Historical Novels Review, Issue 71 (February 2015)

A PUBLICATION OF THE HISTORICAL NOVEL SOCIETY

HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW Issue 71, February 2015

From Tales of Old novelising age-old stories

secret soldiers the gentle sex goes to war queen of the castle red rose, white rose written by the victors? history from the point-of-view of the losers of ww2 no friend like a sister an interview with priya parmar stunts, horses, cowboys hollywood’s cowboy myth indie round-up best indie novels of 2014 ALSO IN THIS ISSUE publisher’s message | historical fiction market news | history & film | new voices

Historical Novels R eview

ISSN: 1471-7492 | © 2015 The Historical Novel Society

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pub lis h er

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Richard Lee Marine Cottage, The Strand Starcross, Devon EX6 8NY United Kingdom <richard@historicalnovelsociety.org>

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edit o r ial boa r d

Book Review Editor: Sarah Johnson 6868 Knollcrest Drive Charleston, IL 61920 USA <sljohnson2@eiu.edu>

Features Coordinator: Lucinda Byatt 13 Park Road Edinburgh, EH6 4LE UK <mail@lucindabyatt.com>

Features Editor: Myfanwy Cook 47 Old Exeter Road Tavistock, Devon PL19 OJE UK <myfanwyc@btinternet.com>

Elizabeth Hawksley <mail@elizabethhawksley.com>

Publisher Coverage: All UK children’s historicals

Edward James <busywords_ed@yahoo.com>

Publisher Coverage: Arcadia; Atlantic Books; Canongate; Hodder Headline (inc. Coronet, Hodder & Stoughton, NEL, Sceptre); John Murray; and Robert Hale

Doug Kemp <doug.kemp@lineone.net>

Publisher Coverage: Allison & Busby; Little, Brown & Co (inc. Abacus, Virago, Warner); Random House UK (inc. Arrow, Cape, Century, Chatto & Windus, Constable & Robinson, Harvill, Heinemann, Hutchinson, Pimlico, Secker & Warburg, Vintage), Simon & Schuster (inc. Scribner); and Transworld (inc. Bantam Press, Black Swan, Corgi, Doubleday)

Tracey Warr <traceykwarr@gmail.com>

Publisher Coverage: Birlinn/Polygon, Bloomsbury, Faber & Faber, Granta, Pan Macmillan, Penguin, Short Books, Simon & Schuster

Jessica Brockmole <jabrockmole@hotmail.com>

Ilysa Magnus <goodlaw2@optonline.net>

Tamela McCann <jjmmccann@aol.com>

Publisher Coverage: Five Star; Kensington; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Simon & Schuster, including children’s divisions of both

re v i e ws e d i tors , i nd i e

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Helen Hollick <author@helenhollick.net>

Publisher Coverage: all self-published, subsidy, and electronically published novels (UK)

Steve Donoghue <st.donoghue@comcast.net>

Publisher Coverage: all self-published, subsidy, and electronically published novels (USA)

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Publisher Coverage: Duckworth; HarperCollins UK (inc. Flamingo, Fourth Estate, Voyager); Orion Group (inc. Cassell, Gollancz, Phoenix, Weidenfeld & Nicolson); Piatkus; Picnic Publishing; Quercus; and all small independent UK publishers not handled by other editors

review s edit o r s , u sa

Publisher coverage: US/Canadian children’s publishers (except S&S, HMH)

confe re nce s

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The Society organizes annual conferences in the UK and biennial conferences in the US. Contact Richard Lee (UK) or Ann Chamberlin <annchamberlin@annchamberlin.com> (USA).

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Alan Fisk <alan.fisk@alanfisk.com>

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Arleigh Johnson <arleigh.johnson@att.net>

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Publisher Coverage: Bethany House; HarperCollins; IPG; Penguin Random House (all imprints); Severn House; Trafalgar Square; university presses; and any North American presses not mentioned below

review s edit o r s , u k

Publisher Coverage: Henry Holt, Other Press, Overlook, Sourcebooks, Tyndale, and other US small presses

Publisher Coverage: FSG; Grove/Atlantic; Minotaur Books; Picador USA; Poisoned Pen Press; Soho Press; St Martin’s Press; and Tor/Forge

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Managing Editor: Bethany Latham Houston Cole Library, Jacksonville State University 700 Pelham Road North Jacksonville, AL 36265-1602 USA <blatham@jsu.edu>

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Andrea Connell <connell1453@verizon.net>

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Publisher Coverage: Amazon Publishing; Hachette Book Group; Hyperion; W.W. Norton

m e m be rs h i p d e ta i l s

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Membership in the Historical Novel Society entitles members to all the year’s publications: four issues of Historical Novels Review, as well as exclusive membership benefits through the Society website. Back issues of Society magazines are also available. For current rates, contact: Richard Lee Marine Cottage, The Strand Starcross, Devon EX6 8NY UK <richard@historicalnovelsociety.org>

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e d i tori a l pol i cy

Georgine Olson 400 Dark Star Court Fairbanks, AK 99709 USA <georgine@mosquitonet.com>

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Reviews, articles, and letters may be edited for reasons of space, clarity, and grammatical correctness. We will endeavour to reflect the authors’ intent as closely as possible, and will contact the authors for approval of any major change. We welcome ideas for articles, but have specific requirements to consider. Before submitting material, please contact the editor to discuss whether the proposed article is appropriate for Historical Novels Review.

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copy ri g h t

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In all cases, the copyright remains with the authors of the articles. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the authors concerned.

THE HISTORICAL NOVEL SOCIETY was formed in 1997 to help promote historical fiction. All staff and contributors are volunteers and work unpaid. We are an open society — if you want to get involved, get in touch.

HNS WEBSITE: www.historicalnovelsociety.org

HNR I

Historical Novels R eview I ssu e 7 1 , Fe br ua ry 2015 | I SSN 1471-7492

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ed itor ia l r ich a rd le e

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histor ic a l fic tion market n ews s ar a h joh nson

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n ew voic e s p r of ile s of debut his torical f iction authors ca ro l c r am , luc y pic k , kevin montg omer y & a vi sir lin | my fanw y cook

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histor y & film t he f ema le ga z e : outlander | b ethan y latham

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8 FROM TALES OF OLD t he c h a lle nge s o f n ovelis in g ag e- old s tor ies | by elizab eth j an e co rbett 10 s ecret so l diers the ge ntle sex g oes to war | by j o an n bu tl er 12

que e n o f the cast le

re d rose, white rose | b y debora h sw i f t

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his tor y is written b y the victo rs? the WW2 los ers ’ p oint- of- view | by kate b raithw a ite

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n o f rien d like a si ster a n inte r v ie w with priya parmar | by s arah bow er

15 s tunts , hors es , cow bo ys h olly wood’s cowb oy m y th | b y ellen keith 16 in die ro u ndu p be st ind ie novels of 2014 | b y helen ho l l ick | reviews |

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book r e v ie ws e d ito rs’ c h oic e & m ore

PUBLISHER’S MESSAGE n 2013 we ran our first New Novel Award – very successfully. This led to our first HNS published novel, Martin Sutton’s Lost Paradise, an intensely moving and timely story of the gardeners at Cornwall’s Heligan estate, whose lives were transformed by the Great War. We published as a Kindle ebook, sold 1200 copies in the first six months, and garnered some wonderful reviews. So now we are revisiting the project – but the world of epublishing changes very quickly, so there are changes in the rules.

Firstly, you can now submit an entry even if you have not finished your novel. This is an exciting change, I think, because it encourages writers to begin and plan a novel for the HNS. The deadline for submitting the first three chapters is April 1st 2015. A longlist of 15 will be announced on July 1st 2015, and authors will be required to submit their full manuscripts by October 1st 2015 – thus leaving 6 months to finish the project after the first chapters have been submitted. The other main change to the rules is that we will now no longer tie the winning novel into a publishing contract. Any book that is self-published in print or digitally is eligible if first published after December 1st 2014.

The winner of the award will be chosen from a shortlist of five by Juliet Mushens, literary agent at The Agency Group. Juliet is agent to debut author Jessie Burton, whose novel, The Miniaturist, set in 17th-century Amsterdam, has been such a spectacular success – winner of the Waterstone’s Book of the Year, worldwide bestseller, and HNR Editors Choice (Issue 70, November 2014). Juliet and Jessie were also generous contributors at our conference in London this September.

For full rules of entry, please consult our website. Submission of entries for the competition is online only, and there is an entry fee.

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RICHARD LEE subverted a promising academic career by choosing to write a thesis about John Buchan when given a research bursary at Merton College, Oxford. Since then, he has spent many years as a bookseller, founded the HNS, and has established a successful property business near his home in Devon.

HNR Issue 71, February 2015 | Columns | 1

H I STO R I C AL FICTION MAR K ET NE W S

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ould you like your latest publishing deal to appear here? Email me at sljohnson2@eiu. edu.

HNS Updates Thanks to Jane Kessler, who will be stepping down after serving as a US reviews editor since 2010. The publishers Jane had worked with have been reassigned to other US editors, with these details reflected on the masthead.

We’re still looking for a UK-based reviews editor. The role involves communicating with reviewers, requesting review copies from publishers, and editing and compiling reviews by each quarterly deadline. As with all HNS “staff,” this is a volunteer position – this magazine wouldn’t exist without our volunteers. Editors receive free membership during their tenure, reimbursement of mailing expenses, and first dibs on incoming review books. If you enjoy reading and writing about historical novels and want to get more closely involved with the industry in this way, please get in touch.

The Australasian arm of HNS has recently conducted a successful crowd funding campaign to ensure authors participating in the March 2015 Sydney conference are remunerated. Among the wonderful donors who gave so generously to the campaign are ID Roberts, Laura Rahme, Pamela Rushby, Lauren Chater, Kathryn Gauci, Bronwen Jones, Paula Armstrong, Elisabeth Storrs, Danks Design Group, Wendy Dunn, Felicity Pulman and Helen Hollick.

Many thanks to them for their support of this inaugural event.

New publishing deals Sources include author and publisher submissions, Publishers Marketplace, Booktrade.info, Publishers Weekly, The Bookseller, and more.

Winterwode by J Tullos Hennig, third in the award-winning series based on the legends of Robin Hood, has been sold to Elizabeth North at DSP Publications. The novels continue to re-explore the outlaw ballads with a unique twist of both magical realism and LGBTQ perspectives. The first two Books of the Wode – Greenwode and Shirewode (the latter reviewed in Feb ’14 HNR) – are also being re-released under the new imprint.

Elisabeth Storrs sold the rights to the three books of the Tales of Ancient Rome to Jodi Warshaw of Lake Union. Lake Union is re-releasing The Wedding Shroud and The Golden Dice.

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HNR Issue 71, February 2015

UK and Commonwealth rights to bestselling writer Alison Weir’s new six-novel series, featuring, in turn, each of the wives of Henry VIII, sold to Headline publishing director Mari Evans via Julian Alexander at Lucas Alexander Whitley. Weir’s nonfiction publishing will continue with Penguin Random House’s Jonathan Cape.

Cynthia Ripley Miller signed with Knox Robinson Publishing for her debut novel, On the Edge of Sunrise, book 1 of her series The Long-Hair Sagas. In 5th-century Rome and France, a Roman senator’s daughter accepts the challenge as diplomatic envoy to the barbarian tribes in Gaul to enlist their help against the invading Attila the Hun. Publication is scheduled for March 2015.

Masks and Shadows by Stephanie Burgis, in which music, magic and blackmail meet, as one of the most famous castrato opera singers of the 18th century must come together with a very proper widow to prevent the assassination of the Habsburg emperor and empress, sold to Rene Sears at Pyr for Spring 2016 publication by Barry Goldblatt at Barry Goldblatt Literary.

Bestselling Cold Mountain author Charles Frazier’s fourth novel, returning to the Civil War era with a story about the First Lady of the Confederacy, Varina Davis, and her life with and long marriage to Jefferson Davis in the aftermath of the fall of the South, sold to Daniel Halpern at Ecco for publication in Fall 2017, by Amanda Urban at ICM. Hodder & Stoughton has acquired Ilka Tampke’s debut set in Celtic Britain. Editor Emily Kitchin bought British Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada and Aus/NZ, to Skin and its sequel from Sarah Lutyens at Lutyens and Rubinstein via Michael Heyward at Text Publishing in Melbourne. In AD 43, amongst a people who measure lineage by skin name, a young girl must protect her people and their pagan way of life from the dark forces of invading Rome. Publication will be August 2015.

Giller Prize-shortlisted author Pauline Holdstock’s The Hunter and the Wild Girl, set in 19th-century France, about a man who has accidentally killed his only son, and the feral child he takes in, sold to Bethany Gibson at Goose Lane Editions, for fall 2015 publication, by Hilary McMahon at Westwood Creative Artists.

NYT bestselling author Andrew Gross’s The One Man, in which an escaped Jew must return to the place where his family was murdered, in a race against time to rescue the one man needed to ensure the Allied victory in World War II, sold to Kelley Ragland at Minotaur and Jeremy Trevathan at Macmillan UK by Simon Lipskar at Writers House.

Ellen Feldman’s A Terrible Virtue, telling the story of Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger from her global fight to revolutionize women’s rights to her personal quest for free love and struggles as a mother, sold to Jennifer Barth at Harper.

Far to Go author Alison Pick’s The Valley, following a young

spring 2016 publication, by Liz Darhansoff at Darhansoff & Verrill.

Yochi Brandes’s untitled translation of the Israeli novel about Jeroba’am, the rebellious fourth king of Israel and grandson of Queen Michal, the discarded wife of the charismatic, infamous King David, sold to Anya Lichtenstein at St. Martin’s by Yuval Horowitz at Kneller Artists Agency.

Vanity Fair contributing editor Michael Callahan’s Searching for Grace Kelly, about the glorious heyday of New York City’s Barbizon Hotel and the wide-eyed, hopeful girls who lived there, sold to Lucy Malagoni at Sphere, by Caspian Dennis at Abner Stein on behalf of Lauren Abramo at Dystel & Goderich Literary Management. Mariner is the US publisher.

Joe Okonkwo’s Jazz Moon, set against the backdrop of the Harlem Renaissance and glittering Jazz Age Paris, sold to John Scognamiglio at Kensington, for publication in 2016, by Malaga Baldi at Malaga Baldi Rebecca Kanner’s novel about Esther from the Bible and her rise as Queen sold to Becky Nesbitt at Howard Books, for August 2015 publication, by Carolyn Jenks of the Carolyn Jenks Agency.

From Roots to Wings by Harmony Verna, set in turn-of-thecentury Australia, pitched as The Thornbirds meets Water for Elephants, about a boy and girl who meet as young orphans and spend a lifetime battling for their true home in each other’s arms, sold to John Scognamiglio at Kensington, in a two-book deal,

by Marie Lamba at The Jennifer DeChiara Literary Agency.

The Second Mrs. Hockaday by Susan Rivers, the story of a young bride who is forced to manage her new husband’s farm and raise his infant son when he is recalled to the frontlines of the Civil War, and the unnamed and unimaginable horrors which visit her during the two trying years of his absence, sold to Kathy Pories at Algonquin, at auction, by Susan Ginsburg at Writers House.

Moving from Transworld to Little, Brown’s Sphere for her next two adult novels, Sarra Manning’s two historical novels, the first combining “a contemporary love story with a beautiful historical narrative set in London during the Blitz,” sold to Sphere commissioning editor Manpreet Grewal (UK & Commonwealth) from Karolina Sutton at Curtis Brown.

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For details on forthcoming adult and children’s titles for 2015, see: http:// historicalnovelsociety.org/guides/forthcoming-historical-novels/

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Russian Jew in 1920 as she joins Ein Harod, the first kibbutz, now acknowledged as the crucible of modern Zionism, sold to Lynn Henry at Knopf Canada. UK rights sold to Mary-Anne Harrington at Tinder Press.

Bloomsbury editor-in-chief Alexandra Pringle acquired world English rights (excl. Canada) to William Boyd’s new novel Sweet Caress, described as “a sweeping story of a remarkable woman photographer’s life throughout the turbulent 20th century,” via Jonny Geller at Curtis Brown and Amanda Urban at ICM. Publication will be late 2015.

Mark Binelli’s Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, pitched as a reimagining of the life of the rhythm and blues singer known for his outrageous stage persona and the enduring single “I Put A Spell On You,” sold to Riva Hocherman at Metropolitan for publication in Winter 2016 by Jim Rutman at Sterling Lord Literistic.

Sandra Dallas’s Too Near Heaven, in which an aging 1880s Colorado mountain midwife who’s spent a lifetime delivering babies is accused of a heinous crime, sold again to Jennifer Enderlin at St. Martin’s by Danielle Egan-Miller at Browne & Miller Literary Associates.

Clara author Kurt Palka’s The Piano Maker, the story of an enigmatic Frenchwoman who arrives in a small Acadian town in 1930 with a mysterious secret as well as a complex past during WWI, sold to Lara Hinchberger at McClelland & Stewart by Ellen Levine at Trident Media Group.

Guinevere Glasfurd’s The Words in My Hand, set in the 17thcentury Dutch Republic, the story of Dutch servant girl Helena Jans van der Strom, her relationship with Rene Descartes, and their daughter – a story hidden at the time and almost entirely lost from history since – sold to Lisa Highton for Two Roads by Veronique Baxter at David Higham The Story of Land and Sea author Katy Simpson Smith’s new historical novel set in the American South in the late 18th century, which follows three young men – an escaped slave, an emotionally damaged white man, and a Muskogee Indian from a prominent family in the tribe – who band together but are tracked for murder and theft by a French tracker for an Indian tribe, sold to Terry Karten at Harper for Spring 2016 publication by Bill Clegg at The Clegg Agency.

The House at Tyneford author Natasha Solomons’ The Song of Hartgrove Hall, set between 1946 and the present day and about three brothers who fight to save their family’s estate and who all fall in love with the eldest brother’s fiancée, sold (again) to Tara Singh Carlson for Plume by Jason Bartholomew at Sceptre.

Paulette Jiles’s Easy Money, set after the Civil War, in which an elderly Captain agrees to transport a 12-year-old girl held captive by the Kiowa tribe for four years back to her people in San Antonio, sold to Jennifer Brehl at William Morrow, for

SARAH JOHNSON, Book Review Editor of HNR, is a librarian, readers’ advisor, and author of reference books. She reviews for Booklist and CHOICE and blogs about historical novels at readingthepast.com. Her latest book is Historical Fiction II: A Guide to the Genre.

HNR Issue 71, February 2015 | Columns | 3

NEW VOICES Debut novelists Carol Cram, Lucy Pick, Kevin Montgomery & Avi Sirlin have uncovered a treasure trove of hidden historical gems to inform and enlighten.

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he spark that ignited” Carol Cram’s The Towers of Tuscany (Lake Union, 2014) came from her “musing one day about the Tuscan town of San Gimignano.”

She writes: “On visits to Tuscany’s lovely city of towers, I was captivated by its fifteen medieval towers and commanding views over the iconic Tuscan landscape. In its heyday in the 14th century, over seventy towers pierced the blue Tuscan sky.

“So I wondered: What had San Gimignano looked like with seventy towers? This thought led naturally to another thought: Had anyone painted a view of San Gimignano with its dozens of towers? I decided to invent a painter who veered from the religious iconography prevalent at the time to paint a view of the towers of San Gimignano. My painter is a woman, because I was also intrigued by the idea of a woman painting during a period when painting was very much in the male domain.

“And then I got a sign that my novel was destined to be written. I stumbled upon the website for San Gimignano 1300, a museum in San Gimignano that includes a large scale model of the city in the year 1300, complete with all seventy of its towers. On my research trip to Italy, the morning I spent at San Gimignano 1300 was one of the most productive of my writing career to date.

“The Towers of Tuscany is the first of a planned series of three historical novels with an ‘arts twist.’ The second novel, A Woman of Note, tells the story of a woman concert pianist and composer in Vienna in the late 1820s and will be published in 2015. The final novel, Upstaged , combines the story of an actress caught up in the ‘Old Price Riots’ at London’s Covent Garden Theatre in 1809 with the efforts of an abolitionist to end slavery.”

Avi Sirlin’s biographical historical novel The Evolutionist (Aurora Metro, 2014) was not inspired by a place as in the case of Cram’s novel, but by a book. He explains: “[My] early academic background was in biology, and I first read about Alfred Wallace around 2001 in a remarkable scientific book, Last Song of the Dodo by David Quammen. At the time, I thought: Wallace sounds like an interesting fellow, so I wonder why I haven’t heard of him before? Then I largely forgot about him.

“Flash forward to late 2010 when I’d just finished reading an historical novel and got to wondering about the author’s choice in deciding to write about that particular individual. I 4 | Columns |

HNR Issue 71, February 2015

started pondering whether there was any historical figure who sufficiently intrigued me to devote writing a novel about him or her. In a flash—I swear, it was less than a second—even though I hadn’t thought of him in the longest time, Wallace just popped up.

“My initial reaction was that I knew next to nothing about him, that I’d probably heightened in my mind his importance, and that if I did a little digging, I was sure to find he wasn’t as interesting as I’d like to believe. So I did some quick research and found quite the opposite: Wallace proved absolutely compelling.

“Soon I was immersed in biographies and anthologies, as well as Wallace’s autobiography, travel narratives and scientific essays. From all that had been written, and despite the very public nature of his work, I was fascinated to find Wallace was an intensely private man with strong external contradictions.

Also, that he’d achieved considerable fame during his lifetime and that his scientific, albeit not public, legacy remained vast. I wanted to learn more about him, bring out his inner life, especially those contradictions, and raise public awareness of this intriguing, largely obscured personality.”

Lucy Pick, author of Pilgrimage (Cuidono, 2014), points out that: “A lot of my readers know that image on the cover of my novel, Pilgrimage, is a detail from a painting at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, a polyptych (that is to say, a panel painting that folds up) that had once been an altarpiece. The altarpiece as a whole is quite incredible, and shows scenes from the life (and death) of Saint Godeleva; in my novel, the mother of my heroine, Gebirga. The panel even includes images of the blind daughter who inspired Gebirga, so I was delighted to be able to use a part of it for the cover.”

However, this was not the inspiration for her novel, which came from a quest to answer, she says, “two questions that combined to create a single ‘lightbulb’ moment of inspiration. I am an academic historian, and one of my favourite listservs about medieval history used to have a ‘saint of the day’ feature. One July 6th, the story was all about Saint Godeleva, patron of battered wives, named as such because her husband had her murdered.

I then discovered a late medieval legend about Godeleva – that after killing his wife and founding the monastery, her husband had gone off on crusade to expiate his crime, and also that he had a daughter who was stricken blind because of his actions. The panel painting that we used for the cover of the novel depicts that late legend.

“What would it feel like, I wondered, to have a saint for a mother, who cured everyone except for you? That was my first question. The second came from a manuscript called the Codex Calixtinus. This manuscript is a 12th-century compilation of

texts about the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, in Spain.

Its most famous section is a ‘Pilgrim’s Guide,’ which describes the stages of the route and all the saints and shrines one would encounter on the way, much like a modern travel brochure.

This manuscript contains a colophon that describes its unusual origins. It reads: ‘The Poitevin Aimery Picaud of Partheney-leVieux and Oliver d’Asquins and their friend Gebirga of Flanders gave this book to Saint James of Galicia for the redemption of their souls.’ Now, our best guess is that this manuscript had several authors, and Aimery Picaud, whoever he was, was its compiler. Who then was Gebirga of Flanders, and how did an unknown laywoman become important enough to have her name mentioned in this work?

“That was my second question. And then, the light went on – Gebirga of Flanders became the blind daughter of Saint Godeleva, and I knew I had a story.”

Kevin Montgomery’s flash of inspiration for Six Winter Days (Blue Water Press, 2014) came from his interest in history, “especially obscure American battlers.” So, he says, having “read yet another non-fiction account of the battles of Trenton and Princeton that devoted only a single paragraph to the battle of Trenton-Two,” he set out to explain the battle and its significance.

As Montgomery states, he “originally wrote it as a screenplay, because I enjoyed Mel Gibson’s movie, The Patriot. In a screenplay you don’t have to provide a lot of details, in which Trenton-Two is pretty skimpy. However, I wasn’t satisfied with that writing, so I decided to try it as a novel. Also, Hollywood often likes to kill their main characters, so when I opted to only wound my hero, I felt better.” His story is “about two teenage brothers who walk

westward from Princeton, New Jersey. They’re trying to get to Allentown because their mother wants them to get away from the war. In the middle of their journey, they stumble straight into the battle of Trenton-Two, so now I had to describe that battle. I plotted the location of all the characters and troops against time and distance based on the limited information I had from nonfiction accounts.

“Then in my first draft, I got to the Battle of Princeton. I had always thought that I understood that battle fairly well, but laying it out was a difficult task. In non-fiction, you tell what happened. As a fiction writer, you have to tell not only what happened, but also why, and I couldn’t figure out why British Colonel Mawhood didn’t see the Americans in his rear.” So having wracked his brain he: “read everything about the battle.

No historian explained it. I went over my maps, calculating the locations of the troops. I moved them around. Maybe somebody was wrong. No, nothing worked. I even looked at the weather.

Maybe it was too dark or something, but paintings of that battle showed nothing significant.

“Finally I said to myself, ‘Where was the sun?’ That did it. I plotted the location of the sun and that worked. Five variables had to come into exact play in order to explain the problem: the location of Mawhood (he couldn’t have been where historians said he was), the weather (it had to be clear, not like the paintings), the location of the sun, the topology of the land, and the time of day.”

What is considered as an inspirational gem by one author will not have the same allure for another. Fortunately, every author of historical fiction will seek and uncover the places, ideas, characters and historical epochs that are attractive to them.

The debut novelists Cram, Pick, Montgomery and Sirlin have unearthed unusual treasures to share with their readers and to illuminate less well-known episodes in history.

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MYFANWY COOK would love for you to tell her about any exciting debut novelists you discover. Please do email (myfanwyc@btinternet.com) or tweet (twitter.com/MyfanwyCook).

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Lucy Pick, Kevin Montgomery, Carol Cram & Avi Sirlin

HNR Issue 71, February 2015 | Columns | 5

aHISTORY & FILMe THE FEMALE GAZE : OUTLANDER

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should probably get something out of the way immediately: I have not read Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander books. They’ve been on the monumental To Read list for quite some time, but the list keeps growing, the number of (doorstop-worthy) Outlander books keeps growing, I have a ton of books I’m already reading, my time is finite and…that’s all I can come up with in the way of lame excuses. So when a friend recommended Starz’s version of the Outlander series to me, I experienced that pang known, perhaps, only to bibliophiles – not wanting to watch it until I’d read the books. Yet still, I took the lazy way out: I spared a few hours to mindlessly binge-watch TV. And you, dear reader, shall experience the fruits of my laziness.

Thus, you won’t find here a comparison of the TV series to the book; the Starz version is examined entirely on its own. In particular, I thought it might be interesting to take a look at it with a view to how this historical series differs from some of its fellows in its perspective on one particular area: sex. (There, I said it. Now I have your attention, yes?) Diana Gabaldon is a favorite at the fun and often hilarious “Late Night Sex Readings” sessions held at Historical Novel Society conferences, and it follows that a series based on her work, especially one created by a pay channel, would feature a respectable amount of sexual content. But Outlander differs in that it possesses what one surprisingly insightful review from the less than scholarly Huffington Post1 called “the female gaze” – the perspective it offers to viewers looking in on that content.

But first, a brief overview of the plot.

Outlander is a time-slip series. The Second World War is recently over, and Claire Randall (Caitriona Balfe) is feeling its effects. Between her service as a combat nurse at the front and her husband’s turn in the military, a distance has developed between the two. They take a second honeymoon to Scotland, where Claire’s erudite spouse, Frank (Tobias Menzies), explores his ancestry while they work on their relationship and sightsee the local castles and countryside. When Claire, out by herself one morning, places her hands on the stones of the ancient 6 | Columns |

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henge of Craigh na Dun, she’s hurled back in time to 1743.

Those who know their history will appreciate that 18thcentury Scotland was a complex place, with differing cultures between the Lowlands and the Highlands, which is where Claire finds herself. Whereas Protestantism and other English-leaning concepts dominated the Lowlands, some areas of the Highlands were more hybridized, retaining a use of Gaelic and the Catholic religion, as well as Jacobite sympathies. The Scottish Highlands as portrayed in the Outlander series are both beautiful and brutal, with a singular social structure. Seconds after Claire is transported, she’s set upon by English Captain Jonathan “Black Jack” Randall, Frank’s ancestor (Tobias Menzies again). Just as Jack is about to rape her, she’s rescued by members of the Clan MacKenzie. It seems more a case of being scooped out of the fire by the frying pan, as the mistrustful clan members treat her somewhere between guest and hostage, given that she’s English – or, as they refer to her in Gaelic, a sassenach (outlander).

Using her wits, she claims to be a widow, conceals her true origins, and proves her usefulness as a nurse to wounded clan member Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan), aka Hardbody MacBeefsteak.

The chemistry between the two is unmistakable, and Jamie is an appealing mixture of kindness, chivalry, and strength.

But Claire loves her husband, and her goal is to make it back to the stones and, hopefully, her own time. Black Jack is now after Claire, however, and to protect her, the clan arranges a marriage to Jamie, a marriage that must be consummated.

I don’t know how Claire is portrayed in the books, but this Claire is often self-sabotaging in inconsistent ways; she’s obviously intelligent enough to read some situations and adapt to her place in an alien landscape, yet she holds forth on certain things when to be silent would serve her much better, and unnecessarily pursues courses of action that have painfully apparent adverse consequences – one of which is to leave the viewer face-palming in frustration. In a nutshell, she’s clever, but that cleverness is often undermined by her passionate nature. Jamie, on the other hand, is refreshing in that he exhibits strength, yet at the same time is not driven by ego, and there’s also naiveté there; Claire is more than a sex object to him. His sexual attraction to her is but one facet of his desire for a relationship and, one is led to believe, not even the most important one. His treatment of her, at times, feels almost courtly, in the medieval sense. And this brings us

awkwardness, they must get to know each other first, and it is Claire who does both the looking and the teaching. If anything, it is the male form which is objectified here, and it acknowledges that women’s predilections are as important as men’s when it comes to presentation of sex on film. It feels more realistic than the usual idealized fantasy, and it may be why women are flocking to this series in droves.

There are still decidedly un-feminist elements in Outlander – while not helpless, Claire is often in need of rescue by male clan members, and the series also highlights that her forthrightness, addressing males as equals, is not an effective way to get what she wants in the 18th century. In one scene, she visits Geillis Duncan (Lotte Verbeek), a local woman of mysterious background who shares Claire’s knowledge and love of herbs. While in town, Claire witnesses a boy who has been caught stealing. She’s appalled and impotently furious at the brutality of the proposed punishment: that he lose his hand. Geillis’s boorish, flatulent husband is the one who must sit in judgment, and with telling looks at Claire to illustrate that this is how to handle a situation of this kind, she effortlessly sweet talks her husband into a “lighter” sentence for the boy (simply nailing his ear to the pillory). The husband takes his leave, unaware that he’s been manipulated, and the child gets to keep his hand. Her witnessing of this event may be a contributing factor in altering Claire’s approach – rather than march up to the pillory and help the boy unfasten his ear, she distracts the crowd by pretending to faint (what could be more stereotypical than a swooning woman?) while Jamie quickly removes the nail and frees the boy.

The Outlander series has a lot going for it, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised so far by the production value. If for no other reason, take a look and see if you can spot any difference in perspective between this series and its fellows in the historical TV series landscape.

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References: 1. Jenny Trout (September 22, 2014). “Outlander and the Female Gaze: Why Women Are Watching.” The Huffington Post. Available from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jenny-trout/outlander-andthe-female-_b_5859154.html 2. Emily Nussbaum (September 15, 2014). “Demographic Art: Genre Trouble in ‘Red Band Society’ and ‘Outlander.’” The New Yorker.

Available from http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/15/ demographic-art 3. Jennifer Vineyard (August 28, 2014). “Outlander’s Caitriona Balfe on Feminism, Fans, and Love Triangles.” Vulture. Available from http://www.vulture.com/2014/08/caitriona-balfe-outlander-clairechat.html

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back to the female gaze or, perhaps more accurately, the female perspective, in Outlander.

It bears stating that sex is not the main feature of Outlander.

Immersing Claire in a foreign environment where she must learn the rules by observation, how she deals with that disorienting event, her emotional conflict as she admits her love for Jamie while wrestling with fidelity to a husband she also loves but seemingly cannot reach – these are all issues the series explores.

Claire is also cursed with foreknowledge: she knows the Jacobite rebellion is doomed, that Culloden awaits a few years in the future, yet she’s surrounded by clansmen who support the Stuart cause and further it at their own peril. All of these concerns and more are examined onscreen, so Outlander is far more than another bodice-ripper. One reviewer2 noted that Outlander falls into that “tricky” genre known as the female-skewing historical adventure. Perhaps the adjective is meant to denote the challenge of a work of this kind effectively espousing a female point of view, when action-adventure dramas are traditionally thought of as male entertainment. There are a great many popular historical series out there right now (some straightforward historicals, others fantasies with pseudo-historical settings); they’ve been proliferating for the past few decades. By and large, series such as this (e.g. Black Sails, Penny Dreadful, Game of Thrones, et al.) cater to male viewers even when the perception is that historical fiction’s audience is primarily female. The choices may be unconscious, but they are obvious – female nudity is often injected into scenes where it’s unnecessary and even incongruous, and the focus in sex scene cinematography is on heaving bosoms, lithe naked women, the female form, and idealized representations of sex – all of which are directly linked to male fantasy. The males, when they appear at all, are given what I’ll call Men’s Health shots: ripped abs, glistening pecs, the occasional rock-hard glute – a stand-in for how men might view their ideal bodies and would like to be perceived. Women may be seductresses, but they’re seldom in charge, and this really isn’t about their pleasure. It’s about the pleasure men receive, as visual creatures, from watching them and, in the process, objectifying them.

Outlander bucks this from the outset, when Frank and Claire are visiting an abandoned and crumbling Castle Leoch, the long-ago seat of Clan MacKenzie. It is Claire who is obviously in the mood, soliciting contact, and when Frank makes as if to engage her in typical fashion, she stops him, and simply looks downward, communicating without words that she wants him on his knees because this is about her pleasure; she knows what she wants and she demands it. She doesn’t even undress. There’s equality there, and as Balfe has stated, “we want to show that Claire owns her own sexuality.”3 The wedding episode with Jamie is likewise a study in sex that’s both more realistic and more female-centered. While the characteristic mode would be to have Jamie as an experienced lover and the two of them undergoing something earth-shattering from the get-go, Outlander turns this on its head. Jamie is a virgin, there are moments of terrible

BETHANY LATHAM is a professor, librarian, and Managing Editor of HNR. She publishes in various scholarly and popular journals, as well as writing for EBSCO’s NoveList database. She serves as Internet Editor and a regular reviewer for Reference Reviews.

HNR Issue 71, February 2015 | Columns | 7

the challenge of novelising age-old stories

Historical fiction readers are accustomed to novels in which

significant world events and their outcomes are already known, the writer’s challenge being to offer a fresh perspective, allowing the reader to see familiar events through different eyes. But what about when the novel is based on a well-known myth or fairy tale, one the reader has imbibed along with their mother’s milk?

How does the writer make the well-worn come alive? What do they do with the magic and superstition? In what land and era do they set such an archetypal tale? I put these questions to three historical novelists, one of whom was Kate Forsyth, Australia’s ‘Queen of Fairy Tales.’

Bitter Greens, a dark sexual tale of obsession, madness, desire and resurrection, is based on the Rapunzel story. Forsyth loved ‘Rapunzel’ as a child and had always dreamt of writing it as a novel. However, it took her some time to realise it was never meant for children. Having come to this realisation, Forsyth also decided she didn’t want her Rapunzel novel to be set in a make-believe world. She wanted to ‘set it in the real world, in our world, where girls are still kidnapped and locked up in attics all too often.’

Having decided to anchor her novel in a historical time and place, I asked Forsyth how she determined the setting. ‘It took me a long time, but eventually I discovered that the story I knew of as “Rapunzel” was far older than the Grimms. I found the earliest known version had been written in the 1600s by Giambattista Basile, a man who was then working for the Venetian Republic. That set my imagination on fire, and so I began to envision the story set in late Renaissance Venice.

However, Basile’s story was not the story I knew. I wanted to retell the tale that had meant so much to me as a child. I had to track down how the story travelled from Venice to Germany, and how it changed along the way. Again it took me a long time, but eventually I discovered the story of Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de la Force, who wrote the version we know now of

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From Tales of Old

as “Rapunzel.” I knew at once I had to write about her – her life was full of drama and scandal and danger.’

Forsyth had found the three archetypal elements of her novel – maiden, prince and crone. With a self-professed fascination for folklore and supersititon, she infused each of their worlds with magic, giving her ‘fantasy elements’ a historicity by using spells and practices sourced from letters, memoirs and court transcripts. This is not the approach taken by Elizabeth Blackwell in her chilling first-person, retrospective retelling of Sleeping Beauty.

Told from the pithy viewpoint of Elise, a palace servant, While Beauty Slept takes place in an imagined kingdom, ruled over by a fictitious royal family. Blackwell has this to say about the decision: ‘I wanted the story to feel as if it had really happened, to real people. However, the story I envisioned didn’t fit into specific historical events, and I didn’t want to change the whole series of events so it would “fit” a particular royal family or kingdom.’ In the end, she decided not to specify the year or country, though she did use late medieval Europe and England as her inspiration. She wanted the setting to ‘feel familiar to readers of historical fiction, but also inspire each reader to create their own mental images, the way we all do when we first read a fairy tale.’

Blackwell may have used a ‘fairy tale’ setting for her novel, but her goal was to tell a version of Sleeping Beauty that didn’t include typical fantasy elements. ‘I thought of the fairy tale we all know as a story that’s been passed down for generations, changing along the way, and my book would be the behindthe-scenes, “real” explanation of what happened. I wanted to take those iconic events – the spinning wheel, the long sleep – and find a way they could be explained solely through human machinations, not magic.’

A recognisable historical setting, or once-upon-a-time, rationally explicable, or steeped in magic and superstition, these

by Elizabeth Jane Corbett

No exploration... of fairy tales would be complete without discussing the helpless princess stereotype that typifies many Disney-type retellings. Is this a necessary element of the genre?

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HNR Issue 71, February 2015

for along with his fighting prowess. ‘I had to spend a fair amount of time building this world with this “job” of healing priestess for my modern audience because it is so exotic to us, but once I showed Briseis in action as a healing priestess, the groundwork for believing she could connect with Achilles was there in storage for when they actually cross paths so disastrously.’

The solution was not so easy for Blackwell, writing from the point of view of a powerless medieval servant. Although set in an imaginary time and place, she was determined her protagonist’s characterisation would be historically appropriate. ‘It’s simply not realistic to create a female character in the Middle Ages who has a contemporary, girl-power mindset. Most women of that time accepted that they were subservient to men, just as most servants accepted that they were subservient to their masters.

The challenge for writers is to make those characters compelling to modern readers, despite those vast differences in how we view our place in the world.’

By contrast, Forsyth rejects the version of Rapunzel in which a subservient woman is rescued by a handsome prince. ‘It always makes me cross when people call Rapunzel the “passive princess” waiting patiently for her prince. She is not a princess, she does not wait patiently but rather sings with all her heart and soul and so draws the prince to her, and she is the one that saves the prince, not the other way around. She is a mythic figure of feminine power who frees herself and then heals the blinded eyes of the prince. It is true that she is held in stasis and immobility in the first part of the story, but never forget that she escapes her tower at the end. That is the whole point of the story.’

These three different writers use setting, fantasy elements, and strong female characters to powerfully re-create ancient tales.

Add to this research, an ability to adopt an historical worldview, a willingness to add surprise elements, and retelling fairy tales becomes not so different to writing historical fiction. Moreover, as Forsyth reminds us, the appeal is timeless. For ‘it is not only women who are held captive by the metaphorical towers of society. Men are, too. Fairy tales are a window into the human psyche, and hold wisdom for us all.’

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References: 1. Atwood, Margaret. (2002) “Of souls as birds,” in Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Women Writers Explore their Favourite Fairy Tales. New York: Anchor Books, p. 22.

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are the considerations of fairy tale retellers. But what about when your original story isn’t a fairy tale but a myth? A tale that, although fantastical, was believed to have its origins in historical events? I asked Judith Starkston, author of Hand of Fire – a novel told from the viewpoint of Briseis, priestess and lover of Achilles – how she handled this juxtaposition of the historical and mythological.

‘I scratched my head about what to do with a half-immortal main character, a goddess who enters the action and a priestess who believes her retelling of sacred stories brings about the fertility of fields and herds. Then I realised the solution to integrating the mythology and the history was rising out of the historical record. If my Bronze Age characters believe that gods walk among them and they, as mortals, have genuine contact with divine powers, then all I had to do was allow my characters to act just the way they would have – and the “mythological” or fantasy elements would naturally integrate into what we, from the modern perspective, think of as the “real” elements.’

It would seem that combining historical and fantasty elements in unique ways is the key to making well-known stories come alive as historical fiction. Kate Forsyth also believes an element of surprise is essential. ‘I think surprise is the magic ingredient of all good storytelling. I am always thinking to myself, how can I best surprise the reader? I think this is even more important in a fairy-tale retelling, because the story’s structure and motifs are so familiar to most readers.’

For Blackwell, finding a surprise ending came up late in the editing process. ‘My original draft ended very much as the fairy tale does, but I’ve since come to realise that it was a bit of a letdown. I’d been taking liberties with other parts of the story, so why be completely predictable at the end? If you’re going to take on a very familiar story, you owe it to readers to rework that story in creative ways – whether it’s through genre or tone or style.’

No exploration of fairy tales would be complete without discussing the helpless princess stereotype that typifies many Disney-type retellings. Is this a necesarry element of the genre?

How do you make stories that are dependant on ‘female servility, immobility or even stupor, and on princely rescue’1 relevant to the modern reader? For Starkston, whose main character was a prisoner of war and lover to the man who had slain her father and brothers, the answers came from the historical record. ‘I figured if there was a psychologically believable answer, it lay in who Briseis was before she met Achilles. Some people suggested early on, that it was a case of ancient Stockholm Syndrome, but since Achilles is the warrior who questions why they are fighting and is generally in search of the meaning of life, I couldn’t see him as a brainwasher and I went for a deeper answer.’

Starkston based her Briseis on descriptions of a healing priestess found on cuneiform tablets, making her protagonist a healer and a singer of sacred tales – activities Achilles was famous

ELIZABETH JANE CORBETT works as a librarian, teaches Welsh, and blogs at elizabethjanecorbett.com.

Her short story, Beyond the Blackout Curtain, won the Bristol Short Story Prize. An early draft of her historical novel, Chrysalis, was shortlisted for a Varuna manuscript development award. It has been re-drafted as The Storyteller, a novel with a fresh spin on Welsh fairy tales.

HNR Issue 71, February 2015 | Features | 9

the gentle sex goes to war

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omen have taken up arms since our first ancestress long ago picked up a handy tree branch to defend herself. Penthesilea led her Amazon warriors to defend Troy, Boudicca rallied the Britons against Rome, and Joan of Arc inspired French forces.

However, though Joan often dressed as a man, none of these formidable leaders hid their female identity.

Women have served during wars for centuries as nurses and camp followers (whose roles ranged from cook to prostitute), and Dr Mary Walker became the Army’s first female surgeon during the American Civil War. Though Dr Walker was arrested several times after the war for wearing men’s-style clothing, nurses and camp followers were also clearly women.

During the American Revolution, a handful of women were celebrated for taking up arms. When artilleryman John Corbin was killed during the 1776 battle for Manhattan, his wife Margaret operated his cannon until return fire crushed her face and upper body. The disabled woman was granted half of a soldier’s pay and a pension by Congress.

Two years later, Mary Hays became remembered as “Molly Pitcher.” Mary used her famed ewer to carry water to wounded soldiers and the artillery crew. When her husband William Hays collapsed during the battle at Monmouth, N.J., Molly picked up his ramrod, joking when enemy shot passed harmlessly between her legs. General Washington inquired about the woman he’d seen loading cannons, and gave her a warrant as a non-commissioned officer to commend her for courage.

A handful of women are known to have concealed their sex under a man’s jacket and trousers to join the Continental Army. Boys in their early teens were accepted as soldiers, so it could be easy for a woman to enlist, especially one with a weather-beaten face and callused hands. A cautious woman could remain hidden. Soldiers slept in their clothes, one could slip away to a private spot instead of relying on the common latrine, and bathing was a luxury, even in summer. Women under stress

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SECRET SOLDIERS

often cease menstruating. Loose clothing, bound breasts, and an aura of aloofness conceal many things.

Eventually, some women were revealed to their fellow soldiers. Most were discharged, but Elizabeth Gilmore of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania married a fellow soldier in 1780 and served until the end of the war. Sally St. Clair of South Carolina followed her lover to war in disguise, and her identity was not revealed until she died during the Battle of Savannah.

In 1782, Deborah Samson, who enlisted in Massachusetts as Robert Shurtliff, remained concealed despite a saber wound to the head and two musket balls lodged in her thigh. When Deborah was taken to the hospital, she let the doctor treat her scalp wound, but slipped away to cut the musket balls out of her own leg, lest the doctor discover her gender.

Alex Myers’ Revolutionary (Simon & Schuster, 2014) is a dazzling account of Deborah/ Robert’s service in the Continental Army, and an intimate exploration of the soldier’s struggle to define her identity, both for the world and for herself. Myers writes beautifully, and as a transgendered person, he is uniquely suited to tell Deborah’s story.

Only a handful of Revolutionary secret soldiers are known. Illiteracy rates were high, so personal accounts are nearly non-existent.

A few women applied in vain for pensions, but there is no formal list. Betsy Doyle is a famed heroine of the War of 1812, having carried redhot cannonballs to American artillery at the Battle of Niagara despite a withering British cannonade. She was compared to Joan of Arc in bravery, but her gender was no secret. A year later Betsy did wear a soldier’s uniform to stand guard in a cold December rain, hoping to stiffen the spines of timid militia. It didn’t work, and the next day Fort Niagara fell.

Women’s participation in the Civil War is far better known, and conservative estimates list some 450 secret soldiers on both sides. Many went with husbands, lovers, or brothers. Others

by Jo Ann Butler

Women’s... participation in the Civil War is far better known, and conservative estimates list some 450 secret soldiers on both sides.

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HNR Issue 71, February 2015

discovered until 1913 when she was committed to a hospital for the insane with dementia. However, secret soldiers were often known to their tent mates, and sometimes to many in her company. In I Shall Be Near to You (Crown, 2014) by Erin Lindsay McCabe, Rosetta Wakefield/Ross Stone enlists with her husband, Jeremiah, along with many from their home town. Friction arises with other soldiers who fear that a weaker, slower woman puts her comrades at risk. Are they duty-bound to protect her from harm? The greatest struggle of all lies between Rosetta and her husband, who is torn between the joy of having his beloved wife near to him, and the dread of losing her.

A spy is a different sort of secret soldier, and there were many famed female spies on both sides of the Civil War. They did not conceal physical identities, but masked their true reasons for talking with enemy soldiers behind a friendly demeanor.

In Spy of Richmond (Moody, 2015) by Jocelyn Green, Sophie Kent pretends to court the Confederate Captain Lawrence Russell to collect information on Richmond’s defenses, which is then passed on to other Yankee sympathizers hidden in a hollow egg. Sophie knows well what she risks, for she witnessed the hanging of another spy who wasn’t cautious enough.

I have not read these nonfiction books, but if you wish to learn more about women soldiers in the Civil War, Karen Abbott’s Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War (Harper Collins, 2014), They Fought Like Demons: Women Soldiers in the Civil War by De Anne Blanton and Lauren M. Cook (Louisiana State University Press, 2003), and I’ll Pass For Your Comrade: Women Soldiers in the Civil War by Anita Silvey (Clarion Books, 2008) would be worth a look.

As for the Revolutionary War, Women of War: Battlegrounds Were Not Always Just for Men by Ken Mink (CreateSpace, 2012), and Masquerade: The Life and Times of Deborah Sampson, Continental Soldier by Alfred F. Young (Vintage Books, 2005) are a good place to start.

The memoir of Sarah Emma Edmonds has been published as Unsexed, or the Female Soldier (Philadelphia Publishing Company, 1864) and is available for Kindle. A 1797 account of Deborah Samson’s exploits is available as a GoogleBooks download, The Female Review, or Memoirs of an American Young Lady.

Over the centuries, women have gradually gained acceptance in the military, even in combat positions. Today, the final soldiers forced to remain secret are LGBT women and men. They still face an uphill battle in many countries, but the U.K. began allowing openly gay soldiers of both sexes in 2000, and as of 2011, U.S. soldiers are no longer forced to keep their identities secret.

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sought a bounty and steady pay, patriotism, or adventure. If they had an abusive husband or father, disappearing into the army might be preferable to what they faced at home.

Revenge is a powerful motive, and is powerfully depicted in Sisters of Shiloh (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015) by sisterauthors Kathy and Becky Hepinstall. When Libby Tanner’s husband is slain at Sharpsburg, Libby vows to kill twenty-one Yankee soldiers; one for every year of Arden Tanner’s life. Her sister, older Josephine, thinks that Libby’s fury will pass, but when Libby crops her hair and binds her breasts, Josephine does the same – not because Josephine shares her sister’s grief, but to keep twenty-one Yankees from killing her.

A few women who served as soldiers left their own accounts, and Sarah Emma Edmonds, who enlisted in the 2nd Michigan Volunteers as a male nurse named Franklin Thompson, wrote: “I could only thank God that I was free and could go forward and work, and I was not obliged to stay at home and weep.” Sarah attributed patriotism as “the grand secret of my success.”

Marissa Moss’s A Soldier’s Secret (Amulet Books, 2012) is a charming depiction of the life of Sarah Edmonds/Frank Thompson, who was expert at disguise even before the war. Sarah is unique in that she is known to have lived as a man before she enlisted, fleeing an abusive father and a forced marriage. Sarah served as a nurse and mail courier, and even scouted Rebel lines dressed as a Confederate soldier or an old woman, providing information on troop and artillery movements, and exposing Confederate spies who had crossed Union lines on their own covert missions.

P.G. Nagle also explores Sarah/Frank’s exploits in her excellent Call to Arms (Evennight Books, 2014). Nagle’s character uses her middle name, Emma, and in 1883 applies to have the charge of desertion struck from her military record so she can apply for a pension. Like Deborah Samson, Emma conceals a badly wounded leg to keep her gender secret.

Eventually her identity is discovered by her tent mate, and they become lovers. When her protector leaves the Army and Emma falls ill with malaria, she walks away from her station so she won’t be taken to the hospital.

A secret soldier’s greatest risk of discovery came when she was wounded or sick, and faced a doctor’s examination. In Laird Hunt’s haunting Neverhome (Little, Brown, 2014) Constance/ Ash Thompson barely survives her wounds, only to be committed to an insane asylum when her gender becomes known. Presumably, only a crazy woman would want to be a soldier.

Like their sisters in the Revolutionary War, secret soldiers were discharged when they were exposed. Sharyn McCrumb turns the table in Ghost Riders (Dutton, 2003) when Malinda Blalock follows her husband to war. When Keith rolls in poison ivy, then claims he’d been poxed by a prostitute so he would be furloughed, Malinda exposes her own identity to follow Keith home.

Jennie Hodgers was a rarity: she continued life as a man after she served her three-year enlistment, and her gender wasn’t

JO ANN BUTLER is a genealogist and onetime archeologist, and tapped her love of America’s colonial period for her historical novels, The Reputed Wife and Rebel Puritan. When she’s not working on the conclusion to her “Scarlett O’Hara meets The Scarlet Letter” trilogy, she can be found playing a very big clarinet in community band. She’d love to hear from you at joann@rebelpuritan.com.

HNR Issue 71, February 2015 | Features | 11

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Joanna Hickson’s Red Rose, White Rose

I n the fifteenth century, the North of England was a lawless

place. Scottish and English landowners were in constant battle over the ‘debatable’ lands, and the borders were scoured by the Reivers – outlaws who stole cattle and property, burned each others’ houses and ran wild over the bleak, rain-lashed wastes of Westmoreland. The Nevilles ruled the North from their castles and they are inseparable from them. Joanna Hickson exploits this to the full in her well-researched new novel, Red Rose, White Rose (Harper, 2015), based on the long and illustrious life of Cecily Neville.

Cecily Neville was born at Raby Castle, near Durham, a place still in existence and open to visitors; but as Duchess of York, Cecily spent much of her life on the road, travelling from castle to castle, and at least ten of these York castles are described in Red Rose, White Rose. I was impressed by how Joanna had captured their individual atmospheres, and asked her how difficult it had been to research all these castles.

She told me a heavy fall of snow made two particularly difficult. The owners of Maxstoke Castle had cut short their Sunday lunch to show her around and she worried she might not get there at all.

She describes Maxstoke Castle, a place where Cecily was under house arrest later in her life, as a classic four-square medieval moated castle, ‘a small jewel as opposed to a rambling fortress.’ Joanna explained, ‘The gates are still fortified with the iron-cladding installed by Cecily Neville’s brother-in-law, Humphrey, 1st Duke of Buckingham, and bear his cypher. It was a privilege to visit a fifteenth-century castle still occupied today and relatively unchanged.’

The other difficult castle to visit was apparently Ludlow, which is a large, mostly roofless fortress, usually open to the public, but on this occasion, because of the snow and icy surfaces, they had closed it. Luckily, after some anxious pleading on Joanna’s part, the custodian was kind enough to let her in, but only after she had signed a form accepting responsibility if she was to slip and injure herself! Though she says, ‘It gave me a very good impression of the dangers faced by the inhabitants of a freezing, draughty castle in winter.’

According to the BBC History website, in this period ninety-

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Deborah Swift is the author of three 17th-century novels, The Lady’s Slipper, The Gilded Lily and A Divided Inheritance, and a trilogy for young adults set in the English Civil War. The first part, Shadow on the Highway, is out now, published by the UK’s Endeavour Press.

The castle... was at the very heart of medieval society. So what was it like, living in a castle?

HNR Issue 71, February 2015

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five percent of the population of England lived, not in the towns as we might expect, but in the countryside, subsisting on the land. Because of this, the castle was at the very heart of medieval society. So what was it like, living in a castle? Joanna calls Middleham ‘a looming dark presence, ably performing its task of subduing the local populace by its mere existence.’ However, she confessed that when wandering within its walls, the stones do exert a certain ‘romantic pull’, conjuring images of Richard III and his wife Anne Neville. She adds, ‘There is little happiness to be felt within its walls, mostly echoes of conflict and grief. It is more Wuthering Heights than Disney Towers.’ I asked her if she thought Cecily herself had a favourite.

According to Joanna, ‘Fotheringhay. It is where Richard III was born and, a hundred years later, Mary Queen of Scots was beheaded – two monarchs whose tragic histories may have caused its subsequent decline into a mere footprint in the soil of the Northamptonshire landscape.’

As well as being a sanctuary, the English castle was also a military stronghold. I was impressed by the way the military side of castle life is expressed through the character of Cuthbert, and asked Joanna about his role in the novel. ‘I couldn’t have written the novel without Cuthbert,’ she says. ‘As the son of an earl and a farmer’s daughter, he occupies an ambivalent position, being neither fish nor fowl, nobleman nor commoner, but with access to all areas of military and civilian life, which is intended to give the narrative more balance. In addition of course, as a knight he can take readers onto the battlefields of the Wars of the Roses, somewhere Cicely herself could never go.’

The resulting novel is one in which male and female perspectives are given equal weight. And, like the castles themselves, it is solidly built, rich in detail, and likely to survive the test of time.

by Deborah Swift

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Queen of the Castle

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Four thought-provoking WW2 novels from the losers’ point-of-view

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HISTORY IS WRITTEN BY THE VICTORS?

nthony Doerr, author of the acclaimed novel All the Light We A Cannot See (Scribner, 2014), recently said in an interview with

NPR that, as the number of people who remember World War Two inevitably declines, there is a danger that our understanding of it becomes a “black and white narrative.” Instead, Doerr said, “it’s important to empathize with how citizens come to a certain point,” suggesting that exploring the German experience, “might be a more meaningful way to try and avoid what had happened.”

He does this through Werner, an orphan who dreams of escaping life in the mines by attending engineering school. But instead, Werner finds himself in an academy for Hitler Youth, subjected to a harsh physical and mental routine and becoming a Nazi soldier, using his radio skills to track down Resistance fighters in occupied France. In Werner, Doerr creates an ordinary boy, brought up to participate in acts of war and atrocity, who yet remains a character for whom the reader feels empathy and concern.

Similarly, in The Undertaking (Atlantic Books, 2014), Audrey Magee’s protagonists are a young couple living in Nazi Germany during the war years: Peter, a soldier serving on the Eastern Front, and his new wife Katherina, the daughter of a Party Member, living in Berlin. Magee, like Doerr, talks of a conscious choice to try to “understand what happens to an ordinary person caught up in a war.” Peter participates in the Nazi regime, helping round up Jewish families and serving as a soldier, but he is also a victim of it; one of thousands of German infantry trapped in Stalingrad with no hope of rescue. At home in Berlin, Katherina’s troubles are different but no less dramatic. Her family becomes increasingly dependent on Nazi high society, initially for luxuries but increasingly for their safety and survival. Both characters, like Werner, are complicit in the crimes of the times in which they lived. But their stories are certainly not black and white.

The events of the Holocaust play quietly in background of The Undertaking. Magee has spoken of how ordinary Germans were

only able to cope during those years by “putting the Holocaust on one side,” but in The Zone of Interest ( Jonathan Cape, 2014), Martin Amis’s characters are denied that luxury. Paul Doll is the camp commandant at “KZ” or Auschwitz, overseeing the separation of trainloads of Jewish detainees to either to the Buna Werke factory or the concentration camp. In time, Doll descends into madness amidst the logistics of genocide. He is not a sympathetic character but others are, particularly the Jew Szmul, who survives by working for Doll, part of the operation that is murdering his own people. But in common with Doerr and Magee, Amis, through his characters, emphasizes the human complexity of war.

Richard Flanagan creates a character similar to Doll in The Narrow Road to the Deep North (Chatto & Windus, 2014, and winner of the 2014 Man Booker Prize), a complex novel about Australian prisoners of war in Japan. But where Amis’s camp commandant is destroyed by war, Tenji Nakamura survives, escapes justice and lives out an apparently good family life – in stark contrast to Flanagan’s reluctant hero during the war, Dorrigo Evans. Readers of these two men’s stories must consider the very nature of heroism, good and evil, with all the horror evoked by Amis but also more of the humanity of Magee and Doerr.

By exploring this pivotal point in human history through the eyes of the “losers,” these four novels all demonstrate the degrees of inhumanity and the effects of war on everyone involved.

Although Churchill famously said that history is written by the victors, it seems historical fiction, from the point of view of the losers, can play its part in keeping the truth alive.

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Kate Braithwaite is a fiction and freelance writer. Originally from Edinburgh, Kate now lives in Pennsylvania and writes a humorous blog about American/British English at http:// transatlantictranslator.wordpress.com.

by Kate Braithwaite

As the... the number of people who remember World War Two inevitably declines, there is a danger that our understanding of it becomes a black and white narrative.

HNR Issue 71, February 2015 | Features | 13

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RIEND LIKE A S ister F Priya Parmar discusses Vanessa and Her Sister

hat is yours, Virginia?’ I asked softly. I too could be W dangerous. ‘Do you want to discuss what is yours and what is mine? Do you really?’

Priya Parmar’s second novel, Vanessa and Her Sister (Ballantine US, 2014; Bloomsbury UK, 2015), is an almost impossible feat of storytelling in that its subject matter is the Bloomsbury Set, so notorious and so unnaturally full of household names that the pitfalls of pastiche and lampoon fairly gape before the reckless or unwary writer.

Parmar sidesteps these by focusing on the years 1905 to 1912 in the lives of the Stephen siblings and their circle, using the voice of Vanessa, the sister who expressed herself through painting rather than words and is, therefore, in historical terms, the ‘silent’ sister. Parmar’s novel uses a complex structure, including letters (‘all fictional… but I’m very pleased you asked’), facsimiles of travel documents and telegrams, to punctuate the main narrative, written in the form of Vanessa’s diary.

‘Vanessa was the very centre of the group,’ explains Parmar, ‘but unlike her more famous sister, did not leave a diary behind. I liked the idea of structuring the novel around her reimagined voice. She was clearly a passionate and opinionated woman, but often her letters held back and did not discuss the more tumultuous events of her life. What she did not include in her letters told me so much about who she might have been.’

Although most members of the set make an appearance in the novel – hilariously camp Lytton Strachey, bashful Morgan Forster, Clive Bell who is never quite able to free himself of the restraints of convention – Parmar’s focus is the intense and stormy relationship between Vanessa and Virginia. ‘It was daunting to write about such a glittering set of people,’ Parmar admits. ‘And the long list of characters that did not make it into the novel was equally daunting. I tried to focus on who was an important presence in Vanessa’s life and which characters moved the story forward.’ Vanessa struggles with Virginia’s jealousies, insecurities, and her bouts of mania, at the same time negotiating her own complicated romantic life, building a reputation as a painter and doing her best to be an unfashionably hands-on

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mother to her two sons. Virginia attempts to shape her sister’s life become brutally clear, and Vanessa’s resistance is complicated by her fierce love for Virginia and her sense of almost parental responsibility for her.

‘Woolf was a once in a generation writer,’ says Parmar. ‘Her prose is so clean and unexpected and lush without ever tipping over into sentiment…cutting and truthful and neat. She is a joy to read.’ That said, ‘the story is very much Vanessa’s. I am always interested in unexpected perspectives of familiar people.

It cannot have been easy to have a sister like Virginia Woolf, and the more research I did, the more fascinating Vanessa Bell became.’

Parmar researched the Bloomsbury papers thoroughly, but feels the key to bringing Vanessa to life lies in her having been given unprecedented private access to Vanessa’s home, Charleston Farmhouse.

‘Virginia Nicholson, Vanessa Bell’s granddaughter and an absolutely brilliant social historian and writer, took me to Charleston and showed me the enchanting house. She shared some of her childhood memories of being there and brought the house to magical life. And then she and the wonderful head curator showed me some of Vanessa Bell’s never before seen sketches that have been recently gifted to the Charleston Trust. They are sketches that Vanessa describes in her letters and I had written about in the novel, and to see them was astonishing.’

Parmar writes with feeling and authenticity about art, a skill which she attributes to ‘a dear friend who is a wonderful, wonderful artist. My understanding of how an artist might feel about a work stems from her.’ One thing which unites the sisters in this novel is a deep insecurity about their own work, which does not seem to be shared by the men, even those who would turn out to be less talented than either of the Stephen sisters.

A theme emerges of the pressures on women in a man’s world which feels acutely relevant over a hundred years on.

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Sarah Bower recently returned from six months in Hong Kong as writer in residence at Lingnan University. Her third novel, Erosion, was published in April 2014, and she just spent a month in Jordan and the occupied West Bank researching her latest book, Love Can Kill People, Can’t It?, set in 1947.

by Sarah Bower

She was clearly... a passionate and opinionated woman, but often her letters held back and did not discuss the more tumultuous events of her life. What she did not include told me so much about who she might have been.

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HNR Issue 71, February 2015

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Molly Gloss on the dark underbelly of the Hollywood cowboy myth

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Stunts, Horses, Cowboys

When I reviewed Falling from Horses (HNR, November 2014),

I became a Molly Gloss fan. She tells the story of Bud Frazer, an Oregonian who becomes a Hollywood stunt rider in the 1930s. Bud’s story doesn’t begin or end in Hollywood, however, as Gloss narrates his life in Oregon and post-Hollywood fame as well. I asked her what attracted her to Hollywood after setting previous books in Oregon: “For years now I’ve been drilling down into the western mythology that shapes American culture, a mythology that ultimately owes its shape — its tropes and icons and heroes — to the movies that flourished in the 1930s and 1940s. So it was perhaps inevitable that my work would eventually take me to Hollywood in the heyday of cowboy films.” Already aware of the gap between real ranch life and its portrayal in the movies, Bud discovers the underbelly of the movie world, including much brutality behind the scenes. Gloss explained how she researched and approached the treatment of riders and horses. “I had read the famous stunt rider Yakima Canutt’s autobiography years ago, so I knew quite a bit about the abuse of horses in the cowboy movies before I undertook the novel. And more came out in my research — exposing that dark side of the cowboy films was a necessary element of the book. Hard to write, as well as hard to read.” Other resources Gloss used included The Hollywood Posse by Diana Serra Carey.“Carey is the daughter of a cowboy stuntman, and her book is a history of all those anonymous riders who made up the posses and the outlaw gangs in the oaters of the 1930s. Sorry to say, she tells several stories of terrible injury, and callousness toward the lowly stunt riders.”

Other research involved a trip to the Margaret Herrick Library in Los Angeles (an archive of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) to look at stills of moviemaking behind the scenes to imagine what Bud was seeing on set.

Through Bud’s narration of his past, we learn that he’s become an artist and an important one at that. It’s an interesting juxtaposition with his early years as a stunt rider, so I asked Gloss

how she decided that Bud would be an artist. “Very early in the writing, a line came to me in Bud’s voice, something he would say as he introduces his memoir: ‘This won’t be the whole story of my life, someone else will have to tackle that after I’m dead.’ I took this to mean that in his later life he was important enough to warrant a biography! So I toyed with a few possibilities, including the possibility that he might become a western writer along the lines of A.B. Guthrie, Jr. But I happened to see a painting of Thomas Hart Benton’s titled ‘Hollywood’ that seemed to be saying something about the seamy side of the movie machine…and after that I always knew that Bud’s fame would come as a painter whose work looks at the intersection of the real and the imagined West.” Bud’s friend Lily Shaw is equally engrossing, starting as a script reader and becoming famous as a screenwriter. When asked if she would write more about Lily, Gloss admits, “when I tried writing in Lily’s own voice, she tried to take over the novel!

I wanted to stay focused on the cowboy movies, and Lily was always trying to take me into the wider world of Hollywood — a different novel from the one I wanted to write.” For more on women screenwriters, Gloss recommends Lizzie Francke’s Script Girls.

What drew Gloss to historical fiction?

“With a lifelong interest and enthusiasm for the literature of the American West, I’ve spent my writing life digging out the untold stories, turning them over, looking at them in different ways, scratching at the dark underbelly of the cowboy myth. I don’t think there was ever a time when I was tempted to write a contemporary novel.”

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Ellen Keith has been reviewing for HNR since 2000. She has a lifelong interest in historical fiction, as evidenced by her undergraduate degree in Victorian Studies and her current position as Director of Research and Access at the Chicago History Museum.

by Ellen Keith

For years... now I’ve been drilling down into the western mythology that shapes American culture, a mythology that ultimately owes its shape – its tropes and icons and heroes – to the movies that flourished in the 1930s and 1940s.

HNR Issue 71, February 2015 | Features | 15

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a look at exceptional Indie HF novels of the past year

T here were two things I wanted to do when I took over as

Managing Editor for the HNS Indie Reviews: 1.

Encourage good quality – if the end result is poorly produced it can spoil the reading experience. The Indie Editorial Team, consisting of myself, Janis Pegrum Smith and Nicky Galliers in the UK, and US-based Steve Donoghue – plus all our wonderful volunteer reviewers – take into account how a novel looks as well as how it is written. 2. Introduce an HNS Indie Award. For 2014 the winners and runners up were difficult to choose; for the forthcoming 2015 Award it is proving even harder! All novels submitted for Indie Review are eligible; if your book is chosen as an Editor’s Choice it is automatically added to the longlist, from which a shortlist and eventual finalists are selected.

Two favourites of US Editor Steve Donoghue were 1914 by Charles B. Smith – an “impressive debut novel” – and The Art Procurer by Jeff Ridenour – “plenty of intrigue, a surprising amount of humor… a remarkable and sometimes quite sad worldly wisdom.” The Spirit Room by Marschel Paul was reviewed by Sarah Johnson because she thoroughly enjoyed it, while My Lady Viper: Tales from the Tudor Court by E. Knight and The Love Letter of John Henry Holliday by Mary Fancher became strong US shortlist contenders.

From the UK enjoyable reads were provided

by Anna Belfrage with two more episodes of her Graham Saga: Serpents in the Garden and Revenge and Retribution; these are superb timeslip novels brimming with seventeenth-century detail and adventure: “The action races along towards a terrifying climax… period and place are brought vividly to life, with smells, sounds, plants, food and stunning geographical descriptions.”

Another novel by David Ebsworth passed muster in the form of a fascinating story of the Zulu Wars: The Kraals of Ulundi. “An accomplished, rich, beautifully produced and very rewarding read.”

Good reads, too, came with A Just and Upright Man by R

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Indie Roundup

J Lynch and another in the Roma Nova Alternative History series, Successio by Alison Morton: “Absolutely recommended and well worth a read.” The Evergreen in Red and White by Steven Kay makes clear that “the life and work of a professional footballer in the 1890s was very different from the modern image.”

After reading The Liverpool Connection by Elisabeth Marrion, the reviewer complimented the author whose “talent lies in the details, the description and portrayal of the times.”

I was pleased that The Tribute Bride became an Editor’s Choice; the author, Theresa Tomlinson, has an immense talent. So does J D Smith, whose excellent novel, Tristan and Iseult, was singled out as “A great adaptation of a legend.” I remember a pop hit from years back, Tokolosh Man, but had no idea what it meant; thanks to In the Shadow of the Tokolosh by Conrad K, I’ve been enlightened. The review noted “… breathtaking descriptions of Africa.”

Finally, a book that would perhaps not fit mainstream because it is different – it is here that Indie comes into its own. A Day of Fire was written by an ‘Inspiration’ of six authors (what is the group name for authors?) who came together to write their own individual chapters about one dramatic event – Pompeii. Nothing original in that? Well, “the originality lies in the extremely smooth and professional way it has been done.” A firm contender for the Award shortlist, I think!

My thanks to Steve, Janis, Nicky and all our reviewers. We have a harder task than the mainstream reviewers because, for Indie, there is no intermediary agent or publisher. Some submissions, unfortunately, are not of a standard to warrant a review, but finding the gems is an absolute delight! As an Indie author myself, I can speak for all historical fiction Indie authors when I say: “Thank you HNS for so enthusiastically supporting us.”

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Helen Hollick is Managing Editor HNS Indie Reviews.

by Helen Hollick

We have...

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a harder task than the mainstream reviewers because, for Indie, there is no intermediary agent or publisher...but finding the gems is an absolute delight!

HNR Issue 71, February 2015

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online exclusives

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Due to an ever-increasing number of books being reviewed and space constraints within HNR, many reviews are now published as online exclusives. To view these reviews and much more, please visit http://www.historicalnovelsociety.org/ reviews/?type=online

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Denotes an Editors’ Choice title

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BEYOND THE BITTER SEA J.G. Knott, Dockside Sailing Press, 2014, $18.95/ C$20.50, pb, 511pp, 9780615967264 Babylon, 6th century BC: teenaged Gil, an indentured servant, escapes the city of Babylon to search for his missing father, who disappeared on a voyage to the island of Dilmun. Gil leaves behind a fiancée and a young sister. His search eventually takes him to the coast of Sindh (India) and a new life as a coastal trader. A parallel narrative tells of the people Gil left behind in Babylon, and of the fall of that great city to the Persian Empire. The novel spans many years, and Gil’s adventures are numerous. Pirates, lost treasures, romance, and the ruins of long-lost civilizations enhance the plot.

J. G. Knott has done a tremendous amount of research for this, his first novel, and the many maps and appendices provided are helpful to the reader. There is interesting detail about ancient sailing techniques and rigging, geography, and ancient cultures. I enjoyed learning about traffic between the Middle East and India in this early period. However, Knott falls into the trap of telling, not showing. The intricate plot takes the reader to many exotic locales, but the characters could use more emotional depth and the writing, more immediacy. At times the extensive research slows the pace of the tale, and although the parallel stories unite eventually they could easily have been two different novels. Still, readers interested in ancient civilizations and sailing techniques may want to give this book a try.

Susan McDuffie

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Ancient History — 3rd Century

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SHADOW OF THE LION: Blood on the Moon W. Ruth Kozak, Mediaaria CDM, 2014, £20, hb, 682pp, 9780992715519 This novel tells of the first years after the death of Alexander the Great, when his generals fought one another for possession of his empire, using all of the weapons at their disposal. In the aftermath of his death, armies are pitted against each other, innocents are killed and children used as political pawns, and even Alexander’s body itself is used as a potent symbol of power and control.

This novel has a wide, ambitious sweep, following a number of characters through the turbulent years following Alexander’s death across Persia, Greece and ancient Macedonia. This is both its strength and its weakness: giving the novel breadth and interest, but meaning that the reader’s attention and empathy is spread too thinly among a wide range of characters. There are some intriguing characters among the cast: Adeia, the teenage queen to Alexander’s childlike brother; Ptolemy, another brother to Alexander, and the one general who was content to take what he could hold and build one of the greatest dynasties of the ancient world; and Nabarzanes, a Persian courtier who transfers his allegiance from Darius to Alexander, and then on to Alexander’s son. Despite this, somehow none of them are ever developed enough as characters for the reader to become deeply involved with them.

As a result, the novel lacks emotional depth and never truly engages the reader, despite the epic nature of the story.

Charlotte Wightwick

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ENEMY OF ROME Douglas Jackson, Bantam Press, 2014, £18.99, hb, 396pp, 9780593070567 Enemy of Rome is the latest instalment in a series following the exploits of a former gladiator, Gaius Valerius Verrens.

The book itself is hefty and offers the reader the chance for a substantial read. The cover art is attractive and in keeping with the previous books in the series. The scene is set as the hero faces execution in the very first chapter and then… well, I will let you find that out for yourself. Suffice to say that the book pulls you in, and you get to feel through

an expertly crafted novel the vicissitudes of Gaius.

Historical fiction can be a tough beast to master; many readers cling to their chosen eras as though they are family treasures and refuse to venture with much enthusiasm into another time. I have to admit that if any book can pull readers from their obsession with other periods, it would be this one.

The book remains faithful to its place in history, and that is to its credit, but the author’s love and enthusiasm burst from the page. You cannot help but be swept away by the passionate torrent.

In summary, this is the by far the best book I have had the fortune to read in the past year. If any aspiring writers out there wish to learn how to write a battle scene, then they should study Mr Jackson’s sheer genius in conveying the chaos and panic. He moulds the characters through the nightmarish scenes as a master sculpture would bend clay to his will. They are a true delight to experience. This is a fine book which in places touches on absolute perfection.

Robert Southworth

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3rd century

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IRON AND RUST: Throne of the Caesars, Book 1 Harry Sidebottom, Overlook, 2014, $27.95, hb, 432pp, 9781468310542 / HarperCollins, 2014, £16.99, hb, 432pp, 9780007499847 The murder of Emperor Alexander in the year AD 235 begins what is known to us as the Year of Six Emperors. It’s one of Rome’s bloodiest eras, and sees not only the end of the Severian dynasty, but also the rise of the first emperor from the barracks, General Maximinus Thrax. He sees his duty as carrying on the fight with the Germans, but his rule, though honest and direct, is a violent one. As rebellion and rival claimants take their toll on the empire, Maximinus suffers betrayal and the deepest personal tragedy. As he is driven to the edge of insanity, the empire’s very foundations are rocked.

Harry Sidebottom, acclaimed for his Warrior of Rome series, returns to ancient Rome with this first installment of his Throne of the Caesars series.

As always, he paints a rich and thorough picture of the Roman world, complete with intrigue and brutality. Where Sidebottom’s previous series was largely action-driven, this one is slower in its pacing, giving the reader a full grounding in the politics that drive the novel. With a large cast of point-of-view characters spread across multiple continents, the plot is challenging to follow at times. The ending is frustrating in that it resolves little, bringing a conclusion that feels more like the close of a chapter rather than the end of a book.

HNR Issue 71, February 2015 | Reviews | 17

But fans of his earlier work will no doubt enjoy this one as well.

Justin M. Lindsay

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7th century

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THE OBLATE’S CONFESSION William Peak, Secant Publishing, 2014, $25.99, hb, 416pp, 9780990460800 In 7th-century England, the boy Winwaed is given to the local monastery by his warrior father, Ceolwulf. Winwaed, an oblate, is raised there. Like the other monks and boys, he lives a godly life filled with hard work, hunger, and at times danger and disease. Winwaed is assigned to assist the hermit, Father Gwynedd, who lives on the nearby mountain. The boy learns woodland skills and how to pray effectively from this hermit. Father Gwynedd is more of a real father to Winwaed than Ceolwulf is.

When Ceolwulf asks Winwaed to pray against someone instead of for someone, the oblate faces conflicts in loyalty and faith. Should he follow the tenets of his biological father, or of his spiritual father – a man who would never want him to harm someone through prayer?

This is a long, deep book. Anyone who likes Anglo-Saxon times before the Vikings or tales of early medieval monastic life will want to take a look. Winwaed is a contemporary of the Venerable Bede and the Abbess Hild. A nod is given to the pagans of the time and to the feared Cumbrogi tribesmen across the mountain. There are echoes of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Bishop Wilfrid (offstage) is painted negatively, but historically he has many supporters as well as detractors. This is a minor quibble, as the story is really about the fictional but all-too-human Winwaed and his very rich but isolated life. Recommended.

Elizabeth Knowles

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10th century

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THE EMPTY THRONE Bernard Cornwell, Harper, 2015, $27.99, hb, 320pp, 9780062250711 / HarperCollins, 2014, £20.00, hb, 320pp, 9780007504169 The eighth entry in Bernard Cornwell’s Saxon Tales, The Empty Throne finds our hero, Uhtred, somewhat incapacitated following the events of the previous novel, The Pagan Lord. Uhtred, ever arrogant and headstrong, finds himself in uncharted territory as he attempts to recover from the wound inflicted on him by Cnut. In constant pain, Uhtred becomes convinced the only hope for his recovery lies in finding the blade that caused the wound.

Unfortunately, his quest for the sword takes second place once news of the death of the husband of his lover, Æthelflaed, erupts. This unrest of power calls into question who will succeed Æthelred on the throne of Mercia, and places the life of King 18 | Reviews |

HNR Issue 71, February 2015

Edward’s son in peril. Uhtred supports Æthelflaed herself taking over the rule, but getting the other men to acquiesce to a feminine reign will be next to impossible. But impossible is what our Uhtred does best.

I confess to feeling hero-worship for Uhtred, and this installment does nothing to alleviate my ardor. Even while ailing, Uhtred is a force to be reckoned with; his agile mind is matched only by his cunning battle sense. Indeed, no one does battle scenes quite as vividly as Cornwell, placing the reader firmly inside the moment, and Uhtred is always a step ahead of his enemies. Uhtred is also often irreverent (his “conversion” to Christianity… again… is particularly amusing) and always the lover and leader. Even if he is a figment of Cornwell’s imagination, he is woven so seamlessly and so completely into the historical facts that one could become convinced that Uhtred orchestrated it all. The Empty Throne is a pleasure to read, and Uhtred is a hero for the ages.

Tamela McCann STAFF PUBLICATION: THE VIKING HOSTAGE Tracey Warr, Impress Books, 2014, £9.99, pb, 392pp, 9781907605598 The Viking Hostage is something of a medieval saga, covering thirtyseven years in the lives of three women and the men who rule their lives. None of them, male or female, is totally free of the tangled web of relationships, lies and deceits that bind the nobility of central France in Sigrid and Aina’s time.

Asked what drew her to such a complex piece of French history, Ms Warr (who has a PhD in Art History and speaks French) said: “My novels are a weave of researched fact and imagining in the gaps between facts. I live in southern France part of the year. Whilst researching for my first novel, Almodis, one of my primary historical sources was Ademar of Chabannes’ Chronicle of France and Aquitaine. In it he describes the kidnap by Viking of Aina, heiress of Segur and betrothed wife of the Viscount of Limoges. She was held hostage for three years and then ransomed. He also mentions the young Count of La Marche, who was kept prisoner in a dungeon by the Viscount of Limoges for a long time and when released married the Viscount’s daughter.

These two historical events piqued my interest.

“The more I research medieval history the more I find that stereotype ideas (some of which I used to hold myself ) about medieval women, or Vikings, for example, need redrawing into something more complex. Some women did wield power, especially in southern France and northern Spain, some women were literate, there were female troubadours and skalds, some Vikings were tender or funny poets as well as fearsome, pagan warriors,

for instance.”

Those who want a leisurely, well-researched story can settle down happily with The Viking Hostage.

Jen Black

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11th century

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THE PRICE OF BLOOD Patricia Bracewell, Viking, 2015, $28.95, hb, 448pp, 9780525427278 In this, the second in an anticipated trilogy (following Shadow on the Crown, Issue 63) about the life of Emma of Normandy, wife to King Aethelred, Emma is in an increasingly treacherous position, jockeying between her husband’s demons and his very real Viking enemies while desperately trying to protect her children’s lives.

Aethelred believes that almost everyone is trying to seize his throne – the ghost of his brother, his own earls, his own sons, Emma’s Norman brother – and that’s without considering the marauding Vikings who are destroying English cities and the countryside. When Aethelred comes to believe that one of the most powerful of his earls is planning a marriage between his daughter, Elgiva (who is treacherous enough on her own and plays a major role in this installment!) and the Danish throne, Aethelred murders the entire family – he thinks.

What he doesn’t know is that Elgiva survives and marries Cnut, son of Swein Forkbeard, in order to support the Viking cause – the only way in which Elgiva can wreak vengeance upon the king she hates.

At the same time, Emma is quietly solidifying alliances between church and state, between warring factions in Aethelred’s own court, to ensure that her son grows to adulthood and that England survives the Viking onslaught. Aethelred clearly despises Emma for the power she wields, but she is not a shy child-bride any longer.

Using the entries from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle to frame her narrative, Bracewell does a masterful job in recounting a period in English history shrouded in mystery and intrigue. The female characters in particular are as flesh and blood – from the poisonous evil of Elgiva to the growing wisdom and equanimity of Emma – and they are a joy to read. Highly recommended even as a stand-alone, although I would recommend reading in order just to savor Emma’s growth as a character.

Ilysa Magnus THE LEOPARDS OF NORMANDY: Devil David Churchill, Headline, 2015, £14.99, hb, 7th Century — 11th Century

508pp, 97814722199176 William the Conqueror is a major figure in English history, well-known to schoolchildren along with the date of 1066. However, what is not so well known are the events leading to his birth and his early life. In the year 1026, Richard succeeds as Duke of Normandy on the death of his father. However, it is not long before conflict breaks out with his younger brother Robert. There follows a fascinating story of brotherly rivalry, coldblooded assassinations, brutal repression and great love. Robert falls deeply in love with a tanner’s daughter, with whom he has a child – William, who will become known as The Bastard. When his father dies William is declared Duke, but still only a young child, will he survive the murderous and bloody politics of Norman life?

The Leopards of Normandy: Devil is the first instalment in a trilogy telling the story of William.

The life, culture and times of the Normans are vividly portrayed in a fascinating story. The author combines fact and fiction, both in terms of story and characters, in a way which brings alive the whole period. This is historical fiction at its very best. Highly recommended.

Mike Ashworth BLOOD OF THE SOUTH Alys Clare, Severn House, 2015, $28.95/£19.99, hb, 240pp, 9780727884329 In this sixth book of the 11th-century Aelf Fen series, apprentice healer Lassair meets a mysterious, veiled woman on the quay in Cambridge. While helping her and her baby to reach the Fens, Lassair befriends sheriff ’s man Jack Chevestrier.

She struggles with the magical Shining Stone and those who want her to use it for their own ends.

After a great storm, a drowned woman is found.

Lassair and Jack try to discover who she is and how she connects to the veiled woman. Lassair worries about baby Leafric’s future. These crosscurrents are interwoven with the adventures of Rollo Guiscard, Lassair’s love, who is in Constantinople on behalf of King William Rufus. Lassair’s extended family thickens the plot.

Readers who like the Norman period in England will enjoy this early-medieval mystery.

The English settings are richly described, giving a fascinating glimpse into the Fens of that time.

Carrying the story to Constantinople is a bit of a stretch, but apparently Rollo is on his way home, and the next book in the series may bring him and Lassair together again – or not. An entertaining read.

Elizabeth Knowles THE SWAN-DAUGHTER Carol McGrath, Accent, 2014, £12.00, pb, 356pp, 9781783753376 It’s 1075. Eighteen-year-old Gunnhild, King Harold’s daughter, is living in a nunnery. She has no wish to be a nun: she is a princess and would rather wed a knight and have the life a princess should. So when Count Alan offers to elope with her, she accepts. But does he love her, or does he 11th Century — 12th Century

just want the lands that she will inherit?

Carol McGrath follows the story of Gunnhild’s marriage. Alan, it seems, does not really love Gunnhild. Both Alan and Gunnhild seek romantic love elsewhere: Alan with the wife of one of his servants, Gunnhild with Alan’s brother.

McGrath’s research is thorough, and her account of castle life is convincing. However, things are seen through the filter of 14th-century notions of chivalric life. While McGrath is generally careful about the reality of the 11th century, Gunnhild’s attitudes often seem rather more what a 14thcentury author might have attributed to her. The knights have glistening armour, and the occasional breastplate slips through.

None of this is to take away from McGrath’s substantial achievement. She brings the 11th century alive, packing in a wealth of wellresearched detail. Her style is easy to read, and her Gunnhild is a rounded and sympathetic character.

If the story sometimes slips into a more romantic interpretation of the past, it has been in good company for seven hundred years. In the end, can we ever know how an 11th-century woman thought? McGrath’s heroine is believable to a modern reader, and her environment should satisfy a historical fiction enthusiast. That makes this a thoroughly worthwhile read.

Tom Williams

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THE GOLDEN THRONE Katia Fox (trans.

Aubrey Botsford), AmazonCrossing, 2014, $14.95, pb, 558pp, 9781611090383 Guillaume le Mareschal is an unwanted younger son born to be a pawn in medieval Normandy.

Desperate to prove himself, young Guillaume works his way from hostage to page to squire to knight, winning glory and fame on the tournament circuit. Proving himself loyal as well as a valuable adviser, Guillaume goes on to become a Crusader and a formidable warrior, serving nearly every Angevin king as the legendary knight known to history as William Marshal. But for all his welldeserved renown, the memory of a lost love haunts him all his life, threatening his hard-won happiness.

This English translation of Katia Fox’s 2010 German novel reads quite well, and the attention to historical detail is excellent. To cover an entire life in one novel, the narrative often skips great lengths of time just when you want to know what happens next, shifting ahead months or years in a single sentence; this can be frustrating, but it does prevent the pace from dragging. Sticklers for the “show, don’t tell” rule may not appreciate this approach, but other readers will enjoy it as an oldfashioned adventure told in an old-fashioned way.

William Marshal is a charismatic figure who has captivated historical novelists for decades, and The Golden Throne is a worthy addition for any of his fans.

Heather Domin

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WINTER SIEGE (UK) / THE SIEGE WINTER (US/Can.) Ariana Franklin & Samantha Norman, Bantam Press, 2014, £16.99, hb, 357pp, 9780593070611 / William Morrow, 2015, $25.99, hb, 352pp, 9780062282569 / Penguin Canada, 2015, C$24.00, hb, 340pp, 9780143183495 During the brutal winter of 1141, Stephen and Matilda tore England apart in their battle for its crown.

The innocent were not spared, and this is their story in this epic medieval tale. Old soldier, Gwil, is not a saint but a man whose heart and courage can’t be faulted. Penda is a young girl delivered from the jaws of death and determined to make her mark on a world dominated by men. And Maud, the young wife of the brutal Sir John of Tewing. They are a great cast of likable, believable characters, and we truly care what happens to them. Add in a murderous pursuit by a horribly stinking monk, and you have an atmospheric, exciting tale that rattles along and should appeal to all readers of historical thrillers and mysteries.

This is, of course, a co-authored book. When Ariana Franklin sadly passed away in 2011, the book was not complete. Her daughter, Samantha Norman, decided to finish it as a tribute to her late mother. What she has achieved is remarkable in terms of continuity of pace, tone and talent. There is poignancy to the novel in that it is the last work of a great writer. But it possesses something very special in that it also launches the career of a sparkling new talent. I am sure Ms Norman’s mother would have been very proud of such a wonderful lasting testimonial. Highly recommended.

E.M. Powell

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THE SHARP HOOK OF LOVE Sherry Jones, Gallery, 2014, $16/C$18.99, pb, 384pp, 9781451684797 Pierre Abélard and Héloïse d’Argenteuil’s tragic 12th-century Parisian romance is one of the most famous real love affairs in history.

Even so, it’s a difficult story to transmute into a historical novel. Its bleak elements are too unforgiving: medieval misogyny, castration, the religious vows Héloïse was forced to take, her giving up her baby, the betrayed trust when a teacher beds his student, and Abélard’s decades of pious remorse.

Thankfully Sherry Jones has taken this dark tale and brought it to pulsing, appealing life. We see the brilliant, charismatic, and famous philosopher HNR Issue 71, February 2015 | Reviews | 19

Abélard seeking out the convent-raised, illegitimate Héloïse because of her own reputation as a marvel of beauty and learning. Her guardian uncle, Canon Fulbert, is almost immediately unlikable, and yet he’s not a two-dimensional villain. The suspense is nearly unbearable after Abélard moves into Canon Fulbert’s household and the couple begins spending more time making love than studying. I was on tenterhooks worrying about Fulbert finding them. They couldn’t stop themselves, having been “pierced by the sharp hook of love,” as the real Héloïse wrote.

Beyond her piercing, Héloïse longs to learn more about her dead mother, who gave Héloïse up to be raised in a convent. And who was her father?

Historic details and glimpses of court intrigues are also wonderful.

I loved this novel. Héloïse’s story isn’t just sorrow and passion but also strength and inspiration. Jones writes with a sure flow and style that pleases but never gets in the way of her story.

She used 113 newly discovered letters between the lovers in researching this book (before, there had just been eight). That material surely helped bring depth to her chapters. Recommended – along with a pilgrimage to the lovers’ shared tomb at Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris!

Kristen Hannum

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JOHN THE PUPIL David Flusfeder, Harper, 2015, $24.99, hb, 240pp, 9780062339188 / Fourth Estate, 2014, £14.99, hb, 240pp, 9780007561186 In 1217, friar and magus Roger Bacon, an inventor and scientist, is teacher to a young man named John at a Franciscan monastery outside Oxford, England. Bacon instructs John to deliver his major written book, along with scientific instruments he developed, to the Pope in Viterbo, Italy. Two companions accompany John: Brother Andrew, who is handsome and well liked, and Brother Bernard, a big man with a weakness for alcohol. Neither man knows the true purpose of the trip, thinking they are on a pilgrimage. They travel through Europe preaching while begging for food and lodging. They meet thieves along the way who try to steal the book and instruments from them, thinking they are valuable. Observing life outside the monastery, they face temptation from women and alcohol on their trip south.

One problem with the book is the many references to the various saints’ days, with a brief description of how these people became saints.

These intermissions distract from the novel and its flow. The story itself has a few exciting episodes, but is mostly a recounting of Franciscan beliefs regarding living a good life and staying away from temptations.

Because of the slow pace, this book may not be for everyone. The chronicle of John’s journey is presented in literary fashion and, because of the 20 | Reviews |

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author’s extensive research, can provide the reader with insight into life in the Middle Ages.

Jeff Westerhoff WHITED SEPULCHRES C.B. Hanley, The Mystery Press, 2014, £7.99/$14.95, pb, 256pp, 9780750956826 In the summer of 1217 the sisters of Earl William de Warenne arrive at Conisborough castle to celebrate the marriage of the widowed eldest one, Isabelle, to her new husband Gilbert L’Aigle. The occasion is marred by the murder of an irascible high-status servant. Edwin Weaver, a local young man already known to the nobility for his abilities to tease out such puzzles, is commanded by the earl to discover the killer’s identity. The investigation leads Edwin into some murky areas that challenge him in more ways than he could have imagined.

The story is wonderfully evocative of the early 13th century, both in castle and village, with some highly engaging characters, especially Edwin, who is uncertain of his abilities and justifiably anxious around his lord and his lord’s family, and Martin, the aspiring young knight whose path toward confidence mirrors Edwin’s, although from a different social perspective. C.B. Hanley writes her characters with warmth and conviction. I felt as though I was there, and that is the mark of excellent historical fiction. While a historical mystery, the many entertaining scenes of daily mediaeval life are the book’s particular strength.

My only caveat is that known history has been shifted by more than 20 years to suit the plot and ascribes certain heinous deeds, without a shred of evidence, to characters who actually existed. However, it’s still a thoroughly enjoyable, entertaining read.

Susan Hicks THE RAVEN’S HEAD Karen Maitland, Headline Review, 2015, £12.99, pb, 468pp, 9781472215062 The Raven’s Head is an intoxicating blend of history, mystery and magic, and Maitland’s storytelling is deft and detailed. Told in the form of three interlocking narratives, the stories converge beautifully. The raven’s head is a beautiful carved silver object covered in alchemical symbols, and Vincent is stuck with it after his attempt to blackmail his master causes him to leave his job as an apprentice scribe in France. On the run, Vincent is a wanted man and begs passage to England hoping to sell the head and make enough money to become a wealthy man. However, the raven’s head is powerful, and it refuses to be sold. Meanwhile young Gisa, the apothecary’s niece, must put all her knowledge of herbs and plants to use in her new position as a servant for the mysterious alchemist Lord Sylvain. We also get the story of young Wilky, given to the Abbey where the strange and secretive White Cannons promise an education for young boys in their care, but when the boys begin to disappear it seems they also have a darker purpose.

Each story is spun out separately, but in the final section of the book they come together as

Lord Sylvain’s experiments grow increasingly dangerous and magical. Maitland’s research is superb, and her storytelling wonderfully captures the period. The book also includes a useful glossary of medieval words and some historical notes on the supernatural beliefs of the time and the practice of alchemy. Highly recommended.

Lisa Redmond

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THE LONG SWORD Christian Cameron, Orion, 2014, £19.99, hb, 448pp, 9781409142447 The Long Sword, the second book in Cameron’s new series, the first of which was The Ill-made Knight, begins in Pisa in 1364. William Gold, now Sir William Gold, is expecting to spend the next few years fighting as a mercenary and collecting sufficient funds to buy himself the lands to go with his new title. However, Father Pierre de Thomas, Papal Legate of the crusade, sent for him, and he was obliged to put his personal ambitions to one side.

Immediately William is embroiled in plots and counter-plots and discovers that not all Christians are in favour of the crusade. Cardinal Robert of Geneva is determined to have the Papal Legate assassinated and has in his employ the Count D’Herblay, the husband of the woman William still loves.

Cameron is described as “one of the finest historical fiction writers in the world,” and I must agree with that comment. I was immediately drawn into the complex and dangerous world of the 14th century, seen from the viewpoint of Sir William Gold. He is a charismatic and courageous hero and, through his actions, the reader is able to understand the world of chivalry and knights.

The history is impeccable, the story compelling and every character superbly drawn. I devoured this book in three sittings and cannot recommend it highly enough. It will be a long wait for the next book in the series.

Fenella J Miller THE BOOK OF FIRES Paul Doherty, Severn House, 2015, $29.95/£19.99, hb, 256pp, 9781780290669 This 14th-century crime novel is the 14th book in the Brother Athelstan Medieval Mystery series.

A beautiful widow is horrifically executed for the murder of her husband. Soon those who played a part in her death are also being gruesomely killed. Brother Athelstan is dealing with his own problems. A seeming miracle is bringing a glut of pilgrims to his churchyard, as even more characters die. Could there be a connection to the unpopular John of Gaunt and the Peasants’ Revolt? Also in the mix is a lost, ancient book containing secret formulas for Greek fire. As danger comes closer to Brother Athelstan, he must try to find the killer, the book, and the reason why a miracle occurred (if 12th Century — 14th Century

it did) at St. Erconwald’s.

Fans of Brother Athelstan will want to read this complex, latest installment as a matter of course, although the resolution is a bit contrived and the tone very dark. New readers might want to start with the older books in the series to get to know this capable friar earlier in his career.

Elizabeth Knowles THE KING’S SISTER Anne O’Brien, Harlequin MIRA, 2014, £12.99, hb, 539pp, 9781848453463 The King’s Sister is a novel about forbidden love, the ties of family and choices with the potential to impact on history. It tells the story of Elizabeth of Lancaster, cousin to Richard II and sister to Henry IV. Elizabeth begins the book as the sheltered and self-centred daughter to John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. Her romantic dreams are initially dashed on entry to the adult world of politics. However, she quickly begins a dangerous flirtation with Sir John Holland, the charismatic and ambitious halfbrother to Richard II. The first half of the novel follows the passionate and often difficult relationship between Elizabeth and John, their defiance against her father and the bond that they build together. But then Richard exiles Elizabeth’s brother Henry, which eventually leads Henry into rebellion and a bid for the throne.

The novel then turns to the emotional conflict this inflicts upon John and Elizabeth. Both have loyalties to their own brother yet neither wants to betray their love for each other. And both know that the choices they face have potentially devastating consequences.

O’Brien’s depiction of 14th-century court life is evocative, and the burgeoning love affair between Elizabeth and John is highly enjoyable. John’s true character remains elusive for much of the novel, which successfully creates tension and interest. In contrast, Elizabeth’s character is drawn less subtly, and as a result, she appears to veer several times between extreme political naivety and equally strong astuteness. Whilst this is initially credible in a selfish and romantic 17-year-old, it becomes less convincing as the novel goes on. This becomes especially important because it is also central to the novel’s emotional climax.

Despite this, there is plenty to enjoy in this romantic and moving account of tangled loyalties and impossible choices. Have tissues handy.

Charlotte Wightwick

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15th century

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THE TUDOR BRIDE Joanna Hickson, Harper, 2014, £7.99, pb, 593pp, 9780007446995 / Harper, 2015, $14.99, pb, 592pp, 9780007447008 The Tudor dynasty has recently enjoyed a renaissance in historical fiction. Most books focus on Henry VIII and his six wives, or his daughter Elizabeth I. With Joanna Hickson’s novel The 14th Century — 15th Century

Tudor Bride, the beginning of the dynasty is finally afforded the attention it deserves.

The novel opens where The Agincourt Bride leaves off. This previous novel centers on Catherine de Valois’s upbringing as a sheltered and somewhat unwanted princess of France. Though The Tudor Bride has many of the same characters as its predecessor, it can be read as a standalone book.

Both novels are narrated by Catherine’s loyal nursemaid, Mette. Many plots suffer from the “through the eyes of an onlooker” method, but Mette is so sympathetic that the reader becomes invested in her story as much as Catherine’s.

The early portions of the novel are devoted to Catherine’s removal to the English court and her struggle to find her footing as queen. She is naïve and often takes the advice of those not invested in her well-being, alienating Mette, who is more like a mother than a servant. This is heartbreaking to read, but fortunately Catherine is forced to grow up and become independent.

The meat of the novel is Catherine’s path following King Henry’s death, where she must make life-threatening sacrifices in order to obtain true happiness. History tells us that her later marriage to Owen Tudor spawned two healthy sons; the eldest would go on to father the future King Henry VII. Sadly, Catherine died young and did not live to see her grandson’s ascension. Her final scenes with Mette are heartrending and a testament to the author’s writing abilities. At 593 pages, the novel could easily stall out, but Hickson’s engaging prose keeps the reader hooked to the final pages. Recommended.

Caroline Wilson

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SUCCESSION Livi Michael, Penguin Fig Tree, 2014, C$25/£14.99, hb, 345pp, 9780241146248 / Thomas Dunne, Sept. 2015, $25.99, hb, 368pp, 9781250066602 Succession is a powerfully written account of the 15th-century Wars of the Roses, when the House of Lancaster struggled with their cousins, the House of York, for the throne of England.

Henry VI was the youngest monarch, at nine months old, ever to ascend the throne.

Although he reigned for 40 years he was an ineffectual king, suffering from bouts of mental illness, held in place by the forceful character of his wife and by his counsellors. Livi Michael tells the story principally from the point of view of two mothers: the unpopular Margaret of Anjou, Queen to the hapless Henry VI, who fights to hold onto the crown for her own sake, and for her small son; and the young heiress, Margaret Beaufort, married three times before she was fifteen and the mother of the future first Tudor king, Henry VII.

The book employs chronicles and other primary sources to tell half the tale and is punctuated with terse accounts of battles that went one way and then the other over seven years, claiming thousands of lives. There are vivid vignettes of commoners who became entangled in the bloody soap opera playing out between their lords and ladies: the boy who saved Queen Margaret and the small prince after the Battle of Northampton, and the mad girl who lay with Owain Tudor the night before the Battle of Mortimer’s Cross and then washed his decapitated head on the following day. If you like your historical fiction full of psychological insight, emotion and romance, then this may not be the novel for you. Whilst we glimpse the inner lives of Margaret of Anjou and Margaret Beaufort, this is an event-led rather than a character-led story. Livi Michael’s Succession is finely balanced between history and fiction, and a fascinating, riveting read.

Tracey Warr AGNÈS SOREL: Mistress of Beauty HRH Princess Michael of Kent, Constable, 2014, £18.99, hb, 296pp, 9781472119131 Set in the second half of the 15th century, this novel tells the story of Agnès Sorel, mistress of Charles VII of France. The king’s mother-in-law persuades her young lady-in-waiting that it is her duty to become the king’s lover, despite her piety.

As the novel unfolds, she grows to love him, and their relationship gives him the happiness and selfconfidence to rule and to fight back against the English. Her status as royal mistress gives her great influence with the king and he showers her with gifts, titles and wealth. Unsurprisingly, this attracts resentment and her enemies start to plot around her.

HRH Princess Michael of Kent has deeply immersed herself in the period, and the novel is full of historical detail: her descriptions of Paris for example are evocative and full of life, and the royal court is described in all its finery. The descriptions of tournaments and processions are full of sumptuous detail. Agnès herself is portrayed as a beautiful innocent, loving and loved, and totally unsuited to the politics of a royal court.

To a modern reader this naivety may appear as unrealistic and at times can appear rather cloying.

Sadly, the other characters are somewhat onedimensional and forgettable. As a result, the novel is at best patchy – at times dazzling, at others flawed.

Charlotte Wightwick THE QUEEN OF FOUR KINGDOMS HRH Princess Michael of Kent, Beaufort, 2014, $24.95, hb, 446pp, 9780825306709 / Constable, 2014, £8.99, pb, 464pp, 9781472108463 Yolande of Aragon was born in 1384, the daughter of Aragon’s King James I, and granddaughter of King John II of France.

Daughters of royalty were bargaining chips, betrothed at tender ages to princelings or the sons of dukes to cement alliances. Yolande herself was wedded to Louis II, Duke of Anjou, in an effort to HNR Issue 71, February 2015 | Reviews | 21

settle conflicting claims to the kingdom of Naples

by Aragon and Anjou. The son of Naples’ king, Louis was troubled by other claimants, and spent many years in Italy fighting to hold that realm, leaving Yolande to rule Anjou and Provence.

Though she never saw three of them, nor actually ruled Aragon, Yolande became known as the Queen of Four Kingdoms (Aragon, Naples, Jerusalem, and Cyprus). However, as Duchess of Anjou, Yolande proved herself truly a queen, using her influence as England and its Burgundian allies grappled with France over control of conquered lands. When Yolande financed the army led by Joan of Arc with Anjou’s wealth, she indirectly picked Charles VII to rule France.

HRH Princess Michael of Kent, the author of three bestselling histories, has turned her hand to historical fiction with The Queen of Four Kingdoms. Her education in history and her family background show in her deep understanding of the intertwined lineages of Europe. The complexity of Yolande’s story leads Her Royal Highness to rely on a narrative style, but it is clear, smoothly told, and an entertaining story. Readers with a taste for fiction about – and written by – royalty will love The Queen of Four Kingdoms.

Jo Ann Butler

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THE TAPESTRY Nancy Bilyeau, Touchstone, 2015, $26.99, hb, 400pp, 9781476756370 The third Joanna Stafford novel is a rollercoaster ride, and what a ride it is!

Once Sister Joanna of a Dominican priory, civilian Joanna spends her time weaving tapestries, a skill she learned as a novice. In quiet Dartford, she mourns the loss of the man who was to have become her husband, Edmund – he has disappeared after their approaching marriage was declared illegal by Henry VIII. As a talented weaver, her talents come to the attention of her cousin, the King, through Queen Anne of Cleves, and she is summoned to court. Since she failed, in the last installment, to dispatch the King as she had been trained to do, Joanna’s least favorite wish is to serve Henry or to become part of his royal household.

But Henry thinks otherwise and Joanna is made Mistress of the Tapestries, after avoiding death not once but twice at the hands of an unseen enemy. The title doesn’t seem to give Joanna much protection, either – someone is out to get her. Enter, once again, Gregory Scovill, Dartford constable extraordinaire, the one person who 22 | Reviews |

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seems to understand that Joanna’s life is in danger and who will do what he needs to do to protect her, come what may and regardless of where they need to go to find the truth.

Joanna is a force of nature. Smart, persevering, yet true to herself and her beliefs, she gets better in each incarnation. Up to her ears in court intrigues, religious persecutions, beheadings galore and Henry’s erratic and volatile nature, Joanna shines – remaining ever vigilant. Bilyeau’s rendering of the court and its diverse personalities, the palpable tension between Protestant and Catholic, and the very smells and sounds of the streets are intensely evoked. A lot of fun, and highly recommended.

Ilysa Magnus HOLY SPY Rory Clements, Hodder & Stoughton, 2015, £14.99, hb, 456pp, 9781848548497 This is the seventh book in Clements’ John Shakespeare series. John is the fictional elder brother of Will Shakespeare, who often has a cameo role in these stories, although not in this latest book. John is an ‘intelligencer’ in the service of Sir Francis Walsingham, Queen Elizabeth’s spymaster, and the books usually concern a conspiracy against the Tudor state which John unmasks. In Holy Spy the conspiracy is a real one, probably the most famous of them all, the Babington Plot which led to the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots.

John is a multi-tasker, and alongside his ‘professional’ investigation he conducts a personal inquiry to clear his ex-mistress of a murder charge.

The narrative alternates between the two plots, and since we all know the outcome of the Babington Plot the murder/mystery lies in the fictional story.

The two plots overlap, but not significantly.

Clements is now more than adept at evoking the ambience of Tudor England, and this is possibly his best book to date. As the blurb says, Clements ‘does for Elizabeth’s England what Sansom does for the England of Henry VIII’, and it is difficult to give higher praise.

Edward James PORTRAIT IN BLACK AND GOLD Carol Damioli, Inanna, 2013, $22.95, pb, 358pp, 9781771330640 Historical novels frequently tell the story of a woman succeeding in the even more maledominated societies of the past. This fictional biography of the painter Sofonisba Anguissola follows that pattern, but sometimes shows men in supportive roles as teachers or promoters. Her father, an art supply merchant belonging to the minor nobility, has the idea that being a successful artist will enhance her modest dowry and that she can pass on her skills to her younger sisters. Her mother objects to this career, because she considers painting to be an unworthy profession for anyone with noble ancestry.

In spite of Sofonisba’s recommendation from Michelangelo and other artists, she is denied membership in the artists’ guild in her native Cremona. As her fame spreads she becomes a

court painter in the Madrid of Philip II, here represented as less of an ogre than he generally is in English-language historical fiction. An appendix gives a chronology of her paintings with a list of the museums where they can be seen. This helps the reader follow her career.

Romance includes a successful arranged marriage to a Sicilian relatively late in life and a subsequent second marriage to a Genoese sea captain who helps protect her widow’s rights while allowing her to continue her art. Anguissola’s reputation faded after her death, but a rediscovery has brought about comparisons with her contemporary, Titian. Damioli has served her cause well with this richly drawn account of a long and successful life. Recommended.

James Hawking MURDER IN THE QUEEN’S WARDROBE Kathy Lynn Emerson, Severn House, 2014, $29.95/£19.99, hb, 256pp, 9780727884596 Rosamond Jaffrey enjoys the wealth and freedom that her husband’s estate offers while he conducts business in Russia as part of the London Muscovy Company. Her liberty comes to an end when she is encouraged to serve Lady Mary Hastings, a cousin of Queen Elizabeth I, who can smooth the relations between England and Russia. As a lady in waiting, Rosamond can better serve her queen by spying on those who come in contact with Lady Mary. At first she is hesitant, but when she finds that her husband may be facing danger in Russia unless she assists, her new life as a spy commences. When a murder in the Queen’s wardrobe occurs, followed by an attempt on the life of Lady Mary, the unraveling of the mystery becomes Rosamond’s first priority. Her knowledge of herbs and their effects and her curiosity about the event make Rosamond a target for mishaps that may be attempts on her own life.

The author draws us into the period with this well-researched and nicely written Elizabethan mystery. She describes the political situation between Russia and England as well as the pecking order that occurs within the court. Brave yet vulnerable, Lady Rosamond is portrayed as a genuine woman of the era. Her ultimate goal is to see her husband return to England, and although they do not have a love match, she is faithful and loyal to him – a refreshing change.

Beth Turza THE TRADE SECRET Robert Newman, Cargo Publishing, 2014, £8.99, pb, 298pp, 9781908885906.

Nat Bramble is a young servant who has learned Persian in order to interpret for his master, Sir Anthony Sherley, an ambassador of Elizabeth the First to the Shah of Persia. When Nat unwittingly embezzles 300 Dutch dollars from Sir Anthony, he flees Isfahan and joins up with Darius, a love-sick Persian poet, to find a secret oil well and make their fortune. They succeed, and an unfortunate event forces Nat to accompany Sir Anthony on a Persian embassy back to Europe. In Venice, he discovers a 15th Century — 16th Century

deadly secret about his master. Nat escapes from him and returns to London.

The title seems to have two interpretations: the value of oil, and trade as a means of bettering oneself. Nat does not want to remain a servant all his life. The convolutions of the novel’s plot make summary impossible. Nat suffers endless scrapes, survives and triumphs, only to have another catastrophic fall. Newman is terrifically imaginative and inventive in the adventures and trials that his hero undergoes. Yet Nat is no picaresque hero, a mere catalyst for the plot, but is a three-dimensional character like Darius. The settings are superb. Isfahan and Persian life are well drawn, but Newman excels himself in the Tudor London scenes. The City, the activity on Thames and the Pool of London, and the teeming life on London Bridge are wonderfully alive and vivid. The politics and ethos of the time are made convincing.

He even pulls a final trick and has an unsavoury villain turn out to have been morally in the right.

This is not a book to start unless you have plenty of time, because it is well-nigh impossible to put down. A tremendous read; highly recommended.

Lynn Guest THE ARCHITECT’S APPRENTICE Elif Shafak, Viking Penguin, 2014, £14.99, hb, 456pp, 9780241004913 / Viking, 2015, $27.95, hb, 432pp, 9780525427971 When Jahan runs away from his overbearing father and boards a ship bound for Istanbul, he finds a baby white elephant on board, and his kindness to this fellow orphan will define the rest of his long life. Admitted to the Sultan’s palace as mahout to the elephant, which is a royal gift, he falls in love with the Princess Mihrimah and under the spell of Sinan, the royal architect, to whom he is apprenticed. The novel is full of romance and adventure, intrigue and tall tales, but the story of Sinan lies at its heart. Sinan was a real historical figure who worked for Suleiman the Magnificent and his two sons Selim and Murad through much of the 16th century.

Herein lies the difficulty with the novel, which never seems to know if it is a biography of the architect or a fiction about Jahan and his elephant.

The writing is lovely, the characterisation of Chota the elephant particularly strong, but a thin plot struggles to maintain itself, and the narrative veers uncomfortably between pure fiction and historical exposition. The final reveal comes all in a rush in the last few chapters without any real flagging up through the rest of the book, which tends to make the reader feel manipulated.

As Sinan tells Jahan, every building must include a deliberate flaw; otherwise, if the architect aspires to perfection, he is challenging god. This is an enjoyable enough read but certainly doesn’t challenge the deity.

Sarah Bower

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THE TRAITOR’S MARK D.K. Wilson, Sphere, 2014, £13.99, pb, 384pp, 9780751550375 16th Century — 17th Century

Henry VIII is on the throne. The monasteries have been shut down, the monks and nuns evicted, the land and buildings sold off and the money raised used, largely, to fund Henry’s war with France. After a wet summer the crops rotted in the fields while London suffered from a return of the plague.

To add to all this, the Church was divided between those adhering to Henry’s new Reformation and those still clinging to the Catholic persuasion and the rule of the Pope. Plots and counter-plots abounded, not least the Prebendaries Plot of 1543 when plans were made by some of the wealthiest in the land to indict Archbishop Cranmer for heresy and have him burned at the stake. On a more mundane level Hans Holbein, the court painter, disappeared suddenly; did he die of the plague, was he murdered or did he just quietly return to his own country? In any event he was never seen again.

D. K. Wilson has taken these facts of 1543 and woven a credible story of murder, kidnapping and intrigue around them. The tale itself is fiction – none of it really happened – but, set against a very real background and interspersed with real people of the day – Holbein, Cranmer, Thomas Howard Duke of Norfolk, Stephen Gardiner the Bishop of Winchester, to name but a few – it could have. I enjoyed this book and learned more of the Prebendaries Plot, of which I had heard but knew very little. The fictitious characters blended in well with the real protagonists, the pace was good, and the red herrings abounded as they should in any good mystery tale. Recommended.

Marilyn Sherlock

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17th century

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BLOOD, LOVE AND STEEL: A Musketeer’s Tale Jennifer M. Fulford, Thames River Press, 2014, £9.99, pb, 302 pp, 9781783082025 Athos, the most dark and famed of the King’s Musketeers, is spiralling out of control – reckless and suicidal, he takes on wager after wager, each one successively more dangerous. Deep inside, he seeks death, because the love of his life – Milady – has been executed for numerous evils; an execution that Athos agreed to and assisted.

But his gamble with the master swordsman, the Comte de Rochefort, backfires and he finds that, on his honour, he must work for the Comte and be pushed into temptation with his wife Nicole.

The Comtesse is a rare jewel in 17th-century France – stunningly beautiful, unfailingly faithful and utterly pious. Wagers fly with the Comte; will the notorious Musketeer succeed in seducing his wife?

The struggle that Athos has with his own feelings

and memories competes with the attractions of Nicole, while the “mission” that the Comte has in store for the Musketeer is far from safe and easy.

This book is a fascinating continuation of the story of Athos, Dumas’ most enigmatic character.

Well written, with evocative descriptions, the perception of the Musketeer’s personality is believable.

Alan Cassady-Bishop THE WITCH-HUNTER’S TALE Sam Thomas, Minotaur, 2015, $24.99, hb, 320pp, 9781250045751 This is the third in the author’s mystery series set during the English Civil War, starring Lady Bridget Hodgson, noblewoman and midwife. The novel begins slowly, with Thomas filling in lots of backstory, but once Lady Hodgson’s friend and suitor is murdered, the book picks up. Thomas has an interesting story, told against the backdrop of a witch hunt, set in the ancient northern city of York.

Thomas knows a lot about midwifery, which livens up several scenes in the book, and he evokes the city of York during a brutally cold winter in a way that makes your teeth chatter. As his heroine attempts to find out who killed her friend, she stumbles into the middle of a tangle of devilish alliances.

Unfortunately, Thomas doesn’t exploit the potential in his plot. His narrative has no pace and little drama in spite of the horrendous details, and most of his characters are hardly more distinct than names. Bridget Hodgson is unconvincing. She believes in the reality of witches; at the same time, in most of other aspects of her life, she acts as a thoroughly modern woman, independent, well-off and refusing to defer to men. She acts, in fact, like a man with a woman’s name.

Cecelia Holland A CRUEL NECESSITY L.C. Tyler, Constable, 2014, £19.99, hb, 308pp, 9781472115034 John Grey has returned to his native Suffolk from studying law at Cambridge. After an evening in the local pub he finds himself, very much the worse for wear, outside one of the village cottages.

A horseman rides up and asks if Ben Bowman still owns the pub. On being assured that he does, the horseman throws John a shilling. When a body is discovered on the village dung heap the next morning, nobody believes John Grey’s story of the horseman he saw the previous night. When, later, he is warned that he is about to be accused of the murder, he flees to London and comes into contact with John Thurloe, Cromwell’s spymaster.

So begins a tale of mystery and intrigue in 1657.

Cromwell’s austere rule has closed the theatres, cancelled Christmas and forbade the maypoles and May Day celebrations so that stirrings of rebellion are in the air and plots to restore King Charles II to the throne are rife. The story twists and turns, and I thought that I had picked up all the clues and solved the mystery but no; the final twist caught me totally by surprise. The characterisation is HNR Issue 71, February 2015 | Reviews | 23

good, it is well-paced and the plot fits in beautifully with the historical events of the day. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will look out for this author again.

Marilyn Sherlock

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18th century

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THE DEVIL TO PAY David Donachie, Allison & Busby, 2014, £19.99, hb, 352pp, 9780749016531 1794. There is no peace for John Pearce, the unorthodox Naval Lieutenant who, after crippling his armed cutter to save his lady-love from Barbary pirates, finds himself stranded in Palermo, with costly repairs to manage, a broken arm, and – worst of all – a disgruntled crew. When he decides to sail for Naples all the same, another encounter with the same pirates leaves him without a ship altogether, and subjected to court-martial. To his surprise, things end in a transfer to a larger vessel, under the command of a friend, and with his whole crew.

Can this be the blessing it seems? Or are Pearce’s enemies at work again?

I love Donachie’s thrilling naval adventures, and this eleventh instalment is no exception, with plenty of sea-battles, intrigue, romance and derring-do. I have two quibbles, though: the many words repeatedly devoted to recapping events told in previous books, while useful to a first-time reader, become a little taxing for the serial one; and some careful proof-reading could have avoided the many misprints that detract from an otherwise great read.

Chiara Prezzavento WOLF WINTER Cecilia Ekbäck, Weinstein, 2015, $26.00/ C$29.00, hb, 400pp, 9781602862524 / Hodder & Stoughton, 2015, £14.99, hb, 432pp, 9781444789511 Strong, stoic Maija, wavering Paavo, and daughters Frederika and Dorotea leave their native Finland for Swedish Lapland in 1717, having traded homesteads with Paavo’s uncle. Settled in the shadow of Blackåsen Mountain, they attempt to make a new life for themselves. When Frederika stumbles upon the mutilated body of one of their neighbors, they realize dark forces are at work.

This is a strange book. As a mystery/thriller, it hits the right tone, everyone has secrets, and red herrings delay resolution until the penultimate page. Characterization is robust, and Lapland as setting balances beauty and brutality, a vast space that feels claustrophobic when the ravages of winter trap its few inhabitants. The oddness arrives with the prose and a dose of…Scandinavian magical realism? Ekbäck’s non-native English flavors the text in both positive and negative ways: her characters’ metaphors, cadence and word choice feel Nordic (snowflakes are “battered sideward,” there’s a “landslip” instead of a slide), adding ambiance. But noting “The room smelled irritated from the lye,” is dissonant, and referring to 24 | Reviews |

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a character marked by unknown disease as having “crayfish, perhaps. Crayfish was like hatred. It ate away at a person from the inside,” should have been edited to provide better context. (I may be more obtuse than some, but I googled and still have no idea what crayfish, as a human disease or allegory for one, might be. Perhaps the lung parasite one can get from eating said crustaceans raw?) As to the magical realism, Maija holds conversations with an unintroduced “Jutta” (her deceased grandmother), there are wolves only Frederika and Maija can see, and Frederika spends quality time with the spirit of the murdered man she found on Blackåsen.

Taken as a whole, this is an absorbing read that, at times, is just a little… odd. But normal is boring, right?

Bethany Latham

the ultimate choice of all revengers.

The work of reconstructing a city of the past lures all historical writers, and Liss does a fine job of bringing that Lisbon to life. Of the Alfama, the old Arab district, he writes of “the odors of food from the homes of Africans and Brazilians and Saracens. People spoke in a half dozen languages.

The wild dogs never ceased their barking. And the singing – everywhere they sang their dark and gloomy songs in a hodgepodge of languages, bemoaning their fate, their fado.” (p. 83) The story itself and his characters are less successful. He never seems too close with events, watching from a comfortable distance, and the pace is too sedate for a thriller. His The Coffee Trader, set in Amsterdam, is livelier and more fun.

Cecelia Holland

SHADOW OF THE RAVEN Tessa Harris, Kensington, 2014, $15.00, pb, 368pp, 9780758293398 Set in 18th-century England, this is a historical mystery wrapped in a romance, which is most likely a familiar theme for regular readers of Harris’s Dr. Thomas Silkstone Mystery series. Shadow of the Raven is her fifth installment but holds up as a standalone read. Dr. Thomas Silkstone of Philadelphia is a man of science: an anatomist, to be exact, with a personality as regimented as the ideals of the scientific method he adheres to in all aspects of life.

The reader meets Dr. Silkstone as he struggles to contact Lady Lydia Farrell, who is now being held, or rather committed, within the notorious Bethlem Hospital, better known as Bedlam. It seems that Lady Farrell, in a prior installment of the series, fell afoul of Sir Montagu Malthus, the caretaker for Brandwick Estate in Oxfordshire. The coroner of Oxford requested that Dr. Silkstone travel to consult on the mysterious shooting death of a friend, Jeffery Turgoose, on the very same estate.

Harris has almost all of the elements of a page-turner in the making but falls just short.

The character of Malthus is underdeveloped, instead maintaining the generic evil cliché stamp throughout the novel. Sadly, the failure to develop this central character breaks down each of the opportunities for Harris to develop dialogue with depth and nuance. It leaves readers wanting more but just not getting it.

Shannon Gallagher

THE NEW WORLD Andrew Motion, Jonathan Cape, 2014, £12.99, hb, 368pp, 9780224097949 This is a sequel to the former Poet Laureate’s own sequel to RL Stevenson’s Treasure Island.

This was titled Silver (reviewed in HNR 62 in 2012), and concerned the return to the famous island by the son of Jim Hawkins, also called Jim, and Long John Silver’s mixed-race daughter Natty.

The New World begins with Jim and Natty being shipwrecked off the Gulf of Mexico, after leaving Treasure Island with the silver bars liberated from the brigands. They are the somewhat unlikely only survivors of the wreck. The silver is lost again, and they are captured by a violent tribe. They escape from capture and probable death, taking from the tribe leader who is known as Black Cloud a valuable silver necklace. Thus begins the adventures of the brave pair as they attempt to find their way to safety and back to England, while being tracked by an enraged Black Cloud, wanting the return of his property.

The tale is narrated by an elderly Jim Hawkins as a memoir, 35 years or so after the events. As with Silver, the story has a number of fantastical elements, with the close relationship between Jim and Natty also being a theme of the plot. It is told in rich and evocative prose, with lush descriptions of the southern American landscapes that our inimitable pair traverse during their search for home. The story ends inconclusively, suggesting that a third sequel is in the offing from Andrew Motion. And why not?

Douglas Kemp

THE DAY OF ATONEMENT David Liss, Random House, 2014, $28.00, hb, 365pp, 9781400068975 Lisbon before the earthquake of 1755 was one of the major commercial centers of Europe, an ancient city of close, cobbled streets and rambling palaces along the river shore. Here David Liss has set his novel of revenge and redemption. Sebastião Raposa, who fled Lisbon as a boy moments before his parents were turned in to the Inquisition, returns as Sebastian Foxx to find justice. As soon as he arrives, of course, he is swept up in intrigues, all leading to the great jolting climax, when he faces

THE PHANTOM OF RUE ROYALE Jean-François Parot (trans. Howard Curtis), Gallic, 2014 (c2008), £7.99/$15.95, pb, 347pp, 9781906040154 Police commissioner Nicolas Le Floch has a rooftop view of the firework display celebrating the marriage of the Dauphin to Marie-Antoinette in 1770 Paris, and watches helplessly as the badlymanaged event turns to disaster. Among the crushed and maimed victims, Le Floch’s people find a young woman who has been strangled, and Le Floch wangles permission to investigate this 18th Century

murder by using it as cover for a wider investigation into the politically sensitive disaster.

Pre-Revolutionary politics and the unraveling of a complex story of family rivalries go hand in hand in this unusual detective story. Nicolas Le Floch is one of those useful protagonists whose history enables him to mingle with the very poorest and the very grandest of French society, so the reader gains insights into the court of Louis XV as well as the street life of 18th-century Paris.

The novel is hampered by Parot’s self-conscious style, particularly the endnotes which frequently simply refer to previous books – these could easily have been left out in the English translation. The loving way in which Le Floch investigates the preparation of every meal he consumes is French to the point of self-caricature – indeed, there were many points at which I wondered if the author was poking fun at his subject-matter, the reader, or both. Still, this is refreshingly different fare for readers who enjoy being kept on their toes, and I suspect the translation keeps faith with both the spirit and the letter of the original novels.

Jane Steen THE IRIS FAN Laura Joh Rowland, Minotaur, 2014, $25.99, hb, 352pp, 9781250047069 Japan, 1709. On a dark and stormy night, an unthinkable crime occurs: The shogun is stabbed with an iron-ribbed fan while sleeping in his own bed with a male concubine. Blood-soaked footprints lead to the women’s quarters.

Sleuth Sano Ichiro is in a shamed exile that affects his family and friends, including Hirata, a master of secret martial arts whose body has been possessed for a couple of installments by the ghost of a general with his own plans for the future of Japan. Will Sano solve the mystery and restore his honor? Will his family leave him, especially his son Masahiro, whom Sano has been forced to marry to the daughter of a political enemy? And as the shogun slowly dies of his wounds, what of the bigger picture? Who will inherit? Full civil war looms, calling all the samurais to choose sides.

Fans of this history-mystery series will be sorry to hear that this is meant to be the final episode.

Rowland ties all her loose ends up masterfully and yet never leaves the novice in the dust so we are encouraged to go back and read the tales we missed, just to be plunged back to this time period by such skillful hands.

Ann Chamberlin THE SILVERSMITH’S WIFE Sophia Tobin, Simon & Schuster, 2014, £7.99, pb, 440pp, 9781471128103 On a dark night in late 18th-century London, a night watchman stumbles across a man with his throat slit. At the inquest no one has much trouble speaking ill of the dead: an ambitious silversmith with a shop in Bond Street. His wife bears the psychological scars of his bullying and suffers from an extreme form of sleepwalking. Although Sophia Tobin’s story is set in the Georgian era, the novel 18th Century — 19th Century

has the sensibility of a Victorian novel, redolent with highly strung and repressed sexualities and populated by powerless women brutalised in marriage and patriarchy. This story of murder, mystery, greed, cruelty and infidelity is set amidst the grime, inequities and snobberies of 18th-century London. “Up and down these streets people were drinking themselves into unconsciousness, wagering livelihoods on the turn of a card, losing their virtues in golden palaces and dirty hovels.”

The story is told in a time stutter, jumping back and forth from the murder victim’s diary written seven months in advance of the main narrative. The handling of the mystery and context are tensely engaging, but the handling of the characters is less sure. The nightwatchman and a lady’s maid develop into complex characters, but the silversmith’s wife, and the man who wants to become her second husband, remain tantalisingly pale. A page-turning story steeped in melancholy that keeps the reader guessing with twists and turns, and shoals of red herrings.

Tracey Warr

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19th century

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IN BED WITH A SPY Alyssa Alexander, Berkley Sensation, 2014, $7.99/ C$9.99, pb, 304pp, 9780425269534 1815, Waterloo. Alastair Whitmore, Marquess of Angelstone, code name Angel, is mourning the recent murder of his first love at the hands of the Death Adders, a group of French agents. On the battlefield of Waterloo, Whitmore sees an avenging angel – a woman on horseback – slashing and felling her way through a band of French soldiers, killing each in her path. Her grief-maddened eyes and her soot-stained face haunt him long after the end of the conflict, though he fails to discover her identity.

Two years later: Lilias Fairchild followed the drum with her beloved husband. Widowed at Waterloo, she despises small talk and the social expectations forced on women. When she meets Angel at a party, she is unexpectedly attracted to him. Never one for propriety, she wonders if their affair would be one of pure lust or something else.

When Angel finds a Death Adder symbol in Lilias’s possession, he investigates. Was she an agent or was there another explanation?

With In Bed with a Spy, the author keeps the reader guessing to the very end. She knows her way around a good plot, and her characters are often not what they seem; she writes an enjoyable romp peopled with spies, traitors and heroes.

Recommended.

Monica E. Spence ONLY ENCHANTING Mary Balogh, Piatkus, 2014, pb, £8.99, 351pp, 9780349405360 / Signet, 2014, $7.99, pb, 400pp, 9780451469663 In the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars,

Flavian, Viscount Ponsonby joins his six fellow members of The Survivors’ Club for their annual reunion. Three weeks at Middlebury Park, and for the lucky ones, wives are included. Flavian is not so fortunate. Deserted by his promised bride and betrayed by his lifelong greatest friend, his only good luck is that he is not in an insane asylum.

Plagued by memory loss, excruciating head pain and uncontrollable outbursts of maniacal violence, surely no woman will take a chance with this damaged nobleman. Agnes Keeping, a gentlewoman of modest means, has the entrée to Middlebury. She has been haunted by loss and mystery since infancy. The passion that flares up between Agnes and Flavian cannot be denied but she is a virtuous widow, he an honourable gentleman. The only possible connection between them can be by marriage.

Mary Balogh writes to a high standard; she approaches the difficult subject of recurring mental trauma with integrity and is to be congratulated.

Although the earlier chapters of the novel are somewhat long drawn out, the lively second half, especially Agnes’s encounters with the terrifying dowagers of the “ton”, are enormously entertaining.

Nancy Henshaw HONOR ABOVE ALL J. Bard-Collins, Allium Press of Chicago, 2014, $17.99, pb, 312pp, 9780989053570 Chicago history enthusiasts will thoroughly enjoy Honor Above All. Set in 1882, it showcases the city eleven years post-fire when architects Adler & Sullivan and Burnham & Root were rethinking its skyline. Garrett Lyons, a Pinkerton detective and ex-Army man, returns to the city with the body of his murdered partner. Determined to avenge his death, he finds himself unwelcome at Pinkertons; Allan Pinkerton has had a heart attack, and his son Bill has his own agenda. Lyons strikes off on his own, accepting solace from Army widow Charlotte Reid, who runs the most popular poker game in town; help from his friend Louis Sullivan; and room and board, as well as oversight of a doomed building project, from his former commanding officer, General Stannard.

Full disclosure: I work as a librarian at the Chicago History Museum, so Chicago history is my business. Bard-Collins gets everything right, from the opulence of the large hotels to the dustiness and grit of the streets. The inclusion of a disgraced state senator returning to public life after imprisonment feels like a nod to Chicago’s long history of political corruption. The book is packed with various aspects of unsavory deeds in 19thcentury Chicago – vandalism on a building site, counterfeit government bonds, and Army coverups. At times, it felt as though a lot of plot lines were juggled, but in the end, I realized that they were skillfully woven together. And, what came through was a zest and appreciation for Chicago, undimmed by the corruption and greed of some characters. This is Bard-Collins’ first book, and I hope the first in a series. I’d love to see Lyons, Reid, Sullivan, et al., again.

Ellen Keith HNR Issue 71, February 2015 | Reviews | 25

JANE AND THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS Stephanie Barron, Soho, 2014, $25.00/£17.99, hb, 200pp, 9781616954239 The book has an enticing cover, which depicts the book very well. The story is set in 1814, and Jane Austen has been invited to spend Christmas with the Chute family at The Vyne. One of the visitors dies in an accident, or is it a case of murder by one of the other guests?

I was drawn into the book immediately, I enjoy crime fiction and historical fiction and this was a perfect match. It kept me hooked all the way through. The language is beautiful, descriptive and well written; it has believable dialogue and vivid descriptions. There were great characters, which were well drawn. The mystery is revealed at a good pace. It had a slow build-up that quickened as the story unfolded, gathering great pace at the end.

There were surprising twists and turn throughout so the book keeps the reader’s interest.

It was lightened by humour along the way, and had a great sense of time and place. Christmas in Regency times was brought vividly to life.

I loved Jane Austen as an amateur detective.

It was an easy read for me, a good book to curl up with at this time of year along with a glass of mulled wine. This is the first book of the series I have read but I will certainly be searching out more.

That said, it also works well as a standalone novel.

A great read!

Barbara Goldie FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE Robert Bausch, Bloomsbury, 2014, $26.00/ C$30.00, hb, 307pp, 9781620402597 In 1876, the Great Sioux War is heating up for a major confrontation between the Indian tribes of the Black Hills and the U.S. Army. Amidst this background, Bobby Hale is caught up in the struggle while traveling west to California.

While trying to find a woman he had befriended on a wagon train heading west, he is hired on as an Army scout. While on a scouting expedition, he mistakenly kills several Indians that were on a peace mission. Discovering his error, he thinks he is now on the run, both from the Sioux and the U.S. Cavalry.

When in hiding, he befriends a mixed-raced Indian woman named Ink. He accidentally shoots her, thinking she was one of the Indians on his trail; he then attempts to find medical aid for her.

To complicate matters even more, Ink is on the run from her Crow husband, who wants her back and is on her trail.

The author captures and accurately describes the American West during this turbulent time in history. The characterizations are excellent, realistic for the time period, and they provide this fast-paced story with drama and excitement.

The mistakes the protagonist continues to make throughout the book make for a compelling read. A difficult book to put down, the story kept me involved from beginning to end. I highly recommend this novel and look forward to reading 26 | Reviews |

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other books by this author.

Jeff Westerhoff DEATH IN PARADISE RAMP Sam Benady and Mary Chiappe, Two Pillars Press, 2014, pb, £9.99, 240pp, 9781919663241 “Ramps” in Gibraltar are steep streets that today are furnished with stone steps, but in 1802 they are still rough and unsurfaced. Workmen clearing away a dilapidated house on Paradise Ramp discover a skeleton in the cellar.

Amateur detective Giovanni Bresciano, who has already starred in five previous Gibraltar-based mysteries, soon finds out whose body it is, and that it was a murder victim. The Town Major, a military officer who is the nearest thing Gibraltar has to a chief of police, has his hands full trying to forestall a possible mutiny by soldiers angry about the closure of most of the town’s drinking dens by the disciplinarian new Governor, the Duke of Kent (the future father of Queen Victoria).

As if murder and mutiny were not trouble enough, Bresciano is dropped in on by two hitherto unheard-of Genoese cousins, who are laying over in Gibraltar on their way to America. The elder, Umberto, thrusts himself into “helping” Bresciano investigate the murder. A certain Captain and Mrs Wickham also appear, which may please or offend fans of Jane Austen (which I’m not).

Tensions are bubbling in several of the families involved, including Bresciano’s own, but a kind of rough justice is arrived at in the end, too rough for Bresciano’s comfort.

I thought the plotting a little less neat than in the other Bresciano novels, but this is a fast and gripping read, which I recommend.

Alan Fisk THE BARCHESTER MURDERS G. M. Best, Buried River Press, 2015, £7.99, pb, 224pp, 9781910208083 Starring the characters from Trollope’s famous Barchester Chronicles, this novel certainly made me wish to re-read the originals to compare different perspectives on characters and events. It is important to stress that it is no way necessary for a reader to have any previous experience with Trollope, as the book is a complete stand-alone.

It may well succeed, however, in awakening your curiosity about the classics behind this novel.

This short tale centres on the mysterious murders of two bedesmen, old men who have been saved from the workhouse by being offered sanctuary in the almshouse known as Hiram’s Hospital. Who could have murdered these old men, who have one foot in the grave anyway? And more importantly, why? Trollope himself becomes involved in tracking down the killer and unearthing a desperate secret from the past, which will change the lives of the two daughters of the Warden, the Rev. Septimus Harding, forever.

The focus is on the characters and action rather than long descriptions of scenery or current events. Key themes are the power of love and the importance of reputation. There are many

twists and turns and more than one red herring.

In conclusion, there is more than enough to keep the reader entertained; however, its brevity means there is perhaps not as much to really sink your teeth into as with longer murder mysteries. Perhaps better to be too short rather than too long, but the ideas and plot deserved more development for me.

Ann Northfield CATTLE KATE Jana Bommersbach, Poisoned Pen Press, 2014, $24.95, hb, 356pp, 9781464203022 On July 20, 1889, 29-year-old Ella Watson died at the end of a rope, for the crime of ‘cattle rustling’, lynched by six cattlemen in an alcoholic rage.

In 1877, Thomas Watson led his family to Lebanon, Kansas to claim land, offered by President Lincoln under the 1862 Homestead Act. Married at 18 to an abusive alcoholic, Ella applied for a divorce and headed west in 1885. In Rawlins, Wyoming she met James Averell, whom she secretly married in order to claim, in her own right, the 160-acre homestead. Ella’s claim bordered that of rich and hostile cattlemen, members of the exclusive Wyoming Stock Growers Association, who weren’t happy to have their roving herds hemmed in by the barbed wire of some upstart homesteader. The fact that Ella didn’t pack up and leave, despite huge obstacles placed in her way and repeated harassment, is a testament to her strength of character.

I was captivated by the introduction to Ella, her life flashing before her eyes. Her voice sang out to me from the first page. Poignantly and descriptively told with diary-like charm, her story is difficult to put down. With descriptions of her early childhood in Ontario, Ella weaves an irresistible tale of 19thcentury frontier life – an arduous life of constant hardship – one which Ella relished. She was an avid reader and a superb cook, and we learn of her deep love for James, her generosity of spirit, her pride in her claim and her diligence in ‘proving’ (improving) it according to the Act. Her tragic end and the subsequent press smear campaign are a travesty of justice which the author works passionately to dispel, providing the reader with fascinating endnotes on her extensive research. Can she exonerate Ella of history’s damming reputation as a ‘cattlerustler’? I believe she can. Recommended.

Fiona Alison ROGUE SPY Joanna Bourne, Berkley Sensation, 2014, $7.99, pb, 314pp, 9780425260821 I feel I should lead with a disclaimer: This is the first ever romance novel – historical or otherwise – that I have read. However, I have heard Joanna Bourne’s name frequently and thought I’d give her latest a try.

During the years after the French Revolution, Camille Leyland is wrenched from her tranquil life with the “Fluffy Aunts” – English code breakers – by a blackmailed threat. Thomas Paxton is in London trying to prove his loyalty to the country he once spied upon. The two of them are forced 19th Century

back into the dark, murky realm of spies to uncover what the blackmailer truly wants from Camille.

Joanna Bourne’s writing is crisp, witty, and begs you to read more. Her London is a place you can smell off the pages, and her characters are taut, meticulously defined, and sexual, but not overtly; there is a subtlety to their lusts and desires. What kept my interest was the spy vs. spy aspect that Bourne handles with aplomb. As someone who stepped into the 5th book of the series, I felt a bit out of sorts with its interconnectedness, but not enough to feel that I was aimlessly wandering through this book. It stands alone well despite having characters from the previous novels. I can see why Joanna Bourne has a devoted following. A good read.

Bryan Dumas

the rough life on the fringes of humanity, both the physical elements – told through the interaction of the fur trade – as well as the emotional – the relationships forged by the men in the companies.

Shannon Burke holds the reader’s attention through suspenseful moments and gut-wrenching emotions. The writing is crisp and the storytelling sharp. Though Burke takes some liberties with historical figures by placing them where they never trod, it only adds to the richness of this book. This is as much a book about life in the West as it is about the way the wilds of the West transformed the people in it. Fans of early American and Western history should not miss this book, but anyone who is looking for a tightly told tale should put this on their to-read list.

Bryan Dumas

I’VE GOT MY DUKE TO KEEP ME WARM Kelly Bowen, Forever, 2014, $6.00/C$7.00, pb, 352pp, 9781455583812 For reasons of their own, both James Montcrief and Gisele Whitby are incognito; James is wallowing in liquor and self-pity in the aftermath of his brother’s death at Waterloo, and Gisele has escaped an abusive marriage by engineering her own supposed death four years earlier. Now the evil Marquess of Valence is set to take another unsuspecting heiress to his brutal marital bed, and Gisele is not about to let that happen. Jamie is hired to seduce, or otherwise engage, the brideto-be, so that the Marquess will lose interest, but even Jamie’s talents aren’t up to the task. Gisele is forced to come up with another plan, one which endangers her own life and those around her.

This is a fairly stereotypical modern Regency romance, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a well-written story, an interesting plot, engaging characters, witty and satirical repartee and some steamy love scenes between Jamie and Gisele. I particularly liked Sebastien, the craftily inventive valet. Regency enthusiasts will be waiting impatiently for more from this debut novelist.

Fiona Alison

THE SETTLING EARTH Rebecca Burns, Odyssey Books, 2014, Au$18.95/$15.95, pb, 128pp, 9781922200167 Here, Ms. Burns presents a collection of short stories, each one featuring a British émigré that must grapple with the harsh realities of a new life in the foreign world of colonial New Zealand. Each story provides the next link in the chain that binds these characters together. Stories of loss, sadness, fear, violence, and hope mingle to illuminate the arduous road these characters are traveling. On the journey we meet a bewildered wife far from home, a prostitute who works to support her illegitimate child, a temperance advocate who rethinks her life, a woman who commits infanticide to survive, and hardened men who must scratch out a living amidst the barren landscape. The land, Auckland society, cultural morals, survival, and the mixing of native and colonial populations are all explored here. The last story in the book is authored by Shelly Davies and provides a Maori’s perspective of the British colonization of the land.

Haunting, sometimes disturbing, the stories are deeply personal and incredibly moving. It is effortless to feel the characters’ pain, fear, and will to survive, and I found myself flying through the pages to learn more about each one. Oftentimes, the ties that bind the characters are not immediately apparent, so you need to be especially attentive to catch the connections. My only complaint is that each story is only a fleeting glimpse of each person’s life, and I often felt adrift when a chapter concluded, knowing that I would never learn what paths the characters ultimately chose. This is a riveting, emotional tale of survival in an alien land.

Its themes linger long after you have turned the last page.

Rebecca Henderson Palmer

INTO THE SAVAGE COUNTRY Shannon Burke, Pantheon, 2015, $24.95, hb, 272pp, 9780307908933 William Wyeth cannot get the itch to explore out of his system. “I craved the forest and woods and the vast, wild spaces.” Into the Savage Country follows Wyeth’s exploits into the furthest boundaries of the American West during the 1820s. He joins a fur company and gets injured during a buffalo roundup. While healing at a Fort he falls in love with the widow Alene, who accepts his marriage proposal provided he doesn’t stay out in the wild more than one season. Wyeth sets off on one last adventure not knowing if she will wait or not. Deep in Crow territory, Wyeth and the trapping company find themselves in an international border dispute with the British, held captive by the Spanish and at war with the native tribes.

Into The Savage Country is a remarkable story of 19th Century

WITH EVERY BREATH Elizabeth Camden, Bethany House, 2014, $14.99, pb, 358pp, 9780764211744 In Washington, DC, in 1891, when Kate Livingston is asked to apply for a hospital position, she jumps at the chance, even if the position is located in an experimental tuberculosis clinic.

When she arrives, Kate discovers the clinic

is operated by her childhood nemesis Trevor McDonough. The last time Kate saw Trevor, he robbed her of her only chance to go to college.

Secretive and haughty, Trevor runs the clinic with funds from his own pocket. Kate loathes him, and yet she cannot pass up such an opportunity. The more Kate watches Trevor treat his patients, the more she grows to admire and love him, but when a mysterious opponent attempts to discredit Trevor, Kate must uncover Trevor’s past if there is any chance for a future together.

The story is filled with nuggets about tuberculosis and its late 19th-century treatments. The theme of the aloof hero with a hidden heart of gold seems a little tired, however. The argument that drives the pair apart and Kate’s sudden epiphany about God’s plan both feel contrived. Much stronger for its tuberculosis storyline than its romance, in this novel the bravery of those striving to find a cure for a hopeless disease is what lingers most.

Rebecca Henderson Palmer

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THE BREWER OF PRESTON Andrea Camilleri, Penguin, 2014, $15.00/ C$17.00, pb, 245pp, 9780143121497 Camilleri, a bestselling author in Italy and Germany, is the author of the Inspector Montalbano mystery series and historical novels set in 19th-century Sicily, such as this latest comic story.

Although recently unified, Italy in the 19th century is a country where ancient allegiances to local states and provinces remain strong. This is especially true in Sicily, where the residents of Vigata are suspicious and resentful of the civil authorities overseeing their affairs, pompous men from the mainland. The citizens rail against their “outsider” prefect when he decrees that an obscure opera, “The Brewer of Preston,” be performed at the opening of the town’s brand-new opera house.

Worse, he demands that every citizen attend and plans on arresting anyone that leaves the performance. In a town where opera is religion, the prefect’s high-handedness is not appreciated.

Set against the background of the preparation for the opera buffo, the people of Vigata engage in their own farcical soap opera – their lives. There is the illicit love affair initiated through sign language between the widow Lo Russo and one-eyed Gaspano. Don Memé, the local Mafioso, deals out justice as he sees fit, school headmaster Carnazza goes missing, a German fireman invents a modern fire pump, and a Roman follower of Mazzini plots to burn down the opera house.

Camilleri’s humor is razor-sharp, as is his portrayal of Sicilian life at the time. His masterful juxtaposition of the opera on stage with that of the one being enacted in life drives the story forward with wit and style. This novel is sure to gain the HNR Issue 71, February 2015 | Reviews | 27

author a larger following among American readers and is highly recommended.

John Kachuba

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THE STRANGLER VINE M. J. Carter, Putnam, 2015, $26.95/C$31.00, hb, 384pp, 9780399171673 / Penguin, 2014, £7.99, pb, 352pp, 9780241966556 It is 1837, and the British East India Company is the overlord of Indian politics. Ensign William Avery is a British officer in Calcutta awaiting his next assignment to a cavalry unit. While unassigned, he is ordered to accompany a former English officer who has “gone native,” Jeremiah Blake, to search for a famous writer, Xavier Mountstuart, who has disappeared. During their expedition into India’s interior, they get caught up with the Thuggee cult, a group of secret killers that is being earmarked for extinction by Major Sleeman in Jubbulpore. Soon Avery doesn’t know who he can trust to complete his mission. Blake is not forthcoming with information, and he is becoming suspicious of Major Sleeman and his treatment of the native population.

This novel is the author’s first attempt at fiction, and she has written an exciting tale of conspiracy and betrayal that is both compelling and gripping.

The images presented show a country strangled by the East India Company, just like the local strangler vine chokes off the growth of local trees in the jungle.

I found the writing immensely readable and rich in historical detail. This interesting blend of history and mystery has been well researched; the author does a masterful job of drawing readers into Indian culture and politics of the 1830s. I can’t recommend this book too highly.

Jeff Westerhoff SNOW WHITE RED-HANDED: A Fairy Tale Fatal Mystery Maia Chance, Berkley, 2014, $7.99/C$9.99, pb, 328pp, 9780425271629 1867. When American actresses Ophelia Flax and Prue Bright lose their jobs en route to Europe, they scramble for employment and are hired as maids by the newly-wedded millionaire Coops.

They travel with the couple to the Coops’ recently purchased castle in Germany’s Black Forest, where two scholarly fairy tale experts investigate a small building on the Coops’ land that may have been the ancient home of Snow White and the seven dwarfs. Gold is in the dirt by the cottage and in a ceiling beam that is soon stolen. When Mr. Coop is murdered and Prue blamed, Ophelia teams up with Professor Penrose to acquit Prue and discover the truth behind the fairy tale relics.

Snow White Red-Handed is a fun story. The 28 | Reviews |

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murder mystery is complex as no character is exactly who s/he claims to be. The fairy tale components are delightful. Ophelia is clever and spunky; Prue is a lovable dingbat; Penrose is a sexy investigative partner. The romances follow chaste Victorian standards, allowing for development in future editions of the series, which I look forward to reading.

Elizabeth Caulfield Felt MRS. GRANT AND MADAME JULE Jennifer Chiaverini, Dutton, 2015, $26.95/$31.00, hb, 352pp, 9780525954293 When Ulysses S. Grant courted Miss Julia Dent from a Missouri slave-owning family, he was fresh from West Point and soon to be embroiled in the Mexican-American War. Years passed before they were able to marry, and when they set off to start a family, Julia was saddened to learn that her handmaid, a slave named Jule, would be unable to join them. Grant’s Ohio family were staunch abolitionists, and Grant—though he loved his wife very much—found her opinions on slavery to be perhaps the one flaw in their otherwise happy marriage. Events, however, necessitated Jule’s accompaniment when Grant became the up-andcoming commander of the Union army, making Julia an unwitting laughingstock among their acquaintances.

This novel is a split-narrative and features chapters from Mrs. Grant and Madame Jule. The character of Julia is something of an enigma. She continually either puts Jule in her place or worries about her when she’s at home in Missouri. She’s wise and unbiased when dealing with the wives of other officers, Union and Rebel alike. Her loyalty lies with her husband and the Union cause, but she cannot see past her upbringing when it comes to the issue of slavery. When President Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, Jule must make the decision of staying with the only family she’s ever known, or venturing out on her own as a free woman.

I found this read tremendously detailed, perhaps overly so, though well-written. I wasn’t quite taken with the characters, as Julia has a slightly peevish personality, and Jule wasn’t well-fleshed, seeming too educated at times for someone in her position.

The war details bog down the underlying story with perhaps every military and political move Grant ever made described, although this should appeal to readers who enjoy lengthy war novels.

Arleigh Johnson TRIED & TRUE Mary Connealy, Bethany House, 2014, $14.99, pb, 320pp, 9780764211782 As is usual with a Connealy novel, this first book in her Wild at Heart series has an engaging plot and plenty of humor, but the most satisfying element is the subplot that addresses the hatred that divided the country after the American Civil War. In 1866 the three Wilde sisters, Kylie, Shannon and Bailey, are living as men, a subterfuge that

began during the war when they fought for the Union. In order to receive the homesteading credits they earned as veterans, the women simply continued the pretense and claimed land near the town of Aspen Ridge in the Idaho Territory.

Although Kylie, the youngest, longs to set aside her britches and return to civilized life, she dreads the consequences when the local land agent, Aaron Masterson, discovers her secret. Aaron, who has fled west to escape the devastation wrought to his home in West Virginia, wants nothing of civilization, including a wife.

There are editing problems that mar the excellence of this novel (for example, a character that steps out of a house twice in the same scene).

Nevertheless, this is one of Connealy’s most powerful works, and I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

Nancy J. Attwell LUCY LIED M. J. Daspit, Fireship, 2014, $16.50, pb, 331pp, 9781611793215 Monterey, California in the 1870s is an untamed place, and when Flynn Talbott is found with his skull smashed in, nobody is sorry that the brawling farmer was killed. On the other hand, a culprit must be found, and suspicion falls on Lucy Strang, Talbott’s common-law wife.

Lucy cannot speak on her behalf, for she is mute.

However, she testifies with nods that she cannot remember the day her “husband” died. Doctor Jason Garrett asks her to reenact the killing, but when she tries, he demonstrates that Lucy would have dislocated her shoulder in the effort. Doctor Garrett knows this because he had already treated Lucy after Talbott beat her and wrenched her shoulder from its socket. The young woman is exonerated, and Doctor Garrett begins to court her despite their age difference. At the same time, he is fascinated by her muteness, believing it stems from some sort of psychic trauma. Can he cure Lucy, and is there truth to the suspicions in town that Lucy is not as mute as she seems?

M. J. Daspit presents readers with a delicious historical mystery in Lucy Lied. Daspit’s cast of characters is complex and colorful, yet believable in this Larry McMurtry visits Cannery Row mashup, and they cross and double-cross each other with ease. Steinbeck fans aren’t the only readers who will love this book’s atmosphere, and I heartily recommend Lucy Lied to everyone.

Jo Ann Butler A BRIDE FOR A SEASON Jennifer Delamere, Forever, 2014, $8.00/C$9.00, pb, 416pp, 9781455518913 Reformed rake James Simpson must find a husband for his fiancée’s older sister or else forfeit the dowry he desperately needs. This task is not easy because Miss Lucinda Cardington is recognized by all of London society as a spinster-in-training who has as little interest in matrimony as she has in polite conversation. When James starts to spend time with Lucinda he is stunned to discover that 19th Century

she is a fascinating young woman who enjoys discussing politics, science, and photography. Not many days pass before he realizes that he has betrothed himself to the wrong sister.

This delightful Victorian romance (set in 1853) concludes Delamere’s Love’s Grace Trilogy yet can just as easily be enjoyed on its own, independent of the series. There is something in this story that is reminiscent of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, including the complexity of the characters and the amusing resolution of the plot. Wellwritten, sweet, passionate and fun—and all that without a single scene of graphic love!—A Bride for the Season is a most enjoyable read.

Nancy J. Attwell PRICE OF PRIVILEGE Jessica Dotta, Tyndale, 2015, $14.99, pb, 464pp, 978141437577 Julia Elliston, having finally married Edward Auburn, her childhood sweetheart and the vicar of their small English village, is ecstatic. Her elation upon believing that her earlier woes are behind her is short lived, however. Upon learning of her past, Edward’s landed gentry parents don’t even wish to see her, and while Edward receives odd looks from the servants, his parishioners pelt him. Fearing that Julia might be abducted by her intimidator, Chance Macy, the newlyweds flee to London.

Nevertheless, Julia’s attempt at holding a secret related to her earlier life with Macy proves to be challenging, and the “scandal of the century” breaks loose. In posh drawing rooms, Julia becomes the talk of after-dinner conversations. Seeking revenge, Macy changes tactics. His masterful manipulation of events leads to a most provocative case of marital law to be petitioned before the English court.

When, to make matters worse, public opinion sways in Macy’s favor, Julia has to muster all her courage to contest the trial of her life, and pay the price of privilege.

This novel, like the others in the series by Jessica Dotta, not only has a true-to-life feel, but also a touch of the Regency and Victorian-era classics.

These features make the narrative all the more enthralling. It’s no wonder, for in online interviews (with Reading the Past and the Southern Literary Review), Dotta has confided developing her heroine Julia’s mindset from areas of her own past and personal life, and the plot from her love of reading novels by the Brontë sisters and others. This is indeed a dark romance told brilliantly in Julia’s amiable first-person voice, much like Jane Eyre’s.

Although Dotta has included much backstory in this, the final book of the trilogy, readers who have read the earlier novels will enjoy the story even more, particularly the dramatic conclusion. Highly recommended.

Waheed Rabbani THE GLASSBLOWER Petra Durst-Benning (trans. Samuel Willcocks), AmazonCrossing, 2014, $14.95, pb, 494pp, 9781477820278 The Glassblower is the first book in a trilogy 19th Century

telling the story of three sisters in the tiny village of Lauscha, Germany in the 19th century who are left to make their way in the world after the death of their beloved father. The eldest, Johanna, seeks her fortune working in a larger town; Ruthie, the middle daughter, believes she’ll find happiness through marriage into a prominent local family; while the baby, Marie, secretly turns her love of art into a trade forbidden to women: glassblowing.

After misfortune throws the sisters back together again, they band together to survive in this renegade trade whether their neighbors approve or not.

While it’s refreshing to see historical fiction set in a new location, especially among a trade traditionally associated with Venice, the interesting premise wasn’t enough to make me be able to recommend this book. It’s not a bad story, but the first three-fourths are slow and heavy on backstory and domestic and sexual violence, all of which do little to develop the characters. Had the story started with Marie discovering her glassblowing talent, I would have been hooked. But that doesn’t come until close to the end. As a result, I don’t care enough about the characters or their lives to continue reading the series.

Nicole Evelina FOR ELISE Sarah M. Eden, Covenant Communications, 2014, $15.99, pb, 259pp, 9781621087878 Miles Linwood and Elise Furlong were childhood best friends. Growing up on neighboring estates, in comfortable luxury, they spent many treasured and halcyon days together and became inseparable. Then one day Elise suddenly disappeared. Miles searched everywhere for her but she simply could not be found, or perhaps did not wish to be. It was as though she no longer existed!

Some years later Miles returns to England from the West Indies upon learning he has inherited a distant cousin’s title and fortune. En route to the estate with his sister and brother-in-law, they stop in a small village for repairs to the carriage. Here Miles stumbles across a young woman who looks exactly like Elise, but when he tries to make contact with her he discovers she is a very different person from the one he had known. What has happened in those intervening years, and why is Elise so afraid to give up her secret?

This is as much a mystery as a traditional “clean” Regency romance. The plot is well developed, the characters are people to care about, and their foibles and flaws are things easy to relate to. Care is taken with mannerisms, dialogue, and costume as befits the period, in a time of fastidious English classconsciousness. The mystery is not immediately obvious, which is a pleasant change in this genre.

Jane Austen would, no doubt, tip her bonnet to this master of Regency romance, and fans of Sarah Eden will not be disappointed.

Fiona Alison THINGS HALF IN SHADOW Alan Finn, Gallery, 2015, $16.00/C$18.99, hb, 448pp, 9781476761725

Philadelphia in 1869 is feeling the aftereffects of the American Civil War. Through spiritualism, wives and mothers are trying to contact their lost husbands and sons. Edward Clark is a crime reporter for the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin.

His editor decides to assign him the task of investigating local séances held throughout the city and uncover and report on fraudulent mediums.

While working on this assignment, he befriends a deceptive medium named Mrs. Collins. When they attend a séance of a popular spiritualist, Lenora Grimes Pastor, the medium dies.

Blackmailed by Mrs. Collins, who has learned of his hidden past (and who also has a secret past), he is forced to investigate the death, which puts a strain on his relationship with his rich fiancée, Violet Willoughby. He soon finds himself the target of a mysterious “man with no nose” who tries to stop him from getting too far into the investigation.

The novel blends the history of Philadelphia after the war with the mystic world of ghosts and spiritualism. I found the storyline exciting, with drama that resulted in a solidly paced and engaging story. The steady unraveling of the mysterious death of the medium, along with the mystery of Clark’s and Collins’ past, was genuinely gripping. I recommend this book to those who enjoy mystery and suspense with a touch of the supernatural, and I can’t wait for the author’s next book in the series.

Jeff Westerhoff LOVE’S FORTUNE (The Ballantyne Legacy, Book 3) Laura Frantz, Revell, 2014, $14.99, pb, 400pp, 9780800720438 Rowena Ballantyne, nicknamed “Wren,” has been raised in Kentucky by her widowed father, far removed from his affluent family. When Wren’s father is asked to return home, Wren is thrust into the entirely new world of 1850s Pittsburgh, where she rubs elbows with Mellons, Fricks, and other prestigious families. There, she meets James Sackett, head pilot of the Ballantyne steamship line, who uses his trips downriver to secretly rescue fleeing slaves. Once at the Ballantyne estate of New Hope (not to be confused with New Hope, Pennsylvania), Wren is thrust into a debut season, with James as her escort, where she is asked to take her place in this foreign way of life.

Each chapter has a quote, which nicely sets the tone. The beginning, which takes place in Kentucky, seems overly folksy at first, which can make it challenging. The abolitionist subplot was intriguing but underused, I thought, until it reappears at the very end of the book. Just when you expect Wren to get the reward she deserves, the ending is unnecessarily drawn-out. This is a simple, feel-good love story of a fish out of water, struggling to find her footing.

Rebecca Henderson Palmer

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CONVERSATIONS WITH BEETHOVEN Sandford Friedman, New York Review Books, HNR Issue 71, February 2015 | Reviews | 29

2014, $16.95, pb, 285pp, 9781590177624 Toward the end of his life, Beethoven was deaf and plagued by illness. In order to communicate with him, family, friends, and acquaintances were required to write their sides of conversations in a notebook, which the great Maestro would read and then shout his replies (he was often asked to lower his voice).

In this fictional account, told through notebook entries, the reader is able to obtain a remarkably comprehensive sense of the content of these “conversations.” Despite the one-sided nature of the accounts of the conversations, Beethoven’s replies come through loud and clear.

What develops is an extraordinarily rich portrait of the artist and his struggles with his health, music, family, and friends. Most engrossing is the relationship between Beethoven and his treasured nephew, Karl, who buckles under his uncle’s need for control. As Karl attempts to assert himself and establish a life of his own, Beethoven becomes more cantankerous and manipulative. With his health beginning to decline, Beethoven is bedridden and no longer able to compose. Visited by a host of doctors, he is given additional targets to focus his frustrations on, but is still primarily consumed with his overly protective worries regarding Karl.

At times laugh-out-loud funny and yet surprisingly poignant, Friedman’s novel is truly unlike any other, creating the experience of eavesdropping on the most intimate conversations.

Despite the rather lengthy list of “speakers” (Friedman prefaces the book with a guide to the characters), the reader is never overwhelmed or lost. Characters enter and exit conversations, even interrupting each other, yet are still easily understood. A remarkable book, highly recommended.

Janice Derr THE MILL GIRL Rosie Goodwin, Corsair, 2014, £19.99, hb, 437pp, 9781472101747 In 1850s Warwickshire, Maryann Meadows expects to spend her working life in one of the local mills. But when the death of her parents leaves her homeless, she accepts a position as nanny to Fleur, the ‘imbecile’ daughter of mill-owner Wesley Marshall. Maryann’s sister, Violet, yearns for a life of luxury, and is lured to London to work as a prostitute; brother Benny also works for Marshall at Windy Manor and falls in love with the disabled servant, Cissie. Maryann believes she is in love with Toby, a miner, but becomes increasingly conflicted as she grows more attached to both young Fleur and her father.

Marshall’s harsh sister, Florence, and her conniving maid, Miss Lord, plot to gain control of the estate, while keeping the details of their visits to London secret. Toby’s 30 | Reviews |

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dishonest and violent brother, Hugo, seeks to benefit from his clandestine relationship with Florence, and provokes tragedy. Violet is briefly reunited with her family, and Maryann must confront her true feelings for her employer.

The novel provides a credible and entertaining story of the lives of a working-class family where the community revolves around the mill, the mine and the manor. Maryann is a strong, likeable heroine, and although we can guess that she will end up with Wesley Marshall, the course of true love runs far from smooth. It is inferred that little Fleur has Down’s Syndrome, and her character is depicted with sensitivity, as is that of Cissie, who is also disabled. The cast of characters is well-drawn, with a strong sense of family love and loyalty.

My only doubt was the final act of heroism by Maryann’s childhood sweetheart, Toby. Otherwise, it is another well-paced and enjoyable read from Rosie Goodwin.

Claire Thurlow THE GRAND DUCHESS OF NOWHERE Laurie Graham, Quercus, 2014, £19.99, hb, 328pp, 9781782069706 This is the fictional memoir of the real-life Princess Victoria Melita (better known as Ducky), granddaughter of both Queen Victoria and Tsar Alexander III of Russia. Her story spans the last years of the 19th century and the tumultuous opening decades of the 20th and gives a vivid insight into the doomed royal houses of Europe, blissfully unaware of the world changing around them. Dynastic matchmaking leaves Ducky unhappily married to a man who cannot truly love her. Scandal, tragedy and divorce follow before she is reunited with the love of her life, her cousin, Cyril Romanov.

Although evocative of time and place, the story can feel episodic, and the pace flags midway. The family tree was essential to keep track of who was related to who, and a map or two might have been helpful. However, Ducky’s return to Russia heightens the tension and puts her at the heart of political intrigue, personal tragedy, war and revolution. The familiar figures of Nicolas and Alexandra, their children, and the shadowy “holy man”, Rasputin, come to the fore. Our own hindsight lends poignancy to Ducky’s partial account to events.

Ducky’s particular voice is the star quality in this novel. She has a wry observance, a keen eye and some less likeable traits. In her gilded world, she cannot understand why protestors should take to the streets or soldiers mutiny. The war is almost a game, revolution an inconvenience, and we know, and as she comes to realise, that there can be no happy endings.

This is ultimately a very moving book, and I would recommend it.

Mary Seeley CRIMSON ANGEL: A Benjamin January Historical Mystery Barbara Hambly, Severn House, 2014,

$29.99/£18.99, hb, 256pp, 9780727884275 In 1838 New Orleans, Benjamin January, a freed slave and Paris-trained surgeon, is having to survive as a musician. However, life takes a turn for Benjamin when his wife Rose’s white half-brother, Jeoff, comes calling with an offer to participate in a treasure hunt. He claims to have discovered clues to his family’s heirlooms hidden at their former estate in Haiti; the family had had to flee the island following the slaves’ bloody uprising. Benjamin is reluctant to accept Jeoff ’s proposal. However, when Jeoff is mysteriously murdered and Rose is attacked, Benjamin enlists the help of a white fellow musician friend. To resolve matters, they embark on a trip that takes them to Grand Isle, Cuba, and Haiti.

Although the thirteenth novel of Barbra Hambly’s series, this reads like a standalone, for all the necessary backstory is dexterously interwoven.

The story’s historical antebellum period is portrayed vividly. The delicate race relations are dramatized like in a screenplay. Benjamin’s skills, not only as a physician but also as a scholar, are amply demonstrated. For instance, when he is washed ashore in Haiti, he appropriately recites Shakespeare: “What country, friends, is this?”

Furthermore, the mystery aspects of the plot will keep readers engrossed up to the end.

Waheed Rabbani THE SECOND WAR OF REBELLION Katie Hanrahan, Newcastlewest Books, 2014, $14.95, pb, 215pp, 9789983819585 This novel is a sequel to The Liberty Flower.

The heroine is Madeleine Beauchamp Ashford, a twelve-year-old orphan. As the story opens, Maddie is a much-indulged “wild” child. Her stepfather is coming to take her to his home in England, far from her grandparents’ plantation in South Carolina where she was raised. Her grandfather makes a bargain with Jack as to Maddie’s future life, particularly that she be emancipated on her eighteenth birthday. Maddie grows up to be a beautiful, popular young woman.

Life should progress smoothly from here; however, Jack has chosen to disregard Maddie’s grandfather’s specific request, resulting in trouble and misery.

The Second War of Rebellion is set in the early 19th century. The plot is complicated by torn loyalties, the characters are one-dimensional, and Miss Hanrahan’s style is a bit disjointed. While an interesting story, comprehension might be enhanced by reading the first book.

Audrey Braver

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WHO BURIES THE DEAD C. S. Harris, NAL, 2015, $25.95, hb, 352pp, 9780451417565 Set in 1813, this latest installment in the Lord Devlin series is a dandy! Devlin, aka Sebastian St. Cyr, is drawn to investigate a vicious crime – the murder/decapitation of a wealthy, socially ambitious man who owns a plantation in Jamaica and collects oddities. At the crime scene is left a coffin strap bearing the inscription “King Charles, 19th Century

1648” – but what is the message? And where did the murderer get that infamous coffin strap?

As the death toll rises, Devlin and his wife, Hero, find themselves drawn into a powder keg of intrigue, involving everyone from the Home Secretary to Jane Austen (yes, that Jane Austen) to Devlin’s greatest nemesis, responsible for almost destroying Devlin during wartime. But now the stakes are even higher than before: Devlin and Hero have a baby son they have to protect.

Harris is one of the best historical mystery writers I’ve read, capturing the reader’s interest and imagination from the first page. Devlin is a magnificent creation, moving through Georgian London from its glitzy Mayfair balls to its seedy Fish Street underbelly fearlessly and with steely determination. He is going to find the killer, and he’ll survive to tell the tale. A most enjoyable read – and it can be read out of sequence.

Ilysa Magnus

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SISTERS OF SHILOH Kathy & Becky Hepinstall, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015, $24.00, hb, 256pp, 9780544400009 Josephine and Libby Beale, teenage sisters in Winchester, Virginia, are devoted to each other until a stranger intrudes. When Arden Tanner befriends 13-year-old Libby, her older sister Josephine can’t help feeling jealous. By the time Libby and Arden wed, Josephine’s jealousy has ripened to hatred. A month later the Civil War breaks out; Arden joins the Confederate Army and is assigned to Stonewall Jackson’s brigade.

Sharpsburg, Maryland is only a day’s ride away. When Libby hears that Stonewall’s brigade fought a ferocious battle with the Yankees there, she rides north to look for Arden. Josephine goes with her, not to save her detested brother-inlaw, but to protect her distraught sister. Josephine locates Arden first, but he is horrifically mutilated.

Libby finds him dead at her sister’s side, his blood still fresh.

Now it is Libby’s turn to hate. She hacks off her hair, dons her husband’s clothes, and swears to kill 21 Yankees – one for each year of Arden’s life.

Once more Josephine accompanies her younger sister, this time to keep 21 Yankees from killing her.

Though the recruiter is skeptical that they are old enough, the pair join Jackson’s brigade as cousins Joseph and Thomas Holden.

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Sisters of Shiloh is an unsparing, bloody, emotional tour-de-force. With Kathy’s experience as a bestselling author and Becky’s history degree, the Hepinstalls are a highly effective writing team.

They present lucky readers with a tale of love and hate, vengeance and devotion, and the darkest secrets imaginable. Highly recommended for all.

Jo Ann Butler THE SEASON OF MIGRATION Nellie Hermann, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2015, $26.00/C$29.99, hb, 256pp, 9780374255473 Images of sunflowers, of a starry night, or irises are often associated with Vincent van Gogh; sadly, mental instability and a damaged ear also belong to his myth. Before he painted these iconic images, van Gogh was a peripatetic art dealer/teacher/ preacher, as unlucky in love as he was in finding a profession. What changed? Nellie Hermann explores the ten-month period when van Gogh and brother Theo had an uncharacteristic silence between them—between 14 August 1879 and 22 June 1880—into which Hermann imagines an emotional, spiritual, and psychological journey that profoundly changes van Gogh’s world view. During this period, van Gogh worked as a pastor among the miners in a poor area of Belgium known as the Borinage. It is amongst these hard-working people, who daily face the oppressive and dangerous confines of the mine, that van Gogh connects with the laboring class (later the subject of many of his paintings) and undergoes a spiritual epiphany that awakens his artistic impulses.

Hermann uses alternating first-person and third-person points of view to both delve into Vincent’s subjective viewpoint and to create a more reliable narrative. The present, in the narrative, can be found in the third-person point of view chapters, following Vincent’s painful walk from the Borinage to Paris and Theo. The chapters containing his unmailed letters to Theo reveal his growing closeness to the Borinage miners and a young female miner, Angeline. This intensely psychological and spiritual journey is beautifully written with many allusions to the artworks that were thought to have inspired Vincent’s own work.

The Season of Migration is an intensely satisfying journey of an artistic spirit who must break free of the shackles of other people’s expectations to find his own passion.

Terri Baker BONE DIGGER Douglas Hirt, Five Star, 2015, $25.95, hb, 158pp, 9781432829612 In 1877 paleontology has thrust its way into popular notice, and the Bone Wars have begun.

Gilded Age museums at Yale and Philadelphia compete hotly for eye-popping dinosaur skeletons, and their field crews scatter across the west, searching hillsides and badlands for Jurassic monsters.

Chad Larimer is foreman of the Rocking S Ranch, and takes a dim view of stock rustlers or trespassers. When he finds a stranger chiseling

away at the rocky uplands of his Colorado ranch, he thinks the man who describes himself as a scientist has found a bunch of dry cow bones. The paleontologist – who looks more like Ichabod Crane than Indiana Jones – wins the cowboy’s trust by showing him a leg bone eight feet long, and turned to stone. When Larimer saves the scientist from an ambush, it’s clear that there are men who will stop at nothing to steal those ancient critters.

Douglas Hirt’s Bone Digger is a quick but entertaining read for lovers of western tales. If the Bone Wars intrigue you, Bone Digger gives you a cowboy’s-eye view.

Jo Ann Butler MORIARTY Anthony Horowitz, Harper, 2014, $26.99, hb, 304pp, 9780062377180 / Orion, 2014, £19.99, hb, 320pp, 9781409109471 Sherlock Holmes’ untimely death as he wrestled his arch-nemesis, Moriarty, at Reichenbach Falls stunned the civilized world. Although faithfully recorded as “The Final Problem” by his griefstricken friend and chronicler, Dr. James Watson, not everyone could accept this verdict of the ensuing investigation. Frederick Chase of the famous Pinkerton Detective Agency in New York regards the recorded events as suspicious. Narrating his tale on his trusty Remington typewriter, he relates his encounter with Scotland Yard inspector Athelney Jones (who figured in a previous Holmes case), who has found what appears to be the body of Moriarty himself, decidedly dead. Instead of relief, both men realize this creates a chance for another villain to fill the gap left by Moriarty – and Jones has a lead on who that person is. As both men risk their lives searching for this suspect, Clarence Devereux, whom they believe disposed of Moriarty, several surprises await them as villains crop up and are disposed of.

This novel is a literary roller coaster gone wild. Clues, red herrings and the offspring of red herrings abound, and the conclusion will leave readers gasping with admiration or protesting “it cannot be true!”. The writing is excellent, yet the pace of the story has moved from the sinister calm of Watson’s Victorian era to the edge of the reader’s seat in the current day.

Tess Heckel A BRIDE IN STORE Melissa Jagears, Bethany House, 2014, $14.99, pb, 363pp, 9780764211690 Mail-order bride Eliza Cantrell has a talent for storekeeping in 1881 Kansas. But will her fiancé Axel still want her when she arrives penniless and wounded after her train is robbed? Axel is strangely missing, but his partner in the store, Will Stanton, has had some medical experience.

He stitches Eliza’s face and helps her find a place to live. Eliza longs to help Will in return, as his merchant skills are a bit lacking. Will believes storekeeping is a lesser evil than trying to become a full-fledged doctor, because he thinks his medical mistakes caused his little sister’s illness. Then Axel HNR Issue 71, February 2015 | Reviews | 31

reappears, and Eliza prepares to marry him, until a shocking secret is revealed at the altar.

Will and Eliza are interesting characters, and I liked learning about 1880s storekeeping. Yet the book would be better if less time had been spent on Will’s and Eliza’s continuous heart-burnings about why they are not worthy of each other. Some tension between a central couple in an inspirational romance is good, but there was about 50 pages too much of it, dragging the story to a halt in places.

Jagears includes a discussion guide tied to specific Bible verses.

B.J. Sedlock DESTINY’S CAPTIVE Beverly Jenkins, Avon, 2014, $7.99/C$9.99, pb, 368pp, 9780062231123 As a young man Noah Yates, the handsome son of a privileged family, endured capture, slavery, and forced piracy. He loves the sea; the only place he feels at peace is on his ship, the Alanza. Pilar Banderas, revolutionary and pirate, has to fight for every morsel of food she brings to her family.

Her greatest dream is freedom from Spanish rule for her beloved Cuba. She kidnaps Noah and steals the Alanza to run guns to her comrades.

Opposites attract, and when Pilar is threatened with imprisonment for her crimes, Noah helps her flee Cuba. They escape to California and the safety of Noah’s family ranch, where their attraction turns to love.

It should come as no surprise that Beverly Jenkins is a nominee for the NAACP Image Award for Literature, and the winner of a host of other awards. Destiny’s Captive, the last book in her Destiny trilogy, is a fast-paced historical romance set in the Caribbean and California after the American Civil War. Throughout, Jenkins presents the evils of slavery and the poor treatment of people of color, though she avoids preaching.

One of the most memorable scenes has Noah and Pilar traveling across the southern U.S. in a filthy livestock-filled cattle car, the only transportation available to people of color, no matter how wealthy.

The 19th-century social attitude toward women is also clearly defined. Humor blunts these issues, but the reader never forgets the author’s intent.

Recommended.

Monica Spence THE CURSE OF THE HOUSE OF FOSKETT M.R.C. Kasasian, Pegasus Crime, 2015, $25.95, hb, 416pp, 9781605986692 / Head of Zeus, 2014, £16.99, hb, 416pp, 9781781853252 Victorian-era personal detective Sidney Grice and his ward, March Middleton, are back for more gruesome sleuthing in the second installment of Kasasian’s London-based series. In the debut volume, Grice unfortunately sent an innocent man to his death, and his reputation, as well as his morale, has flagged. When a member of the Final Death Society seeks out Grice for assistance in proving that members of the Society are dying of natural causes, and then promptly dies in Grice’s 32 | Reviews |

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study, detective and protégée become embroiled in a complicated case with a plethora of suspects and unexpected twists.

The action is fast, the dialogue is witty, and the reader’s attention is kept engaged until Grice figures out who’s behind the spate of murders— with Middleton’s help, of course. The many characters—dead and alive—provide less of a snapshot and more of a caricature of Victorian life, from Molly the untrained housekeeper to Baroness Foskett, heiress Primrose McKay, Dr. Dorna Berry, and Warrington Gallup the snuff seller. Much of the propriety of the Victorian era is seen through Middleton’s eyes; as a young single woman, she confronts the restrictive mores of the time, nearly always brashly and sarcastically pushing her way past the barriers in her way. More than once she loses, however, whether she’s physically overpowered by a scoundrel or hoodwinked by a clever journalist. Readers also begin to get Middleton’s backstory through a series of diary entries and dreams that reveal a therapist’s treasure trove of guilt and trauma.

While the narrative is entertaining, the frequent referrals to Grice’s previous mishandled case means this one has trouble standing on its own; readers are encouraged to start with The Mangle Street Murders to get the most out of this volume.

Helene Williams THE UNEXPECTED EARL Philippa Jane Keyworth, Madison Street, 2014, $14.95, pb, 309pp, 9780983671985 The beautiful, unmarried 26-year-old Julia Rotherham hopes to get through her younger sister’s coming-out ball without calling attention to herself. After being jilted at the altar six years ago, Julia doubts she’ll ever marry. Unfortunately, the jilter, Lucius Wolversley, appears at the ball uninvited. He is as shocked to find himself there as she is. He has done his best to avoid her ever since breaking off the engagement. Now, they find themselves thrown together by the circumstances of a London season. They are old family friends, after all. Julia pretends that her affection has been bestowed elsewhere and almost convinces Lucius she has moved on. However, she still wants an explanation – why did he end their engagement?

Before this is straightened out, Julia’s sister and Lucius’s sister become involved with a most unacceptable suitor. Julia and Lucius must act to head off the inevitable scandal.

This is a charming and squeaky clean Regency Romance with a solid hero and feisty heroine who obviously belong together. I enjoyed settling in for the twists and turns of the plot as they find their way out of their estrangement to reunite.

Sue Asher THE IRON WIRE Garry Kilworth, Infinity Plus, 2014, £7.99, pb, 274pp, 9781500779429 In an instantly captivating, first-person narrative, using the voice of his character, “Alexander McKensie,” Garry Kilworth tells the remarkable

story of the construction of the Adelaide to Port Darwin overland telegraph line.

Caught, slightly awkwardly, between this small workforce, the best of whom are little better than criminals and the two “managers” to whom he is directly answerable, McKensie finds a few staunch allies in unexpected places as he quietly attends to his work and plans for the day when, with this assignment completed, his fiancée will sail from England to marry him.

There is real tension in the development of this novel. Incidents of violence between the men are frequent and are the result of declining morale brought on by the isolation, the deprivation in terms of living conditions, the lack of medical aid, the endless succession of sweltering days and the unremitting physical strain of the work. All of this is vividly conveyed to the reader in prose which is quietly effective.

While Kilworth never over-colours his descriptions, he will suddenly give us an amazing phrase, for an example, “There are giant boulders, smooth-looking and almost perfectly round.

They lie like fallen, red moons upon the dusty terrain. Despite their hugeness, they seem to have a feminine quality about them, having come, perhaps, from the womb of the sky”.

There are places where the structure seems rather too cleverly managed, but in terms of characterisations and a fascinating depiction of that place at that time, The Iron Wire is an original and powerful piece of writing.

Julia Stoneham HER MOTHER’S SECRET Catherine King, Sphere, 2014, £6.99, pb, 422pp, 9780751554304 Catherine King is a superb historical novelist of family, female emotion, and secrets, and her ninth novel, Her Mother’s Secret, portrays her artistry to full effect. In 1885, young Ruth Hargreaves is becoming a lady. With an ambitious father, and a complicit mother, employed by a lord who wants Ruth as his mistress, her life is set for ruin. Twenty years later, 19-year-old Letty Hargreaves wants more from life than the sheltered one her gran has given her. She longs for independence and love, and indeed, she has little trouble in attracting male attention, wanted or not, to the point where both emotional and practical complications abound. But there are hidden elements to her life that she longs to discover. In seeking the truth over her parentage, and in trying to choose a life for herself, the danger is that she will unearth the secrets her gran has taken great pains to hide from her all her life.

This is a most enjoyable, well-written book, with a strong focus on the ‘human’ element.

The protagonists’ motivations and emotions are integral to the plot and move it onward with some force. The crafted and the characterised strengths of the characters, in my opinion, make this story an excellent one. The author has really done her research into the turn-of-the-century Yorkshire Ridings and the country houses which inspired her fictional creations here, and it gives an added depth 19th Century

to the plot and an interesting dimension of social history to the story.

Anyone who has read Catherine King’s other novels will want to read this fascinating tale of family secrets. Likewise, I would also recommend this book to those who enjoy strong female characters who work both within and without accepted patriarchal convention. A very enjoyable read!

Claire Cowling ROBERT B. PARKER’S THE BRIDGE Robert Knott, Putnam, 2014, $26.95/C$31.00, hb, 320pp, 9780399171130 Territorial Marshal Virgil Cole and his deputy, Everett Hitch, are back again and living in Appaloosa, near the Rio Blanco River west of the Mississippi, during the late 1800s. A major snowstorm blankets the territory about the same time as the local sheriff and his deputies go missing.

A telegraph message from a camp near the Rio Blanco, where a bridge is being built, notifies the authorities that someone has blown up the bridge.

Cole and Hitch are called upon to find the missing sheriff and solve the mystery of the destroyed bridge.

This novel is the third book written by Mr. Knott, and the seventh in the series created by Robert B. Parker, who died in 2010. The rapid-fire dialog and quick-paced action dominate the story.

These books are always real page-turners with interesting characters. An entertaining western and a must read for those interested in fast-paced western stories, this is highly recommended. I’ve read them all and always look forward to the next book in the series.

Jeff Westerhoff A FUGITIVE ENGLISHMAN Roy Lewis, Buried River Press, 2014, £8.99, pb, 271pp, 9781910208052 1860. Edwin James has an illustrious career in law. A Member of Parliament on the brink of being knighted, he is seen as having a glittering future.

However, he is also a womanizer, heavily in debt and is involved in various schemes which skirt with the limits of the law. Debt and scandal force him to flee England with his new bride – a marriage of mutual advantage, not love. Running with both hare and hounds, he is recruited to Colonel Lafayette Baker’s Secret Detective Service investigating Fenian activity in New York’s notorious area, the Five Points, while forced to work with corrupt judges and policemen in New York as he becomes involved in the murky politics of Tammany Hall.

Tightly written, the novel shows the seamier side of both London and New York life. The culture and attitudes of the time are very effectively portrayed.

The characters and plot are convincing. This is a read which gallops along, with many twists and turns on the way. Is Edwin James an unscrupulous rogue, a cad? Or is he a weak but basically decent man just trying to survive? You, dear reader, must decide for yourself. Recommended.

Mike Ashworth 20th Century

DEATH COMES TO LONDON Catherine Lloyd, Kensington, 2014, $15.00/ C$16.95, pb, 259 pp, 9780758287359 England, 1817. In this second of a series, Lucy Harrington, the rector’s daughter from Kurland St. Mary, finally gets her London season. Lucy’s war hero neighbor, Major Robert Kurland, is still recuperating from the serious wounds he received at Waterloo. He is well enough now to come to London when summoned at the Prince Regent’s behest. Robert is to be rewarded for his valor. When the dowager Countess of Broughton is murdered at a ball, the emphasis shifts from frivolity to grim reality. Robert and Lucy work together to find out who is killing the Broughtons.

Although the two amateur sleuths do not seem aware of it, readers will see that their friendship is deepening. By the end of the book, the murders are solved, but the love story is still in progress. It is difficult to keep the several battling Broughtons sorted out, especially when the feisty Bentleys are added to the mix, but this is a minor quibble. Fans of mysteries and intelligent Regencies will like this book, and should read the first one, too.

Elizabeth Knowles DEAD LETTERS Joan Lock, Mystery Press/Trafalgar Square, 2014, $14.95/C$17.95/£8.99, pb, 192pp, 9780750956574 In the summer of 1880s London, DI Ernest Best is assigned duty with fellow officers for the Police’s Annual Fête at the Alexandra Palace due to a bomb threat sent by a poetical villain signed “Quicksilver.” Having cleared the site when a villain is suspected, Best suddenly learns of a young woman’s death on a carousel (possibly murder).

Was Quicksilver lying about the threat? The answer comes when the Palace suddenly explodes and Best’s original hunch had been right. The murder investigation continues, pulling Best and his “bodyguard” John George Smith in various directions trying to interpret future threats by this invisible villain while solving a woman’s murder and searching Quicksilver’s identity. As time runs out, Best is finally faced with a frightening truth that could cost his life. Although the story is uneven in parts, and at times refers to previous cases only by name, Best and Smith are a worthy duo to keep the reader interested in this lively time of Victorian crime-solving.

Tess Heckel A FAMILY FOR MADDIE Sara Luck, Pocket, 2015, $7.99, pb, 356pp, 9781476753782 In 1869, Josiah Case Williams heads to the Montana Territory to bury himself in his freight business after being left at the altar at his wedding. Meanwhile, fearless, intelligent Maddie McClellan’s father is never home. Her mother deems her unladylike and awkward. When Mr. McClellan becomes Montana’s Territorial Indian Agent, the family moves westward, and Maddie’s mother and sister becomes increasingly hostile.

Every problem is blamed on Maddie. However, to Case, who is now a successful businessman, Maddie is refreshingly honest. He wants to give her his heart, but his past makes him reluctant.

Together they must learn about love and trust, especially when Case finds he is the adoptive father of five little Indian girls. The story will touch the heart, as well as teach the reader of the hardships of settling the western U.S. The difficulties and mistrust between the whites and Indian people are also both fascinating and sad.

Monica E. Spence THE BRICKMAKER’S BRIDE Judith Miller, Bethany House, 2014, $14.99, pb, 352pp, 9780764212550 In post-Civil War West Virginia, widows were forced to sell businesses in order to financially survive. Such is the case for Laura and her mother, who are now arranging the sale of their brickmaking business to two Irishmen, Uncle Hugh and Ewan McKay. Laura is assisted by a smart, prejudiced but spunky lawyer, Winston. However he’s met his match in conniving Uncle Hugh, whose only interest, outside of gambling and drinking, is making a fast buck, and in Ewan, who is a focused, hard-working, honest and spiritual man. Ewan has to bear many taunts for being low-class Irish but rises above it all to match Laura’s devotion to the brickmaking business. Their work together is exciting as she guides him through every asset and liability of the business and becomes even more so as they allow their feelings for each other to grow. Judith Miller writes a fine historical romance novel in which passion for integrity and justice surmounts every obstacle. A very engaging, nice read.

Viviane Crystal BECOMING LADY LOCKWOOD Jennifer Moore, Covenant Communications, 2014, $14.99, pb, 199pp, 9781621086895 Amelia Beckett is a very contented widow.

Forced into a proxy marriage with Lawrence Blake, she’s not displeased when the groom dies before she ever sets eyes on him. Already the mistress of a large Spanish Town sugar plantation, she now stands to inherit a great deal more money.

When Captain William Blake arrives at her door to inform her that he is contesting her father’s jointure claim against his deceased brother’s estate, she is ordered to leave for England immediately on the Captain’s naval warship.

Used to long days of backbreaking work, Amelia can hardly sit idle—she offers assistance in the galley, the surgery, even on deck. Captain Blake’s official naval instructions take the ship into hostile French territory where a battle ensues. Whilst undergoing repairs, the ship is boarded and the crew taken hostage. Amelia devises a plan to rescue her Captain and his men and it becomes clear a plot is afoot devised by Amelia’s estranged father, Admiral Beckett.

Most of this sweet debut romance takes place aboard ship. Themes of honor, friendship, loyalty, HNR Issue 71, February 2015 | Reviews | 33

duty, and diligence coalesce into a well-researched story that is missing some elements of traditional Regency but does not suffer for this lack in any way. Amelia is open and friendly; Captain Blake circumspect and formal, an able seaman, and a rather less able romantic. But he is brought around by his very personable first lieutenant. This book will more than satisfy lovers of the genre.

Fiona Alison

C

REBEL QUEEN (US/Can) / THE LAST QUEEN OF INDIA (UK) Michelle Moran, Touchstone, 2015, $26/C$32, hb, 368pp, 9781476716350 / Quercus, 2015, £13.99, pb, 432pp, 9781782065616 Although a heroine in India, Queen Lakshmi of Jhansi is little-known to the rest of the world. Her story of resistance to the English takeover of her kingdom and her eventual death on the battlefield in 1858 is told in Moran’s novel from the viewpoint of Sita, a member of Lakshmi’s elite Dhurga Dal, or female guards.

Sita’s own story enhances the reader’s understanding of life in the India of the mid-19th century. Her childhood with her grandmother, father and sister in a small village, her training and eventual acceptance into the Queen’s band of female warriors, and her growing awareness of politics and the machinations of palace life makes a compelling story in its own right. The heroic tale of the Rani of Jhansi drives the plot onward as the tragic history unfolds.

I could not put this book down! Sita’s voice as narrator is a strong one, and the time and characters fascinating. Moran’s evocative writing transports the reader from small backcountry villages where women live out their lives in purdah to the exotic kingdom of Jhansi whose women freely walk the streets, and finally to the eye of the hurricane as British authority in Jhansi increases. The Rani’s early attempts at diplomacy and negotiation fail, leaving her with no choice but to fight. I have read other books set during the events of 1857-1858, what is known to some as “the Great Mutiny” and to others as “India’s First War of Independence.”

This book provides a riveting and addictive glimpse of that era from the viewpoint of the native Indian population. Very highly recommended!

Susan McDuffie DON’T BE A STRANGER John D. Nesbitt, Five Star, 2014, $25.95, hb, 220pp, 9781432829292 During the late 19th century, Wyoming is settled by ranchers like Rand Sullivan and his family, owners of the Crown Butte Ranch. The top hand, Lawrence Elwood, is caught up in a mystery – cattle are being stolen. A mysterious stranger walks onto the ranch, briefly meets Elwood, and is later 34 | Reviews |

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found dead in a local town, supposedly by suicide.

Meanwhile, Elwood becomes romantically involved with a young woman who is visiting Sullivan’s wife.

He later learns she has secrets about her past that she fails to mention to Elwood that may have an effect on the crimes committed in the territory.

This is another fine western written by Spur Award-winning author John D. Nesbitt. The pace of the novel is a little slow, but the plots and subplots along with interesting characters make the story compelling and hard to put down. The author’s knowledge of the West is exceptional. He has a command of western ranching, and the book is rich in western culture. I highly recommend this book for western lovers, although the lack of excitement and action until the end of the book may turn off a few readers.

Jeff Westerhoff

a man who would rival Sherlock Holmes with his deductive reasoning skills and encyclopedic knowledge of the natural world. “Nothing is so much to be feared as fear,” he proclaims as he and Dr Adam Walker verbally face off against the townspeople, pitting their pragmatic skills and learning against the terror and panicked skepticism of the locals.

This second Thoreau mystery paves the way for a delightful series with a plethora of motley characters. The journalistic manner in which the story unfolds, narrated from the alternating viewpoint of Adam and his cousin Julia (who constitutes the sub-plot), brings to life this fascinating period in history, conveyed in fine detail through their differing opinions and observations.

Highly engaging.

Fiona Alison

GODS OF GOLD Chris Nickson, Severn House, 2014, $28.95/£19.99, hb, 224pp, 9780727884282 Nickson is known for his Richard Nottingham mysteries set in 1730s Leeds. In this debut for his new series, the city hasn’t changed, but the century has: it’s 1890, and the Industrial Revolution is in full swing. Detective Inspector Tom Harper and his anger-management-candidate sergeant, Billy Reed, must investigate the disappearance of an eightyear-old girl whose father has been murdered. As bodies pile up, the situation is further complicated by the Leeds gas workers’ strike, grinding the city to a halt and ratcheting up the tension and probability of violence.

The Nottingham mysteries are excellent, and I wondered if a change of century and characters would blunt Nickson’s dexterity. I shouldn’t have worried. The characterization is engaging, the historical detail immersive without devolving into scholarship, the mystery pacing competent – in short, a winning and promising debut for a new series. The same element of high-level corruption that’s often a theme in his other mysteries makes an appearance, although in this offering Nickson has eschewed his penchant for killing off main characters in manners angsty enough for the reader to feel she needs a hug. So far, this series has a somewhat brighter tone, and I’m curious to see how it will progress. I look forward to seeing Tom Harper again in his next outing.

Bethany Latham

THE SECRETS OF SIR RICHARD KENWORTHY Julia Quinn, Avon, 2015, $7.99/C$9.99, pb, 384pp, 9780062072948 / Piatkus, 2015, £8.99, pb, 400pp, 9780749956394 Sir Richard Kenworthy has some big secrets – does he ever. For his own private reasons, he travels south from Yorkshire to London to convince some eligible young lady to wed him at short notice. Quinn’s impressive romance, set in the post-Regency era, details the unusual courtship of Richard and Miss Iris Smythe-Smith both before and after his motives are revealed. The fourth of five daughters, Iris is a sensible woman who doesn’t attract attention, so she’s puzzled but quietly pleased when Richard asks to call on her.

He’s handsome and kind, but what’s the hurry to get married? When he deliberately steals a kiss from her in sight of her aunt, he forces her hand – and when Iris learns his true purpose, her anger is justified. While the premise feels a bit over-thetop, this novel is rooted in the conventions of its time, when one careless decision could mean social ruin. Both gentle yet witty, Richard and Iris are a well-matched pair. Quinn also accomplishes the near-impossible by redeeming Richard’s character in the eyes of Iris and the reader and by crafting a believable reconciliation. There are some lovely descriptions of the Yorkshire countryside, and fans of the series (this is book #4) can look forward to more terrible music from the Smythe-Smith string quartet.

Sarah Johnson

THOREAU ON WOLF HILL B.B. Oak, Kensington, 2014, $15.00/C$16.95, pb, 314pp, 9780758290250 Once again Adam Walker and Henry Thoreau team up to solve a mystery, at the heart of which is the rampant consumption epidemic in 1848, Plumford, Massachusetts and the local peoples’ overwhelming suspicion that an Indian ‘revenant’ is on the loose. Their alarm is further aroused by the arrival of a self-proclaimed ‘vampyre’ hunter who will disinter the dead just to prove a point.

Henry Thoreau is a simple, honest man with a direct manner, a calm, assured voice of reason,

I ONCE KNEW VINCENT Michelle Rene, Vabella, 2014, $19.95, pb, 198pp, 9781938230622 For a little over a year, Vincent Van Gogh lived with Clarina Maria Hoornik (Sien), an alcoholic prostitute. Her eight-year-old daughter Maria (Little Cat) narrates this fictional account of their relationship. The oppressive atmosphere of extreme poverty is only lifted when occasional checks arrive from Vincent’s preacher father or his long-suffering brother Theo, but these result in the humiliation of dependency. Art supplies cost money, which 19th Century

Maria thinks could be better spent on bread.

Nonetheless, the little girl becomes Vincent’s first critic, and he accepts her judgment as to which of his sketches and paintings should be displayed when potential customers come by. Naturally, he never sells any. Sien keeps drinking in secret, and she eventually returns to turning occasional tricks through the pimping of her mother. Van Gogh comes across as a persistent moocher and a bit of a hypocrite who rationalizes living in sin with the idea that he is reforming Sien and forming a family.

The narration by a young girl, even a precocious one, limits what can be told. Maria appreciates his art, and mother and daughter serve as models.

Samples of his work are reproduced in the text.

Maria questions whether the art is worth the suffering, and the same question might occur to readers of this gloomy novel.

James Hawking DIE I WILL NOT S. K. Rizzolo, Poisoned Pen Press, 2014, $27.95, hb, 279pp, 9781464203220 / also $14.95, pb, 9781464203244 The 1813 murder of a newspaper editor intrigues Penelope Wolfe, but the resulting scandal could involve her. The editor was about to reveal the identity of Collantinus, who’s been writing letters attacking the Prince Regent. Twenty years ago, Penelope’s father had used that name to pen treasonous letters. Fearing arrest after the murder of a lady known only as N. D. and with ties to the Prince Regent and himself, he fled the country.

Now someone uses his alias to seek revenge for N. D.’s murder. To protect her family, Penelope enlists the aid of two friends: barrister Edward Buckler, who’s in love with her even though she’s already married, and John Chase, a Bow Street Runner. Together they risk their lives and careers to unmask the villains and protect Penelope.

The complicated mystery is neatly solved, while the personal relationships are intriguing.

Readers unfamiliar with the previous books in the John Chase mysteries may feel disoriented by the characters and period language, but as the story unfolds this fades away. From the rigid, primand-proper rules of society to the seamier sides of the city, Rizzolo vividly brings to life the world of Regency London.

Cindy Vallar GAME Trevor Shearston, Allen & Unwin/Trafalgar Square, 2013, $17.95, pb, 326pp, 9781743315217 Although he was the son of convicts transported from Great Britain to Australia, Ben Hall didn’t seem headed for a life of crime. He becomes a successful grazier, marries, and fathers a son.

However, things fall apart when Ben’s wife leaves him for a stockman in 1862. Within a few months Ben is robbing drays with a pack of bushrangers.

At first the pickings are easy, and Hall’s gang is celebrated when they take over a town and lock its policeman in his own cell. They take over the town again, just to prove that they can do as they please.

19th Century

The bushranger’s game isn’t so amusing by November 1864, when Game picks up Ben Hall’s misadventures. Drays now travel New South Wales’ roads in groups, protected by armed escorts.

Ben’s cohorts begin to lose their lives – and to take them. When a guard is killed, pursuit of Ben’s bushrangers intensifies. American readers will recognize echoes of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid as the dwindling gang is relentlessly driven.

Though Ben is supported by an increasingly thin network of relatives and friends, the police are closing in. Ben realizes that he is in a trap. He could disappear into the bush, but then he would never see his son again. There is no way for the pursuit to end well.

Shearston’s prose and imagery are as gritty and sparse as the outback’s desert vegetation, and perfectly suited for Ben’s flight through the Australian bush – sometimes beautiful, but increasingly desperate. If you like Butch Cassidy or Bonnie and Clyde, you won’t want to miss Game.

Jo Ann Butler

THE EVOLUTIONIST Avi Sirlin, Aurora Metro, 2014, £9.99, pb, 334pp, 9781906582531 This biographical historical novel is based on the life of Alfred Russell Wallace, and it takes the reader on an expedition into the mind and work of one of the less celebrated and renowned heroes of 19th-century natural history.

The portrait that the author paints of the life of Wallace, hunting and cataloguing new species in Brazil and Sarawak in Borneo, is one of hardship and adventure. However, his hazard-filled fateful sea voyage is shown to be in many respects far less challenging for him than the world of academic societies such as the Entomological and the Linnaean Societies, which abounded in Victorian London and that he had to confront.

The character of Wallace is finely drawn and contrasts well with the minor, but more appealing characters such as Henry Bates, Charles Darwin and the crew of the ill-fated ship Helen. Wallace is a convincing character, and although the reader may feel sympathy for his comparatively humble origins and lack of patronage, he is also far from likeable.

His treatment of, and lack of understanding for, his younger brother is only one example of Wallace’s selfish behaviour.

However, his “unlikeability” does not detract from this novel’s appeal, because it is brimful of factual details about the processes and methods of collecting, identifying and preserving examples of newly discovered species, and also of the difficulties of presenting new and radical ideas about evolution.

This novel will appeal to any reader interested in the minutiae of the lives of the intrepid Victorian specimen hunters.

Myfanwy Cook GWENDOLEN Diana Souhami, Holt Paperbacks, 2015, $16.00, pb, 336pp, 9781627793407 / Quercus, 2014, £16.99, hb, 304pp, 9781782063520

Gwendolen is a retelling of George Eliot’s classic Victorian novel Daniel Deronda and finally gives a clear voice to its ill-starred heroine. The novel opens in Gwendolen’s perspective, her story told from the space of the many years since Deronda forsook her for another woman.

The novel opens as Gwendolen, her widowed mother, and sisters are forced to take up residence in the country. Beautiful, spoiled, and willful to a fault, Gwen is the talk of the small village but begins to experience the harsh realities of the real world. As her self-esteem tumbles, she is forced into circumstances beyond her control: marry a man she despises or become a governess.

She chooses the easy path with her marriage to Henleigh Grandcourt, a cruel, vindictive man who seeks to crush the very life out of her. Her one consolation is the thought of Daniel Deronda, the ward of the wealthy man, and her imagined knightin-shining-armor.

George Eliot’s portrayal of Gwendolen is of a juvenile egoist who ultimately redeems herself at the end of the novel. Gwendolen seeks to give a deeper understanding to the flighty, sharp, and wholly self-absorbed girl and does so with sympathy and clarity. Gwendolen’s redeeming quality is her own self-loathing; she knows she is a bad person who will be punished for her misdeeds.

She resigned to this fate but eventually determined to become a better person for it. The only caveat in her portrayal is her rather quick assertion that she loves Daniel; it is clear that Gwendolen does not have a large capacity for love, and so the love-at-first-sight trope is difficult to digest.

However, Gwendolen is a fascinating literary novel that attempts to breathe humanity into one of literature’s maligned heroines.

Caroline Wilson A FEATHER FOR A FAN Karla Stover, Five Star, 2014, $25.95, hb, 272pp, 9781432829155 Hildy Bacom comes of age in frontier Tacoma, Washington, circa the late 1870s, in this novel.

Her family has moved west from Pennsylvania for her father’s health. Local boy Samuel helps the Bacoms find a house, and the family takes on a young Chinese houseboy, Chong. When Hildy tells Samuel that she saw him with a group of Native Americans on the beach, he is angry and she doesn’t understand why. Hildy witnesses prejudice when her school friend makes disparaging remarks about Indians, and Chong is beaten by some boys for being a foreigner. Cousin Elsie arrives for a visit from back East, complicating the Bacom family arrangements in their small house. Hildy wonders at her cousin’s pale, drawn appearance, and suspects Elsie has come for a different reason than becoming acquainted with her cousins.

Feather is a pleasant book about the Pacific Northwest frontier, set after the first wave of immigration. By the time the Bacoms migrate, they can do so by railroad train, not wagon train.

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of getting a tooth pulled, and how limited Hildy’s options are when trying to help her family’s income. Hildy grows from girlhood to young womanhood, realizing she has feelings for Samuel.

Despite natural disasters like earthquakes and mudslides, the plot is calm and measured, without emotional highs or lows. I do wish the author had found another way to render Chinese characters’ attempts at English: dialogue like “Missy Dovie velly good” made me cringe a bit. Stover includes a list of characters, explaining who was fictional and who historical, plus her introduction states that she read the Tacoma newspaper from cover to cover between 1877 and 1880 in the course of her research.

B.J. Sedlock CITIZENS CREEK Lalita Tademy, Atria, 2014, $26.00, hb, 418 pp, 9781476753034 The history between the Indian population and black people throughout the 1800s is a little-known one, but it is one that had a significant impact on American history. Like Tademy’s previous two novels, Cane River and Red River, Citizens Creek is painstakingly researched and serves to inform as well as entertain.

The story follows the parallel lives of Cow Tom and his daughter, Rose. Cow Tom (called that because of his innate understanding of cattle), a black man, was born into slavery. His master is Alabama Creek Chief Yargee, a Creek Indian.

Because of his gift for languages, Cow Tom proves to be quite useful in negotiations with slaveholders and later, with white politicians; consequently, his master sends him to help in the Seminole War during the time of Indian Removal.

Nothing is more important to Cow Tom, though, than his family – his mother, Bella, was sold from Yargee’s plantation, and he makes it his life’s mission to find her. He has a loving relationship with his wife, Amy, and later, a special relationship with his granddaughter, Rose. In fact, his ultimate goal is to buy his freedom for his whole family.

After a long and eventful life fighting for freedom, on his deathbed, Cow Tom shares his secret stories with Rose, extracting a sworn promise from her that she will never tell the rest of the family about some of the shameful things that he did in his life.

The second half of the book, with its focus on Rose and her family life, is a more enjoyable read as it delves more deeply into Rose’s mindset and explores her very complicated relationship with her sister. At the heart of the book, though, is a universal message about perseverance, about the burdens of family history, about identity, and about the unbreakable bonds of family.

Hilary Daninhirsch RODIN’S LOVER Heather Webb, Plume, 2015, $16.00, pb, 320pp, 9780142181751 Auguste Rodin is a household name in the art world. His stunning, full-scale sculptures can be seen at Musée Rodin in Paris. But also in this 36 | Reviews |

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museum lie the works of Camille Claudel, Rodin’s student-turned-lover, and a brilliant sculptor in her own right. Rodin’s Lover follows Camille from the early days of her life in Villeneuve to the tumultuous obsession of her relationship with Rodin.

Camille’s heartbreaking story is brought vividly to life by Heather Webb. Passionate and headstrong, Claudel runs off the established path of womanhood in the pursuit of her art. She is at once buoyed and held back by her family; but as her fame grows, she becomes increasingly estranged from everyone that she loves. It becomes clear that Camille is suffering from a mental illness as her tirades and paranoia increase. Rodin is a conflicted character in that he refuses to part ways with his longtime paramour, Rose, and yet he is obsessed with Camille. The tug-of-war of their relationship, along with Camille’s failure to conform, leads to her downfall.

While the novel drags in some places as it minutely details Camille’s breakdown, it is still a fascinating portrait of a little-known artist. The final pages of the novel are heart-wrenching as Camille is finally committed to an asylum. Though Rodin struggled with the women in his life, his final insistence that Camille’s works be housed along with his own is a true testament to his love and respect for her. Lovers of art-based fiction as well as Belle Époque France will find Rodin’s Lover an enthralling exploration of art, talent, and madness.

Recommended.

Caroline Wilson BRIGHT AS GOLD: Book Four of the Georgia Gold Series Denise Weimer, Canterbury House, 2014, $15.95, pb, 256pp, 9780988189799.

The Civil War of the 1860s is over, and Reconstruction has begun in a highly antagonistic atmosphere in Georgia. Carolyn Calhoun Rousseau’s husband, Dev, was killed in the Civil War and after some time marries Dev’s brother, Dylan. Dylan is a man haunted by his battle experiences but is still deeply in love with Carolyn.

They will wed, but it will not be easy as Dylan struggles to recover their financial losses, paralleling the losses and struggles all over the South during this devastating period of history.

At the same time, Carolyn’s former friend, Mahala, a half-Cherokee woman, marries Jack Randall, a highly motivated businessman who never fought in the war and so is one of the few wealthy men who has huge plans for the future of his business and is willing to help others in dire need. However, while Mahala is aptly handling the initial prejudice of her new friends, Jack has to be alert over those who resent his lack of military support during the war. Add to that that two other women are immensely attracted to Jack and initially refuse to accept his wedding and devotion to Mahala. This creates some tension in their marriage, but tension is the rule of the day as Southerners are required to sign a Yankee oath of loyalty.

Denise Weimer has crafted a sensitive, realistic, and conflict-ridden story that clearly delineates the temptations and struggles of Reconstruction. Add to the conflict a treasure of gold found and secretly used, followed by ramifications of this becoming discovered. Bright as Gold is a vigorous, entertaining and engaging story of the mettle required to survive disaster. Notable historical fiction!

Viviane Crystal LAST TRAIN HOME Reneé Wendinger, Legendary Publications, 2014, $16.95, hb, 182 pp, 9780991360314 By the mid-19th century, European immigrants were flocking to the United States, and thousands of abandoned children faced starvation on the streets of eastern cities. In response, several children’s aid societies organized “orphan trains.” Some 250,000 children were loaded onto trains between 1854 and 1929 and shipped to America’s heartland. There, they were displayed to prospective parents or employers, and lucky children found new homes.

Others had more problematic lives.

John Arsers and Sophia Kaminsky exemplify these immigrant waifs. Johnny was rescued from slavery as a Paris street musician and shipped to New York City. The six-year old was put on an orphan train to Iowa in 1872. There, Johnny’s luck continued when he was taken in by a childless couple.

Sophia was only six months old when taken from her unwed mother in 1915. Two years later, the little girl had an identifying tag sewn to her dress, then rode an orphan train to Minnesota.

Sophia found a good home, but when her new “mother” died during the 1918 flu epidemic, she was given to an elderly woman who treated her like a slave.

Renée Wendinger presents these two real-life children’s lives in Last Train Home. This engaging novella is a panorama of the immigrant experience and is suitable for both adults and older children.

Whether you are interested in the orphan trains, or wonder what it was like coming to America, you’ll enjoy this book.

Jo Ann Butler

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THE WALL H. G. Adler (trans. Peter Filkins), Random House, 2014, $30.00, hb, 672pp, 9780812993066 Many books have been written about the Shoah, and many more will be in the future. Few, however, are as haunting and utterly heart-wrenching as The Wall, which takes the reader inside the head of a man who has survived the hell on earth of the Nazi death camps. The Wall is not only a literary masterpiece, but literary history is made as well.

Translated by Peter Filkins, this edition is the first English version of the magnum opus of H. G. Adler, scholar and Holocaust survivor. The novel is the continuous stream of consciousness of its 19th Century — 20th Century

protagonist, Arthur Landau, a former professor, who returns to his native city like one come back from the dead. He is overwhelmed by the feeling that he himself no longer exists as he stumbles into people he used to know as well as new acquaintances, who try ineffectually to help him.

Written without chapter breaks, the story veers from reality to dreams to memories and back to reality again, as Arthur tries to absorb everything he has survived as well as the basic fact that he is still alive. While few experiences compare to the horrors of a concentration camp, many who have suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder will identify with the main character’s sense of alienation and dissociation. It is only through the healing relationship with his loving wife, Joanna, and having the courage to start a family does Arthur begin to find a foothold in the world, and see life as a gift instead of a curse.

Elena Maria Vidal THE ALPHABET HOUSE Jussi Adler-Olsen (trans. Steve Schein), Dutton, 2015, $27.95, hb, 461pp, 9780525954897 / Hesperus, 2014, £7.99, pb, 240pp, 9781843915447 Jussi Adler-Olsen has taken a break from his popular Department Q series and brought us a deeply researched, hauntingly psychological thriller that will captivate and horrify at the same time.

Two British pilots and childhood friends— James and Bryan—embark on a reconnaissance mission over World War II Germany. However, before they can complete their mission, they are shot down, and they know they will be tortured for information and then killed. With German soldiers close on their heels, they scramble aboard a train, toss off two German SS soldiers, and assume their lives. What the Brits do not know is that this train is bound for the Alphabet House, a mental hospital where the SS soldiers will be subjected to months of radical treatments. The pilots’ only hope for survival now is to fake insanity, endure electroshock treatments, and finally escape. What these two friends slowly realize is that they are not the only ones in the Alphabet House faking their psychosis.

At first, after skimming the book like I usually do, I was hesitant to read a novel where the entire first half has the lead characters in a single room and confined to a bed. The first half of the novel is set during World War II and the second in 1972.

However, I could not have been more wrong. Jussi Adler-Olsen’s slow pacing and unexpected twists ratcheted up the psychological suspense with each turn of the page. The second half of the book is a complete 180 from the first. The pacing is brisk, but Adler-Olsen maintains the dark, brooding psychological thriller until the very end. If I had any concerns with the novel, it was a lingering question of James’s willingness to endure his life, and the violence could be a bit too graphic for some readers. However, these two issues aside, The Alphabet House is a very good read.

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A TOUCH OF STARDUST Kate Alcott, Doubleday, 2015, $25.00, hb, 304pp, 9780385539043 Gone with the Wind is one of the best-selling books of all time, and would go on to be made into one of the greatest films of all time, garnering ten Academy Awards. But in 1939, production was fraught with problems, at times seeming as if the film might not make it into the can at all. This forms the backdrop for Alcott’s protagonist, Julie Crawford, a Smith-educated girl from Indiana who travels to Hollywood with dreams of being a screenwriter. Through a series of coincidences, she finds herself in the employ of Carole Lombard while pursuing a romance with Andy Weinstein, indispensable assistant producer to studio bigwigs such as control-freak David O. Selznick. Through Andy and Carole, Julie effortlessly achieves what most only experience as dashed dreams – entrée into the glittering world of the Hollywood elite.

Fans of women’s commercial fiction will probably devour this. While the plotting seems contrived and the exposition handled clumsily, the characterization of Carole Lombard, in particular, is engaging. Dubbed the “Profane Angel,” Carole is genuine, unpretentious, hilariously outspoken, and smart – she handles the poisonous Louella Parsons and macho Clark Gable with equal adroitness. In short, she’s amazingly likeable, and underpins the novel much more than its imagined protagonist.

As for the rest, it’s a love story with some surface tension created by the fact that small-town Julie’s paramour is Jewish, older than she, and has some relationship baggage. There is passing reference to “colored” people’s treatment during this time period and the fact that Andy’s grandparents, still in Germany, face the concentration camp. But these attempts at adding dimension are a bit incongruous in such a frothy novel. The parts of the book that focus on the film’s production problems – changing directors midstream, disposing of screenwriters like used Kleenex, ego conflicts caused by a whiny Vivien Leigh and overly masculine Gable – are, frankly, more interesting than the love story and, along with Carole Lombard, what makes this novel well worth reading.

Bethany Latham WHITE GARDENIA Belinda Alexandra, Gallery, 2015, $16.00/ C$18.99, pb, 496pp, 9781476790312 / Simon & Schuster, 2015 (c2007), £7.99, pb, 608pp, 9781471138744 Belinda Alexandra’s Wild Lavender was one of my favorite sweeping epic novels, and the highlight of the year in which I read it. White Gardenia promised something similar with its premise of also being a multinational, multigenerational epic with heartrending moments. It follows a daughter’s harrowing journey to reunite with the mother who saved her life as a child during the final days of World War II. We follow Anya Kozlova, a White Russian survivor of the Communist takeover of Harbin, as she makes her way from the glamorous nightclubs of Shanghai to a desolate island in the

Pacific, post-war Australia, and the Soviet Union in the 1960s.

The intention to create an epic is apparent through palpable descriptions of wartime angst and displacement, and the feel of the time period.

Unfortunately, the plot didn’t flow smoothly, and the pacing was off – some parts were rushed through; others, like the ending, were painfully drawn out. Events seemed to be slowly inflated to a crescendo and then drawn down to a quick conclusion. At times, “coincidences” in the story were a bit contrived, as though the author were attempting to make connections where there were few. Despite these issues, this is an enjoyable book, although another round of developmental edits would have made a huge difference.

Andrea Connell UNDER FALSE FLAGS Steve Anderson, Yucca Publishing, 2014, $14.95, pb, 240pp, 9781631580000 Under False Flags is a gritty, hard look through the eyes of an American and a German soldier near the end of WWII in Belgium. After nearly his entire platoon is lost in battle, shell-shocked William Lett is reassigned as part of a secret operation to collect intel deep in enemy territory by donning a German uniform over his US one. He had learned German his whole life growing up in a Mennonite orphanage in Ohio. Between missions he meets and falls in love with Heloise, a widow involved in the Belgian resistance. Meanwhile, Holger Frings, a German sailor, has been reassigned on land to a secret operation, impersonating an American, his team riding in a captured US jeep wearing GI uniforms. With his history as a merchant seaman, Holger speaks English well, thus enabling him to be believable in his mission. The novel follows each soldier through his journey until their paths cross and then join, after a jeep collision, where they find that they have much in common.

The decision to betray your comrades and your country is not an easy one to make. The war is drawing to a close, and both men are contemplating desertion. The author clearly brings forth the thoughts, fears, and hopes that run through a soldier’s mind. The dangers and horrors of being a soldier, a civilian living under occupation, or a resistance fighter are well-defined in this book.

Each chapter in written in the voice of William or Holger, and I liked how the GI narrative voice was full of soldier slang, opinions about the war, and new recruits; all of this kept the realism alive.

Beth Turza THREE DAUGHTERS Consuelo Saah Baehr, Lake Union, 2014, $14.95, pb, 712pp, 9781477826195 This is an epic saga spanning three generations from a Palestinian village near Jerusalem. The women are all bound by secrets that have a common thread. In the early 1900s, Miriam is different from other girls. She is eager for self-improvement but has to marry young according to custom and is expected to produce many children. While her HNR Issue 71, February 2015 | Reviews | 37

husband is away in the army, she must look after his business as well as deal with loss and personal tragedy. In the process she is drawn into an illicit relationship that has profound consequences.

Nadia is also a misfit, but she is indulged by her devoted father and given a fine education that leads her to fall in love with an unsuitable older man. The clan bands together and blocks her ambitions in an astonishing way. Nadia must accept her change in fortune and invests instead in her desire to become a mother.

Nijmeh also has privileges, but suffers from the conflicting pressures of possessive parents and old traditions that clash with the modern world. She, too, has a thwarted love life. After she marries a doctor and moves to America, she takes her first tentative steps to control her own destiny only to discover shocking truths about her mother and other events in the past.

The historical background is secondary to the family relationships, but it does give some insight into both Palestinian culture and the major events that would impact the country’s future up to the mid-1950s. As with the lives of its protagonists, the novel has its peaks and troughs, but it is still absorbing reading about a group of vibrant and passionate individuals. The ending is inconclusive and may indicate a sequel. Recommended for those who enjoy unusual settings and rambling multigenerational stories.

Marina Maxwell THE PRINCE’S BOY Paul Bailey, Bloomsbury, 2014, $26.00, hb, 160pp, 9781620407196 / Bloomsbury, 2014, £16.99, hb, 160pp, 9781408851890 In a book review, Ambrose Bierce once wrote: “The covers of this book are too far apart.” That same criticism could be applied to this novel – a novella really – even though it is already a short read at 160 pages.

Dinu Grigorescu, the narrator, looks back forty years to when he was a 19-year-old affluent and aimless youth transplanted from his native Romania to 1920s Paris. The publisher bills the novel as “a bohemian adventure,” and it does contain almost every cliché know to “Gay Paris” of that time. Dinu is an uninspired writer living in a garret apartment in Montmartre, everyone smokes Turkish cigarettes and drinks Turkish coffee, and there is even the requisite appearance of Josephine Baker.

Dinu does not simply experience bohemian adventure; within only a few pages he is visiting a brothel for gay men where he orders “a brute,” who, only a few hours later, ridiculously declares his love for Dinu. The remainder of the novel explores their short – he dies – but apparently memorable love affair. Like the movies of decades gone by when, after a few chaste kisses, the camera pans to the starry sky rather than the bedroom, here all the graphic sex occurs off the page; this is not pornography.

But it is not a riveting story, either. Hobbled by sentences like: “His pimples and warts and 38 | Reviews |

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blackheads were mine to worship” and “I lay back and paid homage to Razvan with my now slightly liver-spotted right hand,” the writing is hackneyed and pedestrian, not at all what would be expected from a past Man Booker Prize nominee. Worse, there is no compelling reason why Dinu’s story needs to be told, other than as a masturbatory remembrance for his now-aging self.

Gay or straight readers are advised to save their money.

John Kachuba

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JAM ON THE VINE LaShonda Katrice Barnett, Grove, 2015, $24.00, hb, 336pp, 9780802123343 In the early 20th century, Ivoe Williams grows up as the unusually intelligent daughter of a Muslim cook and a metalsmith from Texas. Her mother has endured the worst of poverty and has seen the hand of prejudice destroy individuals and families, but trusts in goodness and self-sustainability.

Ivoe learns to read early on and falls in love with the mechanical process of putting together a newspaper.

Mentored by two brilliant teachers, one of whom will be her lifelong lover, Ivoe becomes a journalist after years of watching and hearing about lynchings, fires and other devastating events perpetrated against her race.

At first Ivoe’s writing focuses on how AfricanAmericans must set an example, but it then evolves into speaking out against the constant travesties suffered with no hope for reprieve.

The essence of this amazing story is an indescribable inner spirit galvanized to do more than endure the worst barbs that life can throw.

Read about the source of Ivoe’s indubitable spirit, her mother Lemon and her lover Ona, who teach her about a strength that forges a bond stronger than the hatred of the “white man.” Ivoe and Ona start the first African-American newspaper, and Ivoe explores the truth behind the imprisonment of young African-American men and their living conditions. Persistence is the sacred word of success for Ivoe and all others living in the Jim Crow South.

The language in this novel in some parts reminds this reviewer of Toni Morrison’s exquisite choice of diction. It pervades every reflection, which is followed by stark linear prose paralleling the relentless brutalities depicted. This phenomenal historical novel is a classic work about the journalistic battle against racism and the celebration of life and love. Highly, highly recommended!

Viviane Crystal UNDER THE TRIPOLI SKY Kamal Ben Hameda (trans Adriana Hunter), Peirene Press, 2014, £12.00, pb, 104pp,

9781918670168 Under the Tripoli Sky is translated from French.

The translation reads well, but the style can seem rather pretentious in English. Not many English writers would describe opening the windows onto a sunlit day by saying that multi-coloured phosphines were skittering around them. Elegant writing is a pleasure, of course, but sometimes this book seems to favour style over substance.

And what is the substance? We are in Tripoli, and references to a recent war with Italy suggest that this is historical, in the sense that it is not happening today. I had to turn to the back cover to learn that it is the 1960s. The book addresses the ill-treatment of women in Libyan society, and there are a series of vignettes in which we see women beaten, raped, trapped in loveless marriages or committing suicide to avoid such entrapment.

I’m uncomfortable with these accounts by a male author who left Libya almost forty years ago. If you want to read about the mistreatment of women in Muslim societies, you will probably do better with a non-fiction book like The Bookseller of Kabul.

The observations on the lives of women are interspersed with hints of the author’s sexual awakening and confusion, and the book ends with his own small existentialist crisis. “[The moon’s] despairing eyes stared at me in distress; my presence reminded it, yet again, of its deep wound, the wound of being separated from its nurturing mother, the sun.”

If this is the sort of thing you like, you’ll like it. If not, it has the virtue of being very short.

Tom Williams DEATH BY PASTRAMI Leonard S. Bernstein, Univ. of New Orleans Press, 2014, $16.95, pb, 123pp, 9781608010271 This book contains seventeen stories, some of which evoke the garment district of New York City in the early years of the 20th century. Others are set further back in time, in Eastern Europe, and still others in present-day New York, where people lament the fate of the American garment industry, which barely lingers on in small Seventh Avenue workshops. Through the stories we see the sweep of the American immigrant experience. For a New Yorker like myself, the stories bring familiar locales to life and flesh out familiar history in a delightful way. But I would recommend the book, with its whimsical humor, to anyone.

The characters are quirky but likable. Back in the old country, a father does just the wrong thing to arrange a marriage for his ugly daughter and a young man he rescues from the life of a beggar. In America, a boss in a garment shop loves a young woman worker for the fierce pride that complicates their relationship. A salesman steals pens—for reasons that make sense only to him. An engineer decides it is more efficient to dress exactly the same way every day of his life; who could know how it would impact his human relationships? Life is full of unanticipated consequences and unexpected turns in the road. Nothing happens the way we expect it to.

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The writing has an engaging naturalness.

The author has had a long career in the garment industry, which enriches many of these tales. He also has the literary craft to pleasurably immerse us in several different, fully realized small worlds. I enjoyed this book immensely.

Phyllis T. Smith ASHES IN THE WIND Christopher Bland, Head of Zeus, 2014, £12.99, pb, 404pp, 9781781859346 Tomas Sullivan, Gaelic Catholic, and John Burke, Anglo-Irish Protestant, become friends at school in County Derry in 1908. As the boys grow up and Ireland lurches towards its fight for independence, they are divided. After a family tragedy in which Tomas is implicated, John leaves Derry for good. Tomas is drawn deeper into subversive activities and has links to charismatic revolutionary Michael Collins.

The historical details are accomplished, and the first third of the novel has a crisp, dynamic narrative, but as Ireland settles into its uneasy peace of the 1920s there is a marked slump in the novel’s tone. The chapters featuring John’s life working with horses are too detailed and dull. Tomas’s life in the police is far more interesting as he has to deal with the Irish splinter factions. The two men encounter each other once more in Dublin and then during the Spanish Civil War, where they again fight on opposing sides. John has a checkered love life but eventually marries Kate, an American war correspondent. Tomas remains true to his first love, Kitty. After World War II, John finds religion and retreats to Mount Athos.

In 1993, John’s son, James, is a retired senior civil servant who impulsively moves to rural Northumberland, where he reflects on his life and plays golf (ditto horses). He also embarks on an affair with his sports masseuse, the much younger Anna. After reading some ancestral papers, James visits Derry and becomes friends with Tomas’s builder son, Michael. James goes into oyster farming (ditto horses, golf ), and there is a final resolution of an outstanding mystery on what happened between John and Tomas.

There is much scope here for an exciting and moving saga exploring the repercussions of Ireland’s conflicts on successive generations, but this one falls well short of the mark.

Marina Maxwell RIDLEY ROAD Jo Bloom, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2014, £12.99, hb, 320pp, 9780297608288 In 1962, after the death of her father, Vivien Epstein, a hairdresser, moves from her home in Manchester to London to start a new life. Her plan is also to renew the love she shared with Jack Fox when he visited her father to research a book but, since he returned to London, she has heard nothing from him. All she has is an address.

The Swinging Sixties are about to erupt and, once in London, Vivien soon finds her feet, working at a vibrant hair salon in Soho and making friends.

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But life is less than swinging when she discovers Jack has not been living at the address he gave her for some time and the trail goes dead.

Then, by chance, she spots him taking part in a Fascist rally. She is even more devastated because they are both Jewish. So what has begun as a novel of espresso coffee bars, rock and roll, fashion and hairdressing becomes one of intolerance, hatred and violence.

It is hard for me to read a historical novel set in a decade I lived through. There were plenty of niggling and trivial inaccuracies. But the real problem I have with this novel is that I did not believe in the two lead characters. Why would an ambitious young journalist working for The Times, and who works undercover to expose vile fascists, fall in love with a girl who does not cares for more than fashion, pop music and hairstyles? It would appear, too, that the manuscript has been severely edited for length, which has upset the narrative flow. However, this is a debut novel and I would like to see further novels from this author, but perhaps contemporary, rather than ‘historical’.

Sally Zigmond PALMETTO MOON Kim Boykin, Berkley, 2014, $15.00/C$17.00, pb, 312pp, 9780425272107 On the eve of her wedding in 1947, socialite Vada Hadley pleads with her family to not be forced to marry the pompous – but well-connected – man she does not love. Two trusted servants take pity on Vada and help her escape her South Carolina home. Vada ends up in the tiny hamlet of Round O, where, while at college, she was offered a teaching position. Vada takes up residence at a boardinghouse and makes friends with a young widow with three sons.

When she enters the local diner to eat, the owner, Frank Darling, is instantly smitten with her.

But Frank harbors secrets of his own, ugly secrets from his past that prompt a few of the Round O residents to treat him with contempt. Vada hears from one of her beloved servants that her missingfor-years best friend might be in Memphis, and Vada persuades Frank, whom she now worships, to drive her in search of this friend.

The love between Vada and Frank happens lightning-fast, especially for Frank. Vada’s caring for the widow’s three boys shows her as a kindhearted character, and her handling of situations at the boardinghouse proves she’s intelligent – and Frank’s past should have made him cautious – so the “madly in love at first sight” is out of place.

The story could have been expanded to show a more evolving relationship between the two main characters. Also, everyone adores Vada because she’s strikingly beautiful, which is mentioned constantly. The novel is a light, breezy, enjoyable read but could have been so much more.

Diane Scott Lewis A HISTORY OF LONELINESS John Boyne, Doubleday, 2014, £14.99, hb, 384pp, 9780857520944

Odran Yates narrates the story of his life in Ireland. As a young boy in the early 1960s through to the present day in a series of non-chronological chapters, Odran’s story represents the movements that have changed Ireland’s society so profoundly.

It is a sobering and ultimately pessimistic story.

Odran is a Roman Catholic priest, having been pushed towards the “calling” by his mother, who became obsessively religious following a deeply traumatic family incident when Odran was a young child. Having served some of his training in Rome, and then the Vatican, Odran finds a comfortable niche as a teacher to a boy’s school in Dublin. But his life is changed when he is moved to a parish, to fill a gap left by the abrupt departure of his seminary room-mate and best friend Tom Cardle.

It is the reasons for Cardle’s departure that causes the unravelling of much that Father Yates believes in.

The reader very soon guesses what is behind Tom Cardle’s removal as well as an incident involving Odran’s nephew Aidan. Odran finally accepts that he has to address the lack of engagement he has with the world and the sexual scandals that are engulfing the Church in Ireland, in which he has been unwittingly drawn. Odran is naïve and rather likeable, but also somewhat to blame as deep at the back of his mind he was aware of what was going on but did nothing to raise awareness of the scandal.

There are a couple of possible historical errors, but this is a moving and rather shocking novel and, as ever with John Boyne’s fiction, wonderfully well written.

Douglas Kemp A WOMAN UNKNOWN: A Kate Shackleton Mystery Frances Brody, Minotaur, 2015, $25.99/C$29.99, hb, 384pp, 9781250037046 / Piatkus, 2014, £8.99, pb, 384pp, 9780749954970 This is the fourth in the Kate Shackleton series – herein lies proof that the books do not need to be read in their order to be enjoyed (I have somehow missed out on Brody’s books until this one). Kate is a private investigator in Yorkshire, post-World War I. Her husband Gerald was declared missing in the war; Kate has the nebulous status of not being sure if she is a widow, and her profession arises as an attempt to find out his fate. Her latest case is a domestic inquiry. Mild-mannered Cyril Fitzpatrick is concerned about his wife Deirdre.

He’s suspicious of her absences and the extra income she’s brought home. Kate’s investigation grows to include a murdered man, his mistress, and his scorned wife, and the discovery that Deirdre’s employment has been as the “woman unknown” in divorce proceedings.

Brody has created appealing characters in Kate and the other women in the story who chafe against the restrictions placed upon them. Promotional material makes a favorable comparison to Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs series, but Brody’s series should be evaluated on its own merits. It has its own place in the landscape of postHNR Issue 71, February 2015 | Reviews | 39

World War I mysteries, taking a different tack from Charles Todd’s and Winspear’s books. Now to find books one, two, and three!

Ellen Keith

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FEAST FOR THIEVES Marcus Brotherton, River North, 2014, $14.99, pb, 288pp, 9780802412133 When it came to robbing the bank, we wasn’t polished or nothing. With this one delightful sentence Sergeant Rowdy Slater – ex-paratrooper, sharpshooter, and convict – begins to tell the story of the year he was railroaded into serving as the minister of the community church in the small town of Cut Eye, Texas.

It is 1946. Rowdy is out-of-work and hungry when he hears a voice telling him to “find the good meal and eat your fill.” Of course Rowdy is quite willing to comply, but the details of just how he should do that remain rather sketchy.

What follows is an amusing tale of justice, sacrifice, repentance, and love.

It does not seem too bold to assume that the author’s years of research for his non-fiction books about the men who fought in WWII contribute to the authenticity and fluidity of this story.

Rowdy is a charmer, whose attitudes, speech, and mannerisms work together to create an aura of authenticity in the midst of fantastical events.

Many of the townsfolk, including the sheriff ’s daughter, Bobbie Barker, are fascinating characters who make the reader care about their community.

Altogether, this is a thoroughly enjoyable novel that I highly recommend.

Nancy J. Attwell THIEF OF GLORY Sigmund Brouwer, WaterBrook, 2014, $14.99, pb, 326pp, 9781612917122 “As seemingly inconsequential as a banyan tree taking root in the bark of an unsuspecting tree... became a journey,” says 81-year-old Jeremiah about his life’s path. At only 10, he is interned, along with his family and other Dutch residents of Java Island, in a “Japencamp” following the 1942 Japanese invasion. His father and older brothers are sent off to labor camps, and Jeremiah has to devise ingenious ways to provide for his sick mother and younger siblings. While he falls in love with the fair-haired Laura, he has to win marble games and fight a jealous and bigger boy, with whom he must settle a vendetta later in life.

Somewhat like Richard Flanagan’s The Narrow Road to the Deep North, Sigmund Brouwer has penned this novel based on his parents’ experiences in the Japanese concentration camps. The narrative is nearly as vivid and terrifying, although the experiences of 10-year-old Jeremiah sound more like an older boy’s cunning and connivance for 40 | Reviews |

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survival. Toward the end, the leap in the story from WWII to present-day is jolting, and it’s also irritating to read about the in-between critical periods in brief flashbacks. Although the closing is drawn out, it is captivating and satisfying nonetheless.

Waheed Rabbani DESTINY Don Brown, Mountainview, 2014, $15.99, pb, 456pp, 9781941291061 While Don Brown’s latest book, a prequel to the Navy Justice series, will not be finding parallels in life as Treason had in the Fort Hood shooting, it is still not a book to be missed. Walter Brewer, a rural postal carrier in North Carolina, is torn: his brother has just died during the Pearl Harbor attacks, and he feels it is his duty to serve, but he has a wife and family as well as his brother’s family to take care of. Ultimately, Brewer joins the Army and becomes an officer in a new paratroop unit.

In Germany, Heinrick Schultz is doing everything he can to climb the SS ladder. After participating in the Kristallnacht events, Heinrick is selected to attend SS officer school. Eventually, Heinrick serves with Rommel in both North Africa and Normandy. Dawin McLoud is a momma’s boy who loves theater and the arts but worries that he is not living up to his father’s distinguished British naval career so he volunteers for a new British Special Forces unit. What none of these men realize is that the war will bring their families closer than any of them could imagine.

Don Brown’s writing is strong and works to bring the three story lines together. Emotions run the gambit, from joy to grief, hate to love, anger to compassion. There are quite a few “letters” in the novel that broke up the pacing, but not enough for me to want to put the book away. If you are a fan of Christian WWII novels – there are a good deal of references to Christian morals and beliefs – then this book is right up your alley.

Bryan Dumas MURDER AT THE CHASE (A Langham and Dupré Mystery, Book 2) Eric Brown, Severn House, 2014, $28.95/£19.99, hb, 224pp, 9780727884251 Mystery author Donald Langham has invited his girlfriend and agent’s assistant, Maria Dupré, on a weekend in the country so he can propose to her at exactly the right time and place. Unfortunately, their romantic trip is disturbed when Donald learns that Edward Endicott, a friend and fellow writer, has gone missing. Alasdair, Edward’s son, is worried his father is the victim of the otherworldly powers of a supposedly 130-year-old Satanist, the subject of Edward’s latest book. As Alasdair and Edward’s friend, a former Hollywood actress, despair of finding Edward alive, Donald’s common sense and his determination to solve the mystery so he can get on with proposing prevails.

Set in the 1950s, this closed-room mystery offers a delightful cast of characters and plenty of twists and turns that kept me guessing. Droll

and sophisticated while at the same time full of village charm, the characters and the setting drew me in immediately. Donald’s skeptical outlook, juxtaposed against Alasdair’s gullibility and willingness to believe in the most outlandish things, was entertaining, and even when the subject matter turned dark, the author wrote with a light touch.

Murder at the Chase proved to be an enjoyable and entertaining read.

Kristina Blank Makansi

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OR FOREVER BE DAMNED C.S. Burrough, Silky Oak Press, 2014, $17.95, pb, 350pp, 9781500867256 Once, not so long ago, a little island nation ruled over an empire on which the sun never set. This is a simple statement of fact, but a mighty one. The age of empire building is the backdrop to the beginning of Burrough’s generational saga, which follows the height of British power through its collapse. It is against this backdrop that Burrough frames his narrative and through which the enormity of change that occurred during the 20th century is illuminated.

The narrative is framed around the lives and the families of two very different women who both escape the slums of Salford, England. Salford, a city which tried to match the success of nearby Manchester and failed miserably, was at its lowest point in the 1930s, and both women are scarred by their years spent there. Mona is a factory worker who yearns for a life on stage and is frustrated by her younger, favored and more talented brother, Ambrose. Mona resolves to outshine him. She meets Kat, a veteran child actor, who yearns to escape the theatre life, as much as Mona dreams of having one. The two seem destined to be at odds from the beginning.

Or Forever be Damned is more than a novel; it is also just as much an enlightening commentary on the vast change time brings to society and how attitudes, values, formalities, expectations and conventions break down, to the great joy of some and the great heartbreak of others. It is certainly painstakingly researched and meticulous in its detail, and the characters are so wonderfully and richly crafted that one wonders if they correspond to people who once lived extraordinary but unknown lives. A highly recommended example of historical fiction at its finest.

Shannon Gallagher THE GOOD DOCTOR Paul Butler, Pennywell, 2014, $19.95/C$19.95, pb, 223pp, 9781771173612 A young medical student in London in 1880 observes another older medical student named Wilfred Grenfell at work. Such begins a rich characterization of two doctors who, despite their 20th Century

designation as healers of the sick, are themselves ill with jealousy and pride. In love with Florence Mills, they shadow each other through the streets of London, each using her as a counterpoint to their own complaints about the other. Eventually, the young doctor triumphs in winning the girl, and yet the story does not end there.

The plot opens with the younger shadowing Grenfell, then flip-turns to the older shadowing the younger doctor. Then, to the reader’s surprise, in 1910 Portland, Maine, Grenfell, accompanied by Florence Mills, appears to give a lecture about his experiences treating patients in Newfoundland and Labrador. He receives challenges from audience members, who accuse him of being an imposter.

And indeed, he is no one else but the younger doctor. In 1940, journalist Judy Agar conducts an interview with Florence Mills and Grenfell’s imposter, which leads to further flashbacks and reminiscences about the men and their lives.

This novel is eloquent and mysterious in its turns of phrase and imagery. Paul Butler provides a deft framework wherein time shifts occur while at the same time providing continuous flow of characterization. His use of Judy Agar as a realistic observer lends authenticity to the plot twists, which otherwise could be somewhat elusive. The author’s use of pronouns and proper names can be confusing in parts, requiring re-reading. Yet overall, this is an interesting narrative which evokes the atmosphere of London at the time of gaslights and tent revivals. A clever use of time-shifts in the service of historical narrative.

Liz Allenby ENTER PALE DEATH Barbara Cleverly, Soho Crime, 2014, £19.99/$26.95, hb, 368pp, 9781676954086 In Suffolk, 1933, the wife of a promising politician is trampled to death by a vicious stallion.

Although this has been officially dismissed as a tragic accident, Assistant-Commissioner Joe Sandilands of Scotland Yard receives an anonymous letter hinting at murder, followed by a visit from Sir James Trulove, the victim’s widower, a Government minister who, Joe suspects, is trying to seduce the girl Sandilands loves. Sent on a rather peculiar errand by Sir James, Joe meets a local detective who turns out to be Sir James’s illegitimate half-brother and who also believes Lady Trulove has been murdered. When Joe learns his girl was a member of the house party on the day Lady Trulove died and may be suspected of the crime, he has no choice but to travel to Suffolk.

Invited to join a house party at the Trulove estate, Joe sets out to investigate the case.

As a newcomer to the Joe Sandilands series, I found the first chapters bewildering. Oblique references to characters, their connections and to past events are scattered around, forcing me to backtrack frequently. This, combined with Cleverley’s tendency to diversions which are often irrelevant and slow the pace of a long novel, makes for some frustration. But when she sticks to business, this is an intriguing and entertaining 20th Century

mystery. The period setting is excellent. The language, the attitudes and the topical gossip give a strong Thirties feeling. She also brings rural Suffolk alive, describing the villages and people with affection. The central characters are well drawn with complex motives; not until the end was this reader certain who was guilty of what in the numerous complications of the plot. Caveats aside, the novel is well worth persevering with.

Lynn Guest WINDS OF EDEN Catrin Collier, Accent Press, 2014, £7.99, pb, 386pp, 9781783756001 The novel takes place during WW1, but in a fresh twist the place is Iraq, which serves as a timely reminder that this war was not fought only in France. It follows the fortunes of (among others) Charles Reid, Tom Mason and Michael Downe, all fighting or carrying out important war roles for various reasons. The novel shows clearly the sights and casualties of war including issues with colonialism, obtaining supplies, intelligence, getting medical assistance and so on.

The issues are various and there are a lot of them: events, characters, back history, and motivations from the past. This is primarily because, although not labelled as such on the front cover, this book is part of a series, the first novel being The Long Road to Baghdad, so the reader really has to play catch-up for most of the novel.

There are so many unanswered questions and issues arising, presumably from the earlier The Long Road to Baghdad. Why was Maud unfaithful?

How did Harry Downe become such an expert on the natives? How did he meet his Arab wife? This novel ultimately does not work as a stand-alone story, and so the previous novel is essential reading.

Having said that, the characters and situations are interesting and well-depicted and the plot draws the reader in. Enjoyable and thought-provoking, but start with the first one. The series continues in 2015 with Scorpion Sunset.

Ann Northfield TWO-DOLLAR PISTOL Brett Cogburn, Five Star, 2015, $25.95, hb, 322pp, 9781432830175 During the Great Depression of the 1930s, gangsters, bootleggers, and bank robbers ran rampant, always looking for ways to make a quick buck. Young Claude Miller, son of the local sheriff of Pushmataha County, Oklahoma accidentally interrupted two bank robbers while escaping the law. Claude is forced to shoot the male robber and then helps the other bank robber, Myra Belle Hooser, to escape. He falls in love with Myra, joins her Dallas Texas gang, and begins a life of crime.

This pair of criminals is reminiscent of the infamous Bonnie and Clyde duo on the run during this same time period. I found the story compelling, fast-paced, and even though Claude and Myra were on the wrong side of the law, they were likable. The author’s detail on this period on American history was well written; he knows his subject. Be prepared

for a fast ride up to the conclusion while rooting for the young couple to either change their criminal behavior or escape the encircling lawmen.

Jeff Westerhoff SOME LUCKY DAY Ellie Dean, Arrow, 2014, £5.99, pb, 563pp, 9780099585299 In 1942, 21-year-old Kitty Pargeter is serving with the Air Transport Auxiliary. She and her best friend, Charlotte, are two of the rare female pilots entrusted with delivering planes for the RAF across war-torn Britain. Faced with the consequences of a disastrous accident, Kitty confronts a painful struggle to rebuild her life. Her worries increase when her brother Freddy, also a pilot, is shot down over enemy lines. Moving into the Beach View boarding house, Kitty’s recuperation is assisted by the kind-hearted landlady, Peggy, and a houseful of assorted lodgers who have been billeted there. As Kitty recovers, she is impatient to resume her flying career, but a blossoming romance with a handsome RAF officer raises her spirits.

This is Ellie Dean’s seventh novel, which returns to the small town of Cliffehaven on the south coast. She has created likeable characters in both Kitty and Peggy, and the narrative is most compelling when it focuses on them, rather than on the large cast of minor players. Descriptions of the ATA, as well as of Kitty’s rehabilitation after her life-changing injury, are clearly well-researched.

Daily hardships, such as rationing, air raids and separation from family, are depicted in detail, as well as the heartbreak suffered by loss of homes and loved ones. This is an easy to read novel, which provides an entertaining flavour of life on the Home Front during the Second World War. Claire Thurlow THE FOUNDLING BOY Michel Déon (trans. Julian Evans), Gallic, 2014 (c2013), $16.95/£7.99, pb, 415pp, 9781908313560 Told in a casual omniscient viewpoint, the story harkens back to Henry Fielding’s Tom Jones.

Found on the doorstep of a Normandy estate caretaker and his wife in 1919, Deon’s foundling, Jean Arnard, comes of age between the world wars.

Like Tom, Jean grows up honest, smart, tormented, envied, handsome, lusty, and always ready to absorb knowledge. The characters who revolve around him – his parents’ employers, the friendly family priest, and many women of all ages – teach him about manners, sex, and many ways of communication.

Full of sensuality, Gallic wit, fatalism, and an eye on politics even in its mostly pastoral setting, Jean’s adventures take him to Germany, England, and Italy. But The Foundling Boy is not the life of the Lost Generation of Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and Stein, but more picaresque. Although illuminating left/right politics, its hero is an innocent in the Rousseau mold. His bicycle gives him entry into a world of characters and storytellers of all classes and philosophies. Born at the end of the “war to end all wars,” Jean Arnard is left on the cusp of his HNR Issue 71, February 2015 | Reviews | 41

adulthood, facing another one.

It’s a great cause for celebration that, thanks to the excellent translation of Julian Evans, Englishlanguage readers can now at last revel in the pleasures of The Foundling Boy. Eileen Charbonneau A NIGHTINGALE CHRISTMAS WISH Donna Douglas, Arrow, 2014, £5.99, pb, 410pp, 9780099585169 In this fifth book in the series, the nurses at Nightingale Hospital in London’s East End face not only personal and professional challenges but also the prospect of an imminent Second World War. Sister Frannie Wallace must reconcile her pacifist beliefs and loss of her fiancé in the First World War with her growing feelings for career soldier, John Campbell. Her best friend, Matron Kathleen Fox, fights for the survival of the Nightingale until her own health is in danger. Helen Dawson, desperately lonely since the death of her husband, struggles to prove herself as the new Sister in Casualty, under the critical eye of Dr David McKay. Meanwhile, student nurse, Effie O’Hara, despite the bullying of her sister and fellow Nightingale nurse, Bridget, finds herself embroiled in the complicated love life of attractive patient, Adam.

Douglas paints a realistically unglamorous picture of life in a Bethnal Green hospital in the 1930s, where TB and infant mortality are commonplace. There is neither a female doctor nor a male nurse in sight, and nurses are obliged to give up their careers once they get married. Not only must they care for the sick, but deal with hospital politics behind the scenes (no change there).

The narrative moves easily between the various characters, revealing the loneliness and personal problems hidden by starched, professional appearances. Douglas is not afraid to tackle issues such as domestic abuse or the death of a child, but balances this with moments of humour in cameo roles played by cheeky patients and lively East Enders. The nurses are sympathetically drawn and are believable, flawed individuals rather than saintly ‘angels’. This was an enjoyable read, and will particularly appeal to those who love ‘Call the Midwife.’

Claire Thurlow I AM SOPHIE TUCKER: A Fictional Memoir Susan and Lloyd Ecker, Prospecta, 2014, $27.50, hb, 385pp, 9781632260062 Sophie Tucker was certainly a force to be reckoned with. The daughter of immigrants, born in the late 19th century, Sophie grew up singing and working in her parents’ restaurant, and then scrambled her way onto the vaudeville stage, where she did everything in a big way.

The chapters are named for Sophie’s songs; Chapter One is entitled “Ain’t She Sweet?” Clearly the authors had their tongues firmly in their cheeks, because the chapter sets a tone that the rest of the book follows: “It wasn’t until prizefighter Jack Dempsey saw me knock a mouthy bastard flat on his ass that I realized my mama, Jennie Abuza, 42 | Reviews |

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taught me three things: how to cook, how to work hard, and how to land the perfect uppercut.”

Nearly every chapter tells a story about a new “character,” revealed at the end of the chapter to be none other than Irving Berlin, Cy Young, or another world famous talent. These little mysteries are captivating, as is Sophie herself.

This fictional memoir is very readable, giving what feels like a clear idea of what Sophie’s life was like, and what she must have been thinking during her most memorable experiences. The tone of the writing is chipper and makes use of 1920s-era slang as well as Yiddish words and phrases. Readers may wish that there was either less of this vocabulary, or a glossary at the end of the book instead of definitions footnoted on relevant pages, which make the book feel a bit like an encyclopedia.

Amy Watkin CROOKED HEART Lissa Evans, Doubleday, 2014, £14.99, hb, 282pp, 9780385614337 Crooked Heart is the first adult novel from Lissa Evans since the Orange Prize-shortlisted Their Finest Hour and a Half (2009). This novel tells the story of ten-year-old evacuee Noel Bostock, who leaves blitz-ravaged London to stay in St Albans.

His new family consists of the scatter-brained and near penniless Vera Sedge, her ungrateful teenage son Donald and her apparently housebound mother.

Noel has had an unusual upbringing; with no family of his own, he has lived most of his life with his recently-deceased godmother, Mattie, a former suffragette who has provided an eclectic education and passed on to Noel her suspicion of and disdain for authority. Vera feels scorn for authority for different reasons; all around her she sees people making money from the war effort, and Vera is determined to get her share, but her haphazard schemes have rarely borne fruit. However, once Noel realises what Vera is trying to do, he becomes the brains behind her scam operations and together they become a team. When they meet a bewildered old woman who reminds Noel of his beloved godmother, things take a nasty turn as Noel tries desperately to help her, thinking that in saving Mrs Gifford’s belongings from a thieving air raid warden he can somehow save his beloved Aunt Mattie, for whom he still grieves.

The novel is beautifully written and very well researched. Evans brings to life the world of scammers and thieves who thrived during the War while also making the voice of the precocious Noel utterly believable.

Lisa Redmond TOUGHS Ed Falco, Unbridled, 2014, $17.95/C$18.95, pb, 416pp, 9781609531119 Loretto Jones grew up in the same orphanage with Vincent Coll, but unlike the Coll brothers, Loretto is a true foundling; it is unknown if he is Irish or Italian. Loretto has good friends of both heritages. As the story begins, it is a hot July evening

in 1931. Loretto is waiting on a street corner for his friend, Dominic, when a car comes down the street.

As it draws even with a sidewalk lemonade stand operated by a gangster named Richie Cabo, one of Coll’s rivals, the occupants of the car start shooting at Cabo, hitting several children. Cabo survives, has seen Loretto, and decides he was on that corner as a lookout for the shooters. This is a classic situation of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Cabo puts a price on Loretto’s head. Loretto works for Dominic’s uncle, Don Maranzano, an untouchable Sicilian crime lord, who has enough influence to cancel Cabo’s hit. Once a gang war heats up, Loretto has little choice but to side with his childhood friend, Vince, now being called “Mad Dog” because one of the children caught in the crossfire at the lemonade stand died. Loretto is torn between the quick, easy money Coll offers and his love for Maria Baronti, who will have nothing to do with him if he continues his life of crime.

Ed Falco, author of The Family Corleone, has written a hard-hitting Depression-era literary crime novel about a minor wannabe crime boss, Vincent “Mad Dog” Coll. Falco manages to write about these criminal monsters without dehumanizing them by portraying them from Loretto’s point of view. This exciting, fast-paced novel is well worth reading.

Audrey Braver SCANDAL IN THE SECRET CITY Diane Fanning, Severn House, 2014, $28.95/£19.99, hb, 256pp, 9780727884046 The high-security, covert area known as Oak Ridge, Tennessee – over 50,000 acres of land set aside by the U.S. government for the development of a nuclear bomb – has great potential as the setting for a historical mystery. Fanning’s intricate and smart new novel makes excellent use of the material.

Libby Clark, a recent UPenn grad with a master’s in analytical chemistry, is thrilled to get a job offer from Eastman Kodak since there aren’t many employers in 1942 who’d hire a female scientist.

The utter secrecy under which she’s ordered to carry out her tasks turns sinister, though, when her former roommate’s sister is murdered. Irene Nance was an easygoing young woman with an active love life. When Irene’s body is mysteriously moved (something the authorities deny doing), Libby suspects a cover-up but doesn’t know the reasons why. Having promised Irene’s family to seek justice for her, Libby gets stonewalled at every turn and takes a huge risk by pursuing an investigation.

That’s on top of dealing with sexist remarks from coworkers with less technical knowledge than she has.

The timeline feels a little awkward in the beginning with its multiple-flashback structure, but this is a minor issue. The geographical layout and high-pressure atmosphere of Oak Ridge are recreated in extensive detail, as is the curious plight of its scientists, who are simultaneously proud of their work for the war effort and concerned about what they believe is their project’s end result. Libby 20th Century

herself is a brave and admirable career woman, and seeing her in action, carefully hunting the truth while refusing to play down her expertise, makes for a very satisfying story. There are enough clues for readers to guess the killer well before Libby does, but even so, her appearance in future volumes in the series is eagerly awaited.

Sarah Johnson A FAMILY CHRISTMAS Katie Flynn, Arrow, 2014, £6.99, pb, 390pp, 9780099590996 Young Jimmy and Mo Trewin have been abandoned to the care of the mean-spirited Mrs Huxtable after their mother has died and their father has gone back to the Merchant Navy. When Mo falls foul of the violent and vindictive Cyril Huxtable, Jimmy decides they must flee from Liverpool. With no plan, no money and Christmas looming, they are lucky enough to meet up with Glenys Trent, a young schoolteacher who has just lost her job. The three of them head to Wales in search of the Trewins’ estranged grandparents. But they have no idea where to find the family farm, and meanwhile Cyril Huxtable has other plans for them.

Katie Flynn’s Liverpool novels are inspired by family reminiscences, and her lively descriptions of service in the ATS are based on real-life diaries. To be honest there isn’t a great deal about Christmas in the book (despite the title!), but her many fans will enjoy following the fortunes of the Trewin children and Glenys from pre-Blitz Liverpool to rural Wales, through the Second World War and beyond.

Ruth Downie MR MAC AND ME Esther Freud, Bloomsbury, 2014, £16.99, hb, 296pp, 9781408857182 / Bloomsbury USA, 2015, $26.00, hb, 304pp, 9781620408834 One should never judge a book by its cover.

The cover to Mr Mac and Me, a fictionalisation of the time Charles Rennie Macintosh and his wife spent in Suffolk during World War I, is a stylised depiction of flowers adapted from Rennie Macintosh’s own work, creating context for his artistic activity throughout the novel. The cover is elegant and precise, much like Esther Freud’s prose.

However, both cover and title are also misleading, as anyone looking for a book about Rennie Macintosh’s time in Suffolk, culminating in his imprisonment as a suspected war spy, would be better to look elsewhere. Instead, the “me” of the title, Thomas Maggs, the “crippled” son of the local publican, is in the forefront, and it is his family and his gradual understanding about love, war and life over the course of a year, that are the focus of this novel.

Mr Mac and Me is a coming of age novel with a backdrop of war and art. At the beginning of the story Thomas states his desire to show “that I am useful after all”, and the novel follows him as he learns how he might achieve this despite his “twisted foot” and the greater tragedy of the 20th Century

war. Throughout the year Mr Mac hovers in the background and occasionally comes to the foreground, the man who makes the most of his time and his art despite being an architect when wartime means “there are to be no new buildings”.

By the end of the novel the reader feels, like Thomas Maggs, that while she has only been shown brief glimpses of the life and work of Rennie Macintosh and his wife, “Mrs Mac” or fellow artist Margaret Macdonald, those flashes of life can hide a great beauty.

Laura Shepperson ARCTIC SUMMER Damon Galgut, Europa Editions, 2014, $17.00, pb, 352pp, 9781609452346 Spanning the years from 1906 to 1924, Arctic Summer transports readers from England to India and Egypt in this fictional biography of E. M. Forster. A quiet man, confined by society’s norms, Morgan Forster struggles his entire life to come to terms with his sexuality and find love.

The novel opens in 1912 with Forster on a voyage to India, then moves back in time to his first encounter with Syed Ross Masood, the man who has prompted this journey, in 1906. As his tutor, Forster is immediately drawn, both physically and intellectually, to the impulsive, engaging, and culturally exotic Masood.

Six years later, England’s empire is on the brink of breakdown. War is brewing and India’s desire for independence is growing. Morgan Forster is both intrigued and appalled by India. Galgut describes this great country in all her complexities—the beauty of countryside and luxurious palaces, the shackles of poverty and tradition, the overwhelming heat and inexplicable fantasies and mythologies.

While there, Forster conceives the idea for what was to become his greatest novel.

Morgan’s return to England is followed by his war service with the Wounded and Missing Department of the Red Cross in Egypt. There, Morgan develops the second enduring relationship in his life with a man named Mohammed el-Adl. Primarily narrative in form, the novel draws on Forster’s fiction, non-fiction, letters, and diaries.

Although occasionally too dense with the details of Forster’s sexual affairs, Damon Galgut’s prose is perfect for the time period and subject he has chosen. Forster comes alive as a man whose desires must be kept from the world, a man who continued to doubt his talent and who “despite his literary success… the notion of being a writer felt like an ill-fitting suit.”

M. K. Tod THE BRIDAL CHAIR Gloria Goldreich, Sourcebooks Landmark, 2015, $14.99, pb, 489pp, 9781492603269 The Bridal Chair is a sprawling novel that reclaims historical space for a woman behind a great male artist by surveying some thirty years in the life of the daughter of modernist painter Marc Chagall. Through her narrative of Ida Chagall’s life, Goldreich covers some of major historical

turning points, making this book feel like a quick tour through Franco-Judaic-American history from the early 1920s to the 1950s. A major draw for this novel is its primary setting: Paris during the 1920s, when modernist artists travelled to Paris after World War I, convening in the places that would become forever associated with them: Café du Flore and Les Deux Magots. This novel offers a romantic’s Paris, using these two allusions to modernism as a short-cut to trying to recreate this era.

The first half of the book is its most compelling, with young Ida struggling against her overprotective parents as Hitler prepares to conquer Europe and destroy the Jews, including famous artists like Marc Chagall. But Ida’s father, conceited about his own fame and the importance of his art, does not fear the advancing Nazis and their Final Solution.

It is only with Ida’s persistence, and with the help of a network of art dealers, curators, and American philanthropists, that Marc Chagall and his wife Bella escape to New York City in 1941. The rest of the novel falls flat, following Ida’s ascendance in the art world as a representative of her father’s work, the disintegration of her marriage, and her battles with the women who try to take her dead mother’s place. At the novel’s core is Ida’s evolving relationship with her egotistical father and the painting he gives her on her wedding day: The Bridal Chair. By the end of the novel, you might regret having spent time with these characters.

Terri Baker

C

MADEMOISELLE CHANEL C. W. Gortner, William Morrow, 2015, $26.99, hb, 384pp, 9780062356406 Gabrielle Chanel, the destitute country orphan who remade herself into Coco Chanel, the 20th century’s most celebrated designer, lived a life of grit and dreams. C. W. Gortner’s ambitious novel doesn’t just bring us a slice of her life, but rather takes on more than half a century: the cruel abandonment by the father she loved, her convent education, her life as a millionaire playboy’s pampered mistress. Her next step was another millionaire playboy, but she loved this one, a man who believed in her dream of opening a hat shop. It would have been easier for Gortner to end the book here, certainly before World War II, a time when Chanel (and many other Parisian elites) fraternized with the Nazis. By 1943 she was 60 years old, still beautiful but with sharp edges and involved in those complicated shades-of-gray relations with the conquering thugs – and fascism in general. To his credit Gortner forged on, giving us a complex story in which Chanel shines through as human, understandably prideful, blind when it served her purpose, vulnerable, and always chic and HNR Issue 71, February 2015 | Reviews | 43

elegant.

Beyond the effortless and easy flow of the narrative, there’s a lot to love about this story. A standout for me was Chanel’s friend Misia Sert.

Gortner shows how longtime friends can become as annoying and fundamental as family. He was exactly the right author to capture the essence of Chanel’s designs, having spent more than a decade in the fashion industry. That shows in this novel, which breathes Chanel’s style and panache in every sentence. My only criticism is that there isn’t a bank of photos in the book. If you feel the same, check out Gortner’s Pinterest page about Chanel, which is filled with far more photos than a publisher could ever include. Recommended.

Kristen Hannum EASTERLEIGH HALL Margaret Graham, Arrow, 2014, £5.99, pb, 502pp, 9780099586838 On some occasions it may be perfectly justified to judge a book by its cover, and in this case, you would be absolutely right to do so. If you have many books on your shelves where the cover shows a woman dressed in period costume with a suitable backdrop like a grand castle or city back streets, such as the novels of Dilly Court and Rosie Clarke, then you’ll love this.

Evie Forbes, an ambitious miner’s daughter, goes to work at the big Hall as an assistant cook.

Her plan is to learn enough so that one day she and her family can escape from servitude and the dangers of the pit by opening and running a hotel.

The year, however, is 1909, so we all know what is round the corner. Dastardly Lord Brampton is an out-and-out villain without redeeming features who treats the miners badly, cutting safety measures to increase his revenues. He also beats his children and even orders his wife’s dogs to be shot at one point.

All the usual suspects are there: suffragettes, sexual predator valet, mining accidents and unwanted pregnancy, plus of course the advent of World War One. Life below stairs and mine conditions of the time are well researched and clearly portrayed. Time and place are often conveyed with vocabulary such as ‘proggy mat’, ‘marra’ and ‘bonny lass’. It is in many ways a soapy mixture of Downton Abbey and the 1970s TV series, When the Boat Comes In. Horses for courses, and some will certainly like it. Not my cup of Rosie Lee however.

Ann Northfield THE REPERCUSSIONS Catherine Hall, Alma Books, 2014, £12.99, pb, 280pp, 9781846883347 War photographer Jo returns from an assignment in Afghanistan and hides herself away in the flat in Brighton she has just inherited from her Great Aunt Edith. Ill and traumatised, she begins to read Edith’s mother’s First World War diary and becomes drawn into the story of a young nurse working with Indian Army casualties being treated in the Brighton Pavilion, which has been 44 | Reviews |

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converted into a hospital for the duration. As she narrates her own story to her lost love, Susie, she also becomes drawn into Elizabeth’s and finds parallels between her life and Edith’s mother’s.

Ultimately an optimistic story, in which Jo’s freedom to live the life she chooses is so much greater than Elizabeth’s, this novel is driven entirely by its mission to address a range of issues to do with women’s rights, gender politics and the legacy of empire. It has little in the way of plot—though with quite a rabbit-out-of-the-hat ending. The story conceit, in which the heroine inherits a property and discovers a mysterious document, is far from original, and the writing style is occasionally clichéd. Its power, which is considerable, however, lies in its exposure of the struggles of social groups whose lives are often invisible to us, particularly those of the soldiers who came to Europe from the outposts of Empire to fight a war which really wasn’t theirs and of women today living in repressive Islamist regimes.

An undemanding read, but with a powerful and uncompromising message.

Sarah Bower THE MONOGRAM MURDERS Sophie Hannah, William Morrow, 2014, $25.99, hb, 302pp, 9780062297211 / HarperCollins, 2014, £18.99, hb, 384pp, 9780007547418 Hercule Poirot’s quiet meal at a London coffeehouse in 1929 is interrupted by a frantic woman. She declares she will soon be murdered – and deserves her fate. She pleads for her killer not to be punished, then runs off before Poirot can assist her.

Meanwhile, three murders are discovered at a posh hotel a half hour away. Poirot accompanies his friend, Edward Catchpool, a policeman from Scotland Yard, to investigate. The victims are laid out neatly, as if for a funeral, in a separate room with monogrammed cufflinks placed in their mouths.

The victims all knew one another and had gathered together under false pretenses. Poirot believes his run-in with the woman at the coffeehouse and these murders are somehow connected. As he unravels the clues, the evidence leads to a small village and a terrible incident that took place there over a decade before. A servant’s vicious lie, and the deaths, or possible suicides, of a vicar and his wife, had set into motion the tragic outcome at the hotel.

Catchpool comes off as too naive and a little slipshod – to showcase Poirot’s shrewdness, of course – for a man in his investigative position.

The plot is overly complicated, with several odd twists and overlapping renditions of the events.

Poirot figures out the most obscure truths from the slightest clues while Catchpool seldom has a clue.

However, the story kept me engrossed. Agatha Christie’s great detective is given new life by Sophie Hannah, and his mannerisms and speech match the original in amusing ways.

Diane Scott Lewis THE RELUCTANT MIDWIFE Patricia Harman, William Morrow Paperbacks,

2015, $14.99, pb, 432pp, 9780062358240 Becky worked as a nurse for cold fish Dr. Isaac Blum for years in the 1920s, but as this novel begins, in the depth of the Great Depression, she’s his caretaker. Blum has fallen into a catatonic state.

The former surgeon drools and soils himself. Becky grimly cares for him, not out of any magnificence of spirit but because she can’t stand the alternative, abandoning him to an asylum. The two return to the down-and-out town of Hope River in West Virginia, where the town’s midwife, Patience (the heroine of Harman’s first book, The Midwife of Hope River) and her veterinary husband may be able to help them.

Patience’s optimistic nature contrasts with this novel’s lead character, Becky, who is shackled by her fears and doubts. Becky doesn’t even like midwifery – there’s too great a possibility for catastrophe.

Becky is often judgmental and negative rather than forgiving. I can get fed up with too-flawed characters, but Becky’s travails weren’t off-putting.

I could see too clearly how she was hurting herself more than anyone else. After Dr. Blum and Becky move in with Patience and the veterinary husband, Dr. Blum slowly begins to recover, and we wonder if he’ll end up being a partner for Becky – or perhaps she’ll meet someone at the Civilian Conservation Corps, where she gets a job as a nurse. Births, some scary all joyous, are scattered throughout the novel, and Becky begins to recover as well, opening herself to happiness.

This novel feels as though it’s real, coming more from memoir than research and the author’s imagination. There’s a reason for that: Harman is a working midwife as well as a wonderful storyteller.

Recommended.

Kristen Hannum JAKOB’S COLOURS Lindsey Hawdon, Hodder & Stoughton, 2015, £14.99, hb, 9781444797771 If you like historical novels with a fast-moving story told in chronological order, this is not the book for you. At first sight Jakob’s Colours seems to be written backwards, starting in 1944 and reaching back to the 1920s. The reader goes on to discover that it is a jig-saw, each piece with its own chapter with the pieces strewn in apparently random order.

To help solve the puzzle each chapter is headed with a place and date: the places are England, Switzerland and Austria, and the dates are classified into three time phases, ‘This Day’ (1944), ‘Before’ (1943) and ‘Long Before’ (any time in the 1920s and ‘30s). Gradually the reader finds pieces that fit together until the picture emerges. It seems strange but it is not unlike a ‘whodunnit’, starting with a crime in the present and sorting back into a fragmented past to explain it.

The crime is the Holocaust. Not the Jewish Holocaust but the Romany (Gypsy) Holocaust.

Whereas the Jewish Holocaust was unleashed upon a population currently highly integrated with the wider society, the Romany Holocaust was a more ruthless phase in a continuing persecution.

Even peaceful, democratic Switzerland seized 20th Century

gypsy children from their parents to re-educate them in harsh institutions. Jakob’s Colours tells (or should we say assembles) the story of a mixedblood gypsy family and its struggle to survive over 20 terrible years. This is a book you will remember long after you have finished it.

Edward James HOPE RISING Stacy Henrie, Forever, 2014, $8.00/C$9.00, pb, 352pp, 9781455598816 American nurse Evelyn Gray works safely behind the lines during World War I, at a château converted to a hospital. She’s devastated at the recent death of her fiancé, but finds strength in the unborn child she’s carrying, a child she must keep secret or risk losing her job, her friends, and her reputation.

Corporal Joel Campbell arrives at the hospital with shaken faith and a battle injury that leaves him unable to start a family. He’s drawn to Evelyn, especially when she divulges her secret and makes an unconventional proposal.

Joel and Evelyn’s relationship slowly builds, with more emphasis placed on their emotional and spiritual connection than physical. Henrie has written two determined, fallible characters and placed them very firmly in their era. This is one of her strengths, to write of the past as more than a setting or a plot point, but as the foundation upon which her characters stand. Never for a moment was there a sense of modern characters in a historical setting. Though her details of the era are excellent, it’s the ease through which Henrie’s characters move through that era that lets this shine as a historical novel.

Jessica Brockmole A WEEK IN PARIS Rachel Hore, Simon & Schuster, 2014, £7.99, pb, 465pp, 9781471130762 Kitty Travers arrives in Paris in 1937 to fulfil her dream of becoming a concert pianist. Her life is happy; she makes friends and falls in love with a charming American doctor. The idyll is overshadowed by the threat of war, then Paris is occupied, and life will never be the same again.

Fay Knox, a young violinist, lives with her widowed mother and has little recollection of her early childhood during the war years. As a schoolgirl in 1956 she visits Paris and has a terrifying moment of déjà vu, which she dismisses. In 1961, just as Faye is about to embark on a tour to Paris with her orchestra, her mother is hospitalised after a failed suicide attempt. Her mother’s doctor urges Fay to continue with the tour, and her mother suddenly gives her clues to a past fraught with secrets.

This novel is written in the popular dual-time frame style, narrating both Fay and Kitty’s stories.

Whilst Fay’s story is her own, her mother’s is told

by Natalie Ramond, a friend from Kitty’s past, which lets the reader serve as a spectator in the ensuing drama. At the beginning the narrative is a little slow, but as Kitty’s story unfolds, it quickly gathers pace to become a riveting page-turner.

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Rachel Hore’s descriptions of Paris are so true to life, well researched and historically accurate. She paints a vivid picture both of an occupied city where people try to go about their daily lives whilst gripped with fear and suspicion and also happier times in the 1960s when, nevertheless, the shadow of the Algerian conflict tinges the atmosphere.

The story poses many questions about friendship, loyalty, love, and whether secrets are sometimes best left untold. Some might find the style a little restrained, but this seems appropriate for the time in which the book is set. All in all, an engaging book.

Maggi de Rozario FINAL CURTAIN: An Edna Ferber Mystery Ed Ifkovic, Poisoned Pen Press, 2014, $24.95, hb, 274pp, 978146420202 The fifth in a series of mysteries featuring the skills of this amateur sleuth and full-time playwright has Edna Ferber fulfilling a dream of trotting the boards as the matriarch of The Royal Family. It is the summer of 1940, with the clouds of war hovering over the one-week-only production in the bucolic New York City suburb of Maplewood, New Jersey. Edna’s sidekick is her director and co-playwright, George S. Kaufman (he of the “Cliffs-of-Dover pompadour”). The focus starts on the production and Edna’s trepidations, but soon shifts to an investigation as a young understudy is murdered and all signs point to a young stagehand named Dakota, who is yoked to an evangelical church ministry. Edna and George slowly realize that other members of the cast and crew are interwoven with the dead man during the past two Hollywood generations. When a young Nazi is also killed, and threats about curbing Edna’s investigation intensify, the pressures of both opening night and justice converge. A great wisecracking team, Ferber and Kaufman brighten every scene of this cozy-styled mystery. Their eccentric personalities brighten the proceedings on every page.

Eileen Charbonneau BETRAYAL J. Robert Janes, Mysterious Press, 2014, $14.99/ C$14.99, pb, 351pp, 9781497641594 Mary Ellen Fraser is living a lie in Janes’ intricate web of deceit, love, and politics during World War II. Married to a small-town doctor in Northern Ireland, Mary was seduced by, and thought she loved, a German prisoner of war her husband was treating. There was no thought of espionage when her lover, Erich Kramer, asked her to smuggle a note to his cousin by way of a third party in Dublin. Only when her car is searched on the way back across the border does Mary realize that was no letter to a worried family member: it was a coded message to the Reich. Suddenly, details like cigarette ashes and altered odometer readings have layers of meaning, and Mary realizes too late that she is trapped. She has aided the enemy, and there is no redemption, no way out. An already scary situation becomes even more threatening when

the Irish Republican Army becomes involved in an elaborate plan to release the prisoners from Tralane Castle. No character is benign, and no doctor, housekeeper, or officer is without a backstory of compromised morals and questionable actions.

While the plot twists and personal motivations are very dark, Janes also creates a sympathetic angle to most of his characters, which will appeal to readers not normally interested in such deep political intrigue or the thriller genre.

The countryside outside of Belfast and the gritty underside of Dublin are both magical and dangerous, and readers will come away with a strong sense of the limits of individual freedoms during this time of internal and external strife.

Helene Williams THE SEPARATION Dinah Jefferies, Penguin, 2014, £7.99, pb, 400pp, 9780241966051 It is 1955. Lydia returns to her home in Malacca after visiting a sick friend, expecting to be welcomed by her husband Alec and daughters, Emma and Fleur, only to discover they are missing, along with their clothes. There is not even a note. A local official tells Lydia that Alec has been relocated upcountry. She is compelled to follow, even knowing her journey will be through dangerous jungle territory. Saddled with Maz, a small homeless boy, she is helped by the attractive mystery man, Adil, but is discomforted when she is forced to stay on a rubber plantation with her former lover, Jack.

Meanwhile in England, young Emma’s rocky relationship with her father results in her being sent to a strict boarding school. She doesn’t understand why her mother never had the chance to say goodbye and has been told that she is missing, presumed dead. When her father plans to remarry, Emma sets about trying to solve the puzzle of her mother’s life.

The sights and sounds of steamy tropical Malaya are evocatively described, as is colonial life in the 1950s, but there are a few anachronisms (the protocol used in a serious event, for instance, and incorrect details on a period film). The plot also gets overloaded with contrivances, including love triangles and secret babies. The insurrection in Malaya known as “The Emergency” is only backdrop to the novel, and there are episodes that are vague, implausible or left unresolved. Lydia’s resigned acceptance of what she is told by certain individuals can make her seem too compliant at times, and it is her spirited teenaged daughter Emma who is the more convincing character. Such quibbles aside, this is still a heartfelt and absorbing story about tragedy and loss, love and forgiveness, and it will appeal to a wide audience.

Marina Maxwell TWILIGHT OF THE EASTERN GODS Ismail Kadare (trans. David Bellos), Grove, 2014, $25.00, hb, 185pp, 9780802123114 Twilight of the Eastern Gods, by internationally acclaimed Albanian writer Ismail Kadare, is one HNR Issue 71, February 2015 | Reviews | 45

of this Man Booker International Prize winner’s early novels, translated for the first time into English by David Bellos, Director of the Program of Translation at Princeton University. Set in Moscow in the mid-1950s at the Gorky Institute for World Literature, the story follows a young Albanian student as he attends school. The irony of attempting creative work such as writing while under communist rule forms the crux of the novel.

Told in first person, the novel explores the life of this unnamed student, which is not so different from students’ lives today – he is interested in scoring with young women, drinking, and thinking of the politics of the times. When he finds a forbidden manuscript, Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternak, he reads it and wonders if the book is really as dangerous as the Soviet authorities who banned it have claimed. He considers his own work and how writing the ‘realism’ demanded by the communist party can in any way enhance literature.

This thinly veiled autobiography leaves the reader with much to ponder: the role of politics in artistic creation, the struggling young writer’s need to experience the larger world, and the incredible importance and insistence of the written word.

Anne Clinard Barnhill OF IRISH BLOOD Mary Pat Kelly, Forge, 2015, $25, hb, 512pp, 9780765329134 This is the sequel to Galway Bay and continues the author’s family’s history; this time the main character is based upon her great-aunt, Nora Kelly.

Plucky and talented, Nora works for Montgomery Ward as a talented fashion designer, but her success in work is not mirrored in her personal life, which is a wreck. Going against her traditional Catholic upbringing, she has an eight-year intense relationship with unfaithful entertainer Tim McShane, who eventually turns violent. She escapes Tim and flees to Paris, where she finds work with a couturier making knock-off copies from leading fashion houses and leads ladies’ tours of Paris, which leads her into some fine company.

Nora mixes easily with famous writers, artists and couturiers of the day, including Alice B. Toklas, Chanel, Gertrude Stein, and a bevy of American writers.

In Paris, too, Nora reconciles with her faith and, through a deeper connection to the Church, she is eventually drawn to a new love interest, Peter, an Irish professor. Peter leads Nora away from the social swirl of Paris life and into the Troubles in Ireland prior to the 1916 rebellion. Nora gets more involved in the rebellion, meeting other Irish female heroines like Maud Gonne. Although the men in her life lead Nora down a new path, it is through the women she meets that she takes action and finds her own strength.

The book is a breathless read full of strong women, and yet Nora struggles to find her place as a leader in this company. She does, however, find a sense of destiny, an understanding of her roots and eventually, of her place at home in Chicago with family.

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LAND OF DREAMS Kate Kerrigan, William Morrow, 2014, $14.99, pb, 336pp, 9780062340528 / Pan, 2013, £7.99, pb, 336pp, 9781447210818 The third book in the trilogy that began with Ellis Island and continued with City of Hope, Land of Dreams opens with Ellie Hogan leading a quiet life with her young son Tom on Fire Island, New York. There’s a disconnect here, since Ellie – last seen heading up a Depression-era refuge for the homeless – is now a successful artist, a development I didn’t see shadowed in the earlier books. The idyll is swiftly interrupted by the news that Ellie’s older son Leo has run away from school, heading for Hollywood. Fearing the worst, Ellie follows him, and makes a home in Los Angeles with Tom and Bridie, her elderly Irish friend.

It’s a pity that the first hundred pages of Land of Dreams contain so much recapping of the previous novels, although Ellie’s history does go some way toward explaining the cynical, acidic tone she frequently adopts, illustrated best by her reaction to the efforts of a friend of a friend to show her hospitality in Chicago. Arriving in 1940s Los Angeles – nicely painted by Kerrigan, whose lyrical style is well suited to scene-setting – Ellie’s cynicism proves a good defense against the artificiality of the movie business, but readers may find her unlikable as she sets out to fix the lives of those around her whether they want it or not.

As Ellie suffers one defeat after another she finally comes to realize that she’s unable to control the destiny of others, and it’s at this point that Ellie’s story recovers the warmth and depth that made Ellis Island so compelling. This is not a straightforward trilogy, mostly due to the seismic shifts that Ellie’s life undergoes at intervals, but this third novel does, in the end, provide a resolution to an interesting Irish immigrant story.

Jane Steen THE BALMORAL INCIDENT Alanna Knight, Allison & Busby, 2014, £19.99, hb, 318pp 9780749017217 When Rose McQuinn holidays on the Balmoral Estate with her stepdaughter Meg and her deerhound Thane, she soon senses all is not as it should be. Two deaths occur, but she is told they are accidents and she must not worry. The protocols that surround the royal family make life difficult for Rose. Her step-brother forbids her to do any sleuthing, and poor Thane has little of the freedom he enjoys on Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh.

Relationships within the cottage are difficult. Stepbrother Vince is often on duty as resident medic at the Castle. Olivia, his wife, invites an old school friend, Mabel Penby Worth, to stay at the cottage, and Rose finds Mabel rather disagreeable not only because she refers disparagingly to Thane as That Dog, but because of her general attitude that things are below her expectations.

The story unfolds slowly, interspersed with glowing descriptions of the countryside around Balmoral in Edwardian times. The appearance of a young man who reminds Rose of her first husband

becomes a regular occurrence, and Rose must decide if he is a force for good or evil. Some readers might wish for more detail of the actual murder mystery and the plot behind it. Though there are red herrings aplenty, not all of them are related to the murder, so the reader must beware of leaping to conclusions. The mystery of Thane, who, like Peter Pan, fails to grow old, is never explained – and perhaps that is as it should be.

Jen Black THE AMBASSADORS George Lerner, Pegasus, 2014, $24.95, hb, 352pp, 978160598620 Television producer George Lerner’s debut novel The Ambassadors tells the turbulent story of a Mossad operative who in his determination to save the world loses his family. Traumatized by witnessing the Holocaust and other World War II experiences, Jacob Furman must also face a family tragedy, which proves to him that, even in America, Jews are not safe. He becomes an agent for the Mossad and spends his life traveling around the world trying rescue Jewish communities in crisis.

He marries a Shoah survivor, a brilliant anthropologist named Susanna, whom he leaves late in her pregnancy in order to go on a mission.

She must bear her son alone. Later, when he travels with her to Ethiopia and abandons her in a dangerous situation, she decides to divorce him.

Although he continues to live in the basement of their house, Jacob becomes more and more estranged from his son Shalom. His last mission takes him to Rwanda which is in the throes of a genocidal civil war. In the meantime, Shalom goes out of his way to disappoint both of his parents, abusing drugs, alcohol and women along the way.

The narrative is told from the point of view of all three characters, Jacob, Susanna, and Shalom, leading very different lives, until illness unites them at last. The novel is full of international intrigue as well as quiet human pathos and inner transformation.

Elena Maria Vidal LILLIAN ON LIFE Alison Jean Lester, Random House, 2015, $25.95, hb, 256pp, 9780399168895 / John Murray, 2015, £14.99, hb, 9781848549548 Lillian is a single woman who lives most of her life dating different men. This is the story of how she values each of them, mostly on a temporary basis during the ´50s and ´60s in New York. Raised in a very traditional family, Lillian never appears without lipstick and dressed to the hilt. Lillian seems cool in her description of her mother and yet reveres her father, who seems phenomenally kind and sensitive to the needs of others at all times.

For Lillian, her need to find her father in any of the men she meets is alternately inspiring and absurd. Such men just don’t seem to exist; and if they do, they have other quirks that jettison them off Lillian’s permanent love quest. It really isn’t that she’s looking to be married; at least that’s what she says until some things she admits at the very end 20th Century

of her account. Yes, Lillian is definitely a “hottie,” as she would be labeled today, and cannot stand to be without a man in her life. One does lose count after a while of her lovers.

One problem with these brief encounters is that we never really get to know Lillian. What motivates her? What exactly is she looking for in a man? How does she handle life after she has an abortion? Only at the end does the reader get an inkling of how this event scarred Lillian’s life. All in all, this is an okay read which is historical only in the sense of alluding to the social mores and values of a particular time in the 20th century.

Viviane Crystal THE BALLOONIST James Long, Simon & Schuster, 2014, £7.99, pb, 451pp, 9781471139000 In the summer of 1914, Scottish ex-cavalry officer Willy Fraser is left feeling restless and rootless after the death of his troubled father. A quest for danger takes him to Germany and Belgium, just as years of tension spill over into outright war. Along the way, he encounters the overweight but intrepid American journalist Chester K. Hoffman and the newly-married Belgian officer Claude Tavernier, both of whom will play significant roles in his life as war escalates around them.

In a literary world awash with World War I novels, James Long finds not one, but two unusual backdrops for his novel: the unexpected resistance of the Belgians, which was, at least partly instrumental in thwarting the Schlieffen Plan; and the lives of the balloon observers who directed artillery fire along the Western Front. There is no shortage of adventure – so much so that, at times, it seems astonishing that Fraser survives.

But there is also a subtlety in the characterisation, particularly in the way the idealistic Tavernier and his devotion to his spirited wife Gabrielle influence Fraser, whose cynical exterior hides a longing for something more than the meaningless entanglements he has hitherto had with women.

There is one pretty hefty coincidence near the end, but the book is so well written, I’m willing to forgive that. (Strange things do happen in war.)

I can›t help wondering who wrote the blurb and press release. Evidently it wasn›t the author, since s/he totally ignores the first 186 pages of the novel and seems unaware that the Balloon Section was part of the Royal Flying Corps.

Normally if a novel ends with a cliff-hanger, as this one does, my reaction is, “Yeah, nice try, but no sale”. In this case, I’ll make an exception.

Jasmina Svenne NOTHING UNDONE REMAINED Dominic Luke, Buried River Press, 2014, £8.99, pb, 256pp, 9781910208069 I’m not the target audience for this as I am not interested in, for instance, cricket, which according to Roderick, the Edwardian schoolboy hero of the novel, makes me such a girl! Consequently I found it dragging in some parts. Although the publishers don’t say so, this is the corresponding 20th Century

novel to Autumn Softly Fell, which was Roderick’s cousin Dorothea’s story, so there is some cross-over of events, although Roderick’s story would stand alone.

It is the story of his schooldays, where he is driven by two ambitions – getting his revenge on those he considers have harmed him in some way, and making his house pre-eminent at cricket and football. The depiction of the public school background is well done, and I could enter into Roderick’s feelings, although he is sometimes a bully and a coward. But his growth towards adulthood is well depicted, and the ending, during his first term at Oxford, leaves the reader with hope that he will turn into a decent adult.

This series weaves personal and world events together well, and I am hoping that there will be another book in the series, sorting out Roderick and Dorothea’s relationship, which appears to be heading for a satisfying dénouement. jay Dixon BLACK STAR Steve Marshall, Leandoer Förlag, 2013, 180 SEK/£14.99, pb, 299pp, 9789185657261 The year is 1941 (apart from a short prologue in 1937) and evil is of course afoot. Willi Schaaf is not only a member of the infamous SS, he is also part of Hitler`s army on the Eastern Front, attempting to drive forward into Russia. Schaaf has a secret, deadly for those times. He is in fact, a Mischling, a half-Jew. This potentially interesting complication is, however, really used only to explain why he thinks twice after being ordered to shoot Jewish prisoners in cold blood and is haunted by it. In addition, in a vague attempt to create tension, this secret lets the arch-villain Laus sense a secret about the man he envies.

There are plenty of unpleasant scenes of death and shooting. This is war, after all, and the reader is spared none of the horrors. The barrages of bullets, blood and death are as unrelenting for the reader as for the soldiers. It might be more compelling if the characters were developed enough for the reader to care more about them. The war and weapons knowledge seems thorough as far as I could judge and, indeed, the book was written by an ex-soldier.

If only the editing were as solid. The book is not marked as being an advance proof copy, but the mistakes were endless. Just to point out a few: “If there any still alive”, page 83; “must be the affect you have”, page 92; and “we stared passed the heads”, page 101. Perhaps very cautiously recommended for fans of war writing who put action far above plot and characterisation.

Ann Northfield DEEDS OF DARKNESS Edward Marston, Allison & Busby, 2014, £19.99, hb, 351pp, 9780749015190 Deeds of Darkness is the fifth novel in the Home Front series by Edward Marston, and continues the detecting journey of Detective Inspector Harvey Marmion amid the backdrop of an early 20th-century England full of its own discord and

poignancy. It is 1916, and Harvey Marmion’s son is somewhere in the trenches of France, and fears grow for his safety as the Battle of the Somme rages. Meanwhile, Marmion and his future sonin-law, Detective Sergeant Joe Keedy, have to track down a murderer who targets, seduces and kills unsuspecting women within the heady darkness of a cinema, and develops a taste for killing in public places. As fear of this man grips the hearts of the people, and the war torments their minds, Marmion’s problems are compounded when his daughter is forced to work the night- shift in the Women’s Police Service while the killer is still at large, and he has to remain focused to catch this killer.

This is an excellently-plotted, enthralling read, with superbly-drawn characters, right down to the most minor of players. The deliciously disturbing image of a fetishist murderer who likes souvenirs of his victims is especially good. A particularly interesting feature of this novel is its capture of social history. More than a crime novel, it paints a vivid picture of the tensions that pervaded individuals’ lives at home during World War I, including the difficulties women faced at the time in their struggle for independence. Equally, it acknowledges the emotional and physical difficulties that affected the armed services, and both physical and mental torment are sympathetically depicted. If I have any complaint about this novel, the solution is introduced and concluded just a little too quickly for me. Maybe it’s because it was so enjoyable I didn’t want to stop reading. Highly recommended.

Claire Cowling PLAYING BY HEART Anne Mateer, Bethany House, 2014, $14.99, pb, 320pp, 9780764210655 Lula Bowman is living her dream in circa 1918 Oklahoma. She is teaching mathematics and has won a scholarship for advanced studies. She plans to be the first woman Ph.D. in the state.

When she is called home to assist her widowed sister, Jewel, and Jewel’s soon-to-be five children, Lula is devastated. She will fulfill her family responsibilities, but her own bright future seems ruined. When she is hired by the local high school to teach music and girls’ basketball, she does her best, but is determined to get back to her own ambitions as soon as possible. Even the handsome, principled Chet cannot change her mind about returning to her chosen career. Lula gradually realizes that her intense pursuit of a math career has pushed other worthwhile life choices aside.

By story’s end, Lula’s future looks bright, although different than her original plan. This novel has a strong moral tone but is not “preachy.” Multifaceted characters face truly troubling obstacles, causing readers to care about them. Christian readers would like this book, as would anyone who enjoys a good family saga seasoned with a love story.

Elizabeth Knowles THE HAUNTING BALLAD Michael Nethercott, Minotaur, 2014, $25.99/ HNR Issue 71, February 2015 | Reviews | 47

C$29.99, hb, 308pp, 9781250017406 Plunkett and O’Nelligan are not a traditional detecting duo. Lee Plunkett, the younger man, has inherited his father’s detective agency in the small town of Thelmont, Connecticut in the 1950s.

O’Nelligan is the older man, a perceptive Irishman who is content to act as Plunkett’s assistant gratis.

When Plunkett and Audrey, his fiancée of three years, broaden their horizons to visit a coffeehouse in Greenwich Village, they witness a scene between two musicians, and a few weeks later, the accuser in the scene is dead, a supposed suicide. Her cousin begs Plunkett and his partner to prove otherwise.

The investigation takes Plunkett out of the comfort zone of his small town, putting him in contact with folksingers in interracial relationships, song stealing, and women offering free love. And he discovers that Audrey may not be content with being engaged indefinitely. Nethercott does a good job in balancing the two worlds—the emerging bohemianism of the Village and the small town experience that Plunkett has, which is tempered with O’Nelligan’s wisdom. Characters aren’t caricatures of 1950s types. When the denouement is revealed, there is no sense of relief or justice, just sorrow at the choices that led to that particular result.

Ellen Keith WHEN THE DOVES DISAPPEARED Sofi Oksanen (trans. Lola Rogers), Knopf, 2015, $25.95, hb, 320pp, 9780385350174 Estonians Rosalie and Roland, Juudit and Edgar suffer appalling consequences, along with their families and numerous others, from the triple occupation of their country. First, in 1940, the Russians invaded but were forced out in 1941 by the Germans, yet the Soviets returned to reoccupy Estonia from 1944 up to 1991. The novel opens dramatically in 1941, when Roland and his cousin Edgar attack and decimate a Red Army column as part of the Estonian Forest Brothers force.

It is clear that Roland is the better fighter of the two, while Edgar is more bookish. The Estonians’ euphoria of welcoming the Germans as liberators soon fades when the Nazis start brutally imposing their restrictive measures. While Roland goes into hiding, Edgar survives by collaborating with the Germans. Nevertheless, he is not as successful in his married life with Juudit, and she is attracted to a German officer. The historical novel adds a whodunit perspective when Roland, learning of his fiancée Rosalie’s mysterious death, sets out to track her killer.

Sofi Oksanen has masterfully written her narrative in alternating time periods and viewpoints. Their impact on readability is made smoother, by restricting these changes to chapters, and assigning first- and third-person viewpoints to individual characters. The resulting atmospheric novel brings to life that horrific period in the tiny Baltic nation’s history. The vicissitudes of life faced by the characters, as representatives of the populace, are aptly presented in their sufferings, feelings and thoughts. For instance, the shortage 48 | Reviews |

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of food supplies is vividly revealed through in the novel’s title, in describing how German soldiers started eating the doves. Although the FinnishEstonian author’s treatment of historical aspects is, naturally, at times sentimental, the inclusion of romance, marital difficulties, and a murder mystery keeps the story alive. The novel should appeal to even those already familiar with Estonia’s past.

Waheed Rabbani VANESSA AND HER SISTER Priya Parmar, Ballantine, 2014, $26.00, hb, 368pp, 9780804176378 There is great fascination with what came to be called The Bloomsbury Group – not merely the Stephen siblings (including artist Vanessa and writer Virginia), but E.M. Forster, Lytton Strachey, Clive Bell, Maynard Keynes and others – all searching at the end of the Victorian period for the meaning of life and great art. In her second novel, Parmar explores these eccentric relationships told through the lens of Vanessa Stephen’s artistic and emotional life and the often chaotic role Virginia played in her life.

What becomes quickly apparent is that Vanessa – the glue – is the centered, balanced Stephen sister while Virginia is clearly unbalanced, erratic, vengeful, often eerily uncontrollable – but beautiful and brilliant. Mostly narrated in Vanessa’s words in a diary-like format but creatively employing letters and postcards, we watch the evolution of a group of utterly brilliant souls – artists who haven’t sold a painting, or a book or a review – become some of the most successful artists, novelists and intellectual thinkers of the early part of the 20th century. But though we may know the works of Virginia Woolf, Strachey, and Forster, Parmar’s clever use of technique provides the insight into who these people were and how they thought: we can listen to them speak, argue, express love and longing, collaborate, create. Oh to have been a fly on the wall during one of those evenings!

While I found myself wanting to tear Virginia’s eyes out from time to time – it was not her mental illness I found as distressing as her sick manipulation of Vanessa – I was swept along by the intensity of the relationships between the members of the Group. Perhaps that is a testament itself to Parmar’s talent as an author, that she grabbed hold of me and didn’t let go until the final page.

Ilysa Magnus THE MOUTH OF THE CROCODILE: A Mamur Zapt Mystery Set in Pre-World War I Egypt Michael Pearce, Severn House, 2015, $28.95/£19.99, hb, 208pp, 9780727884633 In 1913 in Atbara, Sudan, a railway worker drowns in the Nile. An English lad, Jamie, cries murder but is ignored. The plot thickens when Owen, the Mamur Zapt (Secret Police Chief ), arrives to escort a Pasha to Cairo. The Pasha, returning from a conference in Khartoum, is fearful for his life. He hides, even from Owen, some secret documents in his briefcase. Jamie also joins Owen

and the Pasha, as well as his entourage, on the train to Cairo, but it gets bogged down following a fierce sandstorm. While the passengers swelter in the intense heat and endure dwindling supplies, awaiting the relief engine, Jamie befriends two teenage Arab girls. Owen fears an attack by the natives, one possibly motivated by an anti-British conspiracy.

This, Michael Pearce’s latest series novel, follows his usual formula: portraying everyday life vividly in 1900s colonial Egypt and Sudan; introducing a murder mystery that is resolved by the Mamur Zapt; and adding perceptive sociopolitical conflicts and the locals’ attitudes towards the British into the narrative. What makes this one somewhat different and adds another dimension is the inclusion of the storyline featuring the three teens, which exposes the struggles of local women. These aspects will keep the readers entertained and engaged.

Waheed Rabbani

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THE GIRL NEXT DOOR Ruth Rendell, Scribner, 2014, $26.00, hb, 288pp, 9781476784328 / Hutchinson, 2014, £18.99, hb, 288pp, 9780091958831 Fans of prolific and award-winning author Rendell will not be disappointed by her latest novel. On the outskirts of war-torn London in the 1940s, a group of children discover mysterious underground tunnels that quickly become their favorite place to play. Seventy years later, new construction at the site turns up a macabre discovery, a biscuit tin containing two human hands, one man’s and one woman’s.

Although the police have little interest in investigating such an old mystery, questions about the event bring together once again the aged childhood friends, many of whom had not seen each other in decades. Whose hands were in the box? Did they have anything to do with the children that had played in the tunnels so long ago?

As the geriatric friends come together, catastrophic shifts occur in their lives: dormant passions are reignited, lifelong commitments are shattered, and ancient secrets are revealed.

Rendell’s cozy English style is an interesting juxtaposition to the gruesome events driving the story, and it mirrors perfectly the contradictions that become evident in some of her characters, notably the abandoned wife, Rosemary. The novel is loaded with a cast of colorful characters and, at times, the sheer number of characters becomes confusing. But the story is unique and riveting, and Rendell’s graceful, suspenseful unspooling of it is worth taking the time for a slow read.

Author of more than forty books, Rendell is, according to Time, “the best mystery writer in the English-speaking world.” This latest novel is proof 20th Century

positive of that accolade and should not be missed.

John Kachuba AFTER THE WAR IS OVER Jennifer Robson, William Morrow, 2015, $14.99, pb, 384pp, 9780062334633 / Avon, 2014, C$18.50, pb, 320pp, 9780062334633 Exploring the aftermath of WWI in England, this story follows Charlotte Brown – a character from the author’s previous novel, Somewhere in France. Charlotte, who worked as a nurse during the war, has resumed her position as a constituent aide in Liverpool, helping women and children in need. As a Women’s Rights activist, she begins a correspondence with a local newspaper editor that results in a weekly column focused on social issues.

She strikes up a fast friendship with her new collaborator and admirer, as they have much in common, but she still harbors tender feelings for another. The unattainable Lord Cumberland had hired her straight out of college to finish his youngest sister’s education and for several years before the war the two young women were inseparable, though greatly divided by class. Lord Cumberland, returning injured from an extended captivity and barely recognizable, seeks Charlotte out with an impossible request, interrupting her carefully ordered new life.

This is an eye-opening view of post WWI England, when patriotism was high, with celebrations on Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day, but many families were broken and destitute. Women were displaced from their jobs by the men returning from war, and countless soldiers had unseen psychological issues that went untreated. Charlotte, years ahead of her time in terms of forward thinking, makes an estimable protagonist, and the storyline is both believable and obsessively readable. I highly recommend this book, especially for those interested in WWI fiction.

Arleigh Johnson THE MOONLIGHT PALACE Liz Rosenberg, Lake Union, 2014, $14.95, pb, 196pp, 9781477824429 Agnes Hussein, her Uncle Chachi, and her grandparents live in crumbling, leaky Kampong Glam Palace in Singapore. The palace once belonged to the last Sultan of Singapore and is guaranteed to remain in the family as long as there is a male heir to claim ownership. Agnes wants to work to make significant repairs to their home that is quite literally falling apart.

However, this is the 1920s, and young women do not travel unescorted and certainly do not work or deal with the diminishing finances of a poor family. Her feisty grandmother, however, makes up for financial reality with fierce pride in their royal heritage and lack of tolerance for those who would bilk them out of their home, such as the caring, romantic Geoffrey Brown, who poses as savior but is perhaps something far, far worse. Nei Nei, the grandmother, is the ever-alert barometer for Agnes’s choices, a stark but real warning system 20th Century

that Agnes sometimes resents but comes to realize will be the only salvation of their family. Agnes meanwhile pursues the mystery of how to stop other grasping individuals from taking away her home. She does all this as time marches on and claims the lives of two of her most beloved people in the world.

The Moonlight Palace covers the grandeur of homes, architecture, food and art in 1920 Singapore but is just as generous in its depiction of our heroine’s home and their place in Singaporean history. Intriguing, exotic historical fiction for those who would love to read about this place and time so infrequently given the substantial attention it deserves!

Viviane Crystal SKYLIGHT José Saramago (trans. Margaret Jull Costa), Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014, $26.00, hb, 299pp, 9780544090026 In 1940s Lisbon, Portugal, tenants of a small apartment building eke out a living amid abusive relationships, financially struggling families and sexual liaisons. Silvestre, a cobbler, lives with his wife and rents out a room to a young lodger. They become friends and share their philosophies on the meaning of life. Candida and her sister, Amelia, live with Candida’s two young daughters, Isura and Adriana. Caetano Cunha, an abusive man who cheats on his wife, Justina, struggle on without their daughter, who died several years earlier. Dona Rosalia and her husband, Anselmo, try to position their young, beautiful daughter, Maria Claudia, into a more highly paid job. Dona Carmen, at 33, is at odds with her husband, Emilio, who feels like he is a prisoner in his own home. Finally Lida, 32, is a kept mistress for the last three years to Paulino Morais, a man of means who owns his own business.

Saramago died in 2010, and he refused to allow this novel to be published during his lifetime.

He had won the Nobel Prize for Literature for his body of work, but he felt slighted when this manuscript was refused publication in 1953. His book has now been made available to the reading public. This bird’s-eye, or skylight, view of life in a Lisbon tenement is well written with a number of well-formed and credible characters introduced early on in the novel. All scenes take place in the apartment building, similarly to plays written

by Neil Simon, showing the Jewish middle-class experience.

Prepare to be immersed in the lives of these people as they interact with each other. The author uses brilliant descriptions to underscore their sad and unhappy existence. I highly recommend this novel.

Jeff Westerhoff PEGASUS Danielle Steel, Bantam Press, 2014, £18.99, hb, 340pp, 9780593068922 / Delacorte, 2014, $28.00, hb, 352pp, 9780345530974 Alex and Nick are German aristocrats, enjoying

comfortable lives until Hitler’s increasingly powerful Reich threatens both men and their families. Close friends since childhood, Alex and Nick are both widowers with children. When Nick discovers that he is part Jewish, he is forced to flee the country with his two sons and make a new life in the United States. Thanks to Alex’s gift of eight horses, including the Lipizzaner stallion, Pegasus, Nick is able to support himself by joining the circus, where he falls in love with a beautiful high-wire artiste, Christianna. Alex, meanwhile, is concerned for the safety of his seventeen-year old daughter, Marianne, and bribes a Nazi officer to let her leave Germany. Arriving alone in England, Marianne must adapt to life in a country which is at war with her homeland. She worries about her father who is left behind to protect the family estate from the Nazis, but her loneliness is eased by romance with a young RAF pilot.

The novel provides an interesting insight into life in the circus, showing the hardships and dangers behind the glitter of the big top. Nick’s almost instant success as a star attraction seems a little too easy, and his romance with a girl young enough to be his daughter is rather off-putting.

However, the characters are engaging and the story moves at a good pace. The final chapters move beyond the war years, and follow the fortunes of future generations of the two families. The novel provides an entertaining read and will be especially appealing to all those who love horses.

Claire Thurlow

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THE VOICES Frank Tallis, Pegasus, 2014, $25.95, hb, 384pp, 9781605986562 / Pan, 2014, £7.99, pb, 400pp, 9781447236023 Tallis’ recent move away from the Max Liebermann Mysteries, set in early 20thcentury Vienna, into more modern-era psychological mysteries comes solidly into its own in The Voices, his third novel in this genre.

Set in the mid-1960s in the odd, hip-but-stillconstrained London milieu of failed academics and “movie music” composers, a young couple with a new baby move into an old Victorian house that is the beginning of the time-honored haunted house motif.

Part The Shining and part Turn of the Screw, the story pits the ambition of Christopher Norton against the fear his wife experiences in their ghostridden home. Evil things have occurred there, they begin finding out, and soon voices are heard over the baby monitor, which Christopher then decides he can start recording and perhaps incorporate into some new music he wants to compose—and launch a comeback for himself into the higher-brow music world he left behind to pursue movie soundtracks.

Tallis is a clinical psychologist and, combined HNR Issue 71, February 2015 | Reviews | 49

with his excellent storytelling and writing, the novel is definitely a chiller and a thriller, both psychologically and physically. The pacing is excellent, the revealing moments make the hair rise on the back of your neck, and you are caught in the classic “No, please, do not open that door!” as the hapless Christopher takes one risk after another. A very good read, but probably not while in bed alone at night!

Mary F. Burns WE ARE NOT OURSELVES Matthew Thomas, Simon & Schuster, 2014, $28.00, hb, 620 pp, 9781476756660 / Fourth Estate, 2014, £16.99, hb, 640pp, 9780007548217 What are the effects of a devastating illness on a family? How does a family adapt to a new normal when nothing will ever be the same again? We Are Not Ourselves is a sweeping intergenerational saga of an Irish-American family living in Queens. At the center of the story is Eileen, who epitomizes a strong female character. Eileen’s hardscrabble origins, the daughter of alcoholics, ignited a spark in her, one that motivates her to claw her way out of her working class neighborhood. Eileen works as a nurse and is constantly encouraging her teacher husband, Ed, to move out of their neighborhood and take on a better job, but Ed is resolute and refuses. Eventually, she is able to coax him to what she perceives is a better neighborhood and, the hope is, to a more comfortable life.

Soon, though, it becomes clear that something is wrong with Ed. He is belligerent and obsessive and has inappropriate outbursts. When the family receives the catastrophic news that Ed is suffering from early onset Alzheimer’s, their world goes into a tailspin.

The author most assuredly does not sugarcoat Ed’s illness – the good, the bad, the ugly, the funny, the overwhelming sad, is all intertwined. At times, the family’s response to his illness can be frustrating to the reader, particularly Eileen and Ed’s son, Connell, who, wrapped up in his own teenage issues, comes across as distant and uncaring.

Not only is this a book about trying to achieve the American dream, it is also about the resiliency of the human spirit. Unflinchingly honest and poignant, the book borders on tedium in its length and scope, but the payoff is well worth it.

Hilary Daninhirsch WOLF POINT Mike Thompson, Five Star, 2014, $25.95, hb, 312pp, 9781432829308 It’s the 1920s and Prohibition is at its peak in Wolf Point, Montana. Sheriff Andy Larson doesn’t want any part of the bootleg business in Roosevelt County. Unfortunately, there are crime bosses who wish to use Wolf Point as a distribution point for bootleg whisky from Canada. One gang using a plane lands and drops off bootleg booze at a nearby farm. Sheriff Larson is called in to investigate the murders of out-of-town men discovered dead in a barn located on that farm. Meanwhile, Parke Dennison arrives to replace the murdered ex50 | Reviews |

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Police Chief of Wolf Point. Shortly after his arrival, gunmen rob the local bank and shoot-up the police station, killing two policemen. The infamous Purple Gang is blamed for the attack.

Sub-titled “An Andy Larson Frontier Mystery,” the story is fast-paced, with believable characters of the period. The mystery continues to unravel, as the reader must determine the connection between the Canadian suppliers and the mid-western gang trying to get the market on the booze as it is shipped from Montana to the southwest. A fun read and highly recommended.

Jeff Westerhoff

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THE WINTER GARDEN Jane Thynne, Simon & Schuster, 2014, £7.99, pb, 420pp, 9781849830901 Clara Vine is an actress, working in Germany, but she hides a deep secret. She is an undercover British Intelligence agent in a Berlin where everything and everyone is in political and real danger.

No one can be trusted, and the only way to protect those you love is to tell them nothing. When a girl attending Berlin’s bride school for prospective SS officers’ wives is murdered, Clara becomes embroiled in a situation that not only affects her safety and those whom she is close to, but also affects those at the very top of the political ladder, and some will do anything to ensure that secrets remain just that.

This, Jane Thynne’s fifth novel, is a gripping and fast-paced historical spy thriller, yet it also manages to incorporate the most tender and revealing of moments, and a dangerous love story that I hope runs the course of the trilogy. The superbly written tense plot and believable characters are only matched by the incredible, extensive and painstaking research that has gone into producing this novel. It is impossible not to feel as the characters do – enveloped and indeed oppressed and overpowered by the pre-war German society the author captures throughout this book.

I was delighted to find the first chapter of the second Clara Vine novel at the end of this book.

I, for one, cannot wait to read the sequel to the bittersweet ending to this story so far. I have no hesitation in recommending this novel to any avid reader of historical fiction set in or around World War II. If you like your history to concentrate on both the larger picture and the minutiae, then this is the book for you.

Claire Cowling A FINE SUMMER’S DAY Charles Todd, William Morrow, 2015, $26.99/ C$33.50, hb, 352pp, 9780062237125 This 17th novel in the Ian Rutledge mystery series follows the successful pattern used in many of the previous books. An inspector at Scotland

Yard, Rutledge puts considerable mileage on his motorcar, driving all over England interviewing villagers while cunningly assembling clues to track down a killer. His presence is alternately welcomed and resented by the local police, and his wits prove to be as sharp as ever. The difference? This entry turns back the clock six years, just prior to the wartime service that will leave him a haunted, shell-shocked veteran.

In this prequel set in June 1914, Rutledge is just 23, a young policeman with a bright future in the Yard – if he can endure the Chief Superintendent’s antipathy. He’s naïve when it comes to women, though. Newly engaged, he thinks his pretty fiancée Jean Gordon will make him happy, while his sister and friends are doubtful. When he gets called to investigate a hanging in Yorkshire, he finds himself befuddled. The dead man was a successful furniture maker with no known enemies. Before long, Rutledge is assigned to investigate two other murders in different corners of the country, and the victims have similarly unblemished reputations.

Readers are shown the perpetrator at the beginning, but even after Rutledge figures things out, there’s still plenty of mystery left. The story becomes an exciting cat-and-mouse thriller as he pursues his man while determining the “how” and the “why.” Tension and atmosphere are added via Britain’s increasing slide towards war, Jean’s pressure on him to enlist, and his need to clear an innocent man before it’s too late. Despite one outlandish coincidence, this is a suspenseful mystery that grips one’s attention until the end.

Sarah Johnson A SPOOL OF BLUE THREAD Anne Tyler, Knopf, 2014, $25.95/C$32.00, hb, 368pp, 9781101874271 Tyler’s latest novel is filled with what readers have come to expect and love from her: a frank dissection of a family, with all its joys and pain.

The Whitshank family has been in Baltimore since 1926, when “Junior” Whitshank landed in town. The current generation, headed up by Red Whitshank and his wife Abby, live in a house Junior built and loved; Red and two of his children run the construction firm started by Junior. Abby is a social worker, both on the job and at home.

She’s been bringing home “strays” for years, and one never knows what social misfit will be joining the family for dinner. Her pet project, though, is her oldest son, Denny, a wayward, unfathomable young man who flits in and out of his family’s lives. Even Abby’s solid Earth Mother presence can’t penetrate Denny’s laissez-faire façade, and the emotional capital she spends on trying to understand him leaves her little energy to deal with her other children.

Tyler provides snapshots of the generations, letting the reader in on secrets that even the closest of the characters don’t share with each other.

Some of the most notable scenes take place in a small Southern town in the 1920s, and others in Baltimore during the Depression and in the 1950s.

A large part of the story occurs in the present day, 20th Century

and reveals that the house and the neighborhood have matured and aged along with the Whitshank family. Throughout, the house remains the anchor, both supporting and restraining the Whitshanks as they try to make their individual ways in the world. Tyler once again gives us a family who might live on our own block, and provides insight into the drama that permeates even the most seemingly “normal” lives.

Helene Williams

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THE NIGHT FALLING Katherine Webb, Hachette Australia, 2014, $A29.99, pb, 432pp, 9781409131502 / Orion, 2014, £16.99, hb, 432pp, 9781409131496 It is a hot summer in Puglia, early 1920s.

Socialist and war veteran Ettore labours in the fields helping to support his sister Paola and her child, but after an accident with a scythe he must swallow his pride and fall back on his rich uncle, Leandro Cardetta, for assistance. Leandro has recently returned to his homeland after a successful career in New York.

Clare Kingsley, together with her teenage stepson Pip, is summoned from Hampstead to stay on Leandro’s estate while her husband Boyd, a British architect, designs a new façade to the house.

Leandro’s American wife, Marcie, appears thrilled to have the company of Pip and Clare.

The countryside simmers with hidden tensions and open hostility, including the rise of the sinister black-shirts. Clare and Pip both witness violent and harrowing scenes, and Clare grows increasingly uneasy. Boyd has secrets in his past from his time in New York and some prior link to Leandro that he refuses to share with her. Complicating her concerns is that she is being irrevocably drawn into a relationship with the lean, enigmatic Ettore even as he still grieves his lost love, Livia.

Why does Leandro stop Clare and Pip from returning home when things turn dangerous?

Will Ettore track down the man responsible for Livia’s death? All these questions and more swirl throughout the novel, and Clare’s sense of “violence all around, the possible and the actual… like an electric charge in the air; the hum before a lightning strike” is palpable throughout.

It takes a little while to get accustomed to the novel’s style, but once you do, you will become thoroughly immersed in its characters and setting, and the closing sequence is a stunner. This is mesmerising and compulsive reading, and most highly recommended.

Marina Maxwell TIME PASSES TIME Mary Wood, Pan, 2014, £6.99, pb, 423pp, 9781447267485 In London in 1963, mentally and physically 20th Century

fragile Theresa Crompton is injured during an apparently random mugging. Her handbag contains her memoirs of her life as an agent for the SOE in Occupied France – memoirs which fall into the sympathetic hands of disabled Lizzie, whose aunt has an old connection with Theresa.

Meanwhile Theresa’s long-lost illegitimate children have started searching for their past. Jacques, brought up by loving grandparents, wants to honour the parents he has been told were part of the French Resistance. But Patsy, embittered by years of hardship, is looking for revenge…

I’ve read 20th-century sagas before and thought I knew what I was letting myself in for, but the first third of this book is very dark indeed – domestic violence, mental illness, blackmail, incest, rape, murder, the Holocaust, imprisonment in Dachau – you name it, at least one of the characters will have experienced it. Fortunately there is a bit more light relief later on. It doesn’t help that this is the sequel to a trilogy, so there is a lot of back-story to catch up on. The sheer number of viewpoint characters also means there are possibly too many claims on the reader’s sympathies. The first chapter is a very effective depiction of Theresa’s confusion of past and present, but I can’t help thinking the author gives away too much of her back-story, killing the suspense later on.

One historical detail that rang false to me is that Theresa is allowed to tell her family she is about to be parachuted behind enemy lines, rather than being given a more bland cover story. Wood’s fans will probably enjoy this, but it’s not for someone looking for a light, escapist read.

Jasmina Svenne A MISSISSIPPI WHISPER Paul H. Yarbrough, WiDo Publishing, 2014, $15.95, pb, 296pp, 9781937178581 Charlie McCoy, 10, lives in Jackson, Mississippi in 1953. He and his friends learn from a policeman that a skeleton was found after a fire in a cabin on an abandoned farm outside of town. Charlie thinks Joe Washington, an African-American junk/ice man, might know something about it, but the adults don’t think it a fit topic for children, so the kids are left to speculate. When Charlie goes to the farm later to retrieve a knife he dropped in the Big House, he overhears Joe on the floor below talking to someone about Joe’s father accidentally killing a man. Is this the answer to the mysterious skeleton find?

While the question of how the skeleton came to be inside the burned cabin drives the rather leisurely plot forward, the mystery angle is secondary. The emphasis is on Charlie as a naïve narrator, presenting pre-integration Mississippi life from a white child’s point of view. The book revels in 1950s nostalgia, with references to Korea, Eisenhower, Playboy, baseball, radio serials, polio scares, the agonies of boys forced to go school shopping, and concerns about what the planned interstate highway will do to the town. The Civil Rights movement has not yet begun, so Charlie’s interactions with African Americans are mostly

confined to Joe, the family maid Mary Hester, and July, the school janitor. References to Charlie’s sister Katy Jean are cryptic – there is something odd about her, but it’s not revealed until the final chapter. Readers who don’t demand an exciting plot point in every single chapter and those nostalgic for their 1950s childhood will enjoy the trip back in time. An epilogue tells what happened to the characters in later life.

B.J. Sedlock SECRET OF A THOUSAND BEAUTIES Mingmei Yip, Kensington, 2014, $14.00, pb, 300pp, 9781617733215 Set in 1930s China, Secret of a Thousand Beauties traces the life of a young woman, Spring Swallow, in what seems one tragedy after another.

We meet her at seventeen on her wedding day. Her future husband is the spirit of an unborn baby boy; his mother had miscarried him years earlier.

Ghost weddings were not uncommon in Chinese feudal tradition, which still held fast for much of the population, but regardless, when the wedding day dawns Spring Swallow cannot reconcile herself and the ghost bride she is about to become. She flees the ceremony, making a decision that will change the course of her life, and she senses that the world around her is on the verge of enormous change as well. Spring Swallow marks that everyone she encounters is an imperial loyalist or a revolutionary; no one seems to be undecided.

Spring Swallow is fortunate to be taken in by her Aunty Peony, who owns and operates an embroidery studio. Here she learns the craft of Su embroidery while she lives and works with other girls taken in as apprentices by her aunt, who have their own with tragic stories. Spring Swallow should consider herself fortunate, but her free spirit cannot be confined by Aunty Peony’s rules, among them celibacy for her apprentices. She decides to find adventure and begins climbing a nearby mountain and leaving poetry on the rocks there. When Shen Feng responds to her poems, she is shocked, and when she finally meets him, she falls quickly in love – only to be separated from him by a revolution that is more important to him than anything.

In the next two years, the countless tragedies makes the story seem near-implausible and drive a wedge between the plot and the reader, but ultimately by the conclusion, we reconciled. The surprising ending confirms Spring Swallow’s belief that one should never lose hope.

Shannon Gallagher SNOW HUNTERS Paul Yoon, Simon & Schuster, 2014, $15.00, pb, 224pp, 9781476714820 Twentieth-century North Korea and Brazil.

The protagonist of this much-lauded short novel is a young man in his middle twenties called Yohan.

A North Korean POW refugee who defects from his country in the early 1950s, Yohan finds a new life in a small town on the Brazilian coast, where he is employed as a Japanese tailor’s apprentice. Over HNR Issue 71, February 2015 | Reviews | 51

the years, four people slip in and out of Yohan’s life: the tailor, Kiyoshi; the groundskeeper of the town church; and two vagrant children, a boy, Santi, and a girl, Bia. All the while, Yohan suffers from memories of Korea and his best friend, Peng, a childhood friend he meets later as a fellow soldier, and whom he loses to the war.

Snow Hunters is a quiet story of loss, despair, solitude and, eventually, hope in the face of grief and sorrow. It is a lovely novella, an elegantly – I would even say, beautifully – written snapshot of one man’s life developed through the repetition of interwoven memories and haunting images. It has received across the board stellar reviews and is the winner of the 2014 New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award. For all this, while the lyrical language pulled me though the story, in the end, I did not feel connected to it and found it overall oddly lacking in emotion.

Alana White PROMISE TO CHERISH Elizabeth Byler Younts, Howard, 2014, $14.99, pb, 352pp, 9781476735030 In 1945 Amish men who refused to participate in military combat were sent to places where they could serve America in WWII without having to bear arms. Eli Brennerman is such an Amish conscientious objector. After months of tedious labor digging ditches for six days a week in the Civilian Public Service Unit of the military, Eli is transferred to Hudson River State Hospital in Poughkeepsie, New York where he will serve as an attendant. There he meets Christine Freeman, a nurse who is forced to work at the hospital because she is the sole financial supporter of her family now that she’s lost her brothers in the war and her crippled father is unable to find a decent job.

This is the story of how love blooms between Eli and Christine. It includes enduring the terrible conditions that are a daily reality for the mentally challenged of that time, the hatred that men like Eli endured for refusing to kill, the growing realization for Eli that he is as guilty of violence and other sins as any other man who fought in the war, and the tragic violent act of another man who likes to hurt and kill other human beings. Christine will eventually come to love the Amish community, but only after she is refused understanding and instead is falsely judged for one evening’s trauma and being an “outsider.” Younts depicts the issues of conscientious objectors, the state of mental health hospitals and Amish beliefs and practices to readers in potent, obviously well-researched, heartrending and thoroughly engaging scenes. Wellcrafted historical fiction about a topic deserving of more attention.

Viviane Crystal

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multi-period

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THE TOWER Alessandro Gallenzi, Alma Books, 2014, £12.99, 52 | Reviews |

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pb, 313pp, 9781846883378 Amman, Jordan. When a monastic scholar disappears, along with a rare Giordano Bruno manuscript, private investigator Peter Simms and beautiful philologist Giulia Ripetti are employed by the manuscript’s owner to track it down. Their investigations draw them into a murky world of Islamic extremism and international corporate power-broking. So far, so Da Vinci Code. However, Gallenzi also introduces an historical narrative about the life of Bruno himself, in which he displays great erudition, achieving an ingenious and detailed reconstruction of Bruno’s long imprisonment and trials.

This should be a cracking read, a heady mix of mystery, adventure, crime novel and philosophical treatise. Perhaps, however, because it tries to do too much, it fails on all counts. Even the principal characters are underdeveloped, to the point where it’s difficult to care about them. The modern plot is full of holes. Why, for example, would an international corporation choose to set up its Middle Eastern headquarters in Amman, whose infrastructure is already under strain from its vast refugee population? Why not Dubai or Qatar, for example? Amman’s peculiar demographic does have a part to play in the plot, but that doesn’t address the problem of logic. It is hard to believe in the Biblia Corporation if its corporate decisionmaking is designed to serve the plot of a novel.

The Bruno narrative is merely dull – an almost impossible achievement, you would think, given the subject – but alas, Gallenzi achieves it. A bit of fun if you were to pick it up by chance, but not one to spend good money on.

Sarah Bower A MEMORY OF VIOLETS: A Novel of London’s Flower Sellers Hazel Gaynor, William Morrow, 2015, $14.99/£7.99, pb, 432pp, 9780062316899 This lovely novel moves between London in 1912 and London in 1876 to tell the stories of two young women whose relationships with their sisters become shrouded in tragedy. We meet Tilly Harper in 1912, as she leaves her Lake District home for London, glad to be moving away from a place where she feels unloved by her mother and guilty for her sister’s mysterious accident. As assistant housemother at Violet House, one of Mr. Shaw’s Training Homes for Watercress and Flower Girls, Tilly finds an old journal left behind

by Florrie Flynn, a flower girl who once stayed in the same room. The smell of violets envelops Tilly as she learns of Florrie and her dear sister and tries to solve a mystery that may end up explaining her own life, as well.

The flower girls are the real stars of the story, as Gaynor skillfully weaves in historical information about these destitute, often disabled, girls who were taken in and taught to make silk flowers, bringing enterprise, beauty, and hope to a city that had tried to abandon them.

The tale of Florrie and her sister is a bit heavyhanded after a while, as told through Florrie’s

journal. Readers know early on what the fate of Florrie’s sister is, so Florrie’s repeated claims that she could never stand to lose her sister seem to force from readers a depth of feeling that could have been treated with more subtlety. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and felt attached to several characters, but particularly Tilly. The historical information was gracefully inserted, and I did not want the book to end. I would love to read a sequel about Tilly and Mr. Shaw’s flower girls.

Amy Watkin BLOODLINE Alan Gold and Mike Jones, Atria, 2014, $16/ C$18.99, pb, 432pp, 9781476759845 In 2007, Bilal, a young Palestinian tries to blow up the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. Bilal is seriously injured in his unsuccessful attempt. He is rushed to the hospital where a surgeon, Yael Cohen operates; there is a complication, and a second surgery by another doctor requires a blood transfusion.

Bilal’s blood is the rare AB negative type, and by coincidence Yael has the same blood type. When Yael reads the DNA results she is stunned to see that the similarities between her and Bilal are such that they could be brother and sister. Yael knows almost nothing about her grandmother and suspects she may be the key to the mystery of similarity in the DNA. Yael sets out to visit Bilal’s parents in the hope that she will find some answers. Her search puts her in the middle of a conspiracy involving a Palestinian Iman, a Rabbi of a Jewish sect wishing to do away with the state of Israel, and a high-ranking Shin Bet official. Yael meets an American journalist who assists her in solving the mystery. There is a substory which begins about 1,000 BCE in the time of King David and is related along with Yael and Bilal’s story to provide some historical background.

Bloodline is the first book in the Heritage Trilogy. Alan Gold and Mike Jones have written a masterful novel, full of intrigue and exciting twists that keep the reader on edge. Their research is excellent and adds to the two plotlines. Anyone interested in genealogy, the DNA factor, or history in general will find this novel spellbinding.

Audrey Braver MISSING YOU IN ATLANTIC CITY Jane Kelly, Plexus, 2014, $14.95, pb, 288pp, 9781940091006 Middle-aged and out-of-shape Meg Daniels tags along with former private investigator Andy Beck, her boyfriend – how she hates that word!

– on his trip to Atlantic City, a temporary casino security gig. They meet Johnny Angelino, a Sinatra impersonator, at the lounge. Angelino begs them to look into his mother’s disappearance during the 1964 Democratic Convention in Atlantic City. Meg has time on her hands and agrees to check it out. She quickly discovers that the police investigation was shoddy. What’s more, whoever killed Johnny’s young mother all those years ago may still be dangerous.

Author Kelly brings in both the 1960s bouffant 20th Century — Multi-period

hairdos as well as the ugly racism of the era. In particular she highlights the dramatic story of the African-American delegates from Mississippi who came to Atlantic City to protest their state’s all-white delegation. Mississippi’s delegates were all white because just a tiny percentage of AfricanAmerican Mississippians had been allowed to register to vote.

This mystery just about defines fun beach read, and although the historical sections take a second place to the contemporary, they’re well researched and evocative. Kelly’s characters are funny, wry, smart, and all too human. This whodunit went by way too fast.

Kristen Hannum

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IN THE COMPANY OF SHERLOCK HOLMES Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger, eds., Pegasus, 2014, $24.95, hb, 272pp, 9781605986586 For anyone who loves Sherlock Holmes, this is a must read! It’s a collection of short stories by a wide variety of popular writers— Sara Paretsky, Harlan Ellison, Gahan Wilson (who does a kind of graphic novel version), John Lescroart, Michael Connelly, and more— who were asked to write an original “Sherlockian” story. The results are fabulous, exceedingly original, and even mind-and-genre-bending.

Some are set in “classic” Victorian/Edwardian times, some are contemporary with an interesting character playing the part of Sherlock—and Watson, too. One is written completely in text messages, emails and tweets—it’s hysterically funny! My personal favorite is a twisted tale that focuses on Moriarty. There’s even one written from the point-of-view of a horse!

The editors really knew what they were doing when they asked these writers to pour forth their best in homage to the Great Detective. Laurie King is the author of the Mary Russell series (in which Holmes plays a co-starring role), and Leslie Klinger is the editor of the New Annotated Sherlock Holmes.

The stories themselves range from a very few pages to more than twenty, with titles like “The Crooked Man,” “The Adventure of the Laughing Fisherman,” “Art in the Blood,” “The Thinking Machine,” and “The Problem of the Empty Slipper (with illustrations).” They are clever, unique, humorous, thoughtful and eminently great reading. I give it my highest recommendation!

Mary F. Burns AMHERST (US) / THE LOVERS OF AMHERST (UK) William Nicholson, Simon & Schuster, 2015, $26.00, 304pp, 9781476740409 / Quercus, 2015, £16.99, hb, 400pp, 9781848666474 Amherst, set largely in the small Massachusetts Multi-period — Historical Fantasy

town famous for its connections to reclusive poet Emily Dickinson, tells the story of Emily’s brother Austin and his torrid decade-long affair with Mabel Loomis Todd, the wife of a college professor.

Alternately set during the 1880s and in modern times, the story is brought to life by Alice Dickinson (no relation) who is writing a screenplay about the scandal. She travels to Amherst and meets lothario professor Nick Crocker, decades older in age and sexual experience. Their relationship mirrors the one so long ago transacted, and Alice struggles not only with her own opinions of love and desire but also the complex emotions exhibited by both Austin and Mabel.

William Nicholson’s prose is sharp while not giving too much away. The reader is left guessing as Alice pursues her protagonists. There are also appearances from Emily Dickinson – written in an ethereal, almost distracted first-person view – as she observes the deepening affair between her brother and the woman who would go on to edit her immense cache of poems. The novel is a perfect accompaniment for a long winter’s evening, though maybe not as powerful as the similar A.S. Byatt’s Possession. Nonetheless, readers who enjoy their historical fiction mixed modern mystery will enjoy Amherst.

Caroline Wilson FIERCOMBE MANOR (US) / THE GIRL IN THE PHOTOGRAPH (UK) Kate Riordan, Harper, 2015, $26.99, hb, 416pp, 9780062332943 / Penguin, 2015, £6.99, pb, 448pp, 9781405917421 An isolated house allegedly filled with ghostly presences. Two women mired in restrictive social circumstances and linked over a generation. Secrets from the past reawakened years later. Atmospheric and resonant with emotion, Kate Riordan’s saga has many elements of the traditional gothic novel but is in other ways a refreshing departure.

Fiercombe Manor in Gloucestershire, a Tudorera dwelling crafted of golden stone, sits at the base of a valley “so steep that it’s like an amphitheatre.”

As Alice Eveleigh wanders the grounds and gets to know her temporary home during the languid summer of 1933, her observations form an inviting travelogue of this hidden corner of the Cotswolds.

Left pregnant after a brief affair with a married man, Alice is forced by her parents to leave London to stay with her mother’s old friend, Edith Jelphs, the housekeeper at Fiercombe, until the baby is born – after which it will be taken away and brought to an orphanage. Away from her mother’s disapproval, Alice thrives in her new environment, though her pretense of being a widow proves to be tiring. Mrs. Jelphs is kindly but cautiously watchful, more so as Alice begins quietly uncovering a local mystery. A previous mistress of the estate, Lady Elizabeth Stanton was a dark-haired beauty who lived in nearby Stanton House in the late 19th century and who was pressured to produce a son.

Why was Stanton House dismantled, and what became of Elizabeth and her daughter Isabel?

Hints of tragedy, inherited madness, and

restrictions placed upon women wind through this dual-period novel, but while it offers occasional frissons of suspense, it lacks the terrifying menace typically found in the genre. The pacing is leisurely, and despite a past that holds overwhelming sadness, Fiercombe is a lovely setting in which to linger. If you google “Owlpen Manor,” the place that inspired it, you can visualize its charm.

Sarah Johnson THE COTTONCREST CURSE Michael H. Rubin, Louisiana State Univ. Press, 2014, $29.95, hb, 307pp, 9780807156186 The Cottoncrest Curse is a murder mystery set in 1893 in Rouge Parish, Louisiana. A present-day ancestor of Jake Gold, a peddler who lived in 1893, investigates the connection between the owner of the Cottoncrest Plantation’s death and the curse that has involved all who have lived there since.

The mystery begins with the deaths of Colonel Judge Augustine Chastaine and his wife in 1893.

It was originally thought a murder-suicide, and the Kings of the White Camellia, a racist group of sharecroppers, blamed the death on Jake Gold, a local Jewish peddler. Racism and anti-Semitism abound in this tale.

The story line shifts from 1893 to 1961 to the present day, and there are many characters introduced throughout the novel: Jenny, a former slave at Cottoncrest, who takes care of Little Miss, the mother of the murdered owner; Tee Ray Brady and his cast of ruffians in the “KKK-like” gang; the blacks living in Little Jerusalem who fear them; and Hank Mathews, the owner of Cottoncrest in 1961, who eventually kills himself for a mysterious reason.

This is an epic novel of intrigue and racial tensions and a murder mystery set in the Deep South. The characters are fully fleshed out; they are products of their time and location. Tension continues to build until the last page in this absorbing blend of history and mystery. It is a must-read for those who enjoy a novel with a touch of Southern ambiance. Highly recommended.

Jeff Westerhoff

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historical fantasy

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GIDEON SMITH AND THE BRASS DRAGON David Barnett, Tor, 2014, $15.99/C$18.50, pb, 352pp, 9780765334251 In Barnett’s second alternate 19th-century tale, Queen Victoria rules over most of the known world, after the failed Revolutionary War of 1775. Coal-fired steam engines run everything from shacks to palaces and even some people.

The Mason Dixon Wall – “2000 miles of brick, stone and mortar” – is proof of Queen Victoria’s “mastery of the earth”, separating the barbarous and ungovernable south from the civilized peoples at the heart of the Empire State.

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Gideon Smith, newly created ‘Hero of the Empire’, has orders from Walsingham, chief agent for the Crown, (a man of “many fingers and many, many pies”). He takes to the skies with his penwielding side-kick chronicler, Bent, to steal back the brass dragon and its pilot Maria, the clockwork girl Gideon is desperately in love with. Their journey drops them straight into the clutches of Thaddeus Pinch, a man with steam-hissing piston limbs, who rules ‘Steamtown’ with an iron fist – literally.

In classic naïve-hero-meets-dastardly-villain style, Barnett’s fantastical and irreverent tale swings from the witty to the grotesque, the clever to the macabre, satirical to romantic. With nods to history’s places and people – Darwin, Bathory, Bowie, Stoker – this finely crafted gothic steampunk masterpiece delivers it all.

Fiona Alison THE TIME ROADS Beth Bernobich, Tor, 2014, $15.99, pb, 304pp, 9780765331250 Three narrators in four different stories relate elements of one gripping tale: the superpower nation of Eire (alternate-history Ireland) faces dissolution and defeat as the consequence of fractures in time manipulated by internal and external enemies.

Aine, the young Queen of Eire, knows the urgency of pursuing scientific discoveries that will place control of Time in the hands of those seeking stability and peace. Yet, her passion for Aidrean O’Deaghaidh, charismatic Irish Spymaster, threatens to undermine his mission of finding and immobilizing enemies of the state who would manipulate Time in order to gain power for one or the other of the weak and warring countries of a fractured Europe. Then there’s Siomon Madoc, Irish mathematician who’s got the numbers on his side; he just doesn’t know what to do with them.

And the time? … it’s leading up to WWI. The Time Roads is fascinating, even to a reader like me who’s neither scientist nor mathematician.

But while the numbers were spinning in my head, the masterful swirl of powerful genres, sci-fi, espionage, romance, and steampunk, pulled me into this compelling tale from the get-go and kept me there.

Joanne Dobson GRETEL AND THE CASE OF THE MISSING FROG PRINTS P. J. Brackston, Pegasus, 2015, $24.95, hb, 240pp, 9781605986722 This is the same Brackston as Paula, author of The Winter Witch and The Witch’s Daughter, beginning a fantasy mystery series. Gretel (yes, that Gretel) is now 35, living with her brother Hans in Gesternstadt (Yesterday Town), both grown large by continuous eating since the witch’s cottage events. A green-hatted messenger arrives from Albrecht Durer the Much Much Younger in the metropolis of Nuremberg begging Gretel’s help in the recovery of the frog prints of his much more famous ancestor. The messenger immediately drops dead. Gretel travels to investigate. Hans goes along for the Weisswurst festival. There is a handsome prince.

I’m afraid I cannot call this an historical novel, not even historical fantasy, even though the 54 | Reviews |

HNR Issue 71, February 2015

claim is that it is set in 18th-century Bavaria. We have hobgoblins, talking mice and those fantasy elements, but also lifts in hotels and hotel chains.

Hotels period. As humorous fantasy crime, okay. At its most successful, the voice reaches some of the British humor so well crafted by Sir Terry Pratchett. Consider the “sugary tweeness of Gesternstadt… twiddly gables… floriferous window boxes and jolly paintwork” that so annoy our heroine.

I am gratified to find someone addressing Germany as other than the other side of world wars, even if it is “twee.”

Ann Chamberlin CHOOSERS OF THE SLAIN (The Valkyries, Book 1) Ann Chamberlin, Penumbra Publishing, 2014, $11.99, pb, 282pp, 9781938758034 Brynhild, a young woman from the tribe of the Angles, escapes her fate only to see her best friend die a cruel death, a human sacrifice to ensure the bounty of the harvest. Guilt-ridden, Brynhild can barely face the priestesses who come to foretell her family’s futures and is shocked when they declare she will be a Valkyrie. After this prediction, her life changes, and when Odin finally comes to claim her, she rides off without even a glance back at her childhood home. After defying the odds and surviving rigorous training, she becomes a Valkyrie only to discover that, for all her desire to follow Odin, she doesn’t always agree with his decisions about who deserves the god’s support. When another Valkyrie leaves the sisterhood for a man who is fighting for the wrong side, Brynhild is angry and confused. And when she sees firsthand the devastating results of Odin’s fickle choices, she second-guesses the God himself. Ultimately, she, too, defies him and must face the consequences of thinking for herself – and thinking like a woman.

Based on the Old Norse Poetic Edda, Choosers of the Slain offers a well-researched look at the tradition of the Valkyries. In Chamberlin’s hands, key female characters are fully rendered and easy to sympathize with. Sometimes Odin’s honorifics, author word choice, and style seemed awkward and even repetitious, but once into the rhythm of the story, I kept turning the pages, anxious to see how Brynhild would grow into the woman she is surely meant to become. Of course, with the cliffhanger ending, we’ll have to wait for the next book to see how her future plays out.

Kristina Blank Makansi THE LAST RITE Jasper Kent, Bantam Press, 2014, £14.99, hb, 474pp, 9780593069554 This is the final volume of The Danilov Quintet: 1917 in Petrograd where Danilov, destroyer of vampires, is satisfied that his arch enemy Iuda has been abolished at last. Russia is in chaos as the government collapses, the Tsar retreats and revolution is imminent; an ideal hunting ground for vampires as bloody mayhem draws them inexorably to an unending source of nourishment.

Danilov is now over sixty, exhausted and sick. In a grisly scene of blackest magic Iuda, resurrected, enters Danilov’s body to share his thoughts and intermittently direct his will. The world of the vampire is extraordinarily complex and amongst

plentiful scenes of frightening horror the hardest to stay with is the gruesome abortion of a foetus the long-surviving Susanna has carried for one hundred years (yes truly).

This is a brilliant book; the entirety of Petrograd at this most dangerous time is presented to readers with a conviction that almost overwhelms in bombarding the senses while its geographical clarity is as good as a map. I strongly recommend that all the earlier volumes should be read from one to four before this one; otherwise it is tough going (not helped by everyone naturally having at least three names.) But I loved the scenes where Danilov plus Iuda, piloting one of the earliest aeroplanes, find themselves/himself facing every conceivable peril.

Nancy Henshaw VOICES OF THE STARS Rowena Whaling, Permuted Press, 2014, $16.95, pb, 564pp, 9781618683120 Morgan, Lady of the Lake, is the primary focus of this novel about King Arthur, but the scope is wide. Not only does Morgan include in her history of the era multiple accounts written by others, but the author also describes her book as “a metaphysical, psychological, action/adventure, myth and magic, tragic romance, medieval warfare, fantasy, historical fiction novel.” The shifting points of view and diverse interests lead to digressions, which inevitably interrupt the narrative flow.

The story is set in post-Roman Britain rather than the High Middle Ages of romance, but the political situation and many historical details seem unlikely: 6th-century warriors would not carry bronze shields, for example; nor the Picts enter into an alliance with Arthur and the RomanoBritons; even the British kingdoms were unwilling to co-operate with each other. Spelling is erratic; sometimes amusing (“meals of Fish and foul”), sometimes confusing (“Ambrosius Aurelius/ Aurillious”), sometimes annoying (“amoung” and the use of Briton for Britain). As in romance, characters are either good or bad.

More interesting is the reinterpretation of Arthurian tradition: true love between Arthur and his half-sister Morgan, and between Merlin and Nimue; Morganna Le Faye in the role of a wicked Morgause; a nasty Gwenyfar and an admirable Saxon princess Rowena (unsurprisingly); no Lancelot, rather Bedwyr as Arthur’s closest friend.

This will appeal to devotees of New Age mysticism and Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Mists of Avalon, with which it shares similarities.

Ray Thompson

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children & young adult

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CATCH YOU LATER, TRAITOR Avi, Algonquin Young Readers, 2015, $16.95, hb, 304pp, 9781616203597 Award-winning children’s author Avi turns his attention to 1950s America in Catch You Later, Traitor, a story about the impact of the McCarthy era on one middle-class family in Brooklyn.

The hero of the story, Pete, is singled out by his schoolteacher, who declares that Pete’s father is a Historical Fantasy — Children & YA

communist. His teacher wants him ostracized and Pete’s classmates comply. Even his best friend, Kat, is forced to stay away from Pete by her anxious parents. With the FBI calling on him, Pete knows there is something behind the accusation, and as a faithful Sam Spade fan he makes it his business to find out the secrets of his father’s past.

This is an engaging story that evokes the paranoia of the times as well as wider issues of a young teen learning about his family. There are complex relationships portrayed: between Pete and his brother Bobby, and Pete’s father and his father’s uncle Chris. Pete is also lover of detective novels and Dashiell Hammett in particular. He likes to see the world through the eyes of Sam Spade, creating his own descriptions in Sam Spade’s voice, and trying to emulate his hero as he attempts to find out who has informed on his father and, worse, if his own father really is a secret communist.

With excellent period detail, humor and emotional depth, Catch You Later, Traitor is an enjoyable novel for middle-grade readers as well as an effective, accessible introduction to a complex political period in American history.

Kate Braithwaite SPYMASTER Deborah Chancellor, Bloomsbury, 2014, £5.99, pb, 110pp, 9781472904461.

When fourteen-year old Kit, grieving after his falconer father’s death, deliberately frees his employer’s favourite hawk, he knows he could hang like a common criminal. His father’s employer was Queen Elizabeth I’s spymaster, Sir Francis Walsingham. Best, then, to accept Walsingham’s unexpected offer. Walsingham tells Kit that he will forget his crime if he agrees to work for him.

What follows is a tension-driven journey into the world of espionage seen through the eyes of a London lad. When he meets the code-breaker Phelippes and becomes a courier between Queen Mary, a double agent and Walsingham, Kit cannot escape his own fate and is as trapped as the hawk he released – which returned to Walsingham after being freed.

Chancellor shows how the unfolding of the Babington Plot involves Kit in the brutality of the period and, without too much blood and gore, keeps to a more matter-of-fact account, showing Kit, after witnessing the public executions that follow, longing to escape. Without overwriting, she lets us see his reluctance at having to return to Walsingham. The climax of horror is reached with Mary’s execution at Fotheringhay. Chancellor does not wallow in the horror but manages to describe the somewhat farcical event with tact. After the spymaster’s melancholy death and with his own life then in jeopardy Kit’s two true friends who have been lightly sketched in come to the fore in a credible denouement.

Gripping and more historically accurate than some of the Tudor fantasies currently on offer, it illustrates clearly the savagery of public life and the moral dilemmas facing one well-meaning boy in a time of religious turmoil. Chancellor’s succinct descriptions bring Tudor London to life with vivid period detail to ratchet up the mood of menace. Highly recommended for 12+.

Cassandra Clark Children & YA

BENNY GOODMAN AND TEDDY WILSON Lesa Cline-Ransome, illus. James E. Ransome, Holiday House, 2014, $16.95, 33pp, 9780823423620 The language and illustrations used indicate that this is a children’s book; however, the artwork is well done and can be appreciated by anyone of any age. The storyline follows clarinetist Benny Goodman and pianist Teddy Wilson from their childhoods, when they first discover music and began playing their respective instruments, to their adulthood when they were playing gigs in New York, Chicago, and elsewhere during the heyday of early jazz and swing (1920s and 1930s).

The book also pays homage to drummer Gene Krupa and Xylophonist Lionel Hampton, who often joined Benny and Teddy in trio and quartet performances. Benny continued to perform occasionally with the trio and quartet into the late thirties – even after he had formed his famous Big Band in the mid-thirties.

As an adult, and a former music major myself, I enjoyed most the last two pages, which included a timeline of events in the history of jazz and the lives of Benny and Teddy. These pages also include more in-depth information about the two men, and brief bios of other jazz greats such as Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington.

Barry Webb

SUSAN MARCUS BENDS THE RULES Jane Cutler, Holiday House, 2014, $16.95, hb, 108pp, 9780823430475 Susan Marcus Bends the Rules is set during WWII in Clayton, Missouri. Missouri is quite a change for Susan Marcus, who grew up in New York City. However, due to the dangers of living in such a place in the early days of the war, Susan and her mother move inland, near Susan’s aunt.

Living in Missouri is quite different from living in New York, where Susan saw all kinds of people—Chinese, Indian, African American, Puerto Rican—all living together in freedom.

However, when she finds herself in Missouri, she runs into something she hasn’t experienced before—the Jim Crow laws, used to keep the races separate. When she meets Loretta, a girl who lives in her apartment building, she decides to challenge the ridiculous laws of the land. She and Loretta become friends and, along with two other new friends, this quixotic quartet devises a plan to bend the rules.

The characters are likable, and the courage and ingenuity Susan shows when she decides to protest against the unfairness of the Jim Crow laws are bound to inspire young readers to stand up for what they know is right. Not only that, the book illustrates ways to cope with life changes, such as moving to a new place. In all, an enjoyable read.

Anne Clinard Barnhill

AUDACITY Melanie Crowder, Philomel, 2015, $17.99/$19.99, hb, 400pp, 9780399168994 Written in free verse, Audacity is a beautifully told story of a poor, young immigrant girl who eventually became a leader in the 1909 Uprising of 20,000 labor movement. Clara Lemlich Shavelson was born to a Jewish family in the Ukraine who were forced out of their home during the Kishinev pogroms – anti-Jewish riots. The only daughter of the family, Clara was stubbornly outspoken and refused to bend to her parents’ will regarding her education and future. She secreted books, teaching herself languages and far surpassing her three brothers in learning.

When the family is forced to immigrate to America, the long and arduous journey takes its toll, but they arrive with hope of a better life.

Clara’s father, a rabbi, insists on spending his time schooling his boys, while Clara is expected to work. Unfortunately, the only option open to her is hard labor in the famously horrendous factories, in which she is locked in the extremely hot or cold building for 12 hours or more, can only take one restroom break at lunch, and is assaulted by the male overseers. Clara single-handedly forms a group to strike against the injustices and greatly influences the newly emerging labor laws.

One thing that should be stressed about this book is that the format should not deter an otherwise interested reader. The verse is free rather than rhyming, and the length, 400 pages, would be half if written traditionally. In addition, I found the style smart and poetic – not in the least offputting. Clara Hemlich Shavelson is a greatly intriguing historical character with a perhaps littleknown background that is accurately and lyrically described in this unique rendering.

Arleigh Johnson

THE LIGHT IN THE LABYRINTH Wendy J. Dunn, Metropolis Ink, 2014, $16.99, pb, 335pp, 9780980721928 In 1535, thirteen-year-old Kate Carey, niece of Anne Boleyn, arrives at Court to serve her aunt.

Kate, who has been frustrated with her mother, Mary, for her lack of courtly ambition, is thrilled to finally be allowed to enjoy the benefits of being related to the Queen. It does not take her long, however, to realize that, far from being perfect, her aunt’s position is perilous indeed. As Kate watches in horror, she sees the decline in the relationship between the king and queen and the lengths many will go to bring her aunt down. Even the promise of future love does little to sway Kate from the anxious worship and worry she carries constantly for Aunt Nan, and the knowledge that she herself is the daughter of the king leads to despair. Will Kate ever be able to stand up for both herself and her aunt?

In the capable hands of Dunn, Kate Carey springs to life as a young girl looking for excitement who comes to realize that many people are not what they seem and perhaps her old life was not so bad after all. I found myself caught up in her story, even if she did display typically immature teenage behavior at times. Dunn paints Anne Boleyn as almost saint-like and Henry VIII as a vile man led by his libido; even so, I kept turning the pages to discover how Dunn would lead it all to play out.

This unique look at a shadowy figure in the tragedy of Anne Boleyn is well written and intriguing.

Tamela McCann THE THIEVES OF PUDDING LANE Jonathan Eyers, Bloomsbury, 2014, £5.99, pb, 224pp, 9781472903181 This is an exciting action story for a ten- to thirteen-year-old boy or girl, set amid the terrors HNR Issue 71, February 2015 | Reviews | 55

of the Great Fire of London, when most of the city, including St Paul’s Cathedral, burnt to the ground following a pie shop fire. The book evokes a truthful picture of that terrible event. Two brothers are thrown out of their plague-stricken house by their father for their own protection. They leave their ill mother and escape to a neighbour’s house with just a bag of clothes and some food. But Samuel, the younger boy, worried about his mother, leaves the neighbours’ house only to discover a red cross on the door: his mother has died. He meets Catherine, and they join a group of homeless children to train as pick-pockets for two greedy thieves.

Most of the action is in the children’s escape from the conflagration as it sweeps across the wooden city. They run along still existing streets like Cheapside, Lombard Street and Gracechurch Street. On the way they meet Gideon, a rich boy at home, alone. He joins them to suffer the perils of the fire and terrifying smoke, and the anger of their thieving masters.

The author describes in horrifying detail the razing of all the wooden buildings, a year after the plague, which itself halved the population.

An historical children’s book should not contain language errors, but I will excuse a few American words like ‘heft’ and ‘gotten’, that may very well be old English words that have remained in use there since the Pilgrim Fathers’ time. Apart from this little criticism, the story is very well written, full of dialogue, intense action and it shows the best of human love as Samuel and Catherine care for the naïve Gideon.

Geoffrey Harfield THE DIAMOND THIEF Sharon Gosling, Switch Press, 2014, $16.95/ C$19.50, hb, 335pp, 9781630790028 Remy, a 16-year-old trapeze artist in a circus in Victorian London, has a secret life as a jewel thief. When the circus owner asks her to steal a valuable diamond from the Tower of London, she encounters Thaddeus, a young Scotland Yard detective. The chief inspector places the diamond in Thaddeus’s pocket for safekeeping, but when Remy steals it, she discovers it has been replaced by a fake and Thaddeus is accused of the theft. They reluctantly join forces to recover the diamond in order to prove Thaddeus’s innocence, and discover a powerful lord’s plot to use war machines to invade London from underground. Will they be able to find the diamond, deal with their own attraction to each other, and save London?

This novel is thoroughly enjoyable, and I enjoyed the interaction between the two leads.

Remy, in particular, is a strong, fiery young woman who knows what she does is wrong, but feels she has no choice in life. Thaddeus seems a bit young to be in such a high position in Scotland Yard, but he’s the perfect counterpart to Remy – always trying to stay on the right side of the law. I also loved the character of Thaddeus’s friend, an inventor known only as “the Professor” and his devices, including night glasses that can make anyone see in the dark and a listening device based on Edison’s phonograph, but more advanced. This is the first in a series of which I will certainly read more. Ages 12-up.

Vicki Kondelik 56 | Reviews |

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THE RUBY AIRSHIP Sharon Gosling, Switch Press, 2015, $16.95, hb, 496pp, 9781630790042 This YA Victorian Steampunk (airship, night goggles, corset of wonders, gaslights) melodrama sequel to The Diamond Thief finds talented circus performer and reformed thief Remy working in a London East End theater. After an exciting opening rescue, jewel thefts begin to occur. After a young friend from Remy’s past, Yannick, shows up, she decides to return with him to her circus life and best friend in France. This occurs, despite growing attraction to the young police inspector Thaddeus Rec, with whom she had her last adventure. Remy and Yannick leave the warehouse abode that houses a spectacular unfinished airship.

Fellow boarder, the street smart urchin J, is also a mechanical whiz. He fires up the paired airship and together he and a suspicious Thaddeus sail for France, a place full of secrets where an evil count is up to no good. By the end, all villains are unmasked, secrets are revealed, and the world is (surely temporarily) safe once more.

Gosling’s wonderful imagination sparks wellwrought action sequences, and the developing relationship between the spunky Remy and her young Sherlock Holmes-like copper will surely have young readers coming back for more adventures.

Eileen Charbonneau THE MAYFLOWER Mark Greenwood, illus. Frane Lessac, Holiday House, 2014, $16.95, pb, 32pp, 978823429431 Set in 1620, The Mayflower is a cheerful rendition of the story, with charming, colorful gouache illustrations by the talented Frane Lessac.

Thanks are given to the staff at Plimoth Plantation, so the adult reader is assured that only known facts are presented to the pre-school through Grade 2 children at whom this book is aimed. The Puritans and another group called the Strangers set sail for the “western wilderness” where they hoped to practice their religion as they saw fit. There are interesting nautical details about the beginning of the voyage plus a story about a dangerous episode at sea which I’d never come across before in a children’s book. The happy Thanksgiving with the Indians makes for an upbeat ending. I’d say this is an intelligent, feel-good take on an iconic American subject, suitable for young children.

Juliet Waldron CHASING FREEDOM: The Life Journeys of Harriet Tubman and Susan B. Anthony Nikki Grimes, illus. Michele Wood, Orchard, 2015, $18.99, hb, 54pp, 9780439793384 In 1904, before a meeting of the New York State Suffrage Association, Susan B. Anthony and Harriet Tubman meet for tea. In one long conversation, the two women talk about their dreams, the obstacles they have overcome, and their accomplishments. Although the meeting is fictional, the content of their stories is based on the real events that each woman experienced. Tubman explains how she was called to work with the Underground Railroad and Anthony talks about her fight for women’s rights. The last few pages of the book include short biographies of some of the people mentioned by Anthony and Tubman in

their conversation, as well as additional historical information.

These women, and their many accomplishments, are brought to life by Nikki Grimes’ poetic language and Michele Wood’s gorgeous, full-page illustrations. Grimes and Wood have created a beautiful and informative picture book about two of America’s most courageous women. Ages 4-8.

Elizabeth Caulfield Felt WHEELS OF CHANGE Darlene Beck Jacobson, Creston Books, 2014, $12.95, hb, 218pp, 9781939547132 In the first decade of the 20th century, Emily Soper, the 12-year-old daughter of the premiere carriage builder in Washington, D.C., would rather watch her father’s blacksmith pound iron at the forge or sort nails in the workshop barn than learn pie making and tea serving. When one of the first automobiles drives by, Emily’s best friend Charlie is excited, but Emily worries that the horse-less carriages will make her father’s business obsolete.

Emily doesn’t want that change, but she does want other changes: women should be allowed to vote, and black people should be treated as equals.

Through a series of small and large adventures: participating in a pie-making contest, visiting a nickelodeon, helping her little brother with a mouse, hosting a tea party, meeting the son of the president, and saving her father’s business, Emily proves herself a spunky and likable protagonist, if a little modern-feeling. Her exploits and adventures will entertain and inform the young readers to whom the book is aimed.

Elizabeth Caulfield Felt GRACE AND THE GUILTLESS Erin Johnson, Switch Press, 2014, $16.95, hb, 272pp, 9781630790011 Opening abruptly with the death of Grace Milton’s entire family at the hands of the Guiltless Gang, Erin Johnson weaves a tale of a gun-slinging, gritty western that hurtles the reader from the dusty streets of Tombstone where young Grace tries to find justice for her family’s death from the town Sheriff to the Ndeh tribe who comes to adopt her. When the U.S. Cavalry invades the Ndeh village, Grace puts her newfound skills to the test in order to save her adopted family. Instead of realizing that her new home is with the people she fought beside and grieved with, Grace’s heart only hardens more as she become determined to exact her revenge on the Guiltless Gang.

This is a well-written book with a near frenetic pace that only slows briefly. Grace is a strongwilled heroine, almost to a fault. There were times when Grace comes off as arrogant and juvenile, and her mantra of justice felt somewhat repetitive.

However, Erin Johnson’s debut novel evolves Grace from a foolhardy innocent into a gritty, driven woman. I had planned to read this with my 9-yearold son, but I’m glad I hadn’t due to some fairly graphic violence. All in all, a nice start to what will become a series called Wanted.

Bryan Dumas ROLLER DERBY RIVALS Sue Macy, illus. Matt Collins, Holiday House, 2014, $16.95, hb, 31pp, 9780823429233 The history of Women’s Roller Derby is explored Children & YA

in this inspiring children’s picture book aimed at grades 2-4. True sports legends, Midge “Toughie” Brasuhn and Gerry “Glamour” Murray, are pitted against one another in the 1948 New York versus Brooklyn televised game. Women during this time were leaving their wartime pursuits, when they’d worked in male- dominated fields, returning to homemaking and child rearing. Roller Derby made watching televised indoor sports popular among both genders and gave women at least one platform to feel liberated.

One insight into sports marketing shows the Derby founder, Leo Seltzer, capitalizing on Midge’s “Tough” reputation, and in fact, inventing it for gain. The characters appear throughout the book to be rivals, but in the end it is revealed that they are friends outside the arena and aware of the roles they play on television.

The illustrations have an Americana feel, and at first seem too modern for the time period because of the players’ uniforms, but they are accurate when compared to photographs of similar events.

This is a nicely themed story that will appeal to young readers who are sports fans. The author has included an Author’s Note, Timeline, and Resources.

Arleigh Johnson THE SECRETS OF STONEHENGE Mick Manning and Brita Granström, Frances Lincoln, 2014, £7.99, pb, 28pp, 9781847805201 The Secrets of Stonehenge is a brief and very general introduction to the monument, suitable for children of 9 years and up. With the aid of Brita Granström’s lively illustrations, the author explains the phases of construction, from a bank and ditch henge, to the addition of the bluestones and the sarsens and lintels.

Published in association with English Heritage, the book mentions how little we actually know about the site, but the side panels on the double page spreads give some background information and suggests how the monument might have been constructed and what kind of ritual purpose it may have fulfilled. Some mention is made of other sites in the vicinity and their possible link to Stonehenge.

What a book of this length cannot do – and this book does not attempt to – is to show Stonehenge as one part of a vast and complex landscape of great importance in the Neolithic and Bronze Age. The picture book format does not give the author room to explore the recent extensive fieldwork and research on the site and its environs, which is not an issue in a basic introduction for younger readers such as this. However, the author does not provide suggestions for further reading. British Prehistory is to be included on the curriculum from next year, so a reading list offering more in depth and up to date material would have been useful. There is a glossary and a timeline, and the final spread brings us up to date, with a glimpse of Stonehenge today.

This is an attractively produced book, with engaging illustrations. It will introduce younger children to Stonehenge and will hopefully provide a starting point for further study.

Pat Walsh WANDERVILLE: On Track for Treasure Wendy McClure, Razorbill, 2014, $16.99/$18.99, hb, 297pp, 9781595147028 Children & YA

In her second Wanderville book, On Track for Treasure, Wendy McClure continues the adventures of the orphans Jack, Frances, Alexander and Howard as they try to avoid their fate as orphans on the Orphan Train. Captured from Wanderville, “where all children in need of freedom are accepted,” they are once again headed west to fates they have heard would be worse than death.

So, they follow their brave leaders, Jack and Alexander, and escape.

As they begin to head back east to the life they’ve known, they hop a train, a trick learned from some kindly hobos. While with the rail-riders, they learn a few more helpful hints. They also receive a treasure map. While the boys don’t believe in the treasure, Frances studies the map over and over, trying to decipher the clues.

Of course, the kids run into trouble in the form of the sinister Miss DeHaven, head of the orphan trains. She comes close to discovering them, too close. A kindly pastor and his wife help them escape from Miss DeHaven and take them in. Some of the children choose to stay with the Careys, but Jack, Alexander, Frances and Harold decide to escape once more; they want to follow their own path and that path does not include living with some holy rollers on an apple orchard.

The story is full of excitement along with some ethical questions regarding race, as one of the kids who joins them is an African-American boy who has been mistreated by the Careys as well as by his own father. Young readers should enjoy the idea of living without adult supervision and the comradery that develops among the children (along with the usual tensions) will ring true.

Anne Clinard Barnhill LEAVING CHINA James McMullan, Algonquin, 2014, $19.95, hb, 113pp, 9781616202552 This illustrated young adult book by the author/illustrator of the award winning picture book, I Stink!, depicts James McMullan’s unique upbringing on a U. S. missionary outpost in China, and his travels to the United States, Canada and India. Forming the first American orphanage for abandoned baby girls in China, James’ grandparents began a legacy and eventually a family venture, The James McMullan Company, specializing in exporting embroidery made by the young Chinese girls they had saved.

James’ parents and grandparents are prominently featured, but also his life throughout WWII and Japanese-occupied China, which his family narrowly escaped. James’ ever changing home base, experiences in different schools, and struggle with his mother’s problems are articulated in a manner that would appeal to ages 12 & up. The detailed artwork on every other page fully represents the complimenting text, and features historically accurate images of James’ everyday life peppered with poignant moments in the family’s history.

This is a well-written and beautifully illustrated historical account and offers young readers a look into an unusual setting during a time of war.

Arleigh Johnson SIX WINTER DAYS Kevin Montgomery, BluewaterPress LLC, 2014, $18.95, pb, 254pp, 9781604520880

The New Jersey countryside is in upheaval with the rebel forces, headed by the recently commissioned Washington, tangling with the British army in the last days of 1776. Two teenage brothers, sent by their mother to escape the war, are trying to reach Allentown. But they just can’t seem to make it, not while fending off British officers, patriot attacks, and defensive farmers.

They’re forced to take back roads, but that only leads them into the heart of the battle.

What ensues is the Second Battle of Trenton, a bloody conflict that is seldom discussed.

Montgomery gives us the battle in detail from both the patriot and British perspectives, and of course through the eyes of our teenagers – whose loyalty even they can’t seem to sort out. The novel has a blend of battle sequences, humor, family reconciliation, and budding romance. Montgomery clearly knows his history, and it’s enjoyable to spend time with the likes of the austere Washington and the booming Knox. The boys’ constant antics and naiveté made them a bit flat for me. I found myself drawn more to the other characters in the story, on both sides of the conflict. It’s a quick and easy read.

Some of the brutal fighting scenes and a narrowlyavoided rape (though not graphic) are what nudge this out of mid-grade and into teen YA. Justin M. Lindsay YOUNG HOUDINI: The Magician’s Fire Simon Nicholson, Oxford, 2014, £6.99, pb, 214pp, 9780192734747 Set in New York, in 1886, a young shoeshine boy called Harry earns a little extra money with the help of his best friends, Billie and Arthur. How does he do this? By using his unusual talents for performing breath-taking stunts of escapology combined with physical danger. The three friends are a team and, on Arthur’s birthday, they enjoy a slap-up meal before viewing a theatre performance by a famous magician, who is Harry’s mentor and inspiration.

When the magician is mysteriously kidnapped, Harry and his friends vow that they will do everything they can to discover his whereabouts and rescue him. All young Harry’s skills will be needed as the team delve into the missing magician’s past, examine secret magic societies and uncover the strongly-guarded secret skills and cunning of the magician’s art. Their loyalty to each other will be tested, too; and time is running out.

Light on the real Houdini’s biographical history, this is a fun story for children who want mystery, adventure and danger. Part of a series, it encourages friendship, hard work and a willingness to think, really think, for oneself. It’s well-written and, as in so many old serials, the plot thickens… Doubtless there will be more Houdini stories to come.

Suitable for 8-14 years.

Alan Cassady-Bishop WINTER’S BULLET William Osborne, Chicken House, 2014, £6.99, pb, 209pp, 9781909489769 In Amsterdam in 1945 as the war is ending, Tygo, the son of a locksmith, is forced by the Germans to break into houses and steal valuables, notably a diamond called the ‘Red Queen’. He gets into a plot to ship top Nazi officials to safety in Argentina and at the same time to deliver a HNR Issue 71, February 2015 | Reviews | 57

secret weapon that could destroy New York. He is constantly under threat from Krüger, his boss, who needs to find the Red Queen to buy passage out of Germany before the Allies close in, and also from the Resistance. As well as history, the story also encompasses adventure and some romance.

I enjoyed reading this book. There are a number of plot twists that make sense but are genuinely surprising. Tygo’s viewpoint allows us to understand his actions, so we feel we can understand his emotions and feelings. The historical background is convincing and well informed, including day-today details. It is a part of the war that is not much touched upon, which gives it added interest. I liked the way each tier of the German hierarchy is afraid of the next.

However, the romance seems out of place in the grim situation, and readers who enjoy the book may feel that it gets in the way of the action.

In the first half of the book, Tygo has to talk his way out of difficult situations, and can easily be defeated physically, which makes him seem real.

However, towards the end, he increasingly relies on absurd luck, and superhuman physical prowess and stamina.

I recommend it to readers who are interested in World War II alternate history, or spy and action novels. It is most suitable for young teenagers, as it contains passages of technical detail and needs you to know some military history.

Francis Lee, age 11

C

THE LAST OF THE SPIRITS Chris Priestley, Bloomsbury, 2014, £10.99, hb, 180pp, 9781408854136 Victorian London, Christmas.

Winter has the city in its icy grip. Thirteen-year-old Sam and his ten-yearold sister, Liz, are feral beggar children on the edge of starvation.

When the miser Scrooge refuses to give them money, Sam, in a rage, vows to kill him.

That night, as the two children huddle for warmth in a deserted graveyard, Sam sees a ghostly figure, laden with chains, appearing from the grave next to him. It is Jacob Marley, once Scrooge’s business partner, desperate to deliver a message to Scrooge and to Sam himself.

Sam finds himself caught up with the three Spirits of Christmas, just as Scrooge is, but with his own lessons to learn if he is to avoid a grisly end which will also bring about Liz’s degradation and ruin.

The Last of the Spirits is Chris Priestley’s imaginative and spine-chilling re-interpretation which weaves the children’s parallel story through Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Priestley doesn’t pull his punches about poverty in 19th-century London, and we feel the bone-chilling cold, the children’s near-starvation and their desperation; it’s all too likely that they won’t survive the night unless they get help. We also recognize that Sam’s rage against a cruel world might not allow him to accept help, even if it’s offered.

When I liked about this book is that, not only is it a gripping tale in its own right, but it also 58 | Reviews |

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forces the reader to think. Sam and Liz are Dickens’ Ignorance and Want made manifest, but, they are more than just metaphorical figures, they are also real characters. Marley and Scrooge’s life choices have impacted on others’ lives and caused untold misery, and the same goes for Sam – if he is not redeemed.

Any child who has read A Christmas Carol should enjoy this book. Highly recommended.

Elizabeth Hawksley VISIONS OF TEAOGA Jim Remson, Sunbury Press, 2014, $14.95, pb, 178pp, 9781620064511 Visions of Teaoga takes place in Tioga, northern Pennsylvania, during two very different time periods, one contemporary and one historical. It’s the historical era, however – the 1790 Summit meeting between the Iroquois tribes and Colonial leaders – that comes to life most unforgettably and vitally informs the present-day tale.

In the present-day story, Maddy Winter, a young girl in the throes of teenage angst, comes to Tioga to visit her father, an engineer for a drilling company on long-term assignment there. As a junior counsellor at a museum history day camp, Maddy becomes fascinated with the history of the area, especially with Queen Esther, an American Indian reviled by some as a bloodthirsty killer.

It’s the character of Queen Esther that brings this novel to dramatic life as she and her cohort of Iroquois, especially the unhappy young girl, Sisketung, meet with hostile settlers to determine the future of the land in the post-RevolutionaryWar Eastern United States. The time periods merge nicely with spirit meetings between Maddy and Sisketung, the merging of a dual consciousness on land made sacred by Queen Esther whose wish is for “the Way of the Preserver” to prevail, peace between the two peoples of the land.

Admirably researched and beautifully written, Visions of Teaoga as a whole will appeal particularly to middle-schoolers, but the vibrantly imagined story of the 1790 meeting of Colonials and American Indians at the ancient Teaoga treaty grounds will appeal to all ages.

Joanne Dobson THE GHOSTS OF HEAVEN Marcus Sedgwick, Indigo, 2014, £10.99, hb, 425pp, 9781780621982 There are four stories in this book. In his introduction, Marcus Sedgwick says that they can be read in any order but they are set out in chronological sequence.

The first story concerns an unnamed girl living in prehistoric times. She hopes to work hunting magic for her tribe. Sedgwick evokes a vision of what life might have been like for the people who made cave paintings. The verse form helps to create the feel of an epic from the far past, without being difficult to read. The second story is about a witch hunt in England. Anna, the daughter of a cunning woman, is persecuted by a Minister of the Church, who secures the support of the local people. I found this the least satisfactory section of the book, maybe because I have read too many versions of this scenario before.

The third story concerns a doctor in a mental hospital on Long Island, New York, in the middle

of the 20th century. Dr James has to struggle against men with evil intentions, as well as his own grief for his dead wife and his nightmares. Both the setting and the characters come alive to powerful effect. The last story is set in the future, on a space ship. It begins as an adventure story but turns into something more complicated.

The image of the spiral recurs throughout the book, as do ideas about the power of dreams, the relationship of humanity to the natural world and the universe and to death. Sedgwick makes his characters grapple with these themes in ways that show both how differently people can think in different times and places and the underlying similarities. An engaging and thought-provoking book, for readers of 10 and above.

Sandra Unerman BETTER THAN GOLD Theresa Tomlinson, Bloomsbury, 2014, £5.99, pb, 127pp, 9781472907820 This is a welcome story about a little-known period of Saxon history and welcome, too, because of its neglected northern setting where so much happened that shaped England before the Conquest. Paganism is the indigenous religion but things are changing; bishops like Cedd are being sent to convert the populace to Christianity.

The story concerns Egfrid, ten-year-old son of the Christian King Oswy of Bernicia, and what happens when he is taken hostage by his father’s enemy, the pagan King Penda of the Mercians, in an attack on Bamburgh Castle. Mocked by Penda as ‘Faint-heart,’ Oswy proves to be less than heroic.

He runs away instead of fighting, he breaks his oath, he betrays his allies. Penda regards Oswy as being afflicted by ‘the coward’s disease,’ Christianity; he’s a hypocrite who never stands by his beliefs.

In an age when it was deemed honourable to die in battle and dishonourable to break an oath, Egrid’s own loyalties are torn asunder, especially when the ageing and battle-hardened Penda is seen as unflinchingly true to his pagan values which gives weight to Egfrid’s conflicted loyalties.

The plot drives along at a good pace and concludes with a satisfyingly nail-biting battle. The way ‘peace-weaver brides’ are depicted and how Saxon women had a strong say in matters of war and peace tells us much about that period.

Part of the purpose of the story was to imagine why the Staffordshire Hoard and other caches of Saxon gold came to be buried. Whether Theresa Tomlinson’s account is true or not, it sounds plausible and brings alive the often complicated politics of the time. Any child interested in Saxons will identify with Egfrid’s dilemma. Finally, who would imagine Tamworth and the industrial Midlands could have such a romantic aura?

Cassandra Clark THE GUNPOWDER PLOT Ann Turnbull, illus. Akbar Ali, Bloomsbury, 2014, £4.99, pb, 90pp, 9781472908476 1605. Nine-year-old Eliza Fenton lives in London, near the Houses of Parliament. These are dangerous times. Government spies are constantly on the look-out for Catholic plots to kill the King.

Eliza is worried because her family is secretly Catholic. Although they are loyal subjects of King James, she knows that her family would suffer if Children & YA

they were implicated in a Catholic plot.

She and her cousin Lucy are suspicious of a man they’ve seen sneaking out of a cellar door of a house opposite. He’s supposed to be guarding a stock of fuel of Sir Thomas Percy but he doesn’t look like a workman, he looks and behaves more like a soldier.

They are sure he’s hiding something. Eliza and Lucy vow to find out what’s inside the cellar…

I enjoyed this deceptively simple re-telling of the Gunpowder Plot story when, on November 5th, 1605, Guy Fawkes and his accomplices planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament and kill the King. Ann Turnbull manages to convey the difficulties of being a loyal Catholic at a time when the words ‘Catholic’ and ‘traitor’ were often assumed to be practically synonymous; and shows us how proscribed and guarded young girls of good family were; Eliza and Lucy can never go outside unchaperoned, for example. We also learn about the uses of the often extensive cellars; the clothes people wore; the food they ate (I liked the sound of the cinnamon buns!) and how a household was run. And all this within ninety pages.

The events leading up to the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot are excitingly told. Girls of 7+ should enjoy this lively book, engagingly illustrated

by Akbar Ali. Elizabeth Hawksley OPAL PLUMSTEAD Jacqueline Wilson, Doubleday, 2014, £12.99, hb, 520pp, 9780857531094 1913. Fourteen-year-old Opal Plumstead is a scholarship girl at a posh school. She hopes to go to university, though her real love is painting. She copes with not fitting in at school (she’s plump and shabbily dressed) because her best friend, Olivia, is on her side. Then tragedy strikes. Her father, an overworked clerk with literary aspirations, is caught forging a cheque and ends up in prison; Olivia is forbidden to see her; and Opal must leave school and go to work at Mrs Roberts’ sweet factory, ‘Fairy Glen’, where she’s bullied. Her life becomes utterly miserable.

Fortunately, Mrs Roberts discovers Opal’s artistic talent and gives her a more interesting job decorating sweet tins. Furthermore, she takes her to a suffragette meeting and invites her back to tea.

Then Opal meets Mrs Roberts’ son, Morgan, who, she feels is her soulmate. Life is looking up. But World War I is looming….

This is a long book, 520 pages, and, for the first 140 pages, the main characters are Opal’s beloved, if hopeless, father; her best friend Olivia; and Opal’s struggles at school. Then, suddenly, all that disappears and a different story begins when Opal walks, trembling, through the gates of the sweet factory. In my view, the earlier section could do with judicious pruning.

However, Jacqueline Wilson is excellent at capturing the feel of pre-1914 Britain; the class distinctions, the limitations on women’s choices, Mrs Roberts’ wonderfully Pre-Raphaelite house; the pressure on young men to sign up and go to war, and so on. I particularly enjoyed Opal’s beautiful sister Cassie, who, unbeknownst to her mother, has a ‘gentleman friend’, an artist, and poses for him – and that’s not all she does. Times are changing and the war will turn the world upside-down.

Girls of 12 plus should enjoy Opal Plumstead.

Elizabeth Hawksley Children & YA — Nonfiction

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CIVIL WAR: The History of England, Volume III (UK) / REBELLION: The History of England from James I to the Glorious Revolution (US/Canada) Peter Ackroyd, Macmillan, 2014, £20, hb, 502pp, 9780230706415 / Thomas Dunne, 2014, $29.99/ C$34.50, hb, 532pp, 978-1250003638 In Civil War, the third instalment of his ambitious attempt to write a history of England akin to Macaulay, Peter Ackroyd covers the Stuart Age from James I, the wisest fool in Christendom, to his fleeing grandson James II, in an elegant single volume. As befits a historical novelist, Ackroyd wants to write the tale of the 17th century in England, and his own wonderful prose is certainly the strength of this book. He ranges through the cultural and social life of the period with a magpie’s eye for the telling point, and his facility in discussing the rich literature of Milton and Donne among others is impressive.

His focus purely on story, however, is also a weakness, as Ackroyd narrates at breakneck speed with little space for historical analysis. Religion, perhaps the single most important element of 17th century life, gets scant attention while the political is consistently preferred to the military. The events outside the main Civil War years are generally rushed also; the Glorious Revolution is over in a few pages. And yet this is a delightfully easy read and is ideal for the student who is coming to this period for the first time.

Gordon O’Sullivan ENGLAND, ARISE Juliet Barker, Little Brown, 2014, £25.00, hb, 505pp, 9781408703359 This is a thrillingly readable and a meticulously researched account of what the Victorians misnamed the Peasants’ Revolt, that great rising of public feeling against the rulers who were bleeding England dry in the name of the fourteen year old King Richard II. More correctly, as Barker conclusively shows, that time of public turbulence in 1381 should be referred to as The Great Revolt, its participants drawn from all levels of society and regions. Its doomed leaders, Wat Tyler, John Balle and Jack Straw, whose names have passed into folklore, were not the men official accounts would have us believe, and Barker shows how some of the famous speeches appear to be no more than fabrications by the ruling elite. She consistently rips away other myths to reveal the flimsy evidence they are based on and shows more plausible readings.

The prose is never dull, and her detailed use of primary sources illuminates the conditions of ordinary men and women before the touch-paper of the punitive third poll tax set the country alight.

What is most startling is how Barker convincingly puts forward the thesis that the young king was in accord with his peoples’ wishes. In this rich and detailed account she describes the causes, the events and the brutal aftermath of the revolt. It deserves to become a classic.

Cassandra Clark

SNOW AND STEEL: BATTLE OF THE BULGE 1944-45 Peter Caddick-Adams, Preface, 2014, £25.00, hb, 928pp, 9781848094284 This is an immensely detailed and researched account of the German offensive from December 1944 to January 1945 to retake the Ardennes in northern France and Belgium, as part of a target to recapture Antwerp. It was a surprise attack and the US forces, in particular, suffered large casualties – in terms of numbers of killed soldiers it was their worst battle in World War Two. Eventually the offensive was stopped and the German forces pushed back.

The author places the battle in hugely detailed context leading up to the offensive and it is not just a bare account of the fighting, but a fully-rounded examination of all the circumstances of the conflict, including an assessment of the personalities of the leading participants. It is eminently readable and, despite its considerable length, an engaging volume that is both learned, accessible and entertaining.

Douglas Kemp JOAN OF ARC: A History Helen Castor, Faber & Faber, 2014, £20, hb, 328pp, 9780571284627 / Harper, 2015, $27.99, hb, 352pp, 9780062384393 Beginning at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, Helen Castor examines the broader political, cultural and, importantly, religious context of 15th-century France to explain how and why the remarkable appearance of Joan, wrapped in her armour and visions, had the impact it did. In an age where the Dauphin, a very religious man, consulted an astronomer, many viewed the English as a punishment from God sent against the great (but no longer good) of France. Could this peasant girl really have been sent to restore the divine balance?

Castor’s readable history is perfect for those in search of a general introduction to Joan and her times and serves as an excellent starting point from which one may delve a little deeper to try and understand just how this teenage girl succeeded in uniting a France that had been too intent on fighting itself to fight the English.

Tim Smith FASHION IN THE TIME OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE Sarah Jane Downing, Shire, 2014, $12.95/£7.95/ C$14.95, pb, 72pp, 9780747813545 This rather short book is actually packed to the gills with information on the fashions those alive during the time of William Shakespeare may have worn. Mostly about the upper classes, we are given much detail on how the fashions evolved during the years of Shakespeare’s lifetime (roughly the late 1500s). Downing gives us many illustrations and paintings to show us how items were worn, even devoting an entire chapter to the ever-expanding ruff. Both men’s fashion and women’s fashion are covered in this slim volume, and details such as cloth types and width of skirts are examined. Throughout, Downing weaves mention of Shakespeare’s works of the time, though this reader would have liked a vocabulary list of commonly used items more than a recitation of works of the writer. Overall, however, this book would be invaluable especially to those who write HNR Issue 71, February 2015 | Reviews | 59

of the period and need visual cues to explain the fashion of the day.

Tamela McCann THE LIFE AND LEGENDS OF CALAMITY JANE Richard W. Etulain, Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 2014, $24.95, hb, 416pp, 9780806146324 How did Missouri farm girl Martha Canary become Calamity Jane, one of the most infamous Wild West heroines? The name Calamity Jane typically conjures an image of a tough-talking, hard-drinking woman in men’s clothing, but how much of that image is fact and how much is dime-store novel fiction? Etulain meticulously investigates newspaper articles, public records and personal accounts from Calamity Jane’s time to sort out the truth about the woman behind the legend.

A saloon hostess and dancer (Etulain is very diplomatic about claims Calamity Jane may have been a prostitute), Calamity Jane was also known for her skills as a nurse and midwife, providing aid to Deadwood’s sick and injured. Journalists and novelists historically were less interested in the truth, preferring a good story with colorful characters; thus the legend took off, with Calamity Jane adding embellishments of her own, making her one of the most popular figures to emerge from the Old West. Etulain provides a rich biography and an engaging examination of Calamity Jane and her place in popular culture. Recommended.

Janice Derr HOW TO BE A VICTORIAN: A Dawn-toDusk Guide to Victorian Life Ruth Goodman, Liveright, 2014, $29.95/C$32.00, hb, 458pp, 9780871404855 If you have ever wondered about how people lived in 19th-century England—from their underclothes to breastfeeding to personal grooming to laundry—this engaging book is for you. Goodman, a historian of British domestic life, not only provides details about the minutiae of daily life, she has also experienced most of the inconveniences of what was considered “normal” at the time. She also offers advice, should the reader be wondering which corset to select (opt for the lightly boned and corded type) or what concoction to use as a dentifrice (powdered cuttlefish and soot). Chapters are arranged to follow the course of the day, beginning with rising in what was undoubtedly a cold room, through dressing, grooming, and eating, finishing with evening ablutions and a peek into Victorian sexual behavior.

Differences between the social classes in terms of living conditions and habits are considered, as are those between city and country dwellers. The prose is candid and at-times humorous, punctuated by small black-and white illustrations and a section of color plates. There is no documentation, however, so readers looking for citations or suggestions for further research will need to look elsewhere.

Helene Williams CAPTIVE PARADISE: A History of Hawai‘i James L. Haley, St. Martin’s, 2014, $29.99, hb, 448pp, 9780312600655 Captive Paradise presents a history of Hawai’i 60 | Reviews |

HNR Issue 71, February 2015

from the time of contact with Europeans via the famous voyage of Captain Cook, to a forcible and even discreditable annexation by the United States of America in 1898. Events during the 20th century, including the development of Pearl Harbor as a strategic naval base and Hawai‛i’s admission to USA statehood in 1959, are briefly examined. The narrative principally follows the fortunes of the ruling class, the royals or ali‘i of Hawai‘i, beginning with the Conqueror, Kamehameha I. The history of the royals of Hawai‘i is as fascinating as the more celebrated Tudors of England. The ali‘i intermarried, brothers and sisters and half-siblings, in order to preserve power within their class and clans. Author Haley suggests that inbreeding might have accounted for “the fact that no Kamehameha after the Conqueror sired any (legitimate) children who lived to adulthood.”

Kamehameha’s heir Liholiho, and the Conqueror’s favored wife, the forceful and shrewd Ka‘ahumanu, ended the indigenous kapu system after his death.

Christianity was poised to replace the old ways.

This is an insightful overview of the interactions of the kings and queens of Hawai‘i, first with American missionaries, and eventually with all the world economic powers.

Eva Ulett SAPIENS: A Brief History of Humankind Yuval Noah Harari, Harvill Secker, 2014, £25.00, hb, 456pp, 9781846558238 / Harper, 2015, $29.99, hb, 464pp, 9780062316097 Occasionally there are books published which simply demand the reader to take a new look on life. This is one – the reader may disagree with elements of Harari’s arguments – but it is nonetheless wholly engaging and stimulating.

The author takes a long perspective, from the start of life on earth, through to the various homo genera and to the subsequent dominance of us – the homo sapiens species. Harari provides some intriguing arguments about how we were all duped by the Agricultural Revolution which turned us into farmers when we had evolved essentially to be hunter-foragers. Likewise, he analyses the Cognitive Revolution which allowed mankind to develop a consciousness about life and to believe in ephemeral and non-existing phenomena such as religion, culture and the nation state, but which are the essence underlying mankind’s progress.

The role of empires and capitalism are thoroughly discussed, and Harari gives some interesting ideas on why it was that a then-comparatively backward Europe came to dominate the globe with its principles and core beliefs. He concludes with some challenging ideas about where we are heading as a species, given the outstanding changes that modern life is now subject to. (First published in Hebrew in 2011.)

Douglas Kemp ELIZABETH I: Renaissance Prince Lisa Hilton, Orion, 2014; £25.00; hb, 370pp, 9780297865223 This is an incredibly well-written biography of one of England’s historical icons. Giving a background on her birth and her mother’s disgrace and downfall, it charts her rise from an imprisoned

princess, at peril from a jealous half-sister, to an almost mythical figure: Britannia personified.

With clear cross-references and a thorough list of primary sources, it clarifies periods in Elizabeth’s reign which have been obfuscated and confused over decades – her long dalliance with Robert Dudley, her relationship to King Philip II of Spain (brother-in-law, suitor and mortal enemy), her ever-patient adviser William Cecil and her almost insane patience with Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex.

This biography is both informative and enthralling. It is grounded in facts, keeps speculation to a minimum (and even that little is well reasoned), and cuts through the legend to give a glimpse of the real Elizabeth, cunning and naïve, generous yet petty. Lonely, but resolute in her intention to rule a country she adored as a Prince cut from the mould of Machiavelli, to drag it from medieval superstition and habits to being an independent power.

Alan Cassady-Bishop ELEANOR MARX: A Life Rachel Holmes, Bloomsbury, 2015 (c2014), £25.00/$35.00, hb, 528pp, 9780747583844 There are some people whose lives intersect during an era in which great changes occur; there are others who are instrumental in ensuring that those changes happen. Eleanor Marx, Karl Marx’s youngest daughter, was both. The background to “Tussy’s” childhood and young adulthood were the writing of Marx’s masterwork, Das Kapital, and Tussy – polyglot, largely homeschooled and described by her mother as political from head to toe – not only absorbed socialism in its broadest and most international sense, but expanded on it and saw to its practical application after her father’s death.

Holmes’s lucidly written biography of a woman whose role in the arenas of social justice and feminism is not nearly well enough appreciated held me spellbound from beginning to end.

Through Eleanor’s life, Holmes paints a fascinating, extensive picture of late Victorian life in England and America and continental Europe that could easily serve as a reference point for further exploration, and yet is detailed enough to satisfy the general reader. I had one small issue – I’m not sure if the year of publisher Henry Vizetelly’s death is given correctly – but that’s a minor point given the sheer scope of the work. Highly recommended both as a historical reference ‘keeper’ and as a good read.

Jane Steen THE MILL GIRLS Tracy Johnson, Ebury, 2014, £6.99, pb, 314pp, 9780091958282 Tracey Johnson relates the true stories of four women who worked in the Lancashire mills from the 1930s to the 1970s. Doris, Audrey, Marjorie and Maureen share similar backgrounds of childhood poverty in northern England, leaving school at 14 or 15 and taking one of the few jobs available to them. Despite the health hazards of cotton dust, long hours standing at the looms and dangerous machinery, there are compensations Nonfiction

of camaraderie among the predominantly female workforce and the security of a regular income, even during the Depression and wartime. This memoir provides vivid descriptions of life in a mill town, as seen through the eyes of each woman.

Their recollections paint a picture of an era when stoicism and hardship were commonplace, and choices for working women were few. Despite accounts of childhood polio, and disfiguring injuries caused by the flying shuttles of the looms, there are also happy memories of playful banter and kindness among the female workers. The four narratives provide unsentimental insights, not only into personal tragedies and victories, but into changing social attitudes over the past eighty years. The Mill Girls makes a down-to-earth and touching contribution to our understanding of the lives of the women who worked in the cotton mills.

Claire Thurlow THE HOLLOW CROWN: The Wars of the Roses and the Rise of the Tudors Dan Jones, Faber & Faber, 2014, £20.00, hb, 434pp, 9780571288076 Following on from his enthralling story of The Plantagenets, Dan Jones completes his epic history of medieval England in this book. The crown of England changed hands violently several times over the course of the 15th century, as the Houses of Lancaster and York tore themselves and each other apart fighting for the right to rule, before being finally replaced by the Tudors. The book could be a Who’s Who of some of the most intriguing heroes (and of course, heroines) and villains of history: Henry V, victor at Agincourt and the greatest medieval monarch; the flag-bearing Joan of Arc breaking the English siege at Orleans; that most infamous uncle, Richard III. Jones presents their stories with the pace and excitement of a thriller yet never loses sight of the political complexities of the time. It is clear that he is completely fascinated by the period and his enthusiasm for it is truly infectious. Beware when you start to read: you may not be able to put it down. Highly recommended.

E.M. Powell SEVERED: A History of Heads Lost and Heads Found Frances Larson, Liveright, 2014, $27.95, hb, 336pp, 9780871404541 / Granta, 2014, £20.00, hb, 336pp, 9781783780556 Housing four of the five senses, our brain, and the body’s most elaborate set of muscles, the head naturally ranks as preeminent among our many body parts. It’s no surprise, therefore, that it should have an exceptional impact on human history and psychology. It is this history that anthropologist Frances Larson explores. She focuses on the severed head’s history in the West, with chapters dedicated to 18th- and 19th-century headhunting (by Western procurers), the venerated heads of saints, heads as trophies, the heads of decapitated politicians, and grave robbing by medical students among many others.

Though this book often makes for grisly reading, it is amazingly thought-provoking and never macabre. What could have devolved into freak show is instead elevated to an honest and Nonfiction

tremendously insightful study into the severed human head’s history. I had never considered how the boom in head collecting among Western buyers during the 19th century led to a supply problem that could only be met one of two ways: grave robbing and murder. It is insights such as these that make this book highly recommended— for those who aren’t squeamish (there are a lot of pictures…).

Justin M. Lindsay CENTURIES OF CHANGE Ian Mortimer, The Bodley Head, 2014, £20.00, 353pp, hb, 9781847923035 I am sure that Ian Mortimer needs little introduction to most of us. His grip on our history is one of the best and his books and television programmes have been much enjoyed by many.

This latest book is no exception. It charts our story from 1001-2000 and each chapter takes in the events and changes which stood out in each individual century. The chapter on the 20th century is followed by thoughts on which one saw the most changes and why it matters at all.

This is a very readable book and one to dip into rather than read from cover to cover, although that could be done with enjoyment as well. Anyone studying any particular era would be well advised to look it up in Ian Mortimer’s book. My own particular interest is the Mediaeval period and I became totally absorbed in those particular chapters. As the flyleaf states, “here is a story of godly scientists, shrewd farmers, cold-hearted entrepreneurs and strong-minded women” – and I totally agree with that. Recommended.

Marilyn Sherlock ATTRITION: Fighting the First World War William Philpott, Little Brown, 2014, hb, £25, 416pp, 9781408703557 This is a thoroughly well researched account of the Great War. It is not just another routine history of the familiar events, but, as the title suggests, focuses on the fundamental nature of the conflict, which was one of attrition. A hundred years after the start of the war, the seemingly pointless deaths of so many thousands of young men fighting over a few square miles of territory is the widely accepted essential characteristic of 1914-1918; yet Philpott convincingly makes the case that for the military leaders, such as Joffre, Foch and Haig, who are now generally notorious for being callous warriors, the Great War was about the relentless wearing down of the opposition’s resources, primarily through killing as many Germans, Austrians etc as possible.

It was this gnawing away at the aggressors that led to victory, not the ad hoc capturing of mudchurned land.

I have to say that the act of reading this book was also, to some extent, an act of attrition. The writing at times is rather clumsy and wooden, and there are far too many spelling and typographical errors. This is an expensive book, and the lack of effective proof-reading is just not acceptable for a leading publisher.

Douglas Kemp NAPOLEON: A Life (US) / NAPOLEON

THE GREAT (UK) Andrew Roberts, Viking, 2014, $40.00, hb, 976pp, 9780670025329 / Allen Lane, 2014, £30.00, hb, 976pp, 9781846140273 This is a remarkable biography of Napoleon Bonaparte, a man considered one of the greatest military strategists and rulers in the in the late 18th-century French world. It was a role equal to that of the men whose battles and lives he avidly studied: Julius Caesar and Alexander. Early in life Napoleon was a fervent Corsican patriot and would have attained fame there but for his French education. After years of gradual disillusionment, Napoleon seriously pursued his career in the French military, where he became a successful general at an early age. It may be said he was the right man at the right time, ready to rule a country torn apart by revolution and conflict between social classes. What sets this biography apart from others is the balanced point of view, setting forth the military genius, the self-educated background that shapes this brilliant leader’s style of government and law, and the different points of view about the merciless acts carried out under his command.

Add to that the complex relationship he had with his once-unfaithful wife, as well as his love of culture through writing, attending theater and more. Napoleon’s final defeat in one way stemmed from failing to anticipate Russia’s genius tactic of destroying all source of supplies as they retreated to their capital. Andrew Roberts’s Napoleon is exciting, comprehensive, and highly recommended reading about a man deemed to be France’s modern savior and tyrant.

Viviane Crystal KILLERS OF THE KING: The Men Who Dared to Execute Charles I Charles Spencer, Bloomsbury, 2014, £20, hb, 339pp, 9781408851708 / Bloomsbury, 2014, $30.00, hb, 352pp, 9781620409121 The 1649 execution of Charles I seemed to signal the end of the Stuart dynasty. The killers of the king, or regicides, certainly believed that. Little did they realise, however, that the Stuarts would return in 1660 bent on revenge. Soon after Charles II’s restoration, sixty men involved in his father’s trial were officially targeted for retribution. They were pursued relentlessly by Royalist informers and assassins with many dying in the most painful manner.

Charles Spencer has written a book that is equal parts detective novel, thriller and horror story.

Spencer recounts in whirlwind fashion the vicious betrayals as former comrades turned on each other in desperate attempts to avoid being hung, drawn and quartered. Spencer, whose sympathies are clearly with the regicides, horrifies with his graphic portrayals of the traitor’s death. He also intrigues the reader with his accounts of the Royalist detective work to discover the regicides who had fled abroad, while creating thrilling set pieces where they sometimes managed to escape the regal maw.

The sheer number of people in this story dictates that their fates inevitably become repetitive.

Nevertheless Spencer doesn’t let his reader escape from his fascinating story of the killers of the king.

Gordon O’Sullivan HNR Issue 71, February 2015 | Reviews | 61

© 2015, The Historical Novel Society ISSN: 1471-7492 | Issue 71, February 2015