It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

This weekly meme is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey

E-books dominated my reading last week. This was a momentous occasion for me, as I very rarely read in this format.

The first of the three e-books I read was Salamanca Cottage by Mary Fitzgerald. The reason I chose this book was the title. Salamanca hinted at a connection to the Napoleonic Wars, although the actual setting is World War II. This was a great introduction to an author I hadn't read before and I will certainly read more books by Mary Fitzgerald.

I continued with the next two books in Ashley Gardner's Regency mysteries featuring Captain Lacey, A Regimental Affair and The Glass House. Ten books, plus some novellas and short stories, make up this series and will keep me entertained for a while.

Homeland by Clare Francis proved a very interesting read, dealing with a subject not often used as the basis of a novel.

This week I'm still reading The Dead Secret by Wilkie Collins, but so far it has not grabbed my interest as I hoped it would. However, the first few chapters have introduced the main characters and I'm anticipating that now this has been done the pace will pick up.

I'm also reading another e-book, TimeStorm by Steve Harrison. This is an unusual time slip/time travel story: an 18th century convict ship sails into Sydney Harbour in 2017. I've read two-thirds so far and can't read fast enough to find out what happens to the crew and the convicts, and if they make it back to their own time.

I'm not sure what my next read will be. My library borrowings this week include two novels by Fiona Mountain, Lady of the Butterflies/Rebel Heiress and Pale as the Dead, Christina Courtney's The Silent Touch of Shadows and Judith Cutler's The Keeper of Secrets, the first book of her Tobias Campion mysteries. All look like great reads.

What I Read Last Week

Homeland by Clare Francis

It is 1946, and the eve of the harshest winter for a hundred years. Servicemen are pouring home from the war to a Britain beset by stringent shortages and a desperate housing crisis. Anxieties are heightened by the unexpected arrival of the soldiers of the Second Polish Corps, whose refusal to go back to Poland is regarded with impatience and suspicion. As anti-Polish propaganda reaches its height, newly demobbed Billy Greer reluctantly agrees to take on a young Polish veteran named Wladyslaw Malinowski as a labourer on his uncle's withy farm in the heart of the Somerset wetlands. Stella, the local schoolteacher, has been waiting for the return of Lyndon Hanley, a hero of the Burma Campaign, but increasingly finds herself drawn to the beguiling Wladyslaw. As the country is brought to its knees by blizzards and hardships, the tensions of post-war life lead to mistrust, accusation and ultimately death. 

Salamanca Cottage by Mary Fitzgerald (E-book)

Grief can overwhelm and Aurelia Smith, a young, newly widowed, nurse, retreats to a country cottage in order to find peace and hug to herself the memory of her soldier husband. 

But Salamanca Cottage is not all that it seems and soon she finds that she is not alone. Then she has decide if the being she talks to and finds herself becoming fond of is real or merely a manifestation of her grief and longing.

A Regimental Murder by Ashley Gardner (#2 Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries)(E-book)

Returning home through a sticky London night in July 1816, Captain Gabriel Lacey is surprised to see a well-dressed, elegant woman stride to the middle of an unfinished bridge. Following her in curiosity, Lacey is on hand to rescue her from an attack by a footpad. As grateful as she is for the help, the lady refuses to give her name and direction, and so Lacey takes her to his own rooms in a street off Covent Garden to rest. He discovers that she is one Lydia Westin, wife of Colonel Roehampton Westin, who has recently been accused of murdering an English officer in Portugal during the Peninsular War. Before he could come to trial, however, Colonel Westin was found dead at the foot of the staircase in his own house. Lydia Westin, to Lacey's surprise, declares he was murdered and that she knows the culprits' identities. Intrigued, Lacey begins to investigate, and soon finds himself mired in scandals past and present, with a journalist dogging his footsteps, eager to print Lacey's latest adventure ...

The Glass House by Ashley Gardner (#3 Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries)(E-book)

On a cold January night in 1817, former cavalry officer Captain Gabriel Lacey is summoned to the banks of the Thames to identify the body of a young woman. When Lacey looks at the pretty, dead young woman, cut down too soon, he vows to find her murderer.
Lacey's search takes him to the Glass House, a sordid gaming hell that played a large part in the victim's past, as well as to gatherings of the haut ton and the chambers of respectable Middle Temple barristers. Lacey uncovers secrets from the highborn and the low, finds himself drawn deeper into the schemes of a crime lord, and explores his tentative new friendship with Lady Breckenridge.

What I'm Reading Today

The Dead Secret by Wilkie Collins

... Like much of Collins's work, "The Dead Secret" explores the consequences of a single, hidden act. The Cornish mansion Porthgenna harbors the secret of such an act, one that has ruined the life of the servant girl Sarah Leeson. This same secret lies hidden for fifteen years until the heiress to Porthgenna, Rosamund Treverton, returns and exposes it. Her detective work may reveal the truth, but her revelation of a long-forgotten crime could mean disaster for her and the entire estate ...

TimeStorm by Steve Harrison (E-book)

In 1795 a convict ship leaves England for New South Wales in Australia. Nearing its destination, the vessel miraculously survives a savage storm and limps into Sydney Harbour, where the convicts rebel and escape.

But the year is now 2017...





What I Hope to Read Next

Lady of the Butterflies by Fiona Mountain

Born into a world seething with treachery and suspicion, Eleanor Goodricke grows up on the Somerset Levels just after the English Civil Wars, heiress to her late mother's estates and daughter of a Puritan soldier who fears for his brilliant daughter with her dangerous passion for natural history - and for butterflies in particular. Her reckless courage will take her to places where no woman of her day ever dared to go. Her fearless ambition will give her a place in history for all time. But it is her passionate heart which will lead her into a consuming love - and mortal peril.

Pale as the Dead by Fiona Mountain

Natasha Blake is a detective with a difference. She's an ancestor detective, an ambitious young genealogist with a passion for history, whose choice of career is partly driven by the mystery of her own roots. Natasha's investigations are a matter of life and death, involving secrets, scandals and supernatural happenings; forgotten tragedies and buried crimes. The trails she must follow lead her from her Cotswold home to ancient houses, deserted chapels, overgrown graveyards and into cyberspace. Her clients could be anyone for whom the past affects the present - the haunted, the hopeful, or the just plain curious. The disappearance of a young girl, Bethany, appears to be linked in some way to Lizzie Siddall, the haunting, ethereal Pre-Raphaelite model and artist, wife of painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Lizzie's tragic life was cut short by an overdose of laudanum. Was it accident or suicide? Why is Bethany so obsessed with her, and at the same time so determined to put herself beyond the reach of her lover, Adam?

The Silent Touch of Shadows by Christina Courtenay

Professional genealogist Melissa Grantham receives an invitation to visit her family’s ancestral home, Ashleigh Manor. From the moment she arrives, life-like dreams and visions haunt her. The spiritual connection to a medieval young woman and her forbidden lover have her questioning her sanity, but Melissa is determined to solve the mystery.
Jake Precy, owner of a nearby cottage, has disturbing dreams too, but it’s not until he meets Melissa that they begin to make sense. He hires her to research his family’s history, unaware their lives are already entwined. Is the mutual attraction real or the result of ghostly interference?
A haunting love story set partly in the present and partly in fifteenth century Kent.

 The Keeper of Secrets by Judith Cutler

England, 1810: Young Parson Tobias Campion is excited and nervous to be starting at the small parish of Moreton Priory. But his first night in the village brings excitement of the wrong kind when he has to intervene in the attempted rape of housemaid Lizzie Woodman. Even in the normal course of events life in the village is far from quiet, as soon Tobias has to deal with both violent and suspicious deaths which put his character and ministry to the test. But matters come to a head when Lizzie disappears from her employers. What has become of the girl and who is responsible? As Tobias searches for answers they find themselves delving into the dark secrets that haunt Lizzie's past. A perfect blend of historical novel and sophisticated thriller, "The Keeper of Secrets" is a treat for crime lovers everywhere.

Moonfleet by John Meade Falkner Book Review

This children's classic, first published in 1898, tells the story of John Trenchard, a fifteen year old orphan, who lives with his spinster aunt in the Dorset coastal village of Moonfleet, named after the Mohunes who were the original lords of the manor.

Growing up on tales of Colonel John 'Blackbeard' Mohune, his ghost and his lost treasure, a diamond said to be cursed, John dreams of finding it and becoming wealthy.

In the Mohune family vault he discovers a locket, inside of which is a scrap of parchment with clues to the whereabouts of the missing diamond.

Inevitably, John becomes involved in the smuggling trade and one night while helping to land cargo he and Elzevir Block, the local inn-keeper and John's self-appointed guardian, are fired upon by soldiers. The local magistrate is killed, John and Elzevir are blamed and a reward is offered for their capture. Unable to return to Moonfleet, they go off in search of 'Blackbeard' Mohune's diamond.

Ever since primary school, when I had to learn Rudyard Kipling's poem, The Smuggler's Song, I've loved stories about smugglers. For some reason I'd overlooked Moonfleet, but having read it now, I understand why this book was so popular in its heyday. In the vein of Treasure Island, The Three Musketeers and other great adventure classics, it has all the elements that appeal to young (and old) readers: haunted graveyards, cliff top chases, smugglers, lost treasure, curses, shipwrecks and even a romance, to list just a few.

I find with books written over 100 years ago it takes me a few chapters to become accustomed to the writing style, but with Moonfleet I slipped into the story right from page one. Falkner's descriptions produced such wonderful images in my mind that I was easily transported back to the 18th century and the narrative, from John Trenchard's point of view, pulled me along at a rapid pace to the end. The relationship between Elzevir and John is beautifully developed, subtly changing from one of friendship to a closer father-son relationship. This makes the ending of the book all the more poignant.

Moonfleet is an exciting tale of a boy's path to adulthood and the valuable lessons he learns along the way. I loved it. My only regret is that I waited so long before adding it to my reading pile.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

This weekly meme is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey

I had an enjoyable and productive reading week with four novels gone from my reading pile, not that it looks any smaller. The weather is still cold so it was easy to hunker down on the couch with a blanket and a pile of books. All four were great reads, but the one that stood out was Amy Snow. It is 551 pages of absolute delight and, despite its length, a very quick read.

This week I'm still reading The Dead Secret by Wilkie Collins, but have also started Homeland by Clare Francis. I haven't read a Clare Francis novel since her first, Night Sky, came out in 1983. I thought it was time I read another.

As to what's up next, I have quite a few books I'm eager to get to, but awaiting me at the library are two children's novels by Nicola Morgan, The Highway Man's Footsteps and its sequel,The Highwayman's Curse. Both of these novels were inspired by Alfred Noyes' famous poem The Highwayman.

And because of the whimsical nature of their covers, I've added three of Carola Dunn's Regency novels that make up the Rothschild Trilogy to my reading pile. These look to be quick and cheerful reads.

What I Read Last Week

Spilt Milk by Amanda Hodgkinson

1913. Unmarried sisters Nellie and Vivian Marsh live an impoverished existence in a tiny cottage on the banks of the Little River in Suffolk. Their life is quiet and predictable, until a sudden flood throws up a strange fish on their doorstep and a travelling man who will change them forever. 

1939. Eighteen-year-old Birdie Farr is working as a barmaid in the family pub in London. When she realises she is pregnant she turns to her mother Nellie, who asks her sister to arrange an adoption for Birdie's new born daughter. But as the years pass Birdie discovers she cannot escape the Marsh sisters' shadowy past - and her own troubling obsession with finding her lost daughter will have deep consequences for all of them...

Amy Snow by Tracy Rees

Abandoned on a bank of snow as a baby, Amy is taken in at nearby Hatville Court. But the masters and servants of the grand estate prove cold and unwelcoming. Amy's only friend and ally is the sparkling young heiress Aurelia Vennaway. So when Aurelia tragically dies young, Amy is devastated. But Aurelia leaves Amy one last gift. A bundle of letters with a coded key. A treasure hunt that only Amy can follow. A life-changing discovery awaits ...if only she can unlock the secret.

Different Tides by Janet Woods

A young woman becomes a governess to two grieving orphans in the latest powerful historical romance from Janet Woods 1835. Clementine Morris, despite her youth and inexperience, is hired by Zachariah Fleet to care for his recently orphaned niece and nephew. He tells her he wishes the young children to have more than a governess, and her heart goes out to the grieving infants. Clementine, too, is an orphan, and all alone in the world. But little does she know that Zachariah Fleet is interested in her for more than just her usefulness as a governess. He believes she is a distant relation of his by marriage, and there is a chance she is a legatee for a useful amount of money. There are troubles ahead, though, when another young woman turns up with a claim to the inheritance ...and troubles for Zachariah too. The self-possessed, wealthy businessman has never allowed himself to fall in love, but as he grows to trust Clementine he realises that he may be falling for her.

We Shall Remember by Emma Fraser

1939. Irena is a young medical student living in Warsaw when the German army invade Poland. Those closest to her are dying and when Irena realises that no one is coming to Poland's aid, it's clear that she is alone. Forced to flee to Britain, Irena meets Richard, a RAF pilot who she's instantly drawn to and there's a glimmer of happiness on the horizon. And then the war becomes more brutal and in order to right a never-forgotten wrong Irena must make an impossible decision. 1989. Decades later, Sarah's mother is left a home in Skye and another in Edinburgh following the death of Lord Glendale, a man she's never met, and only on the condition that Magdalena Drobnik, a woman she's never heard of, is no longer alive. Sarah's only clues to this mystery are two photographs she doesn't understand but she's determined to discover the truth, not knowing that she's about to begin a journey that will change her life. Gripping, poignant and honest, We Shall Remember is an incredibly powerful story about the choices we make under fire. It will stay with you long after you've turned the final page.

What I'm Reading Today

Homeland by Clare Francis

It is 1946, and the eve of the harshest winter for a hundred years. Servicemen are pouring home from the war to a Britain beset by stringent shortages and a desperate housing crisis. Anxieties are heightened by the unexpected arrival of the soldiers of the Second Polish Corps, whose refusal to go back to Poland is regarded with impatience and suspicion. As anti-Polish propaganda reaches its height, newly demobbed Billy Greer reluctantly agrees to take on a young Polish veteran named Wladyslaw Malinowski as a labourer on his uncle's withy farm in the heart of the Somerset wetlands. Stella, the local schoolteacher, has been waiting for the return of Lyndon Hanley, a hero of the Burma Campaign, but increasingly finds herself drawn to the beguiling Wladyslaw. As the country is brought to its knees by blizzards and hardships, the tensions of post-war life lead to mistrust, accusation and ultimately death.

The Dead Secret by Wilkie Collins

Wilkie Collins was the first great detective novelist. His dark and complex mysteries influenced the work of other writers, such as Anthony Trollope and Charles Dickens, with whom he developed a close personal friendship. Swinburne found his work worthy of serious criticism, and T. S. Eliot credits him even more than Poe with the invention of the modern detective novel and the popular thriller. Before such works as "The Woman in White," "The Moonstone," "Armadale," and "No Name," Collins demonstrates the full range of his talents for intricate plot and dramatic suspense in "The Dead Secret," one of his earliest novels. Like much of Collins's work, "The Dead Secret" explores the consequences of a single, hidden act. The Cornish mansion Porthgenna harbors the secret of such an act, one that has ruined the life of the servant girl Sarah Leeson. This same secret lies hidden for fifteen years until the heiress to Porthgenna, Rosamund Treverton, returns and exposes it. Her detective work may reveal the truth, but her revelation of a long-forgotten crime could mean disaster for her and the entire estate. Wilkie Collins's brilliant characters, suspenseful plots, and piercing look into Victorian-era society are on full display in "The Dead Secret."

What I Hope to Read Next

The Highwayman's Footsteps and The Highwayman's Curse by Nicola Morgan

Young William de Lacey is high born, the son of a gentleman. But he's on the run, having stolen money and a horse, and has taken up with a highwayman. It's enough to hang him three times over. Despite struggling with his conscience, Will feels free for the first time in his life - and it's all down to the mysterious Bess. Now can they survive the risks of the eighteenth-century highwayman's harsh life?

On the run from the redcoats, the two young highwaymen, Will and Bess, find themselves in Galloway, Scotland, blamed for a murder they did not commit. Here, they are captured by smugglers and become embroiled in a story of hatred and revenge that goes back for generations, to the days of the Killing Times. Whose side will they take? Can anything they do end the cycle of religious hatred? And will their own friendship survive?

Miss Jacobson's Journey, Lord Roworth's Reward and Captain Ingram's Inheritance by Carola Dunn

'Improper and impious!' her family crimes, but in most unladylike fashion, Miriam Jacobson defies her parents. Finding the thought of marriage horrifying, she rejects their suitable choice of bridegroom, choosing instead a life of adventure and travelling to the continent to join her physician uncle in his work. Following on from his death and the outbreak of war, Miriam decides it's time to go home. To secure passage to England, she accepts a patriotic mission from the Rothschild banking family, though it means enduring a lengthy journey through France and Spain in the company of two insufferable gentlemen - one an intolerant aristocrat and the second a member of her own faith who seems to dislike her and yet is somehow disturbingly familiar...

Love can entrap the most guarded of hearts! The distinguished Viscount Roworth can only hope his clandestine activities on behalf of the British Army will restore his family fortune and gain him entry into Brussels' high society. But the only fly in the ointment is the young woman with whom necessity has forced the penurious peer to share lodgings. The lovely, fiercely independent Miss Fanny Ingram seems to care not a whit for matters of rank and social standing. And although good sense tells Roworth he must resist her uncommon charms, nothing can protect his heart against the slings and arrows of Cupid's unerring aim!

When love takes command...hearts must obey! Lady Constantia Roworth has no fortune and doesn't give a fig about rank. But her father, the Earl of Westwood, expects his offspring to make matches that benefit their station - or enrich the family coffers. Alas, Captain Frank Ingram has neither blue blood or money - only dashing good looks. The wounded soldier has accepted a kind invitation to recover at the Westwood estate...and it takes only the meeting of eyes, the touch of hands and the mingling of sighs before the handsome war hero and Lady Connie begin to lose their hearts!

Book Review: South of Darkness by John Marsden

I've not read any of John Marsden's young adult fiction so didn't know what to expect from his first novel for adults.

What grabbed my attention was the unusual premise of someone deliberately committing a crime to get themselves transported to Australia, and that is what thirteen year old Barnaby Fletch did.

South of Darkness is narrated from the perspective of Barnaby Fletch as an adult. At the request of the Reverend Johnson he is writing down the story of his childhood and how he came to the colony of New South Wales.

Orphaned at a young age, Barnaby lives on the streets of East Smithfield, London, a place known as "Hell" by its inhabitants. The name speaks for itself. He survives by stealing and the occasional act of charity, and shelters where he can, but his favourite refuge is St. Martin's church. For one living rough in 18th century London, Barnaby is an innocent, in sharp contrast to the population around him.

When he falls foul of one of London's vicious criminals, Barnaby hatches a plan to escape to Australia, a land he has heard is warm and where food is plentiful. His means of escape is to commit a crime that will get him transported. Warned to only steal goods less than five shillings to avoid the death penalty, he sets about committing his crime. His first few attempts fail, but eventually he is charged with stealing and sentenced to be transported, to Botany Bay on board the Admiral Barrington, a ship of the Third Fleet.

As interesting as Barnaby's exploits were, I didn't quite connect with him. This meant I wasn't totally absorbed in the events taking place. Dark deeds are hinted at, but are kept relatively low key. His reaction to the acts of cruelty and brutality he witnesses, and the threats he receives, lack emotion. I also found the narration bland.

However, John Marsden's book does have some redeeming features. The plot was well thought out and I enjoyed Marsden's description of life in 18th century London and the colony of New South Wales. The interaction with the indigenous population was particularly enlightening and a credit to his research.

While I cannot describe this novel as a page turner, it was a decent read. The ending hinted at a continuation of Barnaby Fletch's story, but I'm not sure I liked South of Darkness well enough to read a sequel.

This book formed part of my commitment to the following reading challenges:

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

 

This weekly meme is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey

Sadly, I'm still struggling with Helen Dunmore's book, A Spell of Winter. The story is going no where and I'm just not relating to the characters, so I'm thinking of abandoning it - for now.

On a happier note, I read The Last Confession of Thomas Hawkins and loved it! I hope there's not a long wait for Antonia Hodgson's next book, whether it features Tom Hawkins or not.
 
I'm happily  progressing with Spilt Milk by Amanda Hodgkinson, and even managed to read a few chapters of The Dead Secret, but the book I curled up with yesterday afternoon was Amy Snow by Tracy Rees. This is turning out to be a very unusual quest novel.

I'm not sure what will be up next. There are quite a few books in my reading pile I'm eager to get to, especially the two latest additions, Louis de Dernières' The Dust That Falls From Dreams and Adele Parks' If You Go Away. My reading pile also contains novels I've nominated for various reading challenges, so I may choose one of those for my next read.

What I Read Last Week

The Last Confession of Thomas Hawkins by Antonia Hodgson

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.

What I'm Reading Today

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. 

Spilt Milk by Amanda Hodgkinson

1913. Unmarried sisters Nellie and Vivian Marsh live an impoverished existence in a tiny cottage on the banks of the Little River in Suffolk. Their life is quiet and predictable, until a sudden flood throws up a strange fish on their doorstep and a travelling man who will change them forever. 

1939. Eighteen-year-old Birdie Farr is working as a barmaid in the family pub in London. When she realises she is pregnant she turns to her mother Nellie, who asks her sister to arrange an adoption for Birdie's new born daughter. But as the years pass Birdie discovers she cannot escape the Marsh sisters' shadowy past - and her own troubling obsession with finding her lost daughter will have deep consequences for all of them...

The Dead Secret by Wilkie Collins

Wilkie Collins was the first great detective novelist. His dark and complex mysteries influenced the work of other writers, such as Anthony Trollope and Charles Dickens, with whom he developed a close personal friendship. Swinburne found his work worthy of serious criticism, and T. S. Eliot credits him even more than Poe with the invention of the modern detective novel and the popular thriller. Before such works as "The Woman in White," "The Moonstone," "Armadale," and "No Name," Collins demonstrates the full range of his talents for intricate plot and dramatic suspense in "The Dead Secret," one of his earliest novels. Like much of Collins's work, "The Dead Secret" explores the consequences of a single, hidden act. The Cornish mansion Porthgenna harbors the secret of such an act, one that has ruined the life of the servant girl Sarah Leeson. This same secret lies hidden for fifteen years until the heiress to Porthgenna, Rosamund Treverton, returns and exposes it. Her detective work may reveal the truth, but her revelation of a long-forgotten crime could mean disaster for her and the entire estate. Wilkie Collins's brilliant characters, suspenseful plots, and piercing look into Victorian-era society are on full display in "The Dead Secret."

Amy Snow by Tracy Rees

Abandoned on a bank of snow as a baby, Amy is taken in at nearby Hatville Court. But the masters and servants of the grand estate prove cold and unwelcoming. Amy's only friend and ally is the sparkling young heiress Aurelia Vennaway. So when Aurelia tragically dies young, Amy is devastated. But Aurelia leaves Amy one last gift. A bundle of letters with a coded key. A treasure hunt that only Amy can follow. A life-changing discovery awaits ...if only she can unlock the secret.

What I Hope to Read Next

If You Go Away by Adele Parks

1914. Vivian, a young, impassioned debutante is hurried into a pedestrian marriage to cover a scandal. War breaks out on her wedding day - domestically and across Europe. Quick to escape the disappointment of matrimony, her traditionalist husband immediately enlists and Vivian has no alternative than to take up the management and running of his estate - after all, everyone is required to do their bit. Even pretty, inadequately-educated young wives. Howard, a brilliant young playwright rushes to the front to see for himself the best and the worst of humanity; he cannot imagine what the horror might be. In March 1916, when conscription becomes law, it is no longer enough for him to report on the War, it's a legal requirement that he joins the ranks. Howard refuses, becoming one of the most notorious conscientious objectors of the time. Disarmingly handsome, famous, articulate and informed, he's a threat to the government. Narrowly escaping a death sentence by agreeing to take essential work on Vivian's farm, it's only then Howard understands what is worth fighting for.

The Dust That Falls From Dreams by Louis de Bernières

In the brief golden years of King Edward VII's reign, Rosie McCosh and her three very different sisters are growing up in an eccentric household in Kent, with their neighbours the Pitt boys on one side and the Pendennis boys on the other. But their days of childhood adventure are shadowed by the approach of war that will engulf them on the cusp of adulthood. When the boys end up scattered along the Western Front, Rosie faces the challenges of life for those left behind. Confused by her love for two young men - one an infantry soldier and one a flying ace - she has to navigate her way through extraordinary times. Can she, and her sisters, build new lives out of the opportunities and devastations that follow the Great War? Louis de Bernieres' magnificent and moving novel follows the lives of an unforgettable cast of characters as they strike out to seek what happiness can be built from the ruins of the old world.

Book Review: The Colour of Milk by Nell Leyshon

This is a very sad and thought provoking tale written from the perspective of Mary, a fifteen year old farm girl, lame and hair the colour of milk. Her sharp tongue and irascible nature often earn her a clout or a beating from her father. She is the youngest of four daughters, all of whom are resented by their father for not being sons. The only affection in Mary's life comes from her grandfather, who is also disabled.

In the summer of 1830, Mary is sent to work for the local vicar, whose wife is an invalid. Unhappy at first, she accepts her new life mainly because she has no other choice, but then she discovers the joy of learning to read. She is determined to master this skill, to read to her grandfather, make him proud, but little does she know what she will sacrifice to realise her dream.

The Colour of Milk is Mary's record of what happened to her over the past year. She begins by introducing us to her family and life on the farm because "you will want me to start where a person ought to. and that is at the beginning."

Mary then goes on to tell of her new employment and, what seems to her, the strange habits of her employers, her rapport with the vicar's wife and her wariness of Ralph, the vicar's son. Mary's observations of life in the vicar's household are honest and at times humourous, as only a child's can be.

As Mary's story unfolds, she hints that time is running out and she must hurry to finish her record. The reason is not revealed until the final page though there are clues along the way. These fall into place at the end.

This is an unusual novel, written in the first person, in lower case and with a minimum of punctuation. A little disconcerting at first, but it works well. The prose is simplistic as one would expect from an uneducated fifteen year old.

Other techniques are used cleverly by the author to bring Mary's story to life, emphasising that she is a simple country girl knowing nothing of the world except how it is governed by a life on the land. Mary marks the passing of time by referencing it to what her family would be doing at the farm and what is taking place at the vicarage.

The novel is divided into four prefaced sections. Each section is named for a season and each preface begins with the line "this is my book and i am writing it by my own hand ...". I felt the repetitive use of this phrase reaffirms Mary's pride in what she has accomplished and asserts her independence.

However, techniques aside, Nell Leyshon provides Mary with a very distinctive voice, allowing her to speak directly to the reader and by her own words reveal the many facets of her nature. Her warmth when speaking of her grandfather leaves no doubt that she shares an affectionate relationship with him. In contrast, she often refers to her father coldly as "he". Mary is an unforgettable character, totally without guile, honest, clever and witty, which makes the choice she makes all the more devastating.

As mentioned at the beginning of my review, this is a sad and thought provoking story. It highlights the plight of girls and women in the 19th century, how their lives were controlled by fathers, husbands, brothers and, as in Mary's case, also employers. The basic skills of reading and writing, ones that we take for granted today, are also at the core of this story and what one person will do to acquire that knowledge given the chance.

The Colour of Milk is a quick read. It is only 172 pages in length and I read it in a day. This is the first novel I have read by Nell Leyshon. I found it very moving and one that I will remember for a very long time.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

 

This weekly meme is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey

With the weather being so cold and wet in my corner of Australia over the past week, I welcomed being forced to stay indoors with my reading pile. I did brave the cold one night to observe the International Space Station zooming across the sky, but since then have only ventured out to the rubbish bin or to check the rain gauge. Over the week end we've had 26 mm, with more rain predicted for the rest of the week.

On the reading front, while I managed to finish one book, South of Darkness, John Marsden's first novel for adults, I'm struggling with A Spell of Winter which is disappointing as I'd enjoyed other novels by Helen Dunmore. Has anyone else struggled with this novel?

My other reading choices are going very well. I'm half way through The Last Confession of Thomas Hawkins. Once again that lovable scoundrel from The Devil in the Marshalsea is in dire straits and I'm keen to see how he extricates himself from his latest predicament. On the other hand maybe he doesn't!

I also began Spilt Milk by Amanda Hodgkinson, author of 22 Britannia Road which I read and enjoyed last year. So far so good, but the fate of Thomas Hawkins has the greater pull.

Wilkie Collins' The Dead Secret is still in the running to be read next and I have added Welsh author Tracy Rees' debut novel, Amy Snow, to my reading pile. I couldn't resist the tag line on the front cover "Jane Eyre meets The Young Victoria ..."

What I Read Last Week

South of Darkness by John Marsden

Thirteen-year-old Barnaby Fletch is a bag-and-bones orphan in London in the late 1700s.Barnaby lives on his wits and ill-gotten gains, on streets seething with the press of the throng and shadowed by sinister figures. Life is a precarious business. When he hears of a paradise on the other side of the world a place called Botany Bay he decides to commit a crime and get himself transported to a new life, a better life. To succeed, he must survive the trials of Newgate Prison, the stinking hull of a prison ship and the unknown terrors of a journey across the world. And Botany Bay is far from the paradise Barnaby has imagined. When his past and present suddenly collide, he is soon fleeing for his life once again. A riveting story of courage, hope, and extraordinary adventure.

What I'm Reading Today

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. 

Spilt Milk by Amanda Hodgkinson

1913. Unmarried sisters Nellie and Vivian Marsh live an impoverished existence in a tiny cottage on the banks of the Little River in Suffolk. Their life is quiet and predictable, until a sudden flood throws up a strange fish on their doorstep and a travelling man who will change them forever. 

1939. Eighteen-year-old Birdie Farr is working as a barmaid in the family pub in London. When she realises she is pregnant she turns to her mother Nellie, who asks her sister to arrange an adoption for Birdie's new born daughter. But as the years pass Birdie discovers she cannot escape the Marsh sisters' shadowy past - and her own troubling obsession with finding her lost daughter will have deep consequences for all of them...

The Last Confession of Thomas Hawkins by Antonia Hodgson

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.

What I Hope to Read Next

The Dead Secret by Wilkie Collins

Wilkie Collins was the first great detective novelist. His dark and complex mysteries influenced the work of other writers, such as Anthony Trollope and Charles Dickens, with whom he developed a close personal friendship. Swinburne found his work worthy of serious criticism, and T. S. Eliot credits him even more than Poe with the invention of the modern detective novel and the popular thriller. Before such works as "The Woman in White," "The Moonstone," "Armadale," and "No Name," Collins demonstrates the full range of his talents for intricate plot and dramatic suspense in "The Dead Secret," one of his earliest novels. Like much of Collins's work, "The Dead Secret" explores the consequences of a single, hidden act. The Cornish mansion Porthgenna harbors the secret of such an act, one that has ruined the life of the servant girl Sarah Leeson. This same secret lies hidden for fifteen years until the heiress to Porthgenna, Rosamund Treverton, returns and exposes it. Her detective work may reveal the truth, but her revelation of a long-forgotten crime could mean disaster for her and the entire estate. Wilkie Collins's brilliant characters, suspenseful plots, and piercing look into Victorian-era society are on full display in "The Dead Secret."

Amy Snow by Tracy Rees

Abandoned on a bank of snow as a baby, Amy is taken in at nearby Hatville Court. But the masters and servants of the grand estate prove cold and unwelcoming. Amy's only friend and ally is the sparkling young heiress Aurelia Vennaway. So when Aurelia tragically dies young, Amy is devastated. But Aurelia leaves Amy one last gift. A bundle of letters with a coded key. A treasure hunt that only Amy can follow. A life-changing discovery awaits ...if only she can unlock the secret.

Book Review: Wild Wood by Posie Graeme-Evans

Jessie Marley learns she is adopted and leaves Australia to seek out her birth mother in England. In London, distracted by what she has discovered, Jessie steps into the road and is involved in an accident that puts her in hospital with concussion and a shoulder injury.

Unable to speak or use her right hand, Jessie clumsily communicates with pencil and paper using her left. Not an artist, Jessie is mystified when she begins to draw pictures of a place and people she has no memory of, made even more suprising by the fact that she is doing it left-handed.

Rory Brandon, her neurologist, believes Jessie's new found abilities are the result of her head trauma. When he recognizes one of her drawings as the place where he grew up, he suggests Jesse go there with him to recuperate and assist in his research. Reluctantly Jesse agrees.

At the centre of this dual time frame narrative is Hundredfield, a castle in the Scottish borderlands. In the 14th century it is the medieval power base of the de Dieudonné family; in the 20th century it is a rundown estate desperately in need of money and the home of Alicia Donne.

The 14th century story opens with Maugris and Bayard de Dieudonné returning to Hundredfield to find their brother Godefroi has married the mysterious Lady Flore, who does not speak and is viewed with suspicion by the people. In their absence, Godefroi has also become a brutal overlord and has allowed conditions at Hundredfield to deteriorate to the point where its people are starving and some are deserting the castle to join a band of brigands in the forest.

Bayard de Dieudonné, the youngest and most likeable of the three brothers, is sensitive to the Lady Flore. To him, she is an enigma, but deserving of respect as his brother's wife. When Hundredfield comes under attack and Bayard must defend his family, he becomes privy to an ancient secret concerning the Lady of the Forest.

Through hypnosis Jesse is pulled further into the past and when Hundredfield is in danger of being lost again centuries later, she realises that she has been given the means to save it.

I'm a fan of dual time frame novels and I wasn't disappointed by this one from Posie Graeme-Evans. The time frames are clearly defined by being written in different points of view. The 20th century part in the third person; the 14th century part in the first, from the perspective of Bayard de Dieudonné.

Both stories held my interest, though I preferred medieval Hundredfield, where the action was more dramatic. Understandably so, as it was shrouded in myth, superstition and supernatural occurrences. I was also enthralled by Bayard's character: a medieval warrior with empathy for the common folk.

There is no doubt that the setting of this novel helps evoke the sense of mystery and myth. The cover image also drew me to this story. It's easy to imagine the events at Hundredfield taking place in such a wild and beautiful area. However, what kept me reading was the ease in which Posie Graeme-Evans built her story, slipping in tantalising clues along the way, until skilfully uniting past and present in the final scenes. The ending was very well done: family secrets, the circumstances of Jessie's birth and adoption, and what links the characters to Hundredfield are all explained by an unexpected revelation.

Wild Wood is an entertaining read and I enjoyed it immensely. I look forward to reading more by Posie Graeme-Evans.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

 

This weekly meme is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey

I'd made good progress with the three novels I was reading last week, even finishing one of them, but then I sabotaged my reading plans by collecting several books I'd put on hold from my local library. Among my check outs was The Rising Tide, the third novel in a series by Patrick Easter I am following, and the latest from Antonia Hodgson, The Last Confession of Thomas Hawkins. The latter I was very eager to read as I had enjoyed The Devil in the Marshalsea.

I made the mistake of reading the first chapter of The Rising Tide and was quickly immersed in Tom Pascoe's next case. The Last Confession of Thomas Hawkins I resisted in favour of a free e-book available from Amazon, The Hanover Square Affair, a Regency mystery by Ashley Gardner. I'd been wanting to read this for sometime. It was a quick, enjoyabIe read and has made me want to read more of the series. I followed this withThe Colour of Milk, another quick read, but a very powerful story.

For the rest of the week I'm concentrating on A Spell of Winter and South of Darkness. I'm determined to finish these and hopefully I won't be distracted by The Last Confession of Thomas Hawkins sitting in my reading pile.

What I Read Last Week

Moonfleet by John Meade Falkner

Growing up the quiet coastal village of Moonfleet in Dorset, John Trenchard is fascinated by stories of the notorious Colonel John Mohune, whose restless ghost is said to stalk the churchyard at night, and his treasure: a great diamond stolen when he betrayed the King a hundred years before. John's life changes dramatically when he discovers a secret passage leading from the churchyard to the Mohune family vault beneath Moonfleet church. When he explores it in the hope of finding the treasure, he instead falls in with a gang of smugglers and joins the local contraband trade. Forced into hiding with a price on his head, little does John guess the adventures and misfortunes he will face before he sees Moonfleet again.

Cuckold Point by Patrick Easter

September 1799. William Pitt is attempting to force through anti-slavery legislation, but many have a vested interest in preventing this change and would go to dangerous lengths to stop it. Meanwhile, Tom Pascoe of the river police is grieving for the woman he loved and looking for solace at the bottom of a bottle. Tom's drinking has made him increasingly belligerent and unpredictable, so when he is called to investigate a body found in the Thames - that of an MP and a close associate of William Pitt - there's doubt whether he's up to the task. But Tom must pull himself together, or be dragged under; Pitt's life is in his hands.

The Hanover Square Affair by Ashley Gardiner

London, 1816 Cavalry captain Gabriel Lacey returns to Regency London from the Napoleonic Wars, burned out, fighting melancholia, his career ended. His interest is piqued when he learns of a missing girl, possibly kidnapped by a prominent member of Parliament. Lacey's search for the girl leads to the discovery of murder, corruption, and dealings with a leader of the underworld. At the same time, he faces his own disorientation transitioning from a soldier's life to the civilian world, redefining his role with his former commanding officer, and making new friends--from the top of society to the street girls of Covent Garden. Book 1 of the Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries.

The Colour of Milk by Nell Leyshon

'This is my book and i am writing it by my own hand'. The year is eighteen hundred and thirty one when fifteen-year-old Mary begins the difficult task of telling her story. A scrap of a thing with a sharp tongue and hair the colour of milk, Mary leads a harsh life working on her father's farm alongside her three sisters. In the summer she is sent to work for the local vicar's invalid wife, where the reasons why she must record the truth of what happens to her - and the need to record it so urgently - are gradually revealed.

What I'm Reading Today

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. 

South of Darkness by John Marsden

Thirteen-year-old Barnaby Fletch is a bag-and-bones orphan in London in the late 1700s.Barnaby lives on his wits and ill-gotten gains, on streets seething with the press of the throng and shadowed by sinister figures. Life is a precarious business. When he hears of a paradise on the other side of the world a place called Botany Bay he decides to commit a crime and get himself transported to a new life, a better life. To succeed, he must survive the trials of Newgate Prison, the stinking hull of a prison ship and the unknown terrors of a journey across the world. And Botany Bay is far from the paradise Barnaby has imagined. When his past and present suddenly collide, he is soon fleeing for his life once again. A riveting story of courage, hope, and extraordinary adventure.

What I Hope to Read Next

Spilt Milk by Amanda Hodgkinson

1913. Unmarried sisters Nellie and Vivian Marsh live an impoverished existence in a tiny cottage on the banks of the Little River in Suffolk. Their life is quiet and predictable, until a sudden flood throws up a strange fish on their doorstep and a travelling man who will change them forever. 

1939. Eighteen-year-old Birdie Farr is working as a barmaid in the family pub in London. When she realises she is pregnant she turns to her mother Nellie, who asks her sister to arrange an adoption for Birdie's new born daughter. But as the years pass Birdie discovers she cannot escape the Marsh sisters' shadowy past - and her own troubling obsession with finding her lost daughter will have deep consequences for all of them...

The Last Confession of Thomas Hawkins by Antonia Hodgson

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.

The Dead Secret by Wilkie Collins

Wilkie Collins was the first great detective novelist. His dark and complex mysteries influenced the work of other writers, such as Anthony Trollope and Charles Dickens, with whom he developed a close personal friendship. Swinburne found his work worthy of serious criticism, and T. S. Eliot credits him even more than Poe with the invention of the modern detective novel and the popular thriller. Before such works as "The Woman in White," "The Moonstone," "Armadale," and "No Name," Collins demonstrates the full range of his talents for intricate plot and dramatic suspense in "The Dead Secret," one of his earliest novels. Like much of Collins's work, "The Dead Secret" explores the consequences of a single, hidden act. The Cornish mansion Porthgenna harbors the secret of such an act, one that has ruined the life of the servant girl Sarah Leeson. This same secret lies hidden for fifteen years until the heiress to Porthgenna, Rosamund Treverton, returns and exposes it. Her detective work may reveal the truth, but her revelation of a long-forgotten crime could mean disaster for her and the entire estate. Wilkie Collins's brilliant characters, suspenseful plots, and piercing look into Victorian-era society are on full display in "The Dead Secret."

TimeStorm by Steve Harrison: But What Genre is It?

I recently submitted my blog to the Australian Book Blogger Directory. This morning I was making my way down the list of blogs in the Historical Fiction section when I came across Steve Harrison's entitled Storming Time dedicated to his debut novel TimeStorm.

This is a very entertaining blog, but what actually made me chuckle is his post on publishers having difficulty allocating his novel to a particular genre and his praise for Elsewhen Press who took up the challenge and published it.

 " ... They weren’t daunted by the 4,356 genres included in the novel ... and instead let the story speak for itself ..."

4,356 genres? A slight exaggeration, perhaps, but I love it!

Of course, being a historical fiction fan, I was hooked by the first sentence of the book description. Reading further I realised this wasn't going to be the straight historical I'd expected.

Did I still want to read it? Yes!

Why? There are a number of reasons. Besides being an unusual idea for a novel, references to C.S. Forester, Patrick O'Brian and Alexander Kent can't be ignored. Plus it has all the right elements for an exciting read. Another incentive was the great reviews I read on Amazon and Goodreads. Steve Harrison, though born in Yorkshire, U.K., is considered to be an Australian author and I can add this book to the Aussie Author Challenge 2015. Love the title. Love the cover.

So, what genre is it? For my purposes I'm calling it a historical fiction time slip novel. I don't have the stamina or the will to list all 4,356 genres ...

 In 1795 a convict ship leaves England for New South Wales in Australia. Nearing its destination, it encounters a savage storm but, miraculously, their battered ship stays afloat and limps into Sydney Harbour. Here, the convicts rebel, overpower the crew and make their escape, destroying the ship in the process. Fleeing the sinking vessel with only the clothes on their backs, the survivors struggle ashore. Among the escaped convicts, seething resentments fuel an appetite for brutal revenge against their former captors while, for their part, the crew attempts to track down and kill or recapture the escapees. However, it soon becomes apparent that both convicts and crew have more to concern them than shipwreck and a ruthless fight for survival; they have arrived in Sydney in 2017. TimeStorm is a thrilling epic adventure story of revenge, survival and honour set in a strange new world of unfamiliar technology and equally unfathomable social norms. 

 In the literary footsteps of Hornblower, comes Lieutenant Christopher 'Kit' Blaney, an old-fashioned hero, a man of honour, duty and principle, dragged into the 21st century - literally. A great fan of the grand seafaring adventure fiction of CS Forester, Patrick O'Brien and Alexander Kent, and modern action thriller writers such as Lee Child, Steve Harrison combines several genres in his debut novel. 

The book was inspired by a replica 18th century sailing ship on Sydney Harbour and a question from Steve's brother, Tony: "What if that was a real convict ship?" TimeStorm explores that question in a fast-paced story as a group of desperate men from the 1700s clash in 21st century Sydney.


TimeStorm is available as an e-book or paperback from Amazon AU, Amazon US, Amazon UK or direct from Elsewhen Press