THE MAKING OF AN AUTHOR
by Jeannie Johnson
I wasn't exactly starving in a garret, but in the early nineties but I found myself without a home or an income. The worst recession this century had arrived and living in a rural area, jobs were few. Crossing the Severn Bridge into England for yet another secretarial job was too expensive an option to contemplate. An American writer friend of mine had told me years before that I was a natural storyteller and wrote better than she did. But, she was an American and hell, what do they know? Living on Income Support, when the high point of the day is an evening meal of egg, bacon and beans, was far more of an incentive than a creative writing class could ever be.
So I made a start, daring to write a Mills and Boon, which seemed the easiest option at the time - as it does to a lot of new writers. At this point it hadn't occurred to me that you write best what you read and although I'd tried reading this redoubtable imprint, I'd only managed to start two contemporaries and finish one historical. Not for me then!
Then I discovered there were conferences where like-minded individuals could meet and compare what they had - or mostlywhat they hadn't done. I was enthused after attending Southampton Writers Conference, I sent off a synopsis and the first two pages of a book to an agent who wrote back TWO DAYS later. She gave me the name of an editor at a publishing house, and suggested I send it to her. The editor rang me SIX DAYS later, made a few re-writing suggestions and requested I send the manuscript to her when it was finished.
Poverty is not necessarily a good companion to writing ambition. It goads you into action, but the bills piling up make you crazy for income and not necessarily success. I threw myself into writing like a mad thing, finishing the book in about three months,
sending it off - and unfortunately - getting it back. My first rejection. This was about nine months after I'd first started writing. Skint and fed up, I tried every form of writing to bring in a few extra pounds. Like Anne Rice, Stephen King, Henry Miller and Anais Ninn before me, I wrote and had published stuff that you couldn't possibly show your mother, but it paid the bills. Then there was the re-writing of kitchen assembly instructions for a certain chain of Do It Yourself stores, hotel descriptions for an Internet tourist guide, calling card scripts for TV series - all of which led to me gaining an Equity card and appearing on Casualty, Holby City and other TV programmes. The latter was very handy. TV extras are paid to wait around all day. I spent the time writing my book so, in effect, got paid twice.
What goes around comes around, and in the same year that I won a scriptwriting competition at BBC Radio Bristol, part of the BBC's new writers initiative, my agent phoned; Orion Publishing was making an offer for a book entitled The Rest of Our Lives. It was set in Bristol, (I am Bristolian) just after the Second World War and would form part of a two book deal. The sequel entitled A Penny for Tomorrow is now at jacket design stage and I've signed a three book deal; my third novel is again set in Bristol, but this time in the nineteenth century.
I have to say that writing a novel set in the nineteenth century is far more difficult than setting it in the twentieth. There are no faded memories to fall back on, no newsreel or Pathe News footage, no documentaries on the Discovery Channel. Factual books on the period are of some use, but what about the people? Attitudes in my own lifetime have changed beyond all recognition. How different were the people of my own childhood to those of Victorian England?
How do you capture the feel of the age?
Junk shops, old book shops, and charity shops are a boon. I've been rummaging among the most dusty, tatty books you've ever seen, looking for the rather amateurish ones written by 'A Victorian Gentleman', 'A Country Boy', 'A Gentlewoman'. The attitudes of the writer and descriptions of the time shine through ·more genuinely than those of any academic historian, or they do for me. When it comes to descriptions of clothes, I shall repair to The Bath Costume Museum - a wonderful collection - from underwear (or lack of it) to chocolate tins and toys.
Writers beware! If you are anything of an amateur historian, you are in dire danger of getting so enamoured of your research that character and plot line get smothered with detail. In my opinion, at the heart of any book - historical or otherwise - the story is king. Characters must move along through the story as they do through life. I feel when
I'm writing that I must also trust reader psychology, brushing in the details in watercolour. It's not easy, but I have to control my fascination with the facts I've found out. I'm writing fiction not faction so must resist the urge to plaster on details in undiluted oils with a builder's trowel.
My third book for Orion is entitled Like An Evening Gone and at present is nearly 70,000 words long. I think it will end up around 120,000 if not more. It's sunny outside and I want to go for a walk, but I can't. Although the deadline for delivery is September, the fear that you might get to 75,000 words and want to scrap the lot, is always with you. Besides talent, stamina is a handy asset for any writer, along with thick skin, a good typing speed, nosiness and a predilection for lying - oh - elasticised waistbands are good, too because you never quite find the time for that walk. Though you should. Either that or conveniently live in poverty in a garret.
The Rest of Our Lives is published by Orion Books at £17.99 and was reviewed in issue 19.
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General fiction is classified by period. Within each section, the books are listed in alphabetical order of author.
PRE~HISTORY
CALL DOWN THE STARS
Sue Harrison, Morrow, 2001, $25, £16.37, hb , 446 pp , ISBN 0-380-97372-3
Our tale begins in 602 BC, as a group of storyte llers are meeting. Their stories take us back to the 7th millennium BC, where we are reunited with characters from the first two novels in the series. Qumalix, a beautiful wise woman, shares the stage with Yikaas, a young man learning the ways of the storyteller. They switc h back and forth, sharing the tales of Chakliux, Ghaden, K'os, Red Leaf, and Daughter. Each storytelling session · connects with the others in amazing ways, and by the end of each story, we feel as if we are in the lodge with Qumalix and Yikaas, hearing their stories in their native languages
Call Down The Stars contains a mix of adventure, revenge, romance, and suspense. Readers should not feel obligated to read the first two novels before reading this conclusion to Harrison's Storyteller trilogy, but it may help in providing background for the novel's characters. If you enjoyed Jean Auel 's Clan of the Cave Bear series or Penina Keen Spinka's novel Picture Maker, this will be a perfect addition to your library
Melissa Galyon
DAUGHTER OF LIR
Judith Tarr, Forge, 2001, $27.95 / C$39.95, £17.50, hb, 415 pp, ISBN 0-312-87616-5 At the dawn of history, the People of the Horse Goddess are faced with war and annihilation. In this worthwhile sequel to White Mare's Daughter, it is now Rhian, whose people migrated westward eons before to Lir, the City of the Mother, who must protect those she love s. Raised quietly by a potter, Rhian does not know that she is the daughter of the Mother. As a seer, Rhian is tormented by dreams of war - of war machines she later learns are chariots - led by the people who live far to the east on the Steppes.
Rhian meets Emry, who she does not know is the king's son and her brother. With a small band , they travel to the Steppes. The one thing that the Goddess's people have, and those of the Steppes do not have, is bronze. Trading bronze for chariot-making lessons , the Goddess's people further arm themselves. What is to come is already written, but Rhian has made it possible for those who worship the Goddess to protect their way of life.
Tarr is a wonderful and imaginative storyteller. The action moves quickly, and the characters are fully developed, complex, and believable. The close bond between Emry and Rhian is palpable, and the love between Rhian and Minas, who should be Rhian's mortal enemy, is a testament to the ability of love to overcome strife. I enjoyed this book even though I am not a 'prehistory' fan. Ilysa Magnus
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
BIBLICAL
LAMB: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
Christopher Moore, Morrow, 2002, $25.95 / C$39.50, £16.25, hb , 408 pp , ISBN 0380-97840-7
God has decided it's time for a new Gospel, and wants Levi, Christ's best friend, to write it. The angel Raziel summons Levi back to life to write the truth - the whole truth - about Christ's life and death. While Raziel watches soap operas, Levi begins his holy task
Levi first meets Joshua bar Joseph - better known these days as Jesus Christ - as a sixyear-old, resurrecting lizards as fast as his brother bashes them to death. From this promising beginning grows a strong friendship which survives, among other things, puberty, rivalry for the affections of the lovely Mary of Magdaia , and Joshua's endless quest to learn whether he 's the Messiah or not.
Although Lamb retells the life of Christ, it's not a historical novel , and is not intended as an accurate recreation of life in biblical times It's a comic fantasy, and mostly pretty damn funny, if rather overlong for its material. If you are offended by humorous portrayals of Christ, don't read this book ; I can't make it clearer than that. But please remember that if God didn 't like a good laugh , He wouldn't have invented the platypus.
India Edghill
ANCIENT EGYPT
A PLACE OF DARKNESS
Lauren Haney, Avon, 2001, $6.50, £4.07, 285pp, pb , ISBN: 0-380-81286-X
This mystery of ancient Egypt is the fifth book in a series featuring Lieutenant Bak, officer in charge of the Medjay police at Buben. On a temporary assignment in Waset, near where Queen Maatkare Hatshepsut's memorial temple is being built , Bak has a twofold task: nab the thief who has been stealing jewels from an ancient tomb, and stop a series of destructive accidents plaguing the construction site. The workers blame a malignant spirit; Bak thinks someone mortal is responsible. Haney does an excellent job of transporting the reader back in time, giving us an inside view of everyday life in a land of magnificent structures midst relative poverty, and sand so hot one cannot help but feel it through the soles of one's sandals. She is not so proficient with the words spoken by the inhabitants of this land, however. To my ear, they sound little more than everyday American English. The mystery is disappointing, as well. It takes Bak 80 pages to follow up on an attempt made on his life; if he'd done so right away, the book could have that many pages shorter. A good book, in other words, but far from a great one.
Steve Lewis
CLASSICAL
THE LOVE ARTIST
Jane Alison, Allison & Busby £12.99 hb, 215pp, ISBN O 7490 0547 5
On the shores of the Black Sea, when advised by his friends to leave Rome to escape the displeasure of the Emperor Augustus for his salacious writings, Ovid encounters an almost other-worldly woman, Xenia. Part witch, part healer and wholly magical , she seems myth come to life and to him embodies the fictitious creations of his soon-to-be published Metamorphoses. Obsessed , he takes her back with him to Rome and from their relationship comes his masterpiece Medea.
Thus Jane Alison in her lyrical and seductive novel imagines a missing chapter in the life of Ovid who, born one year after the death of Julius Caesar, was above all interested in passion. His works continue to fascinate, permeating Western art and literature. The Love Artist is richly descriptive and the author has an ability to bring ancient Rome to life with a detail of period showing command of a subject carefully studied. The flawless prose draws out the dark side of the novel , which is expressed in such a way that the reader is ensnared into the ingeniously entangled story of lust, ambition and fate. With her first novel Jane Alison has conceived one of those rare stories which are told with perfect balance. Gwen Sly
THE HOUSE OF DEATH
Paul Doherty, Carroll & Graf, 200 I , $25.00, hb , 276 pp., ISBN 0-7867-0853-0
For review, see Issue 17
ARISTOTLE DETECTIVE
Margaret Doody, Arrow, £5.99, pb, 37 lpp, ISBN O 0994 3613 2
It is always interesting to read a historical detective novel that was written before Ellis Peters reinvented the genre and this long outof-print classic from 1978 is a treat. From the first chapter it is plain that the author is an authority on her subject (a university professor actually) and it makes all the difference between a costume drama that uses the trappings of the period and one like this that really manages to get under the ancient Greek skin.
The narrator is young Phi lemon , head of a household of women and concerned with money worries. The finding of a local wealthy man shot dead leads to worries of an even more disturbing kind as not only is his absent cousin Stephanos accused of the crime, but the finger is pointed at him as well. What side did his ne'er-do-well relation actually fight on in the current war and what other family skeletons are going to come rattling out of the closet? Philemon is about to find out who his friends are - he hasn't got any- apart from his old tutor Aristotle who can surely help , if he can stop talking about old pots
Margaret Doody has the Greek attitude to
ISSUE 20, MAY 2002
women spot on and isn't afraid of making her protagonist a typical chauvinist of his time, which is a bold step but one that ultimately pays off. She has her work cut out for her making him into a sympathetic character but somehow she manages it and he comes over as very much an average middle-class ancient Greek. Everybody knows their place in this story and it is rather like getting a glimpse into the past. At nearly 400 pages I had though that this would be a trifle verbose for a genre novel but Doody skilfully lifts it out of the genre and delivers a book that mainstream readers wouldn't mind being caught with on the train.
Rachel A Hyde
ALEXANDER: The Ends of the Earth
Massimo Manfredi , transl by lain Halliday, Pan 2001, £9.99, pb, 443pp , ISBN O 333 78037 X
This is the final book in the Alexander trilogy continuing the story from Alexander the Great's conquest of Asia until hi s death. As in the second book, The Sands of Ammon, the story is a detailed account of the battles fought and privations suffered from Alexander's conquest of Asia until he defeats Darius and becomes king of Macedon, King of Kings, Pharaoh of Egypt, Sovereign of Babylon. To cement his position he marries Darius' other daughter, Bassine. He now has two Persian wives. Alexander's efforts to unite all his conquered lands under one ruler as one people cause problems.
I learned a lot from this book but, as with the two previous novels the text flowed in such a way as to give the impression that too much emphasis had been put on producing a literal translation from the original text rather than telling a compelling story. This often resulted in some strange sentence construction containing that unnecessary explanatory clause which detracted from the action.
(The second book in the trilogy, Alexander, The Sands of Ammon, was reviewed in issue 19 Feb 2002)
Marilyn Sherlock
THE ATHENIAN MURDERS
Jose Carlos Somozo, (Trans. Sonia Soto), Abacus, £10.99, pb, 314pps, ISBN O 349 11386 6
This is an historical detective novel with a difference, and its original Spanish title, la Caverna De Las Ideas (The Cave Of Ideas) conveys this much better than the title chosen for this translation. For the original title is a reference to a key image in the works of Plato , whose Academy features significantly in the book, and whose philosophical speculations run through it. The novel itself is presented as a translation from an ancient Greek text called The Athenian Murders and it is interspersed with the (fictional) translator's notes. These are not the usual brief comments on nuances of meaning, but extended to personal reflections upon the nature of the work and on the singular influence the book exercises on the
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
translator's life, dreams and thoughts. The translator thinks he has found subtly suggested images in the text which are meant to lead the reader's mind in a certain direction and reveal a hidden meaning This is a thought provoking element which gives the book the aspect of a meditation on literature and its power over us. The two narratives weave in and out in an intriguing, riddling way which piques the reader's curiosity well.
The Cuban-born novelist has drawn, I think, on the influence of Spanish-American magical realists such as Borges and Cortazar. However, we are also given all the satisfactions of a good detective story and his lead character of Heracles Pontor, Decipherer of Enigmas, is engaging. There are hints of Hercule Poirot (as the name suggests) in his meticulousness and cold observation of facts, but also of the eccentric outsider William Baskerville in Eco's The Name Of The Rose If I have a reservation, it would be that the complexity may slow the pace a little too much for some reader's taste, but overall this is an ingenious, thought provoking and sophisticated contribution to the literary end of the historical detective canon.
Mark Valentine
A BLOODLINE OF KINGS
Thomas Sundell, Crow Woods, 2002, $28.50, £ 17 .84 , 484pp, hb , ISBN 0-9665871-8-9
It is unusual - and daunting - to take on _ a novel from a small press that arrives complete with glowing commentary from novelists such as Bernard Cornwell and Cecelia Holland. At its conclusion, I was relieved to find myself in complete agreement.
In this epic novel of Philip of Macedon, the story begins with one birth (that of Philip himself) and erids with another (his son Alexander, later 'the Great'). In the intervening pages , Sundell takes us through the life of an extraordinary man , Philippos of the Makedones , whose brilliant military career during the 4th century BC was overshadowed by that of his more famous son. It is Philippos who earns Macedon a place on the political playing field of the ancient Hellenes and makes it the equal of powerful city-states such as Athens and Thebes This is not only a military saga, however, for the women are as strong and ambitious as the men In fact, some of the most emotional moments occur as Kleopatra , former Queen of the Makedones and Philippos' great-grandmother, secretly trains her young charge to be a future leader, not knowing that his older brothers' early deaths will make her wishes come true. The author's research is well evident - its thoroughness is , in fact, astonishing. As the novel does not always wear its research lightly, newcomers to the period may find it intellectually challenging, but the education they receive as a result will make their efforts worthwhile.
Sarah Nesbeitt
ISTCENTURY
WHITE MURDER
David Wishart, Hodder & Stoughton, 2002, £18.99, hb , 552pp, ISBN 0-340-77127-5
Set towards the end of the reign of Tiberius, this series is part of the growth of the Roman detective genre in the last decade or so. In this latest Corvinus mystery, our wise-cracking patrician sleuth investigates the death of Pegasus , a megastar chariot-racing driver of the White faction. Corvin us 's inquiries lead him and his intellectual but beautiful wife Perilla to a dormant Mt. Etna as well as into the scams, secrets and skulduggeries of Roman chariot-racing.
This is a well-written, easy-to-read tale, full of innate humour and pace The story line is ably developed with intriguing twists and turns. David Wishart, a Scottish classical scholar, has a deep knowledge and understanding of Imperial Rome which is subtly to the fore, but never intrudes on the rhythm of the plot.
Dr Ken Cosgrove
2ND CENTURY
THE CHARIOTS OF CALYX
Rosemary Rowe, Headline, 2002, £17.99, hb , 27lpp, ISBN 0-7472-7099-6
In Libertus' fourth mystery outing in Roman Britain , the mosaic-maker must, at the Governor's irresistible invitation, investigate the murder of Caius Monnius, officer in charge of Londinium's corn supply. The tale leads Libertus and his slave on a trip that includes meeting star charioteers, rich widows, shady dealers, and rough boatmen
As previously, some of the language is obscure (not usufruct again, please!). Also , why use Latin when there's perfectly serviceable English equivalent? Though 'ce ntral heating ' for hypocaust might give the wrong impression, what use is paedagogus for 'teacher' or 'tutor'? If to create a ' Roman ' effect, it only serves to annoy. Or, if intended to show how pompous the non-Roman Libertus is, this isn't obvious.
The surprise at the end is initially pleasing, but not used to great effect. And unlike the previous book, there seems no direct lead to the next mystery.
S. Garside-Neville
6TH CENTURY
HE STANDS ALO E
Randy Lee Eickhoff, St. Martin's Press , 2002, $23.95, £14.99, hb , 224pp
ISBN 0-312-87021-3
Eickhoff's Ulster Cycle series is an excellent way for anyone to enjoy the legendary saga of the Irish warrior-hero, Cuchulainn. He Stands Alone, the fifth book of the series, is a compilation of short stories encompassing
ISSUE 20, MAY 2002
different aspects ofCuchulainn's life. Training, battles, and the pleasures and pain of love are all covered in very readable prose. In a world of valour and violence, the chapters on the romance between Cuchulainn and Erner touchingly display a gentle, loving side that in no way mocks the image of a warrior. Eickhoff's expertise in the field and his ability to convey the richness of Celtic myth and history are gifts to the reader, and one can only wait impatiently for the next instalment.
Suzanne Crane
7THCENTURY
COME BACK TO ME
Josie Litton, Bantam, 2001, $5.99/C$8.99,£3.75, pb, 37lpp, ISBN 0-55358164-3
Dragon Hakonson, one of the most feared Vikings to comarn whether he's the Messiah or not.
Although Lamb retells the life of Christ, it's not a historical novel, and is not intended as an accurate recreation of life in biblical times. It's a comic fantasy, and mostly pretty damn funny, if rather overlong for its material. lf you are offended by humorous portrayals of Christ, don't read this book; I can't make it clearer than that. But please remember that if God didn't like a good laugh, He wouldn't have invented the platypus.
India Edghill
SPQR VI: Nobody Loves a Centurion John Maddox Roberts, Minotaur, 200 I, $23.95/C$33.95, hb, 275 pp, ISBN 0-31227257-X
This is the sixth entry in one of my favourite mystery series, starring Decius Metellus the Younger. Set in 696 A.D. in Gaul, during what would later be immortalized by Julius Caesar in his Gallic Wars, Decius arrives from Rome at the war 's stalled front lines, seeking to avoid his enemy at home but finding enemies enough in Caesar's camps. One such enemy is Vinius, Caesar's foremost centurion, a cruel , vicious man who is universally disliked and feared.
Naturally, Vinius is murdered. Naturally, Vinius's own men, one of whom is Decius's client, are suspected of the deed and await execution. Decius , however, isn't convinced, and Caesar charges him with finding the cu lprit. Even though there is little love lost between these political adversaries, Decius must find the real murderer quickly in order to prevent Caesar's men from mutiny as dissatisfaction grows among the troops Although I didn't find this book as light and enjoyable as the previous five, we are given a provocative account of what it was like fighting on foreign soil in the midst of barbarian tribes.
Ilysa Magnus
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
DANEGELD
Susan Squires, LoveSpell, $5.50 / C$6.50, £3.83, 358pp , pb, ISBN 0-505-52446-5 2001, In this debut historical romance set in late 7th century Britain , the Saxon witch Britta and Viking warrior Karn ally themselves against the ambitious and cruel thegn Offa. Britta saves and hides Karn, nursing him back to health. But Offa discovers their whereabouts, forcing them to flee to the mainland, where they encounter further danger.
The narrative oozes historical detail , while Britta and Karn are true products of their time. Offa is horrible yet avoids being a stereotype, though his behaviour early in the book might make some romance readers close it. In this manner, the author distinguishes herself and her work from the bulk of the genre. The story moves quickly, enhanced by the supernatural atmosphere and well-rounded collection of secondary characters. Britta and Karn 's relationship develops believably, as both fight to overcome their inner demons and acknowledge their need for the other.
My only quibbles come from the author's propensity for changing history. Also, there was no mention of the specific year this story took place -I discovered it by looking up the date of the battle depicted near the end of the book. Still, an impressive novel that will satisfy those who love lots of history with their romance.
Teresa Eckford
12TH CENTURY
THE BOOK OF ELEANOR
Pamela Kaufman, Crown, 2002, $24.95 / C$37.95, £17.35, hb, 512 pp, ISBN 0609-60906-8
The twelfth century was chock full of monumental historical figures: Henry ll, Richard the Lionheart, Louis VII, Bernard of Clairvaux. In my mind, Eleanor of Aquitaine, whose life was story-book, is one of the most dynamic influences of that century.
Eleanor's history is well known. Unhappily married to religious fanatic Louis Vll of France, Eleanor is finally freed from her vows. Most biographers and novelists relate that Eleanor and King Henry had 'eyes' for each other well before her marriage to Louis was annulled, and that their marriage was turbulent and passionate. Not so in Kaufman's interpretation. Indeed, Eleanor is nothing more than a political pawn to Henry, who deprives her of marrying her one true love, Baron Rancon. In fact, in this story there is nothing attractive about Henry in the least.
Pamela Kaufman researched this novel for fifteen years, and the depth of her knowledge is evident. This book is written in Eleanor's very immediate and personal voice, but one that I found a bit too modern and strident for Eleanor. Surely Eleanor was a rebel, but she was also a queen twice over, well trained in
the niceties of royal behaviour Historical purists may find themselves questioning some of the facts presented here , including the Rancon-Eleanor connection. Nevertheless, once I focused on Eleanor as a woman, not as a queen, I found the book enjoyable and quick reading Ilysa Magnus
DEATH COMES AS EPIPHANY
Sharan Newman, Forge, 2001 (c1993), $14.95, £9 .36, tpb, 319 pp, ISBN 0-765-30374-4
Scholar Catherine LeVendeur may be headstrong, but she truly cherishes her place as a novice at the French convent of the Paraclete. However, in order to save the convent from rumours of impiety based upon an altered psalter, she must leave its protective confines under the guise of disgrace. Once home, she teams up with a sculptor's apprentice to discover who is trying to sabotage the work of the Paraclete. What starts as an investigation of a terrible forgery ends up including a search for a murderer.
Populated with a convent, an abbey, and a family full of characters, this novel could have become a confusing tangle of interrelationships. Newman artfully keeps the relationships easy to follow while combining suspense and historical detail into a mystery that is hard to put down. As Catherine searches for the information she needs to clear the Paraclete's reputation, she also discovers more about herself.
Since its debut in 1993 , six additional installations have been written in the Catherine LeVendeur series. Based upon the suspense and intrigue found in the inaugural novel, this series is highly recommended for anyone who likes a mix of medieval with their whodunits.
Suzanne Sprague
TIME AND CHANCE
Sharon Penman, Penguin/Michael Joseph, 2002, £17.99, pb, 496pp, ISBN 0718143086 For the review see Issue 19, US section.
CIRCLE OF STARS
Anna Lee Waldo, St. Martin's Press, 2001, $25.95 / C$36.95, £16.25, hb , 499 pp, ISBN 0312-20380-2
We are immediately thrust into a Calusa village in 1151 A.D. in what is now Florida. The land is productive, but the elements are destructive: hurricanes destroy entire populations. After just such a storm, an old woman finds an abandoned two-year-old girl floating in the reeds and names her Cougar. Across the sea, in Eire, a young boy is born and is abandoned. A family finds him floating in a coracle and makes him one of their own. It is only later that the boy learns his real name is Madoc and that he is a son of Prince Owain of Gwynedd. When Owain 's son Dayfydd goes on a rampage to destroy the Old Religionists , Madoc and his druid community leave Wales to avoid persecution. They defy death many times crossing the Atlantic. ls it
ISSUE 20, MAY 2002
Madoc who first 'discovers' the New World?
Waldo moves flawlessly between Cougar's life and Madoc's until they intersect when Madoc and his ten ships arrive in the New World. This is a story of extremes and of interstices: the fierceness of the native tribes as well as their healing knowledge; the hatred of those whom Madoc's men label as 'barbarian' and the burgeoning understanding of how the land has shaped them. The debate about who actually 'discovered' the Americas still rages on. Waldo provides valuable historical insight into this debate, taking no position on the 'Madoc' theory, while permitting us to draw our own conclusions about the blue-eyed , fairhaired 'tribe' around Mobile, Alabama in the twelfth century.
A worthwhile read, which, from time to time, has just too much detail, too much cogitating and not enough action.
Ilysa Magnus
A FALCON'S HEART
Jaye! Wylie, Sonnet, 2001, $6.50, £4.07, 436 pp , pb, ISBN 0-7434-1839-5
This romance is set in 1154-5, the period immediately following Henry Il's coronation, right after the prolonged and bloody civil war described in Sharon Kay Penman's When Christ and His Saints Slept. Wylie puts historical figures such as conniving Henry II and a malevolent Eleanor of Aquitaine in the background. The main story concerns Alista, whose father Mark had been awarded the hero Will 's estate as a reward for services to King Stephen. When Queen Maude's son Henry succeeds her rival, he rewards Will by arranging a marriage with the orphaned daughter of Mark, who had conveniently died at the coronation party. The marriage suffers from Alista's nagging suspicion that Will killed her father, but steamy passages assure us that other aspects of the marriage are all that they should be.
The cover tells us ' He was her enemy, her beloved, her destiny.' Those readers who would still open it after that warning just may enjoy this suspenseful historical romance.
James Hawking
13TH CENTURY
CECILIA'S VISION
T.J. Armstrong, Headline Review, 2001, £6.99, pb, 34lpp, ISBN 0747267383
In 1235 Canterbury, two monks are asked to investigate into the past deeds and religious beliefs of Dornna Cecilia, an elderly widow from southern Germany with possible ties to the Cathar sect. Expecting resistance, they are pleasantly surprised to be greeted by an attractive matron with elegant manners who seems to welcome the opportunity to speak of her old life. As she recounts her tale of passion, betrayal, faith, and mysticism, the monks unexpectedly find their sympathies torn. At the same time, they gradually become caught up in the intrigue surrounding several
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
recent murders, ones possibly involving the Church. Is there any connection between the crimes and Cecilia's current presence in England?
While the author conveys a good sense of place and period in this literary mystery, much is told about rather than shown, and dialogue is fairly minimal. And while Cecilia's life story is fascinating, the author's decision to have her speak about herself in retrospect , rather than place us directly into the action, was a letdown. For all of the dramatic buildup, Cecilia's final revelations are completely unsurprising, and the novel's conclusion left me puzzled Was there meant to be something more?
Sarah Nesbeitt
A DEATH IN THE VENETIAN QUARTER
Alan Gordon, St. Martin 's Minotaur, 2002, $23.95/C$33.95, £14.99, 288pp, hb , ISBN 0312-24267-0
Feste the Fool and his jester-wife, Aglaia , are back in this new adventure , third in a series, which finds them in Constantinople at the time of the Fourth Crusade, circa 1204 AD. Although the Crusaders' supposed destination is Jerusalem , their true objective may be the downfall of the Byzantine Empire. The power behind this effort is that of Venice , Byzantium's trading rival, and it's in the Venetian Quarter of the city that a minor silk merchant meets his deadly fate. It 's up to members of the Fools' Guild to discover the connection between these two events, if any.
Gordon is one of a few authors skilful at juggling history, mystery, and humour. The Peter Principle is alive and well in Constantinople, with various rivals to the Purple - all equally incompetent - offing each other right and left so that they might one day ascend the throne. In fact, they're more foolish than the Fools themselves . Gordon's latest entry in this series is a fast-paced read, one that I thoroughly enjoyed. More , please!
Sarah Nesbeitt
THE SOLDIER'S
DAUGHTER
Roby James, Wildside, 2001, $37.95, £26.40, hb, 208pp, ISBN 1-58715-363-7
What if William Wallace has a child? What if Jilliana is also Edward the First of England's granddaughter? What if the only way to avenge her father's death is for Jilliana to wed a man who may have betrayed Wallace to Edward? Schooled by her father to be a warrior, she learns her lessons well, but she is i II prepared to assume the role of a young maid in service to her aunt, a nun, or the wife of John Carlisle, a Scottish earl. Yet she must do both to kill the man responsible for her father's death.
Ms James neatly weaves the facts of this turbulent period in Scottish history into a story perfect for a dismal damp day - if the reader accepts that Robert the Bruce readily trusts a woman as his most loyal soldier and seeks her
counsel about military strategy. The romance is less satisfying. The story becomes mired in Carlisle's struggle to break the psychological barriers impeding Jilliana's venting of emotion. Once love flourishes , it comes too late to snare the reader. The biggest drawback , however, lies with the price. Will readers pay that much for any romance?
Cindy Vallar
THE MARRIAGE OF MEGGOTTA
Edith Pargeter, Akadine Press , 2001, $16.95, £l 0.61 , tpb , 283pp, ISBN l-58579-029-X
The reputation of Ell is Peters as author of the Brother Cadfael series has eclipsed that of Edith Pargeter, her real name, under which she wrote historical novels such as this reis s ued story of an arranged marriage in 1230s England. Henry ID arranges for a wealthy fatherless heir to marry the daughter of the king's justiciar, Hubert de Burgh. After changes in political fortunes, the treacherous king cancels his plans for the two children, but the true story of their resistance to Henry 's efforts forms the basis of the novel.
The main action of the story is more or less grounded in authentic history, but the political conflicts between the barons and the king are reduced to matters of personal pique Terms from areas like medieval law (fee for estate) and hawking (mews) are sprinkled throughout the text, frequent enough to add an air of authenticity without the loss of intelligibility to the modern reader. 'Hair and beard had grown long and showed ash-grey where before they had been only salted with silver' is an example of how she traces the misfortunes of the heroine's father until his hair becomes 'deadly lustreless white.'
Marriage of Meggotta is historical fiction teetering on the edge of romance , saved from falling over by the inescapable facts of the underlying history. Appearances by historical characters include Simon de Montfort courting the king's widowed sister and a cast of bishops and justiciars The struggle in the aftermath of the Magna Carta forms the background , but the plight of the childhood sweethearts drives government and politics off the stage for the majority of the book
James Hawking
14TH CENTURY
A POTION FOR A WIDOW
Caroline Roe , Berkley, 2001 , $6.50, £4.07, pb , 288pp, ISBN 0425183653
In the fifth instalment of the Chronicles of Isaac of Girona, the blind Jewish physician decidedly takes a back seat, as though you went to a major sporting event and the star player stayed on the bench. In July 1354 , the author takes Yusuf, Isaac's young assistant, away from Girona on a trip to Sardinia to present himself to King Pedro. The plot unravels as Yusuf goes to the king's encampment, then to Valencia, and back to Girona.
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There is very little sense of time or place; save for the fact the characters used horses and had to be on guard for bandits, it could have taken place at any time and anywhere. This novel is particularly disappointing because Isaac, his interesting family, and their life in the 'call' (Jewish quarter) are missing. The blind physician is such a strong character that this story feels flat without him.
There was little mystery, either, and the plot was too rambling. I hope in future books that Ms. Roe will give us more of the characters that have made this series so interesting to its fans.
Lorraine Gelly
15TH CENTURY
FALSTAFF: A NOVEL
Robert Nye, Arcade, 2001, $25.95 / C$40, 450pp, hb, ISBN 155970591
In this novel's first American publication, readers are introduced to the rascal John Falstaff of Shakespeare fame. It is 1459, and Falstaff, at the age of 81, decides to set the record of his life straight. Over one hundred days, he dictates episodes from his life to his company of secretaries-and what a life it is. Falstaff's adventurous tales cover a raucous age of English history, including the reign of Henry IV, the pestilence of the Black Death, the ascendancy of Prince Hal (Henry V), the Battle of Agincourt, and much more.
In Nye's hands, Falstaff emerges as an energetic character of rich dimensions, albeit habitually bawdy. On the one hand, he is appealing with his humour, compassion, and intelligence; but, on the other hand, he is appalling as a braggart, coward, and scoundrel. Shy he is not, as his tales encompass lascivious nights with Doll Tearsheet, shameless descriptions of his physical person, and graphic, if fabricated, battle scenes.
Overall, this is a wonderful novel. Nye's lyrical language and imaginative style creates, in the true sense of the word, a character that is sure to engage and , sometimes shock, the reader.
Gerald T. Burke
THE FAMILY
Mario Puzo and Carol Gino, Regan (HarperCollins), 2001, $27, £16.25, hb, 358pp, ISBN 0-06-000491-6
The title of this novel evokes The Godfather both as a marketing device and an indication of the tone to be taken. This gangster story takes place in Italy during the late 15th and early 16th centuries at the time of the papacy of Alexander VI. This Borgia family consists of a pope so handsome that most women flush upon meeting him, and with illegitimate children so attractive one could hardly blame them for their enthusiastic incest. There were also a few ascetic saints, but they do not figure in this story.
Like most historical novelists, Puzo picks a
side and resolves the thorny problems over which historians still argue. Readers of this book will know with fictional certainty who killed Juan Borgia and which relative fathered Lucrezia's infant. Lucrezia comes off sympathetically, in love with both her brother Cesare and her second husband and suffering the inevitable conflict when one tries to murder the other, and the other retaliates. Younger brother Jofre figures more prominently in the novel than he does in histories of the period, since Puzo chooses to blame him for everything from murder to orgamzmg the party where twenty naked courtesans served chestnuts in the pope's residence.
The book's dominant figure, Alexander VI, shows brilliance in playing off Milan, Naples and France while maintaining the support of Spain_ Irresistible to women and loyal to his children, he longs for the unification of Italy. In one scene he solicits a substantial bribe to name a man's granddaughter a saint, but he vows to use the money to finance a crusade. This posthumous novel combines scandalous but plausible history with Puzo's flair for making unspeakable characters seem noble.
James Hawking
16TH CENTURY
NOTHING LIKE THE SUN
Anthony Burgess, Allison & Busby, £7.99, pb, 234pp, ISBN O 7490 05122
If you enjoyed the film, Shakespeare In Love you will also enjoy this lively, lightly erudite and highly-imagined novel. There is the same sprightliness in bring W.S. alive as a fully realised, living, laughing and loving individual. There is also the same delight in witty allusions to the plays and the poems and to the many mysteries of the playwright's life: anyone who feels well versed in the Complete Works will enjoy themselves enormously spotting passing allusions and, often, twists on these. I'm sure I missed quite a few! But what Burgess did particularly well in this novel, first published in 1964, was to create an Elizabethan vernacular that conveys all the juice and vigour we associate with that time, without descending into 'godwottery' and 'gadzooksism'. It is a tribute to how well he does this that the reader soon finds it an entirely natural and pleasing form of expression, which does not intrude itself at all: much harder to achieve than it might seem. There is a great gusto and a sharp tang to the language, full of original expressions and unexpected conjoinings.
The sub title of the book is 'A Story of Shakespeare's Love-Life' and there is plenty of good honest bawdy in here, with W.S. portrayed as a versatile, ardent and unillusioned lover. Readers who enjoy the work of Robert Nye, for example, will find themselves well at home here. But that is not the limit of the book, for it is also quickened
by the conspiracies, rivalries, treasons and loyalties of the day: and by an intense awareness of the brevity and perilousness of life then. The novel has been acclaimed as 'the Shakespeare novel', and 'the only successful Shakespeare novel', and I can well see how these tributes could be deserved. There is a fine humanity about the carefully composed tragedy of the ending too which will linger with the reader long after.
Mark Valentine
DAY OF WRATH
lris Collier, Piatkus, £! 7.99, hb, 306pp, ISBN 0 7499 0566 2
When Nicholas Peverell, loyal courtier to Henry Vill, returns home he finds his steward murdered, the monks at the local priory worried about the impending dissolution of the monasteries and a plot against the king's life, master-minded by the mysterious Ultor. The lovely Jane Warrender offers to help Nicholas. But time is running out. The king plans to visit Peverell Manor and Nicholas knows that his life is in danger. They have only ten days to unmask the villain.
I ploughed through this book with difficulty. The writing is pedestrian, the characters wooden and the language laughably modern. Phrases like 'side-kick', 'Fitzroy shopped Mortimer' and 'Come off it' abound. It is perfectly possible to choose words which have a feel for the Tudor period, as Patricia Finney does, for example. I am astonished that lris Collier, with a degree in history from Cambridge, has not taken more care and that her editor allowed her to get away with it. Sorry, but I cannot recommend it.
Elizabeth Hawksley
THE PUMA'S SHADOW (Incas Book 1)
AB Daniel, (Translated by Alex Gilly) Simon & Schuster, £10, pb, 404pp ISBN O 7432 0721 I
This book is marketed as offering the same satisfactions to the reader as Christian Jacq 's popular Ramses series set in Ancient Egypt, and it comes from the same publisher. There is the same emphasis on the colour, passion, intrigue, mystery and savagery of an ancient civilisation. We are offered the outwardly exotic as a framework for the more familiar human dramas of love, power, greed and plotting. It is certainly fast-paced, vigorous and succinct, offering a quick and lively read. However, I had the sense throughout that the work was too formulaic, too concerned to pack in all the right ingredients.
The chief protagonists, Anamaya, daughter of an Inca princess, and Gabriel Flores, a nobleman in the train of the conquistador Pizarro, were just a little too convenient in their character and attitudes. But most of all I felt that either the author or the translator had hit completely the wrong register in the book's vocabulary and phrasing. There is too much homeliness and slang in the dialogue and the descriptions, which doesn't support the aura of
ISSUE 20, MAY 2002
might and dignity that the author wants to convey. For example 'Anamaya felt the discomfort of lying squeeze her guts' is followed by 'No, noble prince'. 'Gu ts' here is just a bit too downright in such proximity to the courtly response which follows: and this is by no means the least incongruous example. I was also put off by too many once sentence paragraphs, such as 'She knew.IS he could feel him ./ The Sacred Double ./The one she had been waiting for.' This is over emphatic and patronising to the reader. Overall, this read like a speedi ly written romantic adventure-thriller given a light Inca veneer but without any real attempt to convey their culture and society. The mystical or supernatural dimension alluded to in the title was a promising idea but is not conveyed subtly or strangely enough to give the book a distinctive flavour.
Mark Valentine
STORM
Reg Grant, WaterBrook, 2001, $10.95, £6.86, 402pgs, tpb, ISBN l-57856-189-2
Despite his commitment to the church, the granting of indulgences troubles Martin Luther. His service as a monk permits intense study of Scriptures. A lecturer at the University of Wittenberg, Luther 's personal understanding of the Scriptures and his views on joint church and state government could have easily gone unnoticed. Much to Luther's surprise, his colleagues announce a public debate concerning his writings. Political and ecclesiastical leaders begin to feel threatened by this monk who writes Scriptural interpretations that are contrary to church practices.
This recommended biographical novel offers an opportunity to meet Martin Luther: a man who held a strong passion for God , became a monk, and eventually married the woman he loved. Readers will be unable to put the book down. Many know Luther only as a reformer, but much less is written about the human side of this theologian who stood firmly against corruption and for radical change in the Catholic Church. Readers will meet his family and friends in a narrative which even those unfamiliar with church terminology, German names and Reformation history will read with pleasure.
Jetta Culpepper
THE QUEENE'S CURE
Karen Harper, Delacorte , 2002, $23.95/C$35.95, 304pp, hb , ISBN 0-38533478-8
A young Queen Elizabeth is the sleuth in this medical mystery, fourth in a series. At this time, the causes of disease and their treatments were still mostly unknown. The danger here to Queen Elizabeth is neither an assassin's blade nor poison but germ warfare in the form of the dreaded smallpox. By her determination to reform the old ways of practicing medicine , Elizabeth pits her royal power against the London College of Physicians, headed by two
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
grudge-bearing doctors , Pascal and Caius. The Queen's search to find the persons responsible and the meaning behind a pocked effigy of herself uncovers horrors of other murders and medical experiments on both the living and dead . The Queene's Cure is fast-paced and excitingly based on several historically sound incidents in Queen Elizabeth's life. Here, Elizabeth is not the icy Virgin Queen but a very humanized young woman. And although she wears the crown, Elizabeth shares with her friends, noble and common, emotions like fear, compassion, and love , which bind them all as equals.
Suzanne Crane
THE SLAYING OF THE SHREW
Simon Hawke , Forge, 2001, $23.95 / C$33.95, £4.37, hb, 255pp, ISBN 0-312-87894-X What an entertaining revision of history! William Shakespeare, struggling young poet , player and would-be playwright -a detective? His friend and assistant in this, the seco nd in a series, is Symington 'Tuck' Smythe, also a would-be thespian, and not very good at it. As the title suggests, Will would later convert portions of this particular case into one of his more famous plays Even more humorous is how Will's ears prick up at various phrases he hears around him--phrases that even the least learned of Shakespearean scholars realize he will adapt and use later in his career.
The two detectives make a great pair. Shakespeare is an observer of people ; his partner, more down-to-earth , is an observer of things. Tuck also is in love with a girl far above his station, a hopeless affair, and while amusing, that and the squalor, and the sometimes dispassionate view of death, will help remind the reader that life in England in the late 16th century was truly not all pomp and splendour.
Steve Lewis
TEMPTED BY YOUR TOUCH
Jen Holling, Sonnet, 2002, $6.99 / C$9.99, pb , 374 pp, ISBN 0-7434-3802-7
Caroline Graham is a tall woman, very pious and not very attractive, hence her nickname 'the pious Graham mare.' Her brother has decided to marry her off to Robert Maxwell , laird of the border clan that the English Grahams have been feuding with for generations. But Caroline had already decided she was destined for a nunnery, and thus unsuitable as a wife. After their first meeting, Robert Maxwell thinks otherwise.
The story is good and well written, but as historical fiction, it lacks depth and atmosphere. The story takes place on the English/Scots border in 1545, so 'hot trods' and 'kine' are commonplace, but unless you already know about this time and place, these phrases mean nothing Otherwise, it is a fairly good Scottish historical romance.
Alexandra Ceely
17TH CENTURY
TESTIMONY OF AN IRISH SLAVE GIRL
Kate McCafferty, Viking, 2002, $24.95 / C$35.99, £15.62, 210pp, hb, ISBN 0670-03065-1
This remarkable debut novel is the story of Cot Daley, stolen off the streets of Galway and shipped as an indentured servant to Barbados , where she later played a part in a s lave upri sing that united the Irish and the Africans. The story begins with a whipped and feverish Cot being interrogated by Peter Coote, a young man in the governor's service who is determined to get to the root of the conspiracy in order to further his own ambitions. Cot agrees to tell him everything she knows, on the condition that he record the story of her life . So the harrowing tale unwinds, with all its whippings, cruel labour, forced breeding and brutal psychological trauma. Cot overcomes the lingering effects of this trauma only in the last months of her life , with this confession as her final catharsis.
Ms. McCafferty opens a window on a surprising aspect of 17th century history. The book has one major flaw: the uneven, heavyhanded thematic connection between Cot's slavery and Coote's ambition. The willing slavery of a vain man to the corrupt ruling class in Barbados can hardly be compared to the forced slavery of an innocent girl. Yet Cot's narrative is so powerful, and McCafferty's grasp of language and human foible so true, that a reader will forgive the thematic stretch for the sake of this fascinating story. Highly recommended.
Lisa
Ann Verge
REMBRANDT'S WHORE
Sylvie Matton, Canongate Books 2001, £9.99, pb , 198pp , ISBN 1-84195-175-7
This beautifully written novel , translated from the French original, is a perfect read for anybody interested in the history of art or in the personal stories of significant historical figures. It tells the story ofHendrickje Stoffels , the woman who lived with Rembrandt as his model and lover for the last twenty years of the artist's life The innocent Hendrickje leaves her harsh garrison home-town to become a servant in Rembrandt's household Rembrandt , who has recently lost his wife and child, makes Hendrickje into his closest confidante and the two soon become lovers. Theirs is a passionate relationship and, through it , Hendrickje discovers the fickleness and hypocrisy of Amsterdam society.
Matton writes her novel in the style of a fictional monologue, through which we get to experience the innermost thoughts and feelings of Hendrickje as her relationship with Rembrandt and his world develops Not only is it a poignant personal love story but it also offers a vivid insight into the life of a great artist and the turbulent era of Dutch history in which he lived. The author is clearly passionate about her subject and the novel
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reveals an impressive level of historical research that adds to its authenticity. Despite being a work in translation , the novel retains it s delicate and sensuous style of writing throughout , much to the credit of translator Tamsin Black.
This novel is highly recommended. As an exploration of an artist and his times it is written with such skill and attention to detail that it counts as a genuine work of art in itself. Chris Lean
THE PILLOWBOOK OF LADY WISTERIA
Laura Joh Rowland, Minotaur, 2002, $24.95, £ 15 62 , hb , 260 pp , ISBN 0-312-28262-l Th e Pillowbook of Lady Wisteria is the seventh in Rowland ' s popular series of Japanese murder mysteries featuring samurai Sano lchiro and his wife, Reiko. In this volume, the heir to the powerful shogun has just been murdered in a gruesome way while carousing in the Yoshiwara , the pleasure district. Sano, the shogun ' s Most Honourable Investigator of Events , Situations, and People, is charged with either finding the murderer or forfeiting his titles and wealth
He soon discovers that the heir was last seen in the company of a beautiful courtesan , Lady Wisteria, an alluring woman whom Sano had had an affair with before he met Reiko. Now, Lady Wisteria has fled , taking only her pillowbook, which could reveal if she is involved or is herself a victim. Before the case is solved, Sano must deal with another murder and save his own life , while Reiko must escape a trap and try to rescue their little son.
Rowland ' s knowledge of 17th century Japan is impressive , and her details bring the settings and society to life. However, her characters tend to be only two-dimensional, and some , such as the buffoon shogun, are not believable . A few of her plot twists are clever, but others strain credulity. All in all , a good try, but one of her weaker efforts Elizabeth Gamer
THE DESPERATE REMEDY
Martin Stephen , Little Brown, 2002 , £16.99 , hb , 324pp , ISBN O316 85970 2 Thi s is a first novel by a Master at Manchester Grammar School who is already an experienced non-fiction author, broadcaster and journalist. The talent shows in this intricate and exciting page-turner of a novel.
Sir Henry Gresham is a wonderful creation and so authentic to his time that he really s hould have existed. An alpha male who is mad , bad and dangerous to know - and therefore hugely attractive (at least to this re a der!). Gresham moves among the highest in the land but is equally likely to be found in the alleys and rookeries of Jacobean Londonenvironments de scribed believably, graphically and appealing to all the senses ; certainly London came alive for me. There is also a wealth of depth to Gresham's character. This man ha s a pa s t , and I was left with a desire to
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
know more about it.
The subtitle is 'Henry Gresham and the Gunpowder Plot'. I thought I knew my history but this story gives the familiar 'gunpowder, treason and plot' a completely new, and quite plausible , spin. Here is a Machiavellian plot from the mind of a master (and I don't mean the author at this point but his creation). Plots , counter-plots , spies , pawns and a maze of misinformation. To say more would spoil the story, so I won't. But I will look forward most enthusiastically to Gresham's next outing. Towse Harrison
THE PRETENDER
Jane Stevenson , Cape , £16.99, hb, 304pp , ISBN O 224 06141 0
This is the second in a proposed trilogy - the first volume, Astraea (Review 16, May 2001) was a delightfully observed story of the fictional romance and marriage between the Queen of Bohemia and Pelagius , a deposed African king. This book is about their son Balthasar, who is trained as a doctor of medicine in Leiden and covers his life in 17th century Middelburg, London and Barbados. Balthasar embarks on a progress of self discovery and knowledge as he tackles all that the 17th century can throw at him. But The Pretender is a big disappointment after Astraea. It lacks the structure, plot and close observation that makes the first book such a pleasant read By contrast, this book is often pedestrian and lacks that spark of creativity The historical scenes are captured well: life in the Dutch port, the excesses of Restoration London and the hardships of settlement life in Barbados , as well as a refreshingly honest portrait of Aphra Behn, who plays a key role in Balthasar's life This is a good work of historical fiction, but its predecessor demonstrates that it could be that much better.
Doug Kemp
18TH CENTURY
INTO
THE WILDERNESS
Rosanne Bittner, Forge, 2002, $23.95 / C$33.95, £14.99, hb , 288pp , ISBN 0765-30066-4
This , the first in a planned series of novels dealing with the westward expansion of the United States, begins in 1752, shortly before the French and Indian War. Noah Wilde is a British spy sent to infiltrate the French army En route to report his findings to his superior in Virginia, he encounters a group of Indians menacing a young woman, Jessica Matthews. He saves Jess but is wounded. As Noah recovers at the Matthews homestead, be and Jess fall deeply in love. With her parents' blessings , they make plans to marry. But first he must fulfil his duty by going to Virginia and reporting what he knows. Of course , nothing goes as planned.
This is historical romance with equal emphasis on both It is light , easy reading, though some scenes are not for the squeamish.
Bittner compensates for the story ' s lack of depth with taut action scenes and characters who are instantly likeable. Also noteworthy is that while the Indians are depicted as cruelly savage, they possess an underlying dignity and purpose, traits which she confers on neither the French nor the British. My primary difficulty with this novel is not , surprisingly, the presence of cliched phrases like 'she loved him with every fibre of her being,' but that it ended in the middle of the story I would have been much more satisfied if it came to a logical stopping point.
Alice Logsdon
SPARROWHAWK; Book One: Jack Frake
Edward Cline, MacAdam/Cage , 2001, $25 , £15 65, 363pp, hb, ISBN 1-931561-00-1
The first of a series of novels depicting the roots of the American Revolution, Book One takes place entirely in England , which is not too surprising, if you think about it. Jack Frake, who seems destined to be the hero of the entire run, is born in utter poverty but is adopted by a gang of smugglers As a lad of only ten , uneducated but sharp-witted , energetic and loyal, it is obvious he has a solid future ahead of him.
In an age of rampant corruption and overtaxation, Skelly's men the outlaws of the Comish coast are in this tale the true Britons; the actions of the Crown are what forced them into a life of crime: 'The taxes which we sought to avoid violate our Constitutional rights to property and freedom to trade that property without hindrance or penalty.' Statements like this certainly make you sit up and take notice. Most smugglers are far from as eloquent as the libertarian ones in this book. New Hampshire ' s license plate motto of 'Live Free or Die' could equally be their own.
So it comes as no surprise to learn in the author's acknowledgments at the end of the book that he is a devout follower of Ayn Rand The novel itself is badly paced and overworded--and yet the characters somehow still manage to come alive, especially at the end, when the threads of their various fates are gradually and deliberately drawn together.
Steve Lewis
THE RAIDERS
S.R. Crockett , Canongate Classics , 200 I , £6.99, pb , 317pp , ISBN 1-84195-234-6 Samuel Rutherford Crockett was born in Galloway in 1859 and amongst his literary colleagues were J.M Barrie , R.L. Stevenson and Rider Haggard. He became famous as a writer of articles , essays and novels, The Raiders first appearing in 1894. lt ' san exciting adventure story, after the style of Kidnapped , set in early 18th-century Galloway, and the atmosphere is one of melodramatic horror, of myth and legend interwoven with fact. It carries an undeniable realism of life in the Scottish mountains at this time.
The story is told in the first person by ISSUE 20 , MAY 2002
Patrick Heron who is caught up in struggles to the death with smugglers and gypsies. The strongest character is Silver Sand, a lonely wanderer whose true identity is revealed at the end. There's romance too- Patrick falls in love with a beautiful girl whose rescue is a major part of the tale. The Scots language is sometimes difficult, but a good glossary helps All in all, a rattling good yarn!
Marcia J. Treece
THE MEASURE OF THE WORLD
Denis Guedj (trans. Arthur Goldhammer), Univ of Chicago, 2001, $27 / C$41.95, £17.50, hb, 300pp, ISBN 0226310302
In June, 1792, two astronomers set off from Paris on what proves to be a six-year missionto survey the meridian running through France from Dunkirk to Barcelona and thus establish a standard measure of length, the metre. Pierre Mechain and Jean-Baptiste Delambre face adversity, suspicion, danger and hardship as they struggle to complete their assignment, compounded by the turbulent politics of the French Revolution.
Denis Guedj does an admirable job bringing the era of the Revolution to life through the eyes of his two very different protagonists. Each has a distinct voice and deals with the hardships of their assignment in very different ways. Mechain has an especially hard time after enduring an almost fatal injury. Their relationship is one of mutual respect and it grows stronger, despite their separation, through semi-regular correspondence.
The social history and politics of the time are interwoven naturally so as not to interrupt the narrative of the main storyline. At times, however, the science is a little overwhelming for those less versed in that discipline Overall, though, the story rattles along at a good pace, never boring and always intriguing. The various characters encountered by Mechain and Delambre add to the novel 's charm, while the glimpses of suc h historical personages as Lavoisier, Condorcet and Borda further ground it in the period. In addition, the translator's English prose is flawless; I'd never have guessed this work was a translation. Reading this engrossing book was pure pleasure, and I recommend it to all.
Teresa Eckford
AMA: A Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade Manu Herbstein, E-reads, 2000, $19.95, £13.88, 456pp, tpb, ISBN 1-58586-932-5 Eighteenth-century Africa is a land of many tribes and kingdoms--and many enmities between them. While tending her young brother one day, young Nandzi is captured by slavers of another tribe. Enduring humiliation and rape, she endures, eventually being sold to the Queen Mother of the Asante, who renames her Arna. Arna makes a pleasant life for herself among the Asante, until the new king falls in love with her. Arna is framed for a theft and sold again--this time to slave dealers who sell her to the Dutch slave traders on the coast. There the Director-General, Pieter De Bruyn,
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
takes her as his mistress; becoming fond of her, he also teaches her to read and write. Once again Arna has a peaceful life--until De Bruyn dies, and she is sent across the Atlantic to the slave market of Brazil. There she must begin again to carve a new life for herself, this time as a plantation slave. And there she meets and falls in love with Tomba, a rebellious warrior whose spirit matches her own; a love doomed by their desire to be free ....
An engrossing and powerful story of a woman of courage, intelligence, and strength, Arna is not for children, the squeamish, or those who demand political correctness in their history. Arna 's author tries to depict the Atlantic slave trade as it was, making no concession to modern revisionism; readers will look in vain for stereotypes in Ama's pages. Herbstein does an admirable job of bringing a strange, harsh world to life; Arna is book that deserves a much larger audience than it will probably get.
India Edghill
THE BLACKBIRDER
James Nelson, Corgi, 2002, £5.99, pb, 447pp, ISBN O 552 14842 3.
This is book two in the Bretheren of the Coast Trilogy continuing the story of Thomas Marlowe. At the outset Marlowe has settled into life with his wife, Elizabeth, on his tobacco plantation near Wiltiamsberg. For this ex-pirate life seems unbearably tame and Marlowe hopes to gain a letter ·ofmarque so he can begin a career as a privateer.
Unfortunately, trouble is looming. Marlowe has released his black slaves employing them as free men in the teeth of local opposition organised by Frederick Dunmore. One of these freed men, King James, kills the captain of a blackbirder (a slave ship) and agrees to return the captives to Africa. Against his will Marlowe is forced to pursue King James and return him to stand trial. The two men meet in the African slave port of Wbydah where they face a common enemy.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth Marlowe travels to Boston in an attempt to find out more about Dunmore, a vicious troublemaker who remains a threat to the other ex-slaves.
This is a fine example of action writing from a superior storyteller. It is obvious from the level of nautical detail that James Nelson knows his subject thoroughly as one would expect from an experienced seaman. That he has managed to weave this knowledge into an exciting and fast paced read is all credit to bis writing ability.
Marlowe's adventurous life at sea is interwoven nicely with King James' less self assured role as a puppet captain of the blackbirder and Elizabeth's battle with harassment on the home front. There are thrills and bloodshed aplenty in this book which works well as a stand alone novel although the ending is left open for the third volume in the trilogy.
Sara Wilson
A CATCH OF CONSEQUENCE
Diana Norman, Harper Collins, 2002, £12.99, hb, 392pp, ISBN 0-00-710543-6
Makepeace Burke owns a respectable tavern on the Boston waterfront. When dissatisfaction against the British erupts into violence, she makes the fatal error of rescuing an 'enemy' soldier from drowning. But he is no ordinary soldier. He is Sir Philip Dapifer, an English aristocrat who has the ear of the British Prime Minister. Forced to flee the country with him, they fall in love and marry on board ship. But life does not run smoothly for Makepeace once she arrives in the old country. An outcast from her own people, she in tum is not accepted by the British aristocracy, particularly not her husband's first wife who is as evil as she is immoral. Pretty soon, Makepeace finds herself destitute. She travels to Northumberland where she discovers she is the owner of a derelict estate which contains a badly neglected coalmine. Here she meets Hedley, a dour mining engineer. Together they begin to rebuild the mine and to ship its coal to London and thereby she becomes rich once more. But the former Lady Dapifer will not let her be and once more Makepeace is fighting for what is rightfully hers.
The opening scenes in Boston were very well handled indeed and I had high hopes for the rest of the novel as it shifted from one revolution to another. Nevertheless I felt that it lost its way after a while. What began as a fresh approach to the argument between Britain and its 'co lony ' became that little bit too predictable. Mrs Norman is too good a novelist and Makepeace too original a character to fall into cliche.
Sally Zigmond
THE LINWOODS, or 'Sixty Years Since in America'
Catharine Maria Sedgwick, Hardscrabble, 2002, $18.95, £11.86, 448 pp, tpb, ISBN l58465-153-9
Readers of historical and classic fiction should welcome this new edition of an early woman novelist's most highly-regarded work. A lengthy introduction traces Sedgwick's life and prolific publication history, her popularity and critical success: Hawthorne and Poe were admirers.
Written in 1835, The Linwoods glances backward sixty years to the American Revolution , focusing on the Tory Linwoods, wealthy New Yorkers, and the Lees of rural Massachusetts, whose son Eliot joins the Rebellion. As events force her to examine her role as a marriageable woman, the privileged Isabella Linwood becomes ever more independent in thought and action. Her brother breaks with the family to support the rebel cause. Her suitor, Jasper Meredith, scion of a noble English family, proves his unreliability by trifling with the affections of innocent and adoring Bessie Lee. Eliot Lee, one of Washington's officers, bravely and repeatedly surfaces in New York, though a wartime
ISSUE 20, MAY 2002
romance with Isabella seems unlikely to prosper.
By the novel's end, the perceptive Isabella has gained wisdom and stature. Sedgwick's ability to engage a modem reader lies in her presentation of several remarkably independent, heroic females. Insightful, humorous rather than sanctimonious, clever and wryly satiric, this novel deserves rediscovery by mainstream readers and literary scholars alike.
Margaret Barr
ARTEMIS
Julian Stockwin, Hodder & Stoughton, 2002 , £12 99, 376 pp, ISBN 0-340-79475-5 This is the triumphant sequel to the excellent Kydd (see Issue 16), which introduced two new seagoing characters, Kydd & Renzi. The twist: unlike most sea stories, this deals with life before the mast.
No longer a pressed man missing home, Kydd is rated Able Seaman and soon after joining the frigate Artemis is in a decisive sea battle that sees him and his friends hailed as heroes . But there are family problems to cope with, but when he's at sea again the adventures start in earnest in China and among cannibals, along with various personal trials and triumphs.
This series is an excellent introduction to the genre for anybody put off by endless series and complicated terms that aren't explained. Artemis is a page-turner full of adventure. Although the two main characters come to life well , they don't live and breathe as O'Brian ' s did But it's early days
Rachel A. Hyde
SALAMANDER
Thomas Wharton , Flamingo, 2002 , £15.99, hb, 372pp , ISBN 0-00-712864-9 1n 1759 a colonel stumbles into a burnt-out bookshop in a Quebec under siege from the British . The strange young lady who owns the shop tells him an even stranger tale. Nicholas Flood , an English printer of Huguenot descent is summoned to a strange castle in Bohemia where Count Ostrov lives with his daughter, Irena and a staff of automatons Flood's task is to produce a book with no beginning or end. The Count is an eccentric inventor ; his castle is an ingenious contraption where walls and furniture move by clockwork and soon , Nicholas finds himself drawn into this bizarre world However, when he and Irena fall in love , this precipitates a series of adventures far too intricate and strange to be described in this review. Suffice to say that Nicholas sails on a ship as bizarre as the castle to China, Egypt, Venice and Africa , before ending up in London which proves stranger than any foreign country Still searching for the ultimate book , Nicholas begins to lose his mind.
Magic realism would be the simplest way to describe this hugely entertaining, but ultimately baffling novel. It covers many themes - time and space being the dominant
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
ones. However, paper, printing presses, metal type, glue, bindings and stitching all act as metaphors in a novel that explores the nature of writing and reading, where time can stand still, where words can transport one anywhere 'Without time,' says one of the many characters that populate this book, 'the world bends itself to the shape of one's own desires.'
I also took this to mean that this novel can be whatever you want it to be. Like the ultimate book, just when you think you've found its meaning, it slips from your grasp. Brilliantly written, imaginative and wellpaced , Salamander is a treat from start to finish Written on an epic yet intimate scale , all the characters are on a quest to find their ultimate desires. It involves piracy on the high seas, a love story and anyone and everyone from 18 th century life and literature appear, if only fleetingly Look out for cameo appearances by Robinson Crusoe, Vivaldi and the Earl of Sandwich as well as female pirates, press-gangs and the inmates of Bedlam. intelligently and luminously written, great fun and thought-provoking, you will, like me , waste a great deal of time pondering its meanings. But then time is infinite when one is immersed in a novel as good as this
Sally Zigmond
KEENE'S TERROR
Derek Wilson, Severn House, 200 I, hb , £17 99 , 217PP, ISBN O 7278 5641 3 It is June 1793. The French King has been executed ueen Marie Antoinette is a prisoner, France is on the brink of the Terror, and George Keene is sent to France to deliver gold to a spy network in this , the second in the Keene series The reader who has not read the first book in the series may rest assured that he or she is at no disadvantage. The author provides handy summaries of Keene's life and previous adventures in Revolutionary France. This is an action packed tale , with the hero facing dangers galore: double agents, treacherous employers , bank guards with their eyes on the bullion, old enemies in Paris, the machinations of Robespierre, imprisonment, torture and Madame Guillotine - and to complicate matters the young daughter of the doctor who hides him in Paris falls in love with him. Keene is no Scarlet Pimpernel (although inevitably the comparison is made on the dust jacket) rescuing the aristos. His sympathies lie with the downtrodden of France, yet at the same time he deplores the brutality of the revolution which has 'replaced one set of exploiters with another'.
A story crowded with incident centred on a hero who has mixed feelings about the Revolution (the aristos had to go , but the country is groaning under the Convention) ought to be exciting. Unfortunately, it isn't. This is largely due to the lacklustre prose. Keene acknowledges 'that he has a modest understanding of the Anglo-Saxon tongue'. He perambulates a courtyard. He is sickened by a newspaper's sanctimonious simplifications
Imprecations ring in his ear. More than once we are told that Keene is depressed or glad, but there's little variety of tone or pace to make us feel this.
There's something stodgy about the style, but it carries Keene efficiently enough from the start to the end of the book, with little in the way of peaks and troughs along the way. The history is carefully explained, and there's plenty of detail, for example about buildings, James Graham's Temple of Health, the inside of an asylum. Everything is neatly tied up, the baddies are disposed of in one way or another and the way is left clear for the next episode. Lucienne Boyce
KEENE'S LIBERTY
Derek Wilson, Severn House, 2002, UK £18.99 , US $25 99, hb, 183pp, ISBN 0-72785642-l
This is the third book in the Keene's Revolution series. It is set in one year between 1793 and 1794. George Keene is an English spy who having survived Robespierre's Terror is trying to escape the clutches of Sir Thomas Challoner, the British spymaster. Keene heads for Philadelphia, to stay with relatives, but Sir Thomas Challoner follows him.
1n one year and in one hundred and eight three pages , Keene becomes involved in a French plot spearheaded by Edmond Genet, the French charge d'affaires , to unite the French settlers in the Louisiana Territories with their American 'allies' against the 'old order'. He is kidnapped. His next stop is Saint Domingue where he has a brief encounter with Toussaint L'Ouverture the black revolutionary leader. Then back to England with a sea battle en route between the 'Promise' and the French frigate 'Eclair' Charles Hawkestone the young captain of the 'Promise' is killed in the engagement. He happens to be both Keene's friend, but also the man who is married to Keene's love Therese. She is also the mother of George Keene's child. Hawkestone entrusts the care of Therese and George to Keene in a letter left amongst his papers.
The book reads like a gazetteer of people , places and events and as such is a good historical introduction to the reader who has no prior knowledge of tile period. Unfortunately, it lacks any authentic detail about the way of life, fashions, food, and social habits of the time. These snippets of background information put flesh on the factual skeleton of history and bring a historical novel alive
1n the epilogue Keene ' s words sum up the novel 'so many dangers, so many sorrows had crammed themselves into those twelve months'. The result is that as a reader I found I did not have time to identify with any of the characters Maria Oakland , Keene's cousin, Bowman , Fetherby, Genet were starting to become interesting when Keene was whisked away in James Bond style across the sea to be introduced to a new set of characters. These rapid changes in character and setting did not
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increase the sense of adventure or tension for me, but rather diluted it.
I thought that the illustration for the dust jacket of this book was misleading and inappropriate. The artist's picture conjured up an image of a romantic adventure story. The romance is an ' off-stage' and long distance one.
I realise that Derek Wilson knows his audience and writes successfully for it. The story is an undemanding read, sprinkled with accurate historical fact , but from my point of view I would have been more interested if Keene's year had been spent in one place, elaborating one theme and developing some of the more interesting characters like Genet.
Myfanwy Cook
19TH CENTURY
LOVE AND A PROMISE
Lyn Andrews, Headline, 2002, £17.99, hb, 28lpp, ISBN 0-7472-6906-8
Orphaned during the Irish potato famine, Maddy and Carmel Kiernan must rely on the lecherous James Mitchell for work and board. They run away to Liverpool to find their feckless brother. After some tragic events Maddy finds employment with eccentric old Mrs. Buckley, who offers to will her money to Maddy - on condition that Maddy agrees not to marry But Maddy has fallen in love. Meanwhile Mrs. Buckley's nephew is attracted to the rather simple-minded Carmel. This can only lead to further tragedy.
Love and a Promise is an entertaining enough romantic saga. The main characters are well drawn - though many are overly inclined to love at first sight - and the story flows along smoothly. It's a pleasant read, but the plot holds no great surprises and a couple of lucky coincidences might unnecessarily jerk the reader back to reality. The ending leaves plenty of room for a sequel.
Sara Wilson
NO MAN'S MISTRESS
Mary Balogh, Delacorte, 2001, $19.95/C$29.95, £12.49, hb, 326pp , ISBN 0385-33529-6
This book is a spin-off from More Than a Mistress, as it follows the story of the younger brother of the Duke of Tresham. While knowledge of the first book adds piquancy to this story, No Mans Mistress stands quite well on its own. Lord Ferdinand Dudley arrives in the village of Trellick during the May Day festivities, and feels an immediate attraction for Viola Thornhill. The feeling is mutual, and Viola is delighted when Lord Ferdinand arrives at her house the next morning. However, the visit isn ' t to pay a social call, but to claim Viola's house, which he claims to have won in a wager. The book starts slowly but gains in momentum after a rather shocking twist. The historical elements aren't highlighted, but they are sufficient to give a sense of the time and place.
Trudi E. Jacobson
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
EMMA ELIZA
June Barraclough , Robert Hale, 2002, £17.99, hb , 287pp, ISBN 0-7090-7012
This is the story of a Norfolk girl who goes into service, marries and moves to the industrial north. In her sixties, Emma tells some of her story to her granddaughter Lily, who writes it down as she hears it. Then Lily 's daughter tells the rest of the story as she researches the family history.
It is a warm tale of how hardship is endured, but I wasn't convinced that this dual narrator technique quite worked. Perhaps it was a little over-complicated. It is, however, a convincing account of the life of servants in Victorian England, with attractive characters and lots of detail , both of the running of big houses and the near-poverty in northern mill towns.
Marina Oliver
JANE AND THE PRISONER OF WOOL HOUSE
Stephanie Barron , Bantam, 2001, $23.95,£14.99, hb, 29lpp
ISBN 0-553-10735-6
This is the most enjoyable of the series based on diaries supposedly written by Jane Austen and found in Baltimore Jane and family are lodging in Southampton, where her brother Frank hopes to be posted to a new ship. But the ship's captain, a friend, has been accused of murder. It looks as if Frank will get his ship and promotion only if his friend is hanged.
Jane Austen doesn't swoon when faced with the grimness of seaport life during the Napoleonic Wars. French prisoners are dying of gaol-fever in the Wool House where Jane's investigation leads her and she realises that her much-loved brother has been toughened by the realities of war. Childbirth, home life, the need to dress fashionably on very little money - all come vividly to life.
The author, a lifelong Austen admirer, never strikes a discordant note and the unravelling of the mystery is well done.
Val Whitmarsh
THE RESTLESS HEART
Jessica Blair, Piatkus, £17.99, hb , 330pp,
ISBN O7499 0588 3
Whitby 1812. Pretty, ambitious Olivia Coulson has two beaux: George Chilton-Brookes, heir to the Cropton estate, and self-made gentleman farmer, Kit Fernley. For a while she strings them both along. Ambition leads her to encourage George to propose, but discovers, humiliatingly, that his heart is now engaged elsewhere. She marries Kit and is happy but also determined that George shall pay for his rejection of her. Then Fate throws a powerful weapon her way. Will Olivia's driving ambition wreck her new-found marital happiness?
Olivia's social behaviour makes little concession to early 19th century social mores. Her modernity is echoed by George, who offers her a game of croquet 46 years before it
was invented. However the story zips along and, no doubt, Jessica Blair 's fans won't mind the numerous anachronisms.
Elizabeth Hawksley
BOUND FOR CANAAN
Margaret Blair Young and Darius Aidan Gray, Deseret , 2002, $19.95, £12.49, hb , 432 pp , ISBN 1-57008-791-1
This meticulously researched novel is the second in a series chronicling the lives and spiritual struggles of two black Mormon pioneers, Elijah Abel and Jane Manning James. Both were free blacks converted to the Mormon faith by founder Joseph Smith. This instalment follows the Mormon movement from Nauvoo, Illinois to Salt Lake City, Utah, and covers a time period from 1839 to 1891.
Many of the Mormon families owned slaves, bringing them with them as they made the trek to Utah. While many were converts, and even though they did most of the hard , heavy work involved with moving to and building a new city, they were still unable to worship in the tabernacle due to their perceived unworthiness as descendants of Cain and Ham. Even Jane and Elijah were denied equal status regardless of their long service and personal connections to the founder. The end of the Civil War and resulting end to slavery did little to change this situation. Young and Gray are to be commended for telling this story and for their efforts to present historically accurate details of the period. It is important to note the changes that have taken place within the Mormon faith and the country as a whole, especially with regards to racial equality. Each chapter ends, however, with extensive footnotes citing source material, clarifications, and other insightful information. While these notes are interesting and should be included, they interrupt the flow of the novel located as they are.
Alice Logsdon
THE URCHIN'S SONG
Rita Bradshaw, Headline, £17.99, hb, 339pp, ISBN 0-7472-60903-3
Research and detail help to give this novel its flavour and strength. When an author has gone that extra mile to please , it shows.
In this powerful story set in 1890s Sunderland, Josie Burns learns of her father's plan to sell the sister she loves into prostitution and it provides the extra urgency needed to make the break away from the brutality and poverty of her life. But despite success 0!1 the stage, happiness seems to avoid her until at last her life takes a turn for the better.
This author is often compared to the great Cookson, but for me she has a strong, distinctive voice of her own
Linda Sole
AUDUBON'S WATCH
John Gregory Brown, Houghton Mifflin , 2001, $24, £15.02, 210pp, hb , ISBN 0-395-78607-X
The novel begins with John James Audubon
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addressing his daughters with textural detail that draws us into the scene by our senses. He explains about the three-dollar watch he bought aboard a flatboat to New Orleans . He rambles ; talking about the myriad birds he had shot and sketched. He introduces the subject of Dr. Gautreaux , in mourning for his wife , who turns out to be the subject of Audubon ' s portrait - and passionate flirtation.
In Chapter Two we switch to Dr. Gautreaux 's point of view. He rhapsodizes over his wife Myra The aging anatomist receives a letter from Audubon He puts it into his pocket without reading it. Both men reflect on the death watch over Myra's corpse and are appalled at their own macabre passion. Gautreaux finally reads the letter and learns that Audubon is dying and wishes to see him. He prepares for the journey.
The story continues , in alternating chapters narrating the history of each, in lyrical prose as they try to solve the mystery of Myra's untimely death Since both voices speak in archaic style , it is at times difficult to distinguish them The reader needs to reorient herself each chapter, and the switch begins to seem mannered. Brown provides motive, means and suspects for what may have been murder, but leaves many threads untied.
Marcia K . Matthews
LY DI A CASSATT READING THE MORNING PAPER
Harriet Scott Chessman, The Permanent Press and Seven Stories Press, 2001, $24 / C$35.95 , £14 99 , hb , 164 pp , ISBN 1-58322-272-3
This jewel of a novel centres on five paintings Mary Ca ssatt made of her older sister Lydia between 1878 and 1881. Lydia was Mary's favourite model , and May delighted in painting her. Lydia , who was becoming increasingly ill during this period, posed in quiet, domestic scenes: reading a newspaper, holding a cup of tea, working at her embroidery
Chessman has imagined these scenes between May and Lydia so successfully that it is hard to think of this as of fiction Lydia reminisces on the quiet joys that might have been hers had not the Civil War intervened , and she struggles to face the consequences of her illne s s Family members and the Paris art world play cameo roles, May's close friend Dega s a somewhat larger and critical role.
The author describes the five paintings through Lydia ' s eyes , letting us see them as we might not ha ve otherwise. Even readers who are familiar with these paintings of Lydia (all five are reproduced in colour) will never look at them in the same way again. This book, publi shed on the 75th anniversary of Mary Cassatt ' s death , is heartrending and utterly engaging. I can imagine rereading it many times in the corning years.
Trudi E. Jacobson
GRAMERCY PARK
Paula Cohen, Fourth Estate , £6.99 , pb , 357pp , ISBN 1 184115 384 5; St. Martin's, 2002 , $24 95 / C$34 .95, hb , 368 pp, ISBN 0-312-27552-8 New York 1894. Mario Alfieri, the handsome Italian tenor with a reputation as a Casanova , arrives for his American debut. He meets Clara Adler who lives , penniless and friendless in the mansion owned by her late guardian She is subject to the unwelcome attentions of Thaddeus Chadwick, her guardian ' s lawyer, a man who knows Clara's hidden dark secret and who has the power to destroy her. Then Mario and Clara fall in love and the scene is set for a powerful and gripping drama.
This novel is impeccably researched - the late 19th century fashionable world of New York is absolutely convincing - and stylishly written, with a power which sweeps the reader along Unfortunately I wasn't convinced by Clara , who for most of the book is either ill or frightened. I found her passivity very trying, though I admit that such a quality is in period Henry James would have found her interesting Mario is impossibly noble and understanding and something of a cardboard cut-out figure . Technically the problem is a lack of depth in the darker emotional bitsoften a problem for a first time writer. All the same, this is an impressive debut.
Elizabeth Hawksley
An intriguing, memorable debut, this historical novel offers numerous puzzles, startling revelations, and a rich cast of characters Cohen depicts the social and theatrical hierarchy of Gilded Age New York with remarkable accuracy.
Cohen's protagonists - the vital, sensual , self-aware Alfieri, and his increasingly scandalous bride - respond to their individual and joint crises in surprising and interesting ways. Her superior and skilful prose , coupled with effective use of detail, raises this tale far above mere melodrama.
Margaret Barr
CONFESSING A MURDE R
Nicholas Drayson, Cape, £10, pb, 28lpp , ISBN O 224 06238 7
Charles Darwin once said that the Theory of Evolution was so controversial that to mention it felt like ' confessing a murder'. How the Theory came to be developed is the subject of Nicholas Drayson ' s novel.
It is written in the form of an anonymous memoir discovered in an attic in Holland. The author is writing his manuscript on an uninhabited volcanic island and fears an imminent eruption will soon end his life. So he decides to relate the events leading to his abandonment.
As a young boy he is educated at the expense of a mystery benefactor and is befriended by the Darwin family As an adult he visits Australia, where he spends his time furthering his naturalist studies. On being
reunited with Charles Darwin he offers up his theory of natural selection as a gift. He then teams up with Charley Allen to search for the Golden Scarab and commits a murder along the way.
Interwoven with this story are accounts of the bizarre wildlife he observes on his island. At first it is all too easy to find the eye - and consequently the brain - skimming over these detailed descriptions of flora and fauna. This is a shame since their behaviour mimics, and sheds light upon , the human behaviour described by the narrator.
Confessing A Murder is an accomplished first novel that strives for authenticity by sticking closely to the language and style of 19th century writing. The narrator is as attractive as he is arrogant and the story he tells is so fabulous it could even be mistaken for truth. One question though - if the narrator perished on the island when it erupted, how did the memoir get into the attic?
Sara Wilson
A MUCH CO MPR O MISED LADY
Shannon Donnelly, Zebra, 2002 , $4 99 / C$6.99, £3.47 , pb, 222pp , ISBN 0-82177105-1
Glynis Chatwin has a mission: to prove that she is a lady. Glynis and her brother are the children of a union between an English Lord and a Gypsy, and they are searching for the papers that will prove the legality of this union. Nearly caught stealing Jhese papers , Glynis hides in St. Albans' room to avoid detection, and she disguises herself as his lover. In an attempt to change disguise to reality, St. Albans assists Glynis and her brother in their quest for the missing papers . The results are amusing.
This hero does not try to protect his lady from damage to her reputation, but rather encourages compromise for his own gain. This may di sappoint Regency fans , but readers of historical romance will generally enjoy it. Ms . Donnelly has done her research into the lives of Romany people during Regency times. Brief glimpses of Gypsy life throughout the novel are the appealing result.
Nan Curnutt
THE CHASTE WIFE
Della Ellis , Robert Hale , 2002 , £17.99, hb , 240pp , ISBN 0-7090-7036-5
Barbara Cornfield is married at sixteen to Marcus , Viscount Reyne. He promptly joins the army and doesn ' t deign to return until Napoleon has been defeated - eight years later. On being reunited each is pleasantly surprised at the changes in the other ' s appearance , but , whilst Reyne is prepared to give the marriage a chance, Barbara is not so keen.
After several misunderstandings over some love-smitten neighbours , the intervention of friends, and a family crisis the pair realise they have fallen in love.
Della Ellis has written a delightful froth of a romance. The protagonists are lively, well
ISSUE 20 , MAY 2002
matched and witty. There are plenty of humorous one liners and a neat conclusion that leaves no doubt of future happiness for all concerned. Just the thing to while away a wet afternoon. Shame the title recalls that old Carry On joke : 'Has she been chaste ?' 'Yes , but never caught. '
Sara Wilson
THE BROKEN LANDS
Robert Erdic , St. Martin ' s Press , $24 95 / C$34 95 , £15.62 , hb, 369 pp , ISBN 0312-28889-1
Published in the UK in 1992. UK edition in limyed supply
The ill-fated journey of Arctic exploration undertaken by Sir John Franklin is the subject of this deliberately drawn biographical novel. Detailed records of the expedition were found by later, more fortunate explorers It is upon these texts that The Broken Lands is based
The search for a Northwest Passage began with Frobisher in the sixteenth century; it was still very much on the adventurer's menu in 1845. The expedition's skills and equipment were 'modern,' but the transition from sail to steam was not yet complete. The officers and sailors were intrepid, but the 'tinning ' of food was a science in its infancy. Corruption on the part of military suppliers may have had as much to do with the loss of the expedition as the Arctic ice in which the ships became inextricably trapped. The Esquimos appear to scavenge the ship of dying men , gazing curiously at those Englishmen still alive, immobilized by starvation and lead poisoning The consciousness of the last survivor shrinks to a vanishing point in a white on white world , a mind dutifully taking notes while long past either feeling or fear.
The appearance of the natives is counterpoint. Hungry but not starving, the Esquimos hunt seal across the drifting ice. Despite the Franklin Expedition's courage, discipline , and bravery, adaptation was the only--and utterly unthinkable--path to survival. The beautiful prose never strays from the Victorian and military mindset of the source material. In the end, the effect is of a cold, constrained nightmare - a record of duty bound men with a one-way ticket to hell.
Juliet Waldron
REASONS OF THE HEART
Joanna Erle , Robert Hale, 2001, £17.99 , hb , 238pp, ISBN 0-7090-6928-4 Heroine Elaine Marney, released from poverty when her aunt dies, enters Regency Society. She will lose her inheritance on marriage, so hopes for a wealthy husband who will not demand a dowry. So far this appears a typical Regency romance, but there are elements of crime and political intrigue, and I wasn't happy about the mix. The book seemed to veer between diverse demands, and satisfy with none.
The book was well and intelligently written , a great deal of detailed research had been
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS
involved , and the plot was neatly constructed although it was disappointing that it hinged largely on a compliant, sometimes gullible heroine too inclined to give way because ' it didn't matter ' Elaine appeared to drift entirely at the whims of others, and I would have preferred a more proactive heroine.
Marina Oliver
SO LONG AT THE FAIR
Jess Foley, Arrow, £5.99, pb , 579pp , ISBN 0 09 9415763
Abbie Morris , an independent and headstrong 12 year old, is left to take care of the family when her mother leaves them in search of a better life away from their small Wiltshire village. Abbie copes very well until a happy and exciting day at the fair has tragic consequences. The memory of this day and the ensuing repercussions has a bearing on the rest of her life as , deep down, she feels responsible Abbie has to learn to come to terms with her traumatic past in order that she may find the happiness she is searching for.
Set in the 1870s , So Long At Th e Fair is drama, tragedy and romance expertly interwoven to provide an enjoyable and compelling read . The author has the ability to enable the reader to feel as one with the main character inasmuch as one is able to see through Abbie's eyes and feel the excitement and wonder as she visits London for the very first time - totally awe inspiring to a country girl. Other examples would give away the story line , which at all times is completely unpredictable.
Although there are a number of tragic events throughout the novel they are tastefully related and , together with the drama and romance, make it well worth reading I will certainly be looking for more of Jess Foley ' s work . Vivienne Bass
WE LOOK LIKE MEN OF WAR
William R. Forstchen, Forge , 2001 , $2 l.95 / C$31.95, £13.74, 185pp , hb , ISBN 0765-30114-8
Astonishing as it may seem , a number of people are still caught by surprise by stories of African American participation in the Union Army of the Civil War. Some 185,000 exslaves and free black citizens living in the North took up arms against the slaveholding Confederate States . One such regiment was the 28th Regiment of United States Coloured Troops, the first black regiment recruited by the state of Indiana. William Forstchen , a member of the faculty at North Carolina's Montreat College, wrote his doctoral dissertation on the unit and has now turned his hand to a fictional account of its wartime service.
The tale is narrated by Sam Washburn, a young drummer boy with the 28th who had escaped with his friend Jim from the plantation that bound them. Sam's introduction to the equally hard and strenuous life of freedom and
his jarring entrance into the life of a soldier test his spirit and strength. Neither his life as a slave or as a child soldier prepare him for the horror of a Civil War battlefield The 28th Regiment's purgatory at the 1864 Battle of the Crater during Ulysses Grant's siege of Petersburg, Virginia symbolize the courage and sacrifice of the onetime slaves who risked all for the opportunity to change the world in which they lived Through it all , Sam grows and matures from slave to soldier to man A nicely crafted sample of historical fiction
John R. Vallely
THE SONG OF THE WORLD
Jean Giono, trans by Henri Fluchere and Geoffrey Myers , Harvill 2001, £9.99 , pb , 266pp, ISBN I 86046 765 2
Sailor is the father of twin sons - one is dead and the other has gone missing on a logging trip Afraid for his remaining son , Sailor and his friend Antonio journey through the French countryside in search of him When they find themselves on land owned by the infamou s Maudru they discover that Twin is being hunted for the murder of Maudru ' s nephew, Mederic
On the way they come acros s a blind woman , Clara, giving birth in the forest. Antonio falls in love with her but the need to rescue Twin is uppermost and the companion s travel on leaving Clara in the care of a woman of the road.
Twin is found hiding in his uncle ' s house . To make matters worse it is revealed that he is secretly married to Maudru's daughter, Gina In the following confrontation one of the men is killed and revenge is sought.
The Song of the World was first published in 1934 and even in this latest English translation some of the language seems dated. Many of the episodes have a dreamlike quality and although the action is non-stop , paradoxically, it often seems to happen in slow motion. The story has a rawness and simplicity that makes it immediately accessible to the contemporary reader.
The novel can be read as a modern myth concerned with the issues of family loyalty, friendship , revenge and love. All of which are indeed timeless.
Sara Wilson
THE BLUE AND THE GRAY UNDERCOVER
Ed Gorman (ed.) , St. Martin's Press , 2001 , $24.95 / C$34 95, £15.62, hb , 318pp , ISBN 0312-87487-1
This book is a collection of eighteen short stories about true spy adventures during the American Civil War, all based on civilian spies and their covert activities. These individuals were men, women , children and slaves who helped either the Union or Confederate cause. The stories are simple in content and do not have much character development , but I did learn many facts about spy activities during the Civil War of which I was previously ISSUE 20, MAY 2002
unaware. I came to wonder whether the outcome of the Civil War and the history following that cataclysmic event would have been the same had these clandestine affairs not been undertaken.
Kathy King
DURANGO GOLD
Michael C. Haley, Poncha Press , 2001, $6.99, £4.37, pb, ISBN 0-9701862-0-7
What would send an Oxford-educated Virginia aristocrat to New Mexico Territory to spend his days as an obscure cowboy? Worn out, haunted by his unsuccessful Confederate command in the Civil War, heartsick over the ruin of his family's fortunes, Eli Waller only wants to forget, be forgotten, and work as a 'bush popper.' Fate steps in and makes him an unwilling U.S. Marshal , looking for murderers who have robbed the Durango gold shipment headed for Santa Fe.
A Colorado resident , Haley has written a stellar debut western, historically and geographically accurate, picturing the New Mexico and Southern Colorado of 1869. With more character development than the average western, the novel carries the reader into Eli's very soul. Using short, punchy sentences and written in the first person, Haley's style makes for easy reading. Durango Gold will delight all readers of the genre.
Meredith Campbell
THE GOLD OF EL NEGRO
Michael C. Haley, Poncha Press , 2001, $6.99, £4 37, pb, ISBN 0-9701862-1-5
When Louis L' Amour died , Michael Haley decided to write his own western fiction. Born and bred in New Mexico , Haley brings to his work authentic knowledge of Western lore and geography. Durango Gold, his first novel , and this, his second, are both set in 1869 New Mexico. Here , mulatto Gabriel Waller tells the story. A slave in the household of his white father before the Civil War, Gabriel has fled west to seek his white half-brother Eli, protagonist in Haley's first novel. Bli zzards, Indians , and murderous banditos confront Gabriel in his search. So too , does he meet gentle backpack-peddler Juan Martinez. Through encountering these mixed forces, Gabriel comes to realize what it means to act and think as a free man.
Though it gets off to a romping, actionpacked start with Gabriel fending off Mescalero Apaches, this book develops at a more reflective pace than Haley's first. However, the reader experiences a solid sense of ' place' and meets well-developed characters. Concise sentences, filled with colourful phrasing, and peppered with Spanish words, the story is an absorbing read. A must for western fans.
Meredith Campbell
THE SCENT OF LILIES
Barbara Hazard, Signet, 2001, $4.99 / C$6.99, 219pp, pb , ISBN 0-451-20410-7
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
Billed as a Regency romance , you get quite a bit more than that for your money. It 's also a quietly spooky ghost story, with at least one really chilling moment that will cause a heartfelt shiver or two. And if this were still the 1970s, when Gothics were ultra-popular in this country, that's how it would have been published , with an eerie old mansion in the mist in the background, and a young girl running down the hill up in front.
In order to claim an inheritance, it seems, Katherine's brother has to spend every evening in the house during the month of October, and to give him support the servants leave the house exactly at sundown, and don't return until morning. Katherine stays with him.
That there is danger involved, and evil intent on the part of someone is very clear - but who, and for what reason? There 's also a romance, a rescue , and more. Very effective and very entertaining.
Steve Lewis
TOM'S LAWYER
Peter J. Heck , Berkley, 2001, $6.50/ C$9.99, £4.07, 258 pp, pb, ISBN 0-425-18205-3 Sixth in Heck's mystery series featuring Mark Twain and narrated by his secretary Wentworth Cabot during Twain's crosscountry lecturing days, this instalment takes Twain , his wife Olivia, middle daughter Clara, and Cabot to Missoula , Montana . Here the author runs into his old friend Tom Blankenship, the model for Huck Finn , now a magistrate turned respectable. The murder of a troublemaking lowlife finds Tom a suspect and Twain trying to clear his old friend before he has to leave for his next engagement. He is aided by a host of historical figures: Teddy Roosevelt, Buffalo Bill Cody, Annie Oakley, and Frank Butler.
Heck paints these figures with broad strokes, sometimes too broad, thinking what makes Roosevelt recognizable is his use of 'bully' in conversation and his aspiration to become Police Commissioner of New York. The mystery itself is somewhat negligible; Twain, Cabot, et al., solve it by revisiting various haunts until they get the answers they want. However, the relationships between Twain and his daughter, wife , and Cabot are nicely realized; these were the happy days before the death of the eldest daughter and Olivia Clemens' illness. Missoula is also colourfully portrayed with accurate renderings of class and race conflicts between black soldiers, white townspeople, and Indian scouts. A slight but enjoyable read.
Ellen Keith
THE DEVIL IN BELLMINSTER
David Holland, Thomas Dunne , 2002, $23.95, hb , 245 pp , ISBN 0-312-27998-1
Set in 1833 Bellminster, England, there is a murderer on the loose , and the vicar, Reverend Tuckworth, may be the only person capable of exposing him One by one, innocent townspeople are found murdered in most
unusual ways. Tuckworth, along with his daughter Lucy and their painter friend, Raphael, join the police force in the investigation when it becomes clear the murderer feels connected to the vicar and the town's cathedral. A cast of suspicious characters protects the murderer's identity until the final suspenseful pages, ensuring an enjoyable read for all.
This novel really makes an impression with the vicar's struggle with his own sins and need for forgiveness; I could not help but root for Tuckworth in his own personal growth as he sought out the murderer. Readers will be ultimately satisfied with the ending, both for the victims' families and for Reverend Tuckworth. The Devil in Bel/minster is a wonderful first attempt at historical mystery
Melissa Galyon
SNOW MOUNTAIN PASSAGE
James D. Houston, Harcourt, 2002 , $14.00 (£8.85), tpb , 336pp, ISBN 0-15-601143-3
See review in Issue # 17, US section.
DOWN WEAVERS LANE
Anna Jacobs , Hodder & Stoughton, 2002, £18.99, hb, 390pp, ISBN 0-340-75058-8
To escape her mother's plans to set her up as a whore, Emmy Carter starts work as a maid. Just as she has attracted a steadfast mill worker, her employer's nephew becomes obsessed with her and arranges to have her kidnapped so he can rape her. Her violent escape starts off a chain of events that lead Emmy to lose her mother, discover her true origins , fall in love, run away, see her enemy get what he deserves, and finally to become respectable.
A superior saga without the usual saccharine aftertaste, Down Weavers Lane has an extremely likeable heroine, a truly evil baddie , plenty of action, plot twists and a particularly exciting climax to satisfy everyone's sense of justice. It's slightly longer than usual in this genre, leaving more room for plot and character development. Anna Jacobs is a gifted storyteller with a strong sense of place and time.
Sara Wilson
ENCHANTING PLEASURES
Eloisa James , Delacorte , $21.95 / C$32.95, £4.07, 368pp, hb ISBN 0-385-33362-5 2001, This is the final volume of James's Regency trilogy (Potent Pleasures , Midnight Pleasures) and it is a pleasure to read. The main characters are quirky and well thought out and hold the readers' interest to the very last page. Gabrielle Jerningham, Gabby for short, is a guileless beauty with little fashion sense, sent from India by her missionary father to marry Peter Dewland, Viscount Dewland 's second son. While Gabby is thrilled by the idea of marrying such a handsome individual , Peter has agreed to the marriage only under duress. When the two meet, they have little in ISSUE 20, MAY 2002
common. The effeminate Peter sees Gabby as ' overfleshy' and lacking in proper decorum, and Gabby fears she will never measure up to Peter's exacting standards. However, Quill , Peter's older brother, finds Gabby to be a refreshing young lady and soon plots to win her affections for himself. Quill is thought to be unfit for marriage due to an injury sustained in a riding accident. He suffers severe migraines after performing ' rhythmical exercise ' such as making love
This book is well written and fast-paced , with lots of twists and intriguing subplots. Best of all , James has created characters that truly bring the story to life.
Deborah Sanford
ENEMY WOMEN
Paulette Jiles , Morrow, 2002 , $24.95 , 352pp , hb , ISBN 0-06-621444-0
The UK edition will be published in Feb 2003 at £10 by 4th Estate, ISBN 0007146418
Most Americans know why the Civil War was fought and can name some of the battles or identify major figures on both sides Less well known are the ways in which the war affected lives far from those famous battlefields En emy Wom en tells this story.
While the state of Missouri is officially Union , the south-eastern part of the state is largely Confederate. Troops from both sides have made the Ozark Mountain area a place of terror and violence. The Colley family has survived four years of uncertainty by remaining neutral. That ends in November of 1864, the day the Union Militia arrests Squire Colley on dubious charges of treason , leaving daughter Adair and her younger sisters alone , their house burning. They set out to find their father and bring him home
That hope unravels when Adair is also arrested , having been denounced for 'aiding the enemy' by a fellow traveller. Sent to a women's prison in St. Louis, Adair manages to keep her spirit intact, though her health begins to fail. Help comes from an unexpected source and she escapes , alone and desperate , but driven by thoughts of home , family, and the promises made by her rescuer.
Paulette Jiles has created a compelling heroine in Adair Randolph Colley She is witty, pragmatic, honest and stubborn While Jiles's writing is ripe with imagery, it is also steeped in the vernacular peculiar to the time and place. This is an unsentimental look at a tragic period in American history, backed up by excerpts from letters , memoirs and war documents , I highly recommend it.
Alice Logsdon
TURN THE STARS UPSIDE DOWN
Terry C Johnston , St. Martin's, 2001 , $24 95 / C$34.95 , £15 62 , 329pp, hb , ISBN 0312-27757-l
In May 1877 , Crazy Horse, the mythic warrior and leader of the Lakota Indians , leads his people into Camp Robinson, Nebraska Territory to surrender. Shortly afterward , the
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
U.S. Army renounces a promise to allow his people to establish their own agency in the North Country. This sets in motion a dramatic series of lies , deceptions , and betrayals that culminates in the stabbing death of Crazy Horse on September 5, 1877.
This fictional account is about Crazy Horse himself in the context of his time. Johnston fleshes out a character who is a consummate warrior, loving husband , spiritual mystic , and defender of tribe and tradition . At the same time, Johnston portrays a flawed personality whose weaknesses are exploited by the U.S. Army and who invites the betrayal of his own people The bare facts of this dark chapter in American history are well known , but Johnston recasts the story as a passion play bringing his skills as an absorbing s toryteller and meticulous historian to bear. This no vel will please fans familiar with the Plainsmen series but also readers interested in a story of intense human drama.
Jerry Burke
THE QUEST OF BRADY KENTON
Cameron Judd , St. Martin ' s , 2001 , $5 99 , £3 75 , 283pp , pb , ISBN 0-312-97578-3
A clue from an ongoing serial in a dime novel series is enough to convince famed western reporter Brady Kenton that his wife , believed to have died in a railroad accident years ago , somehow survived. Alex Gunnison , the son of Kenton's publisher, is the man assigned to keep him on schedule and out of trouble , a full-time job even before a young woman claiming to be daughter appears, with one of the world ' s first private eyes , a former Texas Ranger, on her trail.
Intentionally or not , this novel reads like a dime novel itself, with lots of dialogue and action and precise pinpoint characterizations of the varied westerners whose paths cross that of Kenton and Gunnison Lots of humor, too , with a dark side never quite hidden. This particular phase of the chase ends in a wildand-woolly shootout, but in true pulp fashion, there's a strong hint of more adventures yet to come .
Steve Lewis
ALL TOGETHER IN ONE PLACE
Jane Kirkpatrick , WaterBrook , 2000, $11.95 , £8. 76 , 399pp, tpb , ISBN l-57856-732-5
In 1852 , young wife Madison Bacon, called Mazy, is taken from her Wisconsin home by her mother and husband and thrust onto the Oregon Trail heading west. Torn between safety and her husband's dream of a dairy farm, she follows his dream. They meet six other families at the first river crossing and join them on the journey. Each of the six wagons holds a story as well as the belongings and dreams of each group. The trail exacts its price, and soon there are only eleven women left to continue or tum back Mazy turns back and the others follow, but tragedy strikes, and they all resolve to tum again westward.
Within the wagons are ; a blind woman
raising a toddler, a marriage broker deliverin g Oriental brides to the mining camps, a businesswoman with three children , a horsewoman who is running from a mentall y deranged husband , and a family from Mazy 's home town seeking to protect their daughte r All of their stories intertwin e. Th e wom e n experience tragedy, happiness , and faith , plus many other aspects of life on the trail. Thi s novel , based on a historical incident , is a ve ry good read.
Don E. Hill
NO EYE CAN SEE
Jane Kirkpatrick, Water Brook, 2001 , $11. 9 5 , £8.76 , 382pp , tpb , ISBN 1-57856-233-3
In this novel , second in a trilogy after All Together In One Place, a number of independent women seek to make their way in the new land of California The abu s ive husband of one member of the group , a warped ex-convict , finds her. He seeks revenge , for he blames her for putting him in prison. Mazy Bacon , the young Wi sconsin wife from the first book in the series, put s together a story quilt from blocks made by each woman in her new extended family Mazy also finds her husband has betrayed her, and the dairy herd for which she ' d travelled this long distance may not be in her future after all.
Suzanne Cullver, a widow who happen s to be blind , finds a profession in which she can be independent, but it endangers her children . Her experiences form some of the book 's most exciting segments. The burning of the town of Shasta City changes all of their lives and exposes the presence of the abusive husband This story leaves many questions unanswered , but it gives the reader a reason to look forward to book three.
Don E Hill
THE QUEST
Jim and Terri Kraus , Tyndale House , 2002 , $10.99, £6.88 , 364pp, pb , ISBN 0-8423-1838-0
Pittsburgh, 1841: Jamison Pike has been accepted at Harvard. His judgmental pastor father is opposed to him attending that den of vice and dangerous ideas, but Jamison goes anyway, relieved to shake off his parents ' dismal form of Christianity. There he meets Gage , a wealthy Easterner, Hannah, a medical student, and Joshua , also a pastor's son but one who , unlike Jamison , has kept his faith
These characters, subjects of the three previous novels in The Circle of Destiny series, appear throughout The Quest , but this final novel concentrates on Jamison, who becomes a journalist after Harvard, journeying to the West and abroad for stories that he later turns into best-selling books . But there's an emptiness in him that he refuses to see as Godshaped, despite the messages he receives during his travels This seems rather churlish of him, given that some of the messengers die gorily for their trouble. But Jamison gets
ISSUE 20, MAY 2002
saved, so that's okay. (I don't think I'm spoiling any surprises here.) It would have been altogether more satisfying if his conversion had been harder won - if he'd struggled more with himself and against God. The 'fiery intellect' described in the press release isn't evident in the story Indeed , Jamison seems passive throughout.
I'm not sure whether this type of novel is intended to preach to the converted or make new ones. The Quest is earnest, sincere and will give Christians a warm feeling. But its glib plot and one-dimensional characters are unlikely to bring the rest ofus to Jesus Sarah Cuthbertson
THE CASE OF THE RIPPER'S REVENGE
Sam McCarver, Signet, 2001, $5.99 / C$8.99, £3 75 , pb, 212pp , ISBN 0451204581 This is an above-average, interesting, tight, and colourful little mystery set thirty years after the original Ripper killings. McCarver's pseudo-detective Prof. John Darnell , an expert in the supernatural, is called to assist with the investigation. His wife Penny also lends a hand. The wily prostitute of Whitechapel begins to see a ghostly gentleman dressed in clothes of the previous generation He simply vanishes into thin air! The first victim of this fiend , naturally enough , is a horribly mutilated prostitute - but here Mccarver uses some imagination when more victims are discovered , a wonderful little plot tango to dance with his readers I enjoyed the animated and varied characters , never dull or droll , and appreciated the author's writing for its intelligence and clarity
Quibble ? Its conclusion is perhaps not the most plausible , but on the other hand it was original , a genuine twist in time and fate which kept me involved with the plot.
Wendy Zollo
TE ANT'S ROCK
Steve McGiffen , St. Martin ' s Press ; 2001 , $23 95 / C$33 95 , £14.99 , hb, 257 pp , ISBN 0312-26657-X
Life in the American West in the 1860s was never easy, and it was even tougher on the women Sissy, a girl whose parents were among the early settlers in California's Sacramento Valley, tells her own story in this novel of hardship , determination and survival. Her father died at the hands of the brother Nate , who se version of what happened differs greatly from her mother ' s. After Nate was taken to prison , mother and daughter find themselves at the mercy of Swann, their perverse 'benefactor ' who takes over their home as well as Sissy's bedroom . She has two children by the age of 18 , and enough nightmares to last a lifetime.
Nate ' s return is no salvation Swann throws him out, and Sissy is forced to meet him on the s ly, at Tennant's Rock , where she learns of life in the outside world , learns to read , and where s he gradually learn s that the only person she
can depend on is herself There is no prince on a gallant steed who will come along to sweep her away. There's more to the story, but the early half is what will forcibly remind you of the evil that exists in the world, then as now. The second half is rather predictable and rushes on at a faster pace, but is still effective.
Steve Lewis
OUTCASTS
Tim McGuire, Dorchester, $4 99/ C$5.99, £3.47 , pb, 313pp
ISBN 0-8439-4882-5
2001, Clay Cole, ex-Union soldier, has a price on his head for a crime he never committed. In Indian Territory to avoid the law, he attempts to save a life. The attempt goes wrong and he is left with a Nez Perce baby on his hands. He agrees to return the infant to her ancestral home, about a thousand miles distant. During the story's six-month period , he is pursued by a prostitute and a bounty hunter, and travels over rough trails and mountains in mid-winter. The infant is the most cooperative ever--rarely cries and quietly accepts whatever care he gives No mention of his laundering/replacing diapers! Clay' s heavy coat (used to wrap both himself and the child) is mentioned numerous times, but we never learn how Maud, the prostitute who travels with him, stays warm aside from a blanket around her shoulders. Outcasts is one of a series of Westerns featuring Clay Cole. Two episodes in the book are unrelated to the current story and would have been better deleted. The dialogue is pedestrian, though colloquial. One detail , probably authentic to the setting, is Clay's illiteracy. T. R. Roosevelt appears in a cameo role. Overall rating: better stories are available. Mary L. Newton
A CALL TO ARMS
Allan Mallinson , Bantam 2002 , £16 99, hb , 316pp, ISBN O 593 04727 3
This is the fourth novel about Matthew Hervey, Light Dragoon , and I shall be looking out for the earlier ones. The tantalising references to what has gone before were the only aspects of this novel which frustrated me.
Having resigned his commission some time after Waterloo Hervey travels to Italy where he becomes an intimate of Shelley. The poet ' s views cause him to rethink his life and he decides to re-enlist in 1819. This novel relates his struggles to recruit and train a new troop and their exploits in India
Hervey is not merely a man of action. He holds strong beliefs despite the loss of his wife. Worries and doubts add to his soldierly expertise and make him a credible hero.
Mallinson includes an enormous amount of illuminating detail about the army, the training and drill , the horses and the political background but this is never intrusive, it comes at the right time to add to the story. His plot moves along smartly. The minor characters are lightly drawn but with telling detail so that they never sink into an anonymous mass as could so easily happen
with a less skilled writer. This novel will appeal to a wider audience than readers of war stories. Marina Oliver
EMBERS
Sandor Marai , Viking 2002, £12.99, hb , 2 l 3pp, ISBN O 670 91099 6 Translated from the Hungarian by Carol Brown Janeway
This book has been hailed as a lost masterpiece and a newly acclaimed classic. The author was born in 1900 in the Hungarian city of Kassa (now Kosice in Slovakia) and died in obscurity in California in 1989 Embers was first published in 1942 and is the first of Marai's oeuvre to be translated into English.
The story concerns the universal themes of love, friendship , fidelity, pride and betrayal. Set in the heart of the old Austro-Hungarian empire. It depicts the classic love triangle involving Konrad and Henrik , two boyhood friends , and Henrik's wife Krisztina.
The two boys meet whilst attending the military academy in Vienna and become close friends. Henrick is from aristocratic stock and Konrad's family are impoverished bourgeoisie. Despite their differences in status they form a strong bond of friendship that continues after Henrick's marriage
As the old empire begins to crumble so does the friendship , ignited by jealousy, resentment and desire. A pivotal event leads to Konrad's sudden departure.
After forty long years, as Henrick always expected, Konrad returns and the scene is set for a night of confession and redemption .
The bulk of the story takes place during the course of one night , from dinner until dawn , the two men fight a duel of words This is a haunting book that sweeps the reader along . Whilst written in a deceptively easy style its images linger in the mind as the embers of a huge fire will glow long after the flames have been extinguished.
Ray Taylor
AN ONEROUS DUTY
Beryl Matthews, Robert Hale, 2002, £17.99 , hb , 239pp , ISBN O7090 7056 X Harry Sterling is home from the Peninsular to take up the Dukedom of Ranleigh His grandmother puts in his path the three Winslow girls: one is too headstrong , one too young and the third , considered most suitable , is terrified of his strong personality. His friend Captain Atterton draws him into an investigation in which Harry discovers that his late brother ' s death was no accident.
In this delightful story, the characters are well drawn: Harry is every inch a hero while Bella , the unruly sister, is his match. We know they will end up together, but wonder how long it will take them to realise they are made for each other.
The author has not been well served by her copy editor who has allowed some slips through , but this first novel makes one want to read more by the same hand.
Pamela Cleaver
20 , MAY 2002
SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE SECRET ALLIANCE
Larry Millett, Viking , 2001 , $24.95 , £14.99, hb , 322pp, ISBN 0-670-03015-5 Millett has written three earlier books in this series , and if you thought that by now he'd have run out of ways of getting Holmes and Watson out of England and into Minnesota , where their American friend Shad Rafferty lives , you'd be wrong Opening this one is the lynching of a white man near an abandoned mansion in Minneapolis , with a placard on the body proclaiming it to be the work of the Secret Alliance, a local organization notorious for its vicious anti-union activities. Rafferty, a saloonkeeper by trade but also known to work as a private investigator, is asked to ' help' the police along.
Holmes and Watson , visiting in New York and assisting only by letter, finally make their appearance about halfway through. It ' s a lengthy tale , made even longer by three or four footnotes per chapter. They can be skipped, but they add considerably to the factual information already provided about turn-ofthe-century life in Twin Cities area, especially the early days of the flour milling industry.
The result is a not always satisfying blend of history and mystery. If you ' re primarily a fan of detective fiction , you 'II probably start to resent the constant intrusions. It takes one long final chapter plus an epilogue to tie together the loose threads of criminal plot, which also includes a (fictional) attempt on President McKinley's life. For those of a hi s torical bent , there ' s plenty of information here that you won ' t find in textbooks, including quite a few things not considered proper for schoolchildren to know.
Steve Lewis
BROTHERS OF CAIN
Miriam Grace Monfredo , Berkley, 2001, $22 95 , £14.36 , 336pp , hb , ISBN 0425181898
The year was 1862 when federal troops became engaged in battles of the Peninsula Campaign. General George B. McClellan is planning the Union attack on the Confederate Capital of Richmond . President Lincoln bas created a special intelligence force that includes Treasury employee Bronwen Llyr, who is working undercover. Kathryn , her sister and volunteer nurse for the Union, joins Bronwen in their family effort to secure the release of a younger brother who has been captured.
This is the eighth book in the S eneca Falls mystery series. The major characters are fictitious, but historical figures appear throughout. Fear, stress , injury and sometimes death are presented in the lives of those compelled to get involved. Details of the war and lives for those serving their country, or touched by the misfortune of living in the times, are well described. In this combination of history and mystery the author has created a story with much appeal.
Jetta Culpepper
THE HISTORICAL
WHERE TWO SEAS MET
Lynn Morris and Gilbert Morris , Bethany House , 2001, $11 99, £7.51, 317 pp , tpb , ISBN 1-55661-437-3
In this first book of Chen ey and Shiloh : Th e Inh eritance series, set in 1869 , newlyweds Cheney Duvall and Shiloh Irons-Winslow choose to honeymoon aboard a ship bound for the Caribbean Tropical storms cause them to go ashore , where they encounter a highly fatal, unknown illness. Dr. Duvall attends the sick , but the island's population and all of the ship's crew are quarantined Surprisingly, living among the small island ' s few families is the New Yorker, Bain Winslow, opponent of Cheney and conflict interest for Shiloh Bain ' s disapproval of Shiloh ' s business inheritance continues even as his plantation faces the plague.
This inspirational novel is ideal for those who appreciate stories of faith and happy marriage Readers should be forewarned that the novel contains vivid descriptions of the plague. While well written , the book is not difficult reading Both teenagers and adults will be drawn to the story, which combines romance with Cheney ' s first adventure at sea Jetta Culpepper
THE HIDDEN HEART
Jane Orcutt, Water Brook Press, 2001 (cl 998) , $11.95 , £7.48 , 311 pp , tpb , ISBN 1-57856053-5
Elizabeth Cameron , captured by the Indians as a young girl in 1868 , eventually returns to her father. But she is not the same innocent young woman, and she has brought with her Joseph, her son Years of shameful torment from Elizabeth ' s father come to end with his death. She plans to move to Belton, Texas , to live with a woman ' s Christian group , and Elizabeth ' s brother, a U.S. Marshal, sends along a secret guardian for the trip
Caleb Martin , an ex-convict, is gaining his freedom by keeping an eye on Elizabeth and Joseph during the journey. He has no idea that true love would become a part of his life. And especially with Elizabeth, who is not able to show affection for anyone , even her own son.
Jane Orcutt has created an absolute gem of an inspirational romance. Each page brought adventure , excitement and joy. Readers will become part of Elizabeth and Caleb's adventure. It's one of my favourites this year, and I can't wait for the next book in the series.
Melissa Galyon
THE WAGER
Sonia Prentice, Hollytree Books , 2001, £7 99, £7.99, pb, ISBN 0-9541174-0-9
Following her father's death, Emma Stanton, beautiful, sheltered and unknowingly wealthy, is left in the care of her half-brother Richard. With Mrs . Steadman, a professional madam turned mistress , Richard contrives to involve Emma in such a scandal that she will never be able to marry and so be will never have to part with her fortune He puts her up as a wager in
a bet which he deliberately loses . Mr s. Steadman dresses Emma up like a whore to visit, as she thinks , alone with the Earl of Ware.
This better than average Regency novel is a pleasant read with a cover that is very evocative of the period.
Mairead McKerracher
ENGLISH IVY
Catherine Palmer, Tyndale Hou se , 2002 , $9 .99 , £6 .26 , tpb , 286pp, ISBN 0842319271
Ivy Bowden has always enjoyed the York s hire country life she leads with her parents and three younger sisters Now, in 1815 , she is anticipating a celebration of her 21st birthday and her marriage to the man her father has chosen for her, unaware that her whole life is about to change in ways she never imagined Colin Richmond , the son of the Bowden 's long-absent neighbour, returns to York s hire and turns Ivy's life upside down with the truth he reveals As Ivy struggles to obey the will of both her heavenly Father and her earthly father, Colin tries to trust and obey the God he has recently come to know. The s tory is enhanced by the wisdom of the elderly gardener who is revitalizing the Richmond conservatory He teaches Ivy lessons about how God tends His people ' s lives like a good gardener tends his plants
Ms Palmer ' s book is warm and inspiring, interspersed with charming descriptions of the Yorkshire countryside during the Regency period and glimpses of the mystery and warmth of India during the early nineteenth century.
Nan Curnutt
SOUTHAMPTON ROW
Anne Perry, Ballantine , 2002 , $25 / C$38 , £14.39 , hb , 336 pp , ISBN 0-345-44003-X This , Anne Perry ' s 22nd Thomas and Charlotte Pitt book , is an admirable entry in this Victorian mystery series. Pitt is no longer with Bow Street, having been s tripped of his Superintendency after the Whitechapel affair Pitt is now with Special Branch , in which political intrigue is even more on the agenda , and ostensibly, is no longer doing the type of police work he once did and loved. How doe s the murder of a prominent clairvoyant, then , impact Pitt? Why and how does he become the pivotal person in this investigation?
The story is complex and to some extent , requires that the reader know a bit about Pitt 's past. Some understanding of the genesis of the rancour between Pitt and his nemesis , Charles Voisey, Tory candidate for a critical Parliamentary seat and a member of the secret society known as the Inner Circle , is required . There are fascinating scenes in which the candidates standing for that one critical seat address crowds in the streets about the issues facing them. Historical figures, such as Prime Minister Gladstone, make the appropriate appearances. Perry has a remarkable feel for Victorian London, for the popular 'hot
ISSUE 20 , MAY 2002
buttons' like Home Rule, for the impact of past British wars on old soldiers. It is always a pleasure to read her books.
Ilysa Magnus
GETTYSBURG
James Reasoner, 200 I, Cumberland House, $22.95/C$34.95, £14.36, 403pp, bb, ISBN 158182-220-0
This is the sixth in a continuing series of ten novels chronicling the battles of the Civil War and their effect on the Brannon family. Three of the four Brannon boys enlist to fight with the Confederacy. One of the boys, Titus, is captured at Fredericksburg and is believed dead by his family. In reality he is taken to a prisoner of war camp near Chicago, where he is shocked at the brutal and inhumane treatment afforded prisoners. Meanwhile, his two elder brothers prepare for the coming bloodbath at Gettysburg while doing everything they can to save the family farm near the Shenandoah Valley.
This novel reminds me of John Jake's North and South series. The actual battles themselves are only part of the story: the personal struggles, love affairs, and intrigues of the characters are the true inspirations for the plot. Together, they make for enjoyable reading. The characters are well developed, and the series nature of this book leaves the reader looking forward to the next installment.
Mark F. Johnson
REGENCY MASQUERADE
Joan Smith, Robert Hale , £16.99, hb , 190pp, ISBN 0-7090-6574-4
Adopting pseudonyms , five people converge on an inn , their objective to recover money from Lionel March, who seems to have swindled his way around the aristocratic and genteel families of England. The story is told in the best Regency tradition and the reader is spared too many heaving bosoms and scowling heroes The writing is mostly good but I have (don't I always?) a few quibbles. Regency bucks didn't 'foo l around'. The Bow Street Runners at this time weren't called the police. A dueller who had killed his man didn't rusticate on his estate but fled to the Continent to escape the law. However, the author handles the duplicitous nature of the plot and its characters very skilfully and without too much convoluted explanation. A pity that Hale bas enclosed the book in such a lurid dust-wrapper Surely something more in keeping with the genre could be commissioned!
Geraldine Perriam
DEAR MISS GREY
Shirley Smith, Robert Hale, £17.99, hb , 222pp, ISBN 0- 7040- 7036-1
After her parents' death , Lucy Grey's meanminded aunt obliges her to become governess to Lord Hallburgh's two children. Miss Grey's handling of her likeable charges shows an experienced teacher's hand , and since their father is charming if moody, life would be good were it not for Miss Caroline Hallburg
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
and her unpleasant doctor.
This simple, slightly transparent mystery/ romance set vaguely in the Regency period, lacks the sparkling wit of a true Regency. The heroine is spirited and the book comes to life when she is playing with the children or in a spat with Caroline, but hardly ever sparks with the hero - no real fizz there! The writing is a little too measured , giving a rather flat tone for long stretches. However, it is a first novel and shows potential. With a little more verve and dash we might have a sparkler from Miss Smith in the future.
Linda Sole
ELENA'SSO G
Peggy Stoks, Tyndale House, 2002, $9.99, £6.26, tpb, 288pp, ISBN 0-8423-1944-1
Elena Breen is through with life. She left her husband and infant son for a career on stage, which ended in disaster. Elena was gifted with an incredible voice, and she was well on the road to stardom when her voice failed her. Deserted by her manager and left with nothing, she decides to end her life through starvation. She is impatiently awaiting death when her estranged husband finds her Through his incredible love, and the love of the Lord , Elena starts to improve. But can this love overcome all the obstacles Elena must face? Almost as moving as Elena's story is the struggle of her mother-in-law, Frances Golden, to accept this woman who deserted her son and grandson. She allows Elena into her home for the sake of her son, but she is not sure she can allow her into her heart.
This is the third and final book in the Abounding Love series. Elena's Song can be read in conjunction with the first two books , but can also stand alone. The story takes place in Detroit in 1885 , but there are not many historical elements linking it to that time Ms. Stoks' strength is in her empathetic portrait of the srruggles the characters face as they work through their own difficult decisions.
Nan Curnutt
A HUSBAND FOR HELEN
Mary Street, Robert Hale, 2002, £17.99, hb , 224pp, ISBN 0-7090-7033-0
Helen Bentley, spirited, wealthy heiress of the High Bentley estate, has been betrothed to her cousin, Edward Kirkham , since birth. However, Edward jilts her in favour of a china-doll beauty. More embarrassed than heartbroken , she sets about finding another husband, perhaps a fortune hunter who will leave to her the running of her estate. No beauty, she is confident of finding the perfect gentleman, much to the consternation of Edward's brother Frederick who has hurried to her side. But she soon bas more pressing concerns: her disaffected agent is seen with a mysterious peddler, and later incidents make her realise that someone wishes her dead.
Mary Street has written an amusing, light entertaining novel to follow her previous eight novels.
Thelma Cox
THE RESTLESS SEA
E V Thompson, Warner, £6.99, pb , 552pp, ISBN 07515 3240 I
This book represents EV Thompson 's writing at its best. The story of Nathan Jago moves swiftly between two very different and graphically described settings. Firstly the world of the East End of London and the harshness of the unforgiving life of the prizefighter, and Nathan's home, the fishing village of Pentuan, Cornwall. After becoming the prize-fighting champion of all England, he returns to Pentuan to start a fishing business. Life is not as smooth as he had hoped and he soon realises a major change of attitude will have to take place if he is to save the local industry by converting them to drift fishing is in period. Henry James would have found her interesting . Mario is impossibly noble and understanding and something of a cardboard cut-out figure. Technically the problem is a lack of depth in the darker emotional bitsoften a problem for a first time writer. All the same, this is an impressive debut.
Elizabeth Hawksley
ALTERNATIVE GETTYSBURGS
Brian Thomsen and Martin H. Greenberg, eds., Berkley, 2002, $6.99, £4.37, pb, 344pp, ISBN 0-425-18377-7
The three-day Battle of Gettysburg continues to hold occupy pride of place among those interested in the American Civil War. While other campaigns and battles contain as much human drama and are as important for historical purposes , none have even a remote possibility of dislodging this epic engagement from its lofty position. While most remain fascinated by the nature of the fighting and the controversial role the several commanders played in influencing the outcome, a surprising number are devoted to concentrating on the 'what if' aspects of the battle
Alternate history only works if the writers are familiar with the actual historical event and those factors that influenced the event. Ignorance of the fundamentals destroys the fun of the 'what if' possibilities. Editors Thomsen and Greenberg have assembled twelve writers for the contra-factual point of view and four for brief essays providing historical overview. The writing is uneven. The concluding four historical analyses are thoughtful and clearly written. The fictional essays are entertaining and thought-provoking and should satisfy fans of the genre. A suggestion for the reader: read the four articles in the Appendix first. They will lay the foundation for the fictional accounts which are the basis for the book.
John R. Vallely
FINGERSMITH
Sarah Waters, Virago, £15.99 hb , 548pp, ISBN I 860 49 882 5
The closest to a mother's love Sue Trinder has ever known has come from baby-farmer Mrs Sucksby, who spoon-feeds her infant stock on gin; the nearest to a father figure is Mr Ibbs , who keeps a brazier burning in the kitchen to
ISSUE 20, MAY 2002
melt down stolen plate. Mrs Sucksby lavishes special care on Sue, protecting her from crime and promiscuity. Thus Sue remains curiously unsullied by her low background and when a confidence man known as Gentleman asks her to play the part of lady 's maid to Maud Lilly she is able to make the transition from London rookery to country house without exciting suspicion. Gentleman has a plan straight from the pages of Wilkie Collins: he is going to marry Maud , consign her to an asylum and pocket her inheritance.
Fingersmith is a book-lover's book, with its more than echoes of the novels of Wilkie Collins and Char le s Dickens. This is both blatant (the novel opens with Sue's trip to the theatre to see Oliver Twist) and subtle (' Astonishing' says Sue, bringing Joe Gargery to mind). The book emulates The Woman In White with its dependence on pairs - weak Laura, Strong Marian ; the public and private faces of villainous Fosco; the impo verished girl and the heiress. Like Collins, Waters also does things in twos: two orphans, two hangings; a scam in two parts; the double cross; the biters bit Waters may have taken the work of Collins as her starting point but Fingersmith surpasses mere pastiche. Victorian slang is skilfu ll y merged into the text to produce a readable style. As in The Woman in White women are consigned to asylums by greedy relatives - but the politics of gender is openly expressed. Sue comments of those ' lunatics' whose madness manifests itself in the obsessive filling ofledgers , 'Had they been gentlemen, and rich then perhaps they would have passed as scholars and commanded staffs'. In a chilling transformation of roles , designing Gentleman takes lover Harcourt's part as the art teacher. And Fingersmith is more frank about depravity than The Woman In White. Water's Mr Lilly, pornographer and corrupter of innocence, is disgusting where the valetudinarian Mr Fairlie is only selfish.
Fingersmith is a book lover's book , but one that challenges that love. The cruellest of the corruptions lying close to its surface is the perversion of books Maud , forced to read and write pornographic material from an early age, is driven to declare, 'I will live without books!' The installation of this loathing is perhaps the greatest of the crimes committed against her by Mr Lilly; it made this book lover shudder.
Beautifully written and carefully plotted , Fingersmith is a triumph of good story telling , whether or not you're interested in the literary intelligence that underpins it. You'll lose sleep over this novel , because its impossible to put down Lucienne Boyce
THE FIELDS OF EDEN
Richard S. Wheeler, Forge, 2001, $25.95, £16.25, 383 pp , hb , ISBN 0-312-87309-3 Oregon Territory, 1842-1849. This ambitious novel chronicles the settling of a land in the wilderness by a never-ending flood of
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIBW
American immigrants Oregon was no paradise It took hard work to settle it. It shaped its new arrivals as much as they shaped their new land.
Before them came the British-based Hudson Bay Company, whose chief factor, Dr. John McLaughlin, had no choice but to welcome them, give them credit toward the food and clothes they needed, knowing full well that history is on their side, not his , and not the company's. The newcomers were visionaries, spies, mountaineers, missionaries, would-be politicians, vagrants, and families with dreams. Wheeler weaves their various tales together in a wide-ranging panorama of human strengths, weaknesses and imperfections.
As usual in Wheeler's books of the American West, not all the stories end happily, nor in many cases can they be said to end at all. Giving the book some focus, a more than nominal amount of sympathy is given John McLaughlin, a real person, as a man handed the unenviable task of doing his Christian duty, and ending up being hated for it.
Steve Lewis
A PRESS OF CANVAS A FINE TOPS'L BREEZE
THE EVENING GUN
All by William H. White, Tiller, 2000-2001, $14.95 each, tpb, ISBN 1-888671-11-4 / 1888671-40-8 / 1888671-45-9
UK editions published by Thomas Reed Publications at£ 12.95 each.
William H. White has spent a lifetime nurturing a love for the sea and for the intrepid sailors who faced the challenges of serving in the age of sail. This love affair with the era of 'wooden ships and iron men ' lays behind his series of novels in his War of 1812 Trilogy. The War of 1812 is one of those conflicts that escape the attention of most readers and many historians Fought between the young United States and a Britain that was preoccupied with the struggle against Napoleon I, the conflict represented the last chapter in the wars between Americans and Britons. One of the principal causes of the war was the impressment of American sailors by British men-of-war.
White begins his three-volume account with the pressing of Isaac Biggs for service on HMS Orpheus. Biggs serves his time with the Royal Navy but eventually escapes and joins the An1erican forces as the war begins. The novels follow Biggs and his compatriots through service on US Navy warships, American privateers , and gunboats charged with preventing British attacks on American land targets. White obviously intends to cover the war in as complete a manner as possible by taking the reader on his tour through the varied types of engagements. His knowledge of sailing ships and nautical life is impressive and speaks well of his re search methods. His characters at times appear wooden and seem to be more stock characters fully developed people. This is definitely not Horatio 25
Hornblower. That said, the novels are far from being a waste of the reader 's time . Wooden characters or not, the drama of life and struggle on board the wooden ships is still worth the effort.
John R. Vallely
DOWNRIVER
Richard S. Wheeler, Forge, 200 I, $25.95/C$35.95, £16.25, hb , 304 pp , ISBN 0312-87845-1
Although I've enjoyed many of Wheeler 's books about the American West, this is the first of his Barnaby Skye adventures that I've read , the 12th in the series. My error.
In appearance, Skye is a comic figure , an ill-kempt ruffian with ham-like fists , a barrelshaped man , a deserter from the British Navy and a Rocky Mountain trapper par excellence. He's also an honest man in a world of shady dealings, a man who, as this novel begins , finds his world turned upside down , with the market for beaver fur having evaporated overnight. The year is 1838 , and with the good times over, gaining a position as a post trader in his Crow wife Victoria's native land means a 2000-mile journey down the Missouri to St. Louis. Not an easy trip , and there are many obstacles. There are rivals for the position, and Barnaby Skye is not a man of politics , no matter the occasion.
After a slow reflective beginning, the novel explodes into nearly non-stop action, and then moves more quietly into the not totally unexpected finale Skye's simpler (homespun) nature prevails , but you'll have to read the novel yourself to fully understand what that means. Highly recommended Steve Lewis
THE FALL OF LIGHT
Niall Williams, Warner, 2002, $24.95, hb , 305pp, ISBN 0-446-52840-4
See review in Issue 19 , Australia section.
TALLAPOOSA
Larry Williamson , Court Street Press , 200 I, $17.95, £11.24, 254 pp , tpb, ISBN 1-588380394
The novel takes place in the Tallapoosa River region of present-day Alabama in 1813. Settlers are stirring up the native tribes , called Creeks since they dwell along the riverbanks. General Andrew Jackson leads the U.S. forces; Tecumseh leads th·e Creeks and the militant faction, Red Sticks , named for their war clubs. Virginians Saul and Cal Murph work a fann with their wives, Soosquana , a Muskogi woman, and Adelin , another Virginian.
In September of 1813 , Creek Indians attack Fort Mims , 25 miles from Mobile, and massacre 350 settlers. General Jackson and a body of Tennessee regulars chase the Creeks to Horseshoe Bend and kill 600. He then reaches a truce with the Creeks, but General John Cocke 's army rides ahead, destroying peaceful villages. While back in Washington , President Madison weighs the implications of
ISSUE 20, MAY 2002
the lndian war. Creek thugs menace the sett ler s: Soosquana's broth.ers have joined the Red Sticks. The 1100 men under Jackson, including chief scout David Crockett and new recruit Sam Houston, face a withering barrage on a ridge and are forced to retreat.
The omniscient voice requires the reader to gear up for minor characters' viewpoints. One historical discrepancy: in January of 1814, Justice White says to Colonel Williams, 'My men would rather journey to Alabama country and fight the Creeks than to engage the British at New Orleans.' But the battle of New Orleans took place a year later, in January of 1815. The four main characters are so nice and non-racist that there is no conflict among them. We fear for these people because Jackson is directing the Creek war right to their doorstep. The novel gives valuable insight into the last stand of the Creeks and their heritage which still remains today.
Marcia K. Matthews
20TH CENTURY
RED POPPIES
Alai, Houghton Mifflin, 2002, $25, hb, 433pp,
ISBN 0-618-11964- 7
Published in the UK by Methuen at£ 11.99
ISBN 0413771822
The novel is set in Tibet's borderlands, where nomadic settlers received chieftain status and ruling power from Chinese emperors during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Beginning in the 1930s, the 'idiot' son of Chieftain Maichi skilfu lly describes the cultural, social, financial and political life of this bloody feudal time. The life style of his family is filled with servants, concubines, a family executioner, religious advisers, and the family historian Vast riches come from growing grain and the opium poppy, and bring guns, silver, and syphi li s.
Red Poppies won China's highest literary award, the Mao Dun Prize, in 2000. Alai tests a new field of writing with this epic novel, expected to be the first in a trilogy. His writing style is sensitive, yet sensual. He is a promising writer who dares to write of his birthplace, exposing rivalry even within a family when one parent is from Tibet and the other from China.
Jetta Culpepper
HE KILLS COPPERS
Jake Arnott, Sceptre, 2001, £6.99, pb, 327pp, ISBN 0-340-109753-1
After the hype of his first novel, The Long Firm, I was curious to find out what sort of a writer Jake Arnott might be. This, his second book, chronicles the lives of three seemingly unconnected men, Frank, an ambitious policeman, Tony, a wannabe journalist and Billy, an ex soldier and crook. Each man in his way is damaged. There are no heroes here and inexorably the 'copper killing ' of the title acts as a catalyst that effects all three.
The story covers the period between 1957
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
and 1985 and for those who feel that this is not history, let me assure them that in this case it is. The author unerringly captures the essence of the war in 1950s Malaya, the seedy side of London during the 1966 World Cup, and the polarisation of Thatcher's Britain, with the drama oftbe miners ' strike and the battles with Travellers aiming for the summer solstice at Stonehenge.
Arnott's style is crisp with an eye to the detail of changing language and unfolding social mores of the last half century. It feels entirely authentic. His story also has that page-turning quality that kept me reading in odd moments. This is very much a 'man's' story, however, and as a female, I was left wondering what happened to the women who, once they had served their purpose as far as the story went, were dropped without ceremony. That aside, this is a pacey and entertaining read Janet Mary Tomson
THE STARS CAN WAIT
Jay Basu, Cape, £10.00, pb, 146pp, ISBN 0 224 06198 4
Here is a pearl of a book, small and perfectly formed. In the autumn of 1940, in a small mining village in German-occupied Poland, Gracian Sofka is 15 years old. He works 8hour shifts at the mine, then escapes into the forest during the night , dodging patrols , to gaze at the stars with his dead father's magnifying glass, learning their names from a book his elder brother, Pawel , has given him Pawel is a mystery. Here, then gone. restless. One day Pawel gives Gracian a telescope
A poignant , harrowing rites of passage tale ofGracian learning wisdom and responsibility, which has a universal resonance. The language is spare, yet beautiful, and with vivid immediacy focuses on a small community in the grip ofconflict and subjugation. This is Jay Basu 's first novel. One can only wait for more Janet Hancock
MOONLIT EYES
Emma Blair, Little Brown, £16.99, hb , 406pp, ISBN O 316 85578 2
This novel is set in Islington at the start of WW2, where a black American family rent the house next door to Ellie Sykes and her family. Some of the locals are unwelcoming but the Postons are accepted and Ellie comes to know them and their diplomat son Julius we ll. The Postons provide help and support when the Sykes family experience hardship and tragedy. As the Blitz rages over London Albert Sykes, a fire-man, is under enormous pressure Paul, Ellie's young brother, is evacuated, making him and his mother miserable.
Ellie joins the ambulance service. Pee Wee Poston continues to play in a jazz band and he and Beulah refuse to go home while Julius is in London.
According to the PLR figures Emma Blair was the 10th most borrowed author of adult fiction last year, deservedly so. She excels in storytelling but perhaps more importantly her
books feature ordinary, pleasant, agreeable people with whom most readers can identify. The ones in Moonlit Eyes experience the same problems thousands of Londoners did, and Emma Blair relates how they cope with sympathy and compassion
Marina Oliver
THE BIG SWITCH
Jack Bludis, Design Image Group, 200 I, $15.95, £9.98, 238pp, tpb
ISBN 1-891946-10-2
Hard-boiled detective fiction taking place in the 1940s and 50s looks so easy to write-- the Hollywood private eye, the glamorous movie starlets, the buddy on the police force, the girl friend with the shady past (and present). It looks easy, but it's not. Case in point. It's 1951 , and Brian Kane is hired to follow a Hollywood star by his wife, only it's not his wife, and the girls s pending their days (and nights) with the star do not seem to survive very long.
Kane claims that he 's not a nice guy, but for a tough guy, he 's soft and apologetic. He's a walking endorsement for Camel cigarettes and Zippo lighters, but after the nth time he 'zips up a Camel,' it just doesn't seem to add much more to what we know of his character. The case itself is moderately interesting, but all the same, one gets the uneasy feeling that Sam Spade would have had it cracked in a moment. Steve Lewis
THE PHOENIX
Henning Boetius , 2001, Doubleday, $24.95, 302pp, hb, ISBN 0-385-50183-8; Harper Collins, £16.99, ISBN 0-00-710950-4 It's post WWII Rome, and Per Olsen is heading to meet a woman he hasn't seen in more than a decade. To bis surprise she recognizes him, despite his awful disfiguration from burns. However, the man she remembers is named Birger Lund, not Per Olsen. Through reminiscences he recalls the past decade , from the moment he lost contact with her during the Hindenburg disaster.
Edmund Boysen grew up on tiny island off the northern coast of Germany. Like many of the men from this island, be chose to make his living at sea. However, his fascination with the wildly popular Zeppelin airships swept him away from the seas and into the control room of the doomed Hindenburg.
These two men never meet during the fateful final voyage of the Hindenburg, yet their lives become forever entwined. Lund seeks answers about the death of the great airship. He believes Boysen knows more than he revealed at the post-inferno hearings and tracks him to his family home on the North Sea island , a bizarre and dangerous place where just being a stranger puts one's life in jeopardy.
I found this story fascinating, especially from a technical viewpoint. The author's father was a crewmember aboard the Hindenburg and survived to raise his son on stories of the great airship, stories which the author adeptly wove into this enjoyable yam.
Mark F. Johnson
THE FACE OF EVE
Betty Burton , HarperColllins 2001m £16.99 , hb , 34lpp , ISBN 0002256436
In 1940 Eve Anders and her Russian Llover, Dmitri , are selected to serve in the Special Operations Executive. Their experiences in the Spanish Civil War make them very suitable recruits , as does Dmitri ' s training in the Soviet secret Service.
They are parted almost as soon as they arrive in Portsmouth and the story then concentrates on Eve's career - her training and the bonds she forms with fellow trainees ; her first assignment in Madrid where , posing as a wealthy socialite from Eire, she moves in high society and meets the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Eve returns to England for further training and other assignments At the end of the novel she is reunited with Dmitri and the family she had left in 1937.
An interesting story with a heroine who has had such an eventful life before the start of the novel that I wondered if it was a sequel. And from a mention of ' her future self inside the Houses of Parliament ', I imagine there might be further adventures of Eve still to be recorded.
Jeanne Fielder
THE DISTANT LAND OF MY FATHER
Bo Caldwell , Heinemann , £9.99, pb , 373pp , ISBN O 434 00888 5
This is Bo Caldwell 's fir st novel which begins in 1930 ' s Shanghai and ends in 1960's USA The young Anna Schoene is living a privileged existence in Shanghai with her parents , Joseph and Genevieve Her mother is less in love with life in China that Anna or her father, but when the Japanese invade and war begins all their lives are changed forever. It is many years afterwards that Anna gradually learns her father ' s real story: from millionaire to prisoner of war (twice) and his old age in California.
This is a vibrant and moving novel in which time and place as varied as life in a Shanghai prison and downtown Los Angeles in the 1940s and 1950s are described in incredible detail. Descriptions of sounds , smells and taste as well as the visual impact are all employed in order to achieve this.
As well as a moving exploration of the father/ daughter relationship this is also a story of exile and the hurt and incomprehension which must be felt by the realisation that neither a return to a place nor a life of yesterday is possible. In the not too distant past 'history' was considered to be encompassed in the lives of the great and the good and the parts they played in world events This novel shows how the ' real' heroines and heroes are those people who carry on in the best way they can after their lives are suddenly changed by events they can never change or control. The bombing of Pearl Harbour is just one even which demonstrates this in this novel.
The character of Joseph Schoene is based on Bo Caldwell ' s uncle whose transcripts of his
THE HISTORICAL
experiences she has translated into this excellent novel. I hope more is forthcoming soon from this refreshing, accomplished new author.
Greta Krypczyk-Oddy
FANCY WOMAN
Irene Carr, Hodder & Stoughton , 2002 , £18 99, hb , 409pp, ISBN 0-340-82033-0
Warm-hearted Laura falls in love with a married man who leaves his wife to flee with her to London , but life with Ralph brings Laura only betrayal and heartbreak. During WWI, service as a VAD ambulance driver in Serbia and France provides an outlet for her courage and determination attributes which will be tested to the utmost to deal with the malice , treachery and danger that beset her when she returns to her hometown near Sunderland. She fights to redeem the mistakes of her past , regain respect and find happiness.
Irene Carr's publishers compare her to Catherine Cookson , but her powerful writing and excellent characterisation deserve to be judged on their own merits. She vividly describes the horrors of different fields of conflict , and near the end of the book I hardly dared tum the pages, so real and terrifying was Laura's fight for her Ii fe.
Jo Coles
WHILE MORTALS SLEEP
Jack Cavanaugh , Bethany House , 2001, $11.99 , £7 51 , 378pp , tpb , ISBN 0-76422307-0
The series Songs in th e Night makes an unforgettable impact on readers through this first volume Here is a book that everyone , especially those unfamiliar with this time , must read. Historical details oflife in Germany circa 1940 , with explanation of the influences of Nazi doctrine , Fascist government and the Filhrer ' s impact on youth , are masterfully presented Faith and courage of the Germans who joined the resistance create an emotional and inspirational story.
Josef Schumacker, pastor, seeks to rescue the youth of his congregation from Nazi activists It is impossible for him to stand by while teenagers become victims of evil Nazi leaders. The Fuhrer is using religious leaders' teachings in rousing presentations to young audiences. He claims support for life and youth , yet harassment, physical abuse and death spread in the Jewish population. People live in fear Josef's wife , who is pregnant with their first child , faces personal risks She discourages drawing attention to the family by public participation in the resistance The Schumacker family story clearly shows the power of a merciful God.
Jetta Culpepper
SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME
Jill Churchill , Morrow, 2001 , $24 , 230 pp , hb , ISBN: 0-060-19941-5
Published in the UK by HarperCollins , 2000 , at £8.14 , pb , ISBN 0060930705
The third offering in Churchill 's Gra ce and Favor series is by far her best. The book chronicles the lives of siblings Lily and Robert Brewster, socialites impoverished by the stock market crash of 1929. They inherit their uncle ' s Hudson River estate with the provi so that they occupy the house for ten years and are self-sufficient. Churchill admirably depict s the daily effects of the Depression on diver se groups in small communities struggling to s tay afloat.
The plot centres on the discovery of a mummified body in the estate's abandoned ice-house , but is almost secondary to the social and political commentary offered when the local newspaper editor is embroiled in the Bonus Army's march . This controversial period in American history involved an influx of thousands of World War I veterans demanding early payment of bonus pay promised them by the federal government. The former soldiers, many impoverished, set up a tent city on the Washington Mall for their families and themselves. They were ultimately tear-gassed , fired upon , and driven off by order of President Herbert Hoover. At least one veteran and child died in the melee
Churchill walks a fine line between the ' cosy ' mystery genre and social commentary. She does a good job of merging the se seemingly disparate elements and produce s an entertaining and thoughtful read
Deb Schmidle
THE LONG JOURNEY HOME
Don Coldsmith , Forge , 2001 , $24.95 , £4 37 , 400 pp , hb , ISBN 0-312-87617-3
Little Bull is a Lakota Sioux forced to assimilate into early twenti e th century American culture. Though this novel is only a fictional account of Little Bull ' s journey, it is a good starting point for readers interested in issues surrounding Native Americans
Little Bull quickly becomes known as John Buffalo to his Caucasian teacher and hi s fellow Indian schoolmates He learns to write a nd speak English , and he excel s in track and football. Because of his talents , John trav e ls across the country to attend Carli s le Indian College and play football. When John's goal to coach football fails , he find s work with the 10 I Ranch , training wild horse s. And the adventure has only begun
Don Coldsmith has cr eated unforgettable characters in his latest novel. A re view cannot accurately depict how realistic and enjoyable the journey home with John Buffalo really is, touching the heart of this re ader in this wellwritten and thoroughly re s earched depiction Although the pace does slow a bit here and there , this novel is a joy to read.
Melissa Galyon
THE SILENT LADY
Catherine Cookson , Simon & Schu s ter, 2001 , $25 , hb, 348pp , ISBN 0-7432-2761-1
Published in UK by Balck Swan , pb , £ 2 99 , ISBN 0552146854
ISSUE 20 , MAY 2002
1n 1955, a frail, dishevelled and somewhat disoriented woman dressed in rags enters the upscale office of a respected London solicitor asking to see Mr. Armstrong. Although the receptionist is hesitant to comply with her request, she calls her employer and tells him that a woman with a name that sounds 'something like Barndoor' is in the outer office requesting to see him and is shocked by his vehement reaction to her news. Thus begins the story of Irene Baindor, wife of a wealthy business magnate, who had mysteriously disappeared without a trace in 1929 - leaving behind her adored four-year-old son as well as a husband with a penchant for violence. As the story unfolds, the reader is drawn into the woman's missing years and, ultimately, the repercussions when her son learns that the mother he had thought dead for years is still alive. The truth behind her disappearance shakes him to the depths of bis soul and culminates in a confrontation between father and son that changes both their lives forever.
Although the writing at times tends to go a bit purple, I found this novel to be a very compelling read. This is a story about physical and emotional abuse and , although the subject matter is tragic, it's also a story about redemption and the underlying resilience and goodness of the human spirit.
Pat Maynard
TREACHEROUS WATERS
Teresa Crane, Little Brown £16.99 hb, 3llpp, ISBN O316 84818 2 Annie, widowed by her young French husband in I 915, bas married an older man once for the sake of her son, Davie, and is thinking of doing this again when she meets Richard Ross, a lawyer who works in both Paris and London. Does she accept staid Fergus, or romantic Richard? Both have secrets and these are gradually revealed. Annie has a phobia about water, so refuses ever to return to Paris, but Richard is determined she shall go and imbues Davie with an intense desire to see the city where he was born. ls Richard the attractive, loving man he seems, or something sinister?
This is compulsive reading as Teresa Crane draws one into the story simple as it appears on the surface. The characters are diverse and believable, the interaction totally credible. The plot unravels slowly at first, but never flags, and reaches a sometimes shocking conclusion. A thoroughly enjoyable read.
Marina Oliver
THE HOUSE OF BLUE MANGOES
David Davidar, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2002, £16.99, hb, 42lpp, ISBN 1-86159-196-9
This first novel traces three generations of a Christian Tamil family, the Dorais, from 1899 to 1947, crucial years in Indian history. The novel begins with Solomon, headman of the Southern Indian village of Chevathar, and his strugg le s with the destructive horrors of caste
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
warfare. When Solomon is killed , one son, Aaron, joins a violent anti-British revolutionary movement and is imprisoned The other son, Daniel, is disowned as a coward but moves away, makes his fortune in cosmetics and then goes back to turn Chevatbar into a Utopia of family farms and small industries. Daniel's son, Kannan, escapes Chevathar to work on a British tea plantation just as Gandhi's movement begins to bite. He must decide if he will become a 'brown-skinned Englishman' or return to his roots: Chevathar.
Davidar plunges us into the complex broth of South Indian life: caste, class, mythology, politics, family tangles and traditions, food, farming and weather. Tamil words are strewn through the text adding to the colour; he offers no glossary, but repetition and context clarify many of them. His Indian characters are generally vivid and three-dimensional , the Dorai men and their wives particularly so. The British, perhaps inevitably, are often stereotypes: snobbish memsahib , racist planters and Old India Hands. The 'curry priest' , however, is a lovely creation. Davidar, who once ran Penguin India , implies through a series of small incidents that the cultures cannot meet. Kannan's English friends cannot pronounce his name correctly while his Indian friends resent his English table manners. The British civil servant is contemptuous of Indian Christians. The English planter gone 'native' becomes an alcoholic madman. A sadder symbol is Kannan's Anglo-Indian wife who is openly despised by both races. The Dorai family like and trust the British, believing chaos will follow their departure but Kannan senses his future must lie with Chevathar and the restoration of his father's Indian dream. No easy solutions are offered and the novel is the stronger for that.
There is some lurid writing. 'The skirts of the Great War brushed past India', is pretty unforgivable, especially from a publisher. The publisher bit may also exp lain the occasional impression of slickness: a very conscious try for a bestseller. But overall, the novel throbs with Davidar's love for South India . Solomon's tour of his villages and farms is magical as are the descriptions of the tea plantations of the Coromandel Coast. The food sounds fantastic. Altogether, this is an enjoyable and often thought-provoking novel of India.
Lynne Guest
FIRST GRAY, THEN WHITE, THEN BLUE
Margriet de Moor, Overlook, 2001, $25.95, £16.25, hb, ISBN l-58567-137-1 'Incoherent fragments. Nothing but fragments. There is no through line in my life's composition ' might characterise this incredible first novel. Winner of the prestigious Ako prize, this story flows like a winding river--curving here and there, taking the senses where it will, twisting with vivid
descriptions and tantalizing words that change taste as the reader rolls them off the tongue. This is a love story, a murder mystery, and an enigma .
Originally from the Netherlands but moving to Canada during WWII, free-spirited Magda marries Robert, a Dutch artist. Their love is true and passionate, but Magda holds private those parts of herself Robert yearns to possess. They live in varying degrees of bliss in a Dutch seacoast village until Magda takes a bus to town to visit relatives , but from there keeps on going. She is gone for two years, telling Robert nothing. Her sojourn moves her, like a leaf on a languid stream, from one affair to another, from one shore to another until she finds herself back in her Canadian home . Eventually, she returns to Holland--to be murdered.
Robert and Magda's best friends are Erick and Nellie and their autistic son, Gaby Before she leaves home , Magda spends much time with Gaby talking about astronomy. She gives him books and a telescope and perhaps is bis only friend. Before Magda left , Erick had become her lover, and it is he who finds her body.
Shifting points of view, person, and verb tense at times make for confusing reading. But in spots the writing is poetic beauty, whether the reader makes a connection or not. The novel presents an intellectual feast that will keep thoughts ruminating and wondering: Who was Magda, really?
Meredith Campbell
EUREKA
William Diehl, 2002, Ballantine, $25/C$38, £14.39, 440pp, hb, ISBN 0-345-41146-3 I not only devoured this book, I went out and bought four others written by this author and have since read three of them. Readers may recognize this author as having written Sharky s Machine and Primal Fear, both of which were made into motion pictures. I believe this novel is his finest work to date.
Thomas Culhane is a poor kid in turn-ofthe-century Eureka, California, where the Wild West still thrives and baseball is just beginning to catch on. He escapes bis seeming ly deadend existence in Eureka by enlisting in the Marines. He heads to Europe to fight in World War I and comes home to Eureka a wounded hero. Shortly after arriving, he becomes the deputy sheriff and embarks on a mission to clean up his hometown. Two decades later Los Angeles detective Zeke Bannon is investigating an apparent accident that takes the life of a lonely widow. Some things about the unfortunate spinster don't add up, and before long he's heading to a town called San Pietro, formerly known as Eureka. There he runs into Sheriff Thomas Culhane, now a candidate for governor and the fun begins. Fast paced, enthralling, and well written, this novel is highly recommended.
Mark F. Johnson
ISSUE 20, MAY12002
THE SILENT WOMAN
Susan Dodd, Morrow, 2001 , $25 , £15 65 , 336pp , hb , ISBN 0688170005
In the summer of 1914 , the love affair between Austrian artist Oskar Kokoschka and Alma Mahler, the widow of composer Gustav Mahler, is unravelling. Oskar ' s passion for his beloved Almi knows no bounds. Faced with the knowledge that her ardour is waning, he makes a last ditch effort to impress Alma by obtaining a commission in the army, hoping to come home a war hero.
Four years later, wounded , shell-shocked and deeply tormented by memories of his great love , Oskar arrives in Dresden. Unable to paint , he descends further into depression , obsession and madness. His saviour is his landlord ' s housekeeper, a simple , unassuming girl from the country. Hulda , whom he rename s Reser! , sees to it that he is fed and cared for. Moreover, she aids him loyally in his bizarre attempt to recreate his life with Alma.
Susan Dodd reveals the roots of Kokoschka's mania using a combination of flashbacks , letters and narrative revelation. Certain phrases and images recur like leitmotifs throughout the novel. The postWWI setting punctuates though doesn ' t define the novel. The emotional and physical wounds Oskar suffered in battle are nothing compared to the pain inflicted by Alma ' s betrayal. This novel of unrequited passion , loss and recovery will create a lasting impression Alice Logsdon
FUP
Jim Dodge , Canongate 1997 £5 99 , pb , 89pp , ISBN 1-84195-259-1
Fup is packed with contradictions. It ' s not strictly a historica l novel but it feels like one At 88 pages including illustrations it 's minuscule , but reads and satisfies like a book three times its length. It's crude and s ubliminal , hilarious and incredibly moving.
Set in the coastal hills of northern California , Pup is the story of Jack Santee , 99year-old unreformed gambler and maker ofOI ' Death Whisper hooch Having lived the life of work-shy reprobate he finds him self suddenly responsible for his orphaned grandson Tiny (so called because he grows to an enormous size) who develop s into a fence-builder extraordinaire Into their live s one wild night , comes Pup the duck , a mallard with attitude and a huge appetite. She becomes their constant companion , sipping whiskey with old Jack , going with Tiny to build his fence - until Tiny comes face to face with his old enemy, the wild boar Lockjaw
This is a wonderful little book that manages within the constraints of little more than a short story to produce subliminal descriptions , deep philosophy and just about every emotion under the sun. An ideal story to tuck in your bag if you're short of room but in need of a quality read on the train
Susan Hicks
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
THE CASE OF THE MURDERED MUCKRAKER
Carola Dunn , Minotaur, 2002 , $23 95 , £14.99, hb , 262 pp , ISBN 0-312-27284-7
This, tenth in the series featuring British writer Daisy Dalrymple, finds her in 1923, newly married to Detective Chief Inspector Alec Fletcher of Scotland Yard. While Alec is in Washington consulting with J Edgar Hoover, Daisy is in New York to meet her editor. When they leave the office , a reporter - one who has made many enemies in New York and Washington - is killed. Soon Daisy finds herself in danger because she witnessed the murder.
This is a light-hearted , fun book. Aside from the comic characters Daisy me ets in New York , Daisy is a great character as well--strong and independent, she has gone against her aristocratic mother ' s wishes by becoming a writer. Carola Dunn gives us a fine sense of 1920s New York. Even though I guessed who the murderer was relatively early on, the focus is on the characters and the setting, rather than the resolution to the mystery. I haven ' t read any of the previous books in the series , but I enjoyed this one so much that I intend to go back and read the others .
Vicki Kondelik
INSECT DREAMS:
The Half Life of Gregor Samsa
Marc Estrin , BlueHen (Penguin Putnam) , 2002 , $26.95 , hb , 480pp , ISBN 0399148361
Written a in a crisp, entirely absorbing style , describable only as inescapably intriguing, Insect Dreams unearths a debate , which , while possibly unconscious , nevertheless rages in all of us This profound work chronicles the life of Gregor Samsa , generally common man and mere cloth salesman become cockroach and weighty philosopher, who is given a unique place from which to observe humankind and its ultimate ends. Covering most of the major events of his time, from post-World War I Vienna through the age of the atomic bomb in America , Gregor reflects profoundly on where humankind is going Searching for the elusive , yet enticing purpose of human need for philosophical truth through this immutable lens of transformation , Gregor is presented with the inexorable contradictions of human nature and its final consequences
Few texts of philosophy can deal with such a subject with the same honesty and clarity of this work. While the actuality of exi s tence is, as always , an incomplete act , this work shall rank among those that serve to guide our opinions and thoughts Ambitious and yet delivering all and more than its implied promises , Insect Dreams is beyond essential reading, it is essential thinking.
Jesse Dubuc
THE YEARS WITH LAURA DIAZ
Carlos Fuentes , Harcourt , 200 I , $ I 4 , tpb , 518 pp , 0-15-600756-8
Published in UK 2001 by Bloomsbury, hb , £14 39 , ISBN 0747552118
See review in Issue 17 , U.S. section.
THE GATECRASHERS
Alexander Fullerton , Little Brown , £17 99 , hb , 388pp , ISBN O 316 85760 2
Alexander Fullerton is an author who , although no household name has a loyal public library following He has been quietly writin g expert naval thrillers for nearly fifty yea r s, ever since the enormous success of Surface (1953), a terse and taut drama ba sed on hi s own experiences of submarine warfare in th e Far East. Particularly admired has been hi s series about Captain Sir Nicholas Everard , Bart, R.N. and his son Paul , also a naval officer. The Gatecrashers is the 9th and final novel of the series : it was first publi s hed in 1984. The story is based upon the true exploits of a small fleet of midget submarines which were sent to destroy the 'Tirpitz ' and other German destroyers harboured in the northern fjords of Norway, and it makes a fittingly climactic end to the Everard saga
I found the laconic bravery and austere determination of the characters was portrayed succinctly, using calm understatement , while Fullerton ' s grip of the technica l challenges and hairspring tension of submarine warfare seemed thoroughly convincing The final chapter, briefly tracing the fate of the Everard family after the war is frustrating for it s sen se of futility after all that they have been through The book and the series might have been better without it , leaving the reader to imagine wh a t happened afterwards. But I suspect Fullerton would say that it faithfull y mirrors preci sel y what does befall war heroes when wa r is over Overall though , an hone s t, direct and compelling telling of a ke y naval episode of the Second World War.
Mark Valentine
THE WORLD AT NIGHT
Alan Furst , Random House , 200 2 (cl 99 6) , $11.95 / C$17 95 , 257pp , tpb , ISBN 0- 3 75758585: Published in the UK in 1998 by Harpercollins at £5 59 , pb , ISBN 0006510973 Paris and France are the s ubject of thi s nove l, even more so than the men and women cau ght by the German advance of 1940 . The man Casson, film producer and lo ver of women and beauty in all forms , comments frequently throughout the book on France or Frenchness as expressed by picking a perfect cheese for supper or the qualitie s of hi s ex-wife Parisienne to the depths of her soul - she ma de her self beautiful. She s melled deliciou s, and she touched you accidentally.' The occupation creeps into this narrative slowly and gradually turns to horror. The allusion s to the Fren c h character turn defensive . The minor characte rs are vivid and stud the book freely The baroness living downstairs from Ca ss on , collaborating somewhat kinkily with a Germ a n officer hides Casson ' s true love at the moment of truth. The National Meteorological officer who finds Casson outside his upper s tory window escaping from the Gestapo exclaims, 'Bon Dieu Well then , Mon sieur, I expect
ISSUE 20, MAY 200 2
you may want to climb in here and permit us to hide you.' Casson's actual career as a spy is ludicrous , painfully futile, more so for his filmmaker's viewpoint. The ending is neither tidy nor the tragedy you expect.
Mary K. Bird-Guilliams
THE LONG HOME
William Gay, Faber & Faber, 2002, £10.99, pb, 257pp, ISBN O 571 21090 2
Nathan Winer is a young carpenter raised believing that his father ran away when he was a small boy. Only the old man, William Tell Oliver knows what really happened to him and he can't bring himself to tell the story. As he grows older Winer finds clues that lead him to conclude that his father is dead, but even then he does not guess the horrific truth.
Amber Rose's father is dying and her mother has taken up with Dallas Hardin , a violent bootlegger, and their lives are increasingly curtailed by his tyranny.
As lovers, Winer and Amber Rose find a brief happiness together but an old evil is closing in on them and even when William finally finds the courage to talk it is already too little too late. Action is what is needed now.
William Gay writes with a distinctive voice, sketching an illusion of everyday life in rural America during the 1940s where everything seems coloured a depressing shade of brown The dismal life of the local folk emerges slowly, a life dominated by poverty and toil. It does not make for optimistic reading which is surely the author's intention.
Loneliness underpins the entire novel and every action seems to result in another missed opportunity or wasted life. It is an unusual story of revenge where justice has been too long denied.
Sara Wilson
HEAVEN FORBID
Christopher Hope , Macmillan 2001, £14.99, hb, 327pp, ISBN O 333 72465 8
The story is told by six year old Martin and the freshness of Christopher Hope's style convincingly portrays the candour of a child.
At the beginning Martin enjoys an idyllic life with his mother, a war widow, and his grandparents. His grandfather, a wonderfully eccentric character, is an Irish Catholic and an extended family of uncles surround Martin with love but the central person in his life is Georgie, their black servant who is treated as one of the family. A jarring note is introduced when a neighbour, Doctor Verwoerd, invites Martin into his home but insists that Georgie waits outside.
Because we see everything through Martin's eyes, we are not told directly that the place is South Africa, the time 1948 when the Nationalist Party came to power and adopted the iniquitous policy of apartheid. There are clues, provided the reader knows what
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
happened in South Africa at that time. Martin is too young to realise what is happening but, as his world falls apart it mirrors the tragedy which engulfed the country for almost fifty years.
Worst of all for Martin his mother forms a relationship with a strict Presbyterian who is both cruel and a racist. Using the pretence of jovial teasing he goads Martin and humiliates Georgie. At the end of the book we are left to imagine Martin's future with his new father and, by implication, what awaits Georgie and his fellow black countrymen.
Ruth Nash
UNDER THE GREEN MOON
Maree Giles, Virago, £6.99, pb 408pp, ISBN l 86049 904 X
I recognise that any book read automatically grade according to some unconscious criteria. Under The Green Moon falls into the category of serious women's' literature - a book with some depth. Set in 1930s Australia, it tells the story of Daisy, an isolated girl, trying to make sense of the world and beset by a mystery concerning her grandmother. Hints and innuendoes rub shoulders with well observed detail concerning young Daisy 's family life , her father's barber shop where she entertains the customers at the pianola and the physical geography of the Australia of Botany Bay. The characters are three dimensional and the politics of the time convincingly woven into the story.
The bottom line concerns the relationship between the white settlers, often poor, who see themselves as the real Australians, and the aborigines, viewed in the l 930's as little more than animal life. Daisy is out of step with the world around her. At school an aboriginal girl becomes her friend. At home her parents' new friends have a son who abuses her. Her sister is vindictive for no apparent reason. None of these experiences she can share. And then there is Lawson, the man she is coerced into marrying.
The writing is evocative, often powerful , and well worth reading; but I did have two reservations. The book begins with a flashback concerning the mysterious grandmother. In style it bore no resemblance to the rest of the novel and I found it distracting. Conversely, at the end of the book I felt cheated, being left without some much needed answers . Perhaps the mystery of the grandmother, which is half spelt out quite early in the story, went on too long. Despite this, this is a book I would recommend as a good read.
Janet Mary Tomson
TOO DEAD TO SWING
Hal Glatzer, Perseverance Press , 2002, $13.95, £8. 73, tpb, 234pp, ISBN 188028453-7 This may be unique. Here's a mystery novel based on an audio-play, which I haven ' t heard ,
but as a fan of Old-Time Radio, I'd love to. More than a detective story, this should appeal to fans of the big bands of the pre-war 1940s as well, as murder stalks the all-female Ultra Belles as they wind up a tour of California by train.
Telling the story is violinist Katy Green, who doubles as both saxophonist and sleuth, as the occasion arises. Women didn't get much respect as musicians in those days, nor jobs, except as singers, or in bands that were all-girl only. Glatzer knows the music of the period, and re-creates to perfection the camaraderie and the pent-up frustrations of life of the road- not to mention the magic of moments when eveoything falls together on the bandstand, making it all worthwhile.
The mystery itself is enjoyable but not to be taken too ·seriously. One cannot imagine the tour continuing ever onward to the next engagement, if members keep falling by the wayside as they do here. But if the somewhat worldly but still charming Katy Green is ever involved in another case, or her fust brush with solving a crime is told, I'll be among the first in line to read it.
Steve Lewis
WILD LIFE
Molly Gloss, Houghton Mifflin, 2001, $13, £8.14, 255pp, tpb, ISBN 0618131574 Wild Life charts the life of Charlotte Bridger Drummond, a rather freethinking woman. The action takes place in the Pacific Northwest logging towns and forests in the early 1900s. The story emerges through a series of diary entries, character sketches, quotations and short stories collected by Charlotte and found years later by one of her grandchildren.
Charlotte supports herself, her five sons and her housekeeper by writing action/adventure stories with heroic, self-sufficient female protagonists. She wears trousers, smokes cigars, and condescends to act in a more 'womanly' fashion at all costs. She loves her sons but lacks certain closeness with them. So it is somewhat out ofcharacter that she goes to search for her housekeeper's granddaughter, who has gone missing. Charlotte believes that she will be successful in finding the little girl after so many men have failed. One also suspects that for all her claims to the contrary, she does house maternal instincts.
The turning point in the novel comes when Charlotte reaches the logging camp and starts in on the search. After only a few days , she herself becomes lost. Alone in the wild, she must face her fears or die. I won't reveal how she accomplishes this or who are her rescuers. Suffice it to say that Gloss exce ls at making the unbelievable very believable, while at the same time juxtaposing the honour of the wild with ignoble civilization. The pleasure of reading this book is doubly rich in that the writing is as complex as the subject matter or the characters. This would make an excellent select ion for a book group.
Alice Logsdon
ISSUE 20, MAY 2002
THE DISAPPEARING BODY
David Grand , Random House , 2002 , $24.95 / C$37.95 , £15 62 , 416pp , hb ISBN 0-385-500034-3
This is an extremely literary second novel by an author whose first book, Louse , was selected as a New York Times Notable Book Set somewhere in the late 30's (all dates are given with a dash , but it is post-Prohibition and pre-WWII) in a thinly disguised New York (referred to only as ' The City ' ) , the non-linear story is only slowly revealed to the reader When Victor Ribe , an unreformed junkie , is clandestinely released from jail after serving 15 years for a murder he didn ' t commit, he finds himself on the periphery of a complex plot designed to nail the corrupt police detectives who framed him for murder, jailed private detective Benny Rudolph , and killed ace reporter Sam Rapaport. But the soi-disant heroes of this fragmented tale are just as corrupt as the villains. Though Victor eventually finds happiness , and some of the guilty are punished , the reader feels no real sense of victory
There is no strong sense of historical period in this novel, either in attitudes or setting From the characters ' actions and motivations Th e Dis app earing Body has much more a sense of the Fifties than the Thirties, particularly the violent anti-Communist sentiment that forms a linchpin of the plot.
The publisher calls this a ' noir thriller,' and because of similarities in style and content it should have a strong appeal to those who enjoyed the recent Cart er Beats th e D ev il by Glen David Gold. Warnings of foul language , excessi ve violence , and drug use . Rosemary Edghill
CATSKILL
John R Hayes, St. Mart in ' s Press , 2001 , $23 95 / C$33.95 , £14 99 , hb , 272 pp , ISBN 03 I 2-28153-6
Set in a small town in the Cats kill Mount a ins of New York State on the eve of WWil, Catskill assembles a multicultural cast to create and to solve a mystery. Why do three young men fire rifles into a dilapidated farmhouse packed with immigrant Jewish families taking a respite from the city? Why is a local woman inside the hou se a t the time and why is she dead ? Why does Martin Collins , a major landowner and former politician in the Tammany machine , take an interest in the case ? What doe s sheriff' s deputy Potter Washington know about the crime? Hayes weaves these seemingly disparate characters and their motives into a compelling story. Dialogue is vivid; characters are lifelike, if briefly sketched. Very short chapters keep the story moving at a fast pace The twists and turns of the ca se kept me gues s ing almost to the end , b ecause while several strands are unravelled , more than one secret is revealed One weakness of the book, however, is that so many characters are introduced that the reader has difficulty identifying with any of them . Mary L. Newton
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVlEW
WAR STORY
Sara Hely, Headline, 2002 , £17.99 , hb, 442pp, ISBN 0-7472-6861-5
Maggie Dunlop is the daughter of a dour gamekeeper. In 1939 she escapes from her abusive father by becoming a nursery maid at Dulcimer Hall , where her life is interwoven with those of the family members. Antonia , the merry widow, is searching for a wealthy new husband ; Lord Dartmore is divorced , dashing and deadly; and then there's David , a young American cousin with dreams of joining the RAF.
Maggie's job takes her from Scotland to Sussex, London , America and back again She forms strong friendships and is threatened by some unexpected enemies. Eventually a seemingly doomed love affair forces her to return home to Scotland and uncover the truth about her past and that of her parents Only then can she secure a happy future.
War Story is a satisfyingly chunky bookan epic adventure to be enjoyed over several sessions and not simply devoured in a single bite Sara Hely writes with both compassion and humour, which she uses to breathe life into a rich array of characters and to tell a compelling love story. As a gifted storyteller should, she maintains a steady pace and rhythm throughout to keep the reader turning the pages.
As seems fashionable these days, Sara Hely's publishers are likening her to an established , best-selling, author - in this case Elizabeth Jane Howard - but she merits much more than that. Her work is not a pallid copy of someone else ' s style, but uniquely her own Sara Wilson
THE RUNAWAY HEIRESS
Stef Ann Holm , Sonnet , 2002 , $6 99 , £4.37 , pb, 400 pp , ISBN 0-671-7754-99
Stef Ann Holm gives fans of romantic comedy a reason to come back to the romance section of the bookstore Set in 1911 , the novel carries readers across the great state of Texas with a laugh a minute and warm fuzzies to last at least a week or two . Come on back to romance , y ' all , this novel ' s a treat!
Twenty-something Evelyn Thurgood-Baron makes a decision almost unknown to her station. Her father, owner of the Baron Oil empire , selects an appropriate yet completely unattractive husband for her. Forced into a corner, Evelyn runs away from home, hoping to finally experience life on her own. On the way from Beaumont to California , Evelyn runs into a New Orleans policeman , Luke Deveraux, who's also on th e run. They both get more than they bargain for.
Th e Runa way Heires s was so much fun to read , I can ' t help but recommend it. And I'll be on the lookout for any more from Stef Ann Holm Enjoy!
Melissa Galyon
LOOKING AFTER YOUR OWN
Evelyn Hood , Little Brown , £17.99 , hb , 338pp, ISBN O 316 84918 9
A tenement block in Paisley is the setting for this wartime saga , set in I 941 and this is the story of the hopes , dreams and struggles of the inhabitants to make ends meet and survive the war. The McCosh parents perform in a dance band and when they have to practice they keep the other inhabitants from complaining by sending their daughter Chloe round with a clootie dumpling The ingredients a re provided by black marketeer Ellen Borland whose apartment is furnished like a palace , and whose schemes are increasingly involving 13 year old Ralph , brother of handsome youn g fireman Dennis Morgan whose heart belong s to Chloe, even though he sees her a s a child Then there is lame Lena , newlywed Cecilia whose husband is away fighting and soon most of them are going to have various surpri ses to cope with.
This is an easy book to read and wartime Paisley is well enough described. The story starts immediately, introducing the reader to virtually all the characters one by one as Chloe goes round the tenement with the dumpling However, there isn't enough conflict in it and the story ends rather abruptly, making me wonder if there is going to be a sequel and if not why we are still up in the air about variou s things , as all the plots haven't been thoroughly explored. It is an entertaining tale though and if you think sagas are harrowing, then this one isn't - but a bit more incident would have brought the background and characters (the book's two strengths) to life wonderfully Rachel A Hyde
LAST YEAR'S RIVER
Allen Morris Jones , Houghton Mifflin, 200 I , $24.00, £15.02 , hb , 324pp , ISBN 0-61813161-2
Virginia Price , a teenage socialite from a wealthy New York family, becomes pregnant after being raped by her fiance , Charlie - a rape that her relatives refu se acknowled ge She is sent west , to Wyoming , to give birth in secrecy and there she meets Henry Mohr, a young rancher left mentally and emotionall y exhausted by his experiences in the trench es of World War One and the continual abu se of hi s father.
Although the two seem to ha ve very littl e in common they soon becom e love rs. When Charlie arrives to try and claim his bride , it force s Virginia and Henry to reasses s their feelings for each other Against all odds th ey have fallen in love and want to try and build a Ii fe together
The story is told from the per s pective of Virginia as an old woman , looking back on her life. Although on first appearances this plot has much in common with that of a saga , La s t Year ' s River is a much weightier novel than would be expected of that genre It is a beautifully told , bittersweet, love story, full of subtle nuances and imagery There is an almo s t dreamlike quality about much of the action and although there are sorrows these are never melodramatic
The writer has an eye for delicate detail and an ability to focus on a small story set against the immense landscape of the Rocky Mountain We s t without ever losing any sense of intimacy
Sara Wilson
MOBTOW
Jack Kelly, Hyperion , 2002 , $23 95 / $32 95 (£14 84) , 271pp , hb , ISBN 0-7868-6615-2
Ike Van Savage is a hard man working as a s tereotypical hard-boiled private detective in a period piece set in the Rochester, New York of the late 1950s Van Savage ' s life is complicated by his remorseless desire to bring a semblance of order to a universe that rewards the lawbreaker while ignoring the innocent. His ordeal begins when a beautiful woman comes to his office asking for aid against a husband she believes will attempt to murder her. Van Savage takes the case but soon finds himself embroiled in the private lives of local gangsters. He follows the leads wherever they ta ke him and meets violence with equal violence in his quest for the truth. The tough Van Savage is made more human by his touching relation s hip with his daughter but the loving father is not the same man as the driven private eye. Mobtown is not populated with the Robert Parker type of wisecracking detective. A good story, a believable setting, and a pretty girl in distress - all the ingredients of a perfect hard-boiled detective novel.
John R Vallely
IGHTWATCH
Stephen Kendrick, Pantheon Books , 2001 , $23 / C$33 , £14.40 , 272pp , hb ISBN 0375403671
Mr. Sherlock Holmes , renowned investigator, has been called to the scene of a mutilated corpse - that of a priest , found in a church hosting a secret meeting between important representatives of the world ' s leading faiths Unfortunately, evidence indicates that the murderer is still within the church among these religious dignitaries.
For the Sherlock Holmes fan , this book is another in a collection of those trying to carry on the Doyle phenomenon. Amazingly, this one works and works well enough to combine another literary, investigating hero - Father Brown. Here is a thriller that effectively combines politics , religion and ethics in 1902 London . Not only has Kendrick managed to rea sonably add to the Holmes and Brown sagas , he has done so quite well. The novel draws less on the newly Edwardian time period and more upon the church and religious history. This is not unexpected considering the author is a member of the clergy. Perhaps the admonition to write what you know has served Kendrick well as he draws on his knowledge of the church to enrich the tale. This darkly engrossing, psychological novel will delight the most discriminating fan.
Alycia Harris
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ROSCOE
William Kennedy, Viking , 2002 , $24 95 / C$35 99 , hb , 291pp , ISBN 0-67003029-5 : Will be published in UK in September 2002 at £15 99 , ISBN 0743220730
As a long-time resident of Albany, New York, it was with a sense of wonder that I read of Albany streets and buildings and its seeming history. Albany is not New York or Paris or London--it rarely features as the setting for a novel. But the Pulitzer Prize-winning Kennedy's novel is not parochial. He has developed a whole world based in Albany, in this and previous works Roscoe takes place in 1945 around the time of VJ Day, but there are numerous flashbacks to earlier periods. Layers upon layers are built up to describe the period in uncanny detail , centred on the Albany Democratic Party machine in the first half of the 20th century. Roscoe Conway is one of a triumvirate who controls the party Roscoe ' s entire life is bound up in politics. He struggles with his morals, 'As I am incapable of truth so am I incapable of lying, which is, as we all know, the secret of the truly successful politician. ' The Democratic machine of the period is as corrupt as they come. The phrase 'vote early and vote often' describes the situation at the polls accurately; the police chief is Roscoe ' s brother, the mayor is the son of Roscoe ' s closest friend , and a previous mayor was Roscoe's father Relationships are central in this story.
In an author's note , Kennedy says that while some of the events described actually happened and some of the people may seem to be real, Ros c oe is a novel and they are invented. However, I'll never think upon Albany history quite the same way again His vivid characters and engaging characters have easily supplanted what I know of the actual historical figures they so closely resemble (at least outwardly). I strongly recommend this book even to those who haven ' t heard of the city. By the time you finish , a larger-than-life Albany will have come alive for you . Trudi E Jacobson
THE APPRENTICE
Lewis Libby, St. Martin ' s, 2002 , $12 95 / C$17 95, £8 11 , tpb , 239pp , 0-31228453-5
Libby, who is Vice President Cheney's Chief of Staff and National Security Advisor, has written an atmospheric piece with an unusual setting. The action takes place in 1903 in a remote rural village of northern Japan , and much ofit occurs during a massive snowstorm. The title character is an apprentice innkeeper, helping to run a very isolated inn in the absence of the proprietor. A mysterious man arrives at the inn one night during the height of the snowstorm looking barely alive, but upon glancing into the inn, he turns and runs back out into the blizzard. He is followed by two hunters who have been staying at the inn, and then by the apprentice , all claiming to want to try to save the man. There is a great deal of
mystery about the hunters , the man who ran off, and shadowy others who appear in the region during this tense time between the Sino-Japanese and the Russo-Japanese wars The apprentice rather unwittingly becomes mixed up in these intrigues, while at the same time he becomes mesmerized by a young woman who has arrived at the inn with a motley band of performers.
Libby is extremely effective in depicting the claustrophobic and primitive atmosphere of the inn , filled with wayfarers unable to leave during the storm. In relation to the two women of the performing troop, he adds elements that some might find erotic, but that I found disturbing. However, the book gave a very good sense of a place and a time I've not read about before.
Trudi E Jacobson
GRACIE'S SI
Freda Lightfoot , Hodder & Stoughton , 2002 , £18 .99 , hb, 372pp , ISBN 0-340-82000-4
Serving in the Women's Timber Corps during WWII was no less extraordinary an experience than in the Women ' s Land Army (as portrayed by Angela Huth in The Land Girls). Freda Lightfoot's research included interviews with women who had served in the WTC. It is imperative that we (I write as a Baby Boomer) preserve not only their experiences and their contribution , but also their achievements.
Like Land Girls , this story focuses on the lives of three young women: Lou , Lancashire mill lass , Gracie, a religious fanatic's daughter, and Rosie , exploited by her bounder of a brother. But the book never really comes alive. The characters are fairly wooden, the dialogue stilted. The uneven quality of the plot makes the narrative seem awkwardly self-conscious. This is a pity since there is much to admire in the way women ' s wartime lives are depicted That their contribution was undervalued (and still is) is an important point. It's disappointing that the quality of the narrative doesn ' t match that of its subject.
Geraldine Perriam
DEAD MAN RIDING
Gillian Linscott , £12.99 , pb , 314pp, ISBN 86049 919 8
This is the 9th book featuring the suffragette investigator Nell Bray In it the author (who won the CWA/Ellis Peters Historical Dagger 2000), takes the reader back to the first murder Nell ever investigated. The 23 year old Nell, an undergraduate at Oxford , is invited to spend the summer in the Lake District as one of a mixed reading party studying philosophy. But it is 1900 and the authorities will disapprove The young people, believing themselves to be following a perfectly rational course, refuse to be swayed by other people's irrationality. Driven to solve the murder mystery which presents itself, Nell discovers certain things about herself and about truth that inspire her to undertake her later cases. This is not a pageturning thriller but a skilfully written , ISSUE 20, MAY 2002
absorbing, thought provoking read which challenges the reader to absorb every line. For me, skipping historical detail and topographical description was not an option.
Monica Maple
LOVELY GREEN EYES
Arnost Lustig, Translated from the Czech by Ewald Osers, Harvill 2002, £12.00, pb, 248pp, ISBN I 86046 716 4
Although her family has been exterminated, a twist of fate means Hanka Kaudersova escapes certain death in Auschwitz by becoming a prostitute in an SS brothel. She is a fifteen year old Jewish girl but her ginger hair and green eyes disguise her origins. Her continued existence depends on servicing twelve men a day.
As the German army begins to retreat and liberation is imminent, Hanka escapes before she can be executed. She faces cold, starvation and fear with only her hatred to sustain her. Even after the war has ended she will never escape from her past.
Arnost Lustig writes with the supreme authority of one who has first hand experience of life in a concentration camp. He examines with brutal simplicity and honesty the dreadful survival instinct that makes us desire life even at the expense of family and friends. He also meets Hanka's moral paradox head on: is it a greater sin to be a whore to the killers of her race or to allow herself to be killed?
This book is frequently harrowing, not because of its portrayal of senseless cruelty but because it forces readers to examine their own attitudes and instincts. What would each of us do to ensure our own survival?
Occasionally, a novel emerges that is more than just a story, one that illuminates the human condition. Lovely Green Eyes is such a novel.
Sara Wilson
ALL THE DAYS AND NIGHTS
William Maxwell, Harvill , 2002, £7.99, pb, 415pp, ISBN I 86046 935 3
A collection of short stories which spans more than fifty years. After reading them I felt that I had covered pretty much every character-type that life can throw at us. 'If you turn the imagination loose like a hunting dog, it will often return with the bird in its mouth.' Aspiring writers would do well to learn from this master of the craft whose scope is impressive
I found Over by the River rather drab. It describes the life of an upper-middle class family in post-war New York. The characters seemed to wallow in their own boredom while around them; others worked hard , died or escaped.
In The Pilgrimage, a couple are rude to a French waiter because they were dumb enough to land themselves in the wrong restaurant. The main characters are like cardboard cutouts living in a parallel world. By contrast, What Every Boy Should Know
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
is a sensitive and delightfully written story about a boy's transition from childhood to adolescence. A Game of Chess is a classic tale of sibling rivalry and touches the raw nerve with exquisite dialogue. From here onwards there isn't a duff tale.
The book is divided into two sections. The first is comprised of twenty three shorts. The second is sub-titled A Set of Twenty One Improvisations which I enjoyed more as the author steps into other worlds. A Mean and Spiteful Toad is a modern fairy tale which resonates in the mind for a long time afterwards.
Sarah Crabtree
SO LONG SEE YOU TOMORROW
William Maxwell, Harvill 1998 , £6.99, pb, 135pp, ISBN 1 86046 418 I
In Illinois during the early years of the twentieth century two tenant farmers have become bitter enemies. Their row, fuelled by jealousy and anger, leads to murder and suicide. It also leads to the severance of a fledgling friendship between Cletus Smith , son of one of the farmers and the unnamed narrator.
Many years later the narrator still harbours feelings of guilt over words he left unsaid. In reparation he decides to write a reconstruction of the tragedy and so come to terms with the events of the past.
William Maxwell combines brevity of language with complexity of action to craft a perfect snapshot of the past. As with painted miniatures, So Long See You Tomorrow makes every brushstroke count encompassing a whole scope of pain and regret which is rarely accomplished, even in doorstep-sized books.
Sara Wilson.
OUR YANKS
Margaret Mayhew, St. Martin's Press , 2002, $24.95/C$34.95, £15.62, hb, 339 pp, ISBN 0312-28740-2
After August 1943, life in the rural village of King 's Thorpe is never the same. Even more cataclysmic than the deprivations and losses suffered by its inhabitants since Britain declared war in 1939 is the arrival of the American airmen who took over the abandoned RAF base on the outskirts of King 's Thorpe. At first the villagers view the Americans with resentment or, at best, reservation. After a bumbling beginning, however, the generosity and loose cordiality of the Americans wins over the natives. This transition is related in several stories that typify associations experienced by American soldiers and English citizens throughout Britain. The rector's daughter, Agnes Dawes , reluctantly falls in love with Ed Mochetti, an American fighter pilot. The young, recently widowed Lady Beauchamp and Colonel Shrader, the base commander, have a brief affair. There are others, the star-crossed lovers , Sally and Chester; ten year-old Tom who, helps his impoverished family by establishing 33
an entrepreneurial relationship with the Americans; and Miss Cutteridge, a spinster, who befriends a lonely, young American airman.
The author was a child during this period and accurately portrays the attitudes of suspicion, distrust, and scepticism the villagers felt when the Americans first descended on them. She easily shows the gradual acceptance of the Americans until they become affectionately known to the people of King's Thorpe as 'our Yanks.' The American dialogue is sometimes awkward to the American ear because in Our Yanks, Texans, Midwesterners, and New Yorkers sound the same. This is a minor flaw in an otherwise well-written story. This novel is the author's valentine to the American soldiers stationed in Britain during World War II
Audrey Braver
OFFICER OF THE COURT
Bill Mesce Jr. , Bantam , 2001, $23.95/C$35.95, £14.99, 34lpp, hb, ISBN 0-553-80178-3 It's 1943 and World War II rages across the world. Major Harry Voss of the Judge Advocate General's office, fresh from a politically awkward case in London, has been rewarded with a posting in America. And on a remote Scottish beach, two war-weary flyers discover a body; a single death in a world high-piled with corpses - a death that drags Harry Voss into another unsavoury investigation. For the dead man was Lt. Armando Grassi, a JAG man whom nobody liked, including Harry Voss--and he was murdered. And Harry Voss isn't a lawyer to let a case go unsolved just because he despised the victim.
Drawn into the investigation by Captain Woody Kneece , Voss follows Grassi's trail from London to Greenland to Scotland and beyond, to the war's front lines in Italy. Unravelling the tangle of corruption and deceit, Harry Voss once again proves that dogged persistence can produce at least some justice, even in an evil world.
I found this 'war noir' an utterl y engrossing book ; I promptly went out an d got the first Harry Voss mystery, The Advocate, which was just as good. Harry Voss is an ordinary man enmeshed in a world of horrors beyond comprehension--which doesn 't stop him from pursuing truth and honour as best he can. Although this series takes place in a wellrealized World War II setting, Harry's moral dilemmas are timeless.
India Edghill
BEHOLD, THIS DREAMER
Charlotte Miller, New South, 2000, $27.95, £11.86, bb , 510pp, ISBN 1588380025
This is the first in a trilogy that will take readers through the life of Janson Sanders. Through her artful storytelling, Charlotte Miller has captured the essence of two people's dreams. Janson loses everything that be loves and sets out on a journey that he
ISSUE 20, MAY 2002
hopes will bring back his dream: to buy back his family's land. In the rural south during the I 920s, Janson 's experiences are clouded by the fact that most others only wish to see that he is part Cherokee and part 'poor white'; they fail to look inside at the true man. To earn money to buy back the land he has lost, he eventually comes to work for William Whitley, a wealthy landowner in Georgia. Life appears to be working out for Janson until he falls in love with the landowner's daughter, Elise. Elise and Janson struggle to overcome their differences enough to learn that they share a kindred spirit--that of a dreamer.
It is here that Janson discovers that a man can have more then one dream. He and Elise learn through some hard lessons : that life doesn't always hold what we hope for us, in spite of our dreams.
Shannon Wally
THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY
Charlotte Miller, ew South, 2001, $27.95, £17.50, 341pp, hb, ISBN 1588380548
This is the second novel in a trilogy depicting life in the rural south during the late 1920s. In Behold, This Dreamer, Janson Sanders had fallen in love with Elise Whitley, a wealthy landowner's daughter. They have tried to follow their dreams, despite all the tragedy that has befallen them. Janson has brought his family back to Alabama, to the place where he was raised. Despite the loss of his hard-earned savings, in his attempt to have his land and a life with Elise, he has returned home determined to make a home for his family It is here that Elise discovers that her dream of a family and life with Janson is not the fairy tale she grew up with. However, through her own inner strength, she learns to love the land and support her husband in his bid to do right by his family.
Janson and Elise grow together as a family through the Depression years and learn that it is possible to come out on the otherside of adversity with their dreams still whole.
Shannon Wally
THE CAPRICES
Sabina Murray, 2002, Houghton Mifflin, $13, £8. 14 , 209pp, tpb, ISBN 0-618-09525X
The nine stories here are bound together geographica lly by events occurring in a rough triangle between Australia, the Philippines and the Marianas Islands during WWil. Connecting them all again is the theme of caprice, a 'sud den change or series of changes hard to predict.' Only one story gives that name to the entire volume, but the fickleness of fate is present throughout the book. Rarely is the lighter side of capricious fate depicted here , and I found these dark, nearly relentlessly tragic stories rough going at times. However, the illustration of these events is also refreshingly diverse. Many of the stories' underlying themes are built on the social interactions of these mingling groups: the Japanese, the Brits and the Indians , the
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
Australians, the Yanks, the Filipinos and other island people. The author handles these with insight and experience. One story is a sort of Treasure of the Sierra Madre puzzle; another is a macabre tale of family revenge. One U.S soldier is rescued by Filipinos, survives the war and reencounters his rescuers years later, another duo of Yanks are surprised their Japanese prisoner speaks English. The piece from the author's memories of her Manila relatives has lighter moments, but it also illustrates why the author feels compelled to write these stories in this vein.
Mary K. Bird-Guilliams
THE BANYAN TREE
Christopher Nolan, Anchor, 2002, $13, 374pp, pb , ISBN 0-385-72068-8: published in the UK by Orion, 200, £5.59, pb, ISBN 0753809427 The new paperback edition of Nolan's 1999 novel should nudge those readers who haven 't already partaken of this reflective lyrical narrative. Spanning nearly the entire 20th century, The Banyan Tree is the story of Minnie O'Brien and her life in Drumhollow, Ireland. We begin at the end of Minnie's life , as she re-lives her years with her parents , her early married life with her husband Peter, the chores on the farm, the births and lives of their three children, and her final years as she struggles to maintain the farm for her youngest son, Frankie, who left home at an early age but whom, Minnie is sure, will return someday. The eldest son, Brendan, is called to the priesthood, the middle child, Sheila, departs to become a nurse, leaving Minnie to put all her hopes in Frankie. The small-town setting comes to life in Nolan's descriptions of the house, the activities of churning butter and riding the bus, the clock bought on the brief honeymoon in the big city of Dublin, and the greed of the neighbour who lusts after the O'Briens' five fields.
There are similarities with Richard Llewellyn's How Green Was My Valley, not only in terms of the narrative - the elderly protagonist reflecting on the passage of time, family, events - but also in the use of colloquial language.
This is not a novel to race through, and readers looking for a fast-paced story line should look elsewhere. Instead , this book is to be read and savoured, as the tempo of the words reflects the slower, more contemplative eras of the story. Part poetry, part Joycean idiom, Nolan's unique style will appeal to those with time to absorb his layers of meaning
Helene Williams
WRITTEN O THE WI D: Daughters of Fortune, v.1
Judith Pella, Bethany House , 2002, $18.99, £8.14, 46lpp , tpb , ISBN 0-7642-2421-2
Written on the Wind is the story of the three daughters of a man who had been determined to have sons. Cameron, Blair and Jackie Hayes have never lived up to the expectations of their
father. Their story takes place in the United States and Soviet Union just after the U.S. enters into the melee of World War II. The book is filled with Christian overtones which prove to be the highlight of the story. This Pella does do well, writing it rather delightfully with the lightness of a brushstroke . Would that the rest of the novel read so well. Pella's characters and plot are immensely predictable, and one can easily guess the direction it is heading. The substandard dialogue gives its characters neither credit nor intelligence. The author could easily have added brilliance to what could have been an enjoyable novel.
Wendy Zollo
THE LAST CAMEL DIED AT NOON, Elizabeth Peters, Constable & Robinson 2002, £5.99, pb , 416pp, ISBN I 84119 387 9 Yet another adventure of the irrepressible Emerson family. Radcliffe , Amelia and their son, Ramses are involved in the search for an explorer and his bride who went missing in the Sudan twelve years previously.
Disasters follow one after another, first with the desertion of their guides and then with the death of their camels. They struggle on, surviving the rigours of the desert only to find, once they are rescued, they are prisoners in a lost city.
Although prisoners they are privileged. In the middle of a power struggle they have to find their way out of an explosive situation, rescue the innocents who must be separated from the double-dealers whilst at the same time trying to make archaeological sense of the place and live to fight another day. It would be a bold native who would try to lay hands on the 'Father of Curses' and his spouse.
The story is well-written and carries the reader along. A glaring comparison to King Solomons Mines is unavoidable, especially as Rider Haggard is often referred to throughout the book. Even so there was enough originality to overlook this and the tongue-in-cheek treatment adds a light touch which is missing with Haggard.
A good escapist read for a dull Sunday afternoon.
Mary Tucker
OLD MEN AT MlDNIGHT
Chaim Potok, Knopf, 2001, $23/C$33, £14.40, hb , 273pp, ISBN 0-375-41071-6
This trilogy of related stories features one woman, Ilana Davita Dinn, writer, feminist and collector of stories. In the first tale, she tutors a sixteen-year-old boy who needs to learn English. A stern but caring teacher, Davita soon penetrates the serious shell of the youth who was devoted to a synagogue ark builder--before the Germans invaded his Polish village where he was the sole survivor. In the second tale , Ilana Davita is a Columbia graduate student who accompanies a visiting Soviet lecturer trying to forget his painful past.
ISSUE 20, MAY 2002
Davita insists he share his stories with the world, to which he responds , 'Who needs stories of yet another Jew ?' Months later, she receives a package , one of three he sends of his stories. He decides to share them with the world, his stories of 'yet another Jew' who suffered. The final story brings the nowfamous writer I.D. (Ilana Davita) Chandal to the house next door to Benjamin Walters , writer of military history, who is nursing a dying wife. The neighbours exchange hellos , then smiles, and soon coffee, doughnuts and ideas. Both have stories to tell , but Benjamin has kept himself out of his writing. But, through his acquaintance with Davita , he learns more fully who he really is.
These powerful stories stress the need to pass on our experiences. For the Jewish reader, the non-Jewish , and the noncommittal , these moving and insightful stories stay in the memory long after closing Mr. Potok 's book.
Tess Allegra
UNDER AN ENGLISH HEAVEN
Robert Radcliffe , Little Brown , £12.99, pb , ISBN 0316 859907
Suffolk in the summer of 1943 meant American bomber bases In this novel Robert Radcliffe , an experienced pilot, tells of the effect on the village of Bedenham over a 6month period of the 10-man crew of the Flying Fortress Misbehavin' Martha , as they carry out their 25 designated bombing missions. Initially demoralised and ill-disciplined , and from a variety of backgrounds , the men gradually bond together under the leadership of Lt. John Hooper, -himself struggling for sanity and redemption from an earlier trauma On the ground several storylines develop , including two love stories, while for 14-year old Billy Street, a London evacuee uneasily billeted with the village blacksmith , the Americans' presence provides opportunities for adventure and money-making.
The book is permeated with a tremendous feeling of place: lyrical descriptions of the Suffolk countryside; and time: Spam casserole and Wootton (the Food Minister) pie. The technical details and descriptions of bombing raids are impeccably researched The opening scenes shock: an extraordinary evocation of the turbulence and horrors of war. Because of this and the way the characters are introduced , I struggled to identify who the story was about, indeed what it was about. I found changes of viewpoint - often every few lines within the same scene - disorientating , leading me to feel the author was telling me the story and distancing me from the characters; that it was everybody's story and yet nobody 's. Young Billy was the one I felt for most. To round off all the storylines the author gives us biographical details of the main characters 40 years on, plus a description of the post-war decline of rural Suffolk. A lot of information in a short space, again distancing the characters. The last word, however, is with Billy, who in middle age still remembers those
who befriended him when his shirt tails were hanging out.
As a story of fighting in the air during WWII this novel , with its action and authenticity, has been compared to the fighting underground in WWI described in Birdsong, although for me it didn ' t have the latter's emotional pull. Whether it will be the war story of the year, as has also been claimed, remains to be seen.
Janet Hancock
THE BERMUDA INDENTURE
Marvin Rogers, Court Street Press , 2001, $18.95, £ 11.86 , 286 pp , tpb, ISBN 1588380114
The Bermuda Indenture hinges on a title search, which sounds like one of the most boring tasks in the world, but to give Rogers credit , he makes it interesting and engaging. At stake is the ownership of land in Alabama that is currently producing lots of oil, making the purported owner, commodities broker Peyton Durant , quite rich Is the real owner Melviria Hawkins , a poor, elderly black woman who may be the only direct descendent of Raymond Herbert Durant ? In 1994 , Alabama lawyer Zack Whitcomb's search takes him from New Orleans to Bermuda where he tries to discover why the crucial document , the Bermuda Indenture , went astray. The 'w hy' hearkens back to the Civil War when Bermuda and its British inhabitants were friendly to the South and helpful to blockade runners An accounting made by a shipman on one such ship in I 863 explains why the document did not reach its destination.
While the plot is engaging, those who populate it are less so. Characters are good or bad , no shadings at all. We root for Hawkins and we dislike Durant. Rogers also overuses internal exposition, having characters recount their past actions as if they have to remind themselves what they did and why they did it. What the author does succeed is at place , and I enjoyed the travels from Alabama, to Louisiana, to Bermuda I just wish the tour guides had been more interesting.
Ellen Keith
MURDER AT THE PRESIDENT'S DOOR
Elliott Roosevelt , St. Martin's Press , 200 I , $23.95/C$33.95, £14.99, hb , 232pp, ISBN 0312-27499-8
A dead body is found just outside President Roosevelt's door Preferring that the murder be kept from the public, First Lady Eleanor enlists the aid of a trustworthy Secret Service Agent and an equally dependable lieutenant from the D.C. police. Beside the proximity to the President and the concern about assassination, there are other worries about this puzzling murder. Evidence would indicate that the killer well knew the layout and routines of the White House.
Readers will expect to find a story involving intimate details of presidential life , as the 35
author is Elliott Roosevelt , son of Franklin and Eleanor. They will not be disappointed Set in 1933, the story abounds with details about the Roosevelts and other prominent figures of the period. The story does not expand much beyond the White House , but it does include interesting descriptions of period entertainment, lifestyle , and current events. This mystery is readable , fluid, and enjoyable, but in a market inundated with mysteries, this story does not stand out: it lacks that sparkle that makes it noticeable
Alycia Harris
THE EMIGRANTS
W.G. Sebald , New $10.95 / C$15.99, £6.39, 8112-1366-8
Directions , 1997 , tpb , 237pp, ISBN 0-
Sebald died tragically in December of 200 I , the victim of an auto accident. This book is composed of reflections on four people displaced from central Europe, either to England or to America. The stories are narrated by others - a tenant , a student, a relative, a friend - which provide some distance but also a blurring of the speaker's voice. The narrators are speaking from the present (or not too distant past) , but the memories they disclose primarily centre on the period from the First World War through the second. The four sections never really coalesce, but have elements in common other than the fact that their subjects are emigrants. All are suffused with a sense of place, both original homeland and new loca le Some characters seem beset by a so rt of paral ys is of action, and the image of rubbing out and starting over, though never completely, recurs. The book is peppered with photographs that reflect the stories. These photographs were a source of wonder for me: they matched the text so well, I almost had the feeling the author started with the photographs and built the stories around them, rather than vice versa. Since I expected some sort of summing up , 1 was slightly disquieted by the lack of a conclusion. But the book was eminently engrossing, such that I will seek out the too few others he wrote.
Trudi E. Jacobson
THE RINGS OF SATURN
W. G. Sebald, New Directions , 1998, $23.95 / C$3 l.99, hb, 296pp, ISBN 0-8 I 121378-1 : published in the UK by Panther, £6.39, pb , ISBN 1860466095
This historical novel is especially recommended for British hi story buffs and those curious about the country. They will find this tour through history unusual in presentation , yet pleasantly rewarding. In August 1992 an unnamed teller of this story begins a journey through England in a walk back through time. Readers venture through historical towns, buildings and along the shore where the powerful city of Dunwich sank into the sea. Much of the people, politics, culture and the times are sensitively told in a strange
ISSUE 20, MAY 2002
series of ten chapters. Along the way the traveler meets such personalities from the past as Thomas Browne, Algernon Charles Swinburne and Joseph Conrad who keep the story moving between the past and the present. A collection of photographs is incorporated into descriptions.
This book is unlike any other I've read. History is presented much like a series of dreams in which the mind recalls facts while visiting historical sites and imagining conversations with personalities of those times
Jetta Culpepper
VERTIGO
W. G Sebald , New Directions, 2000 , $13.95 / C$19 95 , 263pp , tpb, ISBN 0-81121430-3: published in the UK by Panther, £5 59 , pb, 1SBN1860467342
Like memory itself, this novel embodies and transcends time and ranges from the mid-18th century to the present. Essentially, it consists of four unequal parts. In the first and third , the unnamed narrator imagines the Italian wanderings of Marie-Henri Beyle (i.e Stendhal) and Franz Kafka , two authors whose presence haunts the novel. In the more elaborate and labyrinthine second and fourth parts, the narrator ' s own wanderings are reminisced. In this process of remembering, time is disjointed as the narrator revisits first Vienna then Verona and finally his childhood village , only identified as W. During this journey, the story drifts randomly from the 1940s to the present, with occasional forays into a more distant past. It is during these childhood musings that the novel's fractured plot becomes coherent. Memory's relation to space and time , we discover, is the central character
At first the novel is disorienting and confusing, but it is always compelling. It draws the reader along and into a world of twisting and turning relations between reality and the memory of that reality Clearly, Sebald ' s first novel is challenging, but it is rich in historical and cultural detail , and ultimately the reader is rewarded for the effort Gerald T Burke
SEA GLASS
Anita Shreve, Little Brown, 2002, £12.99 , pb , 328pp , ISBN 0-316-85910-9
If you , like me , are an avid Anita Shreve reader, then you will recognise the setting straight away Once more she transports us to Fortune's Rock on the New Hampshire coast and once again much of the action takes place in the same house that featured in Fortunes Rocks and The Pilots Wife. Here , its inhabitants are the newly-weds, Sexton and Honora Beecher. Sexton is a typewriter salesman with a new car and a smart suit and Honora is looking forward to making the perfect home out of the derelict property. Both are young and on the threshold of a good life . But life for a young married woman can be
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
lonely. Every day she walks along the beach looking for sea-glass - shards of broken bottles and other rubbish worn smooth by the action of the waves. But this is 1929. The stock-market crashes and the resultant tidal waves is set to engulf them Sexton loses his job and he and Honora are close to losing their home as well. Sexton takes a menial job as a worker in a cotton mill in the nearby town of Ely Falls. He becomes morose and depressed When wages are cut, a strike is organised and the house in Fortune ' s Rock becomes the focus of the protest. This leaves little time for Honora and Sexton to discuss their marriage , which begins to unravel. The strike committee throws together a group of differing characters under Honora's roof and the dynamics of the various relationships form the emotional core of the novel.
Anita Shreve always writes in a clear, understated way, which, contrary to expectations , increases the emotional intensity of her work. S ea Glass is no exception. The image of a piece of broken glass rubbed smooth by rough seas is a perfect metaphor for the characters , although it is never forced. This is a beautiful and haunting novel from a mistress of her art.
Sally Zigmond
NIGHT JAZZ
Jill Shure, IUniverse, 2001 , $19.95 / C$32 .95 , 372pp , tpb , ISBN 0-595-16686-5 : published in the UK by Writers ' Club Press, £16 99 , pb , same ISBN Jeri Devlin goes to New York on October 23rd, 1999, to try to find her brother, Paul , who vanished mysteriously six months before. She stays overnight at the same hotel and in the same room he stayed in before he vanished , and when she wakes up in the morning, it's October 24th, 1929. Very quickly, Jeri gets some good news and some bad news: Paul is here in the past, too. And he doesn't remember her or the future. Jeri is determined to rescue Paul and to survive here in a past that seems familiar and alien by turns. What she doesn't count on is falling in love.
This is a wonderful recreation of the world of 1929, with a loving attention both to the details of everyday life and to the reactions of a modem-day woman suddenly plunged into the world of 70 years before. Unlike some time-travel romances, the period detail is as important as any of the characters, and the heroine spends as much time reacting to 1929 as she does to the hero, the dishy gangster Lex Rose Night Ja zz made me instantly want to pack my bags and find a time machine. Read it even if you never read romances: it's that much fun
Rosemary Edghill
ALL VISITORS ASHORE
C.K Stead, Harvill, 2002, £6.99, pb, 150pp, ISBN 1 86046 936 I
This New Zealand novel portrays a bohemian community living in 'the first year of the
second half of the twentieth century' on the Takapuna shoreline of Auckland. It engages the reader for a short while in the lives, hopes and dreams of an array of interesting characters. They have wonderful names like Melior Farbro, the artist and elder statesman of the group; Carl Skidmore, the budding novelist and something of a stud and Celia Skyways, the Zen Buddhist and former nun who is not all she seems.
It is not the action that provides the greatest interest so much as the verbal trickery and sheer cleverness in the telling. This slim volume has the feel of a long poem with recurring motifs and phrases that linger in the mind There are long passages of stream of consciousness with whole blocks of prose unparagraphed that sweep the reader along There are also shorte r examples of just a phrase or idea that stop the reader in his tracks by their inventiveness.
C.K Stead is the only New Zealand writer to have won the New Zealand Book Award for both poetry and fiction and this novel wonderfully combines elements of both genres Read it for the language alone and you will not be disappointed
Ray Taylor
SHAMROCK GREEN
Jessica Stirling, Hodder & Stoughton , 2002 , £18.99, hb, 448pp, ISBN 0-340-81847-6 The setting is Dublin on the verge of rebellion and WWI. Sylvie and Gowrie McCulloch live in the Shamrock Hotel which belongs to Gowrie's family of wealthy brewers. They have a beloved daughter Maeve , who, I gathered, was not Gowrie's. The marriage is one of convenience and when self-centred Sylvie leaves Gowrie for IRA gunrunner Francis Hagarty, Gowrie tries in vain to warn her that he's no hero but an unreliable glory seeker. Disillusioned, Gowrie joins the British army while Fran drags Sylvie and Maeve into political strife as the Easter Rising takes place. Gowrie finds brief happiness after the horrors of trench warfare and Sylvie and Maeve struggle to survive as revolution and suppression rage about them. This is a strong novel with well-drawn characters , although it helps to have read the previous novels featuring the same people.
Mairead McKerracher
WATCHERS OF TIME
Charles Todd, Bantam, 2001, $24.95 / C$35 95 , £3 75, 339 pp, hb, ISBN 0-553-80179-1 Watchers of Time is the fifth novel in the Inspector Ian Rutledge mystery series. Set in 1919, it places Rutledge in the Norfolk town of Osterley, where the murder of a priest requires his Scotland Yard expertise. He soon suspects that this murder is no simple robbery gone wrong, as the local police would like to believe. Why was the priest obsessed with the sinking of the Titanic? And what was his connection to the local lord's daughter-in-law, who disappeared around that time?
ISSUE 20, MAY 2002
Suffering from shell-shock, and haunted by a ghost, Rutledge is a detective to care for. He, and the many characters in this novel, appear very real. Meticulous description of these people and their environment evokes both time and place . But I felt there was too much description ; the novel sometimes meandered , as if the author hesitated to act. That said, it held my attention, and the mystery proved impossible to solve until the final pages.
Claire Morris Bernard
KLEBER'S CONVOY
Antony Trew, Robert Hale, 2002, £16.99, hb, 191 pp, ISBN 0- 7090- 7021- 7
Another tale of WWII naval operations (see review of On Desperate Seas, Issue 15), this was first published in 1971. Note to budding authors: perhaps Hale aren't getting many new sea story submissions. Your competition is this tale of a Russian convoy and an escort captain with too many personal demons. The author, a veteran of the Arctic convoys, writes with an authority it would be very difficult to emulate. The descriptions bring the reader as close to an understanding that someone who wasn't there is likely to get.
The human-interest side inevitably pales in comparison. It's mostly told in flashback, and the characters could do with a bit more depth Mr. Trew has a habit of letting German characters speak German, and providing a translation immediately afterwards, which I found rather irritating. Still, a fair amount of tension is generated, and it held my interest to the end.
Martin Bourne
THE YELLOW SAILOR
Steve Weiner, Overlook, 200 I , $26.95, £ 16.88, 220pp, hb, ISBN 1-58567-169-X
In 1914 , the German freighter Yellow Sailor, owned by Julius Bernai , sa ils from Hamburg. Among its crew are four men : Nicholas Bremml, Jacek Gorecki, and brother s Karl and Alois Dach. Shortly after, through mishap, the ship sinks in the Gulf of Danzig, yet they make it ashore. Thus begins the story of their interwoven journeys as they drift through a war-ravaged Europe searching for life's purpose. The main storyline focuses on nineteen-year-old Nicholas as he wanders from prostitute to prostitute in search of love . Jacek, avoiding numerous disasters, achieves his goal of landing a job in a mine. Karl and Alois stumble from one misadventure into another, both together and separately, sometimes barely escaping with their lives. The story also weaves in the adventures of Julius, who, although avowedly homosexual, falls in love with a doctor's fiancee after checking himself into a hospital for nervous disorders.
Weiner's novel is dreamlike and surreal which mirrors both the physical and mental landscape of this era. At times, the narrative along with relentless staccato sentences can be jarring; still it is a fresh, if trying, examination
of a hallucinatory chapter in history.
Gerald T. Burke
LAND OF DREAMS
Peter Yeldham, Pan Macmillan Australia, 2002, AU$18.50, tpb, 464pp, ISBN 033036331X
This novel follows the lives of two civilians through the duration of the Second World War. Sam Delon and Florence Carter meet during a family vacation in Australia under the shadow of the war. During this peaceful interlude, the two forge an intense bond that will sustain them throughout the darkest days ahead. Upon his return to Japan, Sam, a foreign national , finds himself on the wrong side of the conflict. He attracts the attention of the feared Kempetai (Japanese military police), and his plight worsens as the war intensifies. Meanwhile, on the Australian home front, Florence unwillingly finds herself swept along by the undiscriminating turbulence of war when her husband Carl is arrested on charges of espionage.
Despite the publisher's claim that the plot revolves around an ' unusual love story,' at its heart Land of Dreams is a chronicle of civilian life in the Pacific during WWII. It depicts a myriad of wartime woes and predicaments from food rationing and bombing raids to government propaganda campaigns and espionage dramas. The plot is sufficiently unpredictable to capture the reader's interest through the book 's 450-plus pages. Unfortunately, the narrative suffers from a lack of character development and emotional depth A lacklustre quality pervades Sam and Florence's personalities, preventing them from evolving into the complex, living individuals they could be. This book may interest readers who desire to learn about everyday life in Japan and Australia during the Second World War and who enjoy a plot full of twists and turns, but who can also overlook the book's particular flaws.
Andrea Connell
MICHAEL'S JOURNAL
L.M. Young, !st Books, 2001, $12.95, £10.37, 138 pp, tpb, ISBN 0-75964-694-5
The diary form used in this novel gives an immediacy to long ago events, but slogs through a lot of commonplaces. Michael, the narrator, is an affluent young man who li ves in New York City. At the outset of World War I, he tries to enlist but is rejected as too small and slight, so he goes home and has another glass of rye. He wants to leave his mother's house but has no way to support himself. When he announces his intention, she offers to continue his allowance. He finds an apartment in Greenwich Village and experiences freedom for the first time. He gravitates to Bohemians, foreigners and socialists and learns how poor people survive. He befriends a relief worker and begins to write stories about the common people. Watching a woman die of starvation,
37
he wonders, 'What is my Mother doing now? ls she at a club lunch , a garden tea, or... a charity event, where she is surely wearing her skirts pulled up just so to avoid the ground upon which she walks.'
Michael takes an intere st in the dead woman's young son, Washington. Stricken by influenza , Michael hallucinates and his perceptions become surreal. He hears voices. I feel impatient with a character who can't live and love whole-heartedly, but is forever discontent and incomplete. Then he reunites with Washington. He too hears guiding voices, and has become the black Evangelist E lijah Broom. Life becomes real, something to savour. Michael's prized possession, a toy circus, becomes a symbol of his life as Elijah's publicist. TheiI shared danger in Tennessee and Texas propels the intensity toward a tragic denouement.
Marcia K. Matthews
PANAMA
Eric Zencey, Berkley, 2001 (cl995), $14, 387 pp, tpb, ISBN 0-425-17833-1: published in the UK 1996 by Sceptre, pb, ISBN 0340657227 Historian Henry Adams, unlike his Presidential ancestors, is content with a nonpolitical career. Circumstances, though, contrive to bring him into the center of the French Panama Canal scandal as he searches for a missing acquaintance, Miriam Talbot. His investigation soon reveals that she is connected to a list of chequards that could implicate many French bureaucrats in the Panama Canal's mismanagement. Adams' troubles increase as he finds himself assisting the French authorities with a murder case that could very easily end up pointing to him as a suspect.
Eric Zencey's background as a scho lar is evident as he inserts details like the pneumatique, a Parisian method of transporting messages through underground tubes, neatly into the story. Zencey also shows Adams' struggle with his memories of his deceased wife and with the intentions of the other women in hi s life. At times, the momentum of the book is s lowed by Adams' grieving process, but the story's sometimes gruesome, yet unexpected twists certainly redeem any philosophical wanderings. A detective novel with an introspective edge, this book will be of interest to those who enjoy the history of the Panama Canal.
Suzanne Sprague
SALT
Isabel Zuber, Picador USA, 2002, $25, £17.39, hb , 368pp, ISBN 0-312-28133-1
Young Anna Stockton's childhood ends when she is sent to work for a well-to-do family. Her employers' tragedy ends that job, but not before Anna has been exposed to another world where books abound, knowledge is prized, and the love between a husband and wife is tender and unabashed. Anna is never the same.
Back home in Faith, North Carolina, she meets John Bayley, a twice-widowed farmer, a man driven to prove himself on more than one level. John knows a good thing when he sees it and sets out to win Anna. Although ultimately she gives in to her passion for John, Anna knows she could be giving up her chance at the kind of fulfilment she needs.
At first glance, Anna might seem to be an ordinary North Carolina farmer's wife near the tum of the last century, only prettier. Her hands are toughened from hard work; her countenance is stem yet compassionate. She sacrifices for the good of her children. But there is much more Anna possesses a depth that her peers seem to lack - a depth witnessed by a precious few of those who know her. She thinks more , understands profoundly, and secretly longs for what might have been had she not married. She incurs John's displeasure and risks ostracism by abandoning the church. John occasionally glimpses his wife's mysterious core, and he both fears and resents what he does not understand.
Salt is a fascinating study of characters removed from us as much by mindset as by years. Still, both Anna and John possess the flaws and the virtues that render their struggles timeless.
Kelly Cannon
MULTI,PERIOD
THE BEOTHUK SAGA
Bernard Assiniwi, St. Martin's, 2002, $25.95, £16.25, hb, 34lpp, ISBN 0-312-28390-3
Bernard Assiniwi, a member of the Cree nation, has intertwined his knowledge of native peoples with a lifetime of anthropo logical study to write an 800-year saga of the first natives of Newfoundland.
The novel is divided into three sections. The first tells the tale of Anin, who circumnavigates the island of Newfoundland and returns to his village years later with four wives and a host of new sexual customs. Their progeny become the Beothuk people. Here, Dr. Assiniwi proves himself an imaginative storyteller, capable of weaving his knowledge of native skills and recent anthropological findings into the fabric of a powerful single narrative. As the novel progresses, however, the novelist begins to struggle with the anthropologist. The second section of the book jumps ahead five hundred years, to a period of prosperity for the tribe, but also a time of increasingly violent contact with Europeans. In the final section, the Beothuk are a people harried and hunted, and the tale unwinds to its bitter end. Among the harrowing list of atrocities, no image strikes us more deeply than that of Shanawadithit, the last living Beothuk.
Dr. Assiniwi has written a powerful book chronicling the worst of any country's colonizing past. One nagging question remains: Why were the Beothuk people killed
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
off entirely, when other natives of the areathe Inuit, the Micmac - continued to thrive? On this we are left to ponder. And we do, for The Beothuk Saga is a novel that haunts long after the last page is turned.
Lisa Ann Verge
THE GRASS MEMORIAL
Sarah Harrison, Hodder & Stoughton, 2002, £14.99, hb , 599pp, ISBN 0-340-76755-3
There's an awful lot of flicking back an forth in a book set in three different eras: best to have three bookmarks!
This novel begins at the end. From there the narrative fans out, unfolding the stories of Stella, a 1990s popular singer-songwriter knocking 40, adored by every man in her audience; Spencer, who grows up in 1930s Wyoming then comes to Britain as a fighter pilot; and Harry, a Captain in the Light Brigade during the Crimean War. Apart form a tenuous connection with a chalk horse carved into an Oxfordshire hillside, nothing seems to link them. Each story is interesting in its own right, has its own large cast of characters: potentially three novels in one. There is much evidence of detailed research, especially in the Crimean scenes. The writing style is varied and appropriate to the settings: from the measured restraint of the rural 1850s to the inyour-face culture of which Stella is part. There are some very moving scenes, while the descriptive passages are very evocative. Yet, all the time I was reading I was asking myself where it was leading. When the clues connecting the three stories did appear, like signposts, they struck me as a series of coincidences, and one question was never answered: intentional, perhaps, on the part of the author. An imposing book based on an ingenious idea, but ultimately, for me, the parts proved more interesting than the whole.
One major quibble, which could be rectified in paperback: dates. The headings on pp 6, 478, 559, 585 are confusing. The narrative suggests these events happen over a few months, not in different years. Similarly, on p5 5: this section concerns Spencer aged 1114, surely 1931-4 ; and on p 145 : Spencer couldn't have been 18 in 1942.
Janet Hancock
LA TOUR DREAMS OF THE WOLF GIRL
David Huddle, Houghton Mifflin, 2002, $24, £15.02, hb, 196pp , ISBN 0-618-08173-9
Suzanne Nelson is an art historian at a small university in Vermont. She is an emotionally detached woman who is hard to like ; her husband is a successful advertising executive who seeks emotional intimacy outside his marriage. Back in 17th century France, Vivienne Lavalette , the 15-year-old daughter of the village shoemaker of Luneville, poses for the aging painter Georges de La Tour. La Tour is fascinated with the girl because she has a triangle of dark hair on her shoulder that is
considered the mark of the wolf; he thinks of Vivienne as the Wolf Girl.
Anyone hoping to find a book about La Tour is in for a disappointment. There are no obvious parallels or correlations between the two stories, and there is an appalling lack of description and atmosphere. Perhaps most unforgivable is the lack of research. It seems that the author attended an exhibition of La Tour's work and was taken by the paintings and the fact that records tell us of La Tour's boorish behaviour. While Huddle is correct that the beautiful paintings seem at odds with the artist's actions, he never follows through with his characterization. Mr. Huddle also has La Tour painting Vivienne in the nude, though we have no evidence that he ever painted any nudes. This perhaps could be forgiven, were it not for the fact that nothing else about the La Tour part of the book seems well thought out. Even those completely unfamiliar with this artist will note the lack of depth and detail in the depiction of 17th century France.
Alexandra Ceely
ZEELAND, Or Elective Concurrences
Hans Koning, New South, 2001, $25, £15.66, hb, 255 pp, ISBN 1-58838-050-5
This novel moves along two tracks, one beginning in 1941 with an American enlisted in the British Army fleeing through Germanoccupied France, and the other beginning in 1871 with a Paris Communard printer escaping from the repression which followed the quelling of that revolt. The two stories take place in some of the same settings, particularly those leading out of France into Spain. Early on we are informed that the fleeing Communard Michel Beauchamp was the grandfather of the Michael Beauchamp from the World War II era.
Both stories involved love and separation. The printer has to leave his wife and young son who emigrate to America under the impression that he is dead. The eventual grandson teams up with a young Dutch woman and they help each other escape the Germans only to be separated by different wartime destinies.
The omniscient narrator blends the two timeframes and provides explanations for the reader of the modern era. For example, we are told that $1500 was a lot of money in the 1940s, and that young women were virgins as a matter of course. Early on we are subjected to the narrator's theory of elective concurrences, apparently a justification for the use of coincidences that would have made Dickens blush.
At the core of the book are two interlocking stories of love and adventure. Although both are set during key moments of history, the effect is that of ordinary people fleeing from history and eventually escaping some of the consequences of living in what have been referred to as interesting times.
James Hawking
ISSUE 20, MAY 2002
TIMESLIP
THE TESTAMENT OF YVES GUNDRON
Emily Barton , Canongate , 2002 , £6.99, pb, 303pp, ISBN 184195-231-1
This is not a simple novel to classify. It is undoubtedly fantasy, a fable and even at times a fairy story, yet it could be argued that it is not historical fiction , for the book is about the isolated medieval village of Mandragora located in the Hebrides, that has somehow crept into modern civilisation unknown to the West. When the American anthropologist Ruth Blum arrives in this community, the reader is unsure at first if this is a time-travel romance, until it gradually becomes clear that Mandragora has somehow allowed 600 years of history to pass it by. The novel centres around Yves Gundron, Mandragora's inventor and chief farmer, and he and his family's relationship with Ruth The American studies the archaic customs and beliefs ofMandragora and the clash of cultures is humorously observed. For both the Mandragorians and Ruth it is an education as both sides attempt to understand the other's values and limitations. As the modern work begins to impinge upon the village, Yves , Ruth and the reader are painfully aware that something precious is going to be ruined and irretrievably lost. The novel takes the form of Yves' jaunty tale of his life and the arrival of Ruth. It is an absorbing read, though the author seems to throw in some deliberate historical solecisms : while working the fields, the villagers sing some form of American blues and there are numerous examples of the villagers employing modem American slang. But these do not detract from this entertaining and thoughtprovoking allegory of modern life , its culture , technology and the distance that we have come from our former symbiotic relationship with the land
Doug Kemp
THE QUICKENING GROUND
Hayden Gabriel, Pan 2002, £6.99 , pb , 53lpp , ISBN O 330 48966 6
This tells the story of two Claires who inhabit the same house in Cornwall , one hundred years apart. The years concerned are 1886 and 1986 and the stories of the two women , one a musician the other a painter, are interwoven in the setting of the Cornish landscape.
The span of a hundred years is identified only in the first and last chapters of the book and although the style of writing subtly changes according to the different centuries and is linked by subject it becomes somewhat of a guessing game as to whose story is being told , particularly when new characters are introduced.
Dream sequences sit uneasily in the dialogue and the author puts words on paper which are part of her consciousness and not easily translated into the text detaching the reader from the narrative with disjointed , unintelligible short sentences.
THE HISTORICAL NOV ELS REVIEW
The book is rich in detail of the artists of the Newlyn school and the paintings are vividly described but there is a real need for editing to bring cohesion to the story and allow the author's undoubted talent to be shown to advantage.
Gwen Sly
HISTORICAL FANTASY
THE MERRIEST KNIGHT
The Collected Arthurian Tales of Theodore Goodridge Roberts
Mike Ashley, ed , Green Knight , 2001 , $17 .95 /£11.99 , tpb , 523pp , ISBN 1928999182
Previously uncollected , the stories in this volume represent Arthurian tales published through the late 40s and 50s in the magazine Blue Book. The book is comprised of three sections The first, titled The Merriest Knight , revolves around Sir Dinadan , a knight mentioned briefly in Malory. Dinadan, like most other knights, is a paragon of virtue and fighting prowess . Where he differs is in his attitude--Dinadan doesn ' t believe in fighting unless the reward is sufficient to suit his needs (which are often vast, as he is terrible at finances). He is curiously both cynical and na"ive, and the stories show a sharp and witty sense of humour that stands up well to the test of time. The other two sections , The Spur and th e Priz e, and L egend's End are more loosely connected narratives whose main characters are outside of the stories told by Malory. They are darker in tone than the Dinadan stories , and their formal language usage tends to make them less easily devoured. Overall , though , another very good entry in the Pendragon Fiction series by Green Knight , and well worth picking up by those readers who like to explore around the edges of the mythos Tracey Callison
LION'S BLOOD
Steven Barnes, Warner, 2002 , $24 95 / C$34 95, £15 62 , hb , 461 pp , ISBN 0-446-52668-1 Lion 's Blood takes place in a world in which an Egypto-Carthaginian alliance prevented the rise of Rome , creating a black empire in Africa and leaving Europe a land of primitive tribesand, eventually, Islam as unquestioned religious master of the world. America was colonized by this black empire ; known as Bilalistan , its South is also an agricultural slave-holding culture
In 1863 (in our chronology) the Irish boy Aidan is captured by Viking slavers. Shipped to Bilalistan, Aidan is purchased by the Wakil Abu Ali. Aidan slowly adjusts to life as a slave, and becomes the friend of Kai, the Wakil's younger son . But as the boys become men , the disparity between free and slave grows. Rivalry for the love of the beautiful half-black slave Sophia causes a rift between Aidan and Kai And on the western borders of Bilalistan , fierce warriors of Azteca wait their chance to take back their lands. War comes, drawing all into its battle , slave and free-a war that changes Kai and Aidan's lives forever.
Lions Blood is loaded with fascinating ideas that don ' t quite come to life The author has plainly worked hard to create this alternate world , but in the end , I did not find Bilalistan convincing The key problem not addressed is the difference between slavery in the American South and slavery in the Islamic world. One of the things that made Southern slavery a ' peculiar institution' in all senses of the word was its insistence that black men were not human beings Islamic cultures have certainly practiced slavery, but colour did not determine whether a man was slave or free I found a simple colour-flip of master and slave less than persuasive. The characters are a fairly standard lot , and the plot brings no surprises. Nor did I find the 'Islamic ' aspect of this empire very convincing. Perhaps it was the large statues of Bilal that bothered me ; I believe Islam has strong prohibitions against such images. In short, I found this book adequate but predictable. Those who aren't so familiar with the 'plantation novel' sub-genre will probably enjoy Lion s Blood a great deal. India Edghill
THE DRAGON QUEEN
Alice Borchardt, Del Rey, 2001, $25 / C$37 , £15.65 , 473pp , he , ISBN 0-345-44399 -3 Sometime in the Dark Ages , a girl is born , a child of prophecy and high destiny This chi Id , Guinevere , is raised far from kings and court s, shielded and trained by her guardians : Maeniel the werewolf, Dugald the druid , and the wolves Mother and Black Leg. Their aim is to keep Guinevere safe from the plots of the evil wizard Merlin ; keep her safe until she is grown and ready to lead the tribes again s t their enemies . But when all their efforts can no longer shelter young Guinevere , the dragon s who have long been watching her take over, teaching her magic beyond human ken and aiding her in her quest to take the Dragon Throne for herself - and to rescue her soulmate , Arthur, from magical impri sonment by Merlin.
Dragon Qu een is an Arthurian fantasy ; those looking for a historical novel about Guinevere should seek elsewhere. While it 's interesting and kept me reading , Drag on Queen wanders so far from any concept of the historical Arthur and his world that it ' s ultimately unsatisfactory as an addition to th e Matter of Britain. As a fantasy, however, it ' s entertaining.
India Edghill
THE ALCHEMIST
Donna Boyd, Ballantine , 2002 , $22 95 , £14 36 , hb , 234pp, ISBN 0345441141
Within the confines of a New York psychologist's office , the story is told of three young people raised as adepts in a miraculou s place in the ancient Egyptian desert. They gain great magical power, then eternal life , and are responsible for the golden age of Akhenaten and the beautiful Nefertiti--only to have things go terribly wrong from there as passion and ISSUE 20, MAY 2002
jealousy come between them. A stop is made in Renaissance Venice, too, before the return to modern New York and the alembic of the book's closure.
For the fan of historical fiction, this book is thin on the history. Brilliant , visceral descriptions of magic and horror, however, are well worth the cover price for the fans of these genres. Anne Rice comes to mind as an appropriate comparison, although I felt Boyd must have been reined in. Not all plot possibilities are given the attention they deserve, some things told rather than shown-for economy's sake, it seemed. I for one wanted a thicker book for a complete Rice buzz.
Ann Chamberlin
PARZIVAL AND THE STONE FROM HEAVEN
Lindsay Clarke, Harper Collins, 200 I, £ 14.99 , hb, 229pp, ISBN 0-00-710813-3
In this book, Whitbread Prizewinner Lindsay Clarke turns his attention to the legend of Parzival and the Holy Grail. Taking Wolfram von Eschenbach's verse as his lodestone, Clarke weaves a magical , mystical retelling of the myths of Parzival , Gawain and the search for the Holy Grail. Clarke brings a freshness thi s well known tale and illuminates the primary characters in all their strengths and weaknesses.
Clarke starts with the tale of Parzival's father, Gahmuret, showing that his love of fighting was stronger even than the love of his two wives and sons. Determined to save him from a similar life , Parzival's mother, turned insane by the death of Gahmuret, hides him away in the forests and brings him up as an innocent. Her plan is successful until one day Parzival is overcome by a meeting with Gawain, thinking that the li ght gleaming from Gawain's armour is the light of God. Determined to become a knight himself, Parzival overcomes those who mock his simplicity and also fights and kills the Red Knight as well as other enemies of King Arthur.
Having won the hand of the beautiful Blanchefluer, Parzival goes to find his mother. On the way, he accepts the hospitality of the Rich Fisherman but, in his ignorance, fails to ask the one question that will save the Rich Fisherman from suffering and therefore restore the Grail to the world. He has no idea what he has done but when he returns to King Arthur's court his mistakes are pointed out by the old crone, Cundrie . Devastated at his sins and failures he swears that he will never return to Blanchefleur until he has found the cast le of the Rich Fisherman again and asked the question that will return to Grail to the land . Gawain , his brother in arms, also sets off on a quest to free maidens from the Court of Marvels.
C larke's prose is simple yet hypnotic, urging the reader ever onwards. Both his prologue and his epilogue add to the joy of this
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book. The prologue discusses Wolfram von Eschenbach's place in literature while the prologue looks at the legend of the Grail and the legends behind Parzival and Gawain. He explores these in an accessible and informative way.
As well as being a great joy to adult readers, even those already well versed in Grail literature , this book would a great introduction to the Grail myths for older children. It is easy to read, yet never overly simplistic and he clarifies all the relationships between the major and minor characters which could have proved confusing had they been tackled by a less able hand.
Hazel Marshall
THE OTHER NINETEENTH CENTURY
Avram Davidson , Grania Davis and Henry Wessells (eds.), Tor, $27.95, £17.50, hb , 304 pp, LSBN 0-312-84874-9
Shades of H. P Lovecraft flit through this collection by the deceased science fiction/fantasy great Avram Davidson. Otherwise , these stories are very difficult to define. Although filled with wonderful, visceral descriptions of times and places, to call them ' nineteenth century' is to mislead in many cases . However, tales written as early as the fifties, before such convent ions were set, may bemuse even alternate history fans, used to certain modern conventions in that subgenre.
I found the afterwards provided by Davis and Wessells particularly useful as a clue to the cipher when sometimes no true-life character keeps his own name , not even Shelley's boat. At the end of the collection, the fragments of a novel, none larger than might fit on an index card and terribly disjointed, are assembled in avant-garde fashion. This section is only for the true aficionado, determined to get every word written by a favourite author.
I did thoroughly enjoy a number of the stories. I am delighted , for example, to learn who really gave Lizzie Borden's parents the axe, how the Mormons avoided the Salt Lake Valley as not really ' the place,' and hints into the life of an imperial Chinese eunuch. The glimpses we get of the mystic East beneath Victorian brownstones are also engaging. It is also instructive to see how quickly 'historical' or speculative fiction can date itself.
Ann Chamberlin
MY ENCHANTED ENEMY
Tracy Fobes, Sonnet, 2002, $6.99 US/C$9.99, £4.37, pb, 352pp, ISBN 07434 I 2796
Juliana St. Germaine, born and raised beneath the sea, must break an ancient family curse by seducing the one man who fears her most. In order to protect his family and keep the bloodline pure, Cole Strangford must marry a gypsy. He is far more interested in finding the Sea Opal sto len by Juliana's ancestor that will free the Strangfords from their bad luck Yet something about Juliana appeals to him, and when she passes the seawater test, he
reconsiders his initial rejection of the match
Thus the stage is set for Tracy Fobes' sixth novel of paranormal romance. And an enjoyable one it is, if you prefer more romance than history. Set in 1810 England, My Enchanted Enemy features engaging characters, a believable romance and a satisfying conclusion. An interesting subplot revolves around Cole's efforts to invent an underwater diving suit and his rivalry with William James, who introduced an early scuba suit in 1825 The pace lags in a couple of spots and the history is for the most part a decorative background. Fans of the genre, however, will find it a charming way to while away a summer afternoon.
Teresa Eckford
THE FOLLIES OF SIR HARALD
Phyllis Ann Karr, Green Knight, 2001, $15.95/C$25.95, £11.24, tpb, 350pp, ISBN 1928999-21-2
Here renowned fantasy author Phyllis Ann Karr presents a slight departure from the Arthurian mainstream. Instead of the usual array of famous characters of King Arthur's Round Table, Karr focuses on Sir Harald de Folgeste, a sort of anti-hero in the days of heroes. This is not to say that Sir Harald is evil, but he leans more to the hot-tempered, rash and sometimes 'trespassing against the rules of chivalry' attitude.
The reader follows Sir Harald through adventures containing the requisite knightly duels , bevy of beauteous and mysterious damsels , intrigues of love and hate, and one strange lion. The author imbues the novel with a very subtle sense of comedic farce which makes the reading of this quirky tale enjoyable. With all the requirements of an Arthurian fantasy, Karr 's Sir Harald progressively becomes a knight worthy of the addition to King Arthur's ranks.
Suzanne Crane
THE WILD SWANS
Peg Kerr, Warner, 2001, $6.99, £4.37, 450pp, pb , ISBN 0-446-60847-5
In this long fantasy novel, two stories are told in one. The first, taking place in 1689, is a retelling of the fairy tale about a young girl whose eleven brothers, cursed by their stepmother, must spend their daylight hours as swans. The second, far more grounded in reality, includes only a hint that magic is real. In Manhattan in 1981 , a young gay teenager, banished from home , luckily meets someone who saves him from a life on the streets. But it is also the time of AIDS , the plague that caused the death of many homosexual men before they knew what was happening. Another curse, and of course this one's never been lifted. Meanwhile Eliza, in alternating chapters, must work in desperate silence, weaving jackets from stinging nettles to save her brothers.
Both stories are extremely sad and depressing, and yet wonderfully evocative of ISSUE 20, MAY 2002
the joy of life. Kerr falters only at the end, when the parallels between the tales seem to slip away. Silence is required for Eliza to save her brothers, for example, but in the AIDS half of the tale, silence - failure to speak up about an unspeakable disease - means death. The metaphor is disturbingly unclear.
Steve Lewis
CHILD OF THE PROPHECY
Juliet Marillier, Tor, 2002, $26.95/C$37.95, hb, 528 pp., ISBN 0-312-84881-1 For review, see Issue 18 (Australia section).
PRIDE OF KINGS
Judith Tarr, Roe, 2001, $14.95, £9.36, 45l pp, tpb, ISBN 0-451-45847-8
An intriguing historical fantasy sheds a refreshing new light on the English king deemed so evil that no subsequent king should ever bear his name. In 1189, John Lackland has been exiled by his brother Richard the Lionheart, newly crowned King of England. But in Judith Tarr's alternate and perhaps more accurately representative history, John is England's true king, in the age-old, supernatural sense. He alone among his siblings was born on English soil, and he loves it best. He is destined to save the land his elder brother has deserted in order to pursue mortal glory in the Holy Land.
Key to Prince John's achieving his vital goal is Arslan, a strapping youth born of fire and man in the mysterious lands to the east. It is Arslan to whom John 's destiny is first revealed, Arslan who sets John upon the path to its fulfilment. A long-dead English bishop appears to John and explains that ifhe accepts the burden being imposed upon him , he will be vilified and called a usurper, but John's love for England demands that he carry out this vital task despite personal consequences.
Tarr brings us an inventive , thoughtprovoking fantasy with a thorough grounding in English history. Pride of Kings takes late twelfth-century Europe, with its unique mindset , attitudes and prejudices , and adds otherworldly characters and magical twists. The effect is epic.
Kelly Cannon
A DATE WHICH WILL LIVE IN INFAMY
Brian M. Thomsen, Martin H. Greenberg, eds., Cumberland House, 2001, $16.95/C$25.95, £10.61, 348pp, tpb, ISBN 1-58182-222-7 This anthology of thirteen alternate universe Pearl Harbor stories (some SF, some straight counter-history) is divided into three sections: part one to stories about tampering with history; part two to stories in which the battle goes a different way, from being averted entirely to resulting in a decisive Japanese victory; and part three to stories dealing with alternate aftermaths. The book 's scholarly appendices include both a detailed timeline of the real-world events taking place on December 7, 1941 , and a short article about
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why the attack occurred and what the actual range of contra-historical possibilities were at that point in history.
Not a lot of historical colour here, though a few authors, such as William Keith and Ed Gorman, produce excellent work within a rather confining theme. The stories are heavy on military slang and period jargon (with the occasional howler, such as when a Thompson sub-machine gun is referred to as a 'C hicago piano,' the WWII nickname for the eightbarrelled naval anti-aircraft gun, rather thanproperly - as a 'Chicago violin'). But if you don't know the Japanese deployment and the attack order on December 7th by the time you 're finished reading , it isn't the authors' fault.
Rosemary Edghill
NON~FICTION
PRIVATE VICES - PUBLIC VIRTUES
E.J. Burford and Joy Wotton, Robert Hale, £9.99, 2001, pb, 199 pp, ISBN 0-7090-5822-5 Everything you wanted to know about brothels and bawds but were afraid to ask! This is one to keep on your coffee table to dip into for a bit of light relief, and titillate your more broadminded guests. Ranging from Elizabethan times to the Regency, it 's a social history of vice and an entertaining bit of 'backstairs history ' showing how brothels developed in London from being the monopoly of the Bishops of Winchester. Read about the famous Madame Syns of former times such as Mother Cresswell 'who lived well and died well in Bridewell' and her involvement with the Titus Oates plot, and the more luxurious and arcane establishments of the decadent 18th century that produced the Hell Fire Club.
This is a subject that is hard to make boring and this book sets out, in exhaustive succession, al I the bawdry of London's past. It is profusely illustrated so readers can see what some of the protagonists looked like and get some idea of what establishments were like as well - a handy book for anybody who wants to put this side of life into a novel. More anecdotes and fuller descriptions of the daily lives of these people might have made the book more readable instead of something to dip into , but perhaps it 's up to one's imagination to put flesh on the bones . Rachel A. Hyde
BENVENUTO CELLINI - MY LIFE
Trans. J & P Bondanella , Oxford University Press £9.99 PB 472pps incl. notes , etc. ISBN 0 19 282849 5
Part of the World's Classics series this is a new translation of the autobiography of one of the creative models for the Renaissance. Covering most of the artist, sculptor and goldsmith's life this translation would be a goldmine for inspiration. Cellini was very much a man of his time , cultured, creative and capable of incredible violence. When the pope was told that Cellini had committed murder he is
reported to have said 'You should know that men like Benvenuto, unique in their profession, need not be subject to the law '. Dense and containing large amounts of further information this is well worth a look for a glimpse of the dark side of Renaissance romanticism.
Towse Harrison
THE REEL CIVIL WAR: Mythmaking in American Film
Bruce Chadwick, Knopf, 2001, $27.50 / C$39.95 (£17.04), 366pp, hb, ISBN 0-37540918-1
Grappling with America's chequered racial past continues to be a wrenching experience for citizens of all colours. While few would argue that a balanced and scholarly view of slavery, the Civil War, and Reconstruction in books has replaced older, more racially biased outlooks, most (including this reviewer) would be caught off-guard at the way the American motion picture industry portrayed slavery and slaveholders. From the racist Birth of a Nation in 1915 to the historic Gone with the Wind in 1939 and in countless other films since, the story of America 's racist past is depicted more as a testimony to the mythical positive attributes of slavery than to the historically accurate record of its excesses. The black American is depicted as an evil and s ini ster menace or a childlike and s imple creature interested only in singing and dancing. The television series Roots and movies like Glory represent some of the few successful attempts to correct this twisting of the historical record and present viewers with a picture of the past that presents both races as real people rather than celluloid fantasies from a segregationist's fantasy world.
Chadwick, a lecturer at Rutgers University and New Jerse y City University and an editor at the New York Daily News, presents his treatment of the slavery era on film in a clear and straightforward manner free of jargon and academic asides. While many may not at first glance want to pursue the subject in such depth , a quick glance at the chapter on Gone with the Wind may tempt the reader to plunge in for the whole ride
John R. Vallely
FOUNDING BROTHERS:
The Revolutionary Generation . Joseph J Ellis, Faber & Faber 2002, £12.99, pb , 288pp ISBN O 571212174
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for History 2001, this book is not as dry as many of its fellow serious political histories. Joseph J Ellis has written a comprehensive account of the live s of the statesmen who helped establish the American Republic - men like Jefferson , Franklin, Washington et al - but in an imaginative way. The inclusion of lively dramatisations of events such as the duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton helps to leaven the weighty subject matter.
This book gives an insight into the minds of
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America's 'fou nding brothers' by comparing and contrasting their public and private lives. It is a fascinating introduction to eighteenth century American history and provides an insight into the personalities responsible for creating the infant republic .
Joseph J. Ellis is articulate as well as intelligent as would be expected of an esteemed Ford Foundation Professor of History. That he is also witty is an added bonus. He cleverly combines knowledge with a flair for storyte lling ; a complex mix.
Sara Wilson
WARRIOR WOMEN
Jeannine Davis-Kimball, Warner Books, 2002, $29.95 / C$34.95, £15.62, hb, 240 pp, ISBN 0446-52546-4
This first person narrative is written in a dry, scientific style, but the subject matter lends excitement, as archaeologist Davis-Kimball describes her fieldwork in Kazakstan. She studies the nomadic Sarmatians of the Steppes by excavating their kurgans and living among their Mongol descendants. Observing presentday customs gives her insight into the function of artefacts. She sees boys and girls compete in a horse race and in the excavation, 'rough ly 15% of the women were buried with weapons and armor': arrows, spears, daggers, as well as bronze mirrors for divination and sea shells containing pigment for body paint.
In Afghanistan the author documented the excavation at the temple ofTillya Tepe. Burial mounds of six women and one man revealed gold ornaments of a goddess riding a lion and a priestess flanked by winged griffins. After the museum in Kabul was taken over by the Taliban, the Tillya Tepe gold went missing. Tracing the spread of matriarchy, in Turkey she touches on the Enarees, eunuch priests devoted to Cybele. In Ireland she describes the Sheela-na-gig, a powerful Celtic stone totem of female sexuality, which was incorporated into the walls of 12th Century churches. She is most at home discussing the nomadic tribes of Asia, as when she traces the family tree of Genghis Khan and shows the rule of qatuns, or queens, through several generations.
Davis-Kimball depicts a society where women were allowed to flourish according to their talents and many achieved the pinnacle . Her book is a valuable resource and her findings will transform our understanding of the ancient world.
Marcia K. Matthews
THE HINGES OF BATTLE
Erik Durschmied , Hodder & Stoughton, 2002, £14.99, hb , 438pp, ISBN 0-340-81977-4
It has long been realised by military historians that battles are usually won by the side that makes the fewer mistakes , rather than by immense tactical skill. Hinges of Battle looks at the way eight conflicts from history have been decided by minor decisions , trivial incidents or freaks of fortune. They range from the middle of the 5th century to the middle of the 20th.
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But if I were asked to choose eight historyaltering battles that were decided by chance or incompetence, I certainly wouldn't have more than one or two of these. You could argue that the obvious candidates have already been done to death , so Mr. Durschmied is doing us a favour here. Still, although Custer's Last Stand was of immense importance to its participants , has it really altered history or the way we look at the world?
What these stories have in common is that they were defeats for what might be called 't he reaction' - imperialists and colonialists. Despite the political agenda, this is a very well researched book indeed. The narrative is strong and combining it with dramatisations based on actual quotes really brings the stories to life. The author overdoes the purple prose occasionally, but the tales are genuinely both enlightening and exciting.
Martin Bourne
ALEXANDRA - The Last Tsarina
Carolly Erikson, Constable 2002, £14.99, hb , 343pp. ISBN 1 84119 464 6: St. Martin's Press, 2001, $27.95/C$41.95, hb, 372 pp., ISBN 0-312-25307-9
On 17 July 1998, eighty years after her death, Alexandra of Russia was laid to rest. Revered as she never was in life , with other members of her family she became a national symbol and at last found honour.
Born in 1872 to Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse, Alexandra was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Her true personality will always remain hidden but here , Carolly Erikson goes some way to revealing the Tsarina's openness of heart, sensitivity, refinement and strength of will whereas, in her lifetime , although very beautiful, she was thought to be gauche, melancholic, mean spirited and aloof.
The Romanovs , with three hundred years of colourful history, are redolent with drama but their last Tsarina is enigmatic. It was Queen Victoria's intention that Alexandra should become a future Queen of England but she fell in love , aged twelve, with the diminutive and equally shy Tsarevitch, Nicholas Alexandrovitch. Their love story and long struggle to marry is beautifully told.
The opulence of late 19th century life in Petersburg, then capital of Russia , is richly captured. In keeping with the extravagance and profligacy of the aristocratic classes, Alexandra's story unfolds until, pre-occupied with the illness of her son Alexei, she is overpowered by matters of religious faith and a growing dependence on mentors of the occult of whom the most notorious was Rasputin
The Romanov 's descent into oblivion is vividly and imaginatively described Nicholas, ineffectual as Tsar; Alexandra , disliked and considered pro-German during WWI, were impervious to the needs of Rusia when it was evident that the monarchy would be swept away by a tidal wave of unrest and fermenting
revolution. The end comes uncomfortably swiftly.
Using material previously unavailable the author presents a closely observed and enthralling biography.
Gwen Sly
The author of thirteen previous books, Carolly Erickson approaches the story of Alexandra, the Tsarina who was assassinated during the Bolshevik Revolution in 1918 , as a psychological expose.
l have had discussions with a number of people about Erickson's apparent willingness to accept the traditional 'line' about the assassination of the Romanov family in 1918. She does not explore, nor does she appear to give any credence to, the debate about two of Alix's children, whose bodies were never found. What is clear is how much research she has done in writing this book. The notes are compendious. The photographs permit the reader to make a deeper connection to this family. What is remarkable is how our understanding of Alix has been altered by eighty years of history and how this Tsarina, caught up in the turbulent times in which she lived , is now revered.
Ilysa Magnus
THE RJPPER AND THE ROYALS
Melvyn Fairclough, Duckworth , £6.99, pb, 265pp, ISBN O 715 63181 0
If there is one crime that has captured the public's imagination on a grand scale then it is surely the murders of Jack the Ripper. To this day the files are hidden away and one can only dream of who actually committed themScotland Yard's answer to the Loch Ness Monster. In this book the imagination really lets rip (pardon the pun) and points the finger at the highest in the land , desperate to protect the heir to the throne - Eddy, the Duke of Clarence. The Masons are in here , as is just about everything else including the mysterious mistress Annie Crook, Lord Randolph Churchill and the Monster of Glamis.
It is impossible to put this fascinating book down and even if, like me, you take a lot of it with a healthy pinch of salt it doesn 't seem to detract from its sheer thrillingly tortuous melange of facts, fiction and fancy. Sherlock Holmes ought to be in here and all it needs is for Anne Perry to sew the facts together with the nib of her pen. A welter of documents, photographs and an extensive bibliography make this all spring to life and who is to say that at least some of it isn't what actually happened? Mesmerising and absorbing, whether you believe it is true or not you can't help wishing that it was
Raebel A Hyde
THE BOOK OF THE COURTESANS, A Cata logue of Their Virtues
Susan Griffin , Macmillan 2002, £18.99, hb, 250pp, ISBN O 333 90054 5
Neither a prostitute nor a mistress the
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courtesan was a self-promoter who assured her place in society by giving her favours to rich and powerful men , usually in exchange for great fortunes in the form of property, clothes and jewellery.
A series of vignettes portray the most famous as well as the lesser known courtesans. Madame du Barry, Madame de Pompadour; even Nijinsky parade through the pages along with fictional characters such as Colette's Gigi. But it is the catalogue of their so-called virtues which is the airy subject of this book. The author assumes that certain attributes personified the successful courtesan. For example, timing, cheek, brilliance and grace among others. No new light is shed on the lives of the characters themselves This book consists of a smattering of facts padded out with fantasy and supposition.
Ann Oughton
THE HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH PEOPLE 1000-1154
Henry of Huntingdon (translated by Diana Greenway), OUP, £6.99, pb,156pp ISBN O 19 284075 4
The latest translation of Henry of Huntingdon 's Latin narrative of a turbulent century and a half of English history. His is an excellent, if somewhat brief, account including the first written record of the Cnut and the sea story. Henry was born about I 088, so he is a contemporary of the second half of the period. With a Norman father and a Saxon mother, Henry could not only draw on written sources but would also have had access to English oral accounts of events. When researching a historical period, primary sources such as this are essential reading.
Graham Harrison
ISADORA - The Sensational Life of Isadora Duncan
Peter Kurth, Little Brown, £25, hb, 652pp, ISBN O316 85435 2
What most of us recall about the dancer Isadora is her tragic death, strangled by her own shawl as it caught around the wheels of her car. This solidly meticulous biography, however, charts her immense influence on modern dance and her effect upon the various artistic movements of her time.
Isadora Duncan (1877-1927) was born in San Francisco. Her mother struggled to raise her four children when their father deserted them. Isadora began to dance as a child, but not in the accepted form: she always despised ballet and what she saw as tortured, unnatural movements. No film exists of her dancing, and very few photographs. The author struggles to convey the expressive, free-form dance, not just interpreting music but bringing its emotions to life, which held spellbound thousands of people while not at all impressing others. She danced barefoot and barelegged under filmy Grecian-style drapes at a time when 'nice' women didn't show so much as an ankle, but it is not good enough to say, as one
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national newspaper recently did, that it was this titillation that packed in the audiences. At 18 with $25 in her pocket she moved east and joined Augustin Daly 's prestigious stage company, but by the time she was 21 she was established in New York, appearing in concerts and private salons. In 1899 she set out for Europe, where she became hugely successful, travelling widely, including into Russia There the classical ballet had fallen upon hard times and Isadora's regime-free style captivated artists, dancers and musicians. She took lovers as and when she liked, had some disastrous affairs, two children (both drowned with their nurse in the Seine when the car they were in rolled into the water); drank too much, got very fat, earned enormous sums and lost them, gathered up children and set up dance schools for them - run by her sister - and generally careered chaotically all over North and South American and Europe, to wild applause and quite a lot of moral condemnation.
Isadora talked non-stop about dance, about her beliefs, of how the whole world must learn to dance. Interestingly, adult women who attempted to copy her, thinking that her graceful movements must be easy because Isadora made them look easy, soon found that this was not so. (She was widely copied by professional performers ; one such was the illfated Mata Hari). She controlled every muscle in her face and body, just as she could control vast audiences while apparently barely moving more than a finger at a time, against a plan background of blue curtains.
So, Isadora is a puzzle: the author has produced an excellent, very interesting and definitive biography, filled with her own quotations, without every quite capturing her basic essence. Probably no one could. (Except an enterprising author offiction? - Ed.) Isadora was unique. Highly recommended. Val Whitmarsh
SILVERTOWN - An East End Family Memoir
Melanie McGrath, Fourth Estate, £16.99, hb, 238pp, ISBN I 84115 142 4
This gritty, realistic and unputdownable book is the biography of the author's grandparents, Jenny Fulcher and Leonard Page Both were born in 1903 , Jenny in Poplar, Len in a hamlet in Essex. It also chronicles the old East End, from its heyday in the late 19 th century, with the ship building, the docks and all the ancillary trades and factories along the river, to its final disappearance in the 1960s.
I was struck by how different Jenny and Len's lives were from the sagas of East End life I review occasionally. Reality is not just eel pie and wonderfu l Cockney folk who support each other during thick and thin, but also ignorance, life-threatening diseases and unthinking cruelty, as when Jenny's mother arranges for her to have her teeth pulled out on her 17th birthday - without anaesthetic. Their lives are ruled by the constant fear of the 'Abyss' - one character remarks that they are
never more than four meals away from destitution - and the harshness of unrelieved poverty. What makes it gripping is the quality of the writing - Melanie McGrath does not pull her punches - and the unquenchable vitality of the principal characters. Highly recommended.
Elizabeth Hawksley
KING DAVID
- A BIOGRAPHY
Steven McKenzie, OUP, 2002, £9.99/$15.95, pb, 232pp, ISBN O 19 514708 I
The author is a Professor of Hebrew Bible studies and it would be as well to have a Bible to hand because there are frequent cross references. But this is a reasoned and reasonable analysis of all the sources, biblical texts , ancient history and archaeological finds that currently exist and a contribution to the debate as to whether David really existed and, if he did , just what was he really like?
McKenzie comes over as readable, objective, fair and precise and in so doing reveals a plausible case for David being a real historical person. This David is very much a man of his time and culture, very different to the humble shepherd boy who killed the giant, Goliath in received biblical mythology. But for me this makes him , and those around him , so much the more interesting for those looking for inspiration for their writing. However you construe it, and whatever spin you want to put on it, this makes an incredible story - a fact that the authors of the books of the Old Testament appreciated fully. This could be a goldmine for anyone looking for inspiration in the Middle Eastern Classical past. Towse Harrison
ROBERT THE BRUCE , KING OF SCOTS
Ronald McNair Scott, Canongate, 1996 , pb, 254pp ISBN 0-68241-616- 7
In this highly readable account of a key period in Scottish history, the author separates the man from the legend and clears up some widely-believed misconceptions. Notably he separates Robert de Brus from Robert de Briwis, establishing that it was the latter, not the former, who was England's first chief justice.
The political situation and the reasons for the constant changing of sides are clearly laid out. We are shown that until Edward J's attempt to conquer it, Scotland did not have any clear idea of nationhood: the Scottish Nation was forged on the field of Bannockburn out of dispossessed Saxons along the English border, Celts on the west coast, Norse-Celts in the Isles and a collection of Northern invaders, largel y Norse, in the east. With no common heritage or language, these people were loyal only to their immediate leader.
With a good bibliography, list of references and concise maps clearly laying out the battles, this accessible book tackles a complex subject admirably Mairead McKerracher
SECRET TIBET
Fosco Maraini , Harvill Press 2002, £9.99, pb , 407pp, ISBN 1 86046 873 X ' lt is always fascinating to see things through other people 's eyes ,' writes Maraini as in this book he opens a window on another world. Secret Tibet is the result of two trips made by thi s Italian anthropologist, just before and just afte r WWil In this revised edition he also co mment s on the devasta tion that the Chinese occupation and the Cultural Revolution wrought on this remote and fascinating co untry.
Maraini writes beautifully Everyday life in Tibet, gods, temple s, lama s and a delightful prince ss is so co mpetently brought to life I felt as if I was living in that world. He never a llow s e rudition to get in the way of his int erest in the people or the culture. His sympat hy for the Tibetans , his attention to detail and numerous photographs have resulted in a valuable record of a lost civilisation.
This is a great travel book Intelligent , funny, compassionate and sad engaging the rea der from the first page If Buddhism and the magic of Tibet have you in thrall , buy this book You will not be disappointed.
Diane
John stone
THE GREAT HEDGE OF INDIA
Roy Moxham , Robinson 2002, £7.99, pb , 232 pp , ISBN 1 84119 467 0
A chance discovery in a Charing Cross book s hop se t Roy Moxham on a quest to find a relic of the days of British Imperial India. 'A customs line to secure the levy on salt which consisted of an immense impenetrable hedge of thorny trees and bushes Covering a di s tance of2 ,3 00 miles and guarded by 12 , 000 men - it would have stretched from London to Constantinople.'
Such a mammoth structure must surely have left some traces but it takes years of painstaking investigation and several visits to India before Moxham can satisfy his ' ridiculou s obsession.'
Moxham 's travels through India and the potted history of the British rule until Independence , especially the introduction and administration of the iniquitous salt tax, makes intere s ting reading. There is a detailed bibliography and useful glossary; unfortunately, there is no index to this book.
The story of the hedge is ongoing and can be accessed at: www.roymoxham com Ann Oughton
MARIA FITZHERBERT: The Secret Wife of George IV
James Munson , Carroll & Graf, 2001 , $26 , hb , 414 pp, ISBN 0-7867-0904-9 For review, see Issue 19.
THE ICE MASTER
Jennifer Niven , Hyperion , 2000 , $ l 4.95 / C$2 l.95, 402 pp, tpb , ISBN 0-78688446-0: published in the UK by MacMillan, 2 00 , £16.99, hb , ISBN 0333779606
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In June 1913 , the H .M.C .S . Karluk sailed north of Alaska , searching for an eighth continent. Vilhjalmer Stefansson, leader of the expedition, believed in its existence and was determined to discover it. The cost of his dream forms the basis for The Ice Master When the Karluk proved no match for encroaching Arctic ice , Stefansson abandoned ship, leaving Captain Robert Bartlett in charge of a vessel about to sink, and twenty-four people , many of them scientists he wielded no official authority over. But as conditions forced the stranded group to camp on ice floes and on isolated Wrangel Island , they learned to trust Bartlett without condition In early 1914 , he dog-sledded to Siberia with one companion, travelling seven hundred miles to inform the world of the Karluk survivors' plight.
In Th e I ce Master, Jennifer Niven provides a compelling, balanced account of this at times unbelievable story. Drawing extensively on the journals and letters of those involved , she recreates the Arctic conditions, the physical and emotional states of the Wrangel Island survivors, and the agony Bartlett endured as he struggled to rescue his comrades Despite voluminous source material , she spools out details suspensefully.
In her prologue , the author explains that she desired to tell the story left largely untold by William McKinlay, the expedition's magnetician. McKinlay spent most of his life collecting materials on the Karluk voyage and its aftermath , but died before he could publish a full and true account. Sad as this is, there is a happy ending, for Niven has written a book to remember.
Claire Morris Bernard
THE FLOATING BROTHEL
Sian Rees , Hyperion , 2002, $23.95 , hb , 236 pp, ISBN 0-7868-6787-6
The Floqting Broth el tells the story of ' ordinary women who , by a caprice of fate , found themselves in extraordinary circumstances.'
These women are female convicts who were sentenced to 'transportation to parts beyond the seas,' in this case, Australia. Descriptions of living conditions in Newgate Prison and aboard the ship, The Lady Julian , are graphic Their journey from the Old World to the New is no romantic adventure. Nevertheless , in a world where a woman was burned at the stake (1787) for counterfeiting a half-penny which was a crime of high treason , a sentence of transportation for the length of their natural lives was considered merciful. Fortunately for the passengers of The Lady Julian , the officers in charge were enlightened and made i,;very effort to see that the voyage was as comfortable and pleasant as could be Their efforts even extended to allowing the crew to choose ' temporary wives' from among the prisoners, which provided them with certain protection and privileges , a definite advantage to the crew as well.
Sian Rees's scholarship and research are
evident. Based on many records and reminiscences , primarily a memoir of John Nicol , steward of The Lady Julian , the author relates the facts in a narrative that evokes emotions in the reader--who cannot help but feel compassion and concern for these women. We are anxious to learn their fates , and of those whose lives were documented , we do learn something. In fact, this reviewer was left wanting more. Much , much more Audrey Braver
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE TUDOR AGE
Jasper Ridley, Robinson 2002 , £7.99, pb , 344pp. ISBN I 84119 471 9
Thi s is by no means a conventional political history of the Kings and Queens of the age and their advisors. Rather, the author selects various aspects of the times in a seemingly haphazard manner including such topics as the state of the highways , costume and fashion arid the prevalence of beggars , in a series of mini essays. The political history of the age is given brief coverage which is no bad thing given the availability of such books already.
The various chapters illustrate the widespread consumer protection measures that were in place and the detailed legislation that governed the colours and materials for clothing that men could legally wear according to their rank Restrictive measures meant that able-bodied low ranking men worked long hours for little pay. The irony was that despite the legislation there was not the machinery to ensure its application throughout the country.
There is an amusing tale about the proposed invasion of Scotland by English forces , the logistics of which depended on the availability of supplies of beer for the army
This is a good book for anyone contemplating writing historical fiction set in the Tudor period. It gives an authentic and intimate feel of what life was like for all classes of society.
Doug Kemp
THE WARS OF THE ROSES
Desmond Seward , Robinson 2002, £9 99 , pb, 400pp , ISBN 1 84119 427 7
I always had a mental block when it came to understanding the Wars of the Roses ; a series of battles for the throne of England between the royal houses of Lancaster and York which Mr Seward describes competently
When the Count of Anjou married William the Conqueror's granddaughter their descendants ruled England from 1154 . The family split into the two houses of York and Lancaster. Trouble began at the end of the 14th century when the Duke of Lancaster deposed and murdered the then Yorkist King Richard Il and claimed the throne as Henry IV.
The Lancastrian dynasty was accepted. Henry V followed his father and reigned from 1413 until 1422. When he died his son, Henry VI was just one year old. The country was ruled by a council until Henry was fifteen and
ISSUE 20, MAY 2002
in 1436 he took his rightful place. In 1445 he married Margaret of Anjou. Henry VI turned out to be a weak ruler and was responsible for the loss of English lands in France. In England there was a breakdown of law and order. Ten years passed before the Queen gave birth to a son but as the King suffered increasingly from bouts of madness the Yorkist party began to organise itself. The scene was set for a thirty years blood bath which would end at Bosworth when the Tudors came to power.
The book is divided into four manageable chunks detailing each process of the Wars. There is also a resume of the lives of the characters of the period as well as the main movers and shakers including Warwick, Hastings, Morton, Margaret of Beaufort and Jane Shore weaving their stories into a greater picture. The epilogue rounds up the survivors of the Wars.
I enjoyed this book, once I managed to fight my way through the complicated family trees and discover who was who. It brought the Wars, the times and the people vividly to life and clearly illustrated those turbulent times. Mary Tucker
SELKIRK'S ISLAND: The True and Strange Adventures of the Real Robinson Crusoe
Diana Souhami, Harcourt, 200 I, $24, 246pp, hb, ISBN 0-15-100526-5
While Defoe's Crusoe was fictional, Alexander Selkirk inspired the tale. In 1703 this Scotsman signed aboard William Dampier's expedition to capture the Spanish treasure fleet. Obstacles and disagreements haunted the privateers from the start, and climaxed at an island over three hundred miles off the Chilean coast where Selkirk was marooned. He prayed the captain would return. Instead four years passed before another English ship ventured near the island.
This is a historical account of man 's survival on a remote island with only goats and seals for companions and nature and Spaniards for enemies. Yet, it goes far beyond a telling of Selkirk's life. It is also the island's story from its creation to the present day. Ms. Souhami also recounts the privateering ventures that led to Selkirk's marooning and rescue. To complete the story, she relates how reality became fiction and what happened to those who encountered Alexander Selkirk throughout his life.
Well-researched and accompanied by passages from primary documents, the book is a spellbinding historical account that provides glimpses into the times and adventures of a marooned man who's often lost in the myth created by Daniel Defoe. Winner of the 2001 Whitbread Biography Award. Cindy Vallar
HOLMES AND WATSON
June Thomson, Carroll & Graf, 2001, $24, hb , 288 pp, ISBN 0-7867-0827-1 For review, see Issue 16.
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
VOYAGES OF DELUSION: The Search for the Northwest Passage in the Age of Reason
Glyn Williams, HarperCollins , £15.99, hb, 453pp , ISBN 0-00-257181-1
Apparently, although the Northwest Passagethe mythical waterway between the Atlantic and the Pacific through Alaska - never did exist, it just might emerge in years to come as global warming reduces the polar icecaps.
From Tudor times on, though , merchants and explorers searched desperately, at great risk to themselves, to find a quicker and less dangerous route to the Far East than round Cape Hom, completely unaware that the huge landmass of America stood between them and their goal. During the 18 th century, as scientific inventions and rational thought began to make all things seem possible, fresh attempts were made. These were both helped and hindered by the secretive Hudson Bay Company, which jealously guarded its local knowledge (and limited imported food stores), reluctantly assisting the sailing ships that ventured into unknown and treacherous waters.
The book is divided into sections dealing with each of these expeditions and chapters explaining the deluded reasoning fuelling them. James Knight, a near to retirement age mariner who had worked for the Hudson Bay Company, perished along with the crews of two ships, but might have survived two Arctic winters on a small island first. Christopher Middleton commanded a naval ship crewed by pressed men inadequately clothed for Arctic cold, and after 11 months of agonising conditions managed just 6 weeks of exploration. William Moor and Francis Smith fell out so badly that Moor had to be guarded by four armed men. Captain Cook tried to get through from the Pacific side, failed, but did chart the previously unknown coast.
There simply was no way through. Armchair pundits like Arthur Dobbs , poring over inaccurate maps , insisted there was partly because they wanted it to be so, partly because of the trading opportunities that would have accrued. The chapters on these old maps are fascinating - drawn more or less by guesswork, they were the passport to the 'yellow mettel' (gold) spoken of by native Americans , which lured the explorers on.
A very readable and interesting book illustrated by the maps and drawings of the period , brought right up to date with details of the 1992 diving expedition which located James Knight 's ships. There is no trace of the lost crew, only their hut and the pathetic beacon that they kept lit in the hope of rescue.
Val Whitmarsh
CHAUCER 1340-1400, The Life and Times of the First English Poet
Richard West , Robinson 2002, £7.99, pb , 290pp, ISBN I 84119 463 8
This is a delightful book. Not only does it give an account of Chaucer's life but it also gives a fascinating insight into the events of the time.
The Black Death, the Peasants ' revolt , the turbulence of Richard Il's reign and his subsequent murder at Berkley Castle as well as the Hundred Years' War.
There are many quotations from Chaucer's works but as well as using original texts the author has also made use of modern translations to facilitate understanding. It all makes for an easy and enjoyable read.
Marilyn Sherlock
IN THE LION'S COURT
Derek Wilson, St. Martin's Press , 2002, $35, hb, 580 pp., ISBN 0-312-28696-1 For review, see Issue 17.
CHILD RENS'
HEROES OF HISTORY Alan N. Kay
This ten volume series follows the fortunes of one family at the time of the American Civil War. Although the books are exciting adventure stories in their own right, the main aim is to explain and illuminate the events and ideas of the American Civil War for young readers. The series is written by an award winning American teacher who has also produced his own web site with extensive lesson plans including background information and ideas for discussion. This series is very school and education orientated. See Alan's own website at www.heroesofhistory.com
SEND ' EM SOUTH
Alan N. Kay, White Mane Kids , 2000, $5.95, l 33pp , ISBN 1-57249-208-2
This is the first book in the series. It starts with a slave auction in Georgia. Lisa's mother is sold but nobody wants Lisa and her mother is taken away to the sound of Lisa's screams. Although only ten years old, Lisa understand s something of the lecherous desires of the man who has bought her mother. Lisa is taken back to the plantation where she stays for a few more years until her father thinks s he is old enough. Then he makes a bid for freedom and takes Lisa with him.
In the second chapter the scene changes to Boston and we are introduced to the Irish family around which the series centres - the Adams family. George and David are playing baseball with a crowd of boys when they are attacked by a group of other boys. In this way we are introduced to the second theme of the book the contempt and the hostility of the wealthier inhabitants of Boston for the Irish.
The book continues like this for a while a chapter about Lisa and her father's escape and the underground railway alternating with Boston and George and David. Until, after being separated from her father, Lisa arrives in Boston and is found, running from the slave catchers. David's parents are committed Abolitionists and he is determined to help Lisa evade capture. George is doubtful about getting involved but he goes along with his cousin.
After a poignant and heart-rending beginning, this is an exciting story of escape
ISSUE 20, MAY 2002
and the Underground Railway. But it also brings in a lot of history: the horrors of slavery: Abolitionists (many of the people who help Lisa are real life historical characters): descriptions of Boston and the Irish: the Fugitive Slave Act.
Education made easy by being combined with a good story
0 THE TRAIL OF JOHN BROW 'S BODY
Alan N. Kay, White Mane Kids , 2001, $5.95, 158 pp, ISBN 1-57249-239-2
This is the second book in the series. In it David and George get involved in the events leading up to the Civil War.
David runs away from his uncle to his parents and George, and his father, Sean, follow him. They find the family in Lawrence in the Kansas Territory: Kansas where the battle over the conflicting views on slavery is being fought: Abolitionists and free slaters versus raiders from Missouri. Something which is brought home very forcibly to George when a friend of his has his cabin raided and burnt. Then there is a mystery. David 's father keeps going away. Where does he go and what does he do?
Finally all is explained. David's father is working with John Brown and he leaves to join him at Harper's Ferry George and Sean chase after him. Can they get to him in time? Can they get him to change his mind? Can they warn the people of Harper's Ferry?
All through the book the reader is presented with deep questions. Example, slavery is wrong but should innocent people have to die to end it ? David is the committed abolitionist and George the questioning moderate. Personally I found George a more sympathetic character.
A worthy and unique teaching medium for the American Civil War. 11--15 Mary Moffat
THE LOST DIARY OF JULIUS CAESAR'S SLAVE
found by Steve Barlow and Skidmore, Collins, 1997, £3.99, pb , 121 pp ,. ISBN 0-00-694580-5
One of the most significant recent trends in the writing of history books (be they fact or fiction) for children has been the imperative to ' make 'em laugh.' At the risk of sounding like a killjoy, I deplore it, not least because I suspect that it derives from the (unfounded) conviction that children will not be interested in a topic unless first amused. But there are several, more serious, inherent difficulties with this trend, which I have alluded to in a previous review but which will stand reiteration. Reliance on humour seems inevitably to lead to the sacrifice of historical accuracy to anachronism. As a result the past becomes just another version of the present, our current world in fancy dress, so to speak. The differences between THEN and NOW are elided and the indelible strangeness of past
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
people , practices, ways of life and thought loses its real force. It's the Disney effect, or history as written up for a tabloid newspaper. (Don't get me wrong-- I thoroughly enjoyed 'The Sun's' historical romp through 2000 years of national history called ' Hold Ye Front Page. ')
Humour, being lightweight , is, presumably, regarded as the perfect leavening agent to lessen the load of bard facts (equated with hard labour). But as parents know, children between the ages of 7 and 11 are inveterate collectors of facts and information, the more abstruse and arcane the better. The 1970s' cultural guru, Marshall MacLuan, asserted that 't he medium is the message,' which I would endorse particularly in the context of the book under review here. As a vehicle for didacticism humour is selfdefeating, for when it is as vulgar and hardnosed as here , it foregrounds itself in the child reader's memory, while the hard facts are missed. I guarantee children will remember 'The snot gushes out like a geyser from Julius Caesar's sneezer' more readily than some more interesting morsels of factual information. In other words, you can't take humour seriously. It also means that adult readers are the best audience for such books, because , with some prior knowledge of the historical period and of the sources of the humour/ parody, they are more susceptible to the playfulness and can judge its appropriateness. Not so the child reader. To take just a few examples, the Northern newspaper in this slave's diary is called 'The Gauldiaff,' which sports headlines such as 'All the Nice Gauls Love a Sailor'. A reporter on this newspaper is called Sandix Gaul, presumably after Sandy Gall, a longsince retired, ITN news-reader and reporter. A recruiting poster for the Roman army relies on knowledge of Kitchener's famous First World War poster for its effect. These jokes and many more, I suggest, will be lost on the children for whom this book is intended. Only the vulgarities remain.
Linda Hall
This book is quite funny, but also has some interesting facts. It is about a British guy who was made J.C. 's slave. He is friends with Inkus Fingus who tells him all about J.C . 's past. J.C is hated plus he has most of Europe in his power. His wars are successful, but the author has made J.C. sound rather stupid. He leaves boats on the beach and always has advice from Connonus Muccus, his slave. His two rivals are killed and he falls in love with Cleopatra. She was having a war with her brother/ husband and flees, in a carpet, to where Julius Caesar is. She helps him with bis duties so he becomes king. His celebration did not go well. J .C. seems to be having bad luck but he is still in total control. His slave is not happy with anything J .C. does apart from his free trips to nice places.
The slave is writing for his mother to see when he is back . He hopes to escape, and does
in the end, but he has to keep himselfoccupied beforehand. He gets into all sorts of trouble e.g. when he thinks he is having a harmless paddle in the sea he ends up causing a war. This book is funny at times, full of interesting facts (it has some Greek Gods), and is so unrealistic it makes the book much more interesting. It almost makes History fun! (As ifl) A good memory is useful , as most names are unfamiliar, it tells you the meaning at the bottom of the page , but unless you want to keep turning back you should try to remember them. The age group expected to understand this book and the jokes would be about 10-12 . I would say more for IO year olds because it is quite a childish book. Bits are boring like newspaper clips but otherwise I find this book quite enjoyable.
Rosie Mockett, age 11
THE LOST DIARY OF MO TEZUMA'S SOOTHSAYER,
Clive Dickinson , Collins, 1999, £3.99, pb , 11 Opp, ISBN 0-00-694587-2
This is the diary of Guessalotl, Montezuma's soothsayer, and goes from February 1519 to July 1520 It covers the period when the Aztec Empire was first invaded by the Spanish under Hernan Cortes. Guessalotl gives us the Aztec view of the invasion of Tenochtitlan - the modem Mexico City. For example, he thinks the Spanish soldiers on horseback are some strange half man , half deer hybrid. Later on, he has to show Cortes round the city and explain things to him, so the readers also learn about Aztec customs, their clothes, crop rotation and so on.
Most young readers will probably be unfamiliar with the Aztec world, and Guessalotl's explanations are helped enormously by George Hollingworth 's illustrations. For example, a 'poster' shows the different uses of the ubiquitous cactus, whose leaves are used for fuel , thatching, matting, basketware and clothing, whilst its spines are used for sewing.
Initially, I was rather puzzled by this book. The first half, with jokey references to people having their hearts tom out as a sacrifice to the gods, and Guessalotl 's laughable ignorance about horses, ships, guns and so on, struck me as being culturally patronizing. The thread of the story seemed to get lost and it was difficult to become involved. However, the second half, where Guessalotl explains the ingenious way crops are grown and land reclaimed , showed the Aztec world to be one of considerable sophistication and redeemed the crassness of the beginning.
The history, as far as the events and the Aztec way of life goes, is obviously well researched and the illustrations ensure that any alien concepts are easily grasped -for example the ball game tlachtli. In fact, certainly in the second half of the book, I learnt a lot myself and the explanations of how the Aztecs created new fields from the shallow lake surrounding ISSUE 20, MAY 2002
the city, for example, were admirably clear. No mean feat, considering the complexity of the subject.
I confess I didn ' t like the jokey sub-Asterix style and found the pseudo Aztec names , for example, the merchant Stinkingrichl, just silly. Furthermore, I could imagine that many children would probably not get the joke I couldn't work out what age group the book was aimed at. Primary school children, yes, but what age'! A note at the back seemed to suggest six to eight, but I wasn't convinced. I sent it to Lucy to find out... Elizabeth Hawksley
I found the beginning of Montezuma 's Soothsayer dull and confusing. There was a bit where Guessalotl has a nightmare where he is in a plane flying over Mexico City which didn ' t have anything to do with the story. As it was a diary it didn't flow as well as a story. However, in the middle it got much better and exciting. I loved the pictures and posters , they helped explain things. The end was not as good as the middle but better than the beginning It felt rushed and left me feeling empty. I was a bit disappointed with this book and would give it 4 out of 10. Its age is for about nine to eleven years.
Lucy Beggs , age I 0
MY STORY, THE CRYSTAL PALACE. THE DIARY OF LILY HICKS. LONDON 1850-1851, Frances Mary Hendry, Scholastic, 2001, £4.99, pb , 184 pp, ISBN 0-439-99739-9 This book is from Scholastic's 'My Story' series in which an important historical event is shown from the point of view of a teenage girl writing in her diary
Lily Hicks is a housemaid of Mr and Mrs Joseph Paxton - the Joseph Paxton who designed the Crystal Palace. Joseph Paxton is the gardener to the Duke of Devonshire and his house is on the Duke 's estate at Chatsworth in Derbyshire but he hires a house in London for his cousin, Mrs Judith McKenzie, and her family who have returned to England from India Lily goes to work in the London house
Lily's year is given something of a structural framework by the exploits of Edgar, the tenyear-old son of the McKenzie family. Mr E, as Lily refers to him, is a spoiled brat who is always trying to cause trouble. He breaks an ornament and tries to get the parlour maid blamed for it. Lily can read and write so the butler tells her to keep an account of everything Edgar does. He hopes Lily's record will form some protection for the servants. Lily privately decides that she will extend her journal to include everything.
Edgar continues to cause trouble. He deliberately upsets the dustpan , trips up the parlour maid and makes her drop her tray and Finally he tries to get Lily accused of theft He steals a brooch and hides it among Lily's things. Lily is cleared but this is to rebound on Edgar later when he himself is accused of
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
theft. And although only ten he could still be hanged . A telling point.
Edgar apart, this story is about the building of the Crystal Palace and the opening of the Great Exhibition. Interspersed with these national events are accounts of the everyday happenings of a servant's life and the reader learns much about conditions in Victorian England. Such as, the servants had to get up as early as half past three, £8 a year was considered a good wage, and the servants' tea was made from the family's dried up tea leaves.
Lily writes as she speaks and all these mundane affairs are eminently readable But there is one problem. Lily can read and write but she is certainly not educated and she does know much about grammar. I wonder how teachers will feel about a book filled with phrases like, 'as was wounded bad fighting in India,' 'w hen I am trained proper,' 'we was all listening,' and ' new tall hat as cost 19 shillings.' Given the format of the book it is difficult to see what else could have been done, but it could still cause problems for teachers struggling to instil the principals of grammar into their pupils.
Comes with a historical note and a timeline. Should appeal to teenage girls.
Mary Moffat
UNDER THE HAWTHORNE TREE
Marita Conlon-McKenna, O'Brien Press , First pub.1990, £4.99, pb , 153pp. ISBN 0862782066
This story is set in Ireland in the 1840s at the time of the potato famines. Eily, Michael and Peggy are left alone when their Mother leaves them to try and find their Father who is working as a labourer on the roads When she fails to return the children are rounded up by the authorities, with others, to be taken to the workhouse. Knowing they have two GreatAunts in Castletaggart the children decide to escape and try to find them The second half of the book follows their journey across the country.
A story which graphically describes the hardships and privations of the time but I found it a depressing story with very little humour to lighten the load. I felt that this was a book that may well grace the shelves of the primary school library rather than a child's bedroom
Marilyn Sherlock
Under the Ha wthorne Tree has been translated into many foreign languages It won the International Reading Association Award in 1991 , also awards in Austria and Ireland. It has also been filmed.
Mary Moffat)
SAFE HARBOUR
Marita Conlon-McKenna, O'Brien Press , 1995, £4.99, pb , 173 pp , ISBN 0-86278-422-0 'Safe Harbour' gives a different perspective of World War 2, because it is set in Ireland. It tells the story of two children, Sophie and 47
Hugh, who are evacuated to Ireland from London to live with their Grandfather because their house has been bombed. Their Mother is left seriously injured and Dad is away fighting in the War. At first , Sophie and Hugh think that their grandfather is a moody old man who doesn ' t want them. Then, one day, Hugh nearl y drowns and their Grandfather 's secret is finally revealed, after all those years 'Safe Harbour' captures the highs and lows of life during the War, what people ate, drank , wore, their rations and what transport they used. I would recommend the book to anyone who wants to know how life was like during World War 2. Charlotte Kemp, age 11
CASTLE DIARY: THE JOURNAL OF TOBIAS BURGESS, PAGE
transcribed by Richard Platt, illuminated by Chris Riddell. Walker 1999 & 2001, £6.99, ISBN: 0-7445-8220-2
Tobias Burgess is an adventurous eleven-yearold boy. This book treats us to a year in his life as he joins his Aunt and Uncle in their medieval castle as a Page. We embark on hi s journey of discovery of his new life as events are recorded as they happen throughout the year of AD 1285 The months and seasons pa ss by, allowing the reader to see how the climatic changes affected every day life Because the diary is written engagingly in an old form of English the reader is drawn into the feel of the era. Writing the diary as the experiences of Tobias gives the author the opportunity to include what his senses experience, therefore bringing the events alive.
Noting feelings, smells and thoughts adds an extra dimension to this very informative book A large part of the book 's appeal is in its presentation and beautifully det ai led illustrations Each page is packed with facts as Toby 's adventures unfold. Tobias is excited about his first hunt with the hounds chasing the most dangerous of prey, the boar The colour and preparation of a grand tournam ent fill a young boy 's mind with awe. The antics of the acrobats and lastly the lavish feast of Saint Stephen all add a sense of colour and grandeur to life at the times. However, the author is careful to point out that life in the time was far from gentle or romantic. When taken ill Tobias records the visit from the doctor and hi s practice of bloodletting. 1n the hot s ummer the 'Gong-farmer' would be a person whom the sensitive would best avoid. Even the Tournament, bright and colourful it may have been , but injuries could be harsh and fatal. Life in the Middle Ages was governed by many layers of social positions, from monarchy down to villeins. People knew what was expected of them and to whom they were responsible for, or subservient to. This and many other aspects of the time are clearly and precisely explained in the 'Notes for the Reader' at the back of the book Punishment s for not doing what was expected of you were severe both for children and adults alike. This section, which gives a wealth of information
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regarding weaponry and castle defences is followed by a comprehensive and beautifully and humorously illustrated glossary and index, which is provided for the more studious reader. This is a very enjoyab le and appealing book.
Val Loh
'A wonderful diary. The pictures are beautiful and clearly labelled. Small details are added into the pictures, which is normally hard to do. Some parts of the book are humorous, but I like the pictures very much.'
Kirstie Lob, age 8
THE PATH OF THE SHE-WOLF
Theresa Tomlinson, Red Fox, pb, £3. 99, J32pp. ISBN 0-09-940365-3
This is essentially a re-working of the Robin Hood story but there is a whole new slant to this version that gives it a more realistic feel. Gone is the mindlessly swashbuckling Robin who lives by robbing the rich who enter Sherwood Forest to give the proceeds to the poor of that neighbourhood as portrayed in the old fi I ms by Errol Flynn. Instead, our hero is portrayed as more of a professional mercenary willing to fight for the common man (and woman) wherever in England nasty King John raises new, unfair taxes to make life more difficult for poor folk to survive.
During his many absences the forest clearing that has become his headquarters is overseen by Marion; not a young lady of noble birth but his partner in modem parlance, who is also the Forest Wife whose knowledge of herbal cures, midwifery and white magic makes her much sought after by the forestdwellers when danger or sickness threatens to make their difficult lives even more unpleasant. She also organises escapes when Robin or his followers are captured and threatened with the gallows and is much respected by all who dwell in the forest and nearby countryside.
There are daring exploits and battles for readers to enjoy but there are not so many that they hold up the flow of the narrative or put girls off reading the book with pleasure right to the somewhat bleak ending.
This is a highly entertaining book with a new and more female slant to the old story and well worth 8 - 12-year-old's pocket money.
Jan Shaw
A GHOST-LIGHT IN THE ATTIC
Pat Thomson, A&C Black, 1997, £4 50, 96pp, ISBN 0- 7136-4672-l /
This book was first published in 1995. It is one l. of the Flashbacks series for children of seven to eleven. It is about 24,000 words long.
A stately home has been left to The Historical Society. Tom and Bridget's mother is helping to sort everything out. It is an enormous task and Tom and Bridget are roped in to help They are sent up to the children's room in the attic.
In the attic is a family portrait of the Bassingbourn family painted in 1648 Tom and
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Bridget look at it and decide that the girl called Elinor looks fun. The next time they go to the attic Elinor steps out of the picture and joins them. She takes them downstairs and into the house - in her own time - and Tom and Bridget become involved in the affairs of the Bassingbourn family.
The grandmother is a Royalist but her son, John Bassingbourn, is a Parliamentarian. But his son Edmund, has defied his father and has gone to fight for Charles II. Edmund is wounded at the battle of Wocester and his friends want to bring him home to give him time to recover. But Bragshaw, the steward, has betrayed Edmund. Tom and Bridget join with Elinor to try to save her brother.
The story comes first but A Ghost-light in the Attic does manage to pack in a surprising amount of information about a large house at the time of the Civil War: the clothes people wore, the food they ate, the kitchen, the formal garden. There are also interesting little snippets of information such as the fact that forks were just being introduced from foreign parts and that carpets were used as tablecloths and it was only in places like London that they were used for the floor.
A Ghost-Light in the Attic is an enjoyable book. It certainly held my attention.
Mary Moffat
THE MACHINE GUNNERS
Robert Westall, Macmillan, £4.99, pb, 207pp, ISBN 0-330-39785-0
Chas McGill has the second best collection of war souvenirs in Garmouth, and he desperately wants it to be the best. Then he stumbles across the remains of a German bomber crashed in the woods, with a shiny, black machine gun attached to it. He takes the gun, and soon he tries to take the war into his own hands, but things don't go to plan and result in catastrophe!
This book is very detailed about the war and is certainly the best war book I have ever read. It describes things very well and has a good story line. I would give this book seven out of ten and recommend it to an age group of twelve plus.
Sophie-Ann Leyland (age 13)
AUDIO
As an update on my article last year on audio books , the following information may be useful. Peter Johnson from Isis Publishing has kindly sent me information on the latest releases from Isis & Soundings. Even if you are not interested in buying these latest historical audios, you can request them from your local library (some libraries do charge a fee for specific requests). The editor has kindly allowed me space for this update and since this commodity is always at a premium, I have omitted listing the readers for each title. This information is , of course, available in the catalogues issued by Isis and Soun dings, available from the address below.
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory is due for release in April and I hope to be able to review this in the next issue
For those who are fans of Andrew Taylor, Death's Own Door (a Lydmouth mystery) will be released under the Soundings label (in cassette form) in April. The print version of the book has been warmly praised in reviews.
The following titles will available from Isis audio publishers between April and June (Please note that some of the audios are published under the Soundings label) :
The Azure Bowl: Anita Burgh
Kate's Story: Billy Hopkins
A Trust Betrayed: Candace Robb
A Bloody Field in Shrewsbury: Edith Pargeter
A House Unlocked: Penelope Lively
The Viceroy's Captain: Anthony Conway
A Place in the Hills: Michele Paver
A Time of Hope: Nicola Thorne
The Sweetest Dream : Doris Lessing
Colditz: The Definitive History: Henry Chancellor
Kingdom of Shadows: Barbara Erskine
Looking After Your Own: Evelyn Hood
A Glimpse of the Mersey: Anne Baker
The Golden Butterfly: Anita Burgh
The Workhouse Doctor: Sara Fraser
The Blackbirder: James L. Nelson
The Cross-Legged Knight: Candace Robb
The Last Kashmiri Rose: Barbara Cleverly
Frost Fair: Elizabeth Hawksley
Down Weaver's Lane: Anna Jacobs
Changing Fortunes: Pamela Oldfield
The Rest of Our Lives: Jeannie Johnson
Whitechapel Mary: Sally Worboyes
All of the above are complete and unabridged and are published in cassette form. Postage and Packaging is free within the UK, £5.00 for overseas customers. Faulty cassettes and CDs are replaced free of charge.
The following titles are newly released on CD (unabridged). Titles are issued by Soundings except where marked:
Clare's War: Anita Burgh (Isis)
The Weaver's Glory: Donna Baker
The Bottle Factory Outing: Beryl Bainbridge
Kinvara Affairs: Christine Marion Fraser
Kinvara Summer: Christine Marion Fraser
The Lamorna Wink: Martha Grimes
The Yellow Admiral: Patrick O'Brian
The Nutmeg of Consolation: Patrick O'Brian
Traitor's Gate: Anne Perry
Year of Victory: Mary Jane Staples
For further information contact: Isis Publishing Limited
7 Centremead
Osney Mead
Oxford OX2 0ES
Tel: 01865 250 333
Website: www.isis-publishing.co.uk
Geraldine Perriam
