By The King's Design by Christine Trent *GIVEAWAY*

Thanks to her patron and great architect, John Nash, Belle Stirling is a rising star in the homes of London’s fashionable elite. Even the prince regent wants her elegant, high quality fabrics used in the decoration of his new palace, Brighton Pavilion. But when those closest to her conspire against Parliament, she risks losing her reputation, her business...and even her life

19th century, Yorkshire. Annabelle (Belle) Stirling was raised learning all about the wonderful world of drapers. After the lost of both her parents, Belle starts running the family draper shop all by herself, even if the owner is her brother, Wesley. The latter is a charming young man who isn't interested at all in the shop and lets his sister do whatever she thinks is best for the business.

My favourite moments in the first part of the story were the scenes during Belle's younger years learning all there is to know about drapers with her father, Fafa. They are full of tenderness and we can see what a wonderful and accomplished woman Belle is becoming.

After an incident at her shop, Belle leaves for London where she finally decides to stay and built a new life. Sometimes, I was a little surprised how quickly she landed on her feet. Maybe I was expecting a little more resistance from her peers because not only she was a woman and unmarried but mostly she was unknown in town without any connections. But, in the other hand, the girl knew her business quite well.

The only aspect of this story that pleased me the least was Belle's attitude in presence of her brother. I do understand that he was her only kin, but after so many problems and so many signs that something was really off, Belle remained, for a very long time, completely blind over her brother's doings. It was even more frustrating knowing that otherwise Belle was an intelligent, hard-working woman who valued her independence above all.

I have to say that Ms Trent has a real gift to create interesting heroes. Putnam Boyce stole every scene he was in. His calm, self-confidence and passion make it impossible not to fall head over heels for him. Each time Belle needed his help, he was there for her. The mutual admiration for their respective work was something that I could feel and really appreciate. Of course, Putnam is not without faults, and that makes him even more interesting.

The historical background was extremely captivating. I knew little about the Luddites and while I was reading By The King's Design, I excitedly searched all kind of informations about the movement. The attacks were described vividly, I could imagine without any difficulties the rage and the fear felt during the destruction of the new machines.

In the other hand, the Prince Regent is one of those royals that I never really cared for and therefore, except for his excesses, lovers and marriage with Caroline of Brunswick, my knowledge is quite limited. His reaction to Belle was surprising, but probably not unexpected given his changeable opinions and love for lovely women.

By The King's Design was a wonderful way to begin the new year !

Grade : 4/5

 

___________________________________

 

Rules of the giveaway:

 

- to participate, just leave a comment

- one entry per household

- open WORLDWIDE

- closes 13th February midnight GMT

Tour Links:

Tour Schedule: http://hfvirtualbooktours.blogspot.com/2011/11/christine-trent-on-tour-for-by-kings.html

Christine Trent's Website: http://www.christinetrent.com/home.html

Christine Trent on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ChristineTrentBooks

Tour Event Twitter Hashtag: #BytheKing'sDesignVirtualTour

Guest Post: Women at War by Christine Blevins (includes giveaway)

We are very pleased to welcome Christine Blevins to Historical Tapestry as she kicks off her virtual book tour

Christine Blevins’ latest novel The Turning of Anne Merrick is the second in a 3-book series set during the American Revolution and War of Independence.

Women at War

The history we learn in school and what is most often portrayed in popular media is almost always focused on the courage and dedication of men. Women’s stories are often lost or overlooked, and in this regard, the history of the American Revolution is no exception.

Some will say, “Aw come on, Christine… what about Betsy Ross, or Martha Washington… or Abigail Adams…” and then the argument usually peters off right there. Most of us can name too few examples of women who played any role in the event considered to be one of the biggest turning points in world history.

Betsy Ross

Because women’s roles very often occur backstage to the political arena or battleground, they are seldom recorded, and hence become lost to us. Researching and writing a continuing story set during the American Revolution has offered me the opportunity to explore the many and diverse ways women were involved in the conflict.

Apathetic, Patriotic or Loyalist, women could not help but be touched by the events that occurred once “the shot heard round the world” was fired in 1775. Though 18th century society might dictate that a women’s role and viewpoint be either unimportant, or based on that of her husband or father, the events leading up to revolution and the resultant war inspired many women to act upon their own political choices.

Hearth and Home

Revolutionary America could be a very unsafe place for women. American women became eyewitnesses to war when their towns, cities and farms were engulfed in battle. With men gone off to fight, the women left behind were often called upon to manage the family and farm or business on their own. Many of these women were responsible for defending hearth and home from military foragers (both Continental and British), British Indian allies, and desperate deserters. Those unlucky enough to find themselves in either army’s path were often forced out onto the road as refugees. On her way to marry a Redcoat officer, Jane MacCrae was brutally murdered and scalped by Indian raiders employed by the British. News of her death helped to turn sentiment away from the Loyalist cause.

Jane McCrea

Out of loyalty, or sometimes due to economic constraints, many women followed their men from garrison, to camp, to battlefield, carrying children (and often bearing children) along the way. Officer wives, like the Baroness Frederika Von Riedesel, crossed oceans and braved the wilds to support their husband’s career. Other women followed their common soldier-husbands and served as cooks or laundresses for the army. No matter their social strata, these camp following women suffered victory and defeat with their armies, and bore witness to the brutality of army life and the horror of battle by nursing the sick and wounded. Though it is debated whether the story of Molly Pitcher – the wife of a Continental gunner who took his place at the cannon when he was killed in action – is fact or fiction, I would be willing to wager the act of a camp follower taking up arms against the enemy was not an uncommon one.

Molly Pitcher

Some women tried to engage in a more active role than those permitted. Deborah Samson was exposed – and is thus remembered in the record – as a woman who disguised herself as a man in order to enlist and fight as a soldier in the Continental Army.

Both Loyalist and Patriot women risked having their necks stretched for treason by gathering intelligence on the enemy. The mysterious agent known only as “355” was a female member of Washington’s Culpur Ring of spies who goes down in history with her name and fate never revealed. Anne Bates was one of the Britain’s most successful she-spies, infiltrating the Continental Army as a peddler woman she gave accurate report on rebel troop numbers, movements, and munitions. Lydia Darragh was a Quaker housewife who eavesdropped on the British Command quartered in her home and smuggled the information thus gathered to General Washington at Valley Forge.

These are but a few examples. Patriot or Loyalist, free or slave, black, white, or Native American, women were there. As a writer of historical fiction, I am always compelled to try and ferret out their lost stories. In my digging, I can’t help but wonder about all the unnamed women whose world was turned upside down by Revolution and War – whose stories we can only imagine.

For more information check out the following links:

HFVBT Tour Schedule
Christine Blevins' website
Christine Blevins on Facebook
Christine Blevins on Twitter: @Author_CBlevins
Tour Event Twitter Hashtag: #TurningofAnneMerrickVirtualTour


Giveaway Details

We are very pleased to offer an International giveaway as part of the blog tour.

"18th Century Stationery – just the sort of sundry Anne Merrick peddled to those bloodyback scoundrels in Burgoyne’s camp. Supplied with a quill pen and wrapped for convenient stowing amidst your gear, these sheets and envelopes are perfect for scrieving all manner of secret messages – invisible ink not included."

To win, leave a comment telling us which historical figure you would write to if you could! Also, please leave an email address so that we can contact you if you win!

Giveaway closes on 12 February 2012.

Don't forget to stop by on Friday when I will be posting my review of The Turning of Anne Merrick.

Why I love Evil Villains… by Beverley Eikli

Throw a truly evil villain into a love story and I’m hooked. Melodrama featured heavily in the stories I wrote as a child and teenager. Gothic thrillers like The Mysteries of Udolpho by Mrs Radcliffe and Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen inspired my adolescent attempts to combine romance with a healthy dose of drama and intrigue – always with an evil villain.

It seems I can’t help it. In my latest ARRA (Australian Romance Readers of Australia)-nominated book, A Little Deception, the villainess nearly took over from my heroine, Rose. My editor had to remind me several times that it’s not about the villain so I worked hard to instil in my heroine qualities that would make her as worthy as my villainess, Helena, was detestable.

Then the time came to give my villainess her just desserts. I wanted this to be fair and in the spirit of forgiveness.  Instead, my husband was horrified I’d let Helena off so lightly and, trusting his judgement highly, I upped the ante. Still, it was not enough for a fair reckoning of her crimes. This was one really evil villainess who used her beauty and guile and pulled no punches in her numerous attempts to destroy the reputation of her sister-in-law, Rose. Ultimately, Helena gets what she deserves.

Another evil villain of mine, the unctuous Reverend Kirkman, was someone everyone loved to hate in Lady Farquhar’s Butterfly, which Robert Hale has just re-released as an e-book.

His sinister motives in wanting Olivia for his wife lead him to blackmail and ultimately, worse, as Olivia tries to reclaim the infant son her abusive late husband has decreed be brought up by a cousin. Other dark secrets to which she unwittingly holds the key threaten the love she’s found with the boy’s guardian.

Olivia’s ultimate show-down with the villain was, again, originally milder in earlier drafts. However, true evil needs to be fairly matched with just desserts.

Writing the resolution to Lady Farquhar’s Butterfly was infinitely satisfying as I dished out exactly what the truly villainous Reverend Kirkman deserved at the same time as re-imbuing Olivia with the courage and self esteem her late husband had knocked out of her.

Whether I’ve plotted it, or not, an evil villain always seems to emerge from my first drafts…just as redemption is, unconsciously, my most popular theme.

I guess the forces of good and evil knitted together with a redemption theme make a good combination; and the habits and secret pleasures of one’s childhood can take a lifetime to overcome.

***

Beverley Eikli wrote her first romance novel when she was seventeen. Drowning the heroine on the last page (p550!) was, she soon discovered, not in the spirit of the genre so her romance-writing career ground to a halt.

A new world of romance and adventure opened up to her in a thatched cottage in the Okavango Delta with a handsome Norwegian bush pilot, then, later, in the back of Cessna 404s during low-level survey sorties over the French Guyanese jungle and Greenland’s ice cap. Cocooned for eight hours at a time with lonely pilots was, she discovered, a great apprenticeship for a romance author. 

Lady Farquhar’s Butterfly is available in hard cover, Large Print and as an e-book.
 

Phryne Fisher comes to TV

I don't watch a lot of TV. Don't get me wrong. It is always on, but usually just in the background. Even when there is something I think I would like I tend to record it and never actually get around to watching it! I am however sure that will not happen when Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher is shown after being  adapted for TV as a series! I have been trying to find a dedicated trailer but haven't been able to. Instead, you can see a short glimpse of the series in this clip, starting at 1:50.




As soon as there is a proper trailer I will be sure to share it.

Based on just that glimpse the casting seems pretty good, it looks good so hopefully it is!

Along with the TV series, the books in the series are all being rereleased with tie-in covers. Over the years there have been a lot of different cover incarnations for this series. Some have been good, some not quite so! I thought it would be fun to do a bit of a comparison of a couple of the books showing you the cover that my book had when I read it, then my favourites which are the cartoon style covers (oh so much fun and totally fitting the series in my opinion and then the TV tie in.

The first book in the series is Cocaine Blues and here are the three covers:

And here are the covers for the fourth book in the series, Death at Victoria Dock:

To see more of the new TV tie in covers check out http://www.phrynefisher.com/

Affinity by Sarah Waters

An upper-class woman, recovering from a suicide attempt, visits the women's ward of Millbank prison as part of her rehabilitation. There she meets Selina, an enigmatic spiritualist-and becomes drawn into a twilight world of ghosts and shadows, unruly spirits and unseemly passions, until she is at last driven to concoct a desperate plot to secure Selina's freedom, and her own.

"Unfolds sinuously and ominously...a powerful plot-twister. The book is multidimensional: a naturalistic look at Victorian society; a truly suspenseful tale of terror; and a piece of elegant, thinly veiled erotica." (USA Today)

"Gothic tale, psychological study, puzzle narrative-Sarah Waters' second novel is all of these wrapped into one, served up to superbly suspenseful and hypnotic effect." (The Seattle Times)

Today Marg and I have decided to review Affinity by Sarah Waters together. Enjoy!


Kelly: I am always happy to pick-up a book by Sarah Waters. What did you think of this book overall? What made you choose it over the other Sarah Waters that you haven’t read yet?

Marg: Actually, this is my first Sarah Waters, so the main reason for choosing it is that it is one of the Waters books that you haven’t read! How many have you read and how did this one compare to the others that you have read?

Kelly: Really? I totally had it in my mind that you read The Night Watch. Well, you are in for some treats! I really liked The Night Watch because it takes place during WWII. I knew little to nothing about Sarah Waters, but the setting appealed to me and I decided that I had to read it. Then, I actually discovered that Waters was very popular and I had been missing out. The other book I read by her was Fingersmith. It seemed a lot different than The Night Watch. If I remember correctly, it has been a while, The Night Watch started from the end and went to the beginning. There were no real mysteries compared to the atmospheric novel Fingersmith. This book was a lot more like Fingersmith, though. It was gothic in nature, there were twists and turns (but not like Fingersmith), and you may or may not know how it was going to all play out in the end. I really enjoyed it, though. Fingersmith remains my favourite, though, and I just feel like The Night Watch is not something that really can be compared because it is different.

What did you think of this book as your first taste of Sarah Waters, then?

Marg: I own Night Watch. Just haven’t read it yet!

I thought I had a fair idea of what to expect from a Sarah Waters book, but I found it quite a bit more literary than I thought it would be! The topic itself (spiritualism in the late 19th century) was fascinating but the strength of the book really was towards the end. The tension built and I couldn’t wait to see what happened.

Kelly: I consider that her true talent. She writes interesting beginnings, but as the book gets going it really comes into its own and you are flipping the pages to find out just what is going to happen next. So far I have enjoyed that with all of them.

I agree with this book that spiritualism in the late 19th century was a very interesting topic. She wrote so well that once in a while I almost believed in spiritualism. I was curious about how it was all going to be explained out in the end.

What did you think of the characters?

Marg: i thought the characters were really well done. The major characters were all multi faceted and I thought that the way that the reliability of the two main characters was written was interesting. In a way, our main character Margaret seemed to be a bit of an unreliable narrator. We knew that she had had an illness (as described in the book) and she seemed to be unsure of herself, and especially of the things that were happening to her. She seemed to strengthen through the novel though. I felt so sorry for her at the end, especially in the light of the restrictions placed on women in Victorian society, especially those who don’t fit the mould of what is seen to be normal.

With Selina’s past story interwoven through the narrative, I certainly started off with the assumption that she was a charlatan and yet as the spooky events started her character was so compelling it was hard to have doubts about her!

I thought that the setting in the Victorian prison was totally a character in this book. The atmosphere was dark and brooding and very claustrophobic and the various warders helped create that feeling as well.

Were there any of the episodes that Selina caused that were a bit scary to you?

Kelly: I thought the characters were well done, too. Sarah Waters is very gifted at writing characters that stick with you long after finishing the book. Margaret and Selina are two such characters. I felt bad for Margaret. She was a lesbian in Victorian England. It was not exactly the accepted lifestyle. The first woman she loved married her brother and then the events of her relationship with Selina were heart-breaking at times. That was not exactly apparent from the beginning, but as we began to know Margaret better it became more apparent. This is the saddest book I have read by Waters so far.

I agree. I never entirely trusted Selina, but the events she conducted were explained in such detail it was hard to see them as untrustworthy. I think that is what makes a gifted charlatan. If she wasn’t good at what she did; she would not have any customers. She was gifted at selling her act and making people feel compelled to do things for her. She just basically creeped me out, though. I am thinking it was because I had read Waters in past and knew there were usually major plot changes that lead me to not entirely trust Selina. There were just moments where I couldn’t entirely explain why what she was saying was a lie. I look at all the episodes that Selina caused as a whole and think she was just scary in general. She seemed like such an innocent, but there was a calculating mind behind everything she did. She was gifted at manipulating.

Did you think the book was believable for the time in which it was set and the events that occurred?

Marg: I definitely thought it reflected the time it was set in. To be a women in Victorian times was restrictive enough, let alone a lesbian woman, and throw in her health issues and it is no wonder that she was quite unhappy at times. I can’t help but be anxious that she is going to continue to be very unhappy after the events at the end of the book, and having to face her family will be difficult for her.

Do you like the diary entry format of the story?

Kelly: As long as it is done well, I really like diary-style books. They are never entirely believable because who remembers such exacting details from their day and writes in their diaries like that, but I think it was handled well. It showed enough of the story to see what was going on and that is the important thing. I also enjoyed that it was alternating between two people and their diaries. I think it wouldn’t have been the same story if the reader didn’t get to see both sides.

Marg: There are some diary books that are great to read, but there are others that aren’t! I was relieved to see that this was one of the good ones!

Kelly: What did you think of the relationships between the characters? Did you think they were believable?

Marg: I actually thought the relationships between the characters were really well drawn, especially the difficult relationship between Margaret and her now sister-in-law. If there was one character I did struggle with a little it would be Margaret’s mother, but I have no doubt that she was acting completely within the social and moral restrictions of the time.

Which relationships did you think were written well, or not as the case may be?

Kelly: Yes, the relationship between Margaret and her sister-in-law was very interesting. It was a nice addition to add a bit of sympathy to your view of Margaret. It must be even worse when you have a relationship with someone and not only does it not work out, but they marry your brother so you have to see them all the time. I don’t think you were meant to like Margaret’s mother. And, yes, she was probably very realistic for her time. Another relationship that was interesting was the one between Margaret and her father. He is dead at the time the book is set, but he is mentioned so much he really is another character in the book. I felt bad because it seemed that he encouraged Margaret to be a bit different and then he died before she actually got to live out her dreams. It left her with no real ally in the world. It was just interesting because of the time period and the expectations of the time. And it was another way that I felt badly for Margaret.

Obviously the big relationship in the book was the one between Margaret and Selina. What did you think of that relationship?

Marg: I found it interesting and appreciated the way that the relationship built up over time. I do think that Selina was extremely adept at manipulating the emotions of those around her, not only with Margaret, but also with so many other of the characters (mostly female) that we met through the course of the book. This manipulative ability combined with her evident charisma and somewhat dodgy moral character seems to lend itself to a fascinating character to read about.

Margaret would seem to be someone who would be an easy target for this kind of person though. She is already emotionally fragile, definitely aware of her apartness (for the want of a better word) from most other Victorian ladies of her social standing, and therefore the idea of acceptance from someone, from anyone, is one that she desperately clings to and in the short term at least is empowered by.

How did you read their relationship, both throughout the book and in the context of the end of the book?


****SPOILER ALERT****

Kelly: I have to admit that having read Sarah Waters twice before I was thinking there was something coming. I knew that things were not at all as they seemed, so I was very suspicious of the whole relationship. I just didn’t understand how their friendship would help Selina get out of jail. There were details that were not revealed to us until the end of the book. I was happy about that because then I was legitimately surprised. I love surprises in books. The Night Watch was a different sort of book, but Fingersmith had many surprises in store. I was able to figure out a couple of them, but there were still other twists and turns that caught me unaware. When an author can do that I know they are someone I am meant to be reading.

To get back to your actual question, Selina sort of creeped me out. As the book was told we were able to see her side of things. I always rather looked on people with her ‘abilities’ as con artists, but that is my personal opinion. As a result I read all of her sections with much scepticism. I didn’t entirely know the whole story, but I knew that things were likely a bit biased and things were being left out. I was still surprised by the connections in the story, but that is what I enjoy so much about books by this author.

What did you think?

Marg:I was absolutely sceptical about Serena and her talents all the way through, but as we were getting towards the end of the book I couldn’t quite see how she was doing the things she was doing. The solution made perfect sense though!

Overall,I am glad to have finally read my first Sarah Waters and I am looking forward to reading the next one which I think will probably be Night Watch given that I have owned that one for a couple of years.

Kelly: I hope you enjoy The Night Watch. It is a bit different from this one. I enjoyed reading this one together, though. I look forward to more Sarah Waters in the future and more buddy reads.

Sasmira, La fausse note by Laurent Vicomte, Claude Pelet and Patricia Faucon

First of all, this comic is in French, and, to my knowledge there's only a portuguese and spanish edition.

Fourteen very long years after Sasmira, L'Appel, the second volume was finally released a couple of months ago. I cannot even express how excited I was when I saw the book for the first time. For a few minutes, I held it in my hands admiring the cover, like I just couldn't believe it was true !

The story continues in the beginning of the 20th century, where Bertille and Stan are still trying to adapt to this new era. Both are desperate to find out how they found themselves in another time. Prudence, the house owner who seems to accept the couple's time travel quite easily, tries to help them the best she can.

The beautiful and mysterious Sasmira has Stan completely under her spell. This really annoys Bertille, who jealous of her boyfriend's admiration, always find herself in some funny (and sometimes dangerous) situations.
The author's really captured the character of Sasmira: beautiful, attractive, but intimidating and cold. You are drawn to her and repelled at the same time.

We learn more about Prudence's life and her odd relationship with Sasmira (finally !). There are quite a few surprises and not at all predictable. This is certainly one of the strong aspects of this series, you never know what to expect.

Other new characters join the story and while everything seems to get more complex and captivating, it also develops rather slowly. Or maybe after so many years, I want to know more about that Sasmira who seems to manipulate everyone around her.



Image credit BD Actu

To see more drawings, you can visit BD Gest'



The collaboration between Vicomte and Petel gives us some incredibly gorgeous drawings and a real care for detail. It's impossible not to enjoy this volume, especially if you are already a fan of the Sasmira, l'Appel. In the other hand, while I did enjoy La fausse note, I have to say that the long wait and the slow paced story were sometimes very frustrating. Now, I only hope the third volume will not be published in 15 years...

Grade: 4/5

I'll leave you with the trailer:

SASMIRA T2 / Bande-annonce par GLENATBD

Mad for Downton

One of the historical fiction crazes sweeping the nations is the very popular Downton Abbey. In response to the craze, book companies have been recommending and publishing books to appeal to the fans. They think that the people that watch the show tend to be literary types and since we are all here, we thought we would share the article that was published in The New York Times, in case you missed it. Be prepared to add to your TBR pile if the time period of the show appeals to you at all.

You can read the article by clicking here.

What books can you think of that were previously published and serve as good companion pieces to the popular show? 

The Titanic - Acknowledging the 100th Year Anniversary

On April 14 - 15, 1912 the Ocean Liner Titanic began its descent to the ocean's bottom. Now, 100 years later, the written world is acknowledging the centennial coming up in April. Some of the books I have found so far are:

The Captain's Daughter by Leah Feming - January 12, 2012 (Simon & Schuster)
According to the Historical Novel Society: 'a meeting on the Titanic changes changes two women's lives forever.'

The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott - February, 2012 (Doubleday)
According to the Historical Novel Society: 'a spirited young seamstress survives the Titanic only to find herself deeply torn between two men.'

Unsinkable by Dan James - March, 2012 (Arrow)
According to the Historical Novel Society: 'conspiracy thriller set aboard the Titanic'.

The Company of the Dead by David Kowalski - March, 2012 (Titan)
According to the Historical Novel Society: 'alternate history surrounding the sinking of the Titanic.'

The Candle Man: A Victorian Thriller by Alex Scarrow - April, 2012 (Orion)
According to the Historical Novel Society: 'story linking the Titanic and Jack the Ripper.'

I have always read books with a Titanic connection, so I am excited about all the new books out in 2012. What Titanic-related books have you read that you recommend?

All That I Am: A Novel by Anna Funder

Ruth Becker, defiant and cantankerous, is living out her days in the eastern suburbs of Sydney. She has made an uneasy peace with the ghosts of her past - and a part of history that has been all but forgotten.

Another lifetime away, it's 1939 and the world is going to war. Ernst Toller, self-doubting revolutionary and poet sits in a New York hotel room settling up the account of his life.

When Toller's story arrives on Ruth's doorstep their shared past slips under her defences, and she's right back among them - those friends who predicted the brutality of the Nazis and gave everything they had to stop them. Those who were tested - and in some cases found wanting  - in the face of hatred, of art, of love, and of history.

Based on real people and events, All That I Am is a masterful and exhilarating exploration of bravery and betrayal, of the risks and sacrifices some people make for their beliefs, and of heroism hidden in the most unexpected places. Anna Funder confirms her place as one of our finest writers with this gripping, compassionate, inspiring first novel.

As you may or may not know, I find the subjects of World War I and World War II to be completely fascinating. I love reading about the bravery of people who were put in desperate situations, about the relationships that they formed under such duress and so much more. Many of the stories that I have read and enjoyed over the years have taken place against the background of Nazi atrocities against the Jews and other minorities, and often feature those local people who took up against the oppressors in any way they could, often at great personal risk.

It is very easy to forget that those tools of oppression were turned first against the Germans themselves - those people who tried to oppose Hitler's regime as it came to power, again often at great personal cost. The first concentration camps were built not house Jews, but to house the growing numbers of political opponents in the 1930s.

Australian author Anna Funder has chosen to tell this story - one that I can't remember hearing much about before. Her story takes place during the 1930s as Hitler came to power. She chooses two storytellers to reveal the events that were happening - the first is Ernst Toller who is in a New York hotel room in 1939 writing his autobiography and the second is Ruth Becker, an elderly lady who is living in Sydney and who receives a copy of Toller's book bringing back all sorts of memories from those turbulent years - memories of those she loved, those she lost, those she was betrayed by.

And yet, even though Funder has these two different perspectives relating the events of that time to us, neither Toller or Ruth are the central character. That honour belongs to Dora Fabian who is Ruth's cousin and Toller's former employee and lover.  Even both Toller and Ruth acknowledge this (from page 358):

Toller was always kind to me, but it was clear he inhabited a different sphere. I was neither beautiful nor important enough to occupy a place in his world. But he did not send me this life of his with Dora put back in because I am her cousin. He has sent it because we had her in common. We were the two for whom she was the sun. We moved in her orbit and the force of her kept us going.

Ruth and her husband Hans, Toller, and Dora are all part of the vociferous opponents that the Nazis need to silence, anyway they can. Even when in exile though, they seek to keep trying to inform the world of the dangers of allowing Hitler to continue to reinforce his power unchecked.

Dora herself seemed to be quite the amazing figure. She took risks that seem quite unbelievable and yet the fact that they are true adds a great deal of poignancy. She loved freely if not always deeply, lived life to the full as much as possible and was able to gain access to some of the most influential people of her time in London and beyond in the course of her efforts to shed light on events taking place in Nazi Germany in the late 1930s.

I have to wonder what the author was trying to achieve by having Dora as the central character but using the two different voices to relate the events. They both did bring different aspects of the story to life, but at times their own stories distracted rather than enhanced the narrative. Of the two, I found Ruth's most interesting, especially in light of her story of how she came to be in Australia.

Most of the characters and events are based on real life which should lend the story a great deal more fascination, and yet for me, the narrative really didn't work all that well until probably the last third of the book. In that section, the adrenalin was pumping just a little bit as I realised who the ultimate betrayal would come from, what the final events of the book were going to be. Before that, however, I found the pace of the novel to be quite slow and ponderous and it was difficult to maintain all that much interest. There is some promise in the novel though. The author does have some lovely turns of phrase and seems to be able to identify forgotten stories that are very interesting.

Anna Funder enjoyed great success with her first book, Stasiland, which was a non-fiction account of life behind the Berlin Wall. Whilst this novel didn't work for me on every level, I will be making an effort to read Stasiland as I have heard lots of good things about it.

Why I Love Dance by Daphne Kalotay

Today we are pleased to welcome Daphne Kalotay, author of Russian Winter to the blog! 

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When people ask why I chose to write a novel about a ballerina, I give the simplest answer: I love dance. My mother was a dancer, and I grew up taking classes in both ballet and modern dance, attending performances in New York City and reading ballerina memoirs. And yet if I consider this question more thoroughly, I see that my interest originated in a very personal behind-the-scenes experience of dance.

When I was three years old, we moved to a town in New Jersey where my mother had been hired as the dance teacher at a local university. The classes she taught were contemporary ones, the musical accompaniment her own percussive drumming or—since this was in the 1970s—recordings by Rick Wakeman and Kraftwerk and Chick Corea. Each academic year culminated in a public performance, and the weeks leading up to it were a flurry of preparation. I particularly loved that my mother would buy candy for the dancers to snack on backstage, and that my sister and I were allowed a taste; I recall long strands of licorice from a store downtown….

But the most magical part was being backstage, a dark and cavernous place of booms and ladders and high ceilings hiding wires, pulleys and lifts; to a kindergartner, it seemed other-worldly. I was with my mother once when she met with the person in charge of campus facilities to explain what sort of transformations the theatre required for an upcoming show. She wanted the entire stage and backdrop to be painted black (which I thought radical), and later there was the lighting to discuss, and the cues for when to start the music. In my memory these backstage images are dark and blurry, but their sensual power—the allure of what goes on behind the curtains, behind the control panels and speaker systems—is, I see now, what drew me to that other backstage world, of the Bolshoi Theatre. Yes, I loved learning the nitty-gritty details of ballerina life, but more mysterious were the unseen, offstage manipulations of a Stalinist Russia where star ballerinas could be treated as possible spies, their husbands arrested and convicted, even as these women received accolades and repeated curtain calls and bouquet after bouquet.

When I had already been working on Russian Winter for a few years, I realized that, though I hadn’t consciously planned it, ballet was a very apt metaphor for the totalitarian world I was describing. For there’s of course something very authoritarian about ballet, with its stringent rules, its emphasis on exactitude, and the complete devotion it requires. I began to see the corps de ballet (all those girls working together so precisely, conforming, suppressing their individuality for the greater good) as an analogy for the situation of Soviet citizenry itself.

So it’s ironic that my interest in dance began in those 1970s dance performances my mother put together. I remember, for instance, an entire show set to Beatles music, where for the song “Lovely Rita” (the one about a meter maid) my mother decided to end with all the dancers converging onstage in a chaos of transport vehicles—a bicycle, a tricycle, a skateboard, a pogo stick, a Hoppety-hop ball. (Remember those?) And for her solo, to “Oh! Darling,” my mother dressed like a 1950’s tomboy, with her jeans rolled up to her shins and little white Keds sneakers, and danced with a wad of chewing gum in her mouth so that at the end she could blow a big bubble.

Quite the opposite of the pristine, classical beauty of those Bolshoi dancers. But that introduction to the joyous playfulness of dance is what led me to that other, harsher and more dangerous, world in Russian Winter.

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Russian Winter is now available in paperback, with the UK release (above cover image) being today! 

If you want to know more, you can read Marg's review, read Daphne's previous guest post for Historical Tapestry, visit Daphne Kalotay's website or her Facebook page.

Eagerly Anticipating in 2012

Marg's Choice - Voice of the Falconer by David Blixt

I was a huge fan of Master of Verona by David Blixt to the extent that I have posted my review of that book here at Historical Tapestry and twice on my own blog! I think I have also strongly recommended this book to a number of my fellow readers.  (Yes, I am one of those people who strongly suggests that others read certain books!)

For a long time it looked like this book was not going to see the light of day, but hurrah! this year it will be published. It won't have the cover above, which is a pity because it is a gorgeous cover, but I am even more excited by the contents of the book than the fact that this won't be the cover after all!

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Alex's choice - The Second Empress by Michelle Moran

The minute I read the blurb, I wanted this book, I craved for it ! I'm not a big fan of Napoleon (never was, never will !) but a book about his second wife, Marie-Louise, is certainly a must read for me. I can't wait for the release of The Second Empress. You can read more about it at Michelle Moran's website: http://michellemoran.com/books/releases.html

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Ana's choice - The Perfume Garden by Kate Lord Brown

There's something about restoring old houses full of secrets that I just can't seem to resist. The fact that Kate Lord Brown's next book adds to that a Spanish Civil War secret is the cherry on top of the cake. I haven't read her first book, although it was reviewed here at HT and it seemed interesting, but I know I'll have to pick this one up when it comes out. Sadly there's no cover image but I will add it when I find it.

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Teddy's Choice- Sarah Thornhill by Kate Grenville

In the final book of a trilogy that began with her bestselling novel, The Secret River, Commonwealth Prize–winner Kate Grenville returns to the youngest daughter of the Thornhills and her quest to uncover, at her peril, the family’s hidden legacy.

Sarah is the youngest child of William Thornhill, the pioneer at the center of The Secret River. Unknown to her, her father—an uneducated ex-convict from London—has built his fortune on the blood of Aboriginal people. With a fine stone house and plenty of money, Thornhill has re-invented himself. As he tells his daughter, he “never looks back,” and Sarah grows up learning not to ask about the past. Instead her eyes are on handsome Jack Langland, whom she’s loved since she was a child. Their romance seems destined, but the ugly secret in Sarah’s family is poised to ambush them both.

As she did with The Secret River, Grenville once again digs into her own family history to tell a story about the past that still resonates today. Driven by the captivating voice of the illiterate Sarah—at once headstrong, sympathetic, curious, and refreshingly honest—this is an unforgettable portrait of a passionate woman caught up in a historical moment of astonishing turmoil.

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Kailana's Choice - Elegy for Eddie by Jacqueline Winspear


I love this series, so I am always excited for the newest release.

In this latest entry in Jacqueline Winspear’s acclaimed, bestselling mystery series—“less whodunits than why-dunits, more P.D. James than Agatha Christie” (USA Today)—Maisie Dobbs takes on her most personal case yet, a twisting investigation into the brutal killing of a street peddler that will take her from the working-class neighborhoods of her childhood into London’s highest circles of power. Perfect for fans of A Lesson in Secrets, The Mapping of Love and Death, or other Maisie Dobbs mysteries—and an ideal place for new readers to enter the series—Elegy for Eddie is an incomparable work of intrigue and ingenuity, full of intimate descriptions and beautifully painted scenes from between the World Wars, from one of the most highly acclaimed masters of mystery, Jacqueline Winspear.

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What are your eagerly anticipated reads for 2012?

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2012 - January

It's now 2012 and time to start our challenge! Each month, a new post dedicated to the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge will be created. Let's remember the rules:

• everyone can participate, even those who don't have a blog (you can add your book title and thoughts in the comment section if you wish)
• add the link(s) of your review(s) including your name and book title to the Mister Linky we’ll be adding to our monthly post (please, do not add your blog link, but the correct address that will guide us directly to your review)
• any kind of historical fiction is accepted (fantasy, young adult, graphic novels...)

See you next month !

The Historical Fiction Challenge 2011- Wrap Up

In December, we collectively read 60 books! That makes our grand total for 2011, 902 books!!  Wow, that`s 902 books read and reviewed!

Thanks so much from Marg, Alex, Ana, Kelly, and Teddy to everone who particpated in the challenge!

The December post still has Mr. Linky working for those of you who haven`t had time to add your books read in 2011 yet.  Also be sure to leave a link in the comments here or there if you did a wrap up post of the challenge yourself.

If you haven`t already heard, Historical Tapestry is hosting the challenge again in 2012.  We hope you will join us!  Please sign up at Historical Fiction Challenge 2012.

Kailana's Best of 2011

I actually didn't read a lot of historical fiction and historical non-fiction this year compared to other years. What I did read, though, was wonderful! If I had to choose a favourite fiction and non-fiction, though, it would be:

Best Historical-Fiction Title:

The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin. You can read my review of this book here.

Best Historical Non-Fiction:

Resistance: A Woman's Journal of Struggle and Defiance in Occupied France by Agnes Humbert. You can read my review of it here.

Spitfire Women of World War II by Giles Whittell. Yes, a tie, but you can read my review of this book here.

I thought I had reviewed both of those books here, but I apparently did not..

Other Notable Reads:
The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley
The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The Beauty Chorus by Kate Lord Brown
A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear
The Virgin Cure by Ami McKay

Alex's Best of 2011

For the King was one of my favourite books in 2010 and Catherine Delors winned me completely over (well, it was already done with For the King !) with Gabrielle's story. Days and months after reading Mistress of Revolution, I was still thinking about it. This is definately something I would recommend to all history lovers. Can't wait for the next one !

A young adult historical fantasy timeslip. This was enough to get my attention and I'm glad to say that I had a great time reading Ruby Red. I only wish that I could read german or the publishers would rush a little bit more to get the second book, Sapphire Blue, in stores. :)

Other books I enjoyed this year:

• Dark Road to Darjeeling by Deanna Raybourn (one of my favourite series)
• By The King's Design by Christine Trent (just finished and this book was a great way to end the year in a high note)