Today's starting point is A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. I've not read this book, although I do want to, hopefully before the TV series is released.
The plot involves an aristocrat who is arrested by the Bolsheviks and confined to a hotel. His luxury suite is exchanged for a small attic room with a tiny window. This immediately brought to mind Robyn Cadwallader's The Anchoress where the female
protagonist is confined to a cell attached to the side of a church, although this was of her own choosing.
My next link takes me to The Painted Bridge by Wendy Wallace. It, too, has a bird on the cover and, as it happens, is also about confinement. Set in the Victorian era, the story is about a woman incarcerated in an asylum on the whim of her husband and her efforts to gain her freedom.
Like the previous novel, Kept by D.J. Taylor is set in the Victorian era. It is a mystery about the disappearance of a widow, who is later found locked in a room and her insanity questioned.
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The author's surname is the link to my next book. Andrew Taylor is one of my favourite authors. I especially like his series set in Restoration England. The King's Evil is the third book in the series featuring James Marwood, the son of a traitor.
Another book set in the same time period and which I liked is The Chocolate Maker's Wife by Karen Brooks. The last paragraph of the book blurb describes it as "... a tale of revenge and redemption, love and hope—and the sweet, sinister temptation of chocolate."
There are so many books with "wife" in the title that I had a hard time choosing which one to use for my last link. Finally, I decided on one I'd read recently, The Jacobite's Wife by Morag Edwards. The "wife" of the title is the Countess of Nithsdale, famous for rescuing her husband from the Tower of London after the failed Jacobite rising of 1715.
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That's my chain for this month! Once again, it's been fun to do. Next month the starting point is Three Women by Lisa Taddeo.
Nice chain here. I also enjoyed The Chocolate Maker's Wife, but I felt that it could have been two books, not just one. Plus, I think she could have made a trilogy if she followed Clara who shows up at the end of the novel.
ReplyDeleteI agree The Chocolate Maker's Wife could easily have been two books, but then other Brooks' novels are big reads.
DeleteI’m intrigued by the notion of The Anchoress, it’s a decision that is so far from anything I could imagine making.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your chain.
It's difficult to imagine anyone making that decision. I get cabin fever when the weather keeps me indoors for a few days.
DeleteI haven't read any of your books, but enjoyed your connections! My chain is here: https://wordsandpeace.com/2019/09/07/six-degrees-of-separation-from-moscow-to-vimy/
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteWhat a great chain! I have only read A Gentleman in Moscow and The King's Evil (both of which I enjoyed) but all of the others sound interesting.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I hope to read A Gentleman in Moscow soon.
DeleteAndrew Taylor is one of my favourite authors too and I loved The King's Evil! I haven't read the other books but I like the sound of The Jacobite's Wife.
ReplyDeleteI'm reading Cadwallader's most recent book, Book of Colours, at the moment and it is fascinating - like The Anchoress, I'm learning so much!
ReplyDeleteGood job! Now I want chocolate--end of my work day and Chocolate Maker's Wife...
ReplyDeleteI've read A Gentleman in Moscow. I found it to be pretty slow moving so it might not excite. I haven't read any of your other choices. My Six Degrees
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