It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

This weekly meme is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey

Another good reading week for me. I finished Gallipoli Street followed by Footsteps in an Empty Room. I must have been in a Lilly Sommers mood because I immediately picked up The Dark Dream. This is a re-read of my favourite of her novels.

What I Read Last Week

Gallipoli Street by Mary Anne O'Connor

An Anzac tale of three families whose destinies are entwined by war, tragedy and passion.

At 17, Veronica O’Shay is happier running wild on the family farm than behaving in the ladylike manner her mother requires, and she despairs both of her secret passion for her brother’s friend Jack Murphy and what promises to be a future of restraint and compliance. 

But this is 1913 and the genteel tranquillity of rural Beecroft is about to change forever as the O’Shay and Murphy families, along with their friends the Dwyers, are caught up in the theatre of war and their fates become intertwined.

From the horrors of Gallipoli to the bloody battles of the Somme, through love lost and found, the Great Depression and the desperate jungle war along the Kokoda Track, this sprawling family drama brings to life a time long past… a time of desperate love born in desperate times and acts of friendship against impossible odds.

A love letter to Australian landscape and character, Gallipoli Street celebrates both mateship and the enduring quality of real love. But more than that, this book shows us where we have come from as a nation, by revealing the adversity and passions that forged us.

A stunning novel that brings to life the love and courage that formed our Anzac tradition.

Footsteps in an Empty Room by Lilly Sommers

At the turn of the last century, Alice is a 12-year-old servant girl at Colonsay, the big house on the Victorian coast belonging to wily political strategist Cosmo Cunningham and his beautiful young wife Ambrosine.
In the present day, Rosamund becomes the reluctant inheritor of Colonsay, her childhood home. But as the extensive renovation work begins, odd things start happening: a thumping in the empty attic that dislodges plaster from the ceiling of the room below. A lingering scent of honeysuckle. Then the building crew suffer not one but two nasty accidents. And suddenly there is talk of prayers and clairvoyants and messages from the dead… What terrible secret lies within Colonsay? Can Rosamund make peace with the past and free her own future?

The Dark Dream by Lilly Sommers

Who is Ella Seaton?
Waking face-down in the mud by Seaton’s lagoon, her head throbbing from an ugly wound, a young woman struggles to come to terms with an unfamiliar world. Who is she? Why can’t she remember? Was she on her way to the goldfields at Bendigo? Or escaping from them? All she has are snatches of a dark dream, a dream which holds memories she is too terrified to face. Adam, a handsome young goldfields merchant, befriends her on the road, but Adam is a man with secrets of his own. As she travels from the danger and excitement of the goldfields to polite Sydney society, Ella begins to unravel the threads of her past to confront the startling truth. A truth that will change her life forever.

What I'm Reading Today

I'm into the first few chapters of the following books, but the one that's taken over my reading time is Scapegallows.

The House of War and Witness by Mike, Linda and Louise Carey

In the year 1740, with the whole of Europe balanced on the brink of war, a company of Austrian soldiers is sent to the village of Narutsin to defend the border with Prussia. But what should be a routine posting is quickly revealed to be anything but. The previous garrison is gone, the great house of Pokoj, where they're to be billeted, a dilapidated ruin, and the people of Narutsin sullen and belligerent. Convinced the villagers are keeping secrets - and possibly consorting with the enemy - the commanding officer orders his junior lieutenant, Klaes, to investigate. While Klaes sifts through the villagers' truths, half-truths and lies, Drozde, the quartermaster's woman, is making uncomfortable discoveries of her own - about herself, her man, and the house where they've all been thrown together. Because far from being the empty shell it appears to be, Pokoj is actually teeming with people. It's just that they're all dead. And the dead know things - about Drozde, about the history of Pokoj, and about the terrible event that is rushing towards them all, seemingly unstoppable. The ghosts of Pokoj, the soldiers of the empress and the villagers of Narutsin are about to find themselves actors in a story that has been unfolding for centuries. It will end in blood - that much is written - but how much blood will depend on Klaes' honour, Drozde's skill and courage, and the keeping of an impossible promise ...

Scapegallows by Carol Birch

This is the story of Margaret Catchpole, born into a smugglers' world in Suffolk in the late 1700s. As the valued servant of a wealthy family and a friend of criminals, Margaret leads a double life that inevitably brings about her downfall, and she is sentenced to hang not once, but twice. But she escapes the gallows and is transported with other convicts to Australia. A wonderful adventure story, Scapegallows takes inspiration from the life of the real Margaret Catchpole. A woman who lived by her wits, she was a slip-gibbet, a scapegallows.

What I Hope to Read Next

I added these to my reading pile, so my next read may be one of them.

Juliet's Nurse by Lois Leveen

In Verona, a city ravaged by plague and political rivalries, a mother mourning the death of her day-old infant enters the household of the powerful Cappelletti family to become the wet-nurse to their newborn baby. As she serves her beloved Juliet over the next fourteen years, the nurse learns the Cappelletti's darkest secrets. Those secrets-and the nurse's own deepest personal grief-erupt across five momentous days of love and loss that destroy a daughter, and a family. By turns comic, sensual, and tragic, Juliet's Nurse gives voice to one of literature's most memorable and distinctive characters, a woman who was both insider and outsider among Verona's wealthy ruling class. Exploring the romance and intrigue of interwoven loyalties, rivalries, jealousies, and losses only hinted at in Shakespeare's play, Juliet's Nurse offers an original perspective and a never-before-heard tale of the deepest love in Verona-the love between a grieving woman and her precious milk-daughter.

The Dressmaker of Dachau by Mary Chamberlain

Spanning the intense years of war, The Dressmaker of Dachau is a dramatic tale of love, conflict, betrayal and survival. It is the compelling story of one young woman's resolve to endure and of the choices she must make at every turn - choices which will contain truths she must confront. London, spring 1939. Eighteen-year-old Ada Vaughan, a beautiful and ambitious seamstress, has just started work for a modiste in Dover Street. A career in couture is hers for the taking - she has the skill and the drive - if only she can break free from the dreariness of family life in Lambeth. A chance meeting with the enigmatic Stanislaus von Lieben catapults Ada into a world of glamour and romance. When he suggests a trip to Paris, Ada is blind to all the warnings of war on the continent: this is her chance for a new start. Anticipation turns to despair when war is declared and the two are trapped in France. After the Nazis invade, Stanislaus abandons her. Ada is taken prisoner and forced to survive the only way she knows how: by being a dressmaker. It is a decision which will haunt her during the war and its devastating aftermath.

Ruth's Journey by Donald McCaig

Set against the backdrop of the American South from the 1820s until the dawn of the Civil War, this is a remarkable story of fortitude, heartbrea, and indomitable will - and a tale that will forever illuminate the reading of Margaret Mitchell's unforgettable classic, Gone with the Wind. On the Caribbean island of Saint Domingue, an island consumed by the flames of revolution, a senseless attack leaves only one survivor: an infant girl. She falls into the hands of two French emigres, Henri and Solange Fournier, who take the beautiful child they call Ruth to the bustling American city of Savannah. What follows is the sweeping tale of Ruth's life as shaped by her strong-willed mistress and other larger-than-life personalities she encounters in the South: Jehu Glen, a free black man with whom Ruth falls madly in love; the shabbily genteel family that first hires Ruth as Mammy; Solange's daughter Ellen and the rough Irishman, Gerald O'Hara, whom Ellen chooses to marry; the Butler family of Charleston and their shocking connection to Mammy Ruth; and finally Scarlett O'Hara-the irrepressible Southern belle Mammy raises from birth.

Kate Grenville's The Secret River: Mini Series Coming to Australian Television

Friday night saw the return of an old favourite to our television screens. A new season of Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries aired on ABC TV, but it was what followed the rolling of the credits that had me excited: the trailer of a two part mini-series based on Kate Grenville’s novel, The Secret River. No definite date has been announced for its screening, but you can see a preview here.

The lead roles of William and Sal Thornhill are played by British actor, Oliver Jackson-Cohen and Australian actress, Sarah Snook. Filming took place around the Lake Tyers area in East Gippsland, Victoria, and Sydney, New South Wales.

In 1806 William Thornhill, an illiterate English bargeman and a man of quick temper but deep compassion, steals a load of wood and, as a part of his lenient sentence, is deported, along with his beloved wife, Sal, to the New South Wales colony in what would become Australia. "The Secret River" is the tale of William and Sal's deep love for their small, exotic corner of the new world, and William's gradual realization that if he wants to make a home for his family, he must forcibly take the land from the people who came before him.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

This weekly meme is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey

Another good reading week for me. I completed Sir Harry Hotspur of Humblethwaite, followed by When Shadows Fall which was a quick read. I'm nearing the end of Gallipoli Street having devoted most of my reading time to it last week, only starting Footsteps in an Empty Room because I'd left Gallipoli Street downstairs and was too lazy to go and get it.

What I Read Last Week

Sir Harry Hotspur of Humblethwaite by Anthony Trollope

Since its first appearance in 1870, "Sir Harry Hotspur of Humblethwaite" has been regarded as one of Trollope's finest short novels. Trollope wrote the book with what he considered to be more 'romance proper' than his other works; his object here was to tell a single 'pathetic incident' rather than to portray 'a number of living human beings.' This is a tale of a conscientious father vacillating between a desire to marry his daughter to a cousin destined to inherit the family title, and his fear that the cousin, reportedly a scheming wastrel, in unworthy of her. "Sir Harry Hotspur" has been called Trollope's saddest story, and at the same time the superlative exception to the rule that Trollope's long, comfortable books are his best.

This was indeed a sad story, but an enjoyable one. I'm looking forward to reading more of Anthony Trollope's novels.

When Shadows Fall by Lilly Sommers

Kate O’Hara rents an old stone cottage on the banks of a Tasmanian river to try to get some peace after the death of her husband, and to plan her future.

But there are mysterious footsteps in the night.

The soft plash of oars on the river.

An old picture of a boatman hanging on the cottage wall.

And a rent in the fabric of time itself …

This was a quick read. A simple and entertaining time slip novel from one of my favourite authors. It switches back and forth from the present day to Tasmania in the late 1820s.

What I'm Reading Today

Gallipoli Street by Mary Anne O'Connor

An Anzac tale of three families whose destinies are entwined by war, tragedy and passion.

At 17, Veronica O’Shay is happier running wild on the family farm than behaving in the ladylike manner her mother requires, and she despairs both of her secret passion for her brother’s friend Jack Murphy and what promises to be a future of restraint and compliance.

But this is 1913 and the genteel tranquillity of rural Beecroft is about to change forever as the O’Shay and Murphy families, along with their friends the Dwyers, are caught up in the theatre of war and their fates become intertwined.

From the horrors of Gallipoli to the bloody battles of the Somme, through love lost and found, the Great Depression and the desperate jungle war along the Kokoda Track, this sprawling family drama brings to life a time long past… a time of desperate love born in desperate times and acts of friendship against impossible odds.

A love letter to Australian landscape and character, Gallipoli Street celebrates both mateship and the enduring quality of real love. But more than that, this book shows us where we have come from as a nation, by revealing the adversity and passions that forged us.

A stunning novel that brings to life the love and courage that formed our Anzac tradition.

Footsteps in an Empty Room by Lilly Sommers

At the turn of the last century, Alice is a 12-year-old servant girl at Colonsay, the big house on the Victorian coast belonging to wily political strategist Cosmo Cunningham and his beautiful young wife Ambrosine.

In the present day, Rosamund becomes the reluctant inheritor of Colonsay, her childhood home. But as the extensive renovation work begins, odd things start happening: a thumping in the empty attic that dislodges plaster from the ceiling of the room below. A lingering scent of honeysuckle. Then the building crew suffer not one but two nasty accidents. And suddenly there is talk of prayers and clairvoyants and messages from the dead…

What terrible secret lies within Colonsay? Can Rosamund make peace with the past and free her own future?

What I Hope to Read Next

From the batch of library books I brought home last week, this one is still on the top of the pile.

The House of War and Witness by Mike, Linda and Louise Carey

In the year 1740, with the whole of Europe balanced on the brink of war, a company of Austrian soldiers is sent to the village of Narutsin to defend the border with Prussia. But what should be a routine posting is quickly revealed to be anything but. The previous garrison is gone, the great house of Pokoj, where they're to be billeted, a dilapidated ruin, and the people of Narutsin sullen and belligerent. Convinced the villagers are keeping secrets - and possibly consorting with the enemy - the commanding officer orders his junior lieutenant, Klaes, to investigate. While Klaes sifts through the villagers' truths, half-truths and lies, Drozde, the quartermaster's woman, is making uncomfortable discoveries of her own - about herself, her man, and the house where they've all been thrown together. Because far from being the empty shell it appears to be, Pokoj is actually teeming with people. It's just that they're all dead. And the dead know things - about Drozde, about the history of Pokoj, and about the terrible event that is rushing towards them all, seemingly unstoppable. The ghosts of Pokoj, the soldiers of the empress and the villagers of Narutsin are about to find themselves actors in a story that has been unfolding for centuries. It will end in blood - that much is written - but how much blood will depend on Klaes' honour, Drozde's skill and courage, and the keeping of an impossible promise ...

Book Review: Bill the Bastard: The Story of Australia's Greatest War Horse by Roland Perry

A documentary entitled Australia’s Great War Horse aired on ABC TV recently. It told the story of 130,000 horses that went to the Great War and never returned to Australia.  The documentary contained actual footage and also reconstructions of the trek through the desert and the famous charge by the Australian Light Horse at Beersheba, in Palestine. However, it was the mention of one particular horse that prompted me to write this review of a book I had read last year, Bill the Bastard: The Story of Australia’s Greatest War Horse.

I loved the movie War Horse, based on Michael Morpurgo’s novel, but when I came across Roland Perry’s book about a real Australian horse that went to war and became a legend, I knew it was one I had to read.

Bill was a Waler, a mixed breed of horse developed from those brought to Australia in the 19th century. Bred for the harsh conditions of Australia, these horses became popular as cavalry mounts. Their stamina was such that they were able to go without food and water for great lengths of time, making them ideal for desert warfare.

Bill the Bastard, so nick-named because of his cantankerous nature, couldn’t be ridden, bucking off anyone who tried, especially if they tried to make him gallop. Not fully broken in he was deemed unsuitable as a trooper’s mount and so began his military service as a pack horse at Gallipoli. Bill was shot twice while trying to get the mail through along a seven mile stretch of beach at Anzac Cove.

It was that famous ride, witnessed by Major Michael Shannahan, that propelled Bill into history. Shannahan saw something special in Bill and believed he would make an exceptional cavalry mount. With patience, affection, respect, and rewards of sweets, Shannahan gained Bill’s trust and became the only man Bill would allow on his back.

When the Light Horse were posted to Egypt, the Major rode Bill into action at Romani. Here Bill added to his legendary status by carrying five men to safety, his rider and four other troopers, on his back and clinging to his stirrups.

As expected a number of historical figures are mentioned in the book, but the one that caught my attention was ‘Banjo’ Paterson, the famous Australian poet and journalist. It came as a surprise that he had served during World War I and not as a war correspondent. Due to his expert knowledge of horses, Paterson was made the commanding officer of the remount unit in Cairo, Egypt, a very important role, and by the time of his discharge from the army in 1919 he had attained the rank of Major.

When hostilities ceased and the troops were ordered home, the horses were to be left behind. Some were sold to the British Army as remounts, but according to the book, many were killed en masse. Some troopers believed their mounts deserved better treatment and preferred to shoot their own horses as a final act of respect. This would have been heartbreaking and horrendous.  Fortunately, Bill was so revered he was returned to Gallipoli where he was used to collect artefacts of the campaign and eventually a home was found for him with a Turkish family.

Bill the Bastard doesn’t delve too heavily into the politics of the day, though it is informative and highlights certain aspects of the war and unpopular decisions made at the time. There is even a romance to soften the harshness of the war time setting and the book mentions a little known fact that there were women attached to the army working as veterinarians.

I enjoyed this book as not only is it the story of a great horse, it is also the story of the Australian Light Horse at Gallipoli, Egypt and Palestine which, as mentioned before, included that famous charge at Beersheeba – touted as the last great cavalry charge in history. Added to my reading enjoyment was the distinctly Australian wit and humour, which never fails to raise a smile. However, the main reason I recommend this book is that it focuses on a different kind of hero and the unusual bond with the man who tamed him, though I’m sure “tamed” is not the correct word to use.

I found this poem, Bill the Bastard by Maureen Clifford  on the Australian Bush Poetry, Verse & Music website which sums up Bill’s exploits and is another fitting tribute to this remarkable horse.

Book Review: Plague by C.C. Humphreys

Plague is set in the year 1665, five years after Charles II has been restored to the throne and is the first of a trilogy.

The after effects of the English Civil War are still felt, but Charles II has eased the austere lives of the people by allowing entertainment. The theatre is once again popular with all classes of society, even more so now that women are allowed on the stage.

William Coke, an ex-Royalist, unable to recover his estates lost during the English Civil War, takes to the road as a highwayman. Unfortunately, the next coach he and his accomplice, Dickon, hold up contains a nasty surprise that sickens this hardened war veteran.

Blamed for the horrendous crime and with a reward on his head, Coke decides to leave London, but first visits Lucy Absolute, the sister of his dead friend, to whom he acts as guardian. Those who have read Humphreys’ previous novels, Shakespeare’s Rebel and the Jack Absolute trilogy, will appreciate the name tie-in.

Lucy Absolute, an actress, asks Coke to search for John Chalker, who has disappeared. Chalker is a well-respected actor and husband of an actress, Sarah Chalker. Reluctantly Coke agrees, but when he discovers the mutilated body of John Chalker in a squalid part of London and is subsequently apprehended by Pitman, a professional thief taker, for the crime he must convince his captor that he is not a brutal and sadistic killer.

Pitman is desperate for the reward money offered for the capture of Coke, but a number of discrepancies lead him to believe that Coke is not the man he is after. The two join forces in an attempt to clear Coke’s name. Aided by Dickon, Lucy and Sarah their investigation takes them into the world of the theatre frequented by Charles II and his courtiers, through the dingy and dangerous back alleys of London and even into Newgate prison.

When more bodies turn up, they realise they are looking for a serial killer with a special talent. Hampered by the outbreak of the plague, they eventually uncover a murderous plot by Fifth Monarchists, a religious cult who believe there is only one rightful king, Jesus.

Humphreys has populated this novel with a group of believable characters drawn from various ranks of 17th century London society.  Coke and Pitman make an unlikely team: one an ex-Royalist, the other a Puritan. However, even though on opposite sides of the law they have similar codes of honour.

The story takes an unexpected twist when Pitman becomes a wanted man himself. Not because he has committed a crime, but plague has come to his house and he must be found and locked in with his family. This adds more suspense and a sense of urgency to the novel, as both men must elude their pursuers long enough to complete their investigation.

I enjoyed this novel despite it being gruesome in parts. It is a novel of contrasts: the colourful and glittery world of the theatre and the dark and dirty slums of London. Humphreys’ excellent writing style and wry humour combine with a number of sub-plots, some romance, a great cast of characters, vivid descriptions and the introduction of the plague as another serial killer, to make Plague a great historical mystery. I’m eagerly awaiting the next book in the series, Fire.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

This weekly meme is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey

Quite a good reading week for me. I finished two books, The Tea Chest  and The  Absolutist. I'm making progress with Sir Harry Hotspur of Humblethwaite  which I'm hoping to finish before April ends in honour of the bicenntenary of Trollope's birth. I picked up When Shadows Fall because I needed a quick read to clear my head after finishing The Absolutist and have less than a third of this book to go. The first two chapters of Gallipoli Street have been read and I'm looking forward to settling down with it for the rest of the week.

What I Read Last Week

The Tea Chest by Josephine Moon

Kate Fullerton, talented tea designer and now co-owner of The Tea Chest, could never have imagined that she'd be flying from Brisbane to London, risking her young family's future, to save the business she loves from the woman who wants to shut it down. Meanwhile, Leila Morton has just lost her job; and if Elizabeth Clancy had known today was the day she would appear on the nightly news, she might at least have put on some clothes. Both need to start again. When the three women's paths unexpectedly cross, they throw themselves into realising Kate's magical vision for London's branch of The Tea Chest. But every time success is within their grasp, increasing tensions damage their trust in each other. With the very real possibility that The Tea Chest will fail, Kate, Leila and Elizabeth must decide what's important to each of them. Are they willing to walk away or can they learn to believe in themselves? An enchanting, witty novel about the unexpected situations life throws at us, and how love and friendship help us through. Written with heart and infused with the seductive scents of bergamot, Indian spices, lemon, rose and caramel, it's a world you won't want to leave.

This novel was not my cup of tea, pardon the pun.  The idea behind the novel, a boutique tea business, was unusual, and I learned some facts about tea and the art of tea blending, but the characters and their personal stories failed to engage me, though there was enough interest in the story to see it through to the end.

The Absolutist by John Boyne

September 1919: Twenty-years-old Tristan Sadler takes a train from London to Norwich to deliver a clutch of letters to Marian Bancroft. Tristan fought alongside Marian's brother Will during the Great War. They trained together. They fought together. But in 1917, Will laid down his guns on the battlefield and declared himself a conscientious objector, an act which has brought shame and dishonour on the Bancroft family. The letters, however, are not the real reason for Tristan's visit. He holds a secret deep within him. One that he is desperate to unburden himself of to Marian, if he can only find the courage. Whatever happens, this meeting will change his life - forever.

The Absolutist is a sad story with an unexpected ending. It engaged my emotions from the start and my thoughts kept returning to Tristan long after I had finished this book.

What I'm Reading Today

Gallipoli Street by Mary Anne O'Connor

An Anzac tale of three families whose destinies are entwined by war, tragedy and passion.

At 17, Veronica O’Shay is happier running wild on the family farm than behaving in the ladylike manner her mother requires, and she despairs both of her secret passion for her brother’s friend Jack Murphy and what promises to be a future of restraint and compliance. 

But this is 1913 and the genteel tranquillity of rural Beecroft is about to change forever as the O’Shay and Murphy families, along with their friends the Dwyers, are caught up in the theatre of war and their fates become intertwined.

From the horrors of Gallipoli to the bloody battles of the Somme, through love lost and found, the Great Depression and the desperate jungle war along the Kokoda Track, this sprawling family drama brings to life a time long past… a time of desperate love born in desperate times and acts of friendship against impossible odds.

A love letter to Australian landscape and character, Gallipoli Street celebrates both mateship and the enduring quality of real love. But more than that, this book shows us where we have come from as a nation, by revealing the adversity and passions that forged us.

A stunning novel that brings to life the love and courage that formed our Anzac tradition.

Sir Harry Hotspur of Humblethwaite by Anthony Trollope

Since its first appearance in 1870, "Sir Harry Hotspur of Humblethwaite" has been regarded as one of Trollope's finest short novels. Trollope wrote the book with what he considered to be more 'romance proper' than his other works; his object here was to tell a single 'pathetic incident' rather than to portray 'a number of living human beings.' This is a tale of a conscientious father vacillating between a desire to marry his daughter to a cousin destined to inherit the family title, and his fear that the cousin, reportedly a scheming wastrel, in unworthy of her. "Sir Harry Hotspur" has been called Trollope's saddest story, and at the same time the superlative exception to the rule that Trollope's long, comfortable books are his best.

When Shadows Fall by Lilly Sommers

Kate O’Hara rents an old stone cottage on the banks of a Tasmanian river to try to get some peace after the death of her husband, and to plan her future.

But there are mysterious footsteps in the night.

The soft plash of oars on the river.

An old picture of a boatman hanging on the cottage wall.

And a rent in the fabric of time itself …

Lilly Sommers (also writing under the name of Kaye Dobbie) is an old favourite of mine. When Shadows Fall  is a ghost story/time slip novel.

What I Hope to Read Next

A recent library visit added a number of books to my reading pile. One of my next reads will be selected from the following:

The House of War and Witness by Mike, Linda and Louise Carey

In the year 1740, with the whole of Europe balanced on the brink of war, a company of Austrian soldiers is sent to the village of Narutsin to defend the border with Prussia. But what should be a routine posting is quickly revealed to be anything but. The previous garrison is gone, the great house of Pokoj, where they're to be billeted, a dilapidated ruin, and the people of Narutsin sullen and belligerent. Convinced the villagers are keeping secrets - and possibly consorting with the enemy - the commanding officer orders his junior lieutenant, Klaes, to investigate. While Klaes sifts through the villagers' truths, half-truths and lies, Drozde, the quartermaster's woman, is making uncomfortable discoveries of her own - about herself, her man, and the house where they've all been thrown together. Because far from being the empty shell it appears to be, Pokoj is actually teeming with people. It's just that they're all dead. And the dead know things - about Drozde, about the history of Pokoj, and about the terrible event that is rushing towards them all, seemingly unstoppable. The ghosts of Pokoj, the soldiers of the empress and the villagers of Narutsin are about to find themselves actors in a story that has been unfolding for centuries. It will end in blood - that much is written - but how much blood will depend on Klaes' honour, Drozde's skill and courage, and the keeping of an impossible promise ...

The Story of Land and Sea by Katy Simpson Smith

Set in a small coastal town in North Carolina during the waning years of the American Revolution, this incandescent debut novel follows three generations of family--fathers and daughters, mother and son, master and slave, characters who yearn for redemption amidst a heady brew of war, kidnapping, slavery, and love.Drawn to the ocean, ten-year-old Tabitha wanders the marshes of her small coastal village and listens to her father's stories about his pirate voyages and the mother she never knew. Since the loss of his wife Helen, John has remained land-bound for their daughter, but when Tab contracts yellow fever, he turns to the sea once more. Desperate to save his daughter, he takes her aboard a sloop bound for Bermuda, hoping the salt air will heal her.Years before, Helen herself was raised by a widowed father. Asa, the devout owner of a small plantation, gives his daughter a young slave named Moll for her tenth birthday. Left largely on their own, Helen and Moll develop a close but uneasy companionship. Helen gradually takes over the running of the plantation as the girls grow up, but when she meets John, the pirate turned Continental soldier, she flouts convention and her father's wishes by falling in love. Moll, meanwhile, is forced into marriage with a stranger. Her only solace is her son, Davy, whom she will protect with a passion that defies the bounds of slavery.In this elegant, evocative, and haunting debut, Katy Simpson Smith captures the singular love between parent and child, the devastation of love lost, and the lonely paths we travel in the name of renewal.

The Secret Fate of Mary Watson by Judy Johnson

A daring heroine tests her wits against secrets, spies and smugglers on a remote Australian island

It's peculiar, the assumptions we all make. For instance, how, in a diary, the truth bones connected to the hand bone ... You shouldn't believe everything you read.

1879, Queensland. Fleeing her family home, 19-year-old Mary Oxnam has few prospects and no connections. Plain and penniless, she must rely on her audacious wit and fierce intelligence to survive.

Mary soon finds work as a pianist in a Cooktown brothel, a cover for more lucrative employment as a spy into smuggling operations. Within a year she has moved to Lizard Island, locked into a marriage of convenience. It's a rough, isolated place, crawling with hidden enemies - and unexpected temptation.

Mary dreams of making enough money to live on her own terms, far from the murky world of espionage in which she has become embroiled. But as the plot of her secret employers nears fruition, the stakes climb ever higher and Mary's life is in great danger. Can her daring and luck save her one last time?

Drawing on the little-known history of lawless Far North Queensland and based on the true story of a remarkable woman and her intriguing diary, The Secret Fate of Mary Watson is a thrilling tale of peril and intrigue, infused with a heady combination of beauty and foreboding.

Remember Me by Lesley Pearse

She made a mistake and now she'll never see home again . . .

Mary, a Cornish mariner's daughter, makes the biggest mistake of her short life when she steals a silk hat. Convicted and sentenced to be transported to Australia, she endures horrific conditions aboard ship before landing in a brutal and barbaric country.

It will take all her courage just to survive.

But Mary is also determined to make something of herself in this rugged man's world. And she dreams that one day she will find a way of crossing the cruel seas that lie between her and home . . .

Based on a true story, Remember Me brings Mary Broad vividly to life in this moving story of a woman triumphing against overwhelming odds.

Mrs Cook: The Real and Imagined Life of the Captain's Wife by Marele Day

In the great sweep of history, of winds, tides and seasons, there is a story of courage and survival that belongs not to a great sea captain, but to his wife. While James Cook circumnavigated the globe, travelling further than any man had before, Elizabeth Cook travelled with him in her thoughts, imagining the exotic, the sensory and the strange. There were months, sometimes years, with no word. But as James sailed into the blue, earning his place in history, Elizabeth Cook made discoveries of her own. Though she rarely left London, she was propelled on a journey into the far reaches of the human heart, a journey marked by James' departures and those of her six children, whom she lost one by one. This is a rich portrayal of the life of a woman whose passion and intellect matched that of her celebrated husband. It is a lyrical exploration of imagined interior worlds, shaped by historical fact. It is, above all, a celebration of love and endurance.

Scapegallows by Carol Birch

This is the story of Margaret Catchpole, born into a smugglers' world in Suffolk in the late 1700s. As the valued servant of a wealthy family and a friend of criminals, Margaret leads a double life that inevitably brings about her downfall, and she is sentenced to hang not once, but twice. But she escapes the gallows and is transported with other convicts to Australia. A wonderful adventure story, Scapegallows takes inspiration from the life of the real Margaret Catchpole. A woman who lived by her wits, she was a slip-gibbet, a scapegallows.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

This weekly meme is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey

I'm late posting this meme again. Last week I missed out altogether. Lately I've been unable to focus on blogging and review writing and reading has been pushed aside for other pursuits. Perhaps it's due to planetary alignment, a spate of cold weather or just plain laziness on my part. Hopefully it's only a temporary glitch.

I'd promised myself that I would set aside a day to catch up on my book reviews and planned to sacrifice good reading time to do this. Alas, it wasn't to be. The day I'd set aside for the catch up didn't start well. The electricity went off at 8.30 a.m. and didn't come back on until 3.30 p.m. It was a scheduled outage, but we didn't get the memo (sigh). Unfortunately by the time the power came back on at 3.30 p.m. my motivation had disappeared. To add to my frustration the internet was down too. However, I did manage to decipher my hand written notes in readiness for my review catch up.

On the reading front, I finished one book, Year of Wonders,  and started another, The Absolutist. I'm still plodding through The Tea Chest  and Sir Harry Hotspur of Humblethwaite

What I Read Last Week

Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague by Geraldine Brooks

A young woman's struggle to save her family and her soul during the extraordinary year of 1666, when plague suddenly struck a small Derbyshire village. In 1666, plague swept through London, driving the King and his court to Oxford, and Samuel Pepys to Greenwich, in an attempt to escape contagion. The north of England remained untouched until, in a small community of lead miners and hill farmers, a bolt of cloth arrived from the capital. The tailor who cut the cloth had no way of knowing that the damp fabric carried with it bubonic infection. So begins the Year of Wonders, in which a Pennine village of 350 souls confronts a scourge beyond remedy or understanding. Desperate, the villagers turn to sorcery, herb lore, and murderous witch-hunting. Then, led by a young and charismatic preacher, they elect to isolate themselves in a fatal quarantine. The story is told through the eyes of Anna Frith who, at only 18, must contend with the death of her family, the disintegration of her society, and the lure of a dangerous and illicit attraction.

I enjoyed this story, though the ending was unusual and not what I expected.

What I'm Reading Today

The Tea Chest by Josephine Moon

Kate Fullerton, talented tea designer and now co-owner of The Tea Chest, could never have imagined that she'd be flying from Brisbane to London, risking her young family's future, to save the business she loves from the woman who wants to shut it down. Meanwhile, Leila Morton has just lost her job; and if Elizabeth Clancy had known today was the day she would appear on the nightly news, she might at least have put on some clothes. Both need to start again. When the three women's paths unexpectedly cross, they throw themselves into realising Kate's magical vision for London's branch of The Tea Chest. But every time success is within their grasp, increasing tensions damage their trust in each other. With the very real possibility that The Tea Chest will fail, Kate, Leila and Elizabeth must decide what's important to each of them. Are they willing to walk away or can they learn to believe in themselves? An enchanting, witty novel about the unexpected situations life throws at us, and how love and friendship help us through. Written with heart and infused with the seductive scents of bergamot, Indian spices, lemon, rose and caramel, it's a world you won't want to leave.

Sir Harry Hotspur of Humblethwaite by Anthony Trollope

Since its first appearance in 1870, "Sir Harry Hotspur of Humblethwaite" has been regarded as one of Trollope's finest short novels. Trollope wrote the book with what he considered to be more 'romance proper' than his other works; his object here was to tell a single 'pathetic incident' rather than to portray 'a number of living human beings.' This is a tale of a conscientious father vacillating between a desire to marry his daughter to a cousin destined to inherit the family title, and his fear that the cousin, reportedly a scheming wastrel, in unworthy of her. "Sir Harry Hotspur" has been called Trollope's saddest story, and at the same time the superlative exception to the rule that Trollope's long, comfortable books are his best.

The Absolutist by John Boyne

September 1919: Twenty-years-old Tristan Sadler takes a train from London to Norwich to deliver a clutch of letters to Marian Bancroft. Tristan fought alongside Marian's brother Will during the Great War. They trained together. They fought together. But in 1917, Will laid down his guns on the battlefield and declared himself a conscientious objector, an act which has brought shame and dishonour on the Bancroft family. The letters, however, are not the real reason for Tristan's visit. He holds a secret deep within him. One that he is desperate to unburden himself of to Marian, if he can only find the courage. Whatever happens, this meeting will change his life - forever.

What I Hope to Read Next

Gallipoli Street by Mary Anne O'Connor

An Anzac tale of three families whose destinies are entwined by war, tragedy and passion.

At 17, Veronica O’Shay is happier running wild on the family farm than behaving in the ladylike manner her mother requires, and she despairs both of her secret passion for her brother’s friend Jack Murphy and what promises to be a future of restraint and compliance. 

But this is 1913 and the genteel tranquillity of rural Beecroft is about to change forever as the O’Shay and Murphy families, along with their friends the Dwyers, are caught up in the theatre of war and their fates become intertwined.

From the horrors of Gallipoli to the bloody battles of the Somme, through love lost and found, the Great Depression and the desperate jungle war along the Kokoda Track, this sprawling family drama brings to life a time long past… a time of desperate love born in desperate times and acts of friendship against impossible odds.

A love letter to Australian landscape and character, Gallipoli Street celebrates both mateship and the enduring quality of real love. But more than that, this book shows us where we have come from as a nation, by revealing the adversity and passions that forged us.

A stunning novel that brings to life the love and courage that formed our Anzac tradition.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

This weekly meme is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

I thought I might combine this week's post with next week's as I was way behind due to my lazy Easter week-end. However, once written I decided  against that and here it is albeit a few days late.

Last week was a great week for me. I read two books I was very excited about, Wildwood and The Anchoress, and one great ghost story, This House is Haunted.

Easter Sunday was spent quietly. The weather was very chilly and miserable: a good day for staying indoors. So I opted to watch a DVD I had borrowed from the library, The Crimson Field. 

It is set during World War I at a British Military Field Hospital and focuses on four new additions to the nursing staff and how they settle into life at the hospital.

The cast includes a few familiar faces such as Kevin Doyle (Downton Abbey), Suranne Jones (Scott & Bailey) and Hermione Norris (Kingdom).

Six hours later I had to admit that I had enjoyed my afternoon's viewing, especially Suranne Jones' performance as Sister Joan Livesy. The ending of the last disc promised a continuation of the story. However, I was disappointed to find that the show had been axed and there would not be a second series. Just as well I like to read!

What I Read Last Week

Wild Wood by Posie Graeme Evans

There are no accidents. There is only fate. 1981. Jesse Marley calls herself a realist; she is all about the here and now. But in the month before Charles and Di's wedding all her certainties are suddenly blown aside by events she cannot control. Finding herself in hospital, unable to speak, she must write everything down. And as if her fingers have a will of their own, she beings to draw places she's never been to, people from another time. Rory Brandon, Jesse's neurologist, is intrigued. He knows the place she is drawing - Hundredfield, a castle in the Scottish Borders - and Jesse demands to see it. Unbeknown to them all, Jesse carries ancient knowledge that Hundredfield unlocks. She is key to the mystery that haunts this wild place, and she has a place in the legend of the lady who walks the forests ...


This is the second novel I've read by Posie Graeme Evans, the first being The Dressmaker which was a historical novel set in Victorian England, so I wasn't sure how she would handle the dual time frame. This was done well by the 20th century story being written in the third person and the 14th century part in the first person. Both stories held my attention, but when in Jesse's story I was impatient to get back to Hundredfield and the Scottish Borders. The connection between past and present is neatly revealed at the end. I enjoyed this book very much.

The Anchoress by Robyn Cadwallader

Set in the twelfth century, The Anchoress tells the story of Sarah, only seventeen when she chooses to become an anchoress, a holy woman shut away in a small cell, measuring seven paces by nine, at the side of the village church. Fleeing the grief of losing a much-loved sister in childbirth and the pressure to marry, she decides to renounce the world, with all its dangers, desires and temptations, and to commit herself to a life of prayer and service to God. But as she slowly begins to understand, even the thick, unforgiving walls of her cell cannot keep the outside world away, and it is soon clear that Sarah's body and soul are still in great danger......




I didn't know how this novel would hold my interest, given what I thought was a very restrictive setting, but it did. Sarah's story is sad, though not depressing. The pace is slow and gentle, but filled with enough conflict to propel the story to its very satisfactory conclusion. Cadwallader's knack for descriptions that evoke the senses certainly added to my enjoyment of this debut novel.

I will be writing more indepth reviews of both Wildwood and The Anchoress.

This House is Haunted by John Boyne

1867. Eliza Caine arrives in Norfolk to take up her position as governess at Gaudlin Hall on a dark and chilling night. As she makes her way across the station platform, a pair of invisible hands push her from behind into the path of an approaching train. She is only saved by the vigilance of a passing doctor. When she finally arrives, shaken, at the hall she is greeted by the two children in her care, Isabella and Eustace. There are no parents, no adults at all, and no one to represent her mysterious employer. The children offer no explanation. Later that night in her room, a second terrifying experience further reinforces the sense that something is very wrong. From the moment she rises the following morning, her every step seems dogged by a malign presence which lives within Gaudlin's walls. Eliza realises that if she and the children are to survive its violent attentions, she must first uncover the hall's long-buried secrets and confront the demons of its past.

This is my kind of ghost story - a house with a dark past, a malevolent presence, strange children,
and a disturbing ending. I'm looking forward to reading the other novels by John Boyne in my reading pile.

What I'm Reading Today

I'm behind in reading books for the various challenges I signed up for, so have selected this week's reading from those titles.


Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague by Geraldine Brooks

A young woman's struggle to save her family and her soul during the extraordinary year of 1666, when plague suddenly struck a small Derbyshire village. In 1666, plague swept through London, driving the King and his court to Oxford, and Samuel Pepys to Greenwich, in an attempt to escape contagion. The north of England remained untouched until, in a small community of lead miners and hill farmers, a bolt of cloth arrived from the capital. The tailor who cut the cloth had no way of knowing that the damp fabric carried with it bubonic infection. So begins the Year of Wonders, in which a Pennine village of 350 souls confronts a scourge beyond remedy or understanding. Desperate, the villagers turn to sorcery, herb lore, and murderous witch-hunting. Then, led by a young and charismatic preacher, they elect to isolate themselves in a fatal quarantine. The story is told through the eyes of Anna Frith who, at only 18, must contend with the death of her family, the disintegration of her society, and the lure of a dangerous and illicit attraction.

This novel forms part of my commitment to the Australian Women Writers Challenge 2015.

The Tea Chest by Josephine Moon

Kate Fullerton, talented tea designer and now co-owner of The Tea Chest, could never have imagined that she'd be flying from Brisbane to London, risking her young family's future, to save the business she loves from the woman who wants to shut it down. Meanwhile, Leila Morton has just lost her job; and if Elizabeth Clancy had known today was the day she would appear on the nightly news, she might at least have put on some clothes. Both need to start again. When the three women's paths unexpectedly cross, they throw themselves into realising Kate's magical vision for London's branch of The Tea Chest. But every time success is within their grasp, increasing tensions damage their trust in each other. With the very real possibility that The Tea Chest will fail, Kate, Leila and Elizabeth must decide what's important to each of them. Are they willing to walk away or can they learn to believe in themselves? An enchanting, witty novel about the unexpected situations life throws at us, and how love and friendship help us through. Written with heart and infused with the seductive scents of bergamot, Indian spices, lemon, rose and caramel, it's a world you won't want to leave.

This novel looks a little out of place here on my blog. I rarely read contemporary fiction, but I nominated to read The Tea Chest  as part of my commitment to the Aussie Author Challenge 2015 .

Sir Harry Hotspur of Humblethwaite by Anthony Trollope

Since its first appearance in 1870, "Sir Harry Hotspur of Humblethwaite" has been regarded as one of Trollope's finest short novels. Trollope wrote the book with what he considered to be more 'romance proper' than his other works; his object here was to tell a single 'pathetic incident' rather than to portray 'a number of living human beings.' This is a tale of a conscientious father vacillating between a desire to marry his daughter to a cousin destined to inherit the family title, and his fear that the cousin, reportedly a scheming wastrel, in unworthy of her. "Sir Harry Hotspur" has been called Trollope's saddest story, and at the same time the superlative exception to the rule that Trollope's long, comfortable books are his best.



Anthony Trollope is an author I have not read before, though I intend to read The Belton Estate for the Reading England 2015 Challenge. When I spotted this other novel by Trollope on the library shelf, its length approximately 250 pages, I thought it would be a great introduction to this classic author.  April 24th, 2015,  marks the bicenntenary of Trollope's birth and Karen at Books and Chocolate is hosting a celebration of his life and works this month, details here.


What I Hope to Read Next

Gallipoli Street by Mary Anne O'Connor

An Anzac tale of three families whose destinies are entwined by war, tragedy and passion.
At 17, Veronica O’Shay is happier running wild on the family farm than behaving in the ladylike manner her mother requires, and she despairs both of her secret passion for her brother’s friend Jack Murphy and what promises to be a future of restraint and compliance. 
But this is 1913 and the genteel tranquillity of rural Beecroft is about to change forever as the O’Shay and Murphy families, along with their friends the Dwyers, are caught up in the theatre of war and their fates become intertwined.
From the horrors of Gallipoli to the bloody battles of the Somme, through love lost and found, the Great Depression and the desperate jungle war along the Kokoda Track, this sprawling family drama brings to life a time long past… a time of desperate love born in desperate times and acts of friendship against impossible odds.
A love letter to Australian landscape and character, Gallipoli Street celebrates both mateship and the enduring quality of real love. But more than that, this book shows us where we have come from as a nation, by revealing the adversity and passions that forged us.
A stunning novel that brings to life the love and courage that formed our Anzac tradition.

The Absolutist by John Boyne

September 1919: Twenty-years-old Tristan Sadler takes a train from London to Norwich to deliver a clutch of letters to Marian Bancroft. Tristan fought alongside Marian's brother Will during the Great War. They trained together. They fought together. But in 1917, Will laid down his guns on the battlefield and declared himself a conscientious objector, an act which has brought shame and dishonour on the Bancroft family. The letters, however, are not the real reason for Tristan's visit. He holds a secret deep within him. One that he is desperate to unburden himself of to Marian, if he can only find the courage. Whatever happens, this meeting will change his life - forever.