Review ~ Anne Boleyn:A King's Obsession by Alison Weir..

**Happy Publication Day**


18th May 2017

Headline
May 18th 2017

What's it all about..

Anne Boleyn. The second of Henry's Queens. Her story. History tells us why she died. This powerful novel shows her as she lived.

What did I think about it..

Alison Weir's second volume in her Six Tudor Queens series starts in 1512 when Anne Boleyn leaves her childhood home at Hever Castle to take up a position as fille d’honeur to the Archduchess Margaret of Austria. In the glittering courts of Burgundy and France, Anne discovers that charm, wit and intelligence will be her saving grace, and as she grows to young adulthood, it becomes obvious that Anne's ambition will take her in a very different direction than that of her older sister, Mary.

Beautifully written and meticulously researched, the author puts very human emotion at the heart of Anne’s life story. Anne’s early relationships with her family, her sister Mary in particular, is explored in detail, as is her later adult association with Henry Percy and Thomas Wyatt. All are contrasted against the wider significance of Anne’s burgeoning relationship with King Henry VIII.

The author writes with authority on the Tudor period and instils a real sense of personality into Anne so that you can’t help but be captivated by this young woman whose sparkling personality set the English royal court alight. I think what comes across is the very human face of a young woman who glittered and charmed her way into the affections of a King, a King whose capricious nature would be her very undoing.

After all that has been written about Anne's life you would think that there can't be much new to be revealed. However, in this fictional version of Anne’s life the Henrician court comes alive with all the gossipy intrigue, calculated scheming and deadly manipulations which are so reminiscent of this time in England's chequered history. And even though you know how Anne Boleyn’s story plays out, you can’t help but become completely caught up in her life story, which is so beautifully recreated by this talented writer.

This second volume follows the successful Katherine of Aragon. I can’t wait to see what happens in the third volume when Jane Seymour’s life will be laid bare and held up to scrutiny.

Best Read With ..Gold and jewelled goblets filled with rich, red wine..

About the Author

Find on Facebook

Follow on Twitter @AlisonWeirBooks

Anne Boleyn: A King's Obsession is published today by Headline Review 

Amazon

My thanks to Caitlin Raynor at Headline for the opportunity to read and review this book

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Review ~ The Plague Charmer by Karen Maitland

Headline Review
20 October 2016

A bit of Blurb...

Riddle me this : I have a price, but it cannot be paid in gold or silver.

1361. Porlock Weir, Exmoor. Thirteen years after the Great Pestilence, plague strikes England for the second time. Sara, a packhorse man's wife, remembers the horror all too well and fears for safety of her children. 

Only a dark-haired stranger offers help, but at a price that no one will pay.

Fear gives way to hysteria in the village and, when the sickness spreads to her family, Sara finds herself locked away by neighbours she has trusted for years. And, as her husband - and then others - begin to die, the cost no longer seems so unthinkable.

The price that I ask, from one willing to pay... A human life...

My thoughts about the book..

Set in 1361, and with a clever blend of mysticism, superstition and folklore, The Plague Charmer looks at the catastrophic effects of a great pestilence which is sweeping England and as it moves inexorably towards Porlock Weir an impoverished fishing village on the edge of Exmoor, so does the threat of impending doom. The villagers eke out a lowly existence, reliant on land and sea for their meagre survival, and so when an enigmatic stranger emerges from the sea and offers them a deadly bargain which will keep them safe from the plague, well, therein lies their dilemma, to acquiesce, or not, is a decision they must make for themselves. However, the menacing gloom which emanates from this stranger is enough to deepen their sense of growing unease.

I’m deliberately being reticent about the story content because if you are familiar with this author’s writing, you will know that her work is incredibly difficult to review without giving too much away, but what I will say is that The Plague Charmer bears all the usual hallmarks of this talented writer. She infuses her novels with such glorious historical detail, that it becomes difficult, on looking up from the book, to adjust to life in the 21st century. Life in the fourteenth century didn’t happen in a rush, and this is reflected in the way The Plague Charmer is allowed to evolve ever so slowly, but as always time and place is captured to perfection. There is so much historical detail that it truly reads like a medieval travelogue, not that you would want to return to Porlock Weir in 1361, but by the time you have finished The Plague Charmer, believe me, you will feel like you have been there and witnessed at first hand the blend of horror, superstitious terror and medieval chaos which this author brings so vividly to life.

The riddles and proverbs which head each chapter are fascinating and cleverly combine folklore and superstition into the narrative. The author’s complex historical detail, which is given at the end of the novel, shows just how much attention to detail goes into the story content. Even if I didn't know much about Karen Maitland as an author I would buy this book just for the cover, which tantalisingly, offers something deliciously dark.

Best read with.. fish caught in the weir pool and a cup of pungent ale from Sybil's brew house..

About the Author

Karen Maitland is the author of The White Room, Company of Liars,The Owl Killers,The Gallows Curse, The Falcons of Fire and ice, The Vanishing With and The Raven's Head.

You can find her on her website by clicking here


The Plague Charmer is published  on the 20th October 2016 and is available form Amazon and all good book stores.

My thanks to Caitlin at Headline for my copy of The Plague Charmer.

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Review ~ Eden Gardens by Louise Brown

Headline Review
April 2016

A bit of blurb

Eden Gardens, Calcutta, the 1940s. In a ramshackle house, streets away from the grand colonial mansions of the British, live Maisy, her Mam and their ayah, Pushpa.

Whiskey-fuelled and poverty-stricken, Mam entertains officers in the night - a disgrace to British India. All hopes are on beautiful Maisy to restore their good fortune.

But Maisy's more at home in the city's forbidden alleyways, eating bazaar food and speaking Bengali with Pushpa, than dancing in glittering ballrooms with potential husbands.

Then one day Maisy's tutor falls ill. His son stands in. Poetic, handsome and ambitious for an independent India, Sunil Banerjee promises Maisy the world.

So begins a love affair that will cast her future, for better and for worse. Just as the Second World War strikes and the empire begins to crumble...

This is the other side of British India. A dizzying, scandalous, dangerous world, where race, class and gender divide and rule

My thoughts:

I was drawn to the book by its cover which I think has a great sense of place and which conjures the golden heat of a country in turmoil and that's exactly what this book is about; it's about a country at odds with itself, about women who are used, and who are bought and sold as commodities, with little regard for them as people, and it’s also about the sights, scents and sounds of India, which come alive in glorious technicolour. Don't be fooled by the cover as this is not a book for the fainthearted, as parts of the story are difficult to read without feeling a huge sense of hopelessness.

Initially, I thought that the book was rather hard going in places and it took me a little time to warm to Maisy, whose interesting and courageous story takes centre stage. But the writing is good, if a little jumpy, and once I had I settled into the story, probably about two thirds of the way in, I became engrossed in the way India was coming alive in my imagination.

The author writes with great passion about a subject she clearly feels passionate about and that comes across in the way she describes the minutiae of daily life and in her relationships with her characters who she describes in such intricate detail. Reading the notes about the inspiration for the novel at the end of the book goes a long way to explain just why the author has such a fascination for India and its people.

I think that this is difficult book to 'enjoy' as it's quite heart wrenching in places, and in a way the cover sort of suggests that the book will be a bit fluffy, which is a bit of a misnomer, as the book is anything but that.

Overall, it’s a good debut novel from an author who is worth watching to see what she comes up with next.

Best Read with....Bowls of Jhal Muri, spicy with chilli and coriander, and delicate cups of Masala Chai...

About the Author

Louise Brown has lived in Nepal and travelled extensively in India, sparking her enduring love of South Asia.

Eden Gardens is her debut novel although she has also written critically acclaimed non fiction books.

My thanks to Headline Review and Bookbridgr for my copy of this book.

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Review ~ Six Tudor Queens: Katherine of Aragon, The True Queen by Alison Weir

Headline Review
5 May 2016

Six Tudor Queens #1

History tells us how she died. This captivating novel shows us how she lived.

Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen by bestselling historian Alison Weir, author of The Lost Tudor Princess, is the first in a spellbinding six novel series about Henry VIII’s Queens. Alison Weir lets you walk in Katherine’s footsteps and so understand this extraordinary woman as never before. History tells us how Katherine died; this captivating novel shows us how she lived.

I've read fictional stories about the Tudors since I was in my early teens,always finding something fascinating about the plots and intrigues of their lives, and none more so than Katherine of Aragon who landed in England in 1501 betrothed to marry Prince Arthur, the heir to the Tudor crown. Of course, we later know more about her marriage to Henry VIII,and the trials and tribulations of her acrimonious divorce, following Henry's tumultuous affair with Anne Boleyn.

As always, Alison Weir has given us a comprehensive look at the life of this fascinating Tudor Queen. For those who are familiar with the history of the Tudors there will be no surprises in the content of the story , as it's been told so many times, but there is no doubt that this is a very good fictional version, filled, as always, with the intrigue and machinations which we have come to expect from this exciting time in English history.

The story is very readable and spans the story of Katherine's life from 1501 when she landed in Plymouth, through to her death at Kimbolton Castle in January, 1536. There is much detail about her early marriage to Arthur, her young widowhood and her later relationship with Henry, with all the heartbreak and sadness of frequent miscarriages, all played out against the backdrop of the Tudor court, with its salacious gossip and devilish intrigue. It's far too easy to dismiss Katherine, as she is so often overshadowed by her sexier, and rather more tragic love rival, Anne Boleyn, and yet, it must not be forgotten that Katherine was such a valuable asset to England during the important early years of Henry's reign. 

The book is hefty coming in at over 550 pages, so it's not something to be read in a rush, but more to be savored slowly in order to appreciate the fine attention to detail. The way that Katherine comes alive on the page is credit to the author who has such a breadth of knowledge about this Tudor period that it's a real pleasure to read her fictional work.


This is the first of six historical novels planned which will each detail one of Henry's six Queens. Anne Boleyn is next, I can't wait !



Best Read with...Spiced wine, wafers and candied plums...



About the author

Visit the author's Website
Twitter @AlisonWeirBooks

Amazon UK

My thanks to Caitlin Raynor at Headline for my review copy of this book.

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Review ~The Fatal Flame by Lyndsay Faye

Headline Review
May 2015

The Fatal Flame

Gods of Gotham # 3

New York,  in 1848, was a place of little charm and scant employment. The Bowery girls who worked in downtown Manhattan eked out a slender living in the manufacturies of the notorious Five Points district. Some were employed as seamstresses in appalling conditions, whilst others were loured into equally dreadful and degrading roles as prostitutes, and as supplicant servants to unscrupulous individuals who exploited them to their full extent. Timothy Wilde is one of the original NYPD coppers, who along with with his brother and associate, Valentine, attempt to bring law and order to this swirling hotchpotch of survival.

In Fatal Flame, a series of mysterious building fires threatens one of the city's corrupt political leaders, and it becomes a race against time for Wilde to discover both the perpetrator and the raison d'etre behind these horrific crimes.

Overall, I thought that the murder mystery at the heart of the story was nicely done and conveyed the right amount of gritty realism. Timothy Wilde appears a worthy protagonist and manages to move the story along with energy and enthusiasm. However, having not read either of the first two books in the series, I did feel a little lost at times, and didn’t always appreciate the references to a back story I didn’t fully understand. That said, I am sure that the followers of this series from the beginning will find much to enjoy, and will find the story beautifully written with a fine eye for historical detail. 

Amazon UK

Gods of Gotham Series

About the Author

My thanks to the team at Headline Review for my copy of this book

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Review ~ The Blood of Kings by M K Hume

Headline Review
June 2015

Tintagel Book 1

The fate of Roman Britain appears to be controlled by the meeting of two very different men. When Flavius Magnus Maximus, a man of enormous charisma and courage, meets Caradoc Strong Arm, the King of the Dumnonii Tribe, the conflict that exists between them is palpable and even though ambitious plans drawn up between them attempt to unite the tribes, what it does is reiterate the very differences which, ultimately, make them enemies.

Inevitably, with the beginning of any series of books, there is always an element of scene setting and the introduction of central characters who will go on to play a major role in the development of the story. I found that to be the case in this story, but am pleased that the author had included a dramatis personae at the start of the story which I found very useful as I had no idea who some of the people were, or of their place in the history of the time. There’s also a glossary of place names at the end of the book which, again, I thought helped enormously in placing the settlements geographically.

I’m not overly familiar with early Roman history and found myself floundering a little with the beginning of this story and I had to keep back tracking in order to make sense, in my mind, of where the story was taking me. I found the narrative quite technical and, if I’m honest, a little bit long winded, but there is no doubting the author’s research or her commitment to telling a good story. It’s evident from the writing that the author is knowledgeable about this period in history and uses this knowledge to good effect.

I’m not sure that I will commit to reading any more of the series but am glad to have read this book and to, maybe, understand a little more about the fate of Flavius Magnus Maximus, who I had never heard of before reading this book.

About the author

My thanks to the team at Headline Review for my copy of this book

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Review ~ Three Amazing Things About You by Jill Mansell

Headline Review
2015

There's always something comforting about picking up the latest Jill Mansell book. You just know that the story will flow beautifully, the characters will be infused with warmth and wit and that before too long at least one of them will be tugging away at your hearts strings. Three Amazing Things About You tackles the sensitive issue surrounding organ donation but does so in  away that will have most readers reaching for their organ donor card or logging onto the donor website.

As always the writing is good, the story draws you in from the beginning and the characters become as familiar as friends. The author makes you care about each and every one of them until you can't stop turning the pages until you find out how it all works out.

To say too much about the nitty gritty of the story would be to spoil the overall effect but what evolves is the story of ordinary people going about their daily lives until something happens which makes them all realise that the greatest gift anyone can give, is the gift of life.

A perfect summer read and easily one of those novels that slips easily into your travel bag for use pool side, preferably  with a tall glass of something ice cold and sweet nearby.

My thanks to Bookbridgr and Headline Review for my copy of this book.

I'm, on it ...are you ....? Organ Donation

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I'm giving away my copy of this book. 

Leave a comment on here or on Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter  to be in with a chance to get this one for free (UK only)

Those interested know where to find us !


You've got until the end of July to enter - after that names will go into Jaffa's Hat.


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Review ~ The Silvered Heart by Katherine Clements

Headline
2015

Aristocrat. Heiress. Highwaywoman.

Orphaned heiress, Katherine Ferrers is forced to enter into a loveless marriage in order to save her family from penury and hardship. The marriage turns out to be  a loveless affair and rather than save her family, Katherine sees their fortunes forfeit and her own life increasingly intolerable. When she is offered a way out she seizes the opportunity and even though the future is faced with extreme danger, anything is preferable to the life she is living with a profligate and uncaring husband.

Set against the backdrop of the English civil war and in the early years of the interregnum, this story abounds with danger and treachery and yet, always keeps at its heart, a feisty and determined young woman who seeks to protect herself in the only way she can.

I really enjoyed this novel and was impressed with the clever way the story brings history alive, particularly in the challenges faced by the English aristocracy in the uncertain years of civil war, when to be on the wrong side politically meant certain ruin. Katherine is perhaps less typical of the women of her generation, but parts of the story of a legendary highwaywoman, have a foothold in folklore, so maybe this 'wicked lady' was as feisty as she is portrayed in this version of her life, either way, the novel makes for fascinating reading. 

The author has a comfortable writing style and is able to conjure time and place quite perfectly. I felt like I was experiencing the challenges of being a woman alone in a man's world and understood why Katherine was forced to take up the challenge of her own protection.

In the author's debut novel, The Crimson Ribbon, we had the parliamentarian side of the political argument of the civil war. In The Silvered Heart it is interesting to read about the other side of the story in this aristocratic view of life in England once the King had been executed. It tells of the indignity of an extreme change in fortune and of how some aristocratic families went, quite literally from riches to rags overnight.

This is a praise worthy second novel by an author who clearly loves writing historical fiction. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

My thanks to Caitlin Raynor at Headline for my review copy of this novel.

About the author

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Review ~ The Raven's Head by Karen Maitland

Headline
12th March 2015

In The Raven’s Head, allow yourself to travel back to a deadly place, where conjurers and alchemical magicians bring forth their dark and twisted magic in the hope of gaining power and immortality.

Three disparate characters, seemingly unrelated get drawn into an alchemical conundrum which at first bears no relation to the life they are all leading. Vincent is a disgruntled librarian who thinks that life is better on the other side of the proverbial medieval fence. His clumsy attempt at blackmailing his Lord will leave him in possession of a carved silver raven’s head, a deadly artefact, which was the alchemical symbol of death. Wilky, a young boy taken from his peasant family, is given into the terrifying care of the religious order of the White Canons. Whilst Gisa, a young maiden working for her aunt and uncle, is learning an apothecaries skill with herbs and potions, when she gets drawn into the deadly world of Lord Sylvain, a puppet master with an eye on the main chance, and whose lust for the raven's head will soon enfold all four characters in a deadly game of chance.

The story gets off to a slow start, there is much to take in and the characters need to make their own mark before they start to come together. This is done with the author’s fine attention to detail, and as always no historical stone is left unturned and no detail is left unrecorded The characters are realistic to the point where you sense them in the room beside you, and watch in fascinated awe, sometimes bordering on terror, as they all get drawn further and further into a deadly game of scheming sacrifice and unadulterated evil.

I can think of no other author currently writing medieval fiction who can, with one sweep of her pen, conjure an ancient world so believable that time literally stands still as you read, and your very modern world starts to change imperceptibly, until you feel the creep of ancient magic burrow into your bones, and the ache of superstition starts to lie heavy on your mortal soul.

With twenty first century sensibilities, it's hard to imagine such a dangerous world of myth and legend, and yet, in The Raven’s Head, Karen Maitland succeeds in drawing the reader into the story and combines the very best of medieval storytelling with an alchemical tale which abounds with high treachery, deceit and danger.

My thanks to Headline Review for my copy of this book to read in advance of its publication.

Read a guest post by Karen Maitland here.

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Guest Post ~ Karen Maitland

I am delighted to welcome back to the blog

Karen Maitland

Photograph by kind permission

The Raven's Head

Headline Review
12th March 2014

Talking Heads by Karen Maitland 

I’ve long been fascinated by the ancient art of alchemy which lies at the heart of my latest medieval thriller THE RAVEN’S HEAD. The raven’s head was the alchemist’s symbol of death and putrefaction. 

Alchemy was first practised in Egypt by the ancient Greeks in the 4th century BC. Later famous alchemists surprisingly include Sir Walter Raleigh, the artist Van Dyke, Queen Christina of Sweden, King Charles II of England and Sir Isaac Newton. 

But in the Middle Ages, alchemy was a dangerous practice. Many of the chemical experiments they attempted went horribly wrong, leading to explosions or fires. Given that many building in towns were made of wood, neighbours got a bit twitchy if they though there was an alchemist living next door, so often attacked them, beating them up and smashing their laboratories. And if word got round that an alchemist really had succeeded in producing gold, they might well be murdered by thieves, or tortured into revealing their secrets. So alchemists carried out their work in secret, recording their experiments in elaborate codes. 

Explosion in Alchemist lab

But the real-life alchemist who inspired the character of Arthmael in my novel was the Franciscan friar, Roger Bacon (1214-1294). He introduced gunpowder to the west. He also predicted the invention of the microscope, planes and steamships. But it was his alchemy experiments and books that really got him into trouble with his superiors in the Church and for the last ten years of his life he was imprisoned on charges of heresy and sorcery. That didn’t stop him though, he kept writing about his great obsession – the mysterious art of alchemy that had the power to turn lead into gold or produce the elixir of eternal life. 

One of the strangest legends about him was that he created a head of brass to foretell the future. He left his apprentice, Miles, to watch over the head, warning him that he must answer at once if the head spoke. When Miles was alone, the head suddenly spoke saying, ‘Time is.’ 

But Miles didn’t understand what that meant, so he ignored it. 

After a while the head said, ‘Time was.’ But Miles just gaped at it. 

Finally the head said, ‘Time is passed’ and burst into flames, for the time to question it had passed forever. 

Brasenose College in Oxford has a 12th century door-knocker in the form of a head which for centuries the college claimed to be the brazen head Roger Bacon made. I wonder what that head will predict if it ever decides to speak again. 

Brazen Head Knocker at
Brasenose College, Oxford

©Karen Maitland

Website

Amazon UK

My thanks to Karen Maitland for giving us such a fascinating glimpse into the ancient art of Alchemy

 and

 Caitlin Raynor at Headline Review for her help with this guest post.

The Raven's Head

is 

published 12th March and is available online and from  all good bookshops.

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