Review of Highland Bride by Hannah Howell, an historical romance novel set in medieval Scotland.
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Synopsis
When Gillyanne Murray takes possession of her dower property, she doesn’t expect the three neighbouring lairds to turn up on her doorstep. Intent on maintaining peace, they insist that she must marry one of them. After keeping them at bay for three days, Gillyanne agrees to marry Connor MacEnroy.
The first hours of their marriage are rocky as Connor rushes her to his home (Deilcladach) and promptly seems to forget her. Gillyanne soon finds that Connor has some strange ideas about ‘gentle-born ladies’ that she must correct. She also struggles to break through the tight hold Connor has on his emotions.
Her efforts are complicated by Connor’s uncle and resentful ex-lover. Then Connor’s uncle is found dead, murdered with Connor’s dagger. Connor is imprisoned for the murder, so Gillyanne must prove his innocence and uncover the real killer. Back at Deilcladach, can Connor show Gillyanne how he feels before her father gives her a way out of their marriage?
Review
Highland Bride could have been two different books. The first part, where Gillyanne defends her property from the three lairds, was hilarious. The methods she used to repel her suitors were inspired and they deserved everything they got.
Once Gillyanne agrees to marry Connor and goes to Deilcladach with him, the whole story changes. It becomes more of a romance as they get to know each other and figure out their relationship.
I loved Gillyanne. She is spirited, creative, and amusing. Despite her apparently diminutive size, she has strength and an outgoing personality, making her seem larger. It was so much fun watching Gillyanne deal with Connor’s ex-lover and her friends (aka “The Three Whores of Deilcladach”).
My feelings about Connor are more complicated. He is handsome and fierce and everything a romance hero should be, while still being able to develop as a character. He appreciates Gillyanne’s intelligence and accepts her guidance in their relationship. However, he is just a bit too stubborn when it comes to showing strength and emotion. And his devastation over his uncle’s death is believable but gets annoying.
The constant psychoanalysing was repetitive and eventually boring. We don’t need to be told every ten pages how Connor must stay strong for the clan because of the violence of the feud that killed his parents. Furthermore, the dialogue got a bit repetitive.
Conclusion
Have you read Highland Bride? What did you think? Do you agree with what I’ve said about it? Let me know in the comments.
If you haven’t, you can buy it at the following stores:
Review of The River of No Return by Bee Ridgeway, a time-travelling historical fiction novel set primarily in Regency England.
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Synopsis
In the early 1800s, Nick Davenant was the Marquess of Blackdown. Then he almost died at the battle of Salamanca but instead woke in 2003. For ten years, he has been cared for by The Guild, a mysterious organisation that provides new lives for time travellers.
When The Guild discovers that the future is turning back on itself, they break their own rules and send Nick back to 1815. He resumes his 19th century life easily enough, but struggles with following The Guild’s instructions.
Meanwhile, Julia (Nick’s neighbour and love interest) is struggling with her grandfather’s death. Soon, she is entangled in the manipulation of time and hiding her abilities is all she can do to keep herself safe. As Nick untangles the relationship between the Guild and their rivals (the Ofan), he and Julia grow closer.
Review
The River of No Return is a thought-provoking book with lots of twists and turns. There is some romance, but most of the story is about time travel and its consequences. It has adventure, passion, intrigue, and one crazy nobleman. The world was complex, clearly presented, and believable.
I loved the constant confusion over which side in the Ofan vs Guild conflict was good. Was The Guild good and the Ofan bad? Or was The Guild bad and the Ofan good? The Guild said they were keeping members ignorant for their own good, but is that really the right thing to do?
Nick was an intriguing character. He was intelligent, caring, and sexy (but not overwhelmingly so). I particularly enjoyed the internal struggles between his modern ideas and what is expected of him in the 19th century.
He could feel the ghostly marquess building up a head of steam, could even taste the aristocratic outrage in his mouth: rusted metal. It must have been that man’s outburst that Clare was expecting. He let his gaze rest on his elder sister … His anger dissipated as fast as it had built. ‘It should have been yours anyway,’ he said … ‘You are the eldest and, by God, I will sign it over to you in life as I did in death. Blackdown shall remain yours. It always should have been.’
I spent much of the book waiting for Nick and Julia to talk to each other about time-travel. They’re the two main characters, but don’t actually spend much time together or communicate about anything meaningful. This creates misconceptions between them and makes their romance feel underdeveloped.
The ending left me dissatisfied. Sure, Nick and Julia get their happily ever after, but so many other threads of the story remain unresolved. For instance, the mystery of Mr Mibbs isn’t solved, and Mr Mibbs himself has disappeared. Also, no one’s managed to mend the future or work out why it’s behaving so peculiarly. I hope Bee Ridgeway is working on a sequel.
Conclusion
Have you read The River of No Return? What did you think? Do you agree with what I’ve said about it? Let me know in the comments.
If you haven’t, you can buy it at the following stores:
Review of The Parchment Scroll, a time-travelling romance set primarily in 17th century Scotland, the final book in the Highland Secrets trilogy by C.A. Szarek.
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Synopsis
After her sister goes missing, Jules McGowan travels to Scotland to look for her. There, she meets a strange woman called Bree who claims she can take Jules to her sister. They go together to the Faery Stones where Bree (with Jules’ help) opens a portal to the 17th century.
The first person Jules meets in 1675 is Hugh MacDonald, Laird of Clan MacDonald. Seeing that Jules has a parchment scroll written by someone close to the laird of his rival clan, Hugh takes her to his home, intending to ransom her. Instead, his auntie makes him send her straight to the MacLeods, but not before both he and Jules become obsessed with each other.
Then Bree steals a MacLeod child. Hugh returns the boy to his family, taking the opportunity to kidnap Jules again. Back at Hugh’s home, he and Jules get to know each other better and become lovers. After a while, Jules decides it’s time to return to the 21st century. Will she leave Hugh, or will he convince her to stay?
Review
The Parchment Scroll is the 3rd and final book in the Highland Secrets trilogy. I found it engaging from the start and thought it tied everything from the series together well. It has lots of action, great characters, and an interesting storyline. I particularly loved the scenes between the two sisters, especially their conversations.
I enjoyed getting a bit more of Claire and Jules’ backstory. In The Tartan MP3 Player, we are told that Claire has no one in the future except her sister. There’s no parents or other family that she should return to her own time for, other than Jules. In The Parchment Scroll, we find out that they spent much of their childhood in foster care.
“How could being raised with technology be better than being with his father?”
Jules frowned. She didn’t have the balls to retort to that. They’d been raised without either parent, so she couldn’t blame her sister for wanting her kid to have both.
Foster care sucked.
The characters felt more real in this book than they did in The Tartan MP3 Player. I can’t put my finger on what exactly the author did differently, but they seem more like people and less like characters.
I liked that the author used the real historical rivalry between the MacLeod and MacDonald clans as a source of conflict. While they’re not actively at war, they clearly don’t like each other. This makes Jules falling in love with a MacDonald while her sister’s married to a MacLeod a bit awkward.
The romance between Hugh and Jules was problematic. They are both possessive of each other, to the point that Hugh keeps kidnapping Jules. At least Jules recognises this, occasionally calling herself ‘Stockholm-Syndrome-Girl.’ However, they are both strong people with strong personalities, and the banter between them is both funny and sweet.
Conclusion
Have you read The Parchment Scroll? What did you think? Do you agree with what I’ve said about it? Let me know in the comments.
If you haven’t, you can buy it from the following stores:
So, you’ve read Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series and loved it. You’ve maybe watched the TV show. Now, you have nothing “Outlander” to read or watch. It’s droughtlander. You could reread or rewatch Outlander, but eventually you should find something else to read. Check out my recommendations of books to read if you love Outlander.
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Into the Wilderness by Sara Donati
Into the Wilderness features Elizabeth Middleton, an English spinster schoolteacher, as she joins her father in the New York wilderness. Her father has plans for her to marry the local doctor – plans that she has no intention of going along with.
Instead, she runs away with Nathaniel Bonner, a man whose Native American family could be destroyed by the local village. After several months in the bush while their friends take care of legal matters, they return home where they have to rebuild the good opinions of their neighbours.
Elizabeth is a strong woman who knows what she wants and does what she has to do to get it. She may not have travelled back in time, but she has progressive ideals and a modern way of dealing with things. Like Outlander, Into the Wilderness is the first in an epic series packed with romance, adventure, and the vicissitudes of life.
Clan of the Cave Bear is the first of Jean M. Auel’s Earth Children’s series. It tells the story of a young girl who is adopted by a community of Neanderthals. Though the Clan, as they call themselves, are initially wary, they come to love Ayla.
However, the Clan’s leader has a son who instantly dislikes Ayla and does everything he can to make her life difficult. This eventually leads to her leaving the Clan, and later books in the series follow her life apart from the Clan, her romance with a hunky caveman, and her struggles fitting in.
White Rose Rebel is the story of Anne Farquharson, Lady MacIntosh. A staunch Jacobite, she raises the men of her husband’s clan to fight for Bonnie Prince Charlie in the 1745 rising. Her husband (Aeneas), however, has indebted himself to the English and joins the government forces.
Like Outlander, White Rose Rebel has a strong female protagonist who gets involved in the Jacobite rising. Anne’s romantic life features throughout the book, and like Claire’s, is somewhat complicated. It’s a standalone book, but the story is told so well, there’s no need for a sequel.
Dougless Montgomery has been abandoned by her boyfriend while on holiday in England. While she’s crying over her misfortune, a strange man appears in front of her wearing 16th century armour.
Nicholas, Earl of Thornwyck, was awaiting execution when he is magically transported to a strange future where he meets a crying woman. Convinced that the woman can send him home, he tries to keep her with him. Together, they dive into the historical record to try to uncover the truth behind the final days of Nicholas’s life.
There’s romance, a handsome and chivalrous hero, and well-developed historical settings. Nicholas isn’t as immediately loveable as Jamie, but by the end of the book, his relationship with Dougless was just as swoon worthy as the romance between Jamie and Claire.
After travelling to court in an attempt to have King Alexander cancel her betrothal, Margaret MacDonald finds her home has been raided by Norsemen. As the group searches the rubble, a group of Irishmen arrive, including the half-Norse Gannon MacMagnus. The following months are trying for everyone, as they rebuild the castle and seek vengeance on the raiders.
On a Highland Shore has romance, adventure, and a gorgeous Scottish setting. Unfortunately, Kathleen Givens died before she could finish the series (something I sincerely hope doesn’t happen to Diana Gabaldon). Otherwise, it’s an epic story.
When scattering her grandfather’s ashes on an Irish lake, Anne Gallagher gets lost in a sudden fog. She finds herself in 1921 with a bullet wound in her side. Dr Thomas Smith, the man who raised her grandfather, rescues her, initially mistaking her for his ward’s mother.
Once she’s healed, Anne throws herself into 1920s life: being mother to Eoin, joining the Irish revolution, and falling in love with Thomas. She loves her life in the 20s, but the revolution and questions about the other Anne’s disappearance create difficulties.
What the Wind Knows has time travel, romance, and a woman trying to fit in a time other than her own. I loved the glimpse of what life was like in 1920s Ireland. The characters were life-like, the love was timeless and unconditional, and the writing was superb.
When her uncle the King dies, Rhiann must secure her people’s future by marrying and producing an heir. Eremon is an exiled Irish prince who is in Alba (Scotland) to make alliances and create a name for himself.
Their forced marriage starts a bit rocky, but soon they become friends. United by a desire to protect Alba from the Romans, they travel across Scotland, visiting powerful kings. Along the way they fall in love, but their various secrets keep them from admitting it to each other.
Set in 1st century AD Scotland, The White Mare gives brilliant descriptions to the same place Outlander is set in, just at a different time. The hero, Eremon, has a lot in common with Jamie Fraser; they are both handsome, courageous, and intelligent men. If you love Outlander, you will thoroughly enjoy the story of Rhiann and Eremon.
Taking the form of a series of letters, Letters from Skye tells the story of a Scottish poet and her impetuous, American admirer. Elspeth and Davey share their thoughts and dreams, eventually realising that they’ve fallen in love with each other.
When Europe goes to war in 1914, Davey volunteers to drive ambulances in France. This prompts Elspeth to overcome her fear of boats to meet him in person. During World War Two, their daughter finds her mother’s letters and determines to find out what happened.
Letters from Skye left me with a massive book hangover. As much as I wanted to find out the end of the story, I didn’t want it to end. The letters were gripping, the romance emotionally involving, and the setting beautiful.
In 17th century Scotland, Morna has been unable to learn how to use her magical powers since her father banished her teacher. Then she finds an injured man who needs help returning to his own time. Fortunately, her brother has found journals written by her old mentor and set up a secret magic room for her to study in.
As Morna works towards sending Jerry home, the two of them become good friends and romance develops. Then word reaches them of a druid who might be able to teach Morna. While Jerry searches for the druid, Morna becomes convinced that he will never return and agrees to marry her brother’s friend, Henry.
Love Beyond Reach is the eighth book in the Morna’s Legacy series (it’s a prequel to the other books). There’re twelve novels in the main series so far, and this is the first one I’ve read. Having read it, I definitely want to read the rest.
In Tapestry, Jane Maxwell falls off Uluru (Ayers Rock) and wakes in the body of a Scottish noblewoman. Winifred’s husband, the Earl of Nithsdale, is in the Tower of London, awaiting execution for his part in the 1715 Jacobite Rising.
As Winifred, Jane must travel to London and save the Earl. If she succeeds, Jane is certain that her 21st century fiancée (Will) will wake-up from his coma. Along the way, she makes friends and falls in love. By the time she returns home, Jane is no longer sure that she wants to marry Will.
The Earl of Nithsdale’s escape from the Tower of London is truly an incredible true-story. I liked the unique angle the whole time-travel element added to it. Jane is such a strong, ingenious woman (a bit like Claire). Between the adventure, Jacobites, and romance, Tapestry is a book you will enjoy if you love Outlander.
Lions last lived wild in Europe thousands of years ago. Despite this, lions have been popular in European art from the Greeks and Egyptians, right through to the Middle Ages.
Once my sister pointed this out to me, I started taking pictures of the lions I saw. Here’s the best of what I got.
London
Lion at Southwark Cathedral
One of the lions that protects Westminster Bridge
British Museum
By the main entrance doors to the British Museum, this lion looks like it might once have been some sort of water fountain.
The Lion of Knidos, from an ancient cemetery in Turkey, now in the Great Court of the British Museum
King Amenhotep III as a lion (Egyptian Sculpture Gallery)
Assyrian Guard Lion, 9th century BC (it weighs 15 tons!)
Section of an Assyrian panel depicting a lion hunt, 9th century BC
Limestone statuette of a lion, 6th century BC, from a sanctuary of Aphrodite
Faience vases from Rhodes, late 6th century BC
Bronze lion from Macedonia, 510-500BC
Bronze figure of a lioness crouched to spring, Greek, 6th century BC
York
This lion can be found by the entrance gates to the Yorkshire Museum Gardens
This lion is from the top of a birch tankard from the Merchant Adventurers Hall, possibly from the Baltic.
This lion is from a 16th century fireplace surround at the Merchant Adventurers Hall.
A doorknocker on a random door in York
Another doorknocker on another random door in York
This lion decorated a grand tomb in one of Eboracum’s (Roman York) cemeteries
Another lion-themed doorknocker on a random door in York
Edinburgh
This lion is on a commemorative plaque from 1964, which is currently housed in The People’s Story, a museum in Edinburgh
Three of these lions sit at the base of a medieval pedestal at The National Museum of Scotland
The decorative end of a handrail for some steps on Calton Hill
Linlithgow
Look up when you walk through the gatehouse at Linlithgow Palace, and you will see this fearsome guy
Inside Linlithgow Palace, in the courtyard, is a 16 foot tall fountain built in 1538, and this goofy lion is part of the decorations.
Review of The White Mare, an epic historical fiction novel by Jules Watson set in 1st century Scotland.
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Synopsis
After the king of the Epidii dies, Rhiann has to marry and produce an heir. If she refuses to marry, her people could lose their position and freedom. However, a violent event in her past has left her terrified of marriage, and she only agrees to marry out of duty.
The man the council choose for her is Eremon, an exiled Irish prince. Eremon is in Alba to make allies and earn a name for himself. Roman advances into Alba provide him with the perfect opportunity to do this.
Over time, Eremon and Rhiann come to love each other. However, their respective pasts keep them from doing anything about it. They also visit other powerful clans and continue the fight against the Romans.
Review
The White Mare transported me to 1st century Scotland. I really felt like I could see what life was like back then. It mixes a little bit of magic in with the known history perfectly and fills gaps in the record brilliantly. I particularly enjoyed the descriptions of the various settings, like the roman fortifications and iron age strongholds.
A massive ditch had been delved, shouldered by sweeping banked walls three times the height of a mounted man. The bank was then crowned by a timber palisade and walkway, and lookout towers, reared from the breastwork every thirty paces. The oaken gate, the width of four chariots, was flanked by two sturdy gatetowers. Over it all, banners flew, embroidered with the eagle totem, and the posts they hung from were capped with gold so they shone bright in the sun.
Inside was the familiar jumble of squat roundhouses and ramshackle sheds, but everything seemed larger and noisier and more frenzied than at Dunadd. The air or prosperity was tangible. Wooden walkways kept feet free of the mud. House walls were bright with colour, and hung with banners and trophy skulls. The thatch roofs were new and golden.
Rhiann was almost annoyingly stubborn, particularly when it comes to trusting others. However, her difficult past and dedication to her people makes her stubbornness (and the fear it stems from) understandable. While much of the tension wouldn’t exist if Rhiann had just communicated with Eremon a bit better, I really couldn’t blame her for her secrecy.
The romance between Rhiann and Eremon was so beautiful. It was good to read a romance that was built over time, rather than seemingly appearing out of nowhere. I also liked how it didn’t overwhelm the main historical storyline.
I loved how the story had so many storylines woven together. Aside from the main story about Rhiann and Eremon, there’s Catilin’s history and her romance with Conaire. Then there’s the Romans building their wall and Samana’s alliance with Agricola.
Conclusion
Have you read The White Mare? What did you think? Do you agree with what I’ve said about it? Let me know in the comments.
In AD71, the Romans built a fortress in northern Britannia, thus founding the city of York. They called it Eboracum. Even though Eboracum fell into relative obscurity following the Romans’ retreat, they left significant remains behind them.
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Some of these remains have survived the intervening 1600 years and can be seen today. Read on to find out where.
Yorkshire Museum
The ground floor of the Yorkshire Museum houses the “Yorkshire’s Jurassic World” and “Roman York: Meet the People of the Empire” exhibits. Roman York is full of archaeological finds and information that tells us what life was like in Eboracum.
Some of the highlights are a hoard of Roman coins, a sculpture of Emperor Constantine’s head, a mosaic floor you can walk on, and the Ivory Bangle Lady. This last one is the remains of one of six people who lived in Eboracum. These tell us a lot about the kind of people who lived in York during the Roman period, and there is a large display showing everything we know about these particular people (including facial reconstructions!).
Museum Gardens
Outside the Yorkshire Museum, the Museum Gardens house the Multangular Tower. This was a defensive tower on the western corner of the Roman fortress, built in the early 3rd century AD. Before that, there was likely a simpler tower made of turf or wood in the same place.
The present Multangular Tower is a lovely, solid looking structure with both Roman and Medieval stonework visible. There is a lovely bit of grass directly in front of it – the perfect place for photos or a picnic.
City Walls
Photo: Eboracum Fortress Gateway
Of the walls that can be seen today, nothing is Roman. However, significant sections of the walls follow the same lines as the first Roman walls. At a couple of places along the wall, there are marks showing the locations of various landmarks that are no longer there (like the fortress gateway).
The Romans made the original walls with wood, then as York became more important, the wooden walls were replaced by stone. By the time the Vikings arrived, the walls were no good for defence, so they were buried, and new walls built on top.
Bean & Gone
This coffee shop is built into the wall next to Bootham Bar. Their food and coffee are pretty standard for a British café. However, under a glass panel in the floor, you can see part of the foundations of the York’s Roman fortress.
York Minster
While the Minster itself isn’t at all Roman, it is on a site once used by the Romans. During serious engineering fixes to the foundations during the 1960s and 70s, workers uncovered many Roman and Medieval items. Now, many of these objects can be found in the undercroft museum.
Roman treasures include fragments of plasterwork, reconstructed mosaics, and a roof tile with an early Christian symbol inscribed on it. There are also displays showing what the Roman fortress that used to be here looked like and exactly where it was in relation to what is there today.
Outside, there is a relatively modern statue of the Emperor Constantine, who was in York at the time he was declared Emperor. And just across the road from the statue stands a column uncovered along with all the stuff in the undercroft.
Roman Bath Museum
Found under a pub (aptly called Roman Bath), the Roman Bath Museum is a simple display of the ruins of Eboracum’s bath house. The walkway leads visitors through parts of the caldarium and frigidarium. At the end, there is a space for dressing-up and posing with Roman-themed props (I had so much fun).
The museum is rather small and dingy, but fascinating. Among the informative signs, it is crowded with Roman artifacts and replica items, such as tiles showing the sandal-prints of Roman soldiers.
Review of The Last Hours by Minette Walters, an historical fiction novel set in 14th century England during the Black Death.
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Synopsis
The Black Death has arrived in the English port of Melcombe and is spreading north through Devonshire. Contrary to the church’s recommendations, Lady Anne takes the people of Develish within the manor’s moat.
Initially, things are good. No one within the compound sickens. The one man from her absent husband’s retinue that everyone likes returns healthy. Then, with food stores running low, the workers grow bored with nothing to do and no news from outside.
Tensions erupt when a teenaged boy, Jacob, is found dead of a stab injury. Having made some discrete inquiries, Lady Anne’s young steward, Thaddeus, takes a group of Jacob’s contemporaries into the outside world. Seeing the destruction around them makes these young men think of their futures and forces them to grow-up quick.
Review
I found The Last Hours completely unputdownable. It enjoyably captured many aspects of the period around the Black Death. These included widespread ignorance, fear, and superstition. I particularly enjoyed looking at how the shift in power and new beginnings caused by the Death affected this community.
The characters are well thought out, realistic, and fascinating people. Some are strong (like Lady Anne and Thaddeus) and take charge of the situation, while others struggle with change. The religious and moral conflicts within the community seemed real, like I was watching real people interact with each other.
I liked Lady Anne. She’s fair, compassionate, clever, and understands her serfs. However, she is a bit too much like a modern woman. She has modern ideas around hygiene and treats the serfs like equals.
‘I’ve never been on a demesne where serfs were educated, milady. The practice is an unusual one. A villein’s role in life is to labour for his master, not steal time in order to learn letters.’ [Said by a clerk hired by Lady Anne’s husband]
Eleanor (Lady Anne’s daughter) was horrible, but I liked the conflict she added; without her, there would be very little story and the book would suck. I also liked how she gained layers and became more understandable as the story progresses.
I hope the next book resolves Eleanor’s storyline (and maybe brings some much-needed change to her character). I would also like a better reason for Thaddeus’s ramble through the countryside (other than obtaining information and supplies. They were away too long just for that).
Other than that (and a slightly ponderous middle), The Last Hours is a fantastic book. I’m looking forward to reading the sequel.
Conclusion
Have you read The Last Hours? What did you think? Do you agree with what I’ve said about it? Let me know in the comments.
If you haven’t, you can buy it at Book Depository (they have free international shipping!) or Waterstones (free delivery on UK orders over £25, will ship internationally).
Review of A Plague on Both Your Houses by Susanna Gregory, the first chronicle of Matthew Bartholomew set in 14th century Cambridge.
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Synopsis
After the body of Sir John Babington, Master of Michaelhouse, is found spinning on Cambridge’s millwheel, he is thought to have committed suicide. Then several more Michaelhouse residents die and Dr Matthew Bartholomew becomes suspicious. However, the Bishop is called in to review the deaths and gives orders to cover-up any scandal.
At the same time, rumours circulate that Oxford University is trying to close the competing university at Cambridge by creating problems between town and gown. Then, the plague arrives in Cambridge and all Bartholomew’s time is consumed with treating the dwindling populace.
During the ensuing mess, a woman goes missing and men make surprising confessions. This leads Bartholomew to search out information that puts his life in danger from the men responsible for the earlier deaths.
Review
A Plague on Both Your Houses is a fantastic black-death-era mystery. Sure, the Death may have distracted me (and the characters) from the mystery for a bit, but it became an important part of the story. The book was sprinkled with historical details and interesting information, particularly about the plague.
The story is extremely convoluted and intricate. There are twists and turns in the (very complicated and eventful) mystery with a plot within a plot and dangerous encounters. Even Bartholomew gets confused about what’s going on. Then there’s a disappearance that might be related to the original plots/murders but turns out to be unrelated. I found the “let’s summarise what we know” bits completely necessary.
Very few of the characters are fleshed out enough that I could care about them. Add to that the vast number of minor characters and a character list would have been helpful. There were some characters that appeared early on and then again towards the end, by which time I had forgotten who they were. However, I was gripped by trying to work out which characters were good, and which were bad.
I liked Bartholomew. He’s intelligent, a bit naïve, and genuinely shocked at other people’s deviousness. I loved reading about him trying to deal with the plague and how selfless he was. Bartholomew’s student, Gray, provided a nice contrast to emphasise these qualities.
Gray followed him from house to house carrying the heavy bag that contained Bartholomew’s instruments and medicines. Bartholomew could feel the student’s disapproval as he entered the single-roomed shacks that were home to families of a dozen. The only patient of which Gray did not disapprove was the wife of a merchant. She was one of the few cases with which Bartholomew had had success, and was lying in a bed draped with costly cloths, tired, but still living. The grateful merchant pressed some gold coins into Bartholomew’s hand. Bartholomew wondered whether they would be sufficient to bribe people to drive the carts that collected the dead.
Conclusion
Have you read A Plague on Both Your Houses? What did you think? Do you agree with what I’ve said about it? Let me know in the comments.
If you haven’t, you can buy it at Book Depository (they have free international shipping!) or Waterstones (free delivery on UK orders over £25, will ship internationally).
Review of Tapestry by Fiona McIntosh, a time travelling historical fiction set in the 18th century and 1970s.
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Synopsis
Following an incident that leaves her fiancé in a coma, Jane travels to Australia feeling that, somehow, it will help him. After climbing Ayers Rock (Uluru), she wakes up to find herself inhabiting the body of Winifred Maxwell, Countess of Nithsdale. Winifred’s husband, William, has been imprisoned in the Tower of London for his part in the failed 1715 Jacobite Rising.
Acting as Winifred, Jane must travel to London and save William. If she succeeds, her 20th century fiancé will wake-up. Heavy snow and Winifred’s physical frailty work against her, but she is helped by a man called Julius Sackville and Winifred’s friends in London.
Once her quest is over, she has to make some difficult decisions. Does she still want to marry her 20th century fiancée? What about the man she fell in love with in 1715?
Review
The Earl of Nithsdale’s escape from the Tower of London is a fantastic story. I suspect that many authors would write it as straight historical fiction, but adding the mystical time-travel element gave Tapestry a unique angle.
I thought Jane was a strong, courageous, and likeable heroine. However, climbing Uluru as she did, with no water in the middle of the day and with a storm threatening, was unbelievably stupid. I understand that she was driven by worry for her fiancée, and without it there would be no story. It just seemed out of character for such an intelligent person.
The way that Jane spent most of the book in Winifred’s body was confusing at times. Jane does and thinks things, but does things as Winifred and is called ‘Winifred’ by everyone around her. There’s two people in one body – very confusing.
Traquair House was in a state of flux as Winifred prepared for her journey to London. Jane had begged off food and company that evening, desperate to have time alone to think.
I liked how the story occasionally jumped back to the 1970s. I particularly enjoyed the way these ‘jumps’ incorporated the points of view of different people, like Jane’s parents and the nurse who cares for Jane’s fiancée.
Tapestry ended well. For the first 70 or 80 percent of the book, it was average. While the prologue was interesting, it didn’t make any sense until the executions scene. The set-up (getting to know Jane’s life and personality) was effective but long and boring. But the ending, with the escape and return to the 1970s was fantastic.
Conclusion
Have you read Tapestry? What did you think? Do you agree with what I’ve said about it? Let me know in the comments.
If you haven’t, you can buy it at Book Depository (they have free international shipping!).
