Book Review: Salamanca Cottage by Mary Fitzgerald

Salamanca Cottage is set during World War II, in the fictional village of Lower Marchland. Aurelia Smith, a recently widowed nurse, rents the cottage and goes to work at the village hospital. She finds the atmosphere of the cottage peaceful and comforting. The perfect place to help mend her broken heart. The villagers' cryptic comments about the cottage leave her puzzled until one night she sees a man standing to one side of her inglenook fireplace.

The man was in uniform, not a modern uniform and the colours were hard to make out, for the whole form of the spectre had a sepia tint like an old photograph. He was tall, taller than her and had light hair and an amused clean shaven face. Looking carefully, Aurelia thought that his jacket might be green with rows of silver buttons down the front and a bright scarlet sash. Dark narrow trousers and riding boots finished off the ensemble, except for his sword, which hung from a leather belt partially covered by the sash. Hanging from the hilt of the sword, on a braided cord, was a little metal figurine. When the apparition turned to face her the figurine knocked against the sword hilt making a small clinking sound.

This is Aurelia's first meeting with Major Henry Kennerton of the 95th Rifles, who fell at the Battle of Waterloo. Yes, Salamanca Cottage is a ghost story, but it is also a heart-warming romance.

Mary Fitzgerald does an excellent job of depicting life in a small village during World War II. Her characters are believable and ones I expected to populate an English village of that time. From the local inhabitants, linked through past generations, to the newcomers such as the German POWs and American servicemen, none were superfluous to the story. However, my favourite was the ghostly Major Kennerton, still suffering his own personal sorrow after 130 years. His sense of humour and 19th century speech makes for witty and entertaining dialogue with Aurelia.

Salamanca Cottage is a quick read. Mary Fitzgerald has an easy writing style that doesn't allow you to stop and catch your breath until the last page. This is a charming story dealing with grief and love in a war time context. The unexpected twist at the end left me smiling and that's a good way to end a novel.

Salamanca Cottage is a great introduction to an author I hadn't read before and I'm looking forward to reading more books by Mary Fitzgerald.

Currently, Salamanca Cottage is only available as an e-book.

Book Review: The Haunting by Alan Titchmarsh

Gardening enthusiasts, especially those living in the U.K. will know of Alan Titchmarsh from his television appearances and his books on gardening. However, he also writes romantic fiction and has written several novels in this genre.

The Haunting is part history, part mystery, part romance and part ghost story, as the title suggests. It is not a “frightened to turn the lights off” ghost story, but a tale of a sad spirit lying dormant until disturbed. The supernatural element does not happen until later in the book and is a very small part of the story.

In 1816, Annie Flint, a young housemaid, disappears. A body is retrieved from the chalk stream, a place Annie frequents, but it is not Annie.

In 2010, divorced and disillusioned with his life, Harry Flint decides it is time for a change. He resigns from his job as a history teacher and buys a cottage in need of renovation. Harry is also an amateur genealogist attempting to solve the mystery of one of his ancestors.

The novel switches back and forth between the two centuries.  Harry’s is a simple love story, with plenty of heart warming scenes and also some sad ones involving minor characters. Annie’s story is a little more gritty, one of betrayal and tragedy.

I selected this book because of the historical setting and also the family tree aspect. Anyone who has researched their family tree and have leads peter out will empathise with Harry. From the start, it is obvious there is a connection between Annie and Harry because they share the same surname, but the  revelation regarding Harry's ancestor is unexpected and adds a nice little twist to the story

The Haunting is an easy read. The characters were developed enough to engage and the time switching was handled well. The romantic outcome was predictable, but it was the historical aspect that kept me interested to the end. A perfect book for that lazy afternoon.

Zemindar by Valerie Fitzgerald: A Classic Re-issued

This post was prompted  by a recent one from Sarah at  Reading the Past entitled Two New and Substantial Historical novel reissues: Zemindar and Csardas. I've not read Csardas by Diane Pearson, but Zemindar by Valerie Fitzgerald is an old favourite of mine and I'm so pleased that this classic is being re-issued. My copy, a 1982 Bantam edition, is well used as I re-read this novel regularly and it is definitely in my pile of "keepers". I've even included it in my list of books for The Re-read Challenge 2015.

In her post Sarah links to a newspaper article and a radio interview. The interview with Valerie Fitzgerald, who is now in her eighties, is very interesting. In it she explains why there were no more novels after Zemindar. A shame, but life took her in other directions.

Cover: 1982 Bantam Paperback

From the back cover:

A magnificent love story unfolds against a backdrop of exotic splendour and stirring deeds as young Englishwoman Laura Hewitt journeys to the East – and to the fabled fiefdom of the Zemindar, Guardian of the Earth.

He is Oliver Erskine, the hereditary ruler of his private kingdom, commander of his own native army – and brother of the man she loves.

Subject of Britain’s Queen, but also a son of India, he walks the tightrope between treason to the Crown and betrayal of his own beloved land.

Challenging Laura to discover “the real India”, he guides her through a world both beautiful and dangerous, lit with splendour and torn by despair.

Laura is alternately bewitched and repelled by Oliver’s world – and by the Zemindar himself: arrogant and demanding, lustful and compassionate, tender and persuasive. He infuriates her, invades her soul – and claims her as his own. Then, as a tidal wave of rebellion engulfs even the enchanted reaches of Oliver’s estate, Laura is forced to confront her own divided loyalties, her own mutinous heart.

Not since The Far Pavilions has a novel so captured the essence of the fabulous East; not since Gone With the Wind has there been a love story so intense and so memorable.
 

Cover: 2015 Head of Zeus Paperback

From the back cover:

An epic love story, in the tradition of The Far Pavilions set during the Indian Mutiny.

From M M Kaye's The Far Pavilions to Julia Gregson's East of the Sun the Indian Raj has been a rich source of bestsellers. Zemindar is one of the greatest ever written.

A magnificent, twisting, turning love story unfolds against a backdrop of exotic splendour as Englishwoman Laura Hewitt accompanies her cousin and fiance, first to Calcutta and then to the fabled fiefdom of Oliver Erskine, Zemindar - or hereditary ruler - of a private kingdom with its own army.

But India is on the verge of the Mutiny, which will sweep them all up in its turbulence. Not one of them - not even the Zemindar himself - will remain unchanged by this violent rebellion against the Raj.

 Zemindar  won the Georgette Heyer Historical Novel Prize in 1981. The jury that year included none other than M.M. Kaye herself.

What more can I say about this wonderful book? If you like exotic settings, history and a strong hero and an equally strong heroine then grab a copy. You won't be disappointed.

My Latest Discovery: A Regency Romance by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss

I should have been writing book reviews, but decided to log onto Facebook and see what was happening there instead. There were a few posts in response to The Historical Romance Network's latest event, Fall Back in Time, held on November 1st. Authors and readers were invited to post selfies while reading a historical romance novel.

So I headed over to their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/historicalromancenetwork and scrolled through more posts noting what people were reading. One post in particular caught my eye: a reader holding a battered copy of a book by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss entitled THE RELUCTANT SUITOR.  I had read some of Woodiwiss’ other works, but had no idea this Regency romance existed and decided I needed to know more.

An internet search provided the following synopsis:

For as long as she can remember, Lady Adriana Sutton has adored Colton Wyndham, to whom she has been promised by an agreement of courtship and betrothal since childhood. As a young girl, she was wounded by Colton's stubborn refusal to comply with his father's wishes and by his angry departure. He was too proud and too stubborn to accept a future not of his own choosing. Rather than submit, he fled from his ancestral home for a life of adventure and danger as an officer in the British army.

The years have been immensely kind to Lady Adriana. No longer the plain, thin tomboy Colton had spurned, she has blossomed into an uncommon beauty desired by nearly every eligible bachelor in the land. Yet the only man she desires is the decorated hero who has finally come home to claim his rightful title. Arrogant, unmoved, and seductive as ever, he remains averse to the idea of their betrothal in spite of his growing desire for her.

To demonstrate his belief that love cannot be forced, Colton agrees to court Lady Adriana for ninety days, after which time he will be allowed to keep his precious freedom if he so wishes. But much has changed since he balked at his father's plans. Forced into a courtship with this stunning, spirited woman, who is as different today from the young chit he left behind as spring is to winter, the heroic heart that was once closed to Adriana is moved by her charm, her grace, and her sensuality ... and begins to yield. But a secret from Colton's past may doom their burgeoning love ... even as the treacherous schemes of a sinister rival threaten to steal the remarkable lady from his arms forever.

The reviews for this novel were mixed: well, most were uncomplimentary. Never one to be put off by bad reviews,  I await my copy. Look out for my review.

Book Review: Yvonne Goes to York by M.C. Beaton

How do you decide which books to add to your TBR pile? Is it the name of the author, the subject, the title or the cover?

I added this Regency romance to my pile not because of the author, though I have read and enjoyed other Regency romances by M.C. Beaton/Marion Chesney; nor was it the cover that swayed me; nor  the title – well, not all of it anyway. I’ll let you work it out.

Perhaps if your name is Emily (Goes to Exeter), Belinda (Goes to Bath),  Beatrice (Goes to Brighton), Deborah (Goes to Dover), or Penelope (Goes to Portsmouth) you may be tempted to pick up one of the other romances in The Travelling Matchmaker series.

The six books in the series were re-released a few years ago with new cover art, which reflects the whimsical nature of these stories.

From the back cover:

No coach journey is ever dull with Miss Hannah Pym on board, and this one proves to be no exception. Miss Pym meets the young and beautiful Miss Yvonne Grenier, who is fleeing the Terror in France.

Yvonne becomes frightened when a dangerous enemy also boards the stage to York, but luckily Miss Pym is on hand to propose a plan which will save Yvonne – and throw her into the arms of the wealthy and unattached Marquis of Ware!

This is an entertaining Regency romance with a delightful cast of characters: a dashing hero, a loyal servant, French spies, a damsel or two in distress, match-making mothers and a host of others.

Even though the outcome is predictable, the narrative rattles on at such a fast pace that it doesn’t matter. This is a light-hearted, quick read perfect for those times when a more serious novel  holds no appeal.