Fact Fiction Friday ~ Captain James Cook

Continuing our new and regular feature here at Historical Fiction.  

Each Friday we will publish an historical fact based upon the date. Each fact will be accompanied by a book(s) title and perhaps a review or other snippet.

17th January 1773 ~ Captain James Cook and his crew were the first Europeans to sail around the Antarctic Circle. The book to accompany the fact is this biography of Captain James Cook written by Richard Hough.

White Mughals: Love and Betrayal in Eighteenth-Century India by William Dalrymple

The June choice for our reading group was The White Mughals by William Dalrymple. The comments from the group were split into essentially three camps, those that loved it, those who read it and persevered and those who hated it.

I fell into the loved it camp and I did love it. The book took the author 5 years to write. It is thoroughly researched and painstakingly written, threading the storyline together with the use of historical documents and probable hypothesis when the documentation can not support the theory.

The book is based upon the surviving papers and diaries from 18th Century British aristocrats who spent many years in India. What is shown is India in context with history; the defeat of Napoleon in Egypt for example. The book explores the culture exchange, where many of the men in the region "go native" with local women and then send the children back to England to be educated. The book explores the Christian/Muslim/Hindu exchange which was perfectly acceptable in the 18th Century, alas when the 19th Century appears that exchange and the "go native" approach is scorned and unaccepted.

The book does cover the romance of James Achilles Kirkpatrick who was a promising British resident in Hyderabad, and a young noblewoman and descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, called Khair-un-Nissa and whilst this romance is essentially the backbone of the book, it in some ways fades into the background amongst the historical aspects of India and the region at this time.

Even so, I loved the book, I loved the provision of sources and notes and the depth of research and for me this has to be the read of the year.

New England Captives Carried to Canada 1677 - 1760

A few weeks ago I received a lovely message to say that my name had been selected by Fieldstone Common and I had won a copy of New England Captives carried to Canada between 1677 - 1760 by Emma Louise Coleman and published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society.

Because of the time difference I, more often than not listen to the Fieldstone Common radio shows from the recording, and sometimes I not often a week or two late in listening.

This is the link to this episode, broadcast on 11th April which tells you a little about the book -

 http://www.blogtalkradio.com/fieldstonecommon/2013/04/11/new-england-captives-carried-to-canada-with-donald-friary

I am actually no stranger to the book. Back when I undertook my history degree this book, well the original two volumes that were published in 1925 were in fact on the reading list from the lecturer. Ironically no copy of these volumes existed in the university library, nor in any library within easy access of the south west of England.

This particular book is the republished complete volumes of those 1925 books. So how lucky am I?

The book arrived today, just before lunchtime to a pretty miserable south west England, so I whilst I my lunch I started to dip into this very interesting book.  Clearly I was so distracted as I had nearly finished my  ham roll, before I realised that I had forgotten to put the ham in!

At immediate first glance, it does look a really interesting book, which contains as much biographical data as was available about these individuals. In addition there is information on the social and economic aspects of the geography and the impact of the relationships between the natives and the new immigrants to the region.

A Parcel of Ribbons by Anne M. Powers

Back in the summer I had the opportunity to interview Anne M. Powers, author of the fascinating book A Parcel of Ribbons. You can read that interview HERE.

Anne also very kindly sent me a copy of her book to read and review and what a treat it was! I am only sorry that it has taken so long to post the review.

The catalyst for the book was a series of letters that have survived the test of time. Anne was given access to these letters and they have been lovingly transcribed and form the foundation for the book.

What has developed, is a really beautiful story of the Lee family and their time in Jamaica. Their story has not only been recorded and survived, but has been further explored which absolutely enhances the experience of understanding the social, International and domestic situation of the time.


The book contains a few illustrations along with a very comprehensive bibliography and index.

The research has been thorough and there is a huge attention to detail within the confines of the cover.

If you wish to research, record and publish your own ancestry then aspiring to produce a book just like this one would be a wonderful way to preserve your ancestry.

A Parcel of Ribbons - The Letters of an 18th Century family in London & Jamaica was published in July 2012 and is available from HERE

Anne's website to accompany the book is at http://aparcelofribbons.co.uk/

Guest Post - Anne M Powers

I recently had the opportunity to interview Anne Powers, author of the recently published A Parcel of Ribbons - The Letters of an 18th Century family in London & Jamaica. Here is what Anne had to say -

As you researched the story of your ancestry was it always your  intention to publish this as a book or did it just happen that way?

I had no idea that what I would find would be so interesting or worth writing a book about – but when I found the Lee letters I felt they deserved a wider audience. That’s how the book came about, and while I was working on it I felt I wanted to share my Jamaican research, so that was how the website was born.

What was the biggest surprise as you researched and wrote ‘A Parcel of Ribbons’?

The biggest surprise was discovering the connection with Jamaica. I had been searching for an ‘Indian Princess’ and had spent quite a lot of time looking at the Lee family of Virginia, searching for a family Pocahontas. I knew there was someone called Richard Lee in the family and I had found his Will which connected him to my mother’s great grandmother. Then I found his 1851 census entry. This was the first time place of birth was recorded and I was astonished to find he had been born in Jamaica in 1765. Had he not lived to such a great age I’d probably never have realised the family had been in Jamaica, nor that my ‘Indian Princess’ came from the West Indies.

Are there any tips you would like to share about the research or publishing stage of your book?

Most of my research has been done on the internet, or by contacting people directly. People are incredibly helpful when it comes to family history research and I wrote to a number of people along the lines of ‘You have no idea who I am, and do feel free to bin this letter, but....’. On numerous occasions people got back in touch, often to say they could not help, ‘But, do try my cousin so-and-so’. I always enclose a stamped self-addressed envelope and give full details of my email and phone so they can choose how to make contact.

Although so much material is now available on-line, including wonderful scanned images of parish registers and other documents, there are times when only an actual visit to see an original will do. The best advice I could give for that is to be sure you know in advance what you are looking for, that you have all your own id with you to register as a reader, and to allow plenty of time. We are so used to instant access on-line that sitting waiting 40 minutes for a document to be brought up can seem a slow process, especially if it is handed out one page at a time. Plan to have something else to be getting on with while you wait – even if it’s just grabbing a coffee!

As for publishing, I decided to go down the print-on-demand route as it gave me full control – the down side of course is that you do have to do everything yourself which otherwise would be handled by an agent and a publisher. I am very happy with how the book has turned out – now I just have to hope others are too!

What's next?

There are always stories that pop up on the fringes of what you are researching – which is why my ‘Jamaican Connections’ database on Ancestry now has over 5,500 individuals, and my family one is almost as big. I record lots of people who may not be of interest now, but who might be relevant one day. I am intrigued by the story of the Rooker family. Lydia Rooker is mentioned in my book as the ‘lady from Chelsea’ with a fortune, who married schoolmaster William Rothery. She had several sisters who made interesting marriages (one whose husband made his fortune in Jamaica) and a brother involved as a key witness in a court case concerning the murder of two little apprentice sisters. I’d like to find out more about them.

Synopsis
Set among the sugar plantations of Jamaica and the balls and masquerades of Georgian London the story is told by the Lee family in their own words. In 1749 thirteen year-old Robert Cooper Lee sailed to Jamaica taking a parcel of ribbons for sale. When his family was left all but penniless, Robert and his brothers forged new lives in Jamaica, fathered children with women who were the descendants of slaves and supported their sister left behind in England. Robert returned to London with his family in 1771. A prominent attorney, respected throughout Jamaica and among the West Indian lobby in London, he had built a fortune that enabled his children to mix with royalty. This remarkable collection of letters tells a story of triumph against adversity, of a family that suffered sickness, bankruptcy, sudden death, a clandestine marriage and an elopement. Through it all the bonds of family endured.

A Parcel of Ribbons - The Letters of an 18th Century family in London & Jamaica was published in July 2012 and is available from HERE

Anne's website to accompany the book is at http://aparcelofribbons.co.uk/

Why I Love the Georgian Era by Lynne Connolly

I fell in love with the Georgians when I was nine years old. The longest love affair of my life, it persists to this day. We were doing a project on coffee and tea at school. All about how they are grown, harvested and manufactured, and then we came to the history. They showed us a picture of a coffee-house, and I was hooked. I loved the woman presiding over the scene, and the men sitting at the long table and I started to look up stuff for myself. They had booths as well as the long central table, and a lot of business went on there. Lloyds coffee-house, for instance, was the centre of the insurance industry and the start of the London Stock Exchange.

Then I started investigating the era. Shortly after that I discovered the novels of Georgette Heyer and I was well and truly hooked.

The Georgian era strictly encompasses the years 1714-1830, when the four Georges ruled Britain. That includes the Regency (1811-1820) when George III went mad (actually afflicted with porphyria, but unable to rule) and his son took over as Regent. George’s brother William was king from 1830-1837, and Queen Anne was on the throne from 1702-1714. My heart is with the 1750’s.

Why? To tell you the truth, I don’t know. I saw the clothes, read some of the antics of the people, looked at the houses, and bam, I was in love.

Let’s start with the men of the era. In Regency times, they wore mainly drab clothing, apart from a few dandies, who were derided for their flamboyance. Heavily influenced by Beau Brummell and the new austerity of the Napoleonic era, men cropped their hair and wore good quality, but drab clothes. They seemed afraid to touch the feminine side of their personalities. Sixty years earlier, men wore what the hell they wanted to, and they weren’t afraid to contact their feminine side, because at that time, they also wore swords as part of their everyday costume. Short swords were thin and rapier-like, but in the right hands they could be lethal. They wore pink, velvet, silk, brocade, exquisitely embroidered items, but that didn’t mean they didn’t also wear plain cloth and dark colours when the occasion demanded it, or if that was their preference. Most men wore wigs covering their short hair or shaved heads, and there’s some evidence that in the country or informal occasions, they might leave it off. They wore cocked hats (“Tricorne” is a word invented by the Victorians).

The costume reflects their behaviour. They would cry in public, they’d get into fights, sometimes to the death, if they disagreed. They drank and gambled, in fact, gambling became the obsession of the age. One of them, anyway.

The women were no less flamboyant in their dress. The (to my mind) ugly oblong hoops of the 1740’s gave way to a softer, smaller shape in the 1750’s, except for court, which always lagged behind the times. Court stuck to the frankly old fashioned mantua, a different cut to the gowns that most fashionable women preferred to wear in every day life. The robe anglaise, the immensely lovely sacque and even the caraco jacket were flattering and beautiful. Again, women didn’t always dress to the nines, and had a selection of more casual wear, but they were rarely depicted in that, so you have to go to the engravings and sketches to see them. Early in the century Watteau did a series of ravishing sketches of women in such clothes.

Women also had more power in the mid-eighteenth century. Victorian women were hidebound, encouraged to make the home the centre of their existence. Georgian women refused to be bound by that. Although the law was heavily against them, denying married women their own property and the vote, there were ways around at least the former, and they employed men to work for them in places where they couldn’t go. 

Women had their own businesses, and were heavily influential in many political and literary movements of the day. The literary salon, held by women such as Mrs. Elizabeth Montagu, not only fostered literary talent, but discussed radical reforms. The movement to abolish slavery started in the salons held by women, and the earliest ephemera are feminine items, scarves and fans.

There are just so many possibilities for an author in this era, and no need to make anything up. Remarkable people lived then, adventuresses like the Gunning sisters and Elizabeth Chudleigh, and politicians like Hervey who had a long-term male lover and a wife who bore him a number of children. “There are three sexes,” a friend said of him – “men, women and Herveys.” That friend was Lady Mary Wortley Montague, the toast of the Kit-Kat club as a child, who eloped with a man who became the ambassador to Constantinople, and after she left him, introduced inoculation for smallpox into Britain, the precursor of vaccination.

Education was haphazard, especially for women, but that didn’t stop them learning if they wanted to. And people did. They learned and they kept learning, bringing new ideas to society. I’ve heard comments about hygiene, because they didn’t have baths, but that’s to put the expectations of the modern person with plumbing at her disposal to a prior age when water had to be heated and carried to where it was needed. However, there were washstands in every bedroom, and many people had all-over washed every day. Helped by a servant, naturally! The evidence is negative, that is, people noticed when other people stank. Would they have noticed if they were equally as filthy? Probably not. Fuller’s Earth provided a natural dry cleaning agent for fine fabric that couldn’t be washed, and every respectable house did the laundry once a week.

People were not afraid to live in the Georgian era, and take everything life offered them. That’s why I love writing books set in this era and why I’m still in love with it after so many years. When I came to write the Richard and Rose books, the choice of era was a no-brainer, in fact, the era and the characters grew alongside each other. I’ve written a few Regencies, but my heart remains set firmly in the earlier era, when people lived life to the full.

***

About Lynne

Lynne Connolly writes for a number of online publishers. She writes paranormal romance, contemporary romance and historical romance. She is the winner of two Eppies (now retitled the EPIC ebook awards) and a goodly number of Recommended Reads etc from review sites. 

While these are very gratifying, that isn't why she writes. She wants to bring the stories in her head to life and share them with others, in the hope that they might give her some peace.

She lives in the UK with her family, cat and doll's houses. Creating worlds on paper or in miniature seems to be her specialty!

Email - lynneconnollyuk@yahoo.co.uk

Website - http://lynneconnolly.com/

***

Richard and Rose have been with me for all my publishing career so it was a wrench to say goodbye, but every story has to come to an end. However, it’s possible they might pop up when they’re least expected!

In June, 2012, the last Richard and Rose book, “Lisbon” came out. They met in “Yorkshire,” and the eight book series has been the story of their loves, their developing relationship, and their battle against enemies who wanted to destroy them, either jealous of their happiness or with more sinister motives. A companion book to the series, with three short stories and the story of how the series came into being is available on Kindle.

The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley

When Eva’s filmstar sister Katrina dies, she leaves California and returns to Trelowarth, Cornwall , where they spent their childhood summers, to scatter Katrina’s ashes and in doing so return her to the place where she belongs. But Eva must also confront the ghosts from her own past, as well as those from a time long before her own. For the house where she so often stayed as a child is home not only to her old friends the Halletts, but also to the people who had lived there in the eighteenth century. When Eva finally accepts that she is able to slip between centuries and see and talk to the inhabitants from hundreds of years ago, she soon finds herself falling for Daniel Butler, a man who lived – and died – long before she herself was born. Eva begins to question her place in the present, and in laying her sister to rest, comes to realise that she too must decide where she really belongs, choosing between the life she knows and the past she feels so drawn towards

Today, Kelly and Marg bring you a discussion of The Rose Garden by a favourite author here at Historical Tapestry - Susanna Kearsley. Kelly's thoughts are in black and Marg's in purple.

So we should probably put out a general alert before we start this discussion.

Be prepared for gushing!

I know! I have read most of Kearsley’s books at this point, but she is going to have a very hard time topping this book and The Winter Sea. They were both excellent! She has other good books, of course, but nothing even begins to compare to her later works. She is definitely at the top of her game and hopefully we have lots more wonderful books to look forward to in the not so distant future...

I have been debating with myself about which I liked more, this book or The Winter Sea, and I really cannot make up my mind. The Winter Sea was the first book I ever read by her, so I think it maintains a special place simply for that, but it was also wonderful. When I started this book I admit I was a bit skeptical that The Winter Sea could have any real competition for favourite, but then I got wrapped up in the story and discovered that a tie was possible. What do you think?

I am torn too. The Winter Sea will probably always be my favourite because it was my first Susanna Kearsley and I just loved that book, but this one and The Shadowy Horses are definitely right up there for me. I agree about Kearsley being at the top of her game. I was going to make a comment on my blog saying that this was the best book she had written since The Winter Sea, but that statement kind of loses its potency, when you realise that this is the only book she has written since The Winter Sea!

I know! It’s hard to say anything since she only has written the one book since she gained a more international audience. I wish I had been reading her all along, but I am excited that I finally discovered her when she was going through this change in circumstances. It will be interesting to see what happens now that her books are getting better known. I always have a weak spot for Canadian authors and a desire for them to do well.

What was your favourite scene in the book?

I don’t know which to choose.

I think the most obvious is a scene we can’t talk about because it would spoil the book, but it comes right near the end and it literally made me gasp out loud when I read it!

Other than that I loved that the setting was Cornwall, but that Kearsley still managed to bring us something about the Jacobite rebellion that I didn’t know before. I also really enjoyed all the characters, in both times, but I must confess to a bit of a soft spot for Fergal.

And yours?

Same as yours! When I read it, I had to put the book down and send you an email. I literally said ‘Oh, my god’ aloud when I read it. It was a perfect scene and I was excited for you to read it.

I enjoyed the setting, too. I want to go there! When I read this book, it was raining constantly here, so it sounded like paradise! Kearsley always writes such wonderful settings. Everyone of them I want to visit after reading her books. I also enjoy her main characters. I always feel like I can easily be friends with them and they are experiencing such fascinating things. It never feels like a stretch. It is very believable. I think every time I reread her books it will be like visiting with friends.

I already wanted to visit many of the places that Kearsley uses as settings - Scotland and Cornwall seem to have such resonance with these kind of stories. I am not sure why. I could totally see her writing a book with an Irish setting as well, because of that kind of mythical setting that is prevalent in her books.

What did you think of the title of the book and the cover?

I am not sure on the title or the cover. I think they are kind of generic. Not sure I could come up with better though! I am however glad that the title is remaining the same in all markets, unlike with The Winter Sea/Sophia’s Secret.

Well, the title, every time I see it, makes me start singing... Even when I opened this review to add more to it I couldn’t help thinking ‘I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden’. Until tonight when I looked it up, I had no idea who even sang that song... So, no idea why it is in my head, but it is since the book title was announced...

One thing I always find interesting with Kearsley’s books are the various techniques that she uses to enable to the storytelling to take place in two different places and times - whether it be through dreams, regression or whatever. How did you find the technique worked for you as a reader in this book?

I think the reason I love Kearsley’s books so much is because of this method. She makes it seem so natural. You want to call it a fantasy novel, but at the same time it is entirely believable. I really liked how the character in this book kept travelling through time. When she was in the other world, time in her own world stayed the same and she wasn’t even missed when she came back. The use of two times in her creative manners is definitely what leads me over and over again to read her books. I only have one left to read!

I have a couple left to read - particularly the hard to find ones!

We should talk a little about the actual story. The main character is Eva. Her movie star sister Katrina has recently died and Eva has been given the duty of finding a place to scatter her ashes. As Eva thinks about where that place would be, her mind turns to the place that she hasn’t lived for years but feels like home - Cornwall. She return to the village where Eva and Katrina spent their summers, and to the house where her childhood friends the Halletts still live.

The Hallett’s are battling to save their aging home, and Eva volunteers to use her publicity knowledge to help them. At first she associates the strange events with her grief and tiredness, but it quickly becomes obvious that there is something more going on.

Yes, talking about the actual story is probably a good idea. The story starts off on a very negative note when Eva loses her sister, but the book becomes about much more than that. It is obvious why Eva is so connected to Cornwall. It was just the place that she is meant to be. She goes through a lot while she is there. The Hallett son was Katrina’s first love and even though many years have gone by and she married someone else, he is still battling with the emotions that her death evokes. His father has died and he is tending the family gardens, but he hates the public side of things and is resistant to much change. His sister, though, has big ideas and Eva helps her discover them by advertising the tea house that she has built. That tea house is so much more to the story, though... The reason it came to be in the first place was a touching story.

Given that you have read other books by Kearsley what did you think when Eva started hearing voices?

I wasn’t really surprised because I knew there was something of that nature to expect, but it was just a matter of finding out what method she was going to choose. That didn’t mean there were not a lot surprises in store, though!

So, the hearing voices is the first clue that all is not as it seems, which becomes even more obvious when Eva finds herself in the same house, but that it is occupied by different people in a different time. The house is occupied by a widower, Daniel Butler and his friend Fergal. They are men with a secret of their own - secret Jacobite supporters. The local constabulary, especially Constable Creed, is deeply suspicious of the Butlers and an unexplained woman appearing could make things awkward, especially as she is sometimes there and sometimes isn’t, and she can’t really talk due to her obvious accent and different use of language. Also add into the mix a bit of smuggling and the charismatic and vivid brother Jack and life becomes very complicated all round.


First of all, I loved the characters you mentioned. I know, I am getting off track, but I can’t help pointing out how well written they all were! From the very beginning I loved Daniel. The very first scene was entertaining and I enjoyed watching him develop as a character each time she ‘magically’ appeared. I believe that he really brought the early setting to life by being so realistic. I could picture him and everything that was going on around him. I also love Fergal. Sometimes I think he was simply there to lighten the mood from time to time, but then Jack appeared and took that to a whole different level. Jack is interesting to say the least! In many ways the opposite of his brother, but he grew on me with time. Then, there was the very well-written villain, Constable Creed. I have to admit that I was not there, I was just reading about it, but every time the ‘law’ paid them a visit he creeped me out. It made the story dark just having him there and you never knew what was going to happen, but you felt like it was going to be bad. I cannot applaud Kearsley enough for writing such excellent characterizations. It is why I enjoy her books so much - coupled with the fact she writes fascinating story-lines, captures the time period very well, and has settings that I always want to visit!

Oh yes, the law man was totally, totally creepy!

One other aspect that I did find interesting was the fact that when Eva travelled through time, the treatment of the clothing aspects seemed very logical. I loved that she kept on having to hide the 18th century clothes (including Daniel’s dressing gown) in the future. It also tied in to her worries about changing things in the past.

I appreciated the fashion in general. That was another thing that was explained very well. I can just imagine how hard it is to go from the fashion of today to the fashion of the 18th-century. It was the same in Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. In this book the two men knew that she had no idea what she was doing so they aided her, but I found the description illuminating because it is not something I generally think about. The clothes themselves worked well to tie in other things, as well. One of the dresses that she brings back to the modern world belong to Daniel’s deceased wife, so using this one dress we learn more about Daniel and his past that might not have come up right away.

So wrapping up now, Kearsley has once again done a stellar job of making time slip seem like a completely probable possibility, has delivered a lushly romantic story, and this time also made us both gasp out loud with a fabulous twist in the tale!

I know! I have been writing this review and thinking ‘I want to read this again...’ I also want to reread her other books all of a sudden! It has brought the story back and reminded me just how much I loved this book, which I had not entirely forgotten, of course. I am so happy that you, and a few other people, lead me to read her because for the longest time I didn’t think she was my type of writer. I was wrong!

I could do with rereading as well, but I have lent the book to my non reader sister, who just read her first Kearsley and enjoyed it.

Ever since I first read The Winter Sea I have been encouraging everyone (not just you!) I know to read Susanna Kearsley. This book has reinforced that desire even more! So, if you haven’t read Kearsley, what are you waiting for?




This review cross posted at Adventures of an Intrepid Reader and The Written World.

Hearts and Bones by Margaret Lawrence

Hannah Trevor, a midwife in a small Maine town, discovers the body of a young wife and mother, along with a note naming Hannah's secret past lover and the father of her illegitimate daughter as the woman's murderers.

Ever since I read, and really enjoyed Sara Donati's into The Wilderness that I have been looking for books with a similar setting. Hearts and Bones is also set in America and around the same time and I couldn't resist picking it up.

Unlike Donati's this book is a murder mystery. The heroine is Hannah Trevor, a midwife living with her aunt and her deaf, and illegitimate, daughter in Rufford, Maine. When she finds a young woman raped and murdered who left a letter accusing three men, one of which is Hannah's child's father, she can't resist doing an investigation of her own. Unable to believe the worse of the man she loved she eventually finds a link between the dead woman, the three mentioned men and some others not mentioned in the letter.

Despite being a great lover of mysteries I think what I loved best in the story was the sense of time and period. How life was actually hard for this people, how some of the wounds of the Revolutionary War were still open and how Hannah, that we could consider a bit too modern for those times, is looked sideways for her behaviour does making it believable. However I found that she unraveled what was happening a bit too quickly to be believable.

The story is dark, there are some pretty horrible crimes mentioned and some people never recover from them. The aftermath and consequences of the war are very present here and play an important part in the action. It's also very atmospheric; you can almost see the characters as they walk around doing their business, which definitely contributed to my enjoyment of the story. It made for an interesting read and I wouldn't mind picking the other books in the series to find out what happens next to Hannah and Daniel.

Grade: 4/5

Book of Fires by Jane Borodale

It's the year 1752 and poor Agnes Trussel, a teenager living in the rural country side of Sussex, in in trouble. She is pregnant. What is she to do? Now that the boy has had his way with her all he does is laugh and make jokes at her expense. If she tells her parents, they will force the two teenagers to marry. She can't bear the thought of that.

Agnes comes up with a plan when she happens to find a neighbor dead whith come coins spead out in front of her. The coins are no use to a dead woman, so Agnes takes them and plans her escape to London.

Agnes has never been in London before and finds it a dirty and scarry place but she knows that she must find a way to survive. She happens upon a house that has a sign for help wanted. She knocks on the door and the man tells her that he already found somebody. However, he gives her a second look and thinks that perhaps he could use her after all. Mr. Blacklock makes fireworks and takes on Agnes as his apprentice.

As the weeks pass Agnes settles into her new life and is happy. However, she knows that she cannot conceal her pregnancy forever. Little does she know, but Mr. Blacklock has some secrets of his own.

It took me awhile to get into this book and to care for Agnes or the other characters. They just didn't have much depth to them. The story itself wasn't very beleavable. For instance, in her last triemester she tries to con a man in to marrying her and pass off the baby as his. At 7 months pregnant, I don't think so. It was very funny to me but it wasn't written to be funny.

That said, Borodale does a good job capturing 18th century life in the city and country side. I also found the pyrotechnics aspect interesting. Fireworks didn't have all of the variety of colors that they have today. They were just silver and white. Borodale certainly did her reaserch on time and place. This is Jane Borodale's first novel and she shows a lot of promise.

3/5

The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley

The past won't let you forget...

When bestselling author Carrie McClelland visits the ruins of Slains Castle in Scotland to research her new book, she is unprepared for the magnetic pull the local area has on her. Enchanted by the stark and beautiful Scottish landscape, she rents an old stone cottage near the windswept ruins and decides to set her new historical novel at the castle itself.

History has all but forgotten the spring of 1708, when an invasion fleet of French and Scottish soldiers nearly succeeded in landing the exiled James Steward in Scotland to reclaim his crown. Realising one of her own ancestors, Sophia Paterson lived around the same time. Carrie creates a fictional life for Sophia and places her at Slains to be a narrator for the events leading to the Jacobite uprising. It is a time seething with political unrest and there is no shortage of spies and clandestine meetings at Slains. Soon, the characters in her book come alive with almost frightening intensity and Carrie is shocked when she learns that Sophia was indeed a resident at the castle at the time. When further coincidences confirm her fiction is closer to fact, Carrie realises that this story is not entirely her own. As Sophia's memories draw Carrie more deeply into the intrigue of 1708, she comes to understand that a hitherto unrealised bond with her ancestor is providing her with an immediate window in to the true events of the time - and the two women have more in common than one might think.

Mesmerising and rich in historical detail, The Winter Sea is a haunting tale of two women's experiences of love and personal betrayal in two different times.

Every now and again you are lucky enough to pick up a book that fits your reading tastes perfectly. For me, this was one of those times. Within the first two pages I knew that I was going to love this book. The big question was could the enjoyment be maintained all the way to the end, and the answer was a resounding yes.

Carrie McLelland is a best selling historical fiction author. When the story opens she has been living in France trying to research a little known character in history (to most of us anyway) who was involved in some of the early Jacobite attempts to restore the Stuarts to the Scottish throne. She is however struggling a little. On her way to visit her agent in Scotland she finds herself drawn to an old castle ruin called Slains.

As a result of the visit, Carrie decides to make two significant changes. The first is to add a fictional female character to her book to give her a different perspective through which to view the events as they unfolded. She decides to name this character after one of her own family members that lived around the same time.

The second is to relocate to the small town near the castle, and to live in a rustic cottage there whilst she writes. This is not really unusual for Carrie as she lives a some what nomadic life style, moving from place to place in order to enable her to research the stories she is writing.

As soon as she is there, the story really picks up momentum. At first Carrie thinks that she is only dreaming her story, but as more and more things happen, and she is able to discover that her ancestor really was there, she realises that it is more than a dream, more like having shared memories. As she learns more about the events that happened during the events of 1708, the present begins to eerily echo the past.

In the past, Sophia is a young orphan who has been sent to stay with distant relatives at Slains after the death of her guardian. Little does she know when she arrives there that her influential family members are Jacobite sympathisers who are playing a direct role in a plan to bring King James to Scotland to try to reclaim his throne, and to stop the Union between England and Scotland. Among those who visit her new home are two men - one a captain in the navy and the other an outlaw sent to Scotland to drum up support for the cause.

One of the things that I really enjoyed about this novel was the fact that it was set in the earlier events of the Jacobite uprisings. Through my reading of other books and more famous incidents in history, I was relatively aware of the events that led up to the carnage at Culloden, and I vaguely knew that that wasn't the first attempt to bring the Stuarts back to the throne, but I really didn't know much more than that.

In her own life, Carrie soon feels comfortable in the town with the assistance of her landlord and his two sons who have very different temperaments. If I had to choose which of the romantic story lines I enjoyed more, I would say it was Carrie's story but I am not going to say not much more than that so that if you do choose to read this book you will discover it for yourself.

Normally if I am reading a book which has these two different time frames it will be the historical setting that I am most anxious to revisit, but with this book I was as engrossed in both settings. When I was with Sophia in 1708 I found myself wondering about Carrie, and when I was with Carrie I was wondering what Sophia was getting up to!

The ending is possibly a little too convenient, but not enough to impact my enjoyment. It isn't often that I do this, but I am seriously considering buying this book. Normally if I read a library book I don't go out and buy it, but I suspect that this is going to be a book that I might want to immerse myself in more than once.

I hope that I have been able to convey just how much I loved this book. I had not previously read any Susanna Kearsley, but you can be guaranteed that I will be reading more, and I will be making every attempt to read everything on her back list and looking out for anything coming out in the future as well.

Please note that in some places this book is published under the title Sophia's Secret. This book was also nominated for the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year 2009 which was eventually won by East of the Sun by Julia Gregson which I really enjoyed as well.

It is not very often that I give a book full marks, but I have no hesitation in rating this book as a 5/5 read. Loved it, loved it, loved it!

These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer

Under the reign of Louis XV, corruption and intrigue have been allowed to blossom in France, and Justin Alastair, the notorious Duke of Avon and proud of his soubriquet ‘Satanas’, flourishes as well. Then, from a dark Parisian back alley, he plucks Leon, a red-headed urchin with strangely familiar looks, just in time for his long over-due schemes of revenge on the Comte de St. Vire. Among the splendours of Versailles and the dignified mansions of England, Justin begins to unfold his sinister plans - until, that is, Leon becomes the ravishing beauty Leonie...

It's a compliment to Georgette Heyer that she can write a story with one of my personal pet peeves and make it work - this is a girl in pants story.

The story has a mystery, romance, friendship, a villain or two and a case of stolen identity.

The Duke of Avon is an arrogant, cynical and jaded man. He constantly refers to himself has the devil thus showing how fond he is of his bad reputation. One day while strolling on the streets of Paris he finds a young "boy" running away from a beating and decides to protect him. "He" becomes Avon's page and totally devoted to his saviour who "he" believes to be a noble and good man no matter what Avon, and everyone else, says to deny it. It is soon apparent that there is a motive for Avon's actions other than the kindness of his heart. Leon, or Leonie, will be his instrument of revenge towards an old enemy.

I love how Heyer shows the relationship between the older, jaded aristocrat and the young naive girl. He is always in control of his actions and emotions, she is very impulsive and emotional. She is always very honest, sometimes too honest in her remarks and about her situation but Heyer makes it work wonderfully. Unlike other stories with girls disguised as boys Avon immediately sees that Leonie is a girl and let's her continue the ruse to keep appearances and till he can discover more about her. Once he does he puts her in his sisters care what Leonie sees as a loss of his favour. It's clear from early on that Leonie loves Avon and that he fights what he feels for her because he feels he is too old and unworthy.

Without giving much away of the plot Leonie will be put in danger by Avon's old enemy, The Comte de Saint Vire, and it will take several adventures to rescue her and uncover the truth of Leonie's past. In the mean time we get to know a few more members of Avon's family and have some insight on his past. I liked that it had action, witty and funny dialogue, a good plot and believable characters. Heyer does a good job with portraying the Georgian atmosphere and mannerisms (the book is set circa 1756) making it a very good read.


Grade: A

Slammerkin by Emma Donoghue

Born to rough cloth in working-class London in 1748, Mary Saunders hungers for linen and lace. Her lust for a shiny red ribbon leads her to a life of prostitution at a young age, where she encounters a freedom unknown to virtuous young women. But a dangerous misstep sends her fleeing to Monmouth and the refuge of the middle-class household of Mrs. Jones, to become the seamstress her mother always expected her to be and to live the ordinary life of an ordinary girl. Although Mary becomes a close confidante of Mrs. Jones, her desire for a better life leads her back to prostitution. She remains true only to the three rules she learned on the streets of London: Never give up your liberty; Clothes make the woman; Clothes are the greatest lie ever told. In the end, it is clothes, their splendor and their deception, that lead Mary to disaster.

Ana says:

I was first attracted to this book by the blurb I read at Amazon and the fact that it was based on real events.

Now after I finished it I can see that little is known about the real Mary Saunders and that Donoghue created a powerful story from the barest of facts. She has a knack for describing London at it's worst and I even found the first half of the book difficult to read as Mary does not have an easy time of it. Mostly ignored by her mother after her father died and she remarried Mary goes to school and yearns for a better life. That wish will make her admire the well dressed whore she sees on her way to school and makes her want to have a beautiful red ribbon. After a fight with her mother she goes out, upset, to by the ribbon and finds herself raped by the ribbon seller. Unable to tell her mother she tries to hide and forget her misery till an anonymous letter announces her pregnancy and she is thrown out by her mother.

Without a place to go she is abused by soldiers and finally saved by the whore she admired and led to a life of prostitution. Seemingly unconscious of the price she is paying and of how her actions may affect her future life Mary finds she can earn easy money and finally aspire to a better life. She learns But life on the streets of London is not easy and she decides to reform. After some time at a charity hospital she feels imprisoned and decides to go back to the village where her parents came from. There she finds a life with some normalcy as she becomes the servant of the Jones family and after a while even finds her true vocation as a seamstress. She plans to save money and better herself when a conversation with her master shows her that a servant will always be a servant, her love story with a boy also employed in the same home also makes her realise that she can never lead the normal life of having children and creating a family. Desperate to have some money and return to London Mary once again becomes a prostitute while still living and working for the Jones. Her desperation grows and when Mrs Jones takes a drastic action a tragedy occurs.

I must say that I really liked Mary, she was not always polite or nice but she was honest about what she wanted and about how to get it. She could have stolen the money or things to sell but instead she worked the only way she knew to make a quick profit, being a whore. The better things she aspired to were represented by the clothes she carried with her, because clothes make the woman.

In the end I was left feeling life had been rather unfair for poor Mary. She never had much and in the end even what little she had was taken from her. I was left wondering if in that period of so many society rules and with a strong system of classes if one could possible raise from what they were born into and find a better place. It was a fascinating read albeit not an easy one. Donoghue takes us to the dark side of society and there's no happy ending in sight. A compelling story!

Grade: B


Marg says:

This book was inspired by an actual murder in the Welsh border regions in 1763. In surviving newspaper articles from the time it is suggested that the young girl who committed the murder did so because she was obsessed with clothes. This is the basis that Emma Donoghue chooses to follow.

When we first meet Mary Donoghue she is 14 years old, and a schoolgirl living in London, at an age where most other working class girls have been sent out to work. Mary hasn't been sent out to work yet because her mother promised her father before he was executed for his part in a rebellion that she would ensure that Mary was educated. Mary's mother has remarried to a man that Mary can't stand, and who resents the fact that he is supporting a girl who is old enough to find work and assist more in the household. The problem is that Mary feels that she is too good to go into service, too good to become a seamstress, yet she wants all the fine things in life.

Early in the book Mary has an encounter with a peddler where she gives away her virtue for the price of a red ribbon. Left pregnant by the encounter she is eventually kicked out of home when her condition is discovered. She shortly finds herself in one of the roughest areas of London, and it isn't too big a leap for her before she finds herself servicing the cullies and making some money for herself. Her one friend is a fellow prostitute named Doll, who teaches Mary the tricks of the trade and how to get by, as well as warning her who to stay away from.

In the midst of a terribly cold winter, Doll convinces Mary that needs to sign up to go into a home for reformed prostitutes, if only so that she has warmth and food for the rest of the winter. When she finally rebels against the strict rules and religious environment of the home she comes back to find her only friend gone, well, dead...and then on the wrong side of one of the most dangerous pimps in London.

Mary flees to her mother's home town of Monmouth, hoping to find a new life for herself, to match with the new history she has made of her life. She is taken in as a maid for her mother's former best friend, Mrs Jones, who rapidly befriends Mary, not only employing her but also making her her confidant in her struggle to give her husband a son.

Also living in her home are the slave Abi, originally from Africa, via the Caribbean, who works for no wages. There is also Mrs Ash who was originally employed as a wet nurse but has been living with the family for many years, now in the guise of a governess for the one surviving daughter. Finally there is Daffy, and intense but likeable young man who is trying to make a life for himself away from his hypocritical, cleric father, who also runs one of the village pubs.

Once Mary is living with the Jones, this story becomes several things - firstly a study of extended family as defined at the time to include servants and slaves, secondly, a story of empowerment as Mary encourages Abi to try and get some wages for her toil. Finally, this is a story about whether Mary can take the chance that she has given to live a life away from the prostitution that she has previously undertaken. At one point it appears that Daffy and Mary may marry, but that is shortlived as Mary realises that if she does marry Daffy she will be stuck in a little town in the Welsh Marches for the rest of her life.

As Mary goes through life, pretty much destroying the peace of mind of the people around her, the author gives us a character who is almost totally unlikeable. What makes her so greedy, so convinced of her elevated worth in her own mind, and yet so able to rationalise that choosing a life of prostitution is okay for her. Mary in effect lives hard and fast and dies early without ever seemingly being happy, or at the very least unable to realise when she has a good thing going - a precautionary tale if nothing else.

Whilst Mary, and many of the other characters are unlikeable, and this is in many ways a story without much hope, it is nonetheless well written and compelling. I have had it on my TBR list for ages, so I am glad to have finally read it! Even where there are glimpses of hope, for example, for Abi, to me the suggestion for the future was not really one of happiness.

Within that though, there are glimpses of humour, such as when the ultra religious and judgmental Mrs Ash gets her comeuppance, but those moments are few and far between.

When rating this book, I hovered between 3.5 and 4, mainly because the characters are pretty much unlikeable, but the writing was compelling, and I was completely drawn into the story on more than one occasion.


**Originally posted on my blog - March 2006**

Shadowbrook by Beverly Swerling

1754. In a peaceful glen in the Ohio Country, the firing of a musket ball signals beginning of the infamous seven-year that paved the way for the American Revolution.

In Shadowbrook a cast of unforgettable characters brings to life the bloody conflict between the French and the English that ignited the 18th century and sparked a nation's battle for independence. Characters like Quentin Hale, the fearless gentleman-turned-scout the Indiians call 'Red Bear'; Cormac Shea, the part-Irish, part-Indian woodsman scarred in battle by his own kin, sworn to drive white man from his land; Nicole Crane, the beautiful young half-French woman whose struggle to reconcile her love for Hale with her vow to become a nun causes her to become a pawn in the quest for territory.

Centred around the coveted Shadowbrook, a prosperous plantation in the northern wilderness, and peopled with such historical figures, including a young George Washington, this richly textured novel vividly captures the conflict that opened the eighteenth century and ignited our nation's quest for independence. A classic in the making, Shadowbrook is a page-turning tale of ambition, war, and the transforming power of both love and duty.

When I read City of Dreams, one of the things that I found most surprising was that the author chose to tell the story of several generations in one book, and therefore covered quite a significant period of history (from 1661 to 1798). Whilst it didn't detract from the novel too much, I do much prefer to read a book that concentrates more fully on just one set of characters.

There is nothing in the blurb to easily connect Shadowbrook to the first book. It is only as you start to read that you find out that Quentin Hale's mother is a Devrey of New York and therefore connected to the characters from the first book. With a time frame from 1754-1760 this book sits within the scope of the first book, but I guess the story was just so much bigger than just being a section of the earlier book.

The two main characters are Quentin Hale and Cormac Shea - they are not physically brothers, but they are in all other ways, including by the fact that they have the same adoptive Indian father, with Quentin having been adopted by the Potawatomi tribe. Cormac is half Irish and half Indian, and had been bought to Shadowbrook as a young teenager when Quent's father made Cormac's mother his mistress. To the Indians these two young men are Bridge people - men who can provide a way for the Indians to understand what is happening in the very different world of the white man. For Cormac and Quent, quite often it means internal strife as they must try to balance the two worlds of which they are part.

The story that Swerling attempts to tell is huge - not only is there the Indian vs white man issues to deal with, there is also the simmering tensions between the British and the French who are fighting to win control of the land stretching from what is now the northern US up to and including Quebec in Canada. Add in the machinations of the Church, and you have a complicated and diverse cast of characters. There are also episodes of Indian mysticism, as well as Catholic religious experience.

As if all of that is not enough, when Cormac and Quentin meet after a long time apart, Cormac is accompanying a young lady north to Quebec. Her name is Nicole Crane, and she is half British-half French, and she is travelling north to become a member of a the Sisters of the Poor Clares - a convent. Whilst Quentin is a man of honour and wouldn't dare to touch Nicole whilst he believes that she has chosen Cormac to be her man, he finds himself falling in love with her, and when his mother seems to sanction her as the perfect wife to be mistress of Shadowbrook, he knows that she should be his. The only problem is that Quent will never be master at Shadowbrook. As the younger son, he has to watch his sadistic older brother (a completely one dimensional character - evil in just about every way - particularly in comparison to the perfect Quent!) make decisions that will cause trouble for all those who live there, including the slaves and the Quakers who live in a township on the Hale patent.

There are several historical characters woven into the narrative - in particular during the sections dealing with the battles between the British and the French. Possibly the most interesting inclusions were a young man by the name of George Washington who was leading a force of Virginian soldiers and fighting on the side of the British against the French, influential Indian chief, Chief Pontiac, and several generals on either side of the battles over land.

On many levels this story did work for me, but at the end of the day, there was too much left unexplained for me to really love this book.

As an example, one of the major story lines was the wheeling and dealing that was being driven by a one-eyed Scottish man, Hamish Stewart, who fought at Culloden. Hamish wants the Hale patent...badly...and will do almost anything to get his hands on it. He manipulates and bribes, even at one stage trying to destroy the Hales, just so that he can be the owner. What I never did get is what his motivation was. He had been coveting the land for over twenty years, but why THAT land. Why was he so determined that Shadowbrook was the only land that he wanted. This is just one example.

Before finishing up I should mention that this is not a book for the faint of heart. There are battles galore, blood everywhere, and plenty of scalpings. For the most part, it is a fascinating read, although it is a long way from being a perfect read. I would class it as mostly enjoyable.

Mistress of The Revolution by Catherine Delors

This was a difficult review to write. I enjoyed the book very much and I wanted to do it justice but sometimes there are so many things you appreciate that you get overwhelmed when it comes to writing the review.

This book reads like a memoir, the heroine is looking back on her past and telling us about her life. There are only a few occasions in which we are brought back to the present and actually know her as an old woman.

This is a book about a very sensitive period in history. The French Revolution gave us the ideals we still live by today but at the same time it was a period of such blood shed that sometimes, when I read about it, the good parts pale in comparison.

The book starts as Gabrielle de Montserrat is brought to her family to live after a few years living with a nurse and then a few more in a convent completing her education. Her family belongs to the impoverished aristocracy and it is understood that she will be expected to marry well. However Gabrielle ends up falling in love with a young commoner - Pierre Andre Coffinhal - and to prevent them from being together her brother marries her to a man thrice her age when she is only 15. Said husband will mistreat her before finally dying and leaving her penniless and with a little daughter. Without any other options she accepts to go to Paris and live with an old relation. There she will be in touch with the court life and the last moments of the Old Regime. Her story is not uncommon when it comes to the history of women in general. Dependent on men to provide for her, as due to her status work can't be considered, she becomes the mistress of a rich men. Her position as Lady In Waiting to the Countess of Provence will allow her to get to know the most important personalities in the political scene. After the monarchy is abolished she is reduced to a "ci-devant" (an ex) Baroness and in a world where titles are no longer tolerated she finds herself imprisoned and in constant danger of being tried and killed just because she was an aristocrat. As the situation collapses she asks for the help of Pierre-Andree who has risen to be an important member of the Revolutionary Tribunal and a close friend of Robespierre. The relationship that they develop will allow Gabrielle and us to follow the period of the Terror and its political changes especially it what concerns civil rights. From its beginning till the moment when the leaders of the revolution end up being led to the guillotine themselves.

I found it strange at first that Gabrielle could mention so many horrifying things in a detached manner. But then it struck me that she is looking back into the past, some events are long gone and we are watching them through her eyes. The first person point of view also helps with that. It’s an interesting way of telling the story and I also found it important in a different level. She manages to convey both the old world and the new society that comes out of the revolution without being judgemental. It’s through Pierre-Andre’s character that we have most of the analysis and condemnation of the old regime and the defence of the new order. Gabrielle has a more feminine approach to reality with worries about family and friends which make her observations very interesting in a different way. I felt that last part of the book was the stronger one and why I ended up loving it so much.

The romantic element is strong but this is Gabrielle's story, not a romance, and in the end she survives and becomes stronger. When she reaches the end of her story she is in London and thinks about how twenty three years later the émigrés are returning to France as the Bourbons were restored to the throne. She, however, will never be able to go back…

The characters are interesting and I felt that the more I knew them the more I wanted to know. The historical background is really well done. We get a true feeling of the period without it taking centre stage.

One final note to say the book is populated by real people, who actually existed – starting with Coffinhal - and I really liked that.

Grade: A