Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne du Maurier

I recently came across an article with a list of “best pirate books” and this one, by Daphne du Maurier, was included.  Even though I’ve read several of her books (years ago Rebecca  and, more recently, The House on the Strand) I had never encountered this particular du Maurier book.  In the mood for something [...]

Read Full Post »

Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier

Mary Anning truly was a remarkable creature.  Born in 1799, she was struck by lightning at the age of one and survived.  Living with her family in the village of Lyme Regis on the southern coast of Britain, little Mary spent many hours on the beach with her father searching for “curies” or “curiosities” which [...]

Read Full Post »

Twilight of Avalon: A Novel of Trystan and Isolde by Anna Elliott

If you pick up this novel expecting a story along the lines of the 2006 film Tristan and Isolde, or the Wagner opera by the same name, you may be surprised to find that this one is nothing like a courtly medieval romance despite the cover blurb that mentions friendship turning to love.  Elliott returns [...]

Read Full Post »

Twelve by Jasper Kent

Voordalak, voordalak, voordalak . . . ah, yes! Vampire. Hmm, even the Dragon is getting a little burned out on the vampire spin, but at least Kent does vampires right in his debut novel, Twelve. The Grande Armée of Napoleon Bonaparte is poised on Moscow’s doorstep in the autumn of 1812. In a desperate bid [...]

Read Full Post »

A.D. 62: Pompeii by Rebecca East

It’s no secret that I like time travel themes (see my reviews of Mary Modern and The Mirror).  This one sends bookish Harvard grad Miranda back to the first century Roman empire, and lands her in the ocean near the doomed city of  Pompeii.  Caught in a fishing net, she is soon sold to a wealthy slave owner, Marcus [...]

Read Full Post »

City of Thieves by David Benioff

Lev Beniov is a grandfather who recounts for his grandson his memories of enduring World War II in Russia, but within the culmination of Beniov’s experiences, there was one week in 1942 that stands above all others.  Leningrad is under siege, and like the rest of the city’s residents, seventeen year old Beniov is starving [...]

Read Full Post »

Mistress of the Sun by Sandra Gulland

The death of her father and the disappearance of her white stallion set the stage for Louise de la Valliere (1644-1710), or Petite as she is affectionately called, to become a maid of honor in the glittering court of the Sun King, Louis XIV (1638-1715).  Petite is pretty, athletic, pious and loveable and soon draws the [...]

Read Full Post »

The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani

On a dark night in long-ago 17th century Persia, a comet streaks across the sky.  This event foretells bad luck for a young girl in a small village.  When her father passes away unexpectedly, she and her mother must move to the city of Isfahan and throw themselves on the mercy of their father’s half-brother [...]

Read Full Post »

The Heretic’s Daughter by Kathleen Kent

Kathleen Kent’s first novel covers familiar territory, the hysteria and superstitions surrounding the Salem witch trials.  What sets this effort apart, though, is the fact that Kathleen Kent is directly descended from Martha Carrier, who was hanged in Salem as a witch in 1692.  After hearing family stories and researching for five years, Kent wrote this debut [...]

Read Full Post »

Grendel by John Gardner

Books, books, boxes of books, glittering my world are books and in this great accumulation are jewels, gems of such rare note and beauty that I read them again and again.  Grendel is one such book. We all know the fabled story of Beowulf, greatest of Geats and hearth-companion of King Hygilac, but here is [...]

Read Full Post »