I do love historical fiction and the promise of a book set around high society in the 1700s including a Grand Tour of Europe really appealed.
This novel follows twins Edgar and Benjamin Bowen as they attempt to ingratiate themselves into high society by making connections on a Grand Tour. The narrator, Benjamin, is a much more reluctant participant on this quest than his brother but, armed with their mother’s guide book of Europe and their extensive education, off they go. It’s only when they get to Paris that they realise they aren’t ever going to be accepted – a revelation about their family history and society’s snobbishness about their business background see to that. Then Benjamin meets the eponymous Mr Lavelle and his world is turned upside down by the experiences of first love.
This is well written and an engaging read. Although Horace Lavelle is infuriating (a kind of pretentious Sebastian Flyte figure – and I mean that in a good way!), the book is more about Benjamin and his maturation away from the suffocating influence of his mother. I’d have liked a bit more historical colour to the book personally – a lot of the characters felt quite modern, but I can’t really put my finger on why I felt this. I’d have also loved to hear more about the varied and glorious settings.
Overall, this is an engaging and well paced read. The experiences of an intoxicating first love affair are well portrayed and the book certainly raises some ideas for further reflection. The sense of the persecution of gay men in that historical period is shocking and certainly makes the reader think about how far society has come since then: sadly, not as far as we should have.
I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
I’ve long admired Elly Griffiths’ writing and this novel is no exception. This was published in October 2019 and is one of the Max Mephisto series – Griffiths also writes a contemporary crime series.
This is the fifth installment in Elly Griffiths’ historical crime series set in mid-twentieth century Brighton. I’d read one of the previous books but think this one could probably be read as a standalone because the opening scene, a funeral, brings together all the key players and brings us up to speed with the back story.
This novel centres on a series of disappearances – young women and girls are going missing in Brighton and the police have no leads. Throw into the mix a bored superintendent’s wife (herself a former police detective), a nosy journalist and the celebrated magician, Max Mephisto, and the result is an interesting (if slightly sedate) investigation to find those who have vanished.
The novel is set in 1964 against a backdrop of the mods and rockers clashes on Brighton seafront. The historical detail is convincing and the restrictions on being a woman in this time period are portrayed well – Emma is suffocating as ‘just’ a wife and mother and there is the sense that things need to change for her and the younger women in the novel before Meg – a police officer of much promise – follows the same path.
Overall, this is an engaging and gentle crime story – a bit slow in places and ultimately forgettable, but an enjoyable read. I’d personally have liked more crime and less on the personal lives of everyone involved, but that’s my personal preference and there is a lot here to like.
I received a free copy of the novel from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
*SPOILER ALERT* Do not read if you are awaiting your own subscription box for this month!
This is my 4th month with ‘Books That Matter‘, the feminist subscription box that delivers a book and other treats to your door for the princely sum of £20 a month (including postage).
I’ll admit that I was sceptical about whether I’d get books I actually wanted to read (especially as I buy so many books) but 3/4 have been hits so far.
The Box
August’s box arrived, as they all do, having been well squashed by the postal service – the boxes are a bit flimsy, but the contents are usually just fine. As usual, everything is beautifully packed and opening the boxes is becoming a monthly treat.
Each of the monthly boxes is themed and this month is ‘Women of the World: Celebrating Women in Translation Month’ – a fab theme, I think, as I definitely am trying to read more from outside of my home nation, the UK.
August’s contents are:
The book ‘The Adventures of China Iron’ by Gabriela Cabezon Camara (translated by Fiona Mackintosh and Iona Macintyre)
A sew-on woven patch, branded Betty Ratbag, plus a postcard of the same design
A Woman of the World cookie (by M and H Cake)
A tube containing a ‘Put Her on the Map’ mini-poster
A sticker and bookmark of this month’s theme
Two booklets – one about the box contents and the other about pioneering women from around the world
The contents of the box (except poster)
My Thoughts
I’m really pleased with this month’s book choice. I’d not heard of the book or the writer before, but it looks absolutely brilliant. Reading the opening pages has definitely made me want to read more and it is on an area of the world (Argentina) that I know very little about – another excellent reason to read on.
I love the design of the patch and postcard, but I’m really not sure what use I have for it. Maybe if I was younger and more rebellious, it would be perfect – as it is, I’m a 40 year old mum and teacher who can’t really wear patches with naked women on! I can only think it would be too distracting for my pupils and my own kids…
Let’s face it, cookies are always welcome!
As for the rest of the box, I can only say it is very papery… the items are well-designed and the booklets interesting. I can definitely always find a home for a bookmark and sticker, although I will struggle to know what to do with the booklets once I’ve glanced through them and the poster isn’t something I’d want to put up. All very interesting, but probably not items I’d want to keep longer term.
The mini-poster
The Verdict
A fabulous themed box with a great book choice. Worth the subscription fee although, for me, not all the items quite hit the spot. I’ll definitely keep subscribing next month!
This is the 9th book in the Maeve Kerrigan series and was published in April 2020.
This is the latest installment in the series featuring DS Maeve Kerrigan of the Metropolitan Police. Although the series is great, this can also be read as a standalone as a lot of the backstory is explained or not needed to follow this book.
In this novel, Maeve's team are called upon to investigate the disappearance of a young journalist, Paige Hargreaves. It seems that she was about to publish an article about the Chiron Club, a bastion of secrecy and dubious attitudes to women. As Maeve gets closer to the truth, the extent of the Club's activities are revealed and there are some who would go to extreme lengths to preserve the secrets it holds.
Having read a few of the previous books, I was glad to see DI Derwent present as the potential romantic interest; this is a book where Maeve's private life takes a starring role, something that I felt rather distracted from the story's denouement although it was an interesting plotline. This is a well- written and lively addition to the series, although not quite a 5 star read as I found the ending slight lacked something for me personally.
An enjoyable police procedural for those who are already familiar with Maeve's world, but I'd probably recommend starting earlier in the series if you haven't read any of the others.
I received a free copy of the book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Links to purchase this title in hardback and on Kindle are below for the UK Amazon site. The Quick and the Read may earn some commission on any purchases at no extra cost to you.
It’s fair to say that 2020 isn’t going quite as any of us expected. The silver lining in what has been a hideous and staggeringly enormous cloud has – for me – been the opportunity to read more and enjoy some brilliant books.
I set my Goodreads challenge at 100 books for the year and am already on 68, way ahead of where I expected.
Of these, I gave 10 of them five star reviews, so this seems a good time to share with you the books I couldn’t put down this year. They are certainly a quirky, diverse and interesting mix!
In chronological order of when I read them as I cannot possibly rank these books!
‘Difficult Women: A History of Feminism’ by Helen Lewis (published February 2020)
I thought I was pretty good on my history of women’s rights and feminism, but found plenty in this eye-opening, thought-provoking and engaging book that was new to me.
In the book, Lewis charts key moments in women’s history through 11 ‘fights’ – key moments in history when the titular ‘Difficult Women’ have stood up and made change happen in society. These changes range from divorce laws protecting women’s rights to have access to their children and property, the availability of safe and legal abortions, gaining votes for women after World War 1, establishing refuges for victims of domestic violence, achieving equal access to education and the changing roles of the female workforce. Each of these struggles is a separate chapter, with Lewis introducing us to some of the ‘difficult women’ who led the various movements.
What I loved about this book was that the stories told weren’t the usual ones. For every Pankhurst in the chapter on votes for women, there were a whole host of lesser known but still fascinating women who played important roles in achieving the women’s vote in 1918. I felt that I’d learnt about a whole new cast of feminists and so many different perspectives on feminist ideology. Lewis doesn’t try to convince us that these women were perfect – she tackles head on some of the contradictions of feminism and the internal disagreements, for example not shying away from Marie Stopes interest in eugenics or the suffragettes willingness to do violent and terrible things to achieve their aims.
I’d wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in women’s history or changing place in society. The book isn’t – and doesn’t claim to be – an exhaustive history of feminism, but it is lively and entertaining, well-researched and engrossing. The topics covered are fascinating and Lewis is a witty, perceptive and clear-sighted guide through some tricky subjects.
‘The Switch’ by Beth O’Leary (published April 2020)
Wow, this was an absolute treat! I enjoyed O’Leary’s first novel but this one is even better. It’s not a genre I usually read, but I couldn’t resist this big-hearted, charming, touching story of a life swap between grandmother and granddaughter.
Lena Cotton is a high-flyer in London and supposedly living a dream life with her high-powered job, handsome boyfriend and trendy warehouse flat in Shoreditch. When a presentation at work goes wrong and she is told to take a two month sabbatical, she retreats to the Yorkshire village where her mother and grandmother live, each dealing in their own ways with a family tragedy. The grandmother in question, Eileen, is at the centre of village life, always organising and busy but unsuccessfully looking for love. When the two agree to swap lives for the two months of Leena’s leave, neither foresee the results of their quirky experiment.
The novel is packed with lucky coincidences and chance events that make everything perfect and neat, but that (which I thought might annoy me) was just lovely. What makes the book, however, is the cast of characters. They are a great and astutely observed bunch of people and they become like friends in a way that reminded me of the eclectic mix of family and friends surrounding Bridget Jones (another book I love). The plot was predictable in places but always charming and touching – it didn’t shy away from the subject of grief but without becoming maudlin or mawkish.
I’d highly recommend this to anyone who wants a big slice of comfort reading. Its engaging and humorous, life-affirming and reassuring that it’s never too late to find your place in the world.
‘The Graves of Whitechapel’ by Claire Evans (published June 2020)
I’ve already published this review on here and raved about this book on Twitter, but – for completeness – here it is again!
I really liked Claire Evans’ debut novel, ‘The Fourteenth Letter’, but I think this one is even stronger. It’s a twisty and tense murder mystery set on the streets of Victorian Whitechapel – what’s not to love?!
It’s 1882 and Cage Lackmann is a corrupt lawyer. Although he does some work to defend the innocent, he also fights legal cases to acquit gang members as he is in the pay of a powerful man. When one of his ‘innocent’ defendants is accused of committing a second murder, Cage is in trouble. The police want to frame him, his customers are abandoning him and he is in a race against time to get the evidence he needs. Everyone has secrets and Cage has to work out who he can trust with his own.
I loved everything about this book! I kept thinking I’d figured it all out, only for the rug to be pulled from under my feet the next second. The depiction of gritty, grimy, seedy Whitechapel is great – this is a place where loyalties can be bought and sold, everyone has a price and violence is rife. That said, this isn’t a depressing book – it’s clever and engaging and fast-paced. I read this in a day and would recommend that any lovers of historical crime do the same – clear some time in the diary and settle down for an absolute treat.
‘A Curious History of Sex’ by Kate Lister (published February 2020)
(Mum, you can skip this review!)
I first found Dr Kate Lister on Twitter through various other historians on the site – history is one of my passions and I loved the quirky and often funny things that she posted using her ‘Whores of Yore’ account. When I found that she was writing a book – crowdfunded through the brilliant publisher Unbound – it seemed obvious that I’d sign up and support the project. Doubly so when she donated half her profits to the Basis Sex Work Project in Leeds – a charity supporting sex workers. As an early supported, my name is in the back of the book – very exciting!
(Incidentally, you can find new projects and support your own books on Unbound’s website here.)
The (long-awaited) finished book is absolutely brilliant. It is far from encyclopaedic as that was never its intention – instead, it picks up a variety of issues in short, engaging chapters. Kate Lister is very funny and her take on the history behind various sexual topics is eye-opening (sometimes eye-watering!) and absolutely engaging. These areas of focus range from medical history to cultural practices, from FGM to prostitution, from Victorian prudery (mostly a myth) to feminism and they’re all fascinating.
The fabulous hardback copy I have contains a lot of images to support Lister’s text and it’s probably sufficient to say that it is one to shelve way out of the kids’ reach!
This is an absolutely fantastic book on the history of sex and one I would recommend to anyone interested in social history. It’s well-researched and academic, but also gloriously readable.
‘Broken Silence’ by Liz Mistry (published April 2020)
Another one that I’ve already championed on this very blog, but review posted here again:
I’d not read any books by Liz Mistry before this, but I’ll certainly be looking for more! This is the second in a series featuring DS Nikki Parekh and, although there are references to the backstory, I don’t think its essential that you have read the previous novel.
After a multi-agency conference, police officer Felicity Springer leaves the venue for her drive home. As she heads through the country lanes, she sees someone trying to get her attention from inside the van in front. Felicity Springer doesn’t make it home and an investigation is launched into her disappearance. However, that proves just the tip of the iceburg and DS Nikki Parekh and her team are thrown into a complex and dangerous investigation in Bradford’s criminal underworld.
I’ll admit that this is a bit more gritty and grim than my usual reads, but it’s also compelling and very pacy – I kept planning on reading one more chapter to see what happened until I realised it was 3am and I should just finish the book! I liked the portrayal of multicultural Bradford and the diversity within the police team and Nikki herself is an interesting protagonist. Often the personal lives of the police officers can overshadow the actual crime story in this kind of novel but this never happens here – the plot is tight and twisty throughout.
I’d recommend this to anyone who likes police procedurals, especially those with a feisty female police officer in charge. Just don’t pick up this book unless you have a clear run of reading time in which to finish it because you absolutely won’t want to put it down.
‘Grave Secrets’ by Alice James (to be published September 2020)
A full review for this one will follow closer to publication date. However, let’s just say that this one is an absolute treat for those who loved the Sookie Stackhouse ‘True Blood’ books and TV series. This is a brilliantly British take on vampires and zombies with plenty of humour and a great female lead. It’s also worth me pointing out that this is outside of my usual genres but it totally won me over.
Definitely one to watch out for!
‘This is Shakespeare’ by Emma Smith (published April 2020)
This is another book I’ve talked about on the blog before, but it definitely warrants repeating here.
Professor Emma Smith is a Shakespeare expert and Oxford University lecturer who I had only encountered previously as a result of her ‘Approaching Shakespeare’ podcasts. She really knows her subject inside out, but the refreshing thing about this book is the lightness of touch. I’ve read a lot of books on Shakespeare (it comes with the English graduate and teacher territory), but few are as engaging and readable as this one without skimping on the academics.
In this book, Professor Smith takes the plays one at a time and presents a shortish essay/chapter on each. These essays are ordered roughly chronologically, although obviously we can never be entirely sure of the exact order in which the plays were produced. Each chapter addresses a play from a different or unusual perspective, so opens out some interesting thoughts about Shakespeare’s biography, sources, intentions, themes, characters…the list goes on and Professor Smith takes the essay wherever is interesting rather than having any particular set formula for her writing. This means she moves between topics fluidly and avoids labouring points.
Her approach is always rigorously academic and scrupulously referenced, yet full of humour and surprising elements – I loved her defence of Keanu Reeves’ acting in ‘Much Ado about Nothing’ on the basis that it is his character rather than Keanu who is as wooden as a wardrobe! She never shies away from more controversial ideas either, such as the idea that if ‘The Tempest’ was Shakespeare’s swansong and the character of Prospero intended as parallel to Shakespeare himself (as is a commonly accepted idea), then perhaps we wouldn’t have liked Shakespeare (as a man) much. In other essays, she identifies plot holes, discusses source texts and how reactions to plays have changed over the 400 years or so since they were written. The idea isn’t that this is a definitive guide, but that the plays cannot be pinned down and explained as they continue to develop different meanings to different audiences.
I feel that I’ve written a lot about this book without really grappling with even a fraction of the fascinating ideas put forward. It certainly gave me a lot to think about in relation to the Shakespeare plays I know and love, but also a way into the ones I don’t know so well. It even made me reconsider the plays I know and really don’t love!
This is a fantastic book about Shakespeare for everyone from the casual reader to Shakespeare fans, from those who want to know a bit more about their favourite play to those engaged in academic study. It is entertaining, surprising in places and entirely readable – not a given for books in this field usually.
‘Dead Famous: An Unexpected History of Celebrity’ by Greg Jenner (published March 2020)
Greg Jenner is another historian that I was following on Twitter. He’s worked extensively on the BBC’s ‘Horrible Histories’ TV series for children and I loved his humorous, quirky takes on aspects of history. ‘Dead Famous’ is his second book, the launch of which was blighted by the start of lockdown, so I quickly bought myself a copy of the hardback.
Jenner starts with the concept of ‘celebrity’, a strange idea in itself. He tries to pin down what this means and apply it to historical figures, a process that leads him to conclude that the idea of modern celebrity can be traced to the 1700s. From this point, he introduces the reader to a range of historical celebrities, always seeking out the interesting and unusual stories. Clara the Rhino, the obsession with a ballet dancer’s ears, warring Shakespearean actors…they’re all here!
What I liked in particular is that this isn’t a chronological account; Jenner skips between stories and makes links between diverse ideas with ease and it is a joy to follow where he leads. Although some of the stories are tragic, Jenner writes with academic rigour and also humour where appropriate and there are accompanying illustrations and photos that really bring the stories to life.
Another highly recommended history book for those who want to be engaged, entertained and utterly engrossed.
‘The Miseducation of Evie Epworth’ by Matson Taylor (published August 2020)
Another one I’ve written about before, but this is a comic classic in the making.
This book was an absolute delight! I thought it would be a humorous ‘chick-lit’ type book (although I hate that term), but instead I got a charming coming-of-age story that made me laugh and love the main character. Evie Epworth has been compared in other reviews to the great Adrian Mole as a brilliant, naive, fictional teenage narrator and I can definitely see the similarities. However, Evie has a voice and quirks that are all her own!
Sixteen-year-old Evie lives on a farm in Yorkshire with her father and Christine, a gold-digging ‘scarlet woman’ who is making changes to Evie’s (dead) mother’s farmhouse that Evie is really not happy with. The plot follows Evie’s attempts to rid herself of Christine and also to find her own way in a world full of choices.
As mentioned already, Evie is a lovely narrator and this gives the book warmth and depth. However, the joy of the book for me was in the comic characters – the plot is hardly complex, but Evie’s 1960s Yorkshire village is brought to life by the people. Christine is gloriously awful, a vision in garish pink, while other villagers are hilarious – I have a particularly soft spot for Mrs Swithenbank and her digestive issues! The humour is somewhat broken up by the poignancy of Evie’s mum’s story being included in the story as interludes to Evie’s narrative, but this also adds depth to the novel and another reason why the terrible Christine needs to go.
I really loved this book – it made me laugh and root for Evie as she navigates her tricky teenage landscape. This is a charming novel and one that is both genuinely funny and a comforting read in turbulent times.
‘Death in the East’ by Abir Mukherjee (published November 2019)
The review is elsewhere on this site, but worth repeating:
I don’t know why it took me so long to pick up this book! Now I’ve read it – the fourth in the series featuring Captain Sam Wyndham and his Sergeant, Surrender-Not Banerjee – I’ve fallen in love with the series and shall immediately be making up for lost time with the other books. Although it would have been good to read these in order, I didn’t feel that I was disadvantaged by reading this one first – it works as a standalone, I think.
At the start of this book, Captain Sam Wyndham of the Calcutta Police is in a state – he is an opium addict who is taking himself off to an ashram in rural India in order to break his addiction through a frankly barbaric vomiting cure. It’s 1922 and the story mostly covers Wyndham’s experiences at the retreat and then afterwards in a neighbouring town where he gets embroiled in investigating a crime. However, the story is also partially set in 1905 in Whitechapel in the East End of London where a young Sam Wyndham, a new Metropolitan police officer, is involved in solving a crime that has echoes and repercussions for him later in India.
I really loved the Indian setting of this book – it seemed at once exotic and interesting, but there was also a sense of the simmering resentments around the British Raj which added a frisson of danger to the proceedings. It was interesting to see the white privilege in action in the way that Wyndham was treated very differently to Banerjee in the expat community, even though Banerjee was meant to be the main investigating officer at one point. The characters are well drawn and I cannot wait to get into the other books to find out more about Banerjee in particular as he does not feature heavily here. There’s clever plotting, peril and vibrant description – what more could you want?!
My only quibble was that I solved the murder and worked out the method well ahead of poor Captain Wyndham, but when the novel is so beautifully written as this then that really doesn’t matter.
Overall, this is an excellent historical crime novel with real depth and interest. I would recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone who enjoys this genre or who wants more insight into the British Raj in India – it certainly is an eye-opener on this front!
So there you have it – 10 great books that have really kept me entertained during the year so far. I hope that you have found some inspiration and I’d love to hear about your own five star reads of 2020.
If these books sound like they are up your street too, please do follow my blog!
Aside from ‘Dead Famous’, ‘The Curious History of Sex’ and ‘This is Shakespeare’ (which I bought with my own hard-earned pennies!), books were provided free from NetGalley in exchange for honest reviews.
I’m so glad I found the Bitter Lemon Press, publishers of this little gem of a book. They produce a fantastic range of dark crime novels both set in and from places around the world – their catalogue can be viewed here. They gifted me this book in exchange for an honest review but, as always, opinions are entirely my own.
This is the first in a series featuring Inspector Hella Mauzer, the first female police officer to gain this position in the Helsinki Homicide Unit in 1948. For reasons that become evident, she has been sidelined into a much less prestigious policing job in Ivalo, a dull city that has jurisdiction over remote and rural Lapland (where the majority of the novel is set).
The book opens in 1952 when a man is reported missing to the Ivalo police team. Hella’s boss, Chief Inspector Eklund, is keen to close off the case file as a tragic accident and retain his 100% crime resolution rate, but Hella has other ideas. Travelling into remote Lapland on her own time, she uncovers a case that has far-reaching implications, a story of people’s hidden pasts, the politics of the Cold War and a situation that is far from what it seems.
One of the things I loved about this book is the character of Hella. She is incredibly determined, spiky and often downright rude, but she definitely grows on the reader! It is very satisfying to see her – over the course of the novel – use her intelligence and bravery, but also to begin to build relationships and develop a slightly warmer side. Sadly, Hella is entirely fictional – no woman in Finland made it to that rank in the police at that time.
The setting of the novel is also vitally important to the plot – this is a narrative that simply could not have happened anywhere but the wild and remote Lapland captured so beautifully by Ivar. On the one hand, it seems rustic and romanticised, but the reader is never in any doubt that the bleak and bitter conditions are highly dangerous. The remoteness of the area that Hella is investigating also adds tension to the novel; there is no easy communication or back-up for this lone female officer in the wilderness.
The plot starts slowly and Ivar sets the scene carefully. It is precisely because Hella has been cast off from the Helsinki Homicide Unit and is bored and patronised by fellow officers in Ivalo that she ends up in the situations that she does. The pace is fairly slow at the start, although this all changes as Ivar gradually ratchets up the tension later in the book.
I’d recommend this to anyone who enjoys the Nordic Noir genre. I’m a huge fan of this type of crime fiction and of the country of Finland itself (which is what brought me to this book in the first place). The book is a slow-burner but delivers a compelling tale of a pioneering police officer in an interesting historical era for her country.
This book – published today in hardback – is a warm, witty and uplifting read.
I really love funny books and Adam Kay (who endorsed this book) so I thought this was definitely worth a try. I am certainly glad I did.
Jake is edging towards thirty with a girlfriend who is expecting to become a fiancee, but he isn't quite comfortable in his own skin or even with his own family. His younger brother, Trick, has just publically come out as gay, not that anyone ever considered he might not be. Their parents are accepting of their youngest son's sexuality, but seem a whole lot less supportive when Jake announces his own bisexuality. This book charts Jake's progress from heterosexual coupledom into uncharted waters...
The book is funny - not side-splittingly so, but certainly warm and witty. However, its strength lies in its characterisation. Jake is troubled and flawed and capable of some bad decisions, and his family and friends are so real. This is a book that swerves stereotypes wherever possible - Jake's girlfriend is fabulous even when she is hurting when she could easily have been made into a woman scorned and I loved her. Similarly, Jake's family are brash and loud, but also extremely subtly drawn and tender when it matters.
I enjoyed this book - it's a lively and engaging read that doesn't preach or stereotype. Instead, we get a full range of well-observed and realistic characters who are just trying to navigate their own situations. A lovely book and one I whole-heartedly recommend.
I received a free copy of the book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Links to purchase this title in hardback and on Kindle from the UK Amazon store are below. The Quick and the Read may earn commission on any purchases at no extra cost to you.
This looks like a gorgeous book, but I wouldn't usually have chosen it if it hadn't been for recommendations from people on Twitter. It's not my usual period for historical fiction and is actually set in an era that I knew very little about - Eleanor of Aquitaine's revolt against her husband and King of England, Henry Plantagenet (Henry II). The novel is beautifully translated from the original French by Ruth Diver.
The narrative covers the period of Eleanor's marriage to Henry II (after her first, to Louis VII of France, was annulled), the birth of their children and the revolt that Eleanor - supported by some of her sons - leads against Henry. The story then follows Eleanor's favourite of the sons, Richard I (the Lionheart), as he embarks on crusades in the Holy Lands.
What makes this book compelling is the fact that the narrative is delivered through monologues from the key characters; Eleanor and Richard lead the storytelling, but there are also chapters where we hear from the vanquished king Henry and others, including a poignant input from Alys, Richard's rejected fiancee. These imagined voices make the story vibrant and modern - this reads as real people exploring some pretty incredible events and emotions. The language is also striking in its beauty with some really vivid and striking imagery and snippets of songs recalled by the characters.
The character of Eleanor is a big draw for the novel. She is presented through her son's eyes as being absolutely formidable and majestic, something supported by the historical fact that she was Queen Consort to two kings and ruled Aquitaine in her own right. She is put in the impossible situation of a woman in that time period and patriarchal society, yet manages to find her own ways to gain power through her own determination and through her sons; however, we do also see her human frailty as in the scene when she is caught in the storm on board a ship, pregnant and afraid. The relationship between Eleanor and Richard is also explored in detail and seems a little claustrophobic and intense at times.
This is a highly engaging and fascinating book and I think can be enjoyed regardless of how much knowledge you already have of the time period. The voices are lively and feel authentic, linking us to these extraordinary events in history and an amazing woman at the centre of the French and English monarchy. The writing/translation is beautiful and this book is a short but sweet treat.
I received a free copy of the book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Links are provided below to purchase this title from Amazon UK in hardback and on Kindle. The Quick and the Read may earn commission on any purchases at no extra cost to you.
Another book read with my English teacher hat on and one that helped me brush up my poetry knowledge. This book was published in April 2020.
As an English Literature graduate turned English teacher, I have ploughed through a fair amount of poetry in my time. It's not my favourite form (I prefer a good novel) but I do have my favourite poems and writers that I return to frequently. I hoped this book would contextualise them and perhaps give me some new avenues to explore.
I think it needs pointing out that this is a slightly odd idea for a book - a potted history of poetry that is accessible for the novice reader yet detailed enough to draw in more seasoned poetry readers (who you would expect would be the main readership for the book as people already receptive to poetry). However, I think Carey has managed this well; the book covers a vast amount of ground, managing to fit in synopses, biography and context for a range of poems and poetry movements. For me, it brought back memories of my undergraduate study - some good (it's always nice to revisit Larkin, Keats and Plath) and some less so (I hoped I'd heard the last of Piers Plowman, to be honest!)
The other strange thing about the book is that it can never be a totally objective history of poetry as it seems to promise - it's always going to include Carey's personal choices and preferences and I didn't agree with all his interpretations fully. I absolutely bow down to him as being the expert, but I do think poetry is very subjective and open to personal readings, although it was interesting to hear about his take on poems that I know very well. Carey's own preferences seemed most obvious in the amount of space allocated to individual poets - some were skimmed over in very little detail while others were explored in perhaps excessive depth (Yeats, I'm looking at you...)
Overall, I'd say this was a lovely book to use to contextualise your understanding of poets and their works - I certainly didn't realise that some of the poets were contemporaries or quite so closely linked. The biographies are interesting and Carey is a knowledgeable and lively guide through the history of poetry. It won't give you depth of understanding if you are already studying poems or poetic movements at a high level, but it's an accessible and entertaining read for those of us whose knowledge is perhaps a bit rusty!
I received a free copy of the book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Links to purchase this title in hardback and on Kindle from the UK Amazon site are below. The Quick and the Read may earn a commission on any purchases at no extra cost to you.
I’d never read anything by Elizabeth Gilbert before as her most famous book, ‘Eat, Pray, Love’, doesn’t fit in with my usual genres. However, this one – published in April 2020 – is a lovely piece of historical fiction with a fabulous heroine at its heart.
I was drawn to this book as it promised a fun and light read in the world of New York's theatrical world. I thought it would be an ideal escapist book for these tricky times.
The first part of the book absolutely delivers this. The narrator, Vivian Morris, is upbeat and cheerful in telling the story of her arrival in New York in 1940. Freshly expelled from her university course for minimal effort, she goes to stay with her Aunt Peg, an eccentric family member who runs a dilapidated theatre. Vivian soon makes friends with the showgirls and starts living the high life in a city full of men and alcohol, far away from the war raging in Europe. I loved this bit of the story - the theatre people and Vivian's joie de vivre make for compulsive and upbeat reading.
The tone shifts a bit in the second part of the book as Vivian ages and there is more of a war theme. I'll admit to not enjoying this bit as much, although it's beautifully written and quite touching.
Overall, this is an evocative and compelling novel with a really unique heroine at its heart. I'd recommend it wholeheartedly although it didn't quite deliver the consistent high I was looking for. However, that's just my personal preference for fabulous glitz rather than the sad impact of war.
I received a free copy of the book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Links to purchase this title in paperback and on Kindle are below for the UK Amazon site. The Quick and the Read may earn some commission on any purchases at no extra cost to you.
