Ah, the long dark evenings of December. Whenever I wish for a journey to a sunnier time and place, I check out a Georgette Heyer novel from the library, bring it home, and read it and read it and read it. I think it’s safe to say that I’m having somewhat of a love affair […]
Jack Ford’s compelling, historical novel, Chariot on the Mountain, is based on little known events that took place in Rappahannock County,Virginia and Pennsylvania in 1849. On slave owner Samuel Maddox’s deathbed, he implores Mary, his wife, to free his illegitimate female daughter, Kitty, and her children. Childless Mary agrees even though it’s been difficult for her to accept […]
Fiona Davis, whose latest historical fiction novel is called The Masterpiece, chose her timelines well in this work of fiction. This is one of those books that has two timelines in it; and this choice is more effective than most because of the way they contrast throughout the narrative and the way they come together at […]
Do you ever look at your To-Be-Read List and see things that have been on there for YEARS but you just can’t bring yourself to read them right now? You still really want to read them though so you leave them on there… and every few months you look at it and think about taking […]
The book is Jane Seymour, The Haunted Queen. The series is Six Tudor Queens, and if you are up on your English history, you will know that this is the third in the series. The period is the reign of King Henry the VIII. The author is Alison Weir, who writes history AND historical fiction. […]
Shadow and sunshine: here are two (two!!) new historical mystery series launches, both taking place around the turn of the twentieth century. One is on the darker side and deals with larger social questions beyond the actual mystery; the other is about as light and frolicsome as you can get. Well, you know, aside from […]
Here we go, an exercise in randomness. Because I seriously don’t know who (besides me) would read all three of these books. Different genres, different moods… it’s possible that somebody I’ve known for fifteen years will pipe up with “Hey! Whoa! I’ve read all three of those books!” but that would be pretty random too. The […]
Warlight refers to the the dim guiding lights that remained on during WWII blackouts. LIke warlight, memories seen from a distance lose their sharpness, but are no less life altering. This was one of those books that left me a little unsatisfied, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it. There’s no doubt that Ondaatje has a […]
If you love hair-raising Gothic novels, you can’t do better than The Darkling Bride by Laura Andersen. This is a complex, well-plotted novel that came out just this year, and it hits all the right notes for a dark and intriguing read. Pitch-perfect! The story takes place in Ireland, and begins in 2015 with Carragh Ryan, […]
Ahoy, there! Announcing a new novel for historical fiction readers who enjoy a salty adventure on the high seas! William Westbrook launches (!) a new series featuring Captain Nicholas Fallon in his novel The Bermuda Privateer. Since I don’t get to use the word “swashbuckling” in a book review nearly as often as I would like, I’ll […]
