It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

This weekly meme is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey

Last week I managed to stick to my plan and not be distracted by new additions to my reading pile.

What I Read Last Week

A Catch of Consequence by Diana Norman

Makepeace Burke serves Patriots at her late father's tavern on the Boston waterfront in 1765 and hates the redcoats with a vengeance. But even she can't watch an angry mob drown an Englishman. She rescues him and nurses him back to health-and falls in love. In Patriot Boston, hers is an unforgivable sin-made worse by the fact that her Englishman turns out be the aristocratic Sir Philip Dapifer. Philip must smuggle Makepeace aboard a ship bound for London and save her life at the expense of the world she knows. Rich in period detail, bringing the years of colonial rebellion to vivid life, "A Catch of Consequence" is a stylish novel of Boston and England, and of a woman who defies convention in both worlds.

Another enjoyable read from Diana Norman.  She creates such memorable characters, especially the females. American history is not my strong point, but after reading this novel I'm more aware of what led to the War of Independence.

Veil of Lies by Jeri Westerson

Crispin Guest is a disgraced knight, stripped of his rank and his honor - but left with his life - for plotting against Richard II.  Having lost his bethrothed, his friends, his patrons and his position in society.  With no trade to support him and no family willing to acknowledge him, Crispin has turned to the one thing he still has - his wits - to scrape a living together on the mean streets of London.  In 1383, Guest is called to the compound of a merchant - a reclusive mercer who suspects that his wife is being unfaithful and wants Guest to look into the matter.  Not wishing to sully himself in such disgraceful, dishonorable business but in dire need of money, Guest agrees and discovers that the wife is indeed up to something, presumably nothing good.  But when he comes to inform his client, he is found dead - murdered in a sealed room, locked from the inside.  Now Guest has come to the unwanted attention of the Lord Sheriff of London and most recent client was murdered while he was working for him.  And everything seems to turn on a  religious relic - a veil reported to have wiped the brow of Christ - that is now missing.  

Veil of Lies is the first book in a series. This was a very interesting read. Crispin Guest believes rank is very important. A belief which makes life difficult for him at times as he now works and lives among the lower classes. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

What I'm Reading Today

Taking Liberties by Diana Norman

Makepeace Hedley is frantic when she learns that her young daughter, sailing home to England from the rebelling American colonies, has been taken prisoner by the British. With her usual determination, Makepeace sets out for Plymouth to rescue her child. And when Countess Diana Stacpoole is asked by an American friend to help his son, also a British prisoner, Diana responds quickly and leaves her genteel past behind. In the chaos of wartime Plymouth the two women face social outrage, public scandal, and even arrest. Amidst docks and prisons, government bureaucracy and brothels, they forge an unlikely and unshakable friendship. And in freeing others, they discover their own splendid liberty.

What I Hope to Read Next

The Sparks Fly Upward by Diana Norman

Few of those Philippa loves in London return her affection. Not the love of her life, who has a new bride. Not even her widowed mother, Makepeace Burke. So Philippa decides on a marriage of convenience to a prudish, if kind, man. Across the Channel in France, the Reign of Terror is causing the beheading of thousands from the French nobility. Among those in danger is Philippa's friend, the Marquis de Condorcet. Not only has Philippa the means of rescuing him from the guillotine, she's got the courage. And as fate would have it, Philippa will find love where she least expects it-while staring death in the face.

A Spell of Winter by Helen Dunmore

Catherine and her brother Rob do not understand why they have been abandoned by both their parents, or know where their mother has gone. They are brought up by servants in the house of their grandfather, an Irishman who made his fortune somehow and is known in the neighbourhood as ‘the man from nowhere’. The children cling to each other because they have no-one else, but when they grow up their sibling love becomes incestuous. As the world outside moves towards war, Catherine and Rob are trapped in their own conflict. But little by little, the spell of winter that has held Catherine begins to break, and she starts to free herself from the weight of the past.  

Saturday Sleuthing: Debuts, Sequels, Second Novels and Random Discoveries

My finds today range in time from the 14th century to World War I. Amongst them are eagerly awaited sequels and second novels, recently released or due out later this year, as well as debut novels. I also discovered some interesting titles that I'd missed when they were first released.

Plague Land by S. D. Sykes

This medieval mystery is Sarah Sykes' debut novel. It was first published in 2014 and received some great reviews. Plague Land is recommended to readers who enjoy C.C. Humphreys and Ellis Peters. I'm a fan of both, so added this novel to my reading pile without any hesitation.

Oswald de Lacy was never meant to be the Lord of Somerhill Manor. Despatched to a monastery at the age of seven, sent back at seventeen when his father and two older brothers are killed by thePlague, Oswald has no experience of running an estate. He finds the years of pestilence and neglect have changed the old place dramatically, not to mention the attitude of the surviving peasants. Yet some things never change. Oswald's mother remains the powerful matriarch of the family, and his sister Clemence simmers in the background, dangerous and unmarried. Before he can do anything, Oswald is confronted by the shocking death of a young woman, Alison Starvecrow. The ambitious village priest claims that Alison was killed by a band of demonic dog-headed men. Oswald is certain this is nonsense, but proving it - by finding the real murderer - is quite a different matter. Every step he takes seems to lead Oswald deeper into a dark maze of political intrigue, family secrets and violent strife. And then the body of another girl is found. SD Sykes brilliantly evokes the landscape and people of medieval Kent in this thrillingly suspenseful debut.

The Butcher Bird by S. D. Sykes

To be released in October, 2015, comes the continuing story of Oswald de Lacy.

Oswald de Lacey is growing up fast in his new position as Lord of Somershill Manor. The Black Death changed many things, and just as it took away his father and elder brothers, leaving Oswald to be recalled from the monastery where he expected to spend his life, so it has taken many of his villagers and servants. However, there is still the same amount of work to be done in the farms and fields, and the few people left to do it think they should be paid more - something the King himself has forbidden. Just as anger begins to spread, the story of the Butcher Bird takes flight. People claim to have witnessed a huge creature in the skies. A new-born baby is found impaled on a thorn bush. And then more children disappear. Convinced the bird is just a superstitious rumour, Oswald must discover what is really happening. He can expect no help from his snobbish mother and his scheming sister Clemence, who is determined to protect her own child, but happy to neglect her step-daughters. From the plague-ruined villages of Kent to the thief-infested streets of London and the luxurious bedchamber of a bewitching lady, Oswald's journey is full of danger, dark intrigue and shocking revelations.

Dacre's War by Rosemary Goring

I loved Rosemary Goring's novel, After Flodden. So pleased there wasn't a long wait for her second. Dacre's War was released this month.

Dacre's War is a story of personal and political vengeance. Ten years after the battle of Flodden, Adam Crozier, head of his clan and of an increasingly powerful alliance of Borderers, learns for sure that it was Lord Thomas Dacre - now the most powerful man in the north of England - who ordered his father's murder. He determines to take his revenge. As a fighting man, Crozier would like nothing better than to bring Dacre down face to face but his wife Louise advises him that he must use more subtle methods. So he sets out to engineer Dacre's downfall by turning the machinery of the English court against him. A vivid and fast-moving tale of political intrigue and heartache, Dacre's War is set against the backdrop of the Scottish and English borders, a land where there is never any chance of peace.

The Last Confession of Tom Hawkins by Antonia Hodgson

Antonia Hodgson is another author whose debut novel I loved. The Devil in the Marshalsea was a gripping story, well received by readers, and I have no doubt that her latest novel will be too.

Spring, 1728. A young, well-dressed man is dragged through the streets of London to the gallows at Tyburn. The crowds jeer and curse as he passes, calling him a murderer. He tries to remain calm. His name is Tom Hawkins and he is innocent. Somehow he has to prove it, before the rope squeezes the life out of him. It is, of course, all his own fault. He was happy with Kitty Sparks. Life was good. He should never have told the most dangerous criminal in London that he was 'bored and looking for adventure'. He should never have offered to help Henrietta Howard, the king's mistress, in her desperate struggles with a brutal husband. And most of all, he should never have trusted the witty, calculating Queen Caroline. She has promised him a royal pardon if he holds his tongue but then again, there is nothing more silent than a hanged man. Based loosely on actual events, Antonia Hodgson's new novel is both a sequel to The Devil in the Marshalsea and a standalone historical mystery. From the gilded cage of the Court to the wicked freedoms of the slums, it reveals a world both seductive and deadly. And it continues the rake's progress of Tom Hawkins - assuming he can find a way to survive the noose...

Watch the Lady by Elizabeth Fremantle

I've not read any of Elizabeth Fremantle's Tudor novels. This one caught my eye because it is the story of Penelope Devereux, sister of the Earl of Essex, a figure from history I know nothing about. Watch the Lady is out now in the U.S.A and the hardback edition will be released in the U.K. on June 18th.

The Queen's GodDaughter. Her Most Trusted Maid. Adultress. Enemy of The State. Who is The Real Penelope Devereux? Penelope Devereux is a legendary beauty in the court of Elizabeth I, with a smile that would light up the shadows of hell. But it's not just her looks which have won her favour with the Queen wing; her canny instinct for being in the right place at the right time, and her skilled political manoeuvrings under the guise of diplomacy, have rendered her a formidable adversary to anyone who stands in her path. Including Elizabeth. For Penelope must secure the future of the Devereux dynasty at whatever cost. Even treason. And the Queen, a woman she holds responsible for the death of her father, the exile of her mother and her failure to marry the one man she ever truly loved, is just one more pawn in a deadly game. Walking the knife-edge of court, whilst ensuring that her reckless brother Essex remains the only star in the Queen's firmament - and out of the Tower - Penelope must plan for the inevitable succession of an ailing monarch. But her secret letters of friendship to a foreign King - one who has a strong claim to the English throne - could see her illustrious family in the gutter and her own head on the block. It would only take a single mistake, a slip of the tongue, an intercepted message for Penelope to become the architect of her downfall. In a world where sister is turned against brother, husband against wife, courtier against queen, the rules of the game are forever changing. Discover the truth in Elizabeth Fremantle's stunning new novel about an extraordinary woman who helped change the course of England's history forever. 

The Heroes' Welcome by Louisa Young

This is the sequel to My Dear, I Wanted to Tell You, a novel that has been sitting in my reading pile for a while. The Heroes' Welcome was released last year, with a new paperback edition out in April, 2015.

LONDON, 1919 Two couples, both in love, both in tatters, come home to a changed world. When childhood sweethearts Riley and Nadine marry, it is a blessing on the peace that now reigns. But the newlyweds and their old friends Peter and Julia Locke wear the ravages of the Great War in very different ways. Where Nadine and Riley do their best to forge ahead and muster hope, Peter retreats into drink and nightmares, unable to bear the domestic life for which Julia pines.


Havisham by Ronald Frame

I love the cover, but I'm in two minds about this novel even though I've added it to my reading pile. Charles Dickens' Great Expectations is one of my favourite novels. Will reading Miss Havisham's back story change my perception of her and ruin a favourite classic forever?

Before she became the immortal and haunting Miss Havisham of "Great Expectations," she was Catherine, a young woman with all of her dreams ahead of her. Spry, imperious, she is the daughter of a wealthy brewer. But she is never far from the smell of hops and the arresting letters on the brewhouse wall--HAVISHAM--a reminder of all she owes to the family name and the family business.Sent by her father to stay with the Chadwycks, Catherine discovers elegant pastimes to remove the taint of her family's new money. But for all her growing sophistication, Catherine is anything but worldly, and when a charismatic stranger pays her attention, everything--her heart, her future, the very Havisham name--is vulnerable.In "Havisham," Ronald Frame unfurls the psychological trauma that made young Catherine into Miss Havisham and cursed her to a life alone, roaming the halls of the mansion in the tatters of the dress she wore for the wedding she was never to have.

Knight by Ian Anderson

This debut novel from Ian Anderson was released in 2013. It is readily available as an ebook from Amazon where I read an excerpt.  Print copies are harder to find, though the author's website says they are available directly from Troubador U.K.

Ian Anderson is a mature and beautiful new voice on the literary scene. Knight is breathtaking in its scope, exquisite in its tenderness, and uplifting in its refusal to succumb to the despair which fate sometimes prepares for us. It is a story of love and valour; a story of one man’s refusal to capitulate, when all the world seemed to conspire against him. Set in the early fifteenth century, in the last days of the Age of Chivalry, this is the story of a king’s champion, who, robbed of the love and beauty of the woman who had made his life complete, and stripped of all he had worked for and achieved, still, somehow, found the will and the strength to pick himself up, and move forward again, and, in the process, carry a king to victory on the battlefields of France.

This gripping work of historical fiction, weaving together strands of romance, tragedy and drama, reflects the real pain and suffering associated with loss. It exemplifies the ongoing struggle of the grieving process; between the need to retreat into the memories of the world which has been lost, and the need to find a way to move forward again. It is ultimately a book of hope, written by an author who has made the journey.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

This weekly meme is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey

I didn't post last week as I hadn't progressed on any of the books I was reading, but what a difference a week makes. I finished three books! I'm still behind in my Goodreads Reading Challenge by three, but hope to remedy that very quickly now that my reading motivation has returned.

What I Read Last Week

In an attempt to overcome the reading slump I was in I decided to abandon the 18th century and set aside what I was currently reading, Scapegallows and A Catch of Consquence,  in favour of  another book with a different time frame. This usually works for me. My reading pile, including the bag of books from the library, offered lots of great choices. However, rather than go with a favourite author I  selected a post World War I novel by Simone St. James, an author new to me. Reading this novel had the desired result and I returned to finish off  Scapegallows, which was quickly followed by Colours of Gold by Kaye Dobbie.

Silence for the Dead by Simone St. James

"Portis House emerged from the fog as we approached, showing itself slowly as a long, low shadow.... " In 1919, Kitty Weekes, pretty, resourceful, and on the run, falsifies her background to obtain a nursing position at Portis House, a remote hospital for soldiers left shell-shocked by the horrors of the Great War. Hiding the shame of their mental instability in what was once a magnificent private estate, the patients suffer from nervous attacks and tormenting dreams. But something more is going on at Portis House its plaster is crumbling, its plumbing makes eerie noises, and strange breaths of cold waft through the empty rooms. It s known that the former occupants left abruptly, but where did they go? And why do the patients all seem to share the same nightmare, one so horrific that they dare not speak of it? Kitty finds a dangerous ally in Jack Yates, an inmate who may be a war hero, a madman or maybe both. But even as Kitty and Jack create a secret, intimate alliance to uncover the truth, disturbing revelations suggest the presence of powerful spectral forces. And when a medical catastrophe leaves them even more isolated, they must battle the menace on their own, caught in the heart of a mystery that could destroy them both.

This book was exactly what I needed: history, romance, mystery and a touch of the supernatural, set in an isolated, crumbling manor. I'm eager to read another by Simone St. James.

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.

My original thoughts on this novel still stand: Margaret Catchpole's story is interesting, but the pace is slow and lacks drama for a novel touted as "a wonderful adventure story".

However, despite its lack of pace, I did enjoy this novel and am glad I read it all. Margaret Catchpole is an engaging character and I felt she was unfairly treated at times, but honest enough to admit that she alone was responsible for many of her misfortunes. This book is also a glimpse into life in 18th century Suffolk and one of the reasons this book was in my reading pile.

Colours of Gold by Kaye Dobbie

A beautiful novel of a young girl’s life and adventures in the Australian goldfields — and how a painting revealed her story to the next generation of her family.

Annie Reuben is an art restorer in her father’s business, but times are tough. After being given a long-lost painting found in the basement of a condemned hotel, Annie becomes intrigued by the two girls who stare out at her from the ruined canvas. All she has are two names: Alice and Rosey...and a landscape from a century before.

1867: Named by the wife of the paddle steamer captain who finds her half drowned in the Murray River, Alice has a gift — she can see an aura of colours around the people she meets, but sometimes the colours tell her of impending doom. Learning to survive in a world which misunderstands her, Alice eventually runs away to the goldfields with her friend Rosey and joins a troupe of entertainers. While her fame and fortunes increase as people pay to hear her predictions, Alice can never escape her past...along with the frightening man in the dark coat who follows her wherever she goes.

Who were Alice and Rosey? And why does Annie find their lives so important? As Annie becomes caught up with seeking answers from the past, she finds herself seeing the same man in the dark coat who follows her wherever she goes. What is his connection to the painting?

Another great read from Kaye Dobbie. She never disappoints me. I love the dual time frame with the supernatural thread and that many of the places mentioned in the novel are familiar to me.

What I'm Reading Today

I'm pleased to say that I'm totally immersed in this novel.

A Catch of Consequence by Diana Norman

Makepeace Burke serves Patriots at her late father's tavern on the Boston waterfront in 1765 and hates the redcoats with a vengeance. But even she can't watch an angry mob drown an Englishman. She rescues him and nurses him back to health-and falls in love. In Patriot Boston, hers is an unforgivable sin-made worse by the fact that her Englishman turns out be the aristocratic Sir Philip Dapifer. Philip must smuggle Makepeace aboard a ship bound for London and save her life at the expense of the world she knows. Rich in period detail, bringing the years of colonial rebellion to vivid life, "A Catch of Consequence" is a stylish novel of Boston and England, and of a woman who defies convention in both worlds.

What I Hope to Read Next

Hopefully, I'll read the next two novels of the Makepeace Headley trilogy, but there are a couple of others in my reading pile that have caught my interest: A Spell of Winter by Helen Dunmore (she is fast becoming one of my favourite authors) and Veil of Lies by Jeri Westerson.

Taking Liberties by Diana Norman

Makepeace Hedley is frantic when she learns that her young daughter, sailing home to England from the rebelling American colonies, has been taken prisoner by the British. With her usual determination, Makepeace sets out for Plymouth to rescue her child. And when Countess Diana Stacpoole is asked by an American friend to help his son, also a British prisoner, Diana responds quickly and leaves her genteel past behind. In the chaos of wartime Plymouth the two women face social outrage, public scandal, and even arrest. Amidst docks and prisons, government bureaucracy and brothels, they forge an unlikely and unshakable friendship. And in freeing others, they discover their own splendid liberty.

The Sparks Fly Upward by Diana Norman

Few of those Philippa loves in London return her affection. Not the love of her life, who has a new bride. Not even her widowed mother, Makepeace Burke. So Philippa decides on a marriage of convenience to a prudish, if kind, man. Across the Channel in France, the Reign of Terror is causing the beheading of thousands from the French nobility. Among those in danger is Philippa's friend, the Marquis de Condorcet. Not only has Philippa the means of rescuing him from the guillotine, she's got the courage. And as fate would have it, Philippa will find love where she least expects it-while staring death in the face.

A Spell of Winter by Helen Dunmore

Catherine and her brother Rob do not understand why they have been abandoned by both their parents, or know where their mother has gone. They are brought up by servants in the house of their grandfather, an Irishman who made his fortune somehow and is known in the neighbourhood as ‘the man from nowhere’. The children cling to each other because they have no-one else, but when they grow up their sibling love becomes incestuous. As the world outside moves towards war, Catherine and Rob are trapped in their own conflict. But little by little, the spell of winter that has held Catherine begins to break, and she starts to free herself from the weight of the past.  

Veil of Lies by Jeri Westerson

Crispin Guest is a disgraced knight, stripped of his rank and his honor - but left with his life - for plotting against Richard II.  Having lost his bethrothed, his friends, his patrons and his position in society.  With no trade to support him and no family willing to acknowledge him, Crispin has turned to the one thing he still has - his wits - to scrape a living together on the mean streets of London.  In 1383, Guest is called to the compound of a merchant - a reclusive mercer who suspects that his wife is being unfaithful and wants Guest to look into the matter.  Not wishing to sully himself in such disgraceful, dishonorable business but in dire need of money, Guest agrees and discovers that the wife is indeed up to something, presumably nothing good.  But when he comes to inform his client, he is found dead - murdered in a sealed room, locked from the inside.  Now Guest has come to the unwanted attention of the Lord Sheriff of London and most recent client was murdered while he was working for him.  And everything seems to turn on a  religious relic - a veil reported to have wiped the brow of Christ - that is now missing. 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

This weekly meme is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey

Once again not a very good reading week for me though I tried. My selection of what to read could be to blame for my lack of motivation as Letters from Skye and Scapegallows are not gripping reads. This is reflected in my Goodreads' 2015 Reading Challenge: I'm three books behind schedule.

What I Read Last Week

Letters from Sky by Jessica Brockmole

Separated by an ocean. Devastated by war. A letter isn't always just a letter. Words on the page can drench the soul. Elspeth Dunn, a published poet living on the Isle of Skye, answers her first fan letter from Davey Graham, an impetuous young man in Illinois. Without having to worry about appearances or expectations, Elspeth and Davey confess their hopes, dreams and fears, things they've never told another soul. Even without meeting, they know one another. But as World War I engulfs Europe and Davey volunteers as an ambulance driver on the Western front, Elspeth can only wait on Skye, anxious for his return; wondering if they'll ever get a chance to meet.

Letters from Skye was a different experience for me. I had never read a novel completely in letter form and while I'd enjoyed it, I felt the letter writing styles of all the characters were too similar.

What I'm Reading Today

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.

Margaret Catchpole's story is interesting, but the pace is slow and lacks drama for a novel touted as "a wonderful adventure story". Perhaps that's yet to come, so I will keep reading!

A Catch of Consequence by Diana Norman

Makepeace Burke serves Patriots at her late father's tavern on the Boston waterfront in 1765 and hates the redcoats with a vengeance. But even she can't watch an angry mob drown an Englishman. She rescues him and nurses him back to health-and falls in love. In Patriot Boston, hers is an unforgivable sin-made worse by the fact that her Englishman turns out be the aristocratic Sir Philip Dapifer. Philip must smuggle Makepeace aboard a ship bound for London and save her life at the expense of the world she knows. Rich in period detail, bringing the years of colonial rebellion to vivid life, "A Catch of Consequence" is a stylish novel of Boston and England, and of a woman who defies convention in both worlds.

I've read the first chapter and looking forward to the rest of this novel once I finish Scapegallows.

What I Hope to Read Next

I'll be continuing with the Makepeace Headley trilogy.

Taking Liberties by Diana Norman

Makepeace Hedley is frantic when she learns that her young daughter, sailing home to England from the rebelling American colonies, has been taken prisoner by the British. With her usual determination, Makepeace sets out for Plymouth to rescue her child. And when Countess Diana Stacpoole is asked by an American friend to help his son, also a British prisoner, Diana responds quickly and leaves her genteel past behind. In the chaos of wartime Plymouth the two women face social outrage, public scandal, and even arrest. Amidst docks and prisons, government bureaucracy and brothels, they forge an unlikely and unshakable friendship. And in freeing others, they discover their own splendid liberty.

The Sparks Fly Upward by Diana Norman

Few of those Philippa loves in London return her affection. Not the love of her life, who has a new bride. Not even her widowed mother, Makepeace Burke. So Philippa decides on a marriage of convenience to a prudish, if kind, man. Across the Channel in France, the Reign of Terror is causing the beheading of thousands from the French nobility. Among those in danger is Philippa's friend, the Marquis de Condorcet. Not only has Philippa the means of rescuing him from the guillotine, she's got the courage. And as fate would have it, Philippa will find love where she least expects it-while staring death in the face.

Book Review: 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?

I nominated to read this book as part of my commitment to the Aussie Author Challenge 2015. It was my selection for the Contemporary Women's Fiction category.

Reading this novel took me out of my usual genre of historical fiction. I loved the whimsical nature of the cover and my impression that this would be a light and uncomplicated read was confirmed, despite the book blurb promising much more.

The idea behind the novel, a boutique tea business, was unusual, and I learned some great facts about tea and the art of tea blending. Descriptions of the London tea shop conjured up stunning images of a  place I would like to visit. However, the characters and their personal stories failed to engage me. I felt the characters lacked depth and could have been developed further to make them truly memorable. Kate, Leila and Elizabeth were too similar.

On a more positive note, the story generated enough interest for me to keep reading to the end and, in a warm, light hearted way, it did deliver the message that love and friendship do help us through difficult times. 

The Tea Chest, Josephine Moon’s debut novel, first hit the shelves in 2014, and her next, The Chocolate Promise (Australia/New Zealand) or The Chocolate Apothecary (U.K./Ireland), is out now.

Magical England! Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

I'm not a reader of alternate histories, but I may be tempted one day. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Susanna Clarke's debut novel, is set in a "magical England" during the Napoleonic Wars and focuses on the relationship between two magicians, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. It was first published in 2004, and is gaining in popularity again as it is the subject of a BBC One series screening in the U.K. this month and in the U.S.A. in June. Not sure if it will come to Australian television, but one never knows.  

The year is 1806. England is beleaguered by the long war with Napoleon, and centuries have passed since practical magicians faded into the nation's past. But scholars of this glorious history discover that one remains: the reclusive Mr Norrell whose displays of magic send a thrill through the country. Proceeding to London, he raises a beautiful woman from the dead and summons an army of ghostly ships to terrify the French. Yet the cautious, fussy Norrell is challenged by the emergence of another magician: the brilliant novice Jonathan Strange. Young, handsome and daring, Strange is the very opposite of Norrell. So begins a dangerous battle between these two great men which overwhelms the one between England and France. And their own obsessions and secret dabblings with the dark arts are going to cause more trouble than they can imagine.

Always interested in novels set in one of my favourite historical periods, the Napoleonic Wars, I'm curious how the historical and fantasy elements work together. This is not a novel for the faint-hearted. The copy I added to my reading pile weighs in at approximately 700 grams and is a lengthy 1,006 pages. This will definitely be a challenging read should I step out of my usual genre ....  or I could wait for the series release on DVD!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

This weekly meme is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey

What I Read Last Week

Unusual for me, no books were finished last week.

What I'm Reading Today

I'm half way through Scapegallows, but my curiousity got the better of me and I sampled a few pages of Letters from Skye: an unusual novel, made up of a series of letters and one I doubted would hold my interest. However, I was wrong and am happily following the characters through their letters.

Letters from Sky by Jessica Brockmole

Separated by an ocean. Devastated by war. A letter isn't always just a letter. Words on the page can drench the soul. Elspeth Dunn, a published poet living on the Isle of Skye, answers her first fan letter from Davey Graham, an impetuous young man in Illinois. Without having to worry about appearances or expectations, Elspeth and Davey confess their hopes, dreams and fears, things they've never told another soul. Even without meeting, they know one another. But as World War I engulfs Europe and Davey volunteers as an ambulance driver on the Western front, Elspeth can only wait on Skye, anxious for his return; wondering if they'll ever get a chance to meet.

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

My love affair with Diana Norman's novels continues. Up next for reading is her Makepeace Hedley trilogy.

A Catch of Consequence

Makepeace Burke serves Patriots at her late father's tavern on the Boston waterfront in 1765 and hates the redcoats with a vengeance. But even she can't watch an angry mob drown an Englishman. She rescues him and nurses him back to health-and falls in love. In Patriot Boston, hers is an unforgivable sin-made worse by the fact that her Englishman turns out be the aristocratic Sir Philip Dapifer. Philip must smuggle Makepeace aboard a ship bound for London and save her life at the expense of the world she knows. Rich in period detail, bringing the years of colonial rebellion to vivid life, "A Catch of Consequence" is a stylish novel of Boston and England, and of a woman who defies convention in both worlds.

Taking Liberties

Makepeace Hedley is frantic when she learns that her young daughter, sailing home to England from the rebelling American colonies, has been taken prisoner by the British. With her usual determination, Makepeace sets out for Plymouth to rescue her child. And when Countess Diana Stacpoole is asked by an American friend to help his son, also a British prisoner, Diana responds quickly and leaves her genteel past behind. In the chaos of wartime Plymouth the two women face social outrage, public scandal, and even arrest. Amidst docks and prisons, government bureaucracy and brothels, they forge an unlikely and unshakable friendship. And in freeing others, they discover their own splendid liberty.

The Sparks Fly Upward

Few of those Philippa loves in London return her affection. Not the love of her life, who has a new bride. Not even her widowed mother, Makepeace Burke. So Philippa decides on a marriage of convenience to a prudish, if kind, man. Across the Channel in France, the Reign of Terror is causing the beheading of thousands from the French nobility. Among those in danger is Philippa's friend, the Marquis de Condorcet. Not only has Philippa the means of rescuing him from the guillotine, she's got the courage. And as fate would have it, Philippa will find love where she least expects it-while staring death in the face.

Sir Harry Hotspur of Humblethwaite by Anthony Trollope Book Review

While having enjoyed several adaptations of Anthony Trollope’s novels on television, I have never actually read one. When I saw Sir Harry Hotspur of Humblethwaite on the library shelf I thought this short novel of approximately 250 pages would be the ideal introduction to this author’s work.

The death of his only son leaves Sir Harry Hotspur with a dilemma now that his daughter, Emily, has fallen in love with her cousin, the black sheep of the family and heir to the title, George Hotspur. While reconciled that the title must pass to George, Sir Harry is determined that his property will not.

Emily, as honourable and principled as her father, gives her word to George that she will marry him, but only with her father’s consent no matter how long it takes. George, however, is in desperate need of money to satisfy his creditors and avoid prison and is not prepared to wait.

With the help of his friends George tries to convince Sir Harry he is able to reform and thus be worthy of his daughter. And Sir Harry in turn tries to convince Emily that George is an unsavoury character and cannot be trusted with her happiness or her inheritance.

Despite more of George’s nefarious dealings coming to light, Emily remains steadfast in her belief that a “black sheep can be made white” and encourages her father to help George become a worthy future son in law. She raises some valid arguments as to why she should be able to marry George, among them why did her father invite him to Humblethwaite with this intention if he was an unsuitable candidate in the first place? A deed Sir Harry himself later comes to question and regret.

The novel's theme involves titles and inheritances, primarily what happens when an estate is not entailed and the only heir is a female. Most large titled estates were “entailed” and inherited by the male next in line. Entailing ensured that these estates were kept intact with the title, and was a method used to protect a family’s wealth, status and power.  If there were no male heirs, the property would pass to the female line and if the heiress married it would then be inherited by the husband’s male line. In these cases it was not unusual for a condition of inheritance to be that the husband adopt the wife’s surname.

Sir Harry’s property was not entailed and so we see Sir Harry’s dilemma: too old to father another son, he must either find a suitable husband for his daughter, one willing to adopt the name of Hotspur, or allow her to marry George. For an honourable man and one very proud of his lineage and good name, the latter was not an option Sir Harry was willing to consider.

Of all the characters, Emily was my least favourite.  I was surprised how quickly she fell in love with George. They met infrequently, yet she formed a deep attachment to him, dismissing his bad behaviour as normal for a man of his age, and believing her love would be able to change him.  Her inner dialogue often implied she was trying to convince herself that George could be reformed. Her vow to her father that if she couldn’t have George she would never marry could be construed as petulance, stubbornness or even blackmail and not the act of a dutiful and obedient daughter. I felt she did not consider her father’s feelings enough or share her father’s pride in their family name and lineage. However, to be fair to Emily she would have grown up expecting to be well provided for on her father’s death, but knowing that the title and bulk of the property would go to her brother. Suddenly finding herself the sole heir gave her power.

My favourite character was Sir Harry. I pictured him to be the perfect elderly gentleman and an indulgent father. I understood his problem, but like Emily, I did wonder whether Sir Harry had actually loved his son for himself and not because he was the heir to the great name of Hotspur. I admired his patience, too. Rather than alienate his daughter completely, he set about gathering evidence of George’s scandalous behaviour, presenting it time and time again, hoping that Emily would eventually see George’s true nature and give him up.

The story has a sad ending and Sir Harry’s final ordering of his will is poignant. It could be said that the only winner in this tragic tale was George Hotspur, who had his debts paid and carried on his life as before.

Sir Harry Hotspur of Humblethwaite was first published in 1871 in Macmillan’s Magazine. It received good reviews at the time: the Athenaeum described it as a “brilliant novelette”; the Spectator as “one of Mr. Trollope’s very best short tales”; and the Times as a book that “…. may do good to many of both sexes more advanced in life.”

This reader being “more advanced in life” certainly enjoyed her first Anthony Trollope novel and is looking forward to reading more.

Quick and Easy Re-Read Book Review: 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.

WHEN I FIRST READ IT

I’m not quite sure when I first read this novel. I know it was over fifteen years ago, so I’m guessing it would have been around the time it was first released, back in 1997.

WHAT I REMEMBERED

I remembered the cover image in brown and yellow and the setting: the Victorian goldfields of 1850s Australia, but my memory of the story itself was patchy.  I knew it involved the hero and heroine travelling together to the goldfields and I recalled a scene where a tent store had been set up at the bottom of a hill, opposite a sly grog shop, when they reached the Bendigo diggings.

WHY I WANTED TO RE-READ IT

A recent post by Sarah at Reading the Past mentioned Kaye Dobbie’s latest novel, Colours of Gold. This jogged my memory: I had read a few of Dobbie’s earlier novels written under the pseudonym of Lilly Sommers, but it was The Dark Dream that stood out from the rest.  Of all her books read to date, this remained my favourite. However, the main reason I wanted to re-read it was that I couldn’t remember the complete story, particularly the ending, and when I found a copy in the library I just couldn't resist adding it to my reading pile.

HOW I FELT AFTER READING IT

Very pleased I’d taken the time to borrow it from the library. It was as enjoyable as when I first read it. I'd forgotten how patient and caring the hero was and that warm satisfied feeling when the last page was read. And the reason I couldn’t remember the ending? I thought it was the ending to another author's book, one I had read a long time ago too!

WOULD I READ IT AGAIN

I would definitely read The Dark Dream again. I regret not purchasing a copy when it was first published as it is now out of print. Hopefully, it will be reprinted or offered as an ebook in the near future. However, if my search for a good second-hand copy fails, I can always head back to the library!


This is my first re-read for The Re-Read Challenge 2015.

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.