REVIEWS
General fiction is classified by period. Within each section, the books are listed in alphabetical order of au th o r.
Any books can be purchased in any country irrespective of where they a re published. Unless a book is published in a different edition in the UK and the USA, no equivalent prices wi ll be given, due to currency fluctuation s. In case of difficulty in obtai nin g any book through bookshops or the internet, please use the HNS book orderi ng service Details on page 46.
While the HNS takes every ca re to provide accurate and up-to-date information about the books under review, sometimes errors creep in We apo logise for these, and advise a ll our readers to cross-check our informati on wi th booksellers before attemp tin g any purchase.
DEUS EX MACHINA
For reasons be yo nd the comprehension of your editor, the following reviews were lost somewhere in the ether between Sarah Cuthbertson's computer and hers. They should have appear·ed in our May issue Apologies to readers, reviewers and authors.
20 th CENTURY
GOI NG PLACES
Billy ll opkins, ll ead lin e 2003, £6.99, pb, 498pp,0755302206
Based o n the au th o r 's own expe ri ences, thi s fictionalized biography exudes a heartfe lt quality, making it a delight to read.
As the 1950s open, Billy and Laura have just manied and strugg le to make a living as teachers in Manchester, but their fami ly is growing more rapidly than th eir income and, despite hi s dedicated pursuit of higher education, Billy despairs of ever ·getting ahead'. Then an opportunity arises to work in Kenya, and he, Laura and their children embark on a Ii fe-changing sojourn in a country torn by unrest.
This is an easy page turner ; I was longing to find ou t what Billy did next. He comes across as very human - making mistakes, thinking crea ti ve ly and caring for his family, his country and the wide r world. Rich in anecdote, the story is written in a colloquial style; only in the first chapter did I feel the dialogue was a little contrived.
People might say memoirs are only of interest to their authors, but in the case of Billy Hopkins this is not true. Like his other books, Going Pluces will have a wide appeal.
C laire Monis
TIIE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
NIGHT CROSSING
Robert Ryan, Headline Review 2004, £ 16.99,hb, 176p~034075l274
Cameron Ross is an inspector at Scotland Yard, U lr ike Walter a young German musician engaged to U-boat officer, Eric h Hink el. Although the three are separated by war, their lives remain inextricably linked.
F leeing to England to escape persecution, U lrik e is first impri soned as a n enemy alien then rescued by Ros s, an o ld fami ly friend, who has fallen in lo ve wit h her. When Erich is captured and sent to Eng land as a POW , Ross is ass igned to intenogate him after a n escape a ttempt , setting off a train of event w hich will leave one of the trio dead and threaten to destroy the future of the ot h er two.
Night Crossing is the third novel in a trilogy and is once again an enthralling mix of hardboiled thriller and passionate lo ve story. Ryan creates a tang ibl e se nse of authentic it y by his extensive use of re a l incidents a nd characters from the Second World War - he excels at blending careful research w ith v ividly realised fiction so we ll the join disappears.
The plot is a heady brew of fast action, espionage and betrayal w hich is hard to resist. Throw in a gra nd love affair and you have a book crying ou t for a film adaptat ion.
Sara Wilson
NON-FICTION
WARRIOR WOMEN OF NORTHERN EUROPE: A BEGINNER 'S INTRODUCTION
Lorraine Evans, Leafblade Press 2003, £4.99, pb, 60pp, avai lab le from Lanista Ancient Warfare Acade m y, BM Lanista , London WC IN 3XX, \\ ww.lawa.co.uk
This booklet surveys the evide nce for female warriors m northern Europe, in c ludin g th eir in carnat io ns as goddesses, trainers of heroes , Celtic war le aders, g ladiators and Germanic s hieldm aidens. Frustratingly , the work is not fully referenced , though there is a se lect bibliography. It would a lso have benefited from stronger editing to tighten up the writing and ensure chapter headings tallied with the contents list. A mine of useful information, however, and well worth reading.
S. Garside-Neville
BELOVED EMMA, The Life of Emma, Lady Hamilton
Flora Fraser, John Murray 2003, £9.99, pb, 360pp,07l9561078
This is essentially the same text as the original 1986 edition, with a few corrections dating from 1994. Fraser's portrait of Emma is sympathetic without being a hagiography. Emma's life was not easy but she retained a
generosity of spirit and a vivaciousness that captivated both her husband , Sir William H amilton, and Nelson. Her maniage to Hamilt on was largely happy. They shared a love for the theatrical and William encouraged Emma in the developmen t of her 'attitudes', for which she became renowned in Naples and e lsewhere. Both had a vulgar streak and a liking for sensation which a lso seemed to su it Nelson, up lo a point. Fraser 's reading of Nelson's character humanises him , s howing him as vain and se lf-regarding, co ld towards those he despised but warm to those he loved Emma's life is well-researched and the text has a li ve ly, engaging narrative quality
Geraldine Peniam
THE TERROR BEFORE TRAFALGAR
Tom P ocock, John Murray 2003, £8.99, pb, 255pp,07l9562929
From 180 I , until Nelson's decisive victory at Trafalgar in 1805, Britain was thr eatened with invasion by Napoleon. Nelson, howe ver, was peripheral to British plans to counter invasion a ft e r suffe rin g one of his few defeats. There are few h ard facts about this little known period of history which deals wit h spying, s ubt e rfu ge and plots to restore th e French monarchy.
Pocok's book begins blandly , with anecdota l reminiscences by British v isitors to Paris during the peace but picks up when he moves on to plans to subvert the R epub li c. Descriptions of British attempts to destroy th e French invasion neet are compelling. Conventiona l methods having fai led, the British resorted lo rockets, torpedoes and fireships. An intriguing period, overshadowed by Nelson's achievement at Trafa lgar.
Martin Bourne
ANCIENT EGYPT
CLEOPATRA DISMOUNTS
Carmen Boullosa , tr. Geoff Hargreaves, Grove Press, 2003, $22, hb, 2 I 9pp, 08021 17538
Three long sections narrated by Cleopatra are framed by briefer sections told by her scr ibe Diomedes. In the first narrative, Antony has just s tabbed him se lf, an<l Cleopatra takes a solips istic look back on the time when they were "drunkenly happ y, with a happiness that made us unique, vigorous, indefatigable enjoyers of life "' (p58). She also spins out three pages comparing rotten things to Antony, \\ho is even more rotten. Iler principal criticism seems to be that a failure of their love made possible their defeat al the han<ls of the odious Octavian. Her theory that military victory could be achieved by what they did together in bed seems similar to John and
ISSUE 28, MAY 2004
Yoko's reasoning when they attempted to end war in the same fashion. The second long section tells the story of how in her youth she ran away to be with the Cilician pirates and other common folk. Now the connection with historical events has become even looser. In the third narrative, she joins forces with the Amazons in a fantasy sequence involving feminist messages and a large supply of unpleasantly displayed male members. The novel then leaves the realm of the historically implausible and enters that of the physically impossible. For example: "Neptune placed his erect penis into the red eye of his lower belly, to seal it" (p.138). Not recommended.
James Hawking
THE WAR OF THE CROWNS: Queen of Freedom, Volume II
Christian Jacq, Atria, 2004, $14.00, tpb, 384pp,074348049X
Pub. in the UK by Pocket, 2003, £6.99, pb, 320pp,0743449576
Continuing the saga of Queen Ahotep's battle to overthrow the foreign domination of the Hyskos conquerors, The War of the Crm, •ns returns the reader to war-torn Egypt in the 17th century BC. With her son, the new Pharaoh Kamose, and steadfast supporters and allies, Regent Queen Ahotep consolidates her position in Thebes. She launches counterattacks against the brutal I lyskos Emperor, Apophis, and his inhumane administrators in hopes of winning freedom for her people and country. The indiscriminate slaughter and murders committed by the Hyskos against the native Egyptian populace are innumerable, even to the creation of a death camp reminiscent of those during World War II. As always, Christian Jacq brings alive the people and cultures of this ancient period. Young adults and adults will find the reading fast-paced, descriptive, exciting, and a true testament to Jacq's popularity. Even when tragedy once again devastates Ahotep's royal family, the reader looks forward to the next volume knowing her strength and courage must prevail.
Suzanne Crane
BIBLICAL
THE HEAVENS BEFORE Kacy Barnett-Gramckow, Moody, 2003, $12.99, pb. 383pp, 0802413633
The first of a trilogy, this novel provides a plausible look at life on Earth just before the Great Flood, as well as imagining how three young women were chosen to become wives to the sons of Noah. Young Annah, the novel's main focus, has been willingly mute and emotionally dead since witnessing her father's brutal murder years earlier. Considered mad by the settlement and
treated as less than a slave by her own family, a chance meeting with a young man across the river changes Annah's life. The young man is Shem, one of Noah's sons, and as their relationship flourishes, Annah's existence at home worsens. It is only through much courage that she is rescued and becomes Shem's wife. Once in Noah's lodge, Annah learns about the family's construction of the huge wooden animal "pen," their concern for the earth's survival, and their strong faith in the Most High. When two other young women enter their orbit, Noah's family is made complete, and now they are ready for what they know will come.
The author deftly describes a world of great lushness and beauty, filled with cruelty and wickedness, heading for ultimate destruction. Once past the author's somewhat disconcerting use of unfamiliar spellings of names (e.g., Noakh for Noah), this is an enjoyable read.
Michael I. Shoop
THE GATE OF HEAVEN
Gilbert Morris, Bethany House, 2004, Sl2.99,pb,317pp,0764226835
In The Cate of Heaven (3 rd in the Lions of Judah series), the prolific Morris has penned an involving and pleasurable retelling of the Old Testament stories of the patriarch Jacob. Using a strong, flowing nanative style, the author weaves together the interconnected episodes from Genesis concerning Jacob and his parents, his relationship with his twin brother Esau, his marriages to sisters Leah and Rachel, and his trials regarding his many children. While the major section of the book emphasizes Jacob, the last third concentrates on Dinah and the aftermath of her rape by Shechem. Numerous references to other cultures, food, customs, worship, etc., add period color and authenticity without bogging down the reader. Morris provides action aplenty, juggles a large cast of characters with practiced skill, and unflinchingly portrays tensions between wives, the cruelties of slavery, the hardships ofa nomadic life, the price of deception, and the ultimate grace of God. A satisfying read on its own, the book contains enough loose ends to lead into the next book in the series.
Michael I. Shoop
SECOND TOUCH: A.O. Chronicles
Book Two
Bodie & Brock Thoene, Tyndale House, 2004, S22.99,hb,360pp,0842375090
The second in the Thoenes' latest series, Second Touch returns to the days of Christ's ministry and the religious and political tum1oil of the times. Now the focus is on the lot of lepers who live in imposed exile due to their disease. Brave little Lily's battle for strength, to accept her fate as a leper and
uphold her faith, is representative of all who hope. Contrasted is the privileged Pharisee, Simon, also stricken but whose blight is more to the soul than the skin. Peniel, the nolonger-blind beggar of First Light, is now a leader of some of the downtrodden, and finds himself, too, still being tested in his faith.
The attractions to the Thoene novels are their easy reading and casts of characters, which focus on those faced with the same struggles as the average person, if not even more challenging. The Thoenes know the era they write about, and it comes alive from the smelliest slum and the driest desert to extravagant palaces. Although considered inspirational fiction, readers can appreciate the life of Jesus and his teachings without heavy preaching.
Suzanne Crane
AFTER THESE THINGS
Jenny Diski, Little, Brown 2004, £14.99, hb, 2l6pp,0316725269
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob: stories of almighty strugg le s with a One God who may or may not h ave manifested Himself in times recently past. Wrestling with their own natures: helpless in the grasp of obsession and terrifying life long passion, archetypes driven back and forth, morally hungering and thirsting without guidance. Others ha ve experienced powerful needs, hopes and determined action. Only these three men battle to understand their own thoughts because they are the patriarchs.
This novel is also a family story - a saga of tent-dwelling people, ferocious workers in the interests of their tribe and the breeding of beasts vita l to prosperity in good times, and survival in bad. Abraham, the mighty innovator, becomes an old man who has inflicted irreparable harm on his own son. Isaac, warped for life by the knowledge of the ultimate te,,-or, and hi, wife Rebekak (only one of several splendid strong minded tribal females) are parents or the fatal twins: E au and his brother younger by only moments - Jacob. Crafty. intelligent, by turns resolute and indecisive: Jacob of the stolen birthright, exile, two emotionally disastrous marriages and father of many children, including the one we all think we know, Joseph.
The author makes few concessions to ignorance of the Christian Old Testament or the early Hebrew writings. In style and content this is a truly unusual book written with great vitality.
Nancy Henshaw
MASTER HIRAM AND KING SOLOMON
Christian Jacq (trans by Marcia de Brito), Pocket Books 2003, £6. 99, pb. 368pp. 067102857X
When King Solomon succeeds David to th.: throne of Israel he is determined to do t,11)
TIIE IIISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
ISSUE 28, MAY 2004
things: bring peace and build a glorious temple on the rock of Jerusalem to house the Ark of the Covenant.
To achieve the first he makes a diplomatic man·iage to Nagsara, daughter of the Pharoah Siamun. The second task is more problematic because no Hebrew craftsman is equal to the task and so Solomon summons the enigmatic Master Hiram, an expert mason skilled in the techniques of Egyptian architecture.
Neither action endears Solomon to his priests, but just as he has succeeded in crushing their dissent, Balkis, the Queen of Sheba, arrives. Solomon falls in love with the beautiful woman, angering the jealous Nagsara, and when Hiram also falls for her charm events are bound to end in bloodshed.
This is an intriguing take on the story of Solomon, conjuring up all the colour and violence of the Old Testament. Jacq paints a convincing portrait of a man trying to be a wise king, as we ll as fol lowing the laws of early Christianity. Both dialogue and prose read well, avoiding the kind of stilted passages that so often plague translations.
An interesting and thoughtful interpretation.
Sara Wilson
CLASSICAL
ODYSSEUS:
A LIFE
Charles Rowan Beye, Hyperion, $23.95 / C$34.95, hb, I 97pp, 140 I 300243
In Ot(vsseus: A Life, acclaimed classical scholar and professor emeritus at the City University of New York Charles Rowan Beye creates a "biography" of Ho111er's fa111ous hero, the trickster hero and legendary traveler. Using a myriad of ancient texts, most notably of course, The Iliad and The Ot(vssey, Mr. Beye has constructed a chronological "Ii fe" of this archetypical figure, complete with notes and a glossary to help the reader with the extensive cast of characters, both hu111an and divine. Throughout, the author weaves informative 111aterial on the life and customs of the second millennium B.C.E., the ti111e in which Bronze Age stories derived fro111 a long-standing oral tradition were finally formalized in writing This unusual and accessible study would be particularly worthwhile for modern students wrestling with the original.
Juliet Waldron
THE WAR AT TROY
Lindsay Clark, HarperCollins, 2004, £ 17.99, hb, 545pp, 000715026 I. To be published in the US in Sept 2004 by Thomas Dunne Books, S24.95, hb, 0312336578
Lindsay Clarke knows his stuff. I le navigates his way through Trojan mythology as if he were Odysseus caught
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
between Scylla and Charybdis. While admiring his depth of knowledge, however, I failed to be moved by this book.
I found Clarke's prose pedestrian, and his nan·ative distance left me with the impression of a schoolmaster rushing through the essentials. His gods are capricious, mischievous and just as keen on meddling in human affairs as Homer's, but they lack any spark of divinity. The Judgement of Paris has the feel of schoo l prize giving or a local ilower and produce show, his Aphrodite is about as irresistible as a buxom pub landlady. Thetis sacrificed her first six sons because she was in the grip of a cult, not because she could not bear to watch them grow up then die, because she was a bad mother rather than a devoted one. Achilles only died of the wound to his ank le because the arrow was poisoned, and Apollo had nothing to do with it. As much a disappoint111ent to anato111ists as to the hero's many admirers.
The book is well supported by maps and a glossary of characters. As an introduction to the Trojan legend it is serviceable, but, despite its length, it really only scratches the surface. If you want to know why the se stories have become so fundamentally e111bedded in our culture and i111agination, go to Homer. The Robe1i Fagles translation, published by Penguin, is as accessible as Clarke's novel yet manages to keep the 111agic intact.
Sarah Bower
SCANDAL TAKES A HOLIDAY
Lindsey Davis, Century 2004, £16.99, hb, 283pp, 071265879. Pub in US Sept 2004, Mysterious Press, $24.95, 0892968125.
The 16 th novel in the bestselling series, this latest adventure is not going to disappoint the 111any fans of Roman private eye Marcus Didius Falco.
When the scribe lnfa111i a, social correspondent of the Daily Gazette, goes missing in suspicious circumstances, Falco is sent to the port of Ostia to investigate. He experts to solve the case quickly and easily but instead finds labyrinthine corruption and great personal danger. Luckily he has his Helena tagging along on what she has decided will be a fa111ily holiday, and between the111 they find out what has happened to lnfamia, what supposedlyrefor111ed pirates get up to in their spare ti111e, and a lot more besides.
The story is ingeniously plotted and written in a light, colloquial style that is fun to read. 1t 's leisurely in pace for a cri111e novel, but the final showdown is creepy and frightening, and - if you 're a serious mystery buff - well worth the wait. Once again Lindsey Davis lives up to her reputation as queen of the humorous crime ro111p.
Margaret James
THE AMAZON AND THE WARRIOR Judith Hand, Tor, 2004, $7.99, pb, 336pp,0765349361
This is a novel about the Amazon Queen, Penthesilea, who ruled during the time the Trojan War was raging. Judith Hand takes a very refreshing approach to this well-worn tale. She dramatizes Amazon culture while downplaying the usual cast of characters and events, which form a distant backdrop for most of the novel.
This is a well-written novel with many interesting theories - grounded in sound research and historical insight - on the Amazons' role and contributions to history. For instance, one idea Hand proposes is that the A111azons were the guardians of ironmaking knowledge. Indeed, should that knowledge have fallen into the wrong hands, it would have resulted in the devastation of a number of civilizations. Hand uses her considerable skill to convey that Amazon society is not the 111an-hating , bloodthirsty stereotype usually promoted in the general consciousness, but nn intellectual, nurturing and trading culture.
Ms. Hand skillfully portrays the events which eventually drive Penthesilea to Troy and her final fated battle with Achilles. The Amccon and the Warrior should interest any reader interested in finding a new way to look at A111azons and the epic Trojan War. Suzanne Crane
THE MASK OF APOLLO
Mary Renault, Arrow 2004, £7.99, pb, 346pp,0099469413
This is a re-issue of a novel originally published in 1966 that has stood the test of ti111e. The story, set circa 400BC follows the early and mid career of Nikeratos, an actor who moves from bit parts and female roles, to full sca le male leads in the Greek theatre. His muse is the mask of the god Apollo from the older, golden days of the theatre. Nikeratos feels that the god speaks to him through the mask and in turn he conveys his own thoughts to it. During his career Nikeratos becomes a witness to the political dealings and machinations of the period, including the sack of Syracuse. I le also comes to know the philosopher, Plato , and there's even a short guest appearance by a very young Alexander the great.
Mary Renault tells a dense and detailed story. This is neither a page turner nor a fast read, but its slow unfolding does reward the reader with what feels like a true rendering of Ancient Greek life and culture. Keeping the co111plex politics straight and remembering who's who is at time s a struggle, especially with two Dions and a Dionysus populating the pages. The novel is not as absorbing as her Ale.ram/er trilogy or The Bull Frum the Sea, but is still a worthwhile read. I especially enjoyed the
ISSUE 28, MAY 2004
background details concerning the daily lives of the actors.
Susan Hicks
1st CENTURY
BRIGHT SWORD OF IRELAND
Juilene Osborne-McKnight, Forge, 2004, $24.95 / C$34.95, hb, 283pp, 0765306980
Osborne-McKnight is an extremely talented storyteller, an accomplished folklorist, and a teacher of Celtic folklore and history. All of these considerable talents are brought to the task of transforming the otherwise onedimensional Finnabair - the daughter of Queen Medb of Connacht - into a living, breathing character. Through her eyes we witness the conflict between Ulster and Connacht as the light for control over the brown bull rages on.
It is around IO A.D. Finnabair has abandoned her life with her Connachtmen; indeed, at the beginning of the book, she is trying to commit suicide. As a political pawn in a transaction orchestrated by her mother, Finnabair has been married off to a man she cannot abide. She hates her life, her husband, the world and particularly her mother, the seductive Medb, the paragon of sexuality and female power in Celtic lore.
Finnabair is saved, though, and her life from that point forward is a wonderment, peopled with such magnificent figures of Celtic lore as Cuchulainn, his wife, Erner, and the husband she comes to love, Rochad. The wisdom of the simple, plain Finnabair and her vast powers of healing save many warriors and ultimately, two civilizations.
What a gift Osbo~1e-McKnight gives us in this fully-fleshed out Finnabair - not the second-class Finnabair of myth, but a woman of increasing power, insight and strength. I could not help but to love Finnabair because Osborne-McKnight intended that outcome Every single one of Osborne-McKnight's characters has had the breath of artistic genius breathed into him or her. Great historical notes, beautiful prose, a supremely talented writer at her absolute best. Ilysa Magnus
TlllJNDER GOD
Paul Watkins, Faber & Faber 2004, £8.99, hb,32lpp,05712l7974
Norway 975 AD: ten-year-old Hakon Magnusson is struck by lightning and believed by his people to have been marked by the Norse gods for the priesthood. I le is stolen from his family by sea raiders and, growing up among mercenary warriors, embarks upon a journey which will take him beyond the boundaries of the known world. This latest novel from Paul Watkins takes us back a thousand years to the troubled
times at the end of the first millennium when the Vikings, who had ranged unchecked over the northern shores for centuries, found themselves in a sea of change against the rising tide of Christianity.
Thunder God is an imaginative tale that delves into fantasy, showing at times how thin the veil may be between these worlds. Episodes from the manuscripts of Flatey, of comparative religions and similarity between deities and how a cross worn upside down becomes Thor's hammer, fill the pages. The writing commands attention and I found myself reading the book within a day. The final part brings into focus thought-provoking historical possibilities.
A story brought out of the dark ages with an economy of words showing characters in all their human frailty balanced with a world of discovery. Quite compelling.
Gwen Sly
5TH CENTURY
THE PRAISE SINGER
Mary Renault, Arrow, May 2004, £7.99, pb, 239pp,0099463577
This reprint of Mary Renault's fictional autobiography of the poet Simonides evokes the world of Greece in the 5 th century BC, a time of political intrigue and the threat of Persian invasion, as well as a sophisticated age whose art, poetry and philosophy are part of our own cultural inheritance. Mary Renault illuminates, through Simonides' eyes and assumptions, how that society operates.
However, I confess that, though the writing was superb and her scholarship impeccable, I found myself wilting halfway through. What little emotional involvement there is, is distant - Simonides was famously ugly and his love life somewhat pedestrian. nor are there any feuds or jealousies to spice up the narrative and involve the reader. He recounts his life story from the tranquil point of a view of an octogenarian, and plot as such is pretty non-existent.
In Renault's earlier books, The King Must Die, for instance, which is based on the adventures of the Greek hero Theseusa tale that has been re-told over several thousand years - there is a well-crafted plot with plenty of emotional conflict to keep our interest. This book, by contrast, rends to meander along quietly. Worth reading, but perhaps not re-reading.
Elizabeth Hawksley
TIIE IIISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
9TH CENTURY
THE LAST LIGHT OF THE SlJN Guy Gavriel Kay, Simon &Schuster 2004, £17.99, hb, 50lpp, 0743252489. Pub in the US by Roe, $24.95, 0451459652
In the course of a few hours, Alun ab Owyn's life is shattered by a Viking assault led by lvarr Ragnarson. From a lighthearted dreamer with little on his mind other than music, women and cattle-raiding, he is transformed into a hard-headed heir to his father's rule and a man desperate for revenge.
Far away in the cold northlands, Bern Thorkellson is another young man facing changes brought about by another's actions. Rather than be forced into servitude he runs away to join the mercenaries of Jorn1svik.
These two men are destined to meet when King Aeldred's attempts to pursue a course of peace and diplomacy are threatened by the hatred of lvarr Ragnarson and it is not at all certain who the victor will be.
Guy Gavriel Kay clearly has the knad of embellishing actual history with a heavy dose of imagination and a lighter sprinkling of fantasy. The result is a rich tapestry, which echoes the chronicles and sagas of the Celtic, Anglo-Saxon and Norse cultures from I 000 years ago.
Although initially slow moving, once the main characters are established the pace picks up and by the climatic final chapters the action is fast and furious.
Clearly The last light <!l the Sun is based in part on the life of Alfred the Great and the addition of a historical note would have been helpful to sort out probable fact from the purely fictional.
Sara Wilson
PASSING UNDER HEAVEN
Justin llill, Abacus 2004, £10.99, pb, 448pp, 034911739X
This story flashbacks from China, 903, where an elderly domestic despot is dying and remembering his past, to the mid-850s, where a small child, Little Hope, is being brought up by her deserted, concubine mother. As things become too difficult for her, Little l lope's mother sells her as a prospective bride to a rural family, but then commits suicide. The new family, fearing this will bring bad luck to them, sell the child on again. Little Hope becomes Little Flower, only child to a scholar and his wife, whose own child has died, who bring her up and educate her. The scholar, having passed the immensely difficult civil service exams, moves the family to the volatile, cosmopolitan city, very different from the small town they know. and Little Flower becomes Lily, variously poet, concubine, courtesan and Daoist nun.
ISSUE 28, MAY 200-l
This novel is based on the real life and times of Yu Xuanji, the foremost female poet of the Tang Dynasty who was executed at the age of 26 for the murder of her maid. It is a beautifully written and totally absorbing book: the author has lived and worked in rural China and has captured the feel of this far-off period. Lily (as he calls Yu Xuanji) is sold as a concubine to a married man, but one she is in love with. It is only when the husband replaces her with another concubine that things begin to go rapidly downhill toward Lily's public disgrace and death. Recommended.
Val Whitmarsh
10 th CENTURY
THE WITCHES' KITCHEN
Cecelia Holland, Forge, 2004, $24 95 / C$34.95, hb, 384pp, 0312848862 This is the second installment of the Corban Loosestri fe series (after The Soul Thief) set in and around tenth century Vinland and Jorvik.
After killing Jorvik's king, Eric Bloodaxe, fifteen years earlier, Corban relocated himself and his family - his beloved wife, Benna, their children, his sister, Mav, and her child, Raef - to a remote, windswept, idyllic island off Vinland. Corban ' s plans to remain on the island forever are dashed by a number of events, including the arrival of a Viking ship. With so much at stake on his little island, and the tug and pull of blood oaths in Jorvik, Corban finds himself compelled to leave the women behind and sail with his son , Conn , and nephew , Raef, to the place to which he swore he would never return.
Soon, Conn and Raef are separated from Corban and the story takes on another lifeone centered on the two young men who, having tasted power and war, mature very quickly. The interplay between these two boys is wonderful to behold, and Holland finds just the right balance. And while the boys fight their way to power with their friend , Sweyn, who will become King, Corban fights his way back to the boys.
This novel is a marvelous blend of historical fact, fiction and fantasy, though not as gripping or cohesive in plot as The Soul Thief Also , though not mandatory, this is one of those cases in which the reader probably sh a uld read The Soul Thief' first. That said , this is vintage Holland, where the characters are well-developed and the emotional components of the story trigger the events rather than the other way around. Even well-documented historical figures like Sweyn and Gunnhild are 0eshed out. They feel, they think, they hurt, they want.
For all interested in historical fiction and Nordic lore, a required read.
Ilysa Magnus
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
11 TH CENTURY
SHADOWS AND STRONGHOLDS
Elizabeth Chadwick, Time Warner 2004, £ 17.99, hb, 564pp, 0316860336
The young Fulke (Brunin) FitzWarin leaves the home where he has learnt to endure his vicious grandmother, cowed mother, and envious brothers, to be fostered by Joscelin, Lord of Ludlow. Here he finds a loving family as well as training to become a knight.
Ownership of Ludlow castle is disputed. Joscelin obtained it by marriage, but his wife inherited it through her mother after Gilbert de Lacy's branch of the family lost it through treason. De Lacy's squire, Ernalt de Lysle, takes delight in ill-treating Brunin, but his good looks attract women, including the spirited Hawise, Joselin's daughter, and Marion, another of his foster children, who has grown up with her.
Against the closing years of Stephen's disputed reign and Henry's ascendancy, with personal and local as well as national battles to fight, Brunin grows up to manhood , marries Hawise, and has to prove he has conquered his childhood doubts and fears and emerged from the shadows.
From the first page the characters gripped me. They are beautifully drawn, varied and wonderfully real. The malevolent Mallette is an inspired creation. The plotting is intricate, and it moves along at a satisfying pace. De Lacy's attempts on Ludlow are woven into the bigger struggles with Elizabeth Chadwick's usual skill, yet the personal battles are never lost sight of, and it is all lightly seasoned with brilliant detail that adds to the authenticity without ever being intrusive.
This is a terrific read , and the only problem is the inability to put it down.
Marina Oliver
12TH CENTURY
FAREWELL, MY ONLY ONE
Antoine Audouard, Houghton Mifnin, trans. Euan Cameron, 2004, $24 / C$34.95, hb, 336pp,0618l52865
Pub. in the UK by Canongate, 2004 , £ I 0.99, pb, 448pp, 1841954705
Nominated for the Goncourt prize in France, Fare11'C!II, My Only One is the fictional retelling of the tragic love affair of Abelard and Heloise by Antoine Audouard, former editor and publishing director of LaffrontFixot. This is the author's first novel to be translated into English.
The story begins in I I I 6 when William of Ox ford, the narrator, sets out to look for a master. As relics are being taken in procession to Notre Dame, William meets
Heloise, the beautiful niece of Canon Fulbert, and falls in love with her. Then he attends a lecture by Peter Abelard and is mesmerized by the philosopher's intellectual power. In no time, William becomes friend and confidant to Abelard and to the woman they both love Farewell, My Only One has lovely descriptions of France at the time of the building of the great cathedrals. It offers a remarkable depiction of a medieval society in which everyone has either taken up philosophy, or wants his child to become a doctor of the church. The interesting tapestry of historical figures includes the master sculptor Gislebert; Peter of Monboissier, the great abbot of Cluny; and St. Bernard of Clairvaux, the Cistercian monk and mystic who opposed Abelard's theological views. But you will not recognize the two famous lovers. Although Mr. Audouard remarks that Heloise's Latin is elegant and that classical images spring effortlessly from her lips, the Heloise of his novel is little more than a pretty puppet in Abelard's uncaring hands. Her intellect is nowhere to be found. Abelard, on the other hand, is the slave of his own passions, a narcissistic, prodigiously reckless man who can't keep a secret, and thus brings about the terrifying revenge of his lover's uncle. It is a voyeuristic tale full of lust and psalms that works if you can put aside the historical characters.
Adelaida Lower
14 th CENTURY
ONCE A BRIDE
Shari Anton, Warner Forever, 2004, $5.99, pb,372pp,04466l2278
Eloise Hamelin's life is about to drastically change Summoned by her father, she enters his workroom to find him stuffing money and papers into a pouch as he tells her he must flee because the King has accused him of treason. Roland St. Marten, the brother of her late fiance, has been sent to guard Lelleford Castle until Eloise's father ha s been tried for his alleged crime.
Eloise is haunted by a cursed reputation , for her groom to be died on the steps of the church minutes before they were to be wed. This only increased Roland's dislike of Eloise since he had been arguing with his brother right before the wedding, advising him that she was much too independent and strident of speech for a successful match The tension mounts between Roland and Eloise, yet the physical attraction vies with their thoughts about each other. Intertwined into their growing passion is a serious threat from those who would see her father convicted, hanged, and quartered. Who is behind this plot and how will it be resolved?
28 , MAY 2004
Not much history can be found within this novel, but one will see excellent descriptions of 14 th century castles, food, dress, and customs, as well as the typical intrigues, deceptions, and political unions that forged royalty and its favored few into such powerful dynasties.
Yiviane Crystal
THE HAND OF JUSTICE
Susanna Gregory, Little Brown 2004, £17.99, hb, 533pp, 0316861855. Pub in US by Warner Books, $17.46 , 03 I 6861855. This is the 10 th chronicle of Matthew Bartholomew, the 14 th century Cambridge scholar and physician turned sleuth.
In February 1355, as the worst snows in Ii\ ing memory begin to melt, a frozen body is revealed in the nedgling unh ersity town. Scholars and students are at odds with the townspeople and it takes little to ignite discontent between the factions. The tension has already been heightened as two wellborn murderers have received the King's pardon and returned 10 cause trouble for those who helped 10 convict them; and in the midst of this Bartholome,, is called to the local mill to examine two corpses.
Religious relics, simpletons, millers, unmitigated cold, unclean clerics and arrogant townsfolk pepper the Gregory novels, and you can smell medieval Cambridge, tasting the filth as you read. Many of the secondary characters arc taken from the pages of history and e, ents in the story are traced around a recorded incident that brings the period and place imaginatively to life. The author's style permeates all her books but I would at times wish it 10 be shorter and faster, the drawback being the repetition of inconclusive points discussed at length by the same characters until, suddenly, all the tangled webs are reYealed.
Gwen Sly
THE TOLLS OF DEATH
Michael Jecks, lleadline, 2004. £ I 8.99, hb, 392pp, 0755301749 (UK) I Ieadline, 2004, $24.95, hb, 288pp. 075530 I 749 (US) I his is the latest medieval mystery featuring Sir Baldwin Furnshill, Keeper of the King's Peace and his friend Bailiff Simon Puttock. Although initially investigating the murder of a woman and her two children, Sir Baldwin and Simon Puttock find their investigations complicated by a blood feud and potential civil war as well as further deaths. The opening paragraph certainly grabbed my attention and I settled down to read with a great sense of expectancy. However, by the time I had reached the halfway stage of the book I found that I had little or no sympathy for any of the characters. Sir Bald,, 111 ,, as tired and wanted only to return to his family. and I knew just how he felt. For me this book
THE IIISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
lacked the excitement and twists and turns of the earlier stories in this series. It is undoubtedly a well crafted and researched book, and I am sure that fans of Mr Jecks will look forward to and enjoy this latest instalment, but I must admit to a sense of disappointment - this is not one of his best. Mike Ashworth
SHADOWHEART
Laura Kinsale, Berkley, 2004, $7.99 / C$10.99, pb, 502pp, 0425 I 6232X Set in the reign of Richard II , this is a seque l to Kinsale's historical romance For My lady's Hearl, and takes place about ten years later. Elayne, who has been living quietly in England, is sent to Court by her godmother Melanthe to gain polish. There she is discovered to be her Serene Highness the Princess of Montverde, and arrangements are made to return her to her rightful throne by marrying her to Franco Pietro of the Riata, head of the family that once sought her death. But on her journey to Monteverde, she is kidnapped by II Cun·u, a pirate \\ho is in reality Allegretto della Navona, "ho saved her life as a child - the only surviving member of the Navona family, who hates the Riatas as he hates death and sin, and who will do anything to take Monteverde for his own
A fine historical romance with a strong sense of period: Kinsale 's return to the genre will be greeted with delight by her fans Rosemary Edghill
WITHIN THE FETTERLOCK
Brian Wainwright. Trivium Publishing, 2004,$19.95, pb,540pp,0972209115
The year is 1396, and King Richard 11 is without an heir. Suspicious of those around him, he sees plots to steal the throne everywhere. When the exiled rebel Henry of Lancaster lands in England, it seems that Richard's worst fears have come true. Constance of York, cousin to both the King and the rebellious I lenry, is thrown into the fray The two men she loves most, her husband and her brother, are often on opposite sides in the struggle, and they inexorably pull her into conspiracies that threaten all she holds dear.
Although his mastery of the complicated myriad of events that began the Wars of the Roses is impressive, Wainwright's true forte lies in his vivid characterization All the characters in the novel, including the minor players, are richly illustrated. Constance is a passionate woman, intelligent, brave, forthright, and tenaciously loyal to those she loves. And though she loves and ultimately obeys her husband, she is also capable of a degree of independent thought and action that does not at all conform to the ideology of the age.
Wainwright wisely avoids the stereotypes of hero and villain - his characters are
refreshingly three-dimensional, and he examines the hopes, fears, and passions that drive them to the courses they pursue. Although the novel's intrigue, love, hate, and war give it a gripping pace, it is the depth of the storytelling that transports the reader to medieval England and makes this book such a good read. Wainwright brings the novel to a compelling conclusion, although after the nonstop twists and turns, the end of the novel feels almost abrupt. Nevertheless, 1Vi//1i11 lhl' Fel/er/ock is an exciting and historicall)' detailed account that brings to life the politics a nd people who populated 14'" CentUI) England. Highly recommended.
Bethany Skaggs
15 th CENTURY
LOVE, THE PAI TER'S WIFE, & THE QUEEN OF SHEBA
Aliette Armel, trans. Alison Anderson, Toby Press, 2004, S 19.95 . C$29.95 £ 14.95 . Eur 22.95. hb, I 74pp, 1592640532
To keep her husband, the Italian Renaissance painter Piero della Francesco, amused and inspired, the shy and subdued Silvia reads him the story of the Queen of Sheba's visit to King Solomon's court. The queen's long-ago voyage and her attempt to balance Joye and wisdom mirrors Piero's fierce ar11st1c strugg le to produce a new fresco and his wife's endeavor to keep her husband's heart purely hers.
Although an exquisite book, this is not, strictly speaking, an historical novel. Despite being set in Renaissance It aly, with nashbacks to a fantastical ancient court, the time and place hardly matters to this dreamy exploration of loss and love.
India Edghill
THE WARRIOR
Claire Delacroix, Warner, 2004, $6.99, pb, 343 pp, 0-M66 I I 123
Michael Lammergeier, the seventh son or Magnus Armstrong, will fulfill a momentous prophecy. Until then he dreams at night of a woman \\ ho ,, ill share his future and grasps every passing opportunity to restore his rightful legacy. the latter trait earning him the notorious name of "The I lawk of lnverfyre."
Traveling with his band of warriors, he arrives at Abernyre, Scotland in 1-109 and meets the mirage from his dreams, Aileen. The two are irrevocably bound together, both by the passion and visions behind their kisses and their mutually distrustful fur~ after he kidnaps her on the first night of h1 , visit. It remains unclear who stole Invert\ r, from ,, hom until the novel's latter portion but it is clear that spies are afoot and threaten to defeat the I Iav.k 's plans. ls
ISSUE 28, MAY 2004
Aileen the one who is the awaited fulfillment of the prophecy that will restore Inverfyre to its rightful laird?
The last of the Ravensmuir trilogy novels, The Warrior has a swift plot including provocative characters who convey passionate love, hate, humor, and fear. While reading this fascinating story, readers will hunger for more, anticipating more Scottish historical fiction with vivid, paranormal features from this talented author.
Viviane Crystal
THE BASTARD'S TALE
Margaret Frazer, Robert Hale, 2004, £ 18.99, hb, 255pp, 0709075294 (UK) / Berkley, 2003, $6.99, pb, 320pp, 0425 I 93292 (US)
The Bastard's Tale is the latest in a long line of novels by Margaret Frazer, all set in the 15th century. The Bastard in question is Arteys, illegitimate son of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester who is Uncle to Henry VI. Gloucester's wife, Lady Eleanor Cobham, has been imprisoned following her supposed implication in a case of two clerks using magical arts against the life of the King. Now the summons has come for Gloucester to attend a Parliament in Bury St. Edmunds. Although advised against attending by those closest to him, he decides to go and try to use it to gain the ear of the King and have his wife released from prison. Also travelling to Bury St. Edmunds is Dame Frevisse of St. Frideswide's Priory, under the cover of attending on her cousin, Lady Alice of Suffolk. In return for certain benefits to the Priory she has been asked to observe events and report back to the ambitious Bishop of Winchester. Naturally she gets drawn into the centre of the plots and treachery surrounding the King.
This is a chapter in history that I knew absolutely nothing about. The story of Gloucester's arrival in Bury and his subsequent arrest and death takes up very few pages in the Oxford I listory of England, which I did read first to get my bearings. The book was a treat to read. The fictitious characters were as believable as the real people of the day \\ hich made for a seamless blend.
Marilyn Sherlock
THE HUNTER'S TALE
Margaret Frazer, Berkley Prime Crime, 2004, S23.95 / C$36, hb, 323pp, 0425194019 Thirteenth in Margaret Frazer's Dame Frevisse series, The Hunter 1· Tale, set in 1448, is the best yet. As expected, the mystery is well-plotted with the requisite red herring or two, the setting brims with historical details, and the story moves along at a gentle yet insistent pace. It's also a brilliant study of human nature.
The victim is Sir Ralph Woderove, ho chases after his dog into the woods and turns up dead within the hour. The terms of
Tl IE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
his will set the stage for further foul deeds. As Dame Frevisse learns, he was a vicious man who loved his dogs more than his family, which includes his second wife Anneys, his sons Tom and Hugh, daughters Elyn, Lucy and Ursula and grandson Miles. His only friend was Elyn's husband, their neighbour Sir William Trensal. Little wonder Frevisse finds herself with so many suspects and a plethora of motives.
Sir Ralph's physical and verbal abuse echo throughout the story, revealed through each of the main characters as it becomes clear they are protecting one of their own. In this manner, Ms Frazer reveals her genius, as she explores each member of the family and what drives them to act as they do.
llighly recommended.
Teresa Basinski Eckford
SCHOLAR IUM
Claudia Gross, Toby Press, 2004, S 19.95, hb, 294pp, 1592640567
The Toby Press is an independent publisher whose purpose is to produce fine literary and commercial fiction and, in addition, to bring works of outstanding writers into English. With Scholarillln, translated from the original German, the press has certainly achie, ed those goals.
Set in Cologne, Germany, in 1413, this dark mystery opens with a murder, but it is more than a simple whodunit. The dead man is Frederico Cassall, one of the Masters of the Seven Liberal Arts at the scholarium. The suspects include the students, the other members of the Faculty, and even the victim's beautiful and learned young wife. While one of the other Faculty Masters is assigned to investigate the crime and interpret the cryptic messages left by the murderer, there is no one brilliant detective at work. Instead, each of the suspects, philosophers all, contributes to the search, intert,, ining their thoughts on the motives of the killer with discussions of the teachings of Thomas Aquinas.
This is not a light work, yet it is surprisingly readable, never becoming bogged do,, n in its own intellectual debates. The reader is likely to solve the mystery long before the culprit confesses, but this does not detract from the unfolding of the story since, as the prologue warns, "in this city everyone had a secret." In Scholarillln, whodunit is only a small part of the fascinating tale.
Sue Asher
PALLAS AND ATHENA
Linda Proud, Godstow Press, 2004, £ I 2.50, pb,489pp,0954736702
Godsto\\' Press, 60 Godstow Road, Wohcrcote, Oxford OX2 8NY www.godstowpress.co.uk
This novel, the second in Linda Proud's 'Botticelli Trilogy', follows the fortunes and
misfortunes of the poet Angelo Poliziano, friend and employee of Lorenzo de' Medici, and of Angelo's sister Maria, during the years of the Pazzi War ( 1478-148 I) when Lorenzo was at war with the Pope.
There are two strands to the narrative: Maria's journal and the memoirs of Tommaso de' Maffei, who is one of the few fictitious characters in the novel. The two voices are quite distinct - Maria's being particularly lyrical - and they weave a tapestry of word pictures which show us Lorenzo's court, his family and friends, and the people of Florence suffering the effects of war, floods and the plague. This is a wonderful historical novel written by an author who can bring the past and its people vividly to life. Not a quick read, but a most absorbing one.
NB: The first novel in the trilogy, A Tabernacle for the Sun, is also available from the above address.
Jeanne Fielder
T H E ROSE OF YO R K: Love & War
Sandra Worth, End Table Books, 2003, $16.95,pb,334pp,0975126407
Embarking upon a noble literary endeavor, Sandra Worth gives us the life of Richard of Gloucester - that's Crookback Richard Ill the nephew-murderer to those of you who take Shakespeare for actual history, and The Last True Plantagenet King and Parfit Gentille Knyghte lo us Ricardians - in an extremely well-researched trilogy. Set against the backdrop of the romanticallynamed Wars of the Roses, which were anything but romantic to the participants, this first novel deals with Richard's life from childhood through his marriage to his cousin Anne Neville and the birth of their first child. Although the writing can be somewhat awkward ("Be careful, George, real careful," says Richard at one point, and at another, Anne wears a "flowing navy mantle" - just to mention a couple of clunkers), the sheer strength of the story carries the day. This admirable historical novel belongs on the shelf of all true Ricardians next to Daughter of'Ti111e And I'm not saying this just because I wear my roses white and still refer to I lenry VII as "that usurper"'
India Edghill
16 t h CENT UR Y
THE SWO R D A D THE SCII\ II TAR
David Ball, Hutchinson 2003, £ 18 99, hb, 688pp,0091799414
This is a very long book. But it is also one of those books in which length does not matter. Indeed, I could have wished it longer, having previously attempted and failed to review a book which was very
ISSUE 28, MAY 2004
short and, for me, unreadable. The difference is instructive. The first book W<!S of the type commonly referred to as 'literary', which I sometimes think should be taken to mean, wonderfully well written but mind-numbingly boring. In such books there are no stories and no characters that immediately engage our interest. With a few honourable exceptions 'literary' historicals are a dead loss. Good historical novelists should above all be storytellers.
Here, the story and the central characters engage at once. Set on the island of Malta in the mid 16 th century when it was under the rule of the Knights of St John, it tells the stories of Nico and Maria Borg, children of a Maltese builder. Nico is kidnapped at the age of nine by Moslem slavers and Maria grows up battling against the narrowness and prejudices of Maltese society. For Nico, in the end, his enslavement proves to be liberation. Moslem society is brutal and often corrupt, yet it does not have the rigid class barriers of 16 th century Europe. Nico discovers that there is a career open to talents by which, occasionally, the very lowest may rise to the top: he becomes a captain in the Ottoman fleet. But this is also the story of the French aristocrat Christien de Vries who wishes to be a surgeon. The rigid barriers of class stand in his way and such a trade is beneath his rank. Yet forced by his father into the aristocratic order of the Knights of St John, a I lospitaller order, he is nevertheless able to practice it. The novel reaches its climax in the long drawn out and bloody siege of Malta; all three discover their destinies. At another level the book explores the con frontal ion between the Christian and Moslem world, a very relevant theme for us today. But it explores it, as a good historical should, through the stories of its main protagonists. Though with the lengthy descriptions of battles etc, the novel does sometimes lose pace, all in all this is a very good read.
Neville Firman
ARTEM ISIA
Anna Banti, Bison Books, 2004 (cl953) , $18.95, pb, 219pp,0803262132 Pub. in the UK by Serpent's Tail, 2003, £7 .99, pb, 224pp, I 852427663
You know you're in for a complicated novel when the author writes a foreword, someone else (Susan Sontag) writes an introduction, and the translator provides an afterword. So much explanation! In this case, we learn that Artemisia is a rewritten novel; the manuscript of the first version was destroyed in the bombing of Italy during the last days of World War II. In the reborn version of the novel, Anna Ban ti's misfortune provides a prism through which we see the lifelong anger and frustration of Artemisia Gentileschi, outspoken rape victim,
THE HJSTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
illiterate, and the best-known female painter of the Italian Renaissance.
Artemisia certainly has quite a bit to be frustrated about: her husband leaves her, motherhood bores her, and she spends most of her life trying unsuccessfully to win her distant father's love. There is no acceptable role for her in her society, and she is consistently underestimated and misunderstood. Unfortunately for the reader, Artemisia has no sense of humor whatsoever, and her unrelenting misery and alienation make her trying company as the book progresses.
The book is evocative and beautifully written; Anna Banti illuminates Artemisia 's story with a lifetime of study in art history. However, the author's habit of interposing herself into the narrative, as if she could ask Artemisia herself about ce1iain plot points, is irritating. I sympathize with the author's troubles, but I am not sure they shou ld become the reader's.
Col leen Quinn
THE SULTAN'S HAREM
Colin Falconer, Crown, 2004, $22.95 / C$34.95, hb, 480pp, 0609610309
Previously pub. in the UK in 1992 as Harem, out of print
Colin Falconer can write; I have reviewed him in this space before. That was for Feathered Se1pen1, about the Spanish conquest of Mexico: good but grim. The Sultan's Harem, treating 16 th century Turkey and especially the relationship between Suleyman the Magnificent and his wife Hiirrem, is equally grim. The difference in my reaction to the two books cannot be that I don't know about the darker side of the Ottoman Empire, having written a trilogy on the subject myself. This proprietary claim, however, may color my response.
I will avoid the game of "find the anachronism," because Falconer's treatment taught me one misstep in my own work to every one I found in his, and I am sympathetic to such failings when the overall research is so good. However, I found his claim of the Turkish harem as a place of enforced silence to be a complete misrepresentation. Silence enforced before the diH·an out in the selwnilik, yes. But every report I have heard gives rather the opposite impression of the institution that sometimes numbered hundreds if not thousands of women for whom music, dance and conversation must have been central forms of amusement.
Maybe length constraints caused material to be cut in the editing process. If some scenes were never written - such as a scene very early where we might be allowed to get a good fix on Hi.irrem's life before her capture to help explain her thirst for revenge - they ought to have been.
Falconer offers plenty of the western harem books' requisite kinky sex, drugs, lolling around eating bonbons by all and sundry, scenes m the bath, and homosexuality. But my biggest complaint was that grimness. I had to reach at least page seventy before I found a character with whom I could sympathize. I turned the pages like mad although not because it was a grippi ng read. I couldn't wait for the nasty characters to kill each other already.
Ann Chamberlin
BEAUYALLET
Georgette Heyer, Harlequin, 2004 (c 1929), $6.50 / C$7.99, pb, 408pp, 037383604X Pub. in the UK by Arrow, 1992, £5.99, pb, 244pp, 0749305096
Returning to Spain from the New World, the ship in which Dona Dominica Rada y Sylva and her father sail is captured by English pirate "mad" Sir Nicholas Beauvallet, cut from the same cloth as Sir Francis Drake, scourge of the Spanish Main. The lady and her captor are soon in love and, rather than causing any fwiher harm, Beauvallet sets father and daughter safe ashore in Spain. As the lovers part, the pirate promises to come to Spain to make her his bride within the year, this in the age of Elizabeth, the Armada and Inqui sition - no mean feat. Heyer, with a cue from Jane Austen, invented the ever-popular regency romance and no one has matched her since. This Ha rlequin reprint of the deceased writer's 1929 tale, however, is not her pest. She does not translate to the era two hundred years earlier quite so well and, though she uses the language of Shakespeare rather than her more usual cant, Spain sometimes feels like more good ton. The characters, too, lack her usual brilliance. Nevertheless, Heyer does read like a hot knife through butter, with very little to disturb the fantasy.
Ann Chamberlin
THE APOTHECARY'S DAUGHTER
Patricia Schonstein, Bantam 2004, £ 12.99. hb,288pp,0593051785
Theodora was born and brought up in a convent. When she reached her nineteenth birthday Leonardo Capelutto took her as his bride. Knowing nothing of the outside world and having no say in the matter she obediently followed the man who was now her husband. From the simple poverty of the convent Theodora was suddenly introduced to a life of luxury. Clad in the finest silks and fed on the most exotic foods with servants at her beck and call she quickly adjusts to her new life. Although her husband is kind and affectionate the marriage is never consummated. Leonardo is often abroad on business and Theodora is a bird in a gilded cage until a handsome stranger calls when her husband is away and she succumbs to his brittle charm.
ISSUE 28, MAY 2004
Set in North Africa against a backdrop of inquisition and persecution this wonderful story contains all the elements of a fairytale. Schonstein loves the use of colour and contrast in her story telling. The sensuous richness of Theodora's Ii fe of ease is contrasted sharply with the ever-present threat of evil hovering in the background. There are many unexpected twists and turns before the denouement.
Ann Oughton
WILL
Grace Tiffany, Berkley, 2004, $21.95, hb, 403pp,0425l9596I
"Will" Shakespeare finds his grand passion at an early age by falling madly in love with the beauty of words, which he reads for hours in his uncle's library and celebrates through years of inexhaustible writing. At age 18, he must marry Anne Hathaway, who is expecting their first child, thereby ruining his plans to further his education. Making his living as a glover, Will spends every spare moment writing poetry on stolen paper and longing to break free of the drudgery of his daily life.
Some fonn of respite comes as traveling players arrive in Stratford to stage Goethe's Faust. When a mishap renders the group's Mephistopheles unable to go on, Will slips into the role, and into the world of actors and playwrights that would define and drive him for the rest of his life. He seeks his fortune in London at great personal sacrifice, including his marriage and daily contact with his beloved children. Anne waits for him to leave his "dream" world at the theatre, to no avail. He builds his career at a time in London when players and playwrights suffer dangerous scrutiny from Queen Elizabeth and her censors. Shakespeare refuses to bow to her tyranny and baits her at every opportunity through his skillful use of words.
In her second book on the life and times of Shakespeare, Tiffany adds just enough insight to the accepted historical facts to bring her vivid story to life. Any reader with an interest in the Bard's turbulent life and times will be transported back to walk the plague-ridden streets of London, witness political intrigue, and watch the transformation of a lowly player into the most celebrated playwright in the history of the world. Tiffany's novel, also, is cause for celebration.
Susan Zabolotny
TAMBURLAINE MUST DIE
Louise Welsh, Canongate, 2004, £7.99, l47pp, 1841955329
Who put the contract out on Christopher Marlowe? The death in 1593 in a tavern brawl in Deptford of the poet, playwright, spy and atheist, has given rise to many
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
different theories. What is doubted by most scholars is that it was merely a drunken fight caused by a fierce disagreement over who should pay the bill for their dinner. Was Marlowe killed to stop him revealing Raleigh's atheism? Was the contract put out by Shakespeare because Marlowe was thought to write better plays? Or did he know too much about the ethics and beliefs of the establishment i.e. the members of the Privy Council?
In this intriguing novella that covers the last three days of Kit Marlowe's life, Louise Welsh gives us her version. It is well-written and carefully researched. That she comes to a different conclusion from mine, in no way spoiled the story for me. I thoroughly enjoyed this book , although I wish it hadn't stopped before the actual brawl.
Pamela Cleaver
17 th CENTURY
GREEN MOUNTAIN, WHITE CLOUD:
A Novel of Love in the Ming Dynasty Fran<;:ois Cheng, St. Martin's Press, 2004, $22.95/C$32.95, hb, 213pp, 0312315740 Fran<;:ois Cheng's new novel is a love story, chock full of many other components, set towards the end of China's Ming Dynasty. The rigidity of social caste and custom and the privileges of nobility have always been prominent in China's history, as exmusician Dao-sheng discovers after his casting of eyes on Lady Lan-ying. Daosheng, after paying for his "crime" with hard labor, escapes and eventually finds himself hoping to seeing the lady again. Using medical skills he learned at a monastery, Dao-sheng gains access to , and treats , the ailing Lady Ying, and the purity of their love is rekindled
With many allegorical illusions and motifs common to Chinese culture, Cheng's novel is more like a fairy tale and parable rolled into one. It is set at a time when Western thought is slowly permeating China, and the old ways are being challenged. Perhaps a tad pessimistic while trying to be uplifting in meaning, the story of true love, spiritual and faithful, is eternal and will survive any worldly upheaval.
Suzanne Crane
AURIEL RISING
Elizabeth Redfern, Putnam , 2004, $24.95/C$3 7.50, hb, 386pp, 0399 I 51052 Pub. in the UK by Century, 2004, £ I 5.99, hb,432pp ,07 12623787
It is 1609 , and Ned Warriner has covertly slipped back into London, following a twoyear self-imposed exile for rescuing a Catholic friend falsely accused of being a spy. Since at this time in England's history
it is dangerous to even be a Catholic, Ned's offense in this regard is no small thing To further complicate matters, the sweetheart he left behind and who still holds his heart is now unhappily married to Francis Pelham, a Catholic hunter. Shortly after his arrival, Ned wins a mysterious (and most likely stolen) leather-bound book in a game of chance. When he later discovers a letter secreted inside beginning with the words "To Aurie! I will give the gift of gold", Ned suddenly finds himself free-falling into a labyrinth of treachery and sedition. Who is the mysterious Aurie!? Could this letter be the long-sought-after formula for turning base metals into gold or an obscure cipher outlining some type of sinister plot? As Ned struggles to find answers, word of his discovery leaks out, and people around him begin dying.
Filled with colorful characters, thorough research of the period, and intrigue galore, Aurie/ Rising is a virtual reading feast for mystery lovers. Additionally, the atmosphere of England during this era of religious and political tunnoil is acutely palpable throughout the author's skillfully weaved storyline. I now look forward with ant1c1pation to reading Redfem's first historical thriller , Music of the Spheres, which has also garnered many positive reviews.
Pat Maynard
THE CUREWIFE
Claire-Marie Watson, Birlinn Ltd 2003, £8.99, pb, I 62pp, 0954407547
This is the story of Grissel Jaffray told in her own words. She came from a long line of wise women, who some would call witches. A collective knowledge of herbal remedies that was passed from mother to daughter with the addition of common sense meant that she was sought after for her expertise in curing various ills but such knowledge could be dangerous as some would regard her with suspicion.
Arriving from Aberdeen to settle in Dundee as a new bride Grissel lived through the most turbulent times in the city's history. In her secret journal she records her daily life against a backdrop of permanent unrest. Cromwell's rise to power, Montrose 's attacks on Dundee followed by plague and witch-hunts.
Claire-Marie Watson's debut novel won the Dundee Book Prize in 2002.Grissel Jaffray is based on a real character. The novel is presented as her journal and her character is vibrantly brought to life through the skilful use of a first person narrative that rings of authenticity. It is a startlingly realistic portrayal of Grissel's life and times Ann Oughton
ISSUE 28, MAY 2004
18 th CENTURY
THE HOUSE IN THE FOREST
Michele Desbordes, Faber & Faber 2004, £ 12 .99, hb, I 86pp, 0571217788, trans. Shaun Whiteside. (First published in France 2001 byGallimard)
The bare plot outline for this novel is ostensibly conventional. Set in the last thirty years of the I 8 th century a man sails from France to Haiti to make his fortune. I-le fails, returns home and dies. The form in which this basic tale is narrated is unusual. The plot, such as it is, is revealed in a breathless pre se nt stream-of-consciousness by a less than omniscient narrator. It is repetitious and circular, possibly intending to match the regularity of the seasons that play a central role in the story, and drift into an obsessivecompulsive behaviour by the traveller.
This novel might be interpreted as the literary equivalent of contemporary minimalist music by Michael Nyman or Philip Glass. Whilst this forn1 can be captivating to the ear it does not work well on the printed page. The hi s torical content is sparse and in truth could easily have been Se t in any age or country. This is primarily an experimental work rather than a n historical novel.
Doug Kemp
OUR LIVES, OUR FORTUNES
J.E. Fender, Univ. Press of New England, 2004, $24.95, hb, 309pp, I 584653752
According to hi s website, Fender set out to create a fictional American naval hero to rival British captains Hornblower and Aubrey. In this third book of the Frost Saga se t in 1776 , Geoffrey Frost sails his privateer, Audacity, to Britain and attacks the collier 0eet at Tynemouth. On his return to America, he volunteers to lead a group of drover s overland to convey captured British provisions to George Washington's troops somewhere in the wilds of Pennsylvania. The arrival of supplies revives the disheartened troops, whereupon Wa s hington conscripts Frost a nd hi s men to use their boat-wagons to ferry the Continental army across the Delaware for a daring night attack o n Trenton.
I have not read the prior vo lumes of the se rie s, and would not recommend starting with this one. Volume 3 does not reveal much backstory. For example, Frost repeatedly refers to his crewman Ming Tsun as his best friend , but in this volume Ming ac ts as a servant who stays largely in the background. Previous volumes pre s umably ex plain their relationship more clearly.
Fender falls into a common trap for historical novelists: dispensing historical facts in a manner that does not propel the story forward. Washington says, "Know yo u , Captain Frost, that Philadelphia is second only to London in population among
TIIE IIISTOR!CAL NOVELS REVIEW
the English-speaking world? Who would think it?" in the middle of a paragraph that is supposed to be about using boats to cross the Delaware and has little to do with Philadelphia. And that isn't the only instance of research results dropped awkwardly into conversations.
However , despite those drawbacks, I was intrigued enough with the adventure and period detail to want to go back and read volume I, to get the rest of the story and understand the characters better.
B.J. Sedlock
NAPOLEON, The Song of Departure
Max Gallo, Macmillan 2004 , £ I 0.99, pb, 400pp, 0333907973, trans. William Hobson, (First published as Napoleon.Le Chant du depart by Robert Laffont, Paris 1997) Pub. in the US by Planet Publishing Corp.2003, $9.95,pb, 380pp,84080394l5
The fiercely patriotic, under-sized young son of an illustrious Corsican family is delivered to the Royal Military School of Brienne on 15 May 1799. Here he remains for several years, forbidden even a single day's leave. He cannot speak a word of French and suffers a stream of abuse from his school mates. None of these facts discourage the nine-year-old Napoleone Buonaparte - he is determined to be a successfu I soldier at any cost.
It is an ambition that will be more than satisfied. I-le weathe rs the murderous revolutionary years, survives the battlefields of Italy, Egypt and France and endures the agonies of a passionate love for Josephine to become absolute ruler of France in a matter of twenty years.
This is the first book in Max Gallo 's quartet and is a magnificent fusion of fact and imagination. The series has been acclaimed in France and it is easy to see why. The novel is a finely detailed portrait of a passionate, 0amboyant and driven soldier and politician. Perseverance and detem1ination are his defining characteristics and he uses them to the full in pursuit of his goals - equally in love as in action. Happily the translator has also managed to retain all the image1y and lyricism that must characterise the original prose making the novel a joy to read.
This is a credible insight into the mind of the man known to posterity as the Little Emperor.
Sara Wil so n
POWDER AND PATCH
Georgette Heyer, Harlequin, 2004, $6.50 / C$7.99, pb, 282 pp , 0373836023 Pub. in the UK by Arrow, 1993, £5.99, pb, 240pp,0749305177
Originally published as The Trans/iirmation of Philip J e llan, this early work by the admired Georgette Heyer contains the language and idi om of the Georgian era, and depicts Fielding-esque characters.
Philip Jettan , son of a Sussex squire, is indifferent to society and fashion. Other than farming, hi s ambition is to marry Cleone Charteris, his lovel y neighbor, recently returned from London. She, however, finds her country beau lacking in refinem ent: an opinion shared by Philip ' s own father. When a gentlemanly rival appears on the scene, Philip's jealousy is roused. His defeat in a sword fight, and Cleone's rejection of his marriage proposal, force a se lf-e xamination - and a selfimposed exile to France
In Paris , Philip learns his lessons well, and becomes the rage. In London he repeats his socia l triumphs before Cleonc's astonished eyes. 1-ler heart belongs to him, but his intentions have apparently altered as drastically as his appearance. As one expects from He yer, the conclusion of this sprightly, amusing tale is highly satisfying and of course, romantic.
Margaret Barr
FAIR IS THE ROSE
Liz Curtis Higgs, WaterBrook, 2004, $13.99/$20.99, pb, 464pp, 15 78561272 Higgs' ro111antic saga, based on the LeahRachel-Jacob biblical triangle, continues in this sequel to Thorn In My Heart. It is 1789 in Galloway, Scotland, and we pick up the story with the same scene that ended the previous book. Little did we know , as Leana and Jamie McKie took the first steps toward a true and loving marriage, that Leana 's jealous younger sister Rose eavesdropped on their conversation. This sets the tone for this beautifully written , emotionally wrenching novel. Leana 's greedy father Lachlan still refuses to let her and Ja111ie return to his home to start a new life, but Lachlan is not their biggest problem. Rose 's selfishness, borne of a legal loophole, ultimately causes her sister and Jamie more pain than they can bear.
Describing this book as a tea1jerker is an understate111ent. Unable to endure more heartbreak, I kept putting the book down for a breather, yet the storyline pulled me right back in. Characterization is wonderful, and the liltin g dialect feels spot on. Bits of Scottish folklore weave their way into the story, giving it a truly authentic feel; the glossary at the end completes the picture. We all know the biblical tale , yet I couldn't help but root for Leana. And can Rose ever redeem herself? I can't wait to see how I li ggs ends the trilogy.
Sarah Johnson
LICHTENBERG AND THE LITTLE FLOWER GIRL
Gert Hoffman, New Directions , 2004, $25.95/C$34.99, hb, 245 pp, 0811215687
Translated from the German by the late author's son, this fictional biography depicts
ISSUE 28, MAY 2004
an episode in the life of 18 th century scholar Georg Lichtenberg. His eccentricities, his conversations with fellow intellectuals and philosophers, and most especially in his passionate affair with a young flower seller, are drawn with warmth, humor, and realism.
A professor of philosophy at Gottingen University, Lichtenberg's mental capabilities are as unlimited and soaring as his physical person is limited. The stunted hunchback, a man of great appetites, is fascinated by females, but due to his deformities his confidence doesn't match his curiosity. In his mid-thirties, his lonely, scholarly existence i. transformed by a girl not yet thirteen. Lovely Maria Stechar, "The Stechardess," lives with him, cares for him, and after a tentative, awkward courtship, shares her body with him, to the astonishment of his jealous peers. At times, dread of losing her overrides his reason.
Innovative and absorbing, Hoffman's last novel is well worth seeking out.
Margaret Barr
THE SPITHEAD NYMPH
Jan Needle, McBooks, 2004, $14.95, pb, 287pp, I 590130774
Instead of finding himself before a courtmartial for smuggling, Midshipman William Bentley is promoted to lieutenant and assigned to the Biter. Although Captain Richard Kaye helped Bentley to escape imprisonment or worse, Bentley holds Kaye in low regard. They're bound for Jamaica to protect the colonists, but getting there proves dimcult since murderers and pressed men aboard the Biter stir up trouble at every oppo11unity.
As a prostitute, Deb Tomelty knows their love is ill suited, but she searches for Bentley anyway. At every turn she misses him, and is abused and misused. She ends up aboard a ship bound for Jamaica where she is sold as an indentured servant to the devil himself.
This is the third novel in the Sea Officer William Bentley series. It provides a realistic portrayal of eighteenth-century life, but there is nothing in the text to alert the reader to a specific time period. Readers unacquainted with naval terminology and the practice of impressment will find some chapters, particularly the first one, unfathomable. Although much of the story takes place in England prior to the Biter's sailing, this gritty and violent novel will appeal to those with an interest in the British Royal Navy during the Age of Sail.
Cindy Vallar
THE 1ADDEST IDEA
James Nelson, Corgi 2004, £6.99, pb, 528pp, 0552149616. Pub in the US by Atria Books 1997, $14.00, pb, 417pp, 0671519255
This second book in the Revolution at Sea series is in the mould of other long running
TIIE IIISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
nautical series such as Hornblower and those of Patrick O'Brian. I would suggest that this is not as accomplished as those two stalwarts of the genre.
This story is written from the perspective of the fledgling American Navy at the time of the American War of Independence and the Royal Navy is cast in the role of the enemy. The hero is Captain Isaac Biddlecombe, a somewhat reluctant, introspective protagonist much concerned with incidents from his past and the welfare of the men under his command. The plot concerns a plan for Biddlecombe to capture British gunpowder stocks held at Bermuda to further George Washington's cause but he sails into a trap and is captured. Washington despatches his aide-de-camp, Major Edward Fitzgerald, to hunt down the traitor responsible whilst Biddlecombe has to find a way to free his men and the ship. There is a love interest in the form of Virginia Stanton, daughter of the local Senator.
There is much action on the high seas with a wealth of detail about ships and seamanship. A glossary of terms and a diagram of all the different masts and sails are helpfully supplied. The battle scenes are sometimes a little complicated for the uninitiated. There were some anachronisms that offended this reader but may not be important to all. Nevertheless, this is an exciting story with an air of authenticity that will appeal to fans of the genre.
Ray Taylor
THE CO TINENTAL RISQUE
James Nelson, Corgi 2004, £6.99, pb, 445pp, 0552149624. Pub. in the US by Pocket Books 1998, $21.95, pb, 372pp, 0671013815
This is the third book in the Revolution at Sea series set against the War of Independence. Unlike so many books in series this one can be read totally alone despite the occasional references to previous exploits of Captain Isaac Biddlecombe.
It is 1776 and the rebel Americans have authorised the creation of a United States Navy with Biddlecombe in charge of one of their ships. Combined with the objective of the mission he has to contend with betrayal and a mutinous crew as well as the British Navy. It is an enthralling action novel with a cast of rounded, interesting characters and if readers have time during the fast and furious action to follow the intricacies of sailing vessels there are diagrams of the rigging and a comprehensive glossary to help. I was too eager to find out what happened - always a sign of a successful novel.
Marina Oliver
THE WICKED LOVER
Julia Ross, Berkley, 2004, Sl3 / CSl9 50, pb , 388pp,042519406X
Robert Sinclair Dovenby is London's favorite rogue. His reputation with the ladies is well known. When his current paramour finds two women, one of whom is dressed as a boy, in his quarters, she has every reason to publicly dump him by burning his clothes in the street. Now Robert is out clothes, a lover, and may lose favor with the ton. As punishment to those who caused the trouble, he insists that Sylvie Georgiana, Countess of Montevrain, disguised as a young man, become his secretary. Sylvie is rleased, because she is under orders from Lord Yvenshire to discover information that will destroy Dovenby. The attraction between the two is undeniable but forbidden, because of Sylvie's ruse. Eventually her adventurous spirit combined with Dove's sensual desire to please lead in the direction of all good romance novels.
Ross's depiction of 18 th century London allows us to see erotic and usually off-limits territory from a woman's point of view. Sylvie's disguise lets her experience new freedoms as she accompanies Dove to seedy taverns at unwholesome hours of the night. When Dove exposes one of his many secrets, Sylvie responds to this revelation with interest rather than revulsion, leading to sometimes silly sex talk. Overall, however, the dialog is clever and engaging
This action-packed Georgian romance has a level of suspense regarding the characters' pasts that will keep the pages turning to the very tidy end.
Suzanne J. Sprague
LOVE AND HO OR
Randall Wallace, Simon & Schuster, 2004. S25,hb,399pp,07432565l9X
Implausible as it may seem, England sought to procure Russian troops to assist in putting down the American Rernlution. While every American schoolchild is taught of the "Hessian" mercenaries who played a cntical role in British military policy bet,,een 1775 and 1783, London's dealings with Catherine the Great for 20,000 Russian soldiers remains largely unknown. Randall Wallace, screenwriter for Bra, eheart, We Were Soldiers, and Pearl 1-/arhor, has taken this fact and crafted an extraordinarily exciting novel of military action and political intrigue. Virginian Kieran Selkirk is dispatched by Benjamin Franlslin on a secret mission to convince the Tsarina of the folly of aiding London against the Colonies. Aided by his friend, the enigmatic Sergei Gorlov , the young American encounters an exotic world of court intrigue, feckless nobles, scheming courtiers of both genders, and marauding Cossacks. Tempted by fame and duplicitous noblewomen, Selkirk finds himself
ISSUE 28, MAY 2004
falling in love with a beautiful and resourceful Polish servant while simultaneously pursued by a smitten Catherine.
Some may scoff at the plot and the chances a young foreigner would have of seducing Catherine the Great, but the story of the British attempt to procure Russian troops is true - and Catherine was, shall we say, never known as a prude.
John R. Vallely
OTHER SORROWS, OTHER JOYS
Janet Warner, St. Martin's, 2003, $25.95/C$35.95, hb , 371 pp , 03 l 231440X I must admit to having been completely ignorant about Catherine Boucher Blake, William Blake's wife, until I read this book. I'm glad that ignorance is a thing of the past.
Blake, the poet of Songs of innocence and Experience, was an engraver by trade , marginally successful - not because he did not have the ability to succeed in his business, but because economic success had no attraction for him. Rather, Blake was a mystic and a psychic who experienced regular visions. I le saw the face of evil. He saw the spirit of his younger brother guiding and protecting him. While Kate also had visions, she was able to keep hers in check while Blake's began to cloud his world and judgment.
Through K ate's eyes and words, we share a vision of a new and revolutionary world, brought into being by the tumult of the French and American Revolutions. Many artists were part of this revolutionary fervor, including the Blakes' good friend, Mary Wollestonecraft, who plays a significan t role in this novel. And that revolution was not merely political: Blake regularly had very open extra-marital relationships, as many of their "crowd" did , even though he and Kate continued to have a powerful physical connection throughout their marriage It was Blake's philosophy that love was meant to be shared, not drowned in monogamy.
Kate is a complex woman of her timesspanning the late I 8th and early I 9th centuries - and yet, a very modern one. Janet Warner, a talented writer with considerable skill, fills the pages of this novel with the joys a nd sorrows of Kate's life : her barrenness, her unrecognized talent as a painter, her husband's instability and his infidelities are at counterpoint with her great love for Blake and for the other man in her life. Although Kate Blake's options may have been limited , Warner still manages to breathe Ii fe into her, creating a fascinating protagonist in this beautifully written and conceptualized novel.
Ilysa Magnus
19 th CENTURY
MY OLD TRUE LOVE
Sheila Kay Adams, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2004, $23.95/C$35.95, hb, 288pp , 1565 I 24073
The Appalachian Mountains around Marshall, North Carolina, in the mid-19th century is the setting of this narrative. Like the ancient ballads brought to the region by English, Scottish and Irish settlers, it deals with lost love and heartbreak. As Arty Wallin narrates, her brother Hackley and their cousin Larkin grow up fascinated by the old songs their Granny teaches them. Hackley, with his pure tenor voice, has a natural ability on the fiddle, and with women. Larkin's voice has a deeper, more haunting tone, best suited to mournful ballads. While they compete to see who can sing best, it's good-natured fun. However, when they both fall in love with the same girl, Arty foresees only heartache.
There is another level to this story. Arty's narrative underscores the Civil War's ·impact on those far removed from the big cities of the North and plantations of the South. These people weren't slave owners. They weren't involved in industry or agriculture beyond what they needed for their own subsistence. Some, like Arty's father and husband , followed personal conviction in choosing sides. More often, men and boys were conscripted before they could make a choice Families and communities split over these issues. Further, while the battlefields were far away, local militias unleashed more violence than they contained. As for the women, the war forced them to take on new roles , ones that were hard to give up later.
Sheila Kay Adams borrowed from her own family history in writing this novel. The inclusion of the lyrics of many old ballads adds dimension and tone. Making good use of mountain vernacular, Adam magically lifts the reader to another place and time.
Alice Logsdon
LEVIATHAN (US title: MURDER ON THE LEVIATHAN)
Boris Akunin, translated from the Russian by Andrew Bromfield, Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 2004, £9.99 hb, 236pp 0297645528. Published in the US by Randon House, $21.95, hb, 1400060516 A masterly translation, interspersed with English witticisms.
It is 1878 and a mixed bag of educated Europeans and Asiatics are brought together in the Windsor dining room on a great steamship passing through Suez en route from Southampton to Tahiti. On board a
Poirot-like Parisian police commissioner sets out to find the murderer of Lord Littleby and his staff. How the commissioner manages to assemble all his suspects together is not explained. Through this assortment of well-drawn and diverse characters (including a femme fatale) we see the story, involving immense wealth in jewels and an enigmatic Eastern printed shawl.
At times there are strong nineteenth century racist overtones and a few anachronisms - did they really have paper napkins and switched electric lights aboard ship in 1878? Were the words 'suntan', 'medic' and 'make-up' in common use then?
Since the murders and burglaries occurred in Paris to an English lord, many areas for dispute arise between the French commissioner and the attendant English inspector. Vive la difference! The set-up, exploration and examination occupy the first half of the book, the denouement the second.
This admirable, if light-hearted , crime romp manages to impart many interesting historical, geographica l and nauto-technical facts to the reader. It is a romance, if not romantic. Nevertheless Leviathan draws an interesting distinction between the beliefs that Christian sin generates guilt and Japanese, shame.
What are the production faults? The book's arrangement of attributions separated from speech is off-putting and irritatingly , the Japanese man's view of the murder 's solution is typeset in two vertical blocks per page on the side. Characters change names from title, first name to surname to alter ego. Two names begin Ren Confusing! Or is it just me?
This is a fascinating traditional crime sto1y, which would at times benefit from fw1her editing to achieve nuidity and clarity. Geoffrey Harfield
SLIGHTLY SINFUL
Mary Balogh, Dell, 2004, $6.50/ C$9.99, pb , 384pp,0440236606
In Slightly Sin/iii, Alleyne Bedwyn disappears after the Battle of Waterloo. His instructions to his sister, Morgan , were to wait for his return. In the ensuing chaos, Rachel York goes to the Battlefield hoping to find enough money to repay her prostitute friends' savings, stolen by Rachel's fiance. In stead of money, she finds a naked, wounded, almost dead Alleyne. She takes him to the brothel where the " ladies" nurse him. Alleyne recovers physically, but has amnesia. Thinking that Rachel is a prostitute, he takes her innocence , and then feels guilty because he cannot offer her marriage. He has a vague feeling that a woman, probably his wife, awaits him. There is one way Rachel can repay her
ISSUE 28, MAY 2004
friends, but she needs Alleyne's help to return to England and get control of her personal fortune.
Mary Balogh has created an endearing family saga with the boisterous, larger-thanlife Bedwyns. This is lifth in the Bedwyn family se ries. While each book stands alone, the action in Slightly Tempted, the fourth book, and this volume takes place concurrently, and both stories conclude at about the same time.
Audrey Braver
SLIGHTLY DANGEROUS
Mary Balogh, Delacorte, 2004, $20 / CS30, hb,344pp,0385338112
Fans of Mary Balogh's previous Regency romance novels centering on the Bedwyn family wil l surely want to read this, the last in the series. What exactly makes Wulfric Bedwyn tick? What sort of lady will succeed in capturing the heart of the curiously taciturn and aloof Duke? Can the glacia l stare be penetrated, and what lies beneath? All these questions are finally answered.
While one might assume otherwise, Wulfric's ideal mate turns out to be slightly unorthodox. Christine Derrick, a young widow of noble but impoverished birthright, is outspoken, a little clumsy, and not a bit snobbish. Their initial meeting is cute, and their subsequent encounters hint at a growing, mutual attraction.
As usual, Balogh provides background information on a ll the characters, so even those who haven't read the previous Bedwyn novels will be able to enjoy the story. She has a talent for clever dialogue and descriptive phrasing. Some readers might notice similarities in the manner in which she sets up romantic encounters. But when stories are well-written and entertaining, and when characters and situations develop plausibly, a little redundancy is a minor complaint. Alice Logsdon
WHERE HEAVEN BEGINS
Rosanne Bittner, Steeple Hill, 2004, $ 12 .95, pb , 329 pp,0373785135
Rosanne Bittner, RITA Award finalist with over fifty historical romances to her credit, sets her first Christian romance on a journey from San Francisco to the Klondike's 1890s Gold Rush. Newly orphaned Elizabeth Breckenridge is falsely accused of seducing her congregation's minister. She sets off to find her brother's mission in the wild boomtown of Dawson. Fortunately for her purse and virtue, she captures the attention of Clint Brady, a bounty hunter with a tragic past, who is hunting a Mixed Blood bank robber who lives there. C lint keeps his skills in good shape with many rescues of our heroine, while she looks after his damaged soul and pneumonia wracked body.
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
This melodrama is peopled with stock characters traveling at breakneck pace through their adventures. Nice surprises, however, await those who meet a bank robber who isn't what he first appears to be, and Elizabeth's new Chinese sister-in- law. The underlying thread ofan intensely personal God working in people's lives is sure to inspire its intended readers, but the rest of us might wish, like Clint, that his Lizzy would give her constant sern1onizing a rest.
Eileen Charbonneau
LEADING LADY
Lawana Blackwell, Bethany House, 2004, $12.99, pb,432pp,0764222600
Bethia loves the theatre. As wardrobe mistress for London's Royal Court Theatre, she enjoys seeing "the playwright's lines delivered with such naturalness as if the actor's mind were composing them." Bethia doesn't love h er cousin -by-marria ge, whose relentless pursuit is becoming a nuisance. She agreed to have tea with him because in 1897 "some of the more unreasonable chains of propriety that had bound their mothers were loosening." But Douglas got the wrong idea. When Bethia returns to Girton College, he causes a scene which embarrasses the staid young woman.
The author writes with confidence and a fine precision in realistic detail that captures the time period. She goes deeper into history, as when she details the founding of Harrod's. In one chapter she sketches the life of Muriel, sister of Douglas, who is a young widow, rich and selfish, and keeps her little daughter in the wings being cared for by servants. Muriel, the villain, is more interesting than the heroine. She's exciting and unpredictable, while Bethia seems self-righteous.
Blackwell is a good storyteller, but some of her summarizing is dashed-off. "Sports were his passion, and over his relatively short life span he had broken both anm, his right foot, and a finger." As the author makes more of a point that John is accident-prone, she risks uninten1ional humour.
A third of the way through the book, Blackwell introduces a new set of characters. The shift is jarring because we were expecting a juicy conflict between Bethia and Muriel, and instead we ' re taken 200 miles north. Noah and Jude soon win us over, but we wonder how they fit with the others. As actors they gravitate to the theatre world of London, and provide the needed impelu for the plot.
Marcia K. Matthews
A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL
Liz Carlyle, Pocket, 2004, $6.99/C$ I 0.50, pb,375pp,0743470036
When Aubrey Montford shows up at Cardow Castle, late and with a son, to take up the position of housekeeper, she is
almost thrown out. Cardow is the seat of Lord Walrafen, who rarely visits. His uncle hires her. For three years Aubrey corresponds with Lord Walrafen , keeping him up to date on estate matters, much to his chagrin. When his uncle is murdered, Walrafen returns for the funeral. He is immediately struck by his housekeeper 's um1sual beauty, not to mention her talent in managing the estate. Aubrey has a secret that, if known, could mean her son's death. The investigation forces Aubrey to spin a web of lies. Walrafen knows she is lying but cannot help falling in love with her She returns his love, but it is too dangerous to trust him with the truth. It is truly a matter of life and death.
Liz Carlyle's latest novel shimmers with passion and intrigue. Max de Rohan, the gentleman detective (Nu True Centle111un) who is maiTied to Walrafen's stepmother, ren,ms with his sidekick Kemble to help solve the mysterious death ofWalrafen 's uncle.
Audrey Braver
YESTERDAY'S PROI\IISE
Linda Lee Chaikin, WaterBrook, 2004, $13.99, pb, 372pp, 1578565146 " And what had suddenly annulled his concern over the betrayal of Lord Bancroft's abandoned daughter? Power and money. They were Julien's life's blood ; like Rhodes and many others in the Company, Julien worshiped at the temple of diamonds and go ld. " The lust for wealth, land , and supremacy transformed multiple lives as South Africa's riches were discovered and claimed in the late 1800s. Cecil Rhodes, who eventually became Prime Minister of Capetown, initially dreamed of building an empire for Great Britain. He and other visionary antagonists are portrayed by their ruthless deeds of exploitation in this sequel to Chaikin's Tomorrow's Treasure.
Eva Varley and Rogan Chantry, the protagonists, seek success without sacrificing their integrity. Initially they provoke each other yet draw closer over the years, a closeness that must remain dormant because of their supposed different social and economic backgrounds. Bui there's a mystery lurking behind Eva's identity that has to do with a stolen and missing gem, the famous Black Diamond. II has caused the murder of Henry Chantry, Rogan 's uncle, and Rogan is determined to discover both the murderer and the undiscovered wealth on the map Henry has willed to Rogan. Eva's engagement to Derwent, son of the parson of Grimston 's Way, England, is broken and she is educated lo open her own music school. But someone is also still searching for both the Black Diamond and the map that will guarantee more than a lifetime of riches. Chaikin pre .e nts this highly credible connict at a nawless, rapid, and heart-rending pace , adding a lovely ,
28, MAY 2004
romantic story that delightfully softens yet embellishes the building tension and mystery in this engaging novel.
Yiviane Crystal
FIRE BELL I THE NIGHT
Tim Champlin, Five Star, 2004, $25.95, hb, 270pp, 15941403240
The newest novel by Tim Champlin begins with a chance meeting between Alex Thorne, a retired Secret Service agent, and Rudyard Kipling, a young, energetic author on his first American tour. They are both on board the storm-tossed City of Peking, which threatens to capsize at any moment. Alex is contemplating his future and battling a severe bout of seasickness when he rescues Kipling from a life-threatening "accident." I le becomes suspicious and signs on lo tour as Kipling's bodyguard.
Through a series of close calls and dangerous mishaps, they manage to escape the clutches of a band of mysterious enemies as they criss-cross the country. All the while, Kipling records his impressions of America lo send home to his Indian newspaper, the Allalwhad Pioneer. He routinely creates conflict with essays and interviews full of barbs and insults for his host country and its proud people, who frequently settle their differences outside the law. This, too, increases Alex's concern for his client.
The excitement builds as Alex realizes these small attempts al harassment have taken on a more sinister lone, and Kipling's life is at stake. lie begins to suspect his old nemesis, Ann Gilcrease. a lawless exConfederate spy and master of disguise, \,ho nearly killed Alex eight years earlier before escaping her captors and vanishing into society. Alex must use all of his expertise lo outwit the would-be assassins and make sure Kipling lives to complete his tour and return to India unharmed.
Champlin's novel is fast-paced and enjoyable. No1\11ere is this more apparent than in the book's thrilling climax, in which Kipling and Alex (and even a guest-starring Mark Twain) face down their enemy in a conclusion that proves the s11 ord can be just as mighty as the pen.
Susan Zabolotny
AN INCONVENIE T WIFE
Megan Chance, Warner, 2004, USS24.95 CS36.95, hb, 404pp, 0--l46529567
As the beautiful daughter of wealthy Delancy Yan Berckel, Lucy Carelton is a member of Caroline Astor's Four I lundred Set of late nineteenth century New York. I !er life seems a fairy tale. On the surface, she is the indulged and pampered wife of successful stockbroker. William Careltonuntil she becomes inconvenient. Lucy's first inconvenience is her failure lo conceive a child. Add to that alternating bouts of
hysteria and depression, and Lucy becomes more inconvenient. After a succession of doctors and misdiagnoses, she becomes the patient of Victor Seth, a doctor of the new science of neurology and practitioner of hypnotism. Under Dr. Seth's care, Lucy grows steadily better. William is grateful until Lucy's recovery turns her into an independent woman, an even greater inconvenience than her chronic illnesses. Lucy develops an attachment for Victor that is more than mere transference. The feeling is mutual, an inconvenience that forces William to take drastic measures.
Megan Chance has created a wonderfully complex character in Lucy Carelton. An Inconvenient Woman unfolds in a smooth, almost addictive narrative. Iler multi-dimensional characters astonish the reader, as will the ending.
Audrey Braver
MATCHLESS
Jane Candia Coleman, Five Star, 2003, S25.95, hb,247pp,0786238038
Forget what you might have heard about Augusta Pierce Tabor- that is, if you heard anything. The plain first wife of Horace Tabor, uncrowned silver king of I 9'h century Leadville, Colorado, Augusta was unceremoniously cast aside when her husband fell in love with dewy-eyed Elizabeth McCourt "Baby'' Doe. Gusta's story begins in 1855 Maine, when she first meets "I law" Tabor, a handsome stonecutter she impresses with her intelligence. Though plagued with ill health, Gusta follows him westward, first 10 the Kansas plains, then to Colorado in search of greater wealth. For years, she frugally raises their son while cooking for men in mining camps - the sole woman in an untamed land. By 1878, I law has struck it rich. His extravagance knows no bounds. It's then that Gusta, wanting only love and stability, knows she has lost him for good.
Augusta's own story is long overdue, and Coleman tells it to perfection. In smooth prose, she gives Ii fe lo a woman whose hard work and stamina paved the way for westward settlement. Augusta's greatest flaw, her unending love for such an unworthy man, stands as testament lo her persistence, generosity, and courage. It's unfortunate that the novel grants Baby Doe the last word, but this, too, is in keeping with the unsung heroism of Augusta's life.
Sarah Johnson
SHARPE'S ESCAPE
Bernard Cornwell, HarperCollins, 2004, $25.95 / CS38.95, hb, 368pp, 0007120133 Pub. in the UK by HarperCollins, 2004, £17.99, hb,288pp,0007120133
Richard Sharpe and the venerated, dutiful Pat I larper return in a finely honed and
sometimes satirical fashion in Cornwell's twentieth Sharpe novel.
The year is 1810. The French are still endeavouring to crack the British hold on Portugal, and Sharpe faces the possible loss of the South Essex to a wellinfluenced, inferior officer. And, in his ever charming way, he has made yet another hot-tempered, indecorous adversary - Ferragus, a Portuguese rogue who has devised a way to ingratiate himself with the French. The conflict between the two men is furious, compelling and so boorish it borders on the humorous at times!
Cornwell has an astonishing gift for writing about battles. The Battle of Bussaco draws the reader to the point of tasting the gunpowder each time the Rifleman reload, smelling the stench of death, seeing the smoke from the cannons, and watching a foggy mist lift to reveal the fallen, massacred bodies. We experience what Sharpe and his men endure because Cornwell spares us nothing.
Sharpe's Escape is spiced with slices of humour - the most outrageous scenes take place in an underground sewer - and slivers of reality, of funereal absurdity that could only take place under the circumstances of war. Shwpe ·.1· Escape is a fitting addition to this long-running series. It can also be read as a standalone, though why anyone would wish to miss out on any of Richard Sharpe's escapades would be a mystery in this reviewer's eyes.
Wendy A. Zollo
TESTED BY FATE
David Donachie, McBooks, 2004, S 17.95, pb, 403pp, 1590130421
Pub. in the UK as Nelson: Breaking the Line, Orion, 200 I,£ I 2.99, pb, 4 l 6pp, 0752846817
Second of a "trilogy-in-the-making," this novel delves deeper into the lives of l loratio Nelson, one of England's greatest naval heroes, and Emma l lamilton, his notorious mistress. As Nelson's star continues lo rise in the Royal Navy, he meets and is immediately attracted to Lady Emma Hamilton, wife of the British ambassador at Naples. His attraction turns out to be mutual. After a brief, intimate encoun1er between the two, a French man-of-war is sighted, and Nelson and his crew leave Naples in pursuit. A married man, raised by a strict clergyman father, Nelson torments himself over his attraction lo Lady Hamilton and vows, from that point on, lo remain faithful to his wife. As we all know, though, promises are much easier made than kept. When Nelson returns to Naples five years later and evacuates the royal family and their entourage from advancing French troops and Neapolitan sympathizers, he and
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28, MAY 2004
Emma are reunited once again - and both of their lives are forever changed. The author's research into the lives of Horatio Nelson and Lady Hamilton is indepth and impressive, as are his numerous depictions of Nelson's sea battles during the timespan covered. The combination of the two portray well the tumultuous times of the Napoleonic wars and their far-reaching consequences into the lives or so many. J look forward to the concluding novel or this trilogy. Highly recommended.
Pat Maynard
LADY SCANDAL
Shannon Donnelly, Zebra, 2004, $4.99, pb, 222pp,0821774l23
Widowed Alexandria Sandal finds her Paris holiday cut short when war is declared between France and England in 1803. Responsible for her 19-year old niece's sarety, Alexandria tries to return to England by traveling at night in order to avoid the French authorities authorized to arrest all English. To complicate matters, an injured Paxten Marsett, also wanted by the French for a roguish, but not illegal act, manages to sneak into their carriage disguised as their maid. Problems multiply as Alexandria remembers feelings she held for Paxton ten years earlier when she was 30 and already wed to another. These old frelings and Paxton's wounds cause her to make decisions that could endanger everyone as she to help them all e lud e the French army.
Donnelly's research is subt ly showcased in the period-appropriate apparel, food, and military activities. Other pieces or history such as the role or the Vendeans also meld well with the story, which is mostly a long chase scene interspersed with bits or romantic spark left over from Alexandria's and Paxton's tryst years earlier. The niece's character provides humor, and her nirtation with a French orficer makes one hope that fu11her books in this series are forthcoming.
Lady Scandal is a spirited, entertaining romance novel that most romance readers will enjoy.
Suzanne J. Sprague
THE MYSTERIES OF GLASS
Sue Gee, I lead line Review, 2004, £ 18.99, hb,342pp,075530309I
In the winter or 1860 Richard Allen, newly ordained, takes up his first appointment as curate in a rural parish. He has high ideals of service to God and his rellow man but quickly discovers that his own codes of love and charity are not renected in many or his parishioners. Because he cannot turn a blind eye to hypocrisy and injustice, and cruelty within marriage, he reels increasingly isolated from the community. Loneliness leads him to fall in love with a married woman - the wife of his parish priest, no less. In spite or much anguished
TIIE IIISTOR!CAL NOVELS REVIEW
introspection, his passion grows ever stronger. Shame and banishment threaten his career.
1 have come to expect novels of this period to be full of stereotype characters and moral rectitude. Sue Gee handles both with a sensitive touch; much is understated and all the more powerful for that. But what really lifts this book from the ordinary is the qi.;ality of the writing. The prose is a joy to read. Evocative, atmospheric, and Gee's descriptive passages read like poetry. Highly recommended.
Celia Ellis
SHADOW WARRIOR
J.C. Gotcher, The Lyons Press, 2003, $22.95, hb, 245pp, 1592281222
From the moment Doc, a young scout and hunter of a Santa Fe Trail wagon train, has an accidental encounter with a band of Apaches through a fatal showdown a week later, the pace seldom flags in this galloping story of chase, revenge, and survival. Set in the 1840s, its mountain man hero is blessed with exceptional marksmanship, endurance, cunning, and a relentlessly sunny disposition that glories in scenery even as he's on the run and sees twelve-to-one odds as better than nineteen-to-one. Soon Doc gets the grudging respect of both the Apache leaders vying for leader ship of their band, the brutal Gunsi and wiser and more thoughtful Toh-Yah. They begin to call him "Shadow" for hi s confounding ability to elude capture.
The setting, character development and suspense of Shadow Warrior make satisrying reading enjoyment.
Eileen Charbonneau
THE DAGUERREOTYPE
Patrick Gregory, Syracuse Univ. Press, 2004, $24.95, hb, 244pp, 08 I 560825X
In 1849, Elizabeth Gow is given a keepsake for her seventeenth birthday: a daguerreotype portrait of her father , contained in its own special box. Elizabeth is thrilled with the gift. A year later she is about to leave school to take a temporary teaching job; to embark on life. She is nervous at the prospect or abandoning her beloved father for so many months, yet is excited that she will make her own way in the world. Her father preempts her plans by accepting a job opportunity for himselr in America. Since she is his only family, Elizabeth feels it is her filial duty to accompany him.
The Daguerreorype is a splendidly written book. Author Patrick Gregory sustains the almos t flawless narrative of Elizabeth's personal journey from sheltered English schoolgirl to strong-willed wire and mother who must build a lire for herself and her children in a new land. Elizabeth's story is told in selections of time spanning 80 of
her 97 years. The prose is reminiscent of nineteenth-century language without being archaic. A fine first novel.
Janette King
SIGNAL AND NOISE
John Griesemen, Hutchinson 2003, £ I 5.99, h/ b, 593pp, 00901799619.
This epic book opens on the banks of the Isle or Dogs in 1857. Chester Ludlow, an American engineer, is there to witness the launch or the biggest steamship ever built, lsambard Kingdom Brunel's The Creal Eastern.
Ludlow has left his grieving wife, Fanny, in Maine The couple are mourning the loss of their four-year-old daughter in a tragic accident. Farmy is still deeply distressed. HoweYer , Ludlow is an ambitious man and is a member of a conso11ium that wants to lay the first transatlantic telegraph cable. He becomes somewhat of a celebrity as he promotes his cause. Jack Trace, a journalist and illustrator who likes to record the technological failures of the era is an interesting character himself.
Meanwhile Fanny has embarked on a quest of her own by seeking to contact her dead child through c lairvoyants. This is not a path that helps her in any way. Both Fanny and Ludlow now have their own different journeys in life.
This book needs to be read at a leisurely pace. It is a challenge on many fronts. The sheer length, complexity and variety of the settings and subjects covered absorb the reader; the author has given a mass of historical detail, against which the different characters' lives unfold. Signal and Noise is a book that can be appreciated and enjoyed on many different levels.
Val llolmes
VOICES OVER WATER
Ann l lerlong-Bodman, Harbor I louse , 2004, $24.95, hb, 211 pp, 1891799193
In this contrived and clunky novel, l lerlongBodman tells the story or Sarah Edings, a South Carolina planter's daughter and Conrederate spy \\ho pretends to be a teacher of slave children so the occupying Union soldiers will allow her to remain on Edisto Island. The novel follows a predictable plotline, with the beautiful young Sarah soon meeting and nursing the superficially wounded, handsome Union Captain Wilcox. The dialogue is stilted and often preachy, and cliches abound. Sarah fools Union orfiecrs by saying, "Do I look lik e a spy?" smiling, putting her hand to her heart, and fluttering her eyelids. The novel a lso demands a hardy dose of willing suspension or disbelier, as these same officers then hand her a newspaper with the latest information about troop numbers and battery sites. The novel mimics Cone ll'irh the Wind, as Sarah bemoans her now
ISSUE 28, MAY 2004
callused hands, puts on a new green dress (thankfully not made from her mother's curtains), and goes to see her Rhett Butlerish former beau to try to borrow the money to pay the taxes on her land.
The novel does keep up a steady pace, and I lcrlong-Bodman, who lives on the barrier islands of South Carolina, does a good job of giving the feel of the South Carolina low country to the setting Though Voices ol'er Water is kitschy, it may appeal to fans of the genre \, ho prefer a comfortably familiar plot.
Bethany Skaggs
COMA CHE MOON
Jack Jackson, Reed Press, 2003 (c I 979), $14.95 , CS23.95, pb, l28pp, 1594290032
The picture narrati,e begins in 1836, when Comanches capture Cynthia Ann Parker in Texas. They raise the blond, blue-eyed girl as one of their own. Comanches are the fiercest tribe to attack white settlers, but among themselves they are affectionate, humorous, and protective of their culture. The true story of Cynthia's evolution into "Naduah" and her maiTiage to the warrior Peta Nacuna shows that a person's inner being can endure, adapt and thrive in a different environment. She gives birth to Quanah, who grows up to be a skilled horseman and hunter.
The story is his, as he loses his parents and is taken in by the ruthless Quohada band who rule the Staked Plains. Like Charles Stuart, Quanah survives in exile. I !is vision quest brings him the lucky totem of the white buffalo.
The facts of Quanah's life are ably illustrated, and the panels make quick reading Artist and author Jackson provides a panoramic background to this epic tale with his grasp of historical fact and legend. The humanity of Native Americans and of settlers and soldiers is a recurring theme as Quanah negotiates the swiftly-changing currents of life in the 19th century. At times the dialog is contemporary and com,cbookish, but the content rings true.
Marcia K. Matthews
CHAMPOLLIO THE EGYPTIAN
Christian Jacq (trans Geraldine Le Roy), Pocket Books 2003, £6.99. pb, 32lpp, 0671028561
Although born in France , Jean-Francois Champollion was obsessed by Egypt from an early age and became famous as the man who deciphered the hieroglyphs.
In 1828 he set out on an extraordinary journey through Egypt in an attempt to prove his theories correct and to save the treasures of the Pharoahs from destruction. As he leads his team from Alexandria to Abu Simbel, is becomes clear that not everyone wants Champollion's m1ss1on to be successful. I !is life is threatened by unlmown
assailants. as well as traitors from his own camp, and his success hangs in the balance. Christian Jacq has taken true events from the life of Champol li on and used his imagination to tum them into an adventure story. The exotic backdrop is certainly attracti\ e and the actual work of the scholarly Egyptologist is endlessly fascinating. It's such a shame that the translated dialogue often sounds forced and unrealistic, and passages that should be filled with exciting action seem dreadfully sluggish. ot a total loss, but perhaps not as good as it could have been.
Sara Wilson
TEXAS VENDETTA
Elmer Kelton, Forge, 2004, S24.95 CS34.95, hb, 30l pp, 0765305720
The nO\ el ·s setting is the chaotic southeast Texas countryside after the end of the federal occupation during the 1870s. The young protagonist, Andy Prichard. is a green recruit in the newly reestablished Texas Rangers. I le and his partner, Farley Brackett, are assigned to return two prisoners to Colorado County. One turns out to be the brother of another Texas Ranger, and their family is on one side of a long and bloody feud between the I loopers and the Landons. The two rangers are quickly caught up in the violent drama as the two families , ie for the prisoner. Jayce Landon: one side is trying to kill him, and the other is trying to free him. Quickly, the rangers become adversaries of Big'un I lopper. an assistant sherilT\\ho bullies the locals and is bent on killing Jayce, no matter what.
Elmer Kelton's novel is the fifth in the Texas Rangers series The story moves in a predictable line with no surprises and stock characters, but this is not bad. It is, after all, a tale illustrating the sturdy straightforward individuals \\ ho settled the American west. If you are interested in Texas history and western fiction, this novel is a straight shooter.
Gerald T. Burke
HOLD TIGHT THE THREAD
Jane Kirkpatrick. WaterBrook , 2004 , $l4.991CS22 99. pb, 410pp, 1578565014
This story is the final installment in a trilogy about the life of Marie Dorion. It was preceded by A Nu111e of/fer 01m and £1·e1:1• Fixed Swr, and each book grows and mellow~ much as the central character. Marie, also grows and mellows. In this story, which begins in 1841, Marie watches her children become mothers and fathers themselves. When life is difficult for them, Marie re\ e11s to blaming herself and her failure as a mother, despite assurances to the contrary from her 10\ ing husband. Jean Louis Toupin. As tensions grow between Americans, British and Indians, all positioning for control in this new territory. Marie and her
family learn to let go of their tensions and leave the control in God's hands.
Jane Kirkpatrick's meticulous research of Marie Dorion and her family is combined with a deep sense of a mother's love a11d the love of a Catholic woman for her Lord. Ms. Kirkpatrick successfully combines the history of the region, the stories of the Dorion family, and the connict between Catholics and Protestants as well as people loyal to different countries, to write a detailed account of Marie's life. This book is well worth the read. All three books make an extraordinary tale, and would be most enjoyed if they are read in order.
Nan Curnutt
THE SHILOH SISTERS
Michael Kilian, Berkley Prime Crime, 2004, S23.95 , CS36.00, hb, 374pp, 0425194035
One evening in 1862, the wife of an innuential congressman visits General Ulysses S. Grant's headquarters. She fears for her sister, the wife of a Confederate officer, and requests a pass to cross into enemy territory. Against his better judgment, Grant agrees. When the Confederate Army attacks the next day, the general must deal with more important matters than his concern for the woman's safety. After the bloody Battle of Shiloh. both women are found murdered and embalmed on the Union side of the line.
Having been sent west to thwai1 Confederate plans, 1larrison Raines finds himself under suspicion of being an enemy spy. When Grant learns that Raines is actually a U.S. Secret Service agent, the general enlists Raines' help to discover the murderer's identity. The answer lies in Corinth. Mississippi, a town held by the Confederate Army and teeming with soldiers, gamblers, prisoners. and spies who want Raines dead.
The firth title in the I larrison Raines Civil War Mystery series, Shiloh Sisters provides an intimate and brutal look at war and e\ ii. Kilian's depiction of the Battle of Shiloh sets the stage for a curious puzzle that seems to have more twists and turns than a serpent. The inclusion of Louise Devereux, a returning character \\hose life is irretrievably entwined with Raines, keeps the reader guessing from beginning to end of a my tery deftly told.
Cindy Vallar
THE FRASERS: CLAY
Ana Leigh, Pocket Star, 2004 , S6.99 CS I 0.50, pb, 327pp, 0743469941 1865, Independence, Missouri: Rebecca Elliott is furious that the wagon master refuses to let an unattached woman join the wagon train. She will be too much of a temptation to the men, he says. I laving spent all her money on supplies, Rebecca is
TIIE IIISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
ISSUE 28, MAY 2004
determined to go. She tricks Clay Fraser, a fellow emigrant, into marrying her.
This set-up creates many opportunities for sparks to fly. Yet they must cooperate to endure the hardships of the trail. True to the romance form, Clay and Rebecca begin to discover feelings for each other. Will they hold out for the agreed-upon annulment at trait 's end, or consummate what they thought was a sham marriage?
Leigh includes several facts which I thought might be untrue to the period (Bustles in 1865? Pies in trail cuisine?), but research proved they were possible. Clay and Rebecca are interesting characters, but the secondary ones less so. Leigh makes doubly sure the reader doesn't mistake the villain-besides endowing him with shifty eyes, he also runs a shell game. And there were a few plot points that seemed awfully politically correct for 1865. Still, historical romance fans will enjoy this first in Leigh's new series about the Fraser brothers.
B.J. Sedlock
HIGHLANDER UNBOUND
Julia London , Pocket Star, 2004, $6. 99 / C$10.50, pb, 390pp, 0743465067 Highlander Unbound is the first novel in the romance trilogy of the Scottish Lockhart family. For centuries the family has been looking for the golden beastie, the ancestral family treasure that was stolen by the English Lockharts. In the early 1800s, the Scottish Lockharts need to po ssess the treasure to save their estate from financial ruin.
The oldest son, Captain Liam Lockhart, travels to London and devises a plan to get back the beastie. While Liam is plotting, he falls in love with the beautiful and scandalous Ellen, who is the daughter of his aristocratic landlord. Even though Ellen falls in love with Liam , she is desperate for the treasure to help save her daughter and herself. Ellen is forced to betray Liam, which threatens the love and passion they ha ve for each other.
Julia London's characters come alive, and the way she tells the sto1y is amusing. I found myself laughing and enjoying the hopes and struggles of Liam and Ellen. I cannot wait for the next book in the trilogy with Griffin, the younger Lockhart son, continuing the search for the family treasure. Ka thy King
SISSY!
- Jessica Radford
Trilogy Book One
Tom Mach, Hill Song Pr ess, 2004, £15.95 / C$21.95, pb, 343pp, 0974515922
Sissy! takes place mostly in the volatile Lawrence and Topeka, Kansas, areas during the Civil War, but the characters some times follow some of the battle action eastward. A heaping handful of characters, men and women, black and white, Confederate and Union, heroic and heinous, are portrayed
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
during 1862 and 1863 , ending with the infamous Quantrill August raid on Lawrence. The book is written in a short "scene" format rather than traditional chapters, preceded by notations of the change of location and time, which are quite helpful to follow the action. The subject of racism is explored not only through the Underground Railroad and the abuses of slaves by their legal owners, but through the difficulties black men faced to serve in the Union forces and the prejudice against people of colour among the free-slaters. Women's issues also arise naturally from the period - the nur se, the businesswoman, the educated woman of spirit who wants to fight like a man, the bravery of the women inhabitants of Lawrence who hid those on Quantrill's "list."
Plenty of action and historical detail here for Civil War buffs. Threaded through the plot line is the young girl of the title, who adds an inspirational element to this book that does much to lighten the otherwise dark events. Discussion questions are added at the end of the volume, as are some hints of things to come in the sequel, to be entitled
All Parts Togcrher.
Mary K. Bird-Guilliams
FOLLY AND GLORY
Larry McMurtry , Simon & Schuster, 2004, $25.00, hb ,236p p ,0743233050
Book 4 of the Berrybender Narratives begins with the family living under house arrest in Santa Fe. Tasmin Berrybender Snow, grieving over the death of her close friend, Pomp Charbonneau, has given birth lo twins. I !er frontiersman husband, Jim Snow, known widely as the Sin Killer , leads supply trains across the plains for the Bent brothers while waiting for his family's release. While happy to be in a somewhat more civilized place, the surviving Berrybenders and their staff just want to go home, with the possible exception of Lord Beny bender, who is as intractably insensitive as ever.
There are kernels of truth embedded in this improbable saga. The American West was an unpredictable , lawless place to be in the 1830s. Even the most experienced frontiersmen were susceptible to its dangers, notably the extremes of climate, hostile native s, and unforgiving terrain. Most people a ren 't physically or emotionally equipped to deal with these variables. Even the most adaptable person has limits.
Larry McMurtry is a keen observer of man and nature He 's a great storyteller with a knack for realistic, witty dialogue. That said, I was unhappy with this novel. The pacing was rushed, with too many predicaments crammed in Characters were sketchy and undeveloped, and story lines concluded haphazardly, with more than one bloody death. The tone was much darker
than any of the first three Berrybender novels. Overall, I get the feeling that what had started out as a great idea, enthusiastically embraced, became more of a chore towards the end, and that an obligation to wrap things up a certain way overshadowed all else.
Alice Logsdon
THE BRIAR AND THE ROSE
Laura Mills-Alcott, Five Star, 2003, $26.95, hb , 367pp, 1594140898
The author was inspired to write this historical romance, set in 1827 Ireland, after hearing Dolly Parton 's rendition of the old ballad " Barbara Allen." She combined that story with elements of an Irish folktale to tell of Devan, Marquess of Castlereagh, and the mysterious Raven, an Iri s h peasant who turns up on his estate with no memory of her past. She is the ve1y image of Katherine, his lost love who died in a fire. The Marquess thinks that solving the mystery of Raven 's past will help him understand the strange dreams he 's been having, so he takes her into his household. Their romance, complete with steamy sex scenes, is complicated by a visiting Duke who is smitten by Raven, and the predatory Lady Priscilla, who is determined to win Devan Romance fans have praised the book highly elsewhere, so my reservations probably won't weigh with them. I found some of the plot twists illogical, the villains unrelentingly base, and the ending improbable. But logical plots and rounded secondary characters aren't high priorities on some romance fans' lists - the romance is paramount. They will like this book. The appendix, with four different versions of the " Barbara Allen" ballad , was interesting.
B.J. Sedlock
DEATH BY DICKENS
Edited by Anne Perry , Berkley Crime, 2004, $23.95, hb, 0425194205
Prime 280pp, Mr. Pickwick, Miss Havi s ham , Scrooge, and other familiar characters from the novels of Charles Dickens return to fictional life in this collection of original crime stories by eleven mystery authors. Editor Anne Peny obviously believes that variety is the spice of anthologies. The stories range from thoughtful pa s tiche s of the great master to a hip, modern revisioning of Scrooge, the authors' styles varying from light romance to high drama.
Among the most memorable pieces were two about Scrooge: Lillian Stewai1 Carl's tale of an adult Tiny Tim playing s leuth to track down the identities of Scrooge's three Christmas ghosts, and Carole Nelson Douglas's hilariously updated Christmas Carol, with Scrooge as a nerdy financial officer caught in an accounting scandal at a thinly disguised Texas megacorporation. Two
ISSUE 28, MAY 2004
very different takes on Mr. Pickwick come from Bill Crider, with his droll tale of en encounter with grave robbers named Mangle, Miggs, Pooch, and Snubb, and Gillian Linscott 's irnaginative revelation of a dark secret from Pickwick 's youth. Carolyn Wheat gives us Miss llavisharn's solicitor Jaggers defending a murderess, while Marcia Talley revisits Pip and Estella years after Miss Havisharn's death, encountering a resun·ected villain from their past. Anne Perry's contribution takes us back to an early adventure of Sydney Carton with Robespierre in revolutionary Paris.
The skilful collaboration between the ghosts of Dickens past and some of the best contemporary authors rnake this anthology a thoroughly enjoyable read. Nina de Angeli
THE SHIFTING TIDE
Anne Perry, Ballantine, 2004, $25.95 / C$37.95, hb, 328 pp, 0345440090 Pub. in the UK by Headline, 2004, £18.99, h~288p~0747268975
The fourteenth installrnent in Peny's William Monk series is, once again, set in Victorian London - full of filth and disease, scoundrels and the worst dregs that London can produce. At the sarne time, Perry puts a mirror up to the goodness, the decency, the willingness of human beings to sacrifice for one another inherent in every culture at any point in history.
Monk is hired by a shipping magnate to investigate the whereabouts of his stolen shipment of ivory. For the first time in his life, Monk finds himself struggling to fit into the picaresque life of the docks. Each and every one of the figures that inhabit that world takes on a special light and Ii fe of their own. Meanwhile , I lester continues her efforts to tend to and heal the women of the streets at her clinic. She, together with beloved friends, desperately tries to raise rnoney to keep the clinic open and running to care for those unloved and uncared for.
And then the life of the docks and the life of the clinic conjoin in perhaps the most catastrophic way imaginable. Monk, reduced to his most basic instincts, fights for the life of the difficult, upstart, valiant woman he has married while Hester struggles to stay alive.
This is by far my favourite in the Monk series. Perry leads us on a merry chase in one direction , just to rein us in halfway through the book to lead us to a wholly different place. Full of the flavour of the times, with her characteristic penchant for street language and illuminating the ways of the vapid aristocracy, this novel is a must read for Perry fans.
Ilysa Magnus
A TAPESTRY OF HOPE
Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller, Bethany House, 2004, $12.99, pb, 351pp, 0764228943
The opening scene depicts Jasmine Wainwright, a Southern belle complete with chiding mammy. Jasmine rneets Bradley Houston and his brother Nolan. Bradley wants to buy cotton for his mill in Massachusetts, while Nolan wants to observe the "peculiar institution" of slavery. Jasmine's grandrnother in Lowell, Massachusetts, invites her to come north. Bradley manoeuvres to have Jasmine as his wife and position himself to inherit the plantation. Nolan argues with him, defending the girl's high spirits, but Bradley is sure he can train her to follow his rules.
Offering to act as buyer for the Boston Associates, Bradley expresses his understanding of their southern supp lier s, s lave-holders who pay for food, housing, clothing and medical needs while the Iri sh and mill girls pay for their own. The heart of the story is the relationship between Jasmine and her liberal grandmother, to whom Bradley is a dastardly villain
Returning to a time when women were so oppressed is like visiting a foreign country. The multiple viewpoints give equal weight to each character. Most are proper Victorians, which weighs down the narrative. The characterization needs comic relief. Halfway through th e book there's a chasm as the character set revolves, but Kiara quickly engages our interest because of her life and death struggle in Ireland. Some readers won't like being re-positioned so abruptly, but the links are soon clear.
Marcia K. Matthews
LAND OF MY HEART
Tracie Peterson, Bethany House, 200-t Sl2.99,pb,392pp,0764227696
In the final years of the Civil War, the Chadwick family's trek westward to Montana symbolizes their journey closer to God. After her father is shot dead in the street of New Madrid, Missouri, feisty 16year-old Dianne Chadwick convinces her mother to move their family west to Idaho Territory. Conditions are rough, and in a senes of melodramatic accidents and illne. ses, not everyone survives. Cole Selby, the second-in-command on the wagon train, can't forgive himself or his father for a devastating incident from his past. Sparks fly between him and Dianne.
Too many annoying characters predorninate early on, but once the group reaches their destination, the story comes together nicely. The portrayals of Dianne's Uncle Bram and his wife, a gentle halfIndian woman who does nothing to deserve the scorn she receives, are particularly well done. Provided the characters remain in the
beautiful Montana setting, I look forward to the rest of the trilogy.
Sarah Johnson
COTTONWOOD
Scott Phillips, Ballantine, 2004, $23.95 / CS35.95, hb, 292pp, 0345461002 Pub. in the UK by Picador, 2004, £ 16.99, hb, 356pp,0330493175
Phillips is a good writer who thoroughly researches his books. I !is Cottonwood, Texas, of 1872 , a seedy town awaiting the arrival of the train , is very well portrayed from the smallest details: hardships, swift justice, absence of a structured legal system. It comes alive through the eyes of Bill Ogden, farmer/ photographer/ bar owner. Unfortunately, his life is the male equivalent of a I larlequin-type novel. Sex is foremost in Ogden's rnind as well as in that of the other characters, and the reader is subjected to frequent, boring descriptions of various sexual acts completely irrelevant to the story. The men are horny and violent; the women are working girls or cheating wives. The story is told without any feelings whether of love, friendship or even lust. Ogden is unlikable and unbelievable, and the story is unfocused and often confusing. The best passages concern the Benders, a real-life farnily of killers. This is the closest we get to a mystery. If Phillips had concentrated rnore on the growth of the town and allowed the reader to care for his characters, it wouldn't have been such a disappointment.
Nicole Leclerc
THE AWAKENING FIRE
Kelley Pounds, Five Star, 2004, S26.95, hb, 374 pp, 1594142033
When an exiled Apache Mixed Blood's quest for revenge crashes into a novice nun's journey towards her past, a good, galloping historical rornance is off and running. Fortunately for Christian Ladino, Sister Adela Fremont is also a good healer, as he's left for dead in a dramatic opening. Fortunately for Sister Adela, Christian is just who she needs to find her kidnapped baby brother, force her into the outside world, and past her own fears. Christian risks both disgrace and death as they return to his homeland together on their joint mission.
Their story is gritty and dramatic, winding its way through a complex plot of murder and betrayal (Adela even envisions herself "screarning al God for his sadistic rneddling'"). But the sensua l, evocative love scenes and a touching mother and daughter reunion relieve the grimmer moments. The heroine's self-righteous dialogue does not always ring true, and the plot's forward motion sometimes sputters, but The All'akening Fire remains a cut above for its
depth, vivid southwest setting and characterizations, and love story.
Eileen Charbonneau
THE PAID COMPAN ION
Amanda Quick, G.P.Putnam's Sons, 2004, $24.95/C$36.00, 4 l 8pp, hb, 0399151745
To be pub. in Dec 2004 in the UK by Piatkus at£ 18.99, 0749907177
Elenora Lodge is in need of an immediate position. As a paid companion, she is having trouble finding an employer who is not a drunkard or a lecherous rakehell. On the other hand, not many employers are willing to endure her forceful personality. Even more troubling, her employment finn, Goodhew and Willis, is running out of patience with her. Perhaps that is why she is willing to accept the position that the Earl of St. Merryn is offering. The position of fiancee. Perhaps it is the sum he is offering triple her usual pay. Perhaps it is the chance to use the abilities she inherited from her actress grandmother. Regardless of the reason for her acquiescence, employer and employee begin a tenuous partnership fraught with danger, intrigue, romance and clashing wills as they seek to solve the myste1y of the death of the Earl's favourite uncle.
The Paid Companion is another feather in the cap of talented Regency author Amanda Quick (pseudonym for Jayne Ann Krentz). Once again, Ms. Quick has outdone herself. Her central characters are intelligent, strong-willed and independent, and their verbal sparring is the essence of Ms. Quick's genius with a pen. Her rapier wit and indomitable sense of humour are essential ingredients that turn an interesting romantic mystery into a masterpiece. You will find this book too good to put down.
Nan Curnutt
BAPTISM AT BULL RUN
James P. Reger, Harbor House, 2004, $24.95 / C$34.99, hb, 266pp, 1891799142
On April 13, 1861, Fort Sumter was in the midst of a nightmarish artillery barrage. Watching from his headquarters, Confederate General Beauregard was more concerned about the safety of his friend, Union Major Robert Anderson, commander of Fort Sumter, than he was about the certain Confederate victory. From that sad day to the Union defeat at the first Battle of Bull Run, this engrossing novel brings to life the hopes, fears, professionalism, genius, and incompetence of the soldiers, officers, and political leaders on both sides.
Fast-paced and well written, this novel grips the reader from page one and refuses to let go. The battle scenes will leave the reader's heart pounding. The false bravado, incompetence, and stupidity of so many officers will cause even the most jaded history buff to roll his eyes in wonder and amazement that such fools were allowed to
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
command armies, while geniuses like Stonewall Jackson were overlooked or worse, scoffed at.
This book is highly recommended for those who enjoy detailed accounts of Civil War battles. Every facet, from Lincoln's White House to Jeb Stuart's cavalry to young Billy Anderson's first taste of battle, is brought to life with astounding realism. I look forward to future novels from this author.
Mark F. Johnson
NEVIN'S HISTORY
Jim Sanderson, Texas Tech Univ. Press, 2004,$27.95, hb, 288pp,0896725189
Andrew Nevin, a reporter for the Brownsville Sentinel, relays the news and documents the history of Texas from the 1870s well into the twentieth century. A nephew of the famous Confederate officer and Indian fighter, John "Rip" Ford, Nevin is also in love with Rip's beautiful third wife, Addie. Together they have a son, William, who Andrew may never claim as his own. He also finds solace in the arms of a Mexican courtesan, Catalina Taracon. She aids him in his role as informer and spy for his uncle, who wants to avoid war with Mexico at all costs.
In the aftermath of the Civil War, there's a constant threat of war with Mexico as bandits cross the border to steal cattle and wreck the local economy. Juan Cortina, governor of Matamoros and leader of the most notorious group of bandits, has friends on both sides of the river, including Andrew Nevin.
Nevin is asked by his uncle to join the special band of Texas Rangers appointed by the governor to end the raids. These inexperienced farm boys are led by Captain McNelly, a 32-year-old consumptive who longs to leave this world in a blaze of glory regardless of the cost in lives. Andrew cannot be part of McNelly's atrocities to the Mexican people and resigns. He goes back to the newspaper, determined to expose McNelly and write a truthful account of those turbulent times.
A self-professed coward, Andrew longs for a nonviolent solution to the turmoil and a life of peace for citizens on both sides of the border. The character of Andrew Nevin is fictional, but real people and true events surround him in this exciting novel of those who fought to bring civilization to the southwest.
Susan Zabolotny
THE MASK OF RED DEATH
Harold Schechter, Ballantine, 2004, $24.95 / C$37.95, hb 400pp, 0345448413
In many ways, The Mask of Red Death is a typical addition to the psychotic serial killer genre. An insane murderer is on the loose, and an amateur detective must catch him before he strikes again. Victims are
viciously brutalized, their bodies mutilated and cannibalized. The first two casualties are children, for added effect. Despite the author's ability to render crime scenes in graphic detail, there's nothing new in the blood-and-gore category. Fortunately, the characters drive this historical murder mystery, not the plot. It is the detective Edgar Allan Poe who makes this a worthwhile read. Told in Poe's voice, the book manages to be quite funny and rises above its subject matter. Erudite, vain, fussy, with a tendency to self-aggrandize, the protagonist nevertheless wins respect by his intelligence, caring, and unexpected brave1y. Poe, called "Eddie," is surrounded by a complimentary cast including his laconic partner Kit Carson, his friend P.T. Barnum, and his frail cousin-wife Sissy. llis interactions with his wife are particularly delightful since the woman doesn't quite match Poe's romantic image of her.
This is the third book in the Edgar Allan Poe mystery series. It is not necessary to read the others first, but you may find yourself so entertained you'll want to read them all.
Sue Asher
PEARL
Lauraine Snelling, Bethany I louse , 2004, $12.99, pb, 349pp, 076422221 X Ruby Torvald manages Dove I louse, a small hotel in Little Missouri, a frontier community west of Bismarck, Dakotah Territo1y. Ruby's dream is to turn this building into a reputable town business. It is 1883, and the area is now a stop for the Nonhem Pacific Railroad, the means by which Pearl I lossfuss aiTives in response to an advertisement for a schoolteacher. Just weeks before her arranged marriage was to take place, Pearl secretly left Chicago, where family wealth kept her life comfo1table.
Scriptural references are frequently inte1jected throughout this inspirational story. This is the second book in the author's Dakotah Treasures series, continuing the stOiy of Ruby Torvald from the novel Rub.1 • In the final pages, a big fire at Dove I louse sets the stage for both women ' s futures. Starting over brings each of them a marriage of her choosing.
The sto1y is ideal for those interested in frontier women who work outside the ho111e This well written text, typical of the author ' s skill, is appropriate for both teens and adults.
Jetta Carol Culpepper
GOLD RUSH DREAM
Naomi Stahl, Five Star, 2004, S26 95, hb , l69pp, l59414026X
Under her real name, Billie Sue Mosiman , the author of this rather one-dimensional western ro111ance novel has been 110111inated for a mystery award, the Edgar, and a horror fiction award, the Stoker. She
ISSUE 28, MAY 2004
brings her characters vividly to life in this, her latest effort, but as clearly drawn as they are, some only briefly, they only partially compensate for the lack of depth in the storyline.
The year is 1849. On page nine, a young trapper named Travis Caldwell rescues an even younger 17-year-old girl named Rose Donahue from the ashes of her family's burnt-out homestead in East Texas. The question that occurred to me was, Is this a book for teenagers? The writing, in short and very understandable sentences, seemed primarily designed for younger minds.
On page 23, as Travis surreptitiously watches Rose while bathing, with particular emphasis on her breasts, the answer is, No, I guess not. As the pair make their way westward to Californianote the title the rating climbs higher accordingly, from PG, to PG-13, to a definite R \\ hich of course is the standard of today in historical romance.
Following them almost all of the way is a crazed Indian brave who craves Rose as a bride, the basis for a lesson in Psychology IOI, not to mention about 80% of the plot.
Steve Lewis
CHLOE'S PEOPLE
Mary Street, Robert I !ale, 2004, £ I 8.99, hb, 224pp,0709075960
Chloe has been educated in a small country school with no knowledge of who her family might be and little hope of a successful future a situation that reverses when she is taken under the wing of Lady Pascall. Whisked off to Bath, dressed as a lady and treated as a dear friend, Chloe is understandably confused. It seems that Lady Pascall, \\ ith the able help of Sir Marcus Redgrave, intends to unmask a murderer. Chloe realises that she is playing an important role, but her mind is becoming increasingly preoccupied by the dashing Sir Marcus.
CMoe ·.1 People is a charming romance story. Mary Street gives the reader a heroine ,,ho is cle, er, pretty and likeable; a good-tempered hero, brave and loyal; a delightful and eccentric older lady and a disturbing and devious villain. Then she involves them in a lively fast-action plot. It's a sure-fire winner.
Sara Wilson
AN UNPARDONABLE CRIME
Andrew Taylor, Hyperion, 2004, $24.95, h~486p~ 1401301029
Pub. in UK as The American Boy by Hamingo, 2003, £ 17.99, hb, 496pp, 000710961X
Taylor, the author of over twenty novels, knows how to tell a story. This is a can'tput-down mystery, set in England in 1819. It's narrated by Tom Shield, who considers himself fortunate to find work as an
11 IE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
assistant schoolmaster with no references but the taint of madness, having thrown his Waterloo Medal at an officer. Through his position at Mr. Bransby's school, he becomes acquainted with young Charles Frant and his friend Edgar Allan Poe. Then he becomes involved with the Frant family, where he finds himself attracted both to Charles's mother Sophia and her cousin Flora. Upon the death of Sophia's uncle, it is discovered that her husband Henry has driven the family bank into ruin, and he turns up murdered.
Taylor is adept at delineating sex and class differ,, c cs and how they made hostages of thuse unfortunate enough to be born either female or poor. Both Tom and Sophia are forced to be grateful to those who hold their futures and let them know that it is in within their power to take them away. Sophia must endure the attentions of the family benefactor, while Tom is threatened with the loss of his job and no references once again.
The presence of a young Edgar A !Ian Poe is neither superfluous nor distracting but rather an integral part of the tale, and Taylor proves himself the equal of Poe in building suspense. I didn't want this book to end.
Ellen Keith
TIIE MASTER
Colm T6ibin, Scribner, 2004, $25.00, hb, 352pp,0743250400
Pub. in the UK by Picador, 2004, £ 15.99, hb,200pp,0330485652
This fictional account of the adult life of American novelist Henry James is told in flowing form with insight into the author's emotional and human side rather than merely his scholarly persona. Readers who enjoy Henry James's novels may have thought that the writer himself was reclusive, stiff, a bit starchy. T6ibin's accounting of the man shines a different light on James as a man who lo, ed to write, who was genial yet also craved his "hardwon solitude.'' From James's attempts to launch a doomed play despite a noble plot to attending a theater where Oscar Wilde is wildly popular though shocking, I lenry seems innocent yet wise enough to learn from his adventures. The no,·el seems to hint at his sexual ambivalence, but he enjoys female company, in particular his cousin, Minnie, ,, ho is outspoken enough to interest two Civil War veterans who befriend her and James. Minnie's importance to James is very touching when she learns she is ill and wants nothing more than to meet her favourite ,, riter, George Eliot. Too sick to travel, James is her proxy, and reports back to her.
All of James's relationships and encounters are fresh sources for his stories, which he uses wisely when committing their lives into ink on paper. T6ibin's novel is a glorious read intuiting a life of Henry James
that complements scholarly works of fact and analysis. The Mas/er brings James into our midst, and we learn to love him as one ofus.
Tess
Allegra
THE SECRET OTEBOOKS OF S HERLOCK HOLMES
June Thomson, Allison & Busby 2004, £ 18.99, hb, 220pp, 074906986 (first pub. 1996)
As all admirers of the great detective of Baker Street know, in his records of the cases of Sherlock Holmes, Dr Watson refers to a large number that were not written up or published. There is a veritable industry in writing up these tales, attempting to recreate the language and atmosphere of Conan Doyle's world, with varying degrees of success. This is the fifth volume of such stories by June Thomson. They make for an amusing diversion, but would certainly appeal more to those already highly conversant with, and admirers of, the Sherlock Holmes stories. The plethora of mostly unnecessary footnotes is a nuisance, otherwise the stories are entertaining and undemanding to read.
Doug Kemp
THE COLOUR
Rose Tremain, Vintage 2003, £6.99, pb, 366 pp,0099425157
Joseph Blackstone emigrates from Norfolk with his wife, 1larriet and mother, Lilian, in search of a new life in New Zealand. Whilst Joseph sets off northwards towards the Okuku River, 1larriet and Lilian remain in Christchurch until the Cob I louse is built, but the bleak unyielding land, together with the dramatic climate changes, threaten their chances of survival.
When Joseph finds some gold in the creek, he decides to keep his discovery a secret, but this fuels his desire for more. He leaves his farm and family and travels to the new gold fields over the Southern Alps in search of 'the colour·, together with many others who are , iolently rushing to their destinies.
This is an amazing story, magnificently told by Rose Tremain. Her eye for minute detail enables the reader to capture the essence of New Zealand in the 1860's. One can feel the atmosphere and understand the varied emotions throughout. The extensive research involved makes this book an informative as well as an enjoyable read.
Vivienne Bass
THE CHAI 'S OF ALBION
Edwin Thomas, Bantam Press 2004, £ 12.99, hb,302pp,0593050657
The first instalment of the adventures of Lieutenant Martin Jerrold was runner up for the CWA Debut Dagger Award. In this second outing our reluctant hero who prefers to keep the disagreeable elements of ISSUE 28, MAY 200-1
a naval life, war, storms etc. at bay, commands a prison hulk in the Medway filled with French captives resulting from Napoleon's wars with England. It is I 806 and temporary Captain Jerrold's complement of 793 prisoners is reduced to 792 when one escapes.
The pursuit to recapture the missing Frenchman will take him from the stinking marshes of Chatham to the newly fashionable seaside resort of Brighton where the Prince of Wales's pavilion is rising on the shores of the former fishing village. Untangling a twenty-year-old web of deceit, treachery and political chicanery at the highest levels of society, Jarrold, selfproclaimed idiot though he may be, achieves success.
The plot swims to the surface without hindrance and all the clues are there for the picking in this lusty Regency tale of bad behaviour, bad luck and bad timing.
Gwen Sly
THE NEWS FROM PARAGUAY
Lily Tuck, HarperCollins, 2004, S23.95 S36.95, hb, 256 pp, 0066209447
Through the eyes of a legion of characters from all sectors of society, Lily Tuck gives us the distressing news from mid-nineteenth century Paraguay : fictionalized but true stories of war, disease, and poverty in0icted upon a beautiful country by a maniacal dictator. The novel begins promisingly in Paris where Ella Lynch, a lovely Irish courtesan, is living well above her means. She catches the eye of Franco Lopez, an educated ambassador who happens to be the son of the president of Paraguay. Soon they are on a steamer back to his country, and she is bearing the first of his five sons. When Franco's father dies, Franco's violent, megalomaniac tendencies come to the fore. I le spares no one. not even kin, from his rages. Ultimately, he leads his country into ruin. All the while, the self-absorbed Ella rarely criticizes, in fact, seems ignorant of her lover's shortcomings - a missed opportunity, for \\hat this well-written but coldly-told tale needs is an objective outsider to supply a steady point of reference in a incomprehensibly brutal world. Ms Tuck has done her research - the novel is bursting with detail - but the collection of facts leaves this reader craving the illumination that good fiction should supply.
Lisa Ann Verge
THE GARDE ' OF MARTYRS
Michael C. White, St. Martin's Press, 2004, S24.95 CS34.95, hb , 359 pp, 0312322089 Though based on true events, not much happens in Michael White's novel, a vibrant and deeply-felt tale of miscarried justice and
anti-Irish sentiment in early 19th century Boston.
Two immigrant laborers, Dominic Daley and James Halligan, are traveling in search of work when they are stopped, arrested, and accused of the murder of a local Yankee. The case seems solid. Witnesses put them near the crime scene and in their pockets are bank notes draw~ upon the same institutions as those frequented by the victim. The crime serves as a 0ash point for anti-Catholic sentiment, thrusting the local priest, Father Cheverus, into a moral dilemma. Should he speak up for the men, and risk mob violence, or should he stay silent for the sake of peace?
The answer is not simple, for Father Cheverus, a survivor of the French Terror has good reason to doubt his courage and faith. The priest's uncertainty is put to shame by Daley's unwavering convictions and stoic courage in the face of injustice. Moreover, the other prisoner - Halliganis an unbelieving rover who desperately needs what only a priest can give: the comfort of absolution. The end is inevitable, but Michael White's portrayals of characters caught in fierce moral dilemmas provide the narrative drive necessary to make the pages turn.
Lisa Ann Verge
THE HORNS OF THE BUFFALO
John Wilcox, lleadline, 2004, £ 18 .99, hb , 312 pp, 0755309820
Most of us have seen the film Zulu, and know of the epic stand of the small British garrison of Rorke's Drift on 22 January 1879 Most are aware, if more vaguely, of the defeat of a much larger force at nearby lsandlwana the same day, the subject of Zulu Dmrn.
Falsely suspected of cowardice when he misses his battalion 's embarkation for South Africa because of a mysterious illness, Lieutenant Simon Fonthill of the 24'h Foot gets the chance to prove his worth when he is sent on a secret mission in Zululand. With his multi-talented soldier servant, Private 352 Jenkins, he gathers vital intelligence, but they are taken prisoner by a suspicious King Cetswayo and only just escape to take part in the two battles. In the process Fonthill falls foul of an old enemy, and finds himself before a court-martial and in peril of his life.
This is John Wilcox's first novel, and to some extent it shows. The means of getting Fonthill to Zululand is over-complicated; it is unlikely that the army would go to the trouble of bringing him out from Britain when a suitable officer could have been found in South Africa. And surely anyone who had served 11 months with a Welsh battalion would know why his servant answers to '352 Jenkins' rather than just 'Jenkins'. Yes, in Welsh regiments they
really do call men by their numbers. But the book moves along at a cracking pace, the smell of cordite is there, and those who like battle books will enjoy this one.
Ann Lyon
20
th
CENTURY
ALL OR NOTHI 'G AT ALL
Patricia Abbott, Five Star, 2004, $26.95 / CS36.95, hb, 266pp, 1594142319
Is it any comfort to know that the "ca n women have· it all?" debate didn't originate with the current generation? Or is it just depressing? In 1945 at Bowling Green State University, three roommates provide textbook examples of women's choices in this era. Freshman Liz Chase is wrestling with a marriage proposal from her boyfriend - a senior at Georgetown, about to embark on a diplomatic career, who wants her to go abroad with him. Dottie Cook wants to be an actress but finds herself pregnant by her G.I. Bill boyfriend. Sarah Johnson is the luckiest of the three, her only problem being that she has beauty and brains and must downplay the brains in front of men.
Post WWII America is skillfully evoked, down to the vernacular ("Hubba, hubba 1") and the college curfews, but there 's something sti0ing about the predestination of these characters. They were almost like a statistic: "One out of three women can have it all." There were few surprises as it became clear from the beginning what choices these women would make, and I ultimately resented the time it took setting up the smokescreen to convince me othemise.
Ellen Keith
GIFT OF THE BAMBINO
Jerry Amernic, St. Martin 's Press , 2004, 522.95, hb, 218pp,03123l759X
In Gi/i of the Bambino. Jerry Amernic pens a misty paean to baseball, Babe Ruth , and the hopes and dreams of a young boy and his grandfather.
Stephen is the only child of neglectful parents. I !is sole source of love is his beloved grandfather, Larry, who teaches him the finer points of baseball - despite the fact that the older man hates to watch the sport. In the last weeks of his life Larry reveals the source of this paradox : he was once a professional player.
As a boy, Larry witnessed Babe Ruth 's first major league homerun The ball new right out of the stadium and into the lake beyond. Dazzled, Larry decides at that moment to become a baseball player. Alier high school, he tries out for the Yankees and - with the help of a vision of the Bambino he makes the farm team. He e\ entually plays in the AA league , but he never "makes
TIIE IIISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
ISSUE 28, MAY 2004
the show." Larry gives up on the sport on the same day he witnesses Babe Ruth - now portly and dissolute hit his final major league home run Now, dying, Larry asks his grandson to fetch the Bambino 's first homerun ball from the lake, as a memento of all his broken dreams
Often reading like a sportswriter's summary of an idol's career, this heartfelt but overly sentimental novel is solely for those who believe in the church of baseball. Lisa Ann Verge
ANTARCTIC AVIGATIO
Elizabeth Arthur, Bloomsbury 2004, £12.99, pb, 798pp, 0747571678. Pub. in the US by Ballantine Books 1996 , $14.00, hb, 798pp, 0345402073
In the late 20 th century American, Morgan Lamont grows up with an obsession for the Antarctic and Robert Falcon Scott in particular Scott, primarily known as the leader of a doomed expedition to the South Pole in 1912, has a pervading innuence on Morgan even from her earliest years. herything in her life, people, incidents, events and places lead up to the natural conclusion Morgan must go to the South Pole herself.
Arthur has already written two memoirs and this seems very much to be a third except that it is riction. It really doesn't seem like it with Morgan's feelings, thoughts and experiences being portrayed so vividly. Morgan 's fixation on Scott seems, at the outset, to be unfathomable when Shackleton is now the more admired of the Antarctic explorers due to his outstanding leadership qualities \\ hen in crisis. But slowly, the reasons for her admiration for the introspective Scott are revealed. This is a remarkable book. It is large, densely packed but ultimately , a rewarding read. S Garside-Neville
\\HOSE AMES ARE UNKNOWN
Sanora Babb, Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 2004, S22.95, hb, 222pp, 0806135794
Set in the Dust 80\\ I 1930s , ll'hose Names Ar£' Unknoll'n gets its poignant title from a legal eviction notice of the farm families of the Great Depression. Its story follows the Dunncs Milt, Julia , their two little girls, and Milt 's father Konkie and friendsthrough their struggles to survive in the Oklahoma Panhandle , and then the evenworse conditions of life as farm workers in the irrigated valleys of California. From the optimistic hope that "one big wheat crop will start us a house," to families visiting each other to " the good smells of onions cooking;· and relishing crops growing "in order and loveliness" to ecological disaster and migrant camps, Whose Names Are Unknoll'n seethes with life and remembrance of good people. Though caught in the crucible of devastating storms
TIIE IIISTORICAL
NOVELS REVIEW
of both dust and greed, they are led by relentless courage and perseverance.
Considered a "lost" work, Whose Names Are Unknoll'n was intended for publication until Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath became a bestseller. Bennett Cerf of Random I louse then judged dealing with the same subject "would be a sad anticlimax." Now, thanks to the University of Oklahoma Press and its Wallace C. Thompson Endowment Fund, this fine novel can shine its own light.
Eileen Charbonneau
UNCLE RUDOLF
Paul Bailey, St. Martin's Press, 2004, S21.95, hb, I 92pp, 03 123 18340
Pub. in the UK by Fourth Estate, 2003, £6.99, pb, I 92pp, 1841157597
A world of equal parts wonder and despair is evoked in this novel of a man's relationship with his namboyant, protective guardian. Lives turn on what Bailey describes as "the different fates of two brothers - one knew which way the fascist wind was blowing, the other didn't." In 1937 Romania, young Andrei lives with the stigma of being the grandson of the Jewish debt collector. Sudden striking violence transforms Andrei into Andrew, being raised by his internationally famous lyric tenor uncle as an English child.
For Uncle Rudolf, fame and riches do not make up for a life spent in exile and not living up to the early promise of using his gifts in what he considered more signiricant ways. Yet, Andrew shares himself with his uncleeven to the point of a diminished life for himself - for the balance of his uncle's life.
Paul Bailey is a master of communicating detail, especially of the transformational effect of art on its audience ("listened in coughless silence to the Mozart Sonata in A Minor" or "with a rapt attentiveness that beatiried his features.") A haunting, lyric novel.
Eileen Charbonneau
CONSPIRATORS
Michael Andre Bernstein, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2004. S25 CS36.95. hb. 506pp, 0374237549
Pub. in the UK by Faber & Faber, 2004, £16.99,hb, 512pp,0571221335
" lately I have been thinking about a child \vl10 is left in the care of indifferent strangers or a shell-shocked soldier from a noble family who comes back to a country he no longer recognizes would they be joined by a yeshiva student who has been expelled into a realm peopled by demons and soulless husks and feels himself becoming one of them?" Alexander Garber, notable Galic1an writer of farcical comedy, decides to give meaning to his life by exploring the history of his beloved Galicia 111 Austria-llungary 111 1913. Spies,
assassinations, and chaos touch every comer of this world in pre-WWI Europe, and Alexander fears yet hungers to record the truth of that complicated historical period.
Count Wiladowski has suffered a devastating loss that is part and parcel of the murders occurring everywhere around him. He is obsessed with fear that he will be next and so hires a shamed and disgruntled exrabbinical student, Jacob Tausk, to be his spy and protector. Jacob, however, becomes a devastating tyrannical power unto himself as he chooses who is friend or foe. The reader is never sure who is in charge, Jacob, the Count, or another high-powered financier, Moritz Rotenburg, "ho hires Jacob to keep Moritz's son out of the prevailing political troubles. Sadly but clearly foreshadowed is the devastation that ensues for the local Jewish community.
The protagonists become the antagonists, and the author rinds himself in the middle of the enfolding drama, a tottering world composed of high-powered political and financial meetings, hidden Jewish councils, and the social world of sensuality and intrigue lying on the surface of a world about to explode. Bernstein's modernist style shapes this novel into a literary tale that demands reflection, interpretation, and praise for its precise portrayal of the fall of an entire 1lapsburg empire.
Viviane Crystal
THOSE WHO SA VE US
Jenna Blum, Harcourt, 2004, S24.00, hb, 479pp,9780151010196
Anna Brandt grew up an only child in a privileged household in Weimar, Germany. In 1939, at the age of 18, she falls in love with Max Stem, a Jewish doctor. Anna hides him in her home but her father denounces Max and he is taken to Buchenwald. Anna, pregnant and alone, seeks refuge in a bakery run by a member of the Resistance. Mathilde regularly supplies the laborers at the camp with bread and carries messages for them. Eventually she is discovered and executed. Anna and her daughter Trudie are alone as Anna tries to run the bakery. A German SS officer is attracted to her beauty and soon she becomes his mistress.
In 1993, Trudie attends the funeral of her step-father in Minnesota. Anna has spent most of her years in the US aloof and introspective. Trudie knows little about her mother's past, and Anna refuses to answer questions about their lives prior to relocating in the US. When Trudie, a professor of Gem1an history, gets involved in an interview project with Gem1ans who survived the war, she hopes in some way to connect with her own past and that of her mother.
The author, who worked for four years interviewing Holocaust surviYors. has written an evocative story of the life of an
ISSUE 28, MAY 2004
ordinary woman in extraordinary circumstances. How do any of us know what we would do to save our lives and the lives of our children? The two women at the centre of the novel are difficult to know and to understand, yet well worth the effort. This is a fascinating story from an unusual point of view.
Lorraine Gelly
DIVINE SARAH
Adam Braver, William Morrow, 2004, $23.95, hb , 216pp,0060544074
Set in 1906 California, Divine Sarah depicts the controversial fin-de-siecle actress, Sarah Bernhardt, not as a firebrand but as a weary diva struggling with both art and advancing age. Driven out of Los Angeles by the threat of protests by the League of Decency, Sarah is sent by her overprotective manager to Venice Beach where he has rescheduled their latest production. Hounded by reporters, and forced to comply with the ambitious theatre manager's demands , Sarah at sixty-one years of age seriously contemplates quitting the business altogether. She lolls in baths and resists the demands of her profession, all the while fantasizing about a quiet French country life. Iler devoted manager ignores Sarah 's angst; he recognizes the predictable patterns of her pre-performance malaise. Events soon reveal that for all her " Hamlet-ing ," Sarah is a slave to public adoration and the potent joys of artistic transformation. Fifteen years later , she's still strutting the boards. This is not the usual depiction of the divine Sarah, but Adam Braver has drawn an imaginati ve profile of the artist's powerful, and temperamental , personality. Li sa Ann Verge
CONFINEMENT
Carrie Brown, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill , 2004, $24.95 / C$37.95, hb , 352pp, 156512393X
Arthur and his young son, Toby, land in America after surviving the onset of the Nazi regime in Vienna and London's blitz, where Arthur suffered the loss of his wife and infant daughter and his faith. An accomplished and skillful tailor by trade, his new life erases his past as he is placed with th e Duvalls, a wealthy New York family, as a chauffeur. Yet his Ii fe revolves around the vivacity and sou l of their daughter Aggie. And it is the birth and adoption of the unwed Aggie ' s child that stirs Arthur's essence into at least a two-dimensional character. If it weren't for this event, he 'd remain as lifeless and flat as a hotel landscape masquerading as art.
Co11/i11eme11t is full of symbolism, both unimaginative and tedious. The sto1y never blossoms; the plot, though pointed literally , takes 352 pages to make its asse11ion; the dialogue is trite, repetitive and monotonous.
TllE
There was a wonderful story here, but it became tangled in too many layers, too many words and too much pretentiousness. It was hardly an enjoyable read; in fact it was an arduous task to bring myself to finish it.
Wendy A. Zollo
THE BROKEN GATE
Anita Burgh , Orion, Sept 2004, £17.99 hb, 0752860690
This novel, the first in a new trilogy, opens in 190 I as members of the Cresswell family gather around the bed of the patriarch, Sir Mortimer, who is not expected to last the night. The family represents old West Country traditions but the estate is falling into decay and cracks are apparent in more than the fabric of the house. Into this world of masters and servants steps nouveau-riche, Stanislas von Ehrlich, who buys the neighbouring estate.
l pounced on this book because l love sweeping historical sagas full of wellrounded, multi-faceted characters whose lives are played out within a tangible historical context. Unfortunately, not one character deviated from stereotype. I never felt I was in the first decade of the twentieth century, nor can l remember when I last read a published novel that was so peppered with cliched expressions and situations. 'Upstairs-Downstairs' sagas cry out for wit and sparkle. This novel lacked both, I'm afraid.
The publisher heralds this novel as a 'classic read in the vein of Galsworthy's timeless The Forsyte Saga.' I only wish it were true.
Sally Zigmond
THE CLOUD ATLAS
Liam Callanan, Delacorte , 2004, $22.95 / C$34.95, hb , 357pp, 0385336942
The novel opens in contemporary Alaska. A seventy-six year old priest, Louis Belk, is to be recalled from his beloved Alaska by the bishop. For him, this is a major crisis, both physically and spiritually. As he comforts a dying shaman, who is both a friend and good-natured spiritual nemesis, he reveals the story of his secret mission in I 945.
Belk had joined the Army and was assigned to Alaska as a bomb disposal specialist. The Japanese had launched hydrogen-fill air balloons armed with explosives and sent them drifting into North America. While there, Belk develops relationships with his deranged, masochistic captain, and falls in love with Lily, an intriguing Yup'ik Eskimo woman. A sort of odd, tragicomic menage-a-trois develops as the native culture struggles to maintain an identity while being subsumed by another.
Liam Callanan's first novel 1s an absorbing tale about a little-known aspect of World War I I. The spectacular Alaskan countryside provides a stunning background
that infuses the novel; in a way, it becomes one of the main characters. This is an exciting first novel in eve1y way.
Gerald T. Burke
HASTY DEATH
Marion Chesney, St. Martin's Minotaur, 2004, $22.95 / C$32.95, hb, 224pp, 0312304536
Hasty Death is the second in Chesney's new Edwardian mystery series featuring Lady Rose Summer and Captain Harry Cathcart. Headstrong Lady Rose , the only daughter of Lord and Lady Hadshire , prefers not to follow the life her parents have proscribed for her, namely marriage, and instead proposes that she and her maid Daisy go out and work for a living. Her parents hire Cathcart, the younger son of a baron who must work for his living as a detective, to keep Rose and Daisy out of trouble. He secures them work as typists at a bank, where they discover that large sums have been paid into dilettante Freddy Pomfret 's account. Then Pomfret is murdered. Eager to give up life as working girls in favor of solving the murder , Rose and Daisy join forces with Cathcart and Superintendent Kerridge, using Rose's Society connections to go where the detectives cannot.
Chesney gets the period details just right, contrasting the opulence of the life into which Rose was born with the travails of the working-class life she chooses (although not for long). Although seemingly light-hea11ed, the book exposes women's choices of the time: get ma1Tied , be exiled to India as a failed debutante, or even go to an in sane asylum should a woman voice a wish not to get married. And those are just the choices for Society women! At times Rose comes off as spoilt and insensitive, but Cathcart and Daisy are good foils for her , and I look forward to their further adventures.
Ellen Keith
THE SHILLING DOCTOR
Diane Cosgrove, Orion, August 2004, £ I 0.99, TPB, 246pp, 075285223X lt is 1921 and Jeannie Macdonald, having just qualified as a doctor, returns to her home town to find that no one, least of all her wealthy family, is prepared to accept a female doctor. The only work she find is at a surgery for the poor of the town And when she decides to set up a clinic offering advice on contraception, things go from bad to worse. Her career aside, she is attracted to two men and has to decide which one is really on her side and worthy of her love
The author is Scottish born and bred and must have done her research but much of the action seemed too melodramatic to be believable. Perhaps offering familyplanning advice would raise a few eyebrows but I'm not sure men would riot because their women might not want to produce a
ISSUE 28, MAY 2004
baby every year. 1 may be wrong here, but I did find it irksome that a young doctor who trained in Edinburgh and read all the right medical journals would be shocked to discover how the poor really lived.
The pages turned easily but l found Jeannie too na·ive and lacking in intellect to be a doctor and not engaging enough to be a true saga heroine. And I was disappointed that main thrust of the novel was which man she would marry. I like a good love story, but if you are going to make your heroine a pioneering doctor, then give her a chance to act like one.
Sally Zigmond
GARDEN OF BEASTS: A NOVEL OF BERLIN, 1936
Jeffery Deaver, Simon & Schuster, 2004, $24.95, hb, 422pp, 0743222016 Pub. in the UK by Hodder & Stoughton, 2004, £16.99, hb, 448pp, 0340734531 Berlin's famous Tiergarten is translated as "Garden of Beasts," and this play on words is a fitting title for a story based in the Nazicontrolled Berlin of 1936. An American professional killer who learned his trade as a US soldier on the Western Front in World War I, Paul Schumann is pressed into service by his government to murder a ranking official of the Nazi Party. Schumann, a man troubled by his trade, speaks fluent German and is sent to Berlin masquerading as a member of the American Olympic team. He quickly finds Berlin to be a confusing mix of amoral Nazis and fervent, yet terrified, anti-Nazi stalwarts. He finds love and friendship at the same time he encounters savagery of a type he had not seen in the trenches or in his previous Ii fe as a hit man. An intrinsically direct and straightforward personality type, Schumann must adjust to shifting allegiances and outright betrayal at every turn.
John R. Vallely
RED SKY IN THE MORNING
Margaret Dickinson, Pan 2004, £6.99, pb, 454pp,0330420127
The outstanding feature of this novel is its strong plot, set in the immediate post war period and a generation later in the I 960s. The story verged on the melodramatic at times and the repetition of earlier events later in the novel was rather too much to swallow. The characters of the central figure, her daughter and her mother are differentiated but others are stereotypes. The caring district nurse who radiates empathy and an embittered harridan of unbelievable nastiness. The men are either quietly strong, totally decent and dependable or superficially glamorous but actually hard, vicious things. The conventional happy ending for those who survive the honors along the way seemed psychologically implausible after such traumatic events.
However, these faults are balanced by the quality of the writing. The dialogue is well written and helps with the credibility of the story. The pace of the narrative canied me along and I always wanted to know what happened next. This is a novel for the reader who enjoys a well-paced story about ordinary people.
Ruth Nash
WALTZES I HA VE NOT FORGOTTEN
Bernadette Gabay Dyer, Women's Press (Canada), 2004, $ l 8.95/C$23.59, pb, 2 l 8pp, 0889614431
Set in Jamaica, this novel follows the childhood and early adult life of John Monteague. The product of rape, he is born to a black mother in 1915, and guaranteed an uncertain future. When his mother is found murdered, John (then aged four) begins a complex journey during which he is brought up by various unofficial guardians, starting with an elderly Chinese woman.
Dyer's novel is truly a multicultural work. Her young character shares his life with Blacks, Jews, Chinese and Caucasians, all of whom accept him almost without question. John's paternal Caucasian genes provide the boy with a fair complexion, allowing John an early lesson in the fallacy of racial discrimination. Even so, he seems a bit too open-minded for the period.
Although it has many redeeming features, Woltzes I Have Not Forgotten feels too short to contain John's complicated life. The first half of the book is choppy: characters the reader would benefit from knowing well appear and disappear all too quickly. During this same portion of the book, things happen to John that he is powerless to prevent, yet his feelings seem distant. The story becomes infinitely more satisfying - indeed, it truly comes to lifewhen, as a young adult, John is finally able to make decisions that will shape the rest of his life and the lives of his extended family.
Janette King
CELESTIAL HARMONIES
Peter Esterhazy, Flamingo 2004, £20, hb, 846pp, 0007141475. Published in US by Ecco, $29.95, hb, 006050 I 049
This book is not for the faint-hearted. It weighs in at 846 pages and according to the front cover it purports to be 'an epic historical novel of the rise and fall ofa great family.'
The Esterhazys were one of the most prominent aristocratic families, possessing land throughout Hungary, the embodiment of a dynastic dream. The 1919 commune stripped them of their rank and privileges; after 1945, the family was viewed as dangerous and subversive. So far, so promising. Could anybody even slightly interested in 20 th century Mitte/europa fail to be enticed by such a saga, with the added
attraction of the book's cover, a detail from Hirschler's In the Atelier? (in UK only - Ed) Unfortunately, for me, it didn't work. The first part leaps across time in an apparently aimless manner as the author muses on his ancestors, all the counts Esterhazy - at one moment the landlord of Haydn, at another a manual labourer under communism - always refening to 'my father', except when it is the father narrating, so that you have little idea of his actual father. All his ancestors, with their failings and foibles, have made the author who he is.
Part two tells the story of his immediate family, beginning in 1919. Here we learn more of his real father, who worked as a field hand after the Soviet takeover in 1956. Even so, the narrative remains anecdotal, disjointed. It is not so much a novel, more memoir and biography. Much as would have liked to, I never really sorted out the different generations. I emerged at the end muddled and frustrated, wishing I had come to know the characters better. A family tree might have helped.
Janet Hancock
THE WEDDING GAME
Jane Feather, Bantam, 2004, $6.99 / C$ l 0.99, pb,439pp,0553586203
This third, and last, instalment in the Duncan sisters' trilogy focuses on Chastity, the youngest sister. In her guise as the GoBetween, she meets Douglas Farrell at the National Gallery. Farrell, a physician, explains that he needs a well-to-do wife who will bankroll his new Harley Street practice. Chastity bristles at his mercenary attitude, but sets up a meeting with a woman, Laura Della Luca, who finds all things Italian to be cultured, while dismissing British customs. Chastity finds herself intrigued by Dr. Farrell, who inexplicably is practicing medicine in the slums at the same time he is setting up his more prestigious practice. Laura provides readers with numerous amusing scenes, while the blossoming romance involving her mother is enjoyable to follow. This book seems more detached from its time and place (early 20 th century London) than the two earlier entries in the series: the lens is tightly focused on the main characters. However, the story is just as enjoyable.
Trudi E. Jacobson
WHEN TOMORROW COMES
June Gadsby, Robert Hale, 2004, £18.99, pb,22lpp,070907557X
l lildie Thompson's first choice might not have been to marry Tommy, but she faces up to life with good cheer. Cheer which is tested by the outbreak of war and by the trials and tribulations of her family and friends.
Different family members face an unhappy marriage, infidelity, a love affair, a pit disaster and even a murder accusation, all in
Tl IE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
ISSUE 28, MAY 2004
the space of the war. Yet through it all Hildie remains strong, the backbone that holds the family up. Her motto is that everything will be better "when tomorrow comes".
June Gadsby's novel is a nicely crafted wartime saga. Although not ground breaking or innovative, it has a freshness and vibrancy that are immediately appealing. Hildie Thompson is an intriguing character, who could easily support a follow up novel.
Sara Wilson
IN THE NAME OF ISHMAEL
Giuseppe Genna , Miramax, 2003, $25.00 , hb , 444 pp , 0786869402
Two police detectives, one in 1962 and another in 200 I, discover that "everything evolves around the dark and secret name of Ishmael. " One is distracted by a faithless, fragile, pregnant wife, the other by recreational drugs and a woman with a taste for pain. Both are sorely tried by a gang of what at first seems like a cult of deadly pedophiles. But the child sacrifice-like killings link to politically motivated ones that stretch throughout the last half of the 20 th century and span the Western World.
A special note before the story launches cautions that it is "I 00% fictional, " with "ce rtain 'real' personalities or events appear, but as purely narrative devices." Assassinations and attempts on the lives of figures from Charles de Gaulle to Pope John Paul I to Princess Diana are then seen as connected to the shadowy Ishmae l network that pits Europe against America. No matter the intelligence and daring of its detectives, the answers remain just beyond their understanding, even when they unite after chasing the network 's crimes through Milan , Paris , Frankfurt and Brussels.
The ambitious and unresolved plot seems beyond even its author's understanding, though his protagonists are deftly rendered as is Milan, "a city that gets dirty when the rain washes it. "
Eileen Charbonneau
DIVINING WOMEN
Kaye Gibbons, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2004, $23.95 / CS34.50, hb, 206pp, 0399151605
Di,·ining Women takes place in 1918, as the First World War comes to a close and the Spanish innuenza epidemic begins. Mary Oliver, a yo ung woman of privileged background and of liberal upbringing, arrives in Elm City, North Carolina, to tend to her aunt Maureen, who is in the final stages of a difficult pregnancy. When she arrives, Mary soon discovers that the man·iage between her half-uncle Troop and Maureen is a loveless and unhealthy one, with Troop terrorizing his wife mercilessly. Living with Troop's abusiveness brings Mary and Maureen closer, and together the
two women find the strength to make their own lives, on their own tenns.
This is a simple tale; the backdrop of the war and influenza epidemic do not influence the characters overly much, and the biggest dramas are those which take place, for the most part, within Troop's house. Gibbons deftly creates a strong sense of isolation and gothic atmosphere; one can feel how suffocated Maureen must have been until Mary arrived. Though the story is uncomplicated, it is never dull. The women are all engaging and complex characters, particularly Mary and her mother, whose letters to Mary serve to disrupt the sense of hopelessness that Troop tries so hard to maintain. Gibbons writes with quiet grace, her prose alternately poignant and comic; this novel was a too-brief de! ight to read.
L.K. Mason
TITANIC AFFAIR
Amanda P. Grange, Severn House Publishers Ltd., 2004, £ I 8.99 (US$27 .95), hb , I 86pp, ISBN 0- 7278-6102-6. This romantic novel is set in I 912. Following the death of her Aunt Clem, Emilia Cavendish is forced to try to escape from the unwanted attentions of Silas Montmorency and to seek the protection of her godmother in Ireland. A friend of Emilia's godmother is unable to travel on the Titanic and offers her the use of her stateroom as far as Queenstown. Silas Montmorency 's violent henchmen Barker follows Emilia on board. Carl Latimer a wealthy and attractive passenger comes to her aid. Their fledgling romance has to weather Barker 's attempt to kidnap Emilia, the sinking if the Titanic and the attempts of Mrs Gisborne and one of her society friends to keep them apa1i. It is only as Emilia is about to leave America and sail to Ireland that Mrs. Gisborne's duplicity is final uncovered.
This is a well-crafted and fast moving story. Using the setting of the maiden voyage of the Titanic takes a degree of courage on the pan of any author and in this case it paid off. I was delighted to find a fresh slant on the wellknown events of the tragic voyage. What tands out is the excellent use of historical detail such as the Crown Derby china, the electric horse , the Oxford marmalade and the author's ability to blend in real passengers like Mr. Bruce Ismay , the chairn1an of the White Star Line with her fictional characters in a seamless manner.
A last word in a praise of the jacket illustration by David Young , which captures the tone of the novel and compliments its content.
Myfanwy Cook
MURDER IN MONTPARNASSE
Kerry Greenwood, Poisoned Pen Press, 2004, $24.95, hb, 276pp, 1590580427
While on leave in Paris in 1918, seven Australian soldiers become unwitting witnesses to a crime. A decade later, in Melbourne , these seven soldiers are being murdered systematically, their deaths disguised to make them look accidental. Meanwhile, the chef of a fine French restaurant near Melbourne is being harassed to pay protection money, and the chefs young fiancee is kidnapped. The Hon. Phryne Fisher is called upon to give advice. Phryne Fisher is not a typical woman of the I 920s. Financially secure, she is in control of her own life Her household consists of a staff of servants, two adopted teenaged daughters, and an asso1iment of pets. The man in her life, her lover , Lin Chung, will soon marry another woman; when he does, Fisher's butler and cook intend to quit (for Lin will not give up his lady). Maybe Fisher is not in total control, but she is unconventional. And unpredictable. Fisher is a unique character who solves crimes without appearing to be too perfect. Apart from the fact that Phryne Fisher enjoys more freedom than most women would have had in the 1920s, Murder in Montparnasse is credible and entertaining, its characters well-drawn.
Janette King
IN ANOTHER LIGHT
Andrew Greig , Weidenfeld & Nicolson , 2004, £ 12.99 hb, 388 pp , ISBN O 297 84878 X
Based on the author's own experiences, the novel traces the lives of father and son; the son, recovering from a serious brain inju1y, surgery and their aftermath, finds work on Orkney. During this time, he investigates his father's early life in Penang between the wars and the truth behind the scandal that forced his father to lea ve, Eddie's initial curiosity having been s tirred by a figure of the Buddha, a domino and a faded photo. Eddie is attracted to the clever, curious and eccentric Mica, who is as unexpected as she is entertaining. It is refre shi ng to see this sort of characterisation for what is normally termed a " love interest ".
This is a beautifully written book , a lyrical exploration of love and pain. The characterisation is fresh and the story wellpaced. The author does not succumb to the conventional My Father As I Never Knew Him cliche, opting for a more robust and yet sensitive narrative of self-discovery. For those looking for more than a family folk tale and for those who prefer a good story with depth , this is a must.
Geraldine Perriam
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
MAY 2004
THE GAZELLE
Julian Grenfell, The Book Guild Ltd, 2004, £17.95, hb, 450pp, I 85776 8256
Leah Wittmann, known as the Gazelle, sets the record for the fastest woman sprinter in Germany and, with the Olympics approaching, is an obvious choice to represent her country. But it is 1936 and Leah is a Jew. l ler beauty and pride pique Gestapo chief l leydrich who offers her safe exile in return for sex; otherwise it will be imprisonment and possibly death for her and her fiery brother, Asher.
Tommy Osborn, equerry to Edward VIII, comes to Berlin for the Olympics, meets and falls in love with Leah, determining to help her escape the Gestapo and Germany. The difficulties are enormous. He and his German cousins are watched by the Secret Police, Asher is seized by the Gestapo and the King wants Tommy to join him on his yacht in the Adriatic immediately.
Grenfell has used his own experience in British government (he is Deputy Speaker in the I louse of Lords) and his family's history to make this a convincing and atmospheric novel. The horror of the Nazis' tightening grip on Jews and on those in opposition to I litler is strongly portrayed as we follow the destruction of a civilized nation and feel for its doomed population. Making Tommy an equerry gives us an insider's view of Britiain 's problems in 1936. The appeasers who admire I litler are contrasted with the frustration of Churchill and others. The King, weak and pro-Nazi, is in the thrall of Wallis Simpson, strong, di,orced, American and very pro-Nazi but Grenfell pays fair tribute to fdward's sympathy for the poor as well as Simpson's sex-appeal (a first there?).
On the downside, Grenfell has far too many characters. Again and again, I had to backtrack to find out who was who. There are also many detailed drives around Berlin and environs which neither speed the plot nor add to the sense of period. These reservations apart, The Ga::elle is an interesting, gripping and exciting novel.
Lynn Guest
CODEX
Lev Grossman, I larcourt, 2004, $24, hb, 348 pp, 0 I 5 IO I 0668 In Codex, Edward Wozny, a young, dissatisfied investment banker, becomes involved with a wealthy client's ancient library. Although he knows nothing whatsoever about books or libraries, ancient or otherwise, he is asked lo search for the Codex, a manuscript hundreds of years old that, if it exists at all, may contain a volatile secret.
Simultaneously, Edward becomes obsessed with a video game in which he finds eerie, inexplicable echoes of his search for the Codex. The most interesting message of the book is the unchanging nature of
TIIE IIISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
gamesmanship. The sort of mind capable of illuminating a beautiful manuscript in which a heartbreaking message is hidden, designs computer games in our era, full of traps and challenges. Edward's peculiar assignment and his gaming adventures reflect each other very cleverly, playing off each other and moving the story along at a quick pace.
Codex might make a better game than a novel. The characters are thin, with little chemistry between them and little effort made to flesh them out, like the twodimensional characters found in video games. The prickly medieval scholar/ possible love interest who helps Edward in his search is described over and over again by her "long, elegant swoop of a nose," and it's hard to understand why anyone, even a fabulously wealthy eccentric, would hire Edward, whose job and personality are so irrelevant to the crucial task at hand. The end is abrupt and disappointing; readers might find themselves rifling through the blank endpapers, looking for the rest of it.
Colleen Quinn
DANCE LITTLE LADY
Lilian Harry, Orion 2004, £9.99, ($22.95) hb, 344pp,075285l284
A WW2 story set on Priddy's Hard, Portsmouth where a group of teenage girls are working in munitions, filling shells with explosives. The details of the work and the description of the interior of the factory are well researched and some times overshadow the story.
This is really a social history as the war has a profound effect on the lives of the young women. Boys broke away from their families and went to war and girls met American and Canadian service men stationed in Portsmouth and went dancing with soldiers and sailors free from the supervision of their parents. Involved in a wartime community in a tense and exciting atmosphere they were able to assert an Independence that girls had never before experienced. This sudden freedom led to pregnancy, broken promises of marriage and the tragedy of death on active service, as well as rows within families as young people broke free of parental controls. The reader cannot fail 10 understand and sympathise with the characters as young men and women fell in love and parted to prepare for D-Day.
An 'old fashioned' book, using dialogue typical of the nineteen-forties when bad language was rarely used - 'daft' being the usual adjective!
Jane Hill
THE WOMAN WHO KNEW GANDHI
Keith Heller, Houghton Mifflin, 2004, $12 / C$18.95, pb, 208pp, 0618335455
Exploring whether love between a man and a woman can exist outside of physical
intimacy, this novel imagines a lifelong relationship between a very ordinary woman -Martha - and an extraordinary manMahatma Gandhi. In his autobiography, Gandhi mentions an Englishwoman he met in his youth. Keith Heller uses this reference to create a fascinating story of letters winging back and forth between India and a tiny English village, and of too-short reunions during Gandhi's infrequent visits to Britain. This is the backdrop. Most of the novel focuses on how Martha, now in her seventies, copes with the disclosure of her relationship with a man that her people alternately revere and despise. Samuel, her husband, le arns for the first time that another man - and a foreign, controversial one at that - shared with Martha in a manner he seemed unable to match. And Martha's three adult children fail to understand why she must travel to Indi a to meet with Gandhi's son some months after Gandhi's assassination.
Absorbing, entirely plausible, deep without being obscure, this is a novel 10 read and read again. Heller's descriptions of post-WWII England and of Bombay shortly after Ind ependence brought me into the era and place. Using these two locales and cultures, his novel exposes the subtle barriers so often erected between peoples of differing race and creed. Most of all, it questions how we compartmentalize relationships and how we define love.
Claire Morris
THE BURNING BLUE
James Holland, Arrow 2004, £6.99, pb, 530pp,0099436477
The author of this very readable war-lime novel drew heavily on first-hand memories of Battle of Britain pilots during his research, and brings to life those black and white images we all know of the 'Few' in their flying boots, striding toward their flimsy planes. The hero of the book, Josh Lambe1i, takes to flying while at Cambridge; his best friend is in a reserved occupation as a fanner; his girlfriend is having second thoughts. The stOJy is based around Josh's stay in a Cairo hospital in 1942 and flashes back through the late 1930s to tell an absorbing and intense story of men and their planes, and a cou111ry at war.
Val Whitmarsh
SHADE
Neil Jordan, John Murray, £16.99, hb, 319pp, 071956 I 868 (UK) / Bloomsbury USA, Oct. 2004, S24.95, hb, 320pp, 15 82344825 (us)
More widely known as a film director, Neil Jordan is also a highly accomplished writer of fiction, though this is his first published novel for IO years Set primarily in the first 20 years and then in the middle of the 20 111 Century Ireland, this is a wonderfully poetic study of the nature of childhood, memory
ISSUE 28, MAY 2004
and of the relationship these have with our landscape. Nina Hardy, a film and stage actress returns to the scene of her childhood on the Irish coast near Drogheda, as some sort of brooding spirit following her death at the hands of mentally-disturbed and wardamaged George, a childhood companion. The tale unfolds, both by Nina looking back and through the memories of her halfbrother and George 's sister. The story is infused with a sense of nostalgia, the narrative rich and evocative, while wholly lacking unnecessary ornamentation. The tone, sober and astute, is similar to that of Helen Dunmore. The compelling nature of the tale, the feel of rural Ireland, its characters and their speech in the early years of the last century, allows the reader to forget that this is essentially a tale of fantasy, of barely-glimpsed shades from another dimension. This is a novel that is both intelligent and full of feeling; it lingers long in the mind.
Doug Kemp
SUNSET AND SAWDUST
Joe Lansdale, Knopf, 2004, $22.00/C$32.00, hb, 321 pp, 0375414533 It begins as a tornado hits the home of Sunset Jones and her husband Pete, and it ends soon after a gigantic swarm of ground-clearing locusts hits the small East Texas sawmill town of Camp Rapture. The country is in the midst of the Depression, and Pete, the town's constable, does not survive the houseleveling storm. While he is raping Sunset, she pulls his gun from his holster and shoots him clean through the head.
There are quite a few places in this book where I simply had to stop and say to myself "Wow!" or " Oh, my 1" and this is only the first of them. The second is a little more subtle - Sunset's mother-in-law, having gone through the same wife-beating routine with Pete's daddy, sticks up for her, even so far as convincing the locals that Sunset would make a fine replacement for Pete as the town's law enforcement officer. (She is the co-owner of the sawmill, after all.)
What does Sunset know about police work? Very little, but with the of two deputies, both of whom are either in love or lust with her, she starts right in - and makes enemies right and left. Uppity is not the word for Sunset. As far as Camp Rapture is concerned, she has three strikes against her. She shot her husband. She's a woman doing a man's job. She sided with a black man who killed the sheriff the next town over, not that that worked out very well.
This is not your ordinary detective puzzle mystery, although there is one to be solved. There are times when Lansdale verges into Stephen King territory, or perhaps this is the result that would occur if Mr. King were to verge into Mr. Lansdale's East Texas venue, with some of the scariest
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villains you never read about in a Perry Mason courtroom drama.
What you will discover, if you decide to read this book, is that once started, you will never know which direction it will go next. Staid and sedate is not Joe R. Lansdale's forte, and you will never find a better example than this.
Steve Lewis
BLUFF ING M R. CHURCHILL
John Lawton, Atlantic Monthly, 2004, $24.00, hb, 320pp,0871139073
Few events in modern times are as packed with historical drama as the London Blitz of 1940-1941. Confronted by an enemy whose forces had marched from triumph to triumph, Britain and her empire found themselves as Hitler's only remaining opponent following the fall of France. Placing their faith in the Hun·icanes and Spitfires of the Royal Air Force, the British public quickly had that faith tested when the Luftwaffe turned its attention to mass attacks on cities. As the Blitz rolls on, the people living under the bombs must adjust to fit the demands of this frightening and cruel world. John Lawton shows us this fascinating saga of a people coping with unimaginable stress by having German spies, British police, and American intelligence operatives fight a shadow war on London's bombed out landscape while the RAF and Luftwaffe duel overhead. An American agent has smuggled the plans for Germany 's pending assault on the Soviet Union from Berlin to London. German agents are in hot pursuit as are American and British secret agents and policemen. In what is certainly one of the oddest partnerships in fiction, the American Calvin Cormack teams up with Special Branch officer Walter Stilton to hunt down the American double agent. Cormack must navigate the increasingly confusing world of wartime London while simultaneously coping with his demanding love interest, the daughter of his partner Stilton. The tangled webs of these lives are all played out against a backdrop of black marketeering , police procedure, and the general mayhem of a civilization faced with constant terror.
John R. Vallely
DARK MATTERS
Paul M. Levitt , Univ. of New Mexico Press , 2004, $24.95, hb, 302pp , 082633034 7
Although there are several major characters, this is mainly the story of Ben Cohen, a Korean War veteran and University of Colorado graduate student during the McCarthy era. When the FBI comes to campus in 1952 to investigate "Red"leaning teachers, Ben refuses to sign a loyalty oath, and speaks out to defend others who are accused of being Communists.
Growing disgusted with university politics, Ben persuades his friend Marty and their respective girlfriends to retreat to New Mexico with him, to help the miners at the Salt of the Earth strike in Hanover. Despite his attraction to miner's wife Esperanza, when the strike negotiations stall, Ben follows girlfriend Clarissa to her home in Kentucky. He meets a cold reception from her "society" parents, who don't want their daughter marrying a Jew, and a "Red" to boot.
The novel's last 60-some pages follow Ben to 1969, when he is sent as a reporter to Czechoslovakia to record events following the Prague Spring. Marty joins him there, and discovers some surprising revelations about Ben, Clarissa , and Esperanza.
The information about 1950s university life, labor politics, and the witch-hunts of the McCarthy era was interesting, but, try as I might, I couldn't get emotionally involved with Ben and the other characters. Most of the chapters are narrated by either Marty , in first person, or shown through Ben's eyes in third person. Perhaps the latter creates too much distance between the reader and Ben's character. But if learning about an intriguing era of history is higher on your priority list than emotionally-involving characters, you will like the book.
B.J. Sedlock
T H E G IR L F ROM POOR HOUSE LANE
Freda Lightfoot, Coronet, 2004, £6.99, pb , 407pp,0340829990
Kate is struggling to survive and care for Callum, her.son, in the slums of Kendal after her husband is drowned. Then the wealthy but childless Eliot Tyson, owner of the shoe factory, and his wife, offer to adopt Callum and employ Kate as his nursemaid Kate's feelings are mixed, but Eliot's brother Charles sees Callum as a threat. Then Callum vanishes, and Kate is back in Poor House Lane. Outspoken, determined to defeat Eliot's sleazy foreman, Kate starts her own factory, constantly searching for Callum as the years pass.
This is the poor-girl-makes-good plot, with an attractive heroine and a satisfying Lakeland background. The male characters I thought less convincing, less rounded, and the ending appeared to me a little abruptperhaps laying the seeds of a sequel? A few other minor things jarred - a newborn with brown eyes, damsons in May - and showed signs of hurried copy-editing. But the may readers who enjoy sagas set in such a real background will enjoy this one.
Marina Oliver
NO CLUE AT T H E INN
Kate Kingsbury, Berkley Prime Crime, 2003, S 13 / C$19.50, pb, 309pp, 0425191885
An accomplished writer, Kate Kingsbury continues her Pennyfoot Hotel series with
ISSUE 28, MAY 2004
this cozy Christmas read. No Clue at the Inn reunites Cecily Baxter and her husband I !ugh with their friends at the hotel in Badgers End, as they step in to help out when its manager is murdered. Things have changed in their absence, so Cecily acquaints herself with the new staff while welcoming the others for a Christmas visit. Though it appears the manager's death was in fact an accident, Cecily isn't so sure, especially when an outspoken maid also turns up dead.
Featuring a delightful cast of characters, a well-plotted mystery and suitably detailed and fully developed setting, this holiday mystery transports the reader to early 20 th century England. The pacing kept me turning the pages, eager to find out what happened next while the details of everyday life added lo the atmosphere. Nor do the interesting subplots detract from the main mystery.
Cecily is an adequate detective, though at times she does seem to be a little too headstrong. Similarly, her husband comes across as rather arrogant. But these are minor quibbles. Overall , I genuinely enjoyed this charming mystery and do not hesitate to recommend it.
Teresa Basinski Eckford
RIGHT AS RAIN
Bev Marshall, Ballantine, 2004. $23.95 / C$35.95, hb, 404pp, 0345468414
Mississippi-born Bev Marshall has crafted a memorable and evocative tale revolving around three families. Set in the mid/late 20 th century American South, Right as Rain tells the story of Tee Wee , a woman detem1ined to hold her family together and make a better Ii re. She works as cook for the Parsons, renting a house on their land with her husband Luther. She's less than enthusiastic when they hire a new housekeeper, with whom she feels an instant rivalry. Still, she and lcey fom1 a thorny friendship that endures through the years that follow, punctuated by both tragedy and success.
It is also the story of the Parsons' daughter Ruthie, who longs to be loved for herself but chooses unwisely. Her story is both heartbreaking and uplifting as she learns about loyalty and friendship. Her brother Browder and Tee Wee ' s daughter Crow also figure prominently.
ln many ways the setting is the most impressive aspect of this thoroughly engrossing tale , coming to life on every page, the heat and humidity palpable. I could hear the thunder , taste the dust and smell the animals on the farm. Especially impressive was how well Ms Marshall wove the political and social history or the period into the narrative. I learned a lot without realizing it, which speaks volumes for her skill as a writer. Her dialogue also stands out. Each or the characters has a distinctive
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voice, and she reflects time and place without resorting to cliche.
The many threads of the plot come together in a gripping court trial, the outcome of which sees the climax of the story and kept me reading with the proverbial bated breath. A fine ending to this compelling and very readable family saga whose characters will stay with you long after you close the book.
Teresa Basinski Eckford
A TrME OF PEACE
Beryl Matthews, Penguin 2004, £5.99, pb, 441pp,01401047l7
Beryl Matthews is a new author to me but A Time of Peace, the third and final part in the Webster family trilogy, can easily be read on its own.
Kate Freeman joins a newspaper in I 960s London as a photographer. She longs to cover serious subjects but encounters the boss from hell and is relegated to the fashion page. Eventually she sets up in business for herself and travels to France and Germany witnessing the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Kate has to cope with setbacks, kidnap, mysteries from her mother's past and a choice of three very different men who fall in love with her; Jacques, Gerhard and faithful Jon. The book ends happily with the birth of a new generation.
This is a reliable romantic read and should earn Beryl Matthews new fans especially those who enjoy the novels of Barbara Taylor Bradford. Ruth Ginarlis
LIARS AND SAINTS
Maile Meloy, Scribner, 2003, $24.00 / C$36.00, hb, 260pp, 0743244354
Pub. in the UK by John Murray, 2004, £14.99, hb,272pp,07l9566444
The novel covers four generations of the Santerre family. Beginning at the close of World War 11 , the story continues up to the present. As the family swells, the intricacies of their emotional and psychological interdependence become complex. At the heart of the family's relationships lurks a lie that, if exposed, could tear them apart. Near the end of the story, the elder Santerres visit Rome on a church-sponsored vacation, and tragedy strikes This stunning twist of fate forces the entire family to face their selves and each other in a new way.
Maile Meloy's first novel is a superb debut following her award-winning collection of short stories, Hall in Love. Besides its intricate character development, the author's taut prose manages to tell this multi-generational story in a mere 260 pages. In addition, the story presents the vivid social landscape of America that frames the lives of the Santerre family during a time of enormous change. This is
as rich a novel as one can find about the complexity of an American family's love and how that love binds them together.
Gerald T. Burke
REPENTANCES
Annette Meyers, Five Star, 2004, $25.95, hb, 304pp, 1410401 87 1
This novel's title refers to the ghosts of a work's former details that sometimes reappear as an oil painting ages. Rosie Ebanholz spends her young life uncovering the ghosts of her separate past as another person. Set in 1930s through 50s New York City and environs, the story follows a Jewish im111igrant trying desperately to bring his young wife and daughter out of Nazi-dominated Europe. But a hate crime destroys both, and a betrayal within his New York community spirals Nathan into two crimes one of passion and one of redemption, thereby changing the lives of all involved forever. ln its searing climax the truth finally wins, as past and present meet head-on.
Highly suspenseful with deft characterizations, wonderful setting details and haunting sadness, Repentances rises above its genre to grab the reader's soul. Highly recommended.
Eileen Charbonneau
WATER GYPSIES
Annie Mum1y, Pan 2004, £6.99, pb, 455pp, 0330492144
Maryann Bartholomew's life as a boatswain in the 1940s is very different from her traumatic childhood in Birmingham. On the canals of Eng land with her husband Joel she has found a measure of stability and happiness. However, it's a life of extremely hard work with which Maryann struggles to cope, made no easier by a bereavement and her constant fear of an addition to their already large fa111ily. When she learns that someone has been asking for her at a wharf in Bir111ingham her long buried childhood nightmares resurface.
The novel contains some well-drawn characters and even those who appear fleetingly are described with care. Descriptions overall are effective, offering detail without being heavy-handed. Annie Murray clearly has a good knowledge of the life on the narrow boars and canals, even including a glossary of terms at the end.
There is little light relief from the problems described. Even the volunteers, Sylvia and Dot helping Maryann on the boats when Joel has an accident, bring their share of troubles. As the plot advances and the situation escalates it gives the novel an oppressive feel. Tension is maintained throughout and there is no lack of atmosphere. Aspects of the book are interesting but it is rather intense.
Mary Andrea Clarke
DEATH IN HYDE PARK
Robin Paige, Berkley Prime Crime, 2004, $23.95/C$36.00, hb, 296pp, 0425194191 London, 1902, Coronation Day: a milestone for Edward Vil, who finally succeeds to the throne Spectators fill the streets, including an anarchist whose bomb explodes prematurely, killing him instead of the royal couple The police immediately arrest his coworkers at the "Anarchist C larion" to stave off public panic. Enter Charles Sheridan, asked by the authorities to investigate, and his wife, Kate, who is offering shelte r to Lottie Conway, the editor who escaped the police sweep.
The investigation focuses on the possible innocence of the plaintiffs vs. the determined Cl D inspector Ashcraft using his own methods to make an arrest stick. The Achilles of the story is rapacious American writer Jack London , who writes about oppression of the poor while enjoying the opulence and freedom his writing income gives him. Although the womanizing author is attracted to Lottie, he has to make good on his Socialist leanings by helping Lottie and her friends seek justice.
A courtroom scene involving the new science of fingerprinting brings the trial to a startling end, with an ensuing twist to make a social statement about the English view of justice in early Edwardian times. Readers who like their novels gothic as well as historical, with a bit of mystery thrown in, shou ld take a peek at this newest Robin Paige novel, which parallels early 1900s issues with those of today.
Tess Allegra
THE DEVIL I BUENOS AIRES
Lily Powell, The Lyons Press, 2004, $22.95 / C$33.95, hb , 239pp, 1592282997 Antonie Herrnfeld and her twin Peter, young German Jews, venture to Buenos Aires during the Holocaust. Fearful of the politics in Germany, their wealthy father, I lugo, has deposited money abroad for the children and encouraged them to finish schooling at a foreign university. Their mother, Delores, had obtained visas for the twins at the Argentine Embassy, not so much for schooling as for simply neeing the country. Getting situated in Buenos Aires means a visit with their cousins, the Gueridas. Stepping brieny into ultra-rich society is like a visit to a dreamland. Antonio Guerida attempts to assist the twins by placing Peter at a larger estate in the province of Buenos Aires while his sister stays at a hotel. Within a few days, Stefan von der I leiden, a Nazi diplomat, uses bribery to recruit Antonie as a spy, but soon she becomes a double agent. Larsen, an American spy and Antonie's trainer, becomes her romantic interest. Matters change when Stefan renounces the Nazis.
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The highly dangerous business of doublecrossing leads to escape plans for many. The ending's sudden violence will stun readers who are caught up in hopes for peace.
This highly recommended story reveals that the terror experienced by German Jews a lso extended into foreign countries. This is a well written, easy to read novel that will appeal to a large audience.
Jetta Carol Culpepper
THE WHITE GUNS
Douglas Reeman, McBooks, 2004, $15.95 , pb, 362pp, 1590130839
Douglas Reeman ' s naval adventures have been eagerly devoured by his numerous international followers for decades. His writings have not simply supplied readers with gunfire and derring-do ; they have also brought to the surface the overwhelming stress the ordinary sailor and his officers faced in the Royal Navy of World War II. The White Guns , originally published in 1989 , takes the R.N from the hazards of war to the uncertainties of peace. Lieutenant Vere Marriott, commander of Motor Gunboat 80 I, has survived the war only to find himself stationed in Kiel and charged with assisting in cleaning up the delitri of war while simultaneously adjusting to both a tyrannical (at first glance) commanding officer and his relationship with a young German woman. Black marketeering, the difficulties of becoming acclimated to a strange new world , and sexual confusion replace nighttime torpedo runs and ship-to-ship combat 111 this radically different naval novel.
John R. Vallely
THEPUMPKI COACH
Susan Sallis , Bantam Press 2004, £ 16 99, hb,380pp , 0593052668
It is 1946 and sixteen-year-old Alice Pettiford has decided that she will leave the grammar school at Easter and get a job. The Pettifords are a railway family and she is assured that her father will be able to find her a typing position in the Gloucester office of the Great Western Railway . She falls in love almost immediately; Joseph Adair, however, is nearing eighteen and national Service looms.
The Adairs have a family secret that is centred round an abandoned railway carriage hidden in a clearing in the Forest of Dean and named by Joseph's mother as the 'Pumpkin Coach'. It is this seemingly enchanted refuge that will shape the destiny of not only Alice and Joe but all of those around them.
Susan Sallis's new novel is magical and sad, passionate and dramatic by turns and brings out a nostalgia for an almost forgotten world when the railways were the heart-blood of the country and cars were a
novelty. A time when lard was used to make pastry that melted in the mouth and butter was a rediscovered delight. The austerity of the post-war years and how its effects are seen in a tightly knit and family orientated community are beautifully described Gwen Sly
GHOST HEART
Cecilia Samartin, Bantam Press 2004, £12.99, hb,377pp,059305l67X
Nora and Alicia are cousins of Spanish descent growing up in Cuba. Life is a carefree round of lazy days on the beach until Castro takes over. When religion is outlawed and food shortages begin to bite Nora's family emigrate to California. Alicia ' s family s tays behind, certain that things will eventually get better.
The years pass and Nora learns that Alicia has married Tony , against her parent's wishes , and now has a daughter. When Tony is arrested for anti-revolutionary activities Alicia and her daughter suffer increasing privation and Nora decides to return to her beloved Cuba to help them.
The gist of the novel suggests that preCastro, life in Cuba was some kind of paradise It probably was for the well to do middle class but under Batiste 's dictatorship the masses suffered grinding poverty. The author admits that she has never visited Cuba (her family emigrated when she was a baby). That aside, th e sights, sounds and sme ll s of Cuba are vividly re-created as is the bitter strugg le for survival in impossible circumstances. It is a moving story beautifully told.
Ann Oughton
DESPITE THE FALLING SNOW
Shamim Sarif, lleadline, 2004, £14.99, hb , 34lpp,0755308670
This is the second novel by award-winning Shamim Sarif. It is set in 1950s cold-war Russia and present-day America Alexander Ivanov, a loyal Communist, marries Katya, who, unknown to him, is working against the regime She eventually confides in him, and he goes to America on an official visit, planning that she will join him, but fate intervenes Alexander remains in Boston and sets up a catering business, thus becoming a successful capitalist, but is always haunted by Katya
This novel takes itself very seriously and it is perhaps with no sense of irony that the sub-p lot , concerning the same-sex relationship between two young women, sends them on their first date to a performance of The Nutcracker The backdrop to the novel is big and brave, but this is romance with recipes and not Chocolut or On Green Dolphin Street. It is Lit Lite and destined to be a huge bestsell er, and probably a film.
Ruth Ginarlis
ISSUE 28, MAY 2004
THE GENTLE WIDOW OF MADRID
John Scurr, The Book Guild, 2004, £16.95, hb, 292pp, 1857768663
In Madrid in 1936, as the Spanish Civil War begins, Fidela Contreras, widow of a war hero killed in Morocco eleven years before, is workin g as a cinema cashier.
The war is already beginning to bite, but hdela is consoled by knowing her only c hild, Jose, is safe with relatives in Seville, a lready under Nationalist control. Although I·idela hates the war, her piety leads her to s y mpathise with the Nationalists, in a Madrid controlled by Republican forces, including violent and lawless militias. Fidela joins the Auxilio A::ul, a secret women's organisation working for the Nationalist cause in Madrid.
The theme of this novel is how the gentle Fidela, regarded by her colleagues and acquaintances as a timid and aloof eccentric, is drh en by the dramatic events around her to find a strength of character that she had never suspected was there. To her horror, Fidela becomes the unintended cause of deaths among her friends as well as her enemies; but, ironically, nobody believes her confession of the one crime she really docs commit. E, en in April 1939, after hanco 's forces ha Ye entered the city and brought the war to an end, Fidela's wish for personal and national peace are thwarted by more bad news ; yet there is still hope for her and for Spain.
A , igorous narrati, e drive is not interrupted by interpolated translations of the names of contemporary Spanish or g anisations, and even footnotes, none of "h1eh is really necessary. It is a welcome change to come upon a book about the Sp a 111sh Civil War told from the Nationalist , iewpoint, but this is no mere partisan tract; John Scurr docs not hide the fact that brutality was not a monopoly of either side. This novel has its imperfections, to be sure, but its e,ocation of how nobody was safe from the , iolence and insecurity of the time g ripped me 11110 reading it in one sitting. Alan l isk
TREE OF ANGELS
Penny Sumner, Orion, 2004, £9.99 hb, 341pp, ISBN 0 752 86126 3 !\lier the death of her mother, Nina Karsa, ma ' s life on a Russian estate becom e s intolerable and she agrees to marry a y o ung h1glishman. Just before the o utbreak of WWI, the couple settle in Brighton, ,,here Nina remains. lier motherin-hrn disapproYes of her and Nina works hard to win over her sister-in-law. Iler life is always eventful and in her old age, she is \'isite d by a young woman when the story finally comes full circle.
It would disclose too much of the plot to g ive details of Nina's relationship with
Tm IIISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
Richard, of her attraction to a young Australian soldier and subsequent events but the story is a lively one and something of a page-turner, despite the eponymous angel (who appears, mercifully, infrequently). The story is apparently based on a tale told to the author by a Russian countess. The settings are very well drawn and evocative with some promising descriptive writing. This is good summer reading material, neither too demanding nor too shallow, interesting and unexpected.
Geraldine Perriam
THE LOYER
Laura Wilson, Orion, 2004, £ I 0.99, hb, 282pp,0752859803
This psychological thriller is set during the London Blitz of 1940. As if the people of Soho haven't enough to put up with, a sadistic sexually perve1ied killer is prowling the black-out.
This is a gripping and often uncomfortable read. Laura Wilson brilliantly conveys the weariness of the people, the drabness of wartime restrictions, the claustrophobic air-raid shelters, the bombed ruins and those small acts of kindness that shine through the horror. And although the identity of the killer is known from the outset, this in no way lessens the tension because Wilson keeps it taut right to the end. She also manages some sympathy for the vicious murderer by showing how the horrors of war have deadened his emotions. What I most admired about this novel was the richness of the characterisation and the period detail. The smell of dust and explosives still remains with me.
If I have any criticism it's that the 'wrong' person (for me) dies in the end, but that aside, this is a cracking read.
Sally Zigmond
Tl 1E WILL TELL.
Sally Worboyes, I !odder & Stoughton. 2004. £ I 8.99, hb, 31 Opp, 0340734973
This story of e,eryday life in the East End of London during the I 950's has a broad cast that depicts a type of character and a sense of place that is entirely in keeping with the period. Eddie's fifteen-year-old daughter Maggie is pregnant by her Italian boyfriend, and friends and family gather round to support her. This is a believable story ,, ith several subplots to fill out the pages, ,vhich will find favour with readers of family sagas. Well written and with good pace, it had a feeling of being one ofa series and I kept wondering what had gone before and what was to come after. I wanted to know more about Maggie's feelings and found some of the subplots less enthralling than they might have been. I am sure it \\ill
please her many fans but must confess that it didn't quite catch fire for me.
Linda Sole
THE CAJUNS
Gus Weill, Simon & Schuster, 2004, $24 / C$35,hb,320pp,0743249798
In Richelieu Parish, Louisiana, in 1956, Sheriff Bobby Boudreaux has some problems: altar boy Ti Boy Brouliette has died, cleaning his shotgun; reporter Ruth Ann Daigle believes it was no accident; and Ruth Ann produces powerful, disturbing feelings in Bobby, distracting him from his wife BeBe, the daughter of state senator Papoot Gaspard and sister of Father Justin Gaspard.
Weill has assembled a colorful cast of characters who would run the risk of being caricatures were it not for the fact that the author invests such authenticity into this novel. Senator Gaspard is the embodiment of the old-style politician, trading favors for votes, his good-old-boy jollity masking his ruthlessness. Father Justin's air of detached saintliness also masks something more sinister, while father Li'I Shot Fontenot and son Big Shot Fontenot provide some comic relief. Ruth Ann's investigations into Ti Boy's death and President Prejean 's challenging Gaspard's senate seat cause ripples in this sleepy Southern world, and when change comes, it comes at a price .
The South in the 1950s is as much a character as anyone else in the novel, and the heat, dissoluteness, and eccentricity are palpable. A skillful blend of quirkiness and gravitas, this is a memorable novel.
Ellen Keith
STREETS OF WARSAW
Steve Wiggins, 2004, Wiinggs, S 19.95 / C$28.95,p~363pp,pb,0974543500 Bronislaw Pietrazewicz, code-named "Lot," is a member of the Polish Underground fighting the Nazi occupiers in Warsaw. Bronek, as he is knmvn, and his fellow members of the Underground cell "Agat" strike out at the Na7is despite brutal retaliation against innocent ci, ilians. They have littl e choice. The Nazis have turned Warsaw into little more than a slaYe labor camp. Starvation and povert) abound. I lop elcssness is rampant. The only shred of self-respect left to the citi7ens of Warsmv is given to them by the courageous defiance of the Underground.
My one nit to pick ,, ith this novel is the detail into which the author delves in painting this deeply disturbing image. Too many day-to-day trivialities slowed the pace of the book and made it too easy to put clown. I lowever, using the same attention to detail, the author shows he is adept at painting a vivid portrait of the unspeakable misery suffered by the Poles under Nazi rule. As a result, this is a dark and
ISSUE 28, MAY 2004
depressing story. Perhaps in that respect it is also an important one, for we should never be allowed to forget or gloss over the horrors wrought upon the world by Nazi fanaticism.
Mark F. Johnson
BIROS OF A FEATHER
Jacqueline Winspear, Soho, 2004, $25/CS37.95, hb, 311 pp, 1569473684
In this second entry in the series, Maisie Dobbs has been hired by a grocery store magnate to find his daughter. This is not the first time she has run away, but it is the first time her father has been unable to locate her. Charlotte Waite is 32 years old, but her father feels strongly that the only place for her to live is at home. The search becomes more urgent when a school friend of Charlotte's is murdered.
Although it is 1930, the effects of the Great War are still felt keenly. Maisie's assistant, Billy, is increasingly plagued by pain in his leg injured at the Battle of Messines. Maisie is struck by the memorial to those employees of Waite's International Stores who were lost during the war: a memorial which can be found in every Waite's branch. And several characters regularly visit veterans who were severely wounded.
Some of the memorable characters from the first book, Maurice Blanche, Maisie's teacher a nd mentor; Detective Inspect or Stratton; and Lady Rowan, who has made Maisie 's new life and career possible, play smaller roles this time. The focus is on Maisie and Billy, and on Maisie's father. Winspear 's feel for the period and her descriptions make the era come alive. A situation intimately connected with the time provides the basis for the mystery, which is well-p lotted and suspenseful. I look forward to the third book in the series.
Trudi E. Jacobson
MULTI-PERIOD
BURNING PARIS
Nicholas Blincoe, Sceptre, 2004, £16.99, hb,345pp , 1870 and Paris is first besieged by the Prussians and then by the French army themselves as the government tries to quell the Parisian resistance. A Marine by the name of Paul-Antoine Brunel finds himself drawn into defending the city, but his involvement is sparked as much by his love for Babette , a married restaurateur , as by any strongly held political beliefs.
In 21st-century Paris James Beddoes , a young Englishman, arrives intending to write a book about Brunel and Babette's affair, but soon succumbs to his own infatuation with Flavie, his beautiful lesbian neighbour. When Flavie heads for Israel , Beddoes follows her and becomes
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
embroiled in a modem day siege between the Israeli army and the Palestinian protestors. This siege will lead him into a greater understanding of Brunel's actions 130 years previously.
Burning Paris is an ingenious and intriguing piece of writing, with action alternating between the past and the present. The rich historical account and sharp contemporary commentary contrast sharply and yet somehow meld together, allowing each segment to illuminate the next.
This is an inspired analysis of the opposing sides of man's nature - the capacity for love and the capacity to fight.
Sara Wilson
THE RULE OF FOUR
Ian Caldwell & Dustin Thomason, Century 2004, £9.99, hb, 372pp, 1844130053. Pub in US by Dial, $24.00, 038537116
This is both a mystery thriller and a coming of age novel. It concerns the de-coding of a Renaissance manuscript, the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili , first published in 1499 , and destined to baffle scholars and drive them to extremes of obsession. The story is narrated by Tom Sullivan, whose own father attempted to so lve the secret of the manuscript and failed. A group of friends at Princeton University pool their skills in order to carry the work forward, each driven by differing motives. This leads to death, disillusion and personal loss.
The book, a debut for Caldwell and Thomason , has been compared with the works of Umberto Eco and Donna Tartt. It certainly has similarities to The Secret Histo1y, but does not quite make it into that league. Nevertheless, it is an intriguing idea, although the reader with some knowledge of the politics of renaissance Italy may be able to spot the clues coming, in spite of the 'wra pping' of the story in mathematics, ancient languages and philosophy.
These are authors to watch and I look forward to their next collaboration.
Ruth Ginarlis
THE CIRCUS IN WINTER
Cathy Day, Harcourt, 2004, $23.00, hb , 274 pp,015101048X
These eleven stories range from the 1880s to the turn of the 21 '' cen~1ry, and are bound by a circus theme. They take place in and around Lima , Indiana , a wintering spot for circus troupes. The first story relates how livery stable owner Wallace Porter 's wife's death led him to buy a circus. Another recounts a former slave ·s rise from cleaning chamber pots on steamboats to portraying a "pinhead" in the sideshow. Another describes the devastation of the circus in the great 1913 flood, leaving the reader with a vivid picture of an elephant dying under the window of a flooded house while the stranded homeowners could do nothing to
help. Several stories share characters, either directly or through their descendants. The last tale ties the various story threads together in 2000, when a female college professor, the descendant of an elephant trainer, returns home to Lima to attend her grandfather's funeral.
Day was born in Peru, Indiana, which was a real-life winter home for circuses, and is the descendant of circus folk, which gives the tales an authentic atmosphere. The overall mood is rather somber, a contrast to the festive connotation of the word "circus." The circus brings the characters together in one way or another, but the circus theme is secondary to Day's biography of an unusual small town. She sums up the book thus: "There are basically two kinds of people in the world: town people and circus people. The kind who s tay are town people, and the kind who leave are circus people."
Memorable characters and striking wordpictures will stay with the reader long after the book is finished.
B.J. Sedlock
ONCE UPON A PILLOW
Christina Dodd and Connie Brockway, Pocket, 2004, $6.99 / C$ I 0.50, pb, 368pp, 0743459466
This is a compilation of four episodes in the life of a bed in an English manor house on the border of Cornwall and Devon. In the first , set approximately 1200 , we learn why this massive, memorable bed was built. The other historical episodes take place around 1583 and 1815, while the last one, which is an offshoot of the framing story, takes place in the present. The two earliest stories have some historical content and are quite enjoyable , but the 1815 situation could have been set anytime and anyplace. A light read by two well-known romance writers.
Trudi E. Jacobson
HARVARD YARD
William Martin , Warner. 2003, $25.95 / CS36.95, hb , 580pp, 0446530840
Pub. in UK by Time Warner International, 2004, £ 18.99,hb,580pp,0446530840
I f you love a story that revolves around a book, a little mystery, and historical elements, you'll love f-/arrnrd Yard! After two decades, Peter Fallon from Back Bay returns to take the reader through another multigenerational saga interwoven with suspense. This historical novel is based on a long-lost Shakespeare play, Lo1 ,e 's Lahours Won, and the fictional New England Wedge family. The reader encounters an array of historical icons, from Cotton Mather to President Franklin Roosevelt, and their interactions with the Wedges.
Martin skillfully moves between the past and present highlighting events surrounding the play, its whereabouts, and its connection with I larvard University. It
ISSUE 28, MAY 2004
begins with Shakespeare presenting the play , transcribed in his own hand , to Robrrt Harvard as a gift for the birth of his son John, the University's namesake. On his deathbed, John leaves his entire library to the school in the trust of Isaac Wedge, a graduate of the first Harvard class. Harvard cautioned Wedge about items of the collection, stating, "words you read and the ideas you meet do not glorify God but man, his vanities, his passions, his appetites." And thus, it is man's vanities, passions, and appetites that generate the remainder of this exciting tale. The juxtaposition of the past and the unraveling of Fallon's present-day clues work to make a great read!
Carol Anne Germain
ISLE OF CANES
Elizabeth Publishing, 159331 1753
Shown 2004, Mills, $24.95, Ancestry hb, 583pp,
I've never read a novel quite like this. Written by an eminent genealogist and meticulously documented, it could have been a textbook case of good history but bad fiction. Introductory matter, including eight pages of family trees, made me hesitate even more. Would I ever get to know all these people ? I need not have worried. Mills is a natural storyteller, and her novel is a masterpiece. Long and involved but never boring, it's an example of what all historical novels should be.
It begins with Frarn;:ois, an Ewe carpenter brought to Louisiana on a slaver's ship in 1735. l lis bride is Fanny, daughter of an African king, a proud woman who slowly accepts her fate. Their daughter MarieTherese, known as Coincoin, lives in slave1y for decades before becoming the mistress of Pierre Metoyer, a Frenchman who first buys her, then frees her. Coincoin 's first act is to purchase, then free, her own half-Negro daughter, a practice her family continues. Augustin, Coincoin 's son, becomes patriarch to a large family and achieves the southern antebellum version of the American dream. Respected, powerful, and immensely wealthy, Augustin owns more acres - and more slaves - than most whites could ever envision. (Readers may remember him from Lalita Tademy's Cune Ril'er, which was based partly on Mills' own research.) Augustin's daughter-in-law Perine, a strong woman built in Coincoin's image, keeps his memory alive during hard times.
The action unrolls dramatically against 150 years of Louisiana's history, as the Spanish and French struggle with each other, and with the intrusive Anglos, for control. Over time, the Metoyers ' fortunes rise and fall, but never as low as during the Civil War - which loses them more freedom than it gains. The Metoyers , a historical family both black and white and yet neither, challenge all perceptions of racial
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boundaries. You may never look at American history the same way again Sarah Johnson
ALEPPO TALES
Haim Sabato, Toby Press, 2004, $ 19 .9 5, hb, 269pp, 1592640516
Haim Sabato, "a master of Hebrew ancient and modern" today heads a yeshiva near Jerusalem. In Aleppo Tales he presents more a collection of loosely connected vignettes remembering his ancestors than a novel in this translation. His ancestors since time immemorial had been leading scholars in the ancient Jewish community of Aleppo, Syria , which the Jews called Aram Zova. These tales have very little to do with fountains and courtyards and st reets of this lost world; world wars and the fashions of French political movements come and go. Even conflicts with their Muslim neighbors hardly brushed upon. For the thousands of years Jews lived there, Syria seems hardly to have affected the people. Theirs, instead, is the existence of the mind, of Torah, of days and nights spent pouring over the exegesis of Rambam or the mysteries of the Shulh{m Aruch. The greatest triumph is to answer a thorny talmudic question while measuring out fabrics in one's little shop, life's great ambition to publish a treatise, the greatest tragedy when, having just completed his crowning glory, a man reaches for the ink pot instead of the sand to sprinkle over the pages. The big events happen, as the author writes, "between the silent prayer and the repetition of the Mussuj.'" the slightest changes in liturgy to be battled over for generations. If this is your "Kaddish cup," this book is for you. The lengthy glossary provided is necessa1y for the uninitiated.
This world has disappeared, ironically with the, immigration of the family to Israel. In the camp of immigrants, Moroccans, Rumanians , Aleppans live cheek by jowl, incapable of embracing one another's traditional ways. Men who were once the revered sages of their exiled communities, judges and scholars, must spend their days digging ditches or planting trees in Ere/:: Israel like everyone else and can hardly raise a 111inya11 to pray when they die.
Ann Chamberlin
HISTORICAL FANTASY
GODS' CONCUBINE
Sara Douglass, Tor, 2004, $27.95, hb, 557pp,0765344432
Reborn descendants of the Trojans return in this sequel to Douglass' Hudes Doughier ( Issue 25), determined to hopefully contro l the labyrinth that is now the foundation of London. Their success or defeat will either
unite or destroy the entire world. The opposing forces in the contest have returned as Harold Godwinsson and William, Duke of Normandy. Both spend most of the novel waiting to rule Eng land along with their allies, each focused on shaping the destiny of the Game and its formidable magic . King Edward the Confessor's wife, Caella, is the former goddess Genevissa, initially portrayed as a na·ive, scorned woman in Edward's court, who awakens to her true identity and envisions a devastating future for London in the twentieth century. Douglass portrays King Edward as a fanatical, powerless ruler who remains totally ignorant of the plots and counterplots being shaped in his spy-ridden court. Harold's wife, Swanne, awaits her reunion with William, her godlike mate in the original Troy plot, and devastates both the court with her sexual allure and evil nature. Alternatively frightening and pathetic , she exemplifies the hubris of history's powergrasping political figures.
Minor but no less powerful figures appear in the person of Mother Ecuba, the Druid worshipper of the sleeping Standing Stones who come alive as Sidlesaghes. Saewald , the Druid herbalist, tends to King Edwa rd 's failing health and assists Brutus's father, Silvius, in finding the magical bracelets that hold the power to the Game.
An overabundance of characters, presented within the former and present plot, wil l enchant the lover of riddles but antagonize those who prefer a straight, clear storyline. Although the historical facts of this time tend to be general, Douglass succeeds at creating the authentic atmosphere of both mythology and English history's changing political climate.
Viviane C1ystal
1634: THE GALILEO AFFAIR
Eric Flint and Andrew Dennis, Baen, 2004, $23.00, hb, 560pp,0743488156
This is the third year since the Ring of Fire, the ca tastrophic event dropping an American town with its inhabitants into seventeenth century Germany. The ser ies began with 1632, continued with 1633 and promises to continue past this installment. The reader is advised to read them in order for maximum enjoyment, as the action builds on previous storylines. Also the wealth of detail interspersing the "uptimers'' and "down-timers" will prove ve ry difficult without starting from the beginning. The true joy of this series is the clash of cultures, and for history fans, to view from a totally unexpected angle the notables amid their time and place, and everything going amok with Yankees on the loose. This volume deals with Venice, with the trial of Galileo as the catalytic event. My favorite subplot was the bizarre courtship between an American nurse (skilled enough
ISSUE 28, MAY 2004
to be practicing as a doctor in those times) and a Spanish courtier who she describes as "Don Quixote on steroids." Remarkably , there is even a hint of reverence in the handling of the religious issues that the Ring of Fire has irrevocably altered with its future knowledge. While the violence of the times cannot be avoided and still be authentic, the upbeat tone maintains a lighthea11ed kind of frothiness despite the messiness of assassination attempts and street battles. If you remember the movie versions of Dumas' Musketeers of the '70s with Michael York fondly, you'll like thi s series.
Mary K. Bird-Guilliams
THIS SCEPTER'D ISLE
Mercedes Lackey and Roberta Gellis , Baen , 2004, $25.00/ C$37.50, hb, 496pp, 0743471563
This intriguing historical fantasy blends elfish lore with the mortals of King Henry VIIl's court. Lackey (Valdemar Series), renowned for her fantasy fiction works, and Gellis , (Bull Goel) , a highly respected author of historical romance, combine their talents to create a fascinating story.
Within the el fish world, bright and dark FarSeers witness dual visions surrounding the redheaded child of Henry VIII. One image portrays a nourishing England ruled by the child after the king's death. Another highlights a second child ascending to the throne and bringing the fires of the Inquisition. The elves work to control the outcome of the impending future. The Bright Court elves, Denoriel and Aleneil, intervene into the life of the sweet and innocent Henry FitzRoy, the illegitimate son of Henry. They believe he will be the sovereign which brings a hopeful future. Their more sinister half-siblings, Rhoslyn and Pasgen, strive to bring Mary Tudor , Henry 's daughter by Catherine of Aragon, to the throne. This saga keeps within the historical boundaries of Henry 's court.
The carefully constructed plots and subplots keep the reader well entertained throughout this exciting adventure. Certainly, this is the start of another wonderful fantasy series.
Carol Anne Germain
SWORD OF THE WHITE ROSE
J. Ardian Lee, Ace, 2004, $14, pb , 320pp, 0441011713
This is the fourth and final volume of the historical fantasy series that began with the novel Son <!l 1he Sll'ord (200 I) and continued in Outfall' S11'0rd (2002) and Smml 11/ King Jomes (2003). The author returns to the highlands of Scotland in the year 1745, just prior to the final Jacobite uprising. Dylan Matheson, Laird of Ciorram and time traveler, dies of old age, leaving the welfare of his lands and people in the hands of his son Ciaran - as well as the
TIIE IIISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
guidance and help of the faerie Sinann. Only she knows the dreadful truth, that the uprising will fail. Her pleas to pursue the course of peace that his father had chosen fall on deaf ears, as Ciaran is eager to join the fight against the English despite his unexpected love for the daughter of the local British Commander.
The shift of perspective from a traveler out of time to a man born and raised in the historical milieu allows the author to showcase her increasingly deft and rich characterization. Once again, the wealth of historical detail and color nesh out the story. From the glens and battlements of Ciorram to the bloody battlefield of Culloden, the story is always firmly fixed within the time and place it inhabits while remaining completely accessible to the modern reader. A satisfying conclusion to an enjoyable series.
Tracey Callison
IN CAMELOT'S SHADOW
Sarah Zettel , Luna , 2004, $ I 3.95 / C$16.95, tpb , 496pp,0373802048
Pub. in the UK as Camelot's ShadO\\ ', HarperCollins, 2004, £ 12.99 , 436pp, 0007171080
Peace, hard won by Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table , is in danger as evil magics contrive to help the Saxons wage war against Arthur and reclaim control of the land. Key to evil's plan is Ri sa, daughter of Rygehil of the More lands, who was promised to the evil Euberacon when he saved her mother's life Euberacon has a lway s known about Risa 's gift of sight and is now ready to claim his prize. However , Risa wishes to many. and cannot understand why her father will not give his consent. When the truth is finally revealed , Risa tries to escape her fate by running away. Luckily , she runs into Gawain, a knight reputed as saving. and falling in love with, damsels in distress. With his help, she travels to Camelot to seek the protection of Guinevere.
Those familiar with Arthurian literature will recognize the retelling of classics s uch as "Gawain and the Green Knight " and "Gawain's Marriage to Lady Ragnell," ll'hich are intermingled with the author's original story. Magic and illusion heighten the plot rather than provide a convenient resolution for the perilous adventures of Gawain and Risa and familiar characters such as Arthur, Guinevere, Kai and Agravain are presented with their most recognizable features intacl.
Zettel's artful combination of romance and Arthurian adventures is truly magical to read and is accessible to even those unfamiliar with Arthurian writings.
Suzanne J. Sprague
NON-FICTION
CHAUCER
Peter Ackroyd, Chatto & Windus 2004, £ 12.99, hb, I 75pp, 070 I 169850 US pub Jan 2005,$20,0385507976
Geoffrey Chaucer was born sometime in the early 1340s - his actual birth date is unknown. Educated in the Royal Household , he had the formal training of a page, travelling from castle to castle. He became a Civil Servant in 1374 when he was appointed controller of the wool custom and wool subsidy at the Port of London and later of the Petty Custom. After Edward I I I's death he continued to serve in the Court of the young Richard I I and still later, that of Henry IV. He was a successful diplomat, became a Ju stice of the Peace, and in 1386 was nominated as an MP , serving briefly in the Wonderful Parliament. His wife, Philippa , was s is ter to Katherine Swyn ford, mistress of John of Gaunt.
This book follows his life from cradle towards unknown grave - the precise date unknown, taken from a tombstone erected some 150 years later , now s tanding in Poet 's Corner in St Paul 's Cathedral - and tells of a quiet , bookish and extremely capable man, primarily known as the author of The Canterbury Tales.
This is a very readable little book, the first in a new series, and by its very size, undaunting to those who would like to know more about some of the characters of these islands but ha ve neither the time nor inclination to read a conventional biography.
Marilyn Sherlock
NOVEL HISTORY: Historians and Novelists Confront America's Past (And Each Other)
Mark C. Carnes, Ed., Simon & Schuster, Sl4.00,pb, 35lpp,0684857650
Yes, '"histor ical fiction " is one of those "jumbo shrimp" oxymorons, yet that's exactly the multi-dimen siona l bull 's eye for which writers aim. When -o r if- fact disappears or blurs - is this a legitimate path for writers of a ge nre who claim to illuminate and revivify the past? This fascinating compilation of essays is , first and foremost, a terrific read for anyone who loves (or labors in) our paradoxical genre. How could it not be with distinguished historians discussing and analyzing some of the most famous (and infamous) historical novels of all time '7 To top that , the author of each novel is allowed an essay in which to respond. Not surprisingly, almost every author still breathing has taken the opportunity, although generally to elaborate or elucidate. On occasion, the sparks ny, as between Yale professor Joanne B. Freeman and Gore Vidal in a cockpit discussion of his sparkling tour de.fhrce, Burr.
ISSUE 28, MAY 2004
The editor of Novel History, Mark C. Carnes, a professor of history at Barnard (who also edited the celluloid history Past lmp e,fect), has grouped his essays by topic. For instance, the "Biogra phy " section includes novels as various as Burr, Memories of the Ford Administration by Updike, Clo11d1pli1ter by Russell Banks and Libra by Don Delillo. The "Slavery" section probably contains possibly the most controversial-A// Souls' Rising and The Confessions of Nat Turner-but the oldest novel under analysis-Uncle Tom's Cabin.
Juliet Waldron
WELLINGTON'S CHARGE: A Portrait of the Duke's England
Berwick Coates, Robson Books, 2004, pb, £7.99, 330pp, 1861056532. Pub in US by Chrysalis Books, $39.56, hb, 1861055161 Contrary to the slightly misleading title (at lea s t to me) this is not an account of the grea t man's military campaigns. Had that been the case, I would not have read it with the relish I did. Wellington entered military service in 1782 and died shortly after attending the opening of the Great Exhibition in I 851. His career spanned a period of momentous change and progress. l 've always found political and economic history somewhat heavy-going but this book is erudite, witty and clear. If Mr Coates had been my teacher I wouldn't be the ignoramus 1 am now. And if, like me, you've always been hazy about the Reform Bills, the Corn Laws, Chartism, why industrialisation hit Great Britain first or why the Iri sh Famine is relevant today , then this book is for you. It 's also worth its cover price for the author's comments in the bibliography. Highly recommended.
Sally Zigmond
1215: THE YEAR OF MAGNA CARTA
Danny Danziger and John Gillingham, Touchstone, 2004, $24.00, hb , 3 I 2pp, 0743257731
Pub. in the UK by Coronet, 2004, £7.99, pb, 324pp,0340824751
This is the biography of a year that brought an unprecedented change in government and rights of the governed. The Magna Carta sets forth rights and privileges enjoyed today by people in the United Kingdom, North America, and other parts of the world. While the title sugges ts the information imparted is confined to the year 1215, nothing really happens in a vacuum. As in every momentous event, it is neces sary to explain what led up to it, as well as any repercussions. Descriptions of historical politics, life in castle, country and town with glimpses of family life, hunting in the forests, who could go to school, and the responsibilities of a king's man enrich this book. The original Magna Carta was signed, under duress, by King John, and
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
reconfirmed with editions by Henry Ill in 1216. The text of the Magna Carta is given and worth comparing to modem documents that set forth peoples' rights.
The authors' impeccable research is put forth in an elegant na1Tative style. Subject matter that could be very dry is smoothly presented with vivid descriptions that capture and hold the reader's interest.
Audrey Braver
BROTHERS IN ARMS
Peter Duffy, Arrow 2004, £7.99, pb, 302pp, 0099445336
The story of the extraordinary and heroic partisan brigade formed by three Jewish brothers in the Belorussian forest that helped save over 1,200 Jews from Nazi persecution.
Val Whitmarsh
EDWARD Vil AND THE ENTENTE CORDIALE
Ian Dunlop, Constable 2004, £25.00, hb , 302pp, 1841 195308
In this account of the difficult birth of the Entente Cordiale I 00 years ago it transpires that without the tireless efforts of Edward VII the pact might never have seen the light of day. This book portrays Edward as a dedicated diplomat and francophi le who worked tirelessly to repair Anglo-French relations. This account reveals a side to Edward hitherto unseen.
Ann Oughton
THE SWORD AND THE CROSS
Fergus Fleming, Faber & Faber 2004, £8.99, pb, 0571221890 (First published in Great Britain by Granta Books 2003)
During the late 19 th century France had imperialistic ambitions in the Sahararemember Beau Geste? Fergus Fleming assesses the role two dedicated adventurers, Viscomte Charles de Foucauld and Henri Laperrine played m achieving those ambitions. Largely unknown outside their native France their story is fascinating and certainly worth retelling.
Sara Wilson
CHARLEMAGNE'S TABLECLOTH: A Piquant History of Feasting
Nichola Fletcher, Weidenfeld&Nicolson, 2004, £20, ($30.69) hb,256pp, 0297843435
This book is a mouth-watering smorgasbord of feasts and banquets in the past and throughout the world. Instead of chapters, it has a menu, each course providing a taste of the role of celebratory feasts in the history and culnire of the world. And what a choice the menu provides: There's King Midas's last feast; a Japanese vegan tea-ceremony; a Victorian banquet; feasts for the dead, for peasants, on horseback and mid-winter. Dip
in or gorge oneself, there's something for everyone here. Immensely satisfying and what's more, it's calorie free.
Sally Zigmond
MODERN BRITISH HISTORY - The Essential A-Z Guide
Mark Garnett & Richard Weight, Pimlico 2004, £8.99, pb, 5 I 8pp, 1844131031. 200 snappy essays covering topics as diverse as pornography and the poll tax , the Blitz and New Labour - a snapshot of history from 1900 to the present.
Val Whitmarsh
FRANCES HODGSON BURNETT
Gretchen Gerzina, Chatto & Windus 2004, £20, hb, 359pp, 0701168927. Pub in US by Rutgers University Press, $29.95, 0813533821.
Frances Hodgson Burnett ( I 849-1924), author of the much-loved children's classic The Secret Garden, was born in Manchester, emigrated at 15 to Tennessee, and became a highly successful writer with houses in both England and America, and 13 plays and 52 mainly adult novels to her credit.
Gretchen Gerzina 's fascinating biography illuminates how 19 th century women writers had to confom1 to society's expectations in ways not required of male authors. Like Mrs Oliphant , Burnett's earnings supported a large number of hangers-on (neither author was ever free of money-wo1Ties); like Edith Nesbit she had a difficult and unconventional married life; and like Mrs Gaskell she struggled to fit her writing around her domestic responsibilities. Recommended.
Elizabeth Hawksley
THOMAS MORE'S MAGICIAN
Toby Green,Weidenfeld&Nicolson, 2004, £20($46.04),hb,340pp, 0297829882 In 1532 Vaso de Quiroga used the recently published , Thomas More's Utopia to create a commune on the outskirts of Mexico City. In this book, Green, not only brings to light an enterprise never fully documented or published in the UK, he also explores the notion of Utopia up to and including present day world problems. It also sheds light on the history of Mexico following the Spanish conquest.
This is a fascinating and highly readable account of an undiscovered corner or history.
Sally Zigmond
FLAME KEEPERS: The True Story of an American Soldier's Survival Inside Stalag 17
Ned Handy and Kemp Battle, Hyperion, 2004, $24.95, hb, 325pp, 0786868791
Stalag 17 stands at center stage in accounts or American aircrew held as prisoners of war by Gern1any in World War II. Ned Handy was a Flight Engineer/Gunner on a B-24 Liberator
ISSUE 28, MAY 2004
bomber shot down in Spring, 1944. Handy's dispassionate narrative of his pre-war life in the Depression and aerial combat in Gem1ancontrolled skies over Europe blend in seamlessly with his description of endless months of duress as a "kriegie" in Stalag 17
This is a candid and extraordinarily well written tale that reminds us today of the sacrifice, suffering, and detem1ination of the World War II generation.
John R. Vallely
A FEW BLOODY NOSES
Robert Harvey, Robinson 2004, £9.99, pb, 573pp, 1841199524 (First published in the UK by John Murray 200 I)
This is a very detailed account of the reasons behind the American War of Independence, the shaping of attitudes on both sides which led to connicl. There are intriguing descriptions of the lives of some of the personalities involved supported by copious extracts from speeches, re po11s and letters.
There is a lively account of the conduct of the war, the battles and skirmishes, the plans, the conflicting aims of the various military and political leaders as well as the rivalries , jealousies and the many mis-calculations made on both sides. Harvey compares what happened to the British in the 1770s with what the Americans found in Vietnam.
It is a complicated story written in a clear, readable style. There are useful maps and a good index but instead of a section giving precise references for quotations or details, which I would have expected, there is just a long bibliography.
Marina Oliver
WELLINGTON'S SMALLEST VICTORY
Peter Hofschroer , Faber & Faber 2004, £!4.99, hb, 269pp,05712l7680 Wellington jealously guarded his public image as the Waterloo hero and saviour of Europe. In 1830 , William Siborne, a talented junior military cartographer built a stunning model s howing ' the crisis' at Waterloo when the Prussian army flooded onto the field lo secure the Allied victory. The carefully re sea rched model clearly conflicted with Wellington's 'E nglish version' of the baule. Siborne was obsessed with his version of the crisis and Wellington with hi s image. Predictably , power and pettiness overcame na·ive enthusiasm. Hofschroer has written an amazing history. The footnotes alone are s plendid.
Paul F. Brunyee
THE HACK'S TALE
David Hughes, Bloom sb ury 2004, £16.99, hb,205pp,074754591X
Chaucer invented sitcom and Boccaccio is the father of the sexploilation movie. Jean Froissart was the fir t modern war reporter. David Hughe s, world weary hack, whose
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
love-hate relationship with the media is an addiction more in need of medical attention than the bad ankle which accompanies him on his journeys of discovery, sets off in pursuit of the three men who have paid his mortgage but ruined his life.
Do not expect to learn much about Chaucer, Froissart or Boccaccio from this tale but prepare to be fascinated by its insight into the writerly imagination. Not great on re-enactment, (he buys a coarse cotton frock from Oxfam and dons it, sans culotfes, in the privacy of his study in order to feel like Chaucer), Hughes is magical on the way in which a writer immersed in the character of an historical personage continually slips in and out of his and his subject's different presents. In Santa Maria Novella, watching a school party touring the church, he becomes Boccaccio sizing up models for the doomed youth of Decameron. Taking a piss against a hedge on the Pilgrim's Way, he hears hoof beats and laughter up ahead where someone is telling a story. Don't try too hard and the spirit of this book will enchant you.
Sarah Bower
THE UNFORTUNATE COLONEL
DESPARD
Mike Jay , Bantam Press 2004, £ 15.00, hb , 323pp,059305l955
After serving alongside Horatio Nelson in the Caribbean against the Spanish, Despard's heroism was rewarded with the command of the British settlement of Belize. Clashes between the various factions resulted 111 Despard 's suspension. He was forced to return to London at his own expense. A victim of William Pitt's Reign of Terror De s pard was executed for high treason maintaining his innocence to the last. How a national hero falls to the depths is brilliantly told It reads like a novel.
Ann Oughton
THE MASK OF COMMAND
John Keegan , Pimlico Military Classics 2004, £8.99, pb , 366pp, I 844 I 3 7384. Pub in US by Penguin USA, S16.00, 0140114068 Alexander the Great, the Duke of Wellington, Ullysses S. Grant and Hitler : John Keegan analyses how the role of general changes with the ethos of the society that creates him.
Val Whitmarsh
SIX ARMIES IN NORMANDY
John Keegan, Pimlico Military Classics 2004, £8.99, pb, 365pp, I 84413 7392. Pub in US by Penguin USA,$ I 5.00, 0 I40052933
An account of the three months between the D-Day Allied invasion of France to the liberation of Paris.
Val Whitmarsh
BATTLE AT SEA
John Keegan, Pimlico Military Classics 2004, £8.99, pb, 292pp, I 844 I 37376. An analysis of maritime warfare concentrated on four key conflicts: Trafalgar, Jutland , Midway and the Battle of the Atlantic.
Val Whitmarsh
STANLEY: Dark Genius of African Exploration
Frank McLyrm, Random House 2004, £18.00, pb, 499pp , 0712605657. Pub in US by Pimlico, $24.95, 0712605657
Sir Henry Mo11011 Stanley was the greatest of African explorers, a talented journalist, and a pathological liar with a disturbed personality and sadomasochistic tendencies. A series of incredible adventures at sea and during the American USA Civil War led to him being commissioned to find David Livingstone, that other flawed hero , somewhere in Africa. A solidly researched biography
Val Whitmarsh
A PIRATE OF EXQUISITE MIND
Diana & Michael Preston , Doubleday 2004, £16.99, hb ,380pp,0385607059
William Dampier, explorer, naturalist and buccaneer began his career preying on ships on the Spanish Main. Poor and ill-educated Dampier was determined to make his fortune sailing the world. He landed in Australia eighty years before Cook, inspired Darwin 's work with his notes on the wildlife of the Galapagos Islands and wrote the first popular travel books which were to innuence the writings of Defoe and Swift. This well-researched account brings to life a forgotten English hero Ann Oughton
LOVE AND HATE IN JAMESTOWN
David A. Price, Faber & Faber 2004. £20.00, hb, 300pp, 0571220983 Pub in the Us by Alfred A. Knopf 2003, $25.95, hb, 305pp,03754l5416
This marvellous book is an account of the setting up of the Virginia Company (shares £12.I0s) in 1609 and the birth of the colony. Captain John Smith had to contend with illness, betrayal , hostile Indian tribes plus hostile settlers as well as being sentenced to death twice in one week. He was rescued by Princess Pocahontas who later married another Englishman, John Rolfe. For a while she lived in England before her untimely death. A great read , stranger than fiction. Highly recommended.
Ruth Ginarlis
THE WORLD OF CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE
David Riggs, Faber & Faber 2004, £25.00, hb ,3 49pp ,057 122l599
Marlowe was our first great poetic dramatist. 80111 into poverty he won a place at
ISSUE 28, MAY 2004
Cambridge University, became embroiled in conspiracy and died in 1593 as a victim of a murder plot. The troubled genius is vividly brought to life in this excellent biography.
Ann Oughton
TIIE
JSLAND AT THE CE TRE OF THE WORLD
Russell Shorto, Doubleday 2004, £ 18 .99, hb, 363pp, 038560324X Pub. In the US by Doubleday, 2004, S27.50, hb , 360pp, 0358503490
'Ma nhattan is where America began.' Amsterdam, Europe's most liberal city, racially tolerant with a polyglot society dedicated to free trade was the model for the city of New Amsterdam, the foundation of what was later to become New York.
Based on newly discovered documents, lo st for three centuries, Russell Shorto describes the true origins of present day New York.
Ann Oughton
Kl GS, QUEENS AND OTHERS
Muriel Smith, The Book Guild Ltd. 2004, £16.95, hb,165 pp, 857768752,
This book is a series of essays focusing on the bloodlines of European Royal families and other notable historical figures, how they began, why they hit the headlines and where their descendants are today. Very well researched, informative and a useful reference book for all engaged in historical writing.
The first essay focuses on Constantine the Great then travels through history as far as Louis Napoleon and the Commune in the nineteenth century, drawing portraits along the way of Nostradamus, Thomas Wentworth Earl of Strafford, John Graham of Claverhouse Viscount Dundee, Napoleon Bonaparte , and Louis XV a nd XVI.
Not many readers are aware that Chauvelin, so well known through the Scarlet Pimpernel series on television, began his career as Louis XV I's Master of the Wardrobe. At the age of 26 he was posted to London and was engaged in intelligence and subversion and made arrangements for many b1glish men and women to join the Revolution. The British Government still regarded him as the representative of Louis XV I but was asked to leave England when the King was executed.
This is a useful book that I will return to frequently to check facts.
Jane I !ill
WOJ\tE ' IN E GLA D: 1760-1914. A Social History
Susie Steinbach, Weidenfeld&Nicolson, 2004, £25 , hb, 342pp, 0297842668. Pub in US by Palgrave MacMillan, Sept 2004, $39.95, hb, 1403967547
Weidenfeld & Nicolson can always be relied upon for the quality of their history books and this is no exception. It is also an
TIIE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
example of how to set out social history in a meaningful way. The book is divided into coherent subsections, such as The Influence of Class with its sub-sections that include Home, Domestic service, Factory work. Other sections deal with Bodies, Souls and Minds, Education, Imperialism and of course, Suffrage. This is both a readable history and a clear and concise work of reference , which I intend to keep at my elbow.
Sally Zigmond
THE ITALIAN BOY: Murder and Grave-Robbery in 1830s London
Sarah Wise, Jonathan Cape 2004, £ 17 .99, hb, 346pp, 0224071769. Pub in US by Metropolitan Books, S26.00, 0805075372. Burke and Hare are remembered for providing Edinburgh surgeons with bodies by digging up the newly-buried and also murdering a number of poor people who crossed their paths. In 1831, three years after they had been caught, a surgeon in London reported to the New Police Force that a 's uspiciously fresh' body - that of a young boy - had been delivered to his dissecting rooms.
Londoners were outraged and took the boy, believed to be an Italian waif imported into England to sell cheap goods on the street, to their hearts 'Resurrectionists' were feared and hated since they would not only dig up corpses but also stole them from the homes in which they lay awaiting burial; now, it seemed, they were again murdering the unwary. Teaching hospitals, desperate for a supply of corpses for use in medical training, were well aware of what was going on, even to leaving hampers handily at their gates to receive them, but this was a Thing (as the bodies were known) too far.
Journalist Sarah Wise has uncovered the macabre and at times horrifying details of this forgotten London scandal and has written an outstandingly readable book detailing the background against which the 'burkers' flourished and the investigation, trial and change in the law \\ hich followed. 1lighly recommended.
Val Whitmarsh
PERKI : A Story of Deception
Ann Wroe, Vintage 2004, £8.99, pb, 610 pp, 009944996X. Pub in US by Random I louse, $16.95, 0812968115
This is an extensive record of all that is known about Perkin Warbeck, believed by many to be Richard, Duke of York, the youngest of the two Little Princes in the Tower. The deception was not all on Perkin Richard 's side. Henry V 11 had only a shaky claim to the throne of England, and following the endless Wars of the Roses there were many who sought to put the White Rose back in the place of the usurping Red Rose, including the other
crowned heads of Europe. For eight years, Perkin Warbeck was far more of a danger to Henry than that other pretender, Lambert Simnel, who was only 11 years old when he was banished to the king 's scullery to wash pots. You pays your money and you takes your choice. Was he the Little Prince? Wa, he the son of a drunken Flemish boatman unclaimed by his family? Or was he an illegitimate royal child, brought up by Margaret , Duchess of Burgundy (aunt to the Little Princes) in oddly isolated circumstances, who at the age of 12, in 1485 , disappears from the records, while Perkin/ Richard emerges in Ir eland, in 1491, aged around 20?
Whoever Perkin Warbeck was, when he was publicly hung, accused of a plot almost certainly manufactured by Henry VI I for the purpose, his face had been so badly beaten that he was unrecognisable. This is an excellent book , in which the author never takes sides, although the fascinated reader can.
Val Whitmarsh
CHILDREN'S & YOUNG ADULTS'
TRANSPORTED. THE DIARY OF ELIZABETH HARVEY , AUSTRALIA 1790
Goldie Alexander , Scholastic, 2002, £4.99, pb, 194pp ,043998 114X
'Tra nsported' tells a story based on true life about an innocent teenage girl named Elizabeth llarvey. I call her innocent because she has been falsely accused of stealing and therefore sent to Australia to serve her sentence.
The book, which is written as a diary, shows how dirficult life was in the 1790s. Especially for this unfortunate girl as both her parents die of influenza. Her younger brother, Edward, is left in the care of Aunt Flossie. However. Elizabeth is 9 and can therefore work. She goes to work in London, where her troubles begin.
As Elizabeth is separated from her beloved brother she decides to write the diary telling him about her life. Towards the end of the book the convicts and soldiers suffer from lack of food. During her stay, Elizabeth comes face to face with death and experiences life in a foreign, unknown country. Much is left unrcsoh cd at the end of the book, as the author docs not say if the diary does arrive in Edward's hands and if brother and sister become reunited once again. I would like to think that these things do happen.
The overall picture the writer creates is vivid and I found it captivating and ISSUE 28, MAY 2004
absolutely fascinating. I read the book in the space of approximately two days. Having read this book I am now looking forward to reading more in the series. Also I think that if the author happened to write another diary of Elizabeth Harvey showing the real story it would be particularly interesting to compare the two. At the end of the book it does give a taste of the real story and I found it interesting.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone over the age of nine.
Emily Granozio, aged 13
A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY
Libba Bray, Delacorte, 2003, $16.95 / C$23.95, hb,403pp,0385730284
It's l 895, and 16-year old Gemma Doyle is faced with the death of her mother and a move from India to an English boarding school. At Spence Academy she meets plain Ann, beautiful Pippa, and strong Felicity. Her reception is far from warm. When feeling very much alone, he learns that Kartik, a mysterious and handsome young man from India , has followed her to England to warn her about her visions.
The novel then becomes a wonderful mix of historical fiction, fantasy, and mystery. Of course, a little romance and teenage angst fills in the story. The result is an unusual, hard-to-put-down, complicated novel from first-time novelist Libba Bray. Characters are well developed. The setting is lush and the voice lyrical. The ending might frustrate readers, as al l plot lines are not tied up neatly, but thankfully a trilogy is in the works.
This book proved to be a hit at our Mom and Me book club. There are not many books that we have all agreed upon - this one was a clear winner and offered a great discussion. Ages 12+
Nancy Castaldo
BUD NOT BUDDY
Christopher Paul Curtis,Corgi Books , 2003, £4.99 , pb. ISBN : 0-552-54852-9 Delacorte Press, $16.95, hb , 245pp, 0385323069
This is a heart-wanning American story about a waif in search of his real family It 's a theme that can sometimes le ad to sentimentality, but Christopher Paul Curtis is far too good a writer for that.
Bud Caldwell is ten , and has been living in an orphanage and in and out of foster homes for four years, ever since his beloved mother died. The story is set in the 19 30s, during the Depression, and narrated by Bud himself. It tells of his escape from a cruel foster home and his determination lo find his father. All he has are a few clues left to him by his mother: in particular some flyers about a band of jazz musicians.
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
Along the way Bud receives help from various people, and his travels reveal not only his own courage and resourcefulness, but the suffering endured by people during the Depression and the problems and prejudice experienced by African Americans. Everything is seen from a child's-eye-view, and this creates humour in what could otherwise have been a grim narrative. Bud is a well-rounded and truly endearing character. His story should appeal on different levels to both adults and children.
It's a shame that such an enjoyable book should have such an unattractive coverpresumably designed to look as if it was printed during the Depres sion. Don't let it put you off buying this book.
Ann Turnbull
A NORTHERN LIGHT
Jennifer Donnelly, Harcourt, 2003, $17.00, hb ,389p~ 0152167056
Reviewed in Issue 27, February 2004, p. 40, under the UK title A Gathering Light
BETRAYAL AT CROSS CREEK
Kathleen Ernst, Pleasant Company, 2004, $6.95, pb, I 63pp, 15 84858788
Twelve-year-old Elspeth Monro has come to North Carolina Colony from Scotland with her grandparents, Angus and Morag MacKinnon. Raised on tales of the battle of Culloden and its aftermath, Elspeth wants nothing more than peace , friendship, and a chance to pursue a weaving apprenticeship But it is 1775, and her new homeland is awash with Revolutionary fervor. Hoping to avoid being drawn into war, Elspeth's grandfather refuses lo choose sides, but men supporti ng the patriot cause will not accept his neutrality. As her family is increasingly threatened, Elspeth tries to discover who can be trusted and who cannot. Int erestingly, this book presents the patriots in a less than nattering light, and it is their attempts to intimidate Angus MacKinnon that lead him to fight for the loyalists. Elspeth is left behind to care for her grandmother and aunt.
This is a complex book which does not sugarcoat the trials women and children must face when their homes are engulfed by war. It is well written and the mysterywho has betrayed Elspeth's family - is brought to a convincing, sad conclusion. It is marketed for girls ages 10 and up, but may be too confusing or unsetlling for younger children.
Ages IO+
Sue Asher
I liked this book because it was very intriguing and mystifying. It had a very good plot. It was scary, sad, happy, and confusing. When Elspeth's Grandda and
cousins go off to war, Grannie starts calling Elspeth "Peggy" - Elspeth's mother's name. Her Aunt Mary just gets quiet. And Elspeth keeps seeing Tall Tam McCracken (Grannie says there is "bad blood" between their families) lurking around and "spying" on them. Elspeth feels safe only at her friend Mercy Blair's house. But then she finds a letter at the Blairs' house that changes everything. I'd give it an 8 out of I 0.
Lila Asher, age 8
OLAF'S SAGA
Pippa Goodhart and Robin Lawrie, Go Bananas Egmont Books Ltd, 2003, £3.99, pb, 48pp, ISBN 1-4052-05 88-1 Hal 1s a Viking boy who lives 111 Scandinavia with his mother and sister in the house of his grandfather. The story opens with Hal and his grandfather looking at the dog , Freya , who has just given birth to three puppies. Shortly after, his grandfather dies and Hal is forced to see Freya slaughtered to accompany Grandfather to the afterlife. The puppies are drowned. He manages to rescue one, but has to hide it from his unsympathetic uncle. I lal, together with his mother and sister, must leave and make a new life for themselves in England. During the voyage there is a stonn and Hal and his sister are swept overboard. Foriunately, they both survive through Hal's bravery. The story ends with him greeting his cousins who have already settled in England.
There is much to praise in this book. It's a lively story, interestingly told and I loved the illustrations, which complement the text perfectly. Both author and illustrator have obviously gone to a lot of trouble lo do their research properly but unobtrusively - with excellent results. I liked the historical notes about Viking life at the end - especially the runic alphabet, which I think would appeal to children -even I promptly wrote my name in runes! My one concern is the killing of Freya and the drowning of her puppies in chapter one - wit h pictures , which is worse. As a child that would have really upset me. (Rachel, however, is made of sterner stufn)
The book is aimed at newly nuent readers, and introduces topics for National Curriculum Key Stage 2.
Recommended. Elizabeth Hawksley
I didn't like this book very much. None of the characters really came to life in my head. The front cover wasn't exactly offputting, but it didn't look like what I' d imagined. The illustrations were goodcolourful and straightforward. The plot was rather dull. There was a lot of fuss about killing some dogs at the beginning when the story was only about one of them. Also, it brings in a character in Chapter 6 and
ISSUE 28, MAY 2004
assumes you know that it's Hal's sister, (Hal is the main character). I didn't really get the ending because it doesn't really explain what is happening. It's got a good fact file about the Vikings at the back but I didn't need to read it because I've already done the Vikings at school. I've read better books by Pippa Goodhart, such as 'Catnap.' For 6- 7 year olds.
Rachel Beggs, aged 8
THE WOOL-PACK
Cynthia Hamett, Classic Mammoth, 200 I, pb, 238pp, £4.99 ISBN 0-7497-4580-0
This book won the Carnegie Prize in 1951 and was voted one of the top I 00 children's books of the 20th century.
Set in the I 490s, fourteen-year-old Nicholas Fetterlock is the son of a prosperous wool merchant, a member of the prestigious Staple, which guaranteed the price and quality of English wool. Nicholas mistrusts Master Leach, his father's factor. Why has Leach built himself a huge stone barn, which is always locked? What is his relationship with two smooth-talking llalians? When the same Italians come to dinner, Nicholas learns that his father is in debt to one of them, Antonio Bari. Worse, he has pledged £500 to stand surety to the Staple for Signor Bari's trustworthiness selling wool. If Bari should double-cross him, he would be ruined.
Nicholas discovers that Leach and Bari are involved in a smuggling ring. Not only is some of his father's wool being contaminated, but top quality fleeces are missing. Can Nicholas and his friends uncover the plot before his father is ruined?
I enjoyed this book as a child, and it was a pleasure to re-discover it and Cynthia Harnett's delightful illustrations. She describes the intricacies of the wool industry and medieval life in a lively way which stretches your imagination.
So many modem historical novels plonk twenty-first century characters with modern assumptions into historical contexts. Nicholas, by contrast, is a boy of his time. For example, Harnett demonstrates the importance of Christianity as a part of everyday Ii fe in a way which is completely natural. Similarly, the relationships between master and servants, and men and women, are medieval ones, not transposed modern ones. That ability is surely what every historical novelist should be striving for. The style uses more description and naJTative than is usual today; modern children may have to persevere, but it will be worth it. Recommended for 11 plus. Elizabeth Hawksley
Although the cover says it is a classic, I found 'The Wool Pack' a bit boring at first because the plot was quite slow. It improved
THE IIISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
when Nicholas met Cecily, which was when you realised that there was something odd about the Lombards. The book would have been good, but it was too long-winded, and I felt that lots of the dialogue wasn't necessary. However, it did have good descriptions, so the reader wouldn't get lost. The story didn't really have a hook. I give it 6/ 10.
Lucy Beggs, aged 12
THE GANGBUSTERS
Rosemary Hayes, Anglia Young Books, 2004, pb, 64 pp, ISBN 1871173973
This story follows the fortunes of one particular family who leave their cramped house in London to go and live in the new town of Harlow in 1953. Arthur, the younger boy, soon settles down. He makes friends with the boy next door and gets a holiday job helping in the garden of a big house.
But it is a very different story for his elder brother Fred. Fred falls in with bad company, stealing tools and selling them in the London markets. Then he is threatened by the older boy who is leading him on. Young Arthur learns about this mess and wants to help his brother. But how? Especially as he has promised not to tell his parents or the police.
This book gives a very good impression of the times. Although short the first part set in London brings out the primitive and crowded living conditions with the parents sleeping in the lounge, an outdoor toilet and no bathroom. In the kitchen there was only a cold water tap and hot water had to be boiled
Then the reader is shown the complete contrast with Harlow with different kinds of houses, space and trees. The new h ouse has plenty of room and there is a bathroom and a kitchen with hot and cold taps, an electric stove and an electric kettle. Mother has to get used to the latter'
The book is illustrated in black and white throughout by Gillian Marklew. The one picture that really evokes the spirit of the times is the one of the newsagent's window with boxes of Tide, Dreft and Vim and advertisements for Oxo, Tizer and Woodbines.
Recommended.
7-11
Mary Moffat
THE FALCON
Frances Mary Hendry, Floris Books, 1992, Pb. 240pp. £2.95 0862413656
This book was first published as one of the Canongate Kelpies in 1989.
Scotland, 1565 and Mary, Queen of Scots is on the throne. To a small croft in Liddesdale, comes the Queen's Messenger seeking the services of Mis tress Hepburn who was once Nurse to Queen Mary and
whose services are now wanted again when the Queen's child is born. This marks a complete change in the life of the young Leezie Sinclair, daughter to Mistress Hepburn From a hand t o mouth existence and suffering from the brutality of her harsh Step-father, she and her Mother leave the croft behind and find themselves on the road to Edinburgh. Once there they find lodgings in a Pie Shop. One day Leezie rescues a young falcon and returns it to the Royal Mews. Here she falls completely under the spell of the birds and dreams of becoming a Falconer.
The story follows Leezie's life in Edinburgh, the people she meets, her efforts to realise her dream and the catastrophe of the day her Step-father finds her again.
The book is full of action and has the potential to keep a child absorbed for hours but although there is a glossary at the end, I felt there was rather too much dialect for a child not brought up with these strange words and therefore wonder if it will have much of an impact outside of Scotland.
The Falcon is the second book in the 'Quest for a Queen' trilogy about Mary Queen of Scots. This was a good story, well told, and I enjoyed reading it.
II+
Marilyn Sherlock
CLOTTUSANDTHEGHOSTLY GLADIATOR
Ann Jungman, illustrated by Mike Phillips, A & C Black, 2002, £8.99, hb, 64pp, ISBN 0- 7 I 36-5954-8
A villa near Verulamium, Britannia, 2nd century AD. The Dacian slave, Gorjus, lives in the household of Marcellus and Deleria and their children Clottus and Twitta. The story opens with Go,jus trying to teach Clottus to ride. Then comes news that the cattle have cattle pest and must all be slaughtered. Marcellus faces financial ruin and must sell his slaves. Gorjus runs away rather then be sold. The children are very upset.
To cheer them up, Marcellus takes them to the new amphitheatre in Londinium to see the games and gladiatorial combats. And who should be fighting but Gorjus? He fights bravely but is defeated. Clottus and Twitta leap into the arena and beg the governor Pompus to save him. All ends happily. Gorjus is freed and Marcellus decides to raise horses instead.
Frankly, this book is just silly, from the cod 'Roman' names to the historical 'facts'.
To pick out just a few of the many errors: There was no Roman decree of mass slaughter for 'cattle pest'. (B.S.E. is a modem disease and foot and mouth is no worse than flu - most of the animals would have recovered.) Go,jus would never have been taken on as a gladiator at one day\ notice. Gladiators' training was expensive.
ISSUE 28, MAY 2004
and they were certainly not free to walk in and out at will. Nor would stuffed dormice-a gourmet treat - have been sold like popcorn!
Personally, I don't find people being sold as slaves, or killing each other in the arena 'hilarious adventures' as suggested on the back cover. As for 'learn all about Roman life,' you'd be better off with 'Up Pompeii.'
Elizabeth
I lawksley
Brill, fab, ace are all words to describe this book. You can't put it down. It was a fun and mysterious story and very good. The characters are described very well and the illustrations help to bring them to life. It didn't seem like a history lesson. The front cover looks interesting and amusing, but the blurb on the back starts off with a bad sentence, 'Meet the Romans.' It was a medium-sized story, not too long and not too short. The beginning was good, the middle was excellent and the end was fab. I absolutely loved it and would read some more in the series. The age rating is 6-7, but 8-9 would also enjoy it. 5 stars. Buy it!
Rachel Beggs, aged 8
THE
SPIRIT CATCHERS: An Encounter with Georgia O'Keeffe Kathleen Kudlinski, Watson-Guptill, Sept 2004, $6.99, pb, I 76pp, 0823004120 Encounters with the famous are always the grist of anecdote. The inspired idea of this story (and series 'Encounters With An') is to take such an anecdote and to extend it a little, showing the way that it affects a famous artist and changes the fo11unes of the boy who encounters her. Along the way, of course, it lets us live with Georgia O ' Keeffe for a season, illuminating her thinking and painting, and especially the innuence of place and landscape on her work.
The encounter is immediately intriguing. Parker Ray, orphaned in the Depression, is a dritier who finally becomes lost in the desert of New Mexico. O'Keeffe finds him thirsty and staf\ ing and gives him charity. I le repays her by stealing from her. I le is thrown into jail - and then his luck turns.
I found the story surprisingly good, given that it is really the sugar to deliver the pill of an art lesson. Parker Ray develops touchingly. Kudlinski is clever in the way that she links his tragically lost family preserved in a hastily taken photographwith his growing understanding of vision and composition, as taught by O'Keeffe. The landscape and the village life of the Indians is also well drawn, and though the conclusion is a little close to pure wish fulfilment for me, I doubt its readership will complain.
The ·art lesson' works too. The fictionalised O'Keeffe is attractive but not
too saccharine. Her paintings and especially her eye come across strongly, helped by the sumptuous artwork of the book's cover. There are moments when discussions between the youngster and the artist are unlikely - eroticism, for example. But the paintings are considered from a number of angles, and the overwhelming feeling at the end is that the reader is 'inside' the art, free to comment, and encouraged to experiment.
Richard Lee
THE TWELVE TASKS OF FLAVIA GEMINA
Caroline Lawrence, Orion, 2003, £7.99 hb, 216 pp, ISBN 1-84255-240-6 Henry I lolt and Co., $22.90, I 76pp, 1596430125
The llistorical Detective Story has arrived in children's fiction and if this is a typical example it is a rather good read. It appears from the 'blurbs' included at the end of this book that this is not the first, but rather the sixth story featuring this same group of characters hich promises to be a pleasurable way of filling time for young readers of IO years or so. The principal character is the girl featured in the title and she is aided by a mixed group of other youngsters of both sexes and varied ethnic groups that would be found in a typical Roman town. The story is both exciting and gives an interesting account of life in a typical town in what is now mainland Italy during the days of Rome's greatness.
The only rather jarring note I found is all the characters' acceptance of the leadership in all their activities by young Flavia Gemina when all my reading of that period in history would suggest that females took a back seat in most matters. Indeed, most fathers of that time had total control of their children and had the power of life and death over all members of their families. Very few would have stood much nonsense from a daughter and Flavia Gemina would have received short shrift from any normal father. That aside. it is still an entertaining read with a most useful glossary to explain words and phrases that are new to the reader.
Jan Shaw
BLACK HORSES FOR THE KING
Anne McCaffrey, Del Rey, 2004, S6.99, pb, 192 pp, 0345468635
This new edition of McCaffrey's foray into the Arthurian legend is the latest in Del Rey's Imagine series for younger readers, age twelve and up. Set in the time of the actual dux bellorum of the Britons (5th century}, Black f!orse.1.fi1r the King is told from the vie\\ point of young Galwyn Varianus, who has a gift with languages, horses, and, blacksmithing, making himself invaluable to Lord Artos and his plans to defend his country from invading Saxons.
Galwyn's Cinderella story comes complete with a wicked step-uncle who wants to make a slave of him, and a rise in power aided by the iron, not glass, horseshoes that keep Artos' sleek Libyan steeds surefooted in battle. A picturesque tale only slightly marred by its occasional slip into anachronistic psychobabble like "sufficiently restored my self esteem." (ouch!)
Ages 12+
Eileen Charbonneau
STONES IN WATER
Donna Jo Napoli, Oxford University Press , 1997, £4.99, pb, 151 pp, ISBN 0192751697 This is an arresting story, one that really captures your attention. It starts off in an almost ofniand way and, like the boys, the reader does not realise the gravity of the situation until a horrific incident occurs There are no specific dates in the book to tie the story down, but from references to the Italian retreat and Stalin's scorched earth policy in the Ukraine, the period is probably 1941-42. Napoli tells the story of a group of Venetian boys who are forcibly abducted by German soldiers while watching a film in Mestre. Roberto and Samuele, the two heroes of the story, are taken to a series of German forced labour camps and as summer turns to winter, they have to contend with near starvation and freezing temperatures, let alone the backbreaking work and emotional exhaustion.
The horrors of war and the boys' personal dilemma about how to conceal the physical evidence of Samuele's Jewishness are unemotionally described in Napoli's simple but highly effective style that belies the atrocity of the subject-matter The evilness of their surroundings is Iightened by the boys' extraordinary friendship, and by the stories that Samuele tells Roberto to coax him to sleep. It is the power of friendship and the magic of these stories that give Roberto the strength to continue In such desperate circumstances hope can be expressed in unexpected ways: even through a smooth stone pressed into Roberto's hand by a condemned Jewish girl whom he helps This is the stone of the title: if enough small stones are laid side by side miracles can be achieved - you can build a city like Venice. or even find the courage to resist eYil and help win the war.
Possibly better suited for 14+, this is a story that lives on in the mind.
Lucinda
Byatt
THE DARK SHADOW
Mary Rhind, Floris Books, 2002, £4.99. pb, I 42pp, ISBN 0-863 I 5-406-9 Fife at the time of the Reformation . Seventeen-year-old Davie plans to take his blind sister to the holy Well of Triduana. But his stepfather, Walter, is a fanatical Reformer who would stop their pilgrimage
THE IIISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
ISSUE 28, MAY 2004
if possible. So Lizzie and Davie slip away while Walter is out at sea in his fishing boat. They travel through Fife pursued by Walter from whom they have several narrow escapes before arriving at St Triduana's.
All this happens against a background of violence. St Triduana's is attacked and set on fire by a crazed mob, Lizzie is carried off by a stranger and Davie is thrown into jail in Edinburgh. There is even an encounter with pirates in the Firth of Forth.
This is a fast paced story which gives a good picture of the times. On their travels Lizzie sees a proper bed for the first time as, at home, she sleeps on a bed of turf and heather. Later her simple home in Crail is contrasted with the house of a wealthy Edinburgh merchant.
But above all this is a story of ordinary people suffering because of political decisions which they are powerless to change. The poor and hardworking fishermen of Crail are suddenly told by the Reformers that they can no longer fish on a Sunday. Lizzie's mother had always hoped that when she was older Lizzie could go to a nunnery. But now all the monasteries are being closed. And later there are descriptions of the devastated land outside Edinburgh, laid waste when an English army had come to attack Mary of Guise's garrison of French soldiers at Leith.
An exciting, fast paced story of ordinary people caught up in events beyond their control.
8-12
Mary Moffat
MILKWEED
Jerry Spinelli, Knopf Books for Young Readers , 2003, $15.95, hb, 224pp , 0375813748
Newbery-winning author Jerry Spinelli weaves us a powerful tale of an eight-year old orphan in 1939 Nazi-occupied Warsaw. Some call him Jew. Some call him Gypsy. Some call him Stopthief. He has no background and no real name. He lives alone until a band of orphaned Jewish boys take him under their wing and give him the name of Misha. Through his innocent eyes we see the tanks and shiny boots of the Nazis, who he calls " Jackboots." We see the devastation that occurs without his real understanding Spinelli 's fresh approach to the Holocaust, combined with the unique perspective of the main character, Misha , make this book a great addition to a World War II reading li st. It is truly one of Spinelli's finest books and worthy of the SCBWI Golden Kite Award he recently received.
Ages 11 + Nancy Castaldo
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVJEW
THE MOON RIDERS
Theresa Tomlinson, Corgi Books, 2003, £5.99, pb. 309 pp. ISBN: 0-552-54910-X
The Moon Riders of this story are the legendary Amazons: tattooed dancers and warriors who travel around the lands surrounding the Aegean Sea, following the seasons, and whose role is to perform sacred dance rituals and bless the crops.
Myrina , a chi ld of the Mazagardi tribe from the shores of the Black Sea, joins the Moon Riders when she is thirteen. She visits Troy and meets Iphigenia and the visionary princess Cassandra. At this time Paris has just set sai l for Sparta, where he will encounter Helen and set in train the tragic events of the Trojan war. In this first part of the book the Moon Riders rescue the sacrificial victim Iphigenia. In the second part, ten years have passed, Hector is dead, and the besieged Trojans are starving. The Moon Riders now become involved in the struggle to save Troy.
This is a story about large groups of people rather than individuals, and it covers a very long period of time There are some vivid scenes. The recapture of the Mazagardi horses by Yildiz and Myrina is exhilarating. And I particularly liked the image of the female slaves in Troy, shackled by their feet but singing in unison every night as they perform a shuffling dance.
Theresa Tomlinson makes modem sense of some of the legends. The Moon Riders are archers who bind their right breasts for protection - giving rise to the myth that they cut them off; and the wooden horse of Troy makes a low-key appearance as a siege engine.
This is an epic tale, well-researched, imaginative and interesting. Ann Turnbull
MONTMORENCY
Eleanor Updale, Scholastic Press , 2003, £ 12.99, hb , I 76pp. ISBN 0-439-97815- 7
In a prison hospital in 1870s London, Montmorency, a thief, is recovering from having fallen through a skylight. He owes his life to Doctor Farcett, who has reconstructed his shattered body. Farcett takes him to various scientific meetings to demonstrate his surgical innovations , using Montmorency as his model. One evening, Montmorency hears Sir Joseph Bazalgette lecture on his newly-constructed sewerage system for London, and has a brilliant idea. By the time he leaves prison, Montmorency's plan is in place: he becomes two people. As 'Scarper', Montmorency's man-servant, he uses the sewerage network to pursue his life of crime. As Montmorency, he enjoys the life of a wealthy man. A few weeks later, the police are baffled by a wave of daring robberies where the thief apparently vanishes
enjoyed this book tremendously. Updale paints a terrific picture of 1870s London - it's a real pleasure to read a book so well researched and which rings so true. The gradua l emergence or Montmorency's conscience gives an added moral dimension. I loved his visit to the opera (Verdi's Traviata), which begins with unease and boredom and ends with him moved to tears. As his cultural experiences widen, unaccustomed emotions emerge, like shame and guilt. Then a chance encounter with an undercover spy for the Foreign Office offers him a chance to do something positive with his life. He embarks on a dangerous mission, which needs all his skills and determination - and a possible European war hangs in the balance.
As a fellow writer, I was most impressed by the author's skill with plot. Important details are dropped in with great subtlety, and I enjoyed noting how they emerged as significant later. For twelve plus. More , please. Highly recommended.
Elizabeth Hawksley
I found 'Montmorency' a challenging, but rewarding read. I was hooked all the way through. I liked the way he was two people at once, but it could very cleverly cover his tracks. The parts where he was Montmorency were written rather posh, and the parts where he was Scarper used more informal language. This helped portray both characters. It was very descriptive, so you a lw ays knew what was going on, but it was still very mysterious. Though it was set in Victorian London , I could still understand it. 12-15 years . I give it 9 out of I 0. Lucy Beggs, aged 12
SOUND
Plenty of summer listening available as you' ll see below. The next update will feature reviews of Jane Dunn's Elizabeth and MC11 y and David Dickinson's Good Night Sw ee t Prince
FIGHTER BOYS
Patrick Bishop , Read by Christopher Kay. Soundings, £20.99, 12 cassettes, playing time 17 hours 30 minutes, ISBN I 84283 840 7.
This is a history of the fighter pilots of the Great War as well as WWII. The author has woven the personal into the general,
ISSUE 28, MAY 2004
blending the two to cover the history of training establishments for fighter pilots, their aircraft, the hazards of fiying as well as the joys, since many of the pilots enjoyed the fiying if not the warfare. The demographics of recruitment are interesting, giving the lie to the stereotype of the public school officer class. Pilots were recruited from "other ranks" as well as the officers. What distinguishes them all is their bravery, made all the more astonishing by the high and frequent rate of fatalities. Many of them continued to fight despite their fear and often their terror, which makes them all the more worthy of admiration. One is awed by their achievements. An excellent reading of the book by Patrick Bishop.
LUCIA TRIUMPHANT
Tom Holt, Read by Norma West, 6 cassettes (£ 17.99) or 7 CDs (£23.99), playing time 6 hours 15 minutes, ISBN O 7521 1680 4 Aficionados of E.F. Benson's Lucia series will be pleased to hear that Tom Holt's sequel, Lucia Triumphant is now in audio book form to match his Lucia in Wartime. Still Mayor of Tilling between the wars, Lucia plans a grand scheme for celebrating the history of the town now that her festival has come to naught. Elizabeth, Lucia's now deposed Mayoress, meanwhile, learns to drive but this does not distract her from the main occupation of vying with Lucia. The intrigue-driven Tillingites look on with fascination as the two Titans battle it out at the new game of Monopoly and over family history. Light and frothy as always but handled with admirable skill by Holt, who is largely faithful to the Benson ground rules (such as Georgie worrying over his bibelots and the cut of a waistcoat). Read admirably by Norma West and not to be missed by Lucian addicts.
THE AMBITIOUS STEPMOTHER
Fidel is Morgan, Read by the author, 9 cassettes(£ I 9 99), playing time I I hours 50 minutes, ISBN O 7531 1818 I Set at the court of the exiled James Vil & II in France, this burlesque historical romp cum detective story involves the Countess of Ashby de la Zouche and her faithful maid in the hothouse atmosphere of the exiled court, where petty Jealousy and political intrigue pass the time. After a young woman 1s poisoned, the Countess investigates. Needless to say the toll of bodies and attempted murder rises, along with the farcical story, which is often more Carry on Courtier than crime story. Most of the characters have burlesque names as well, such as Whippingham. Silly stories can be fun so long as they manage to be amusing but this one is rambling and often pointless. The author reads well but the
THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
narrative lets her down. Definitely for devotees only.
LA TEST RELEASES
Peter Ackroyd The Clerkenwell Tales
Elizabeth Aston Mr Darcy's Daughters
Ann Barker Derbyshire Deception
Robert Barnard The Mis tress of Alderley
Rita Bradshaw The Most Precious Thing
Elizabeth CaudwellThus was Adonis
Murdered
Joy Chambers None But the Brave
Bernard Cornwell The Bloody Ground
Barbara Cleverly The Last Kashmiri Rose
Maggie Craig A Star to Steer By
Joanna Dessau Absolute Elizabeth (sequel to The Red-Haired Brat)
David Dickinson Good Night Sweet Prince
Arthur Conan Doyle The White Company
Jane Dunn Elizabeth and Mary: Cousins, Rivals, Queens
Jane Foley Saddle the Wind
Helen Forrester A Cuppa Tea and an Aspirin
Anna Gilbert The Look oflnnocence
Lilian Han-y Under lhe Apple Tree
Christine Herring King's Bastion
Pamela Hope A Collar of Jewels
C.C. Humphreys Blood Ties
Anna Jacobs Our Mary Ann
Jeannie Johnson A Penny for Tomorrow
Sheelagh Kelly A Long Way from Heaven
Garry Douglas Kil worth Attack on the Redan
Rosalind Laker
Philip McCutchan
Betty Mcinnes
Kitty Neale
The Silver Touch Soldier of the Queen MacDougal's Luck A Cuckoo in Candle Lane
James Nelson The Continental Risque
Pamela Oldfield Dangerous Secrets
Alan Parker The Sucker's Kiss
E.M. Phillips And All Shall Be Well
Claire Rayner The Strand
Sally Rena The Sea Road West
Judith Saxton Sir Walter's Lady
Judith Saxton The Winter Queen
Steven Saylor The Venus Throw
Mai-y Jane Staples Family Fortunes
Janet Macleod Trotter A Child of Jarrow
Nicola Thorne Oh, Happy Day!
Jeanne Whitmee Pride of Peacocks
Sally Worboyes Where Sparrows Nest
It is always worth visiling the Isis website for special offers. Check the website: www.isis-publishing co.uk for details. New Titles releosecl JanUW) ' to lvforch 2004:
If you would like to receive the regular Update brochure from Isis with the full list of new titles, please call (0 I 865) 250 333. This is also available in Large Print.
To contact Isis/ Soundings, or to obtain a full catalogue contact the publishers at:
Isis Publishing Limited
7 Centremead
Osney Mead
Oxford
OX2 0ES
Tel: 01865 250 333; E-mail: audiobooks@isis-publishing.co.uk
Website: www.isis-publishing.co.uk
Geraldine Perriam
AND VISION
TROY (Certificate 15)
Dir: Wolfgang Petersen , screenplay: David Benioff, starring: Brad Pitt , Eric Bana , Orlando Bloom, Sean Bean, Brian Cox, Peter O'Toole, Diane Kruger, Rose Byrne Troy is not merely the Iliad on celluloid but given the full Hollywood make-over. As lhe commercials warn, it is only "based" on Homer's epic. This makes it easy to be snooty about Troy. How dare Hollywood turn one of our greatest cultural icons inlo pop-corn pleasure? However, it's important to remember that Homer never told his tale to impress the artistic elite. It's a story of war, passion and honour mean! for everyone. So turning it into a summer blockbuster seems appropriate. A 550 page poem would turn off most of the people I saw the film with straight away. The story also has contemporary relevance. The lame excuses for launching a war, the lack of clear-cut heroes, the yearning for a place in the history books, naive notions of glory and, in the thick of it, people dying horrible deaths.
For all this to work, the basic elements of story telling need lo be satisfied and this is where Troy mis-fires. It is a good film, well worth watching for the speclac le, but it fails to achieve the slature of the original text, or, to make a fairer comparison, of films like Ben Hur or Gladiator. The first act is rushed. We spend the bare minimum of time with any of the characters, enough to understand their motivations but not for them to really engage us as Russell Crowe's mistreated war hero succeeds in doing in Gladiator. No actor really disappoints but, with the exception of Eric Sana's Hector,
ISSUE 28, MAY 2004
who commands as much sympathy as he does respect, none of the high-profile cast ever sets the screen alight.
Wolfgang Petersen's direction is stunning in parts. Achilles' final duel with Hector is enthralling, flashy and gritty, and infused with the certainty that it is just worsening the conflict. However, the clashes of thousands of computer generated soldiers feel too distanced and bland in comparison with the ground level scenes where real people clash with sword and shield in the heat of the day.
Other memorable touches include Hector's despair when his father chooses to follow the gods instead of his practical advice and the swaggering arrogance of Achilles giving way to intense fury when his cousin (Hollywood's interpretation of Patroclus) is killed. The film as a whole, however, doesn't quite pack that exhilarating punch you anticipate as the hero lies dead and the credits begin to roll at the end of a truly epic film.
Guy Charles
In the next issue, King Arthur, with Clive Own, Keira Knightley and Joann Gruffudd at the points of the great eternal triangle. More grit than grail?
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