are set in the late 1500's, in France during the time of Catherine de Medici, a queen rumoured to have more than a passing acquaintance with the dark arts.

These books are a mixture of historical fiction, romance, with elements of magic, and they are a fantastic read.

The books in the series in order are:

The Dark Queen
The Courtesan
The Silver Rose
The Huntress

You can read Marg's review of The Dark Queen here, Kailana's here, and we have written joint reviews for The Courtesan and The Silver Rose. The author also now has a website that can be found at www.susancarroll.org.

Can not wait to get to this book!

Welcome to Historical Tapestry

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Scroll down for more posts from us.




Who are we?

We are a group of readers who read a wide variety of genres, but who all love to read historical fiction, in any of it's many incarnations - historical fiction, historical fantasy, historical romance!

We will each do an introductory post telling a bit more about ourselves, but in summary, we have a pretty varied group - Kailana is Canadian, Stephanie is American, Ana is from Portugal and Louise and Marg are both from Australia.

What will you see here?

The plan is to bring a mixture of historical fiction reviews, author spotlights, upcoming release news, interesting titbits from history - basically if something is about historical fiction then there is every chance that we will be posting about it here!

Hopefully it will be a lot of fun for both our visitors, and ourselves!

Definition of Historical Fiction

One of the things that can be frustrating about historical fiction is deciding how it is to be defined, and sometimes it can be quite contentious, so here are our thoughts:


Marg says:

For me, historical fiction is anything that incorporates in some way both actual and imagined figures shown in their historical context. The actual historical figure could be either a minor or major character. Either way, I am happy! In terms of the time frames, I like to think that anything that happened more than two generations ago could be classified as historical fiction. For example, for me, a novel written about events in WWII would count as HF. Having said that, I do think that the date that a book was published should be taken into consideration as well. I don't think a book that was written say in the late 1800's about the late 1800's is historical fiction if I am reading it now, because the author wouldn't necessarily have put a lot of time into writing about life, clothes, food etc.


Kailana says:

I am not very picky on what historical fiction is. I took history in university, so you would think that would be otherwise, but I just read historical fiction for the enjoyment level and less for the accurate facts. Historical fiction is supposed to be fiction taking place 100 years or more ago, but I am pretty flexible with that. I think that any novel set in the past with a true historical background can be considered historical fiction. I do agree with Marg, though, a novel written in the past about the time it was written during is not historical fiction for me. They are just writing about the times like writers of today are writing about our times. Many people do not like historical fiction that does not centre itself around actual historical figures, but I am very flexible about that. It is more about the book than the character. Some books with a person that did not actually exist in history as the main character are very good reads, and sometimes they are not. I am pretty flexible, as you can see, as I read historical fantasy and like flexibility in writing.

Louise says:

I consider anything written between 50-100 years after the Authors lifetime to be historical fiction. I also feel that the story should either have a major historical event or a historical figure, though they do not need to be the main focus and sometimes it is better when they aren't the main focus as it gives the author more flexibility in character development.

Ana says:

I think Historical Fiction is a story of fiction that recreates a particular period in the past and makes it the background of the action. I like it when it's an accurate portrayal of all the aspects of the society of the time and if we can have some real people as characters all the better, I like to think of historical fiction as filling in the holes of History. We will never know if it happened like that but it's a possibility!

I agree that a writer writing about it's own time it's not to be considered HF but an 19th century author writing about the 15th century enters my definition of what is Historical Fiction.

Stephanie Says:

If I just say, "Ditto", will that do?? No really, to me Historical Fiction is a STORY about the past. I like to read about History, but Historical fiction just adds more pizazz! It tells more about feelings and thoughts, which is something you can't get by picking up a history text. I like knowing back-stories, which is probably why this genre appeals to me.

As far as dates go, I do agree that to be labeled Historical Fiction, a book has to be written about a previous time in history.

What about you? How do you define Historical Fiction?