HT News

Popular HF author Robin Maxwell is guest posting over at Historical Boys, the blog of C W Gortner. She is talking about her upcoming novel, Signora Da Vinci.

She is also guest posting at History Buff Author Interviews, which is the site of another author, Michelle Moran.


In other news, Arleigh from Historical-fiction.com is giving away a copy of an unabridged audio book of The Scandal of the Season by Sophie Gee. Check out the details here.

Another reading challenge that might suit some of our readers. Dani from Dani's Bookshelf is hosting a "It's Good to be Queen challenge. The idea is to read books about women who ruled. You can get all the details here.

A Tapestry of Dreams by Roberta Gellis

THEIRS WAS AN AGE OF PASSION AND PAGEANTRY
The lovely Lady Audris, whose delicate fingers weave fables of the future unto her tapestries, whose special gifts and radiant beauty set her apart in an enchanted age. And the knight they call Hugh Licorne. In service to his king ... a hero in an age of heroes ... a princely suitor for Lady Audris -- even though she cannot have him. Against all odds, they dare to search for love ... the lady who has sworn not to marry ... and the knight who has vowed to win her heart…

Tapestry of Dreams is the prequel to Fires of Winter. I happened to read that one first and was then curious to know more about Hugh and Audris who show up as secondary characters.

Set during the Stephen and Matilda wars and especially during the Scottish invasions of 1137 and 1138 about which there’s an author’s note the story begins by introducing Jernaeve, a place between Scotland and England where Audris lives under her uncle’s protection and from time to time receiving the visits of her half brother Bruno. On one of his visits he is accompanied by his friend Hugh Licorne. Hugh is an orphan who doesn’t know is parents. Both young men feel deeply the fact that they have neither riches nor land to call their own.

Audris is somewhat different from other heroines of the time, she is sheltered yes but her main occupation is weaving tapestries and she has none of those feminine gifts like cooking, healing or ordering the keep. Since Hugh is introduced as a friend of her beloved brother there’s immediate warmth is their relationship. What I really liked in how their relationship is portrayed, how open and honest they are with their feelings. Hugh is a warrior but is also capable of gentleness and tender feelings for the woman he loves; Audris is passionate and headstrong in her desire for him. I also liked how Gellis made their sexuality such a natural and joyous part of their union, it seemed right.

There’s war going on and soon the mystery of who Hugh really is and the result of their union makes them leave Jernaeve. I thought the first half of the book was a bit slow but towards the middle it definitely picks up the pace not only in their relationship but also in the background story. Gellis successfully blends story with history and mystery to provide us with an interesting and entertaining historical romance.

Grade: 4/5

HT News

One of the books that I saw quite a few reviews for on HF and book blogs was Midwife of the Blue Ridge. It is still on my TBR list, but I will get to it eventually hopefully!

I was interested to see that Christine posted the cover to her next book or as she put it, the almost cover art because there will be a couple of minor changes, over at Historical Fiction Online. The Tory Widow is the first in a planned trilogy, with Christine recently signing the deal to to write a pair of sequels that will take the story from the onset of the American Revolution though to the end of the war.

With a lot of talk about how much harder it is to be published these days, it is good to celebrate good news!

Under a Blood Red Sky by Kate Furnivall

Davinsky Labour Camp, Siberia, 1933: Sofia Morozova knows she has to escape. All that sustains her through the bitter cold, and hard labour are the stories told by her friend Anna, beguiling tales of a charmed upbringing in Petrograd - and of Anna's fervent love for a passionate revolutionary, Vasily. So when Anna falls gravely ill, Sofia makes a promise to escape the camp and find Vasily. But Russia, gripped by the iron fist of Communism, is no longer the country of her friend's childhood. Sofia's perilous search takes her from industrial factories to remote villages, where she discovers a web of secrecy and lies - and an overwhelming love that threatens her promise to Anna. But time is running out. And time, Sofia knows, is something neither she nor Anna has.

Just over a year ago I read Kate Furnivall's first book, The Russian Concubine, and totally enjoyed it. When I heard that the author had a new book out I was hoping for a sequel to that book. I didn't get it, although it is coming this year, but having now read this book, I am not all that disappointed.

Where The Russian Concubine featured Russian characters who lived in China during the turbulent 1920's, this book is set in Russia itself. Now I love reading anything set in Russia, but this is the first time I remember reading anything set during the Soviet era of the 1930s, where the populace is ruled by fear of being arrested for the slightest misdemeanours or connections, and sent to the prison camps often never to return.

Our main character Sofia has been thrown into the prison camps of Siberia. It is there that she meets Anna, a young woman who has also been imprisoned due to her connections with the aristocracy. Each day the women have to perform back breaking manual labour, getting by any way they can. Sofia realises that her friend cannot take much more of this, so is determined to escape and find Anna's childhood friend Vasily. Whilst Anna is terrified for Sofia's safety, she also believes that Vasily will help her if he can.

Sofia finds her way to the village where they believe Vasily is now living, only to be drawn into the collective farming environment where the state determines that absurdly high quotas must be reached, and that no one, no matter how starving they are, gets to keep anything for themselves. She finds herself drawn both into the town and to the people of the town, but she knows that ultimately her aim must be to get back and save Anna, if she is still alive.

There Sofia meets Mikael, a prominent man, who is raising his son alone. As Sofia must take on a new identity and avoid the attention of the authorities, others within the village wrestle with the distinction between duty to each other and duty to the Motherland, with potentially disastrous consequences for all of them.

There are lots of events in this book that are highly improbable, but such is Furnivall's story telling skill, that it doesn't matter all that much. If you want a book filled with high drama with romantic and some minor paranormal elements , and that will keep you reading until the wee hours of the morning, then this may well be a book that you will enjoy.

If I had to choose between this book and The Russian Concubine for a first time Furnivall reader then the latter would win, but this is still a very enjoyable read, about a time and place that I haven't read much about.


**** Please note that in some countries around the world, this book is published under the title The Red Scarf.****

Rating: 4 out of 5

He Shall Thunder in the Sky by Elizabeth Peters

Egypt and her hoary secrets are no match for New York Times-bestselling Grandmaster Elizabeth Peters and her indomitable archaeologist sleuth Amelia Peabody. The sand-and-windblown ambience of this strange and colorful world, the ancient enchantments and delicious menace are more vibrantly realized than ever in this thrilling new adventure that places the intrepid Amelia and her equally remarkable family in the dangerous path of an onrushing World War.

The pursuit of knowledge must never be deterred by Man's folly. So the close of 1914 finds Amelia Peabody and her husband Radcliffe Emerson back in Egypt for another season of archaeological excavation - despite the increasing danger of an attack on the Suez Canal and on Egypt itself. Trouble is brewing in Cairo and the defiantly pacifist stance of Amelia and Emerson's headstrong son Ramses is earning the young man the derision, and much worse, of the British expatriate community. Meanwhile, the charismatic nationalist el Wardani is said to be fomenting insurrection in the ancient city. And since there is no way to stand outside the political hurricane that is suddenly threatening their lives, Amelia plunges directly into it.

When el Wardani escapes a police dragnet, thanks to the direct intervention of Amelia and Emerson, the family's stake in a perilous game is raised considerably. But it's Ramses' strange secret role in it that could truly bring ruin down upon all their heads. However, there is more than intrigue and espionage, plots and counter plots, at work here. For an artifact uncovered at a Giza dig - an exquisite sculpture found where it ought not to be - confirms Amelia's most unsettling suspicion: that the chaos confirming Cairo has masked the nefarious reemergence of Amelia's villainous arch nemesis, Sethos, the Master Criminal.

It's been too long since I read an Amelia Peabody mystery, especially given the events of the last couple of books. Now that I have rectified that oversight I have a small problem - well, two actually. The first is that I can't write this review without spoilers, so reader beware. The second problem is that this book really felt like an ending of a series, and yet I know that there are at least 6 books that have been published since this book. I may be speculating completely inaccurately here, but I wonder if the reason for this was in effect just in case, because when this book was published in 2000, the author Elizabeth Peters, was already 73 years old, and maybe each of the books will feel complete. Given that the author is still writing, I may be completely off base. Anyway..

Elizabeth Peters has said that the four books that started with Seeing a Large Cat and then continued with The Ape Who Guards the Balance, The Falcon at the Portal and culminates in the events of this book formed an internal quartet within the overall series, and they are four of the best books in the series that I have read so far. Throughout these four books there has been unrequited love, impulsive actions, nationalistic fervour, heroism, spying, danger, subterfuge.

Without doubt, the stand out character of this book is Ramses. I often say that Amelia is a very lucky woman to have Emerson as her husband, but if it is possible, Ramses is even more of a catch. Tall, dark, handsome, principled, heroic, loyal and dashing! What's not to like.

The plot of this book is actually quite complex, and is definitely not a place for a new reader to start this series. WWI is raging, but that doesn't stop the Emerson's from setting up camp to dig in Egypt. Amelia and Emerson should be overjoyed! They finally have managed to get permission to dig at the more glamourous fields than they usually get, mainly because so many of their archaeologist friends are either on the wrong side of the war, or otherwise occupied.

When they comes across an extraordinary find that doesn't fit where it is in terms of its location and age, Amelia begins to suspect that her old nemesis, Sethos, has taken advantage of the chaos in Egypt to return to Cairo. The question is what he is up to? He is not the only one who is up to something, because there is a movement growing to try and gain independence from Britain for Egypt, through any means they can. As the Emerson's find themselves drawn into a complex web of events, it becomes a matter of life and death for more than one member of the family.

There is finally resolution in terms of the issues between Nefret and Ramses, and the scenes where Amelia finally is confided in and told what has happened between the two of them are some of the best in the series. In this book we see a lot more of the mother in Amelia. For so long in the series, this particular aspect has seemed to be missing, or at least very well hidden, but with her family very much in danger, we do see an Amelia who is prepared to show how much she loves her family.

Given that this does feel like an ending it will be interesting to see where the series goes next, especially given that it would appear that the author will have to create a whole new set of opponents instead of relying on the already well established arch nemesis Sethos, and also the nasty cousin Percy.

Whereever Peters chooses to take us next in this series, I am totally along for the ride!

Master of Verona by David Blixt

In 1314, seventeen year old Pietro Alighieri travels to Verona with his father, the infamous poet Dante, at the invitation of its leader, the legendary Francesco “Cangrande” della Scala. A sneak attack from Padua leads Pietro into his first battle, fighting alongside the charismatic Cangrande, and into a tight friendship with Mariotto Montecchio and Antonio Capulletto. Behind the scenes, repeated attempts are made against the life of a child believed to be Cangrande’s illegitimate son and possible heir.

Pietro is drawn into the web of intrigue around the child and the tension building between Mariotto and Antonio over a woman betrothed to one and in love with the other – a situation that will sever a friendship, divide a city, and ultimately lead to the events of the best known tragic romance in the world.

Inspired by the plays of Shakespeare, the poetry of Dante, and the events of history, The Master of Verona is a compelling novel of politics, loyalty, conspiracy and star-crossed romance.

Sometimes it happens that I really love a book, but I still don't get around to writing a review for it straight away (or at all, but we won't think about all those unwritten reviews just now!). This is one of those books.

My interest was initially drawn to the idea of setting a book at the time of Romeo and Juliet, but this is much more than a retelling of that famous tale. It isn't even the main action within the novel, but it is an important component.

The story is more about Pietro Alighieri, son and reluctant heir to his father, the famous and controversial poet Dante Alighieri. I say reluctant because for many years Pietro was the second son of a famous man, not really expected to do much in terms of continuing his father's legacy, but with the death of his older brother, Pietro finds himself fulfilling a role that he is ill suited for.

He is given the chance to shine when he unexpectedly gets to fight with Francesco "Cangrande" della Scala, charismatic leader of Verona. This engagement also brings him into contact with his new best friends, Mario and Antonio. The boys are friends, but they are also competitors both in the contests of the Palio and for two of them, in love. This very first fight begins with a flying leap off of a balcony onto horseback - a very telling sign of the type of swashbuckling to come throughout the book!

Blixt skilfully deals with the historical figures of Dante and Cangrande, Shakespeare's famous love story, an intriguing suspense subplot plus provides the reader with an engaging, exciting and engrossing story with a large cast of well written characters.

There is lots of action in the pages between the battles and the pageantry associated with medieval Italy. For me, the highlight of the book is definitely the day of the Palio. The colour, the spectacle and the pageantry are incredibly detailed but also very readable with the naming of the new knights, the speech of the oracle where it is declared that "Verona will always be remembered for love" and the crazy midnight foot race where the participants all run naked through the streets coming to life vividly through the words on the page!

This is an excellent historical fiction debut, and I for one, am very much looking forward to reading the next book from David Blixt, which will pick up where the action of this book left off!

When it comes to grading books I think that I am an easy grader when it comes to 4/5 books, but very, very hard when it comes to 5/5 books. This book is one of only three 5/5 books so far this year! I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves to read historical fiction.

HT News - Reading Challenges

Are you on the lookout for HF themed reading challenges? If yes, then the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge that is being hosted by Royal Reviews. The challenge runs from 1 January to 31 March, and you can get the details by clicking here.