#BookReview ‘Run to the Western Shore’ by Tim Pears #historical

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Run to the Western Shore by Tim Pears is the mesmeric story of Olwen and Quintus as they run together across Wales, living off the land, heading westwards to the sea. Britain AD72. Given by her father in marriage to the Roman governor Frontinus as part of a peace treaty, Olwen flees in the night. She awakens a slave boy and together they run. Both are nineteen years old. Tim PearsQuintus is a translator, he has lived in many foreign lands but has no real home. He serves his Roman masters as they conquer one country after another. Olwen is part of tribal royalty. She leads Quintus through the countryside and seems at one with nature, wildlife, the land, the soil and its legends. The Welsh woodland, valleys, peaks and streams are beautifully described as they follow a meandering path designed to defeat their Roman pursuers. As they lope across the countryside they share stories of their lives, families and cultures. Quintus is unsure whether Olwen’s story are true, myth or a moment of fanciful imagination.
The writing style is simple and elegant. When a dark purple sky heralds a snow blizzard, ‘It was as if they were bottled inside some receptacle not much larger than themselves and a whimsical god was shaking it. Perhaps two such gods were tossing it to the other.’ Another day they near the River Wye, ‘Below them lay a wide green mead, its grass covered in white lace.’ Made by ‘the little people,’ Olwen says, a funeral shroud or a bridal veil. In fact they are cobwebs, white in the morning dew. The further they travel, Quintus becomes more aware of the ground beneath his feet, the birds that soar above, the joy of feeling free.
Only 152 pages, this is a memorable novella which is effortless to read as the pair day by day approach the western shore and their destiny. It is part history, part road trip, part nature essay, part love story. Beautifully written, it stayed with me for many days afterwards. Enchanting.

Here’s my review of another novel by Tim Pears:-
THE HORSEMAN #1WESTCOUNTRYTRILOGY

If you like this, try:-
‘The Good People’ by Hannah Kent
‘Rush Oh!’ by Shirley Barrett
‘My Name is Yip’ by Paddy Crewe

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview RUN TO THE WESTERN SHORE by Tim Pears https://wp.me/p2ZHJe-7AP via @SandraDanby

COMING SOON… THE NEXT BOOK I REVIEW WILL BE:- Alys Clare

#BookReview ‘The Hidden Years’ by Rachel Hore @Rachelhore #WW2 #Sixties

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The Hidden Years by Rachel Hore is a dual-timeline story set in and around a Cornish country mansion, Silverwood, during World War Two and twenty years later. Events that occur in the Forties have long tentacles and, although the Sixties feels a free and liberated time, the after-effects of the war are very real. Rachel HoreWhen nineteen-year old Belle falls for a musician, she leaves university without sitting her last exam and travels with him to Cornwall to an artistic commune near Falmouth and the Helford Estuary. Despite feeling the odd one out at Silverwood, Belle cannot contemplate leaving because she has fallen in love with Gray. And then she stumbles on a number of coincidences which trigger questions about her own background. An unexplained conversation overheard, a photo of a strange woman holding a baby, a shabby box containing the belongings of a nurse.
In the wartime strand we meet Imogen Lockhart, on her way to Cornwall by train. Her role is as a responsible adult accompanying two young brothers travelling to their school which has been evacuated to a country house, Silverwood. Though intending to return home, Imogen finds herself remaining at St Mary’s School where the matron has been taken ill. In fact she stays in Cornwall, completes her nursing training and works in a hospital. The Hidden Years is about Belle and Imogen and the connection between them.
This is a story of mystery, romance and relationships, rather than a story of war. Despite the threat of bombing, I found it slow and repetitive in places and skipped paragraphs which summarised things I’d already read. I was underwhelmed rather than disappointed. At times I was exasperated with Belle and the 1966 strand and would have been happier if the novel concentrated on Imogen’s story. Much of the important action at the end of the book is reported, not shown happening in real time, and so I felt distant from the secret when it was finally revealed. Cornwall is the hero of this book, it really steps off the pages and becomes true. The descriptions of Silverwood, during the war and in the Sixties, make it seem a real house.
Rachel Hore is a favourite author for me and, despite thinking The Hidden Years could be so much better, there are still plenty of her books for me to read. So far, my favourite is A Beautiful Spy.

Click the title to read my reviews of other books by Rachel Hore:-
A BEAUTIFUL SPY
A WEEK IN PARIS
ONE MOONLIT NIGHT
THE LOVE CHILD

If you like this, try:-
‘The Secret Shore’ by Liz Fenwick
‘Another You’ by Jane Cable
‘After the Bombing’ by Clare Morrall

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview THE HIDDEN YEARS by Rachel Hore @Rachelhore https://wp.me/p2ZHJe-7BP via @SandraDanby

COMING SOON… THE NEXT BOOK I REVIEW WILL BE:- Tim Pears

#BookReview ‘Murder at Enderley Hall’ by Helena Dixon @NellDixon #cosymystery #crime

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Read in two sittings over a rainy weekend, I devoured Murder at Enderley Hall by Helena Dixon, second in the Miss Underhay cosy historical murder mysteries. Picking up a matter of weeks after the events at the end of the first book, Murder at the Dolphin Hotel, the plotting is tight and the clues keep coming. I changed my mind three times about the guilty party. Helena DixonNow she’s had a taste of detecting, Kitty Underhay is finding life at her grandmother’s hotel in Dartmouth a quiet affair. She agrees to visit her previously-underheard-of aunt, Lady Medford, in the hope this will bring both a diversion and a clue to the truth of her mother’s disappearance. Elowed Underhay went missing when Kitty was a child and has never been found. Lady Medford is the sister of Kitty’s disreputable father Edgar. Arriving at Enderley Hall, Kitty finds a house party including cousin Lucy and dog Muffy, the family’s elderly nanny, a garden designer, an art conservator, two of Lucy’s friends from London, plus Lord Medford and his secretary Aubrey.
Lord Medford is an inventor of military munitions and materials and his work is conducted at Enderley in a secret laboratory. The setting is summer 1933 as Europe has become an uncertain, threatening place. So when important papers are stolen that may endanger the country, Sir Horace Blunt arrives from the government, followed by Inspector Greville and Kitty’s co-detective from the first book, Captain Matthew Bryant of Torbay Private Investigation Services.
Clues are collected and rumours abound. As the papers remain lost and one murder is followed by another, Kitty becomes irritated at being left out of the investigating. Alice, the Dolphin’s house maid who has been recruited as lady’s maid for the duration of Kitty’s stay at Enderley Hall, proves to be an able spy. Keeping watch, gathering gossip amongst the domestic staff, and acting as companion to Kitty when danger threatens.
This is only the second book of the series but I slipped easily into reading about these familiar characters. The story unfolds at a good pace as Kitty treads the delicate line of being a polite house guest with being a nosey, intrepid detective. I was cheering her on.
Thoroughly enjoyable. Next up is Murder at the Playhouse.

Here are my reviews of other books in the series:-
MURDER AT THE DOLPHIN HOTEL #1MISSUNDERHAY
MURDER AT THE PLAYHOUSE #3MISSUNDERHAY
MURDER ON THE DANCE FLOOR #4MISSUNDERHAY
MURDER IN THE BELLTOWER #5MISSUNDERHAY
MURDER AT ELM HOUSE #6MISSUNDERHAY
MURDER AT THE WEDDING #7MISSUNDERHAY
MURDER IN FIRST CLASS #8MISSUNDERHAY

And my reviews of the first in a new series by Helena Dixon:-
THE SECRET DETECTIVE AGENCY #1SECRETDETECTIVEAGENCY
THE SEASIDE MURDERS #2SECRETDETECTIVEAGENCY

If you like this, try:-
‘The Vanished Bride’ by Bella Ellis #1BronteMysteries
‘The Killings at Kingfisher Hill’ by Sophie Hannah #4Poirot
‘Moonflower Murders’ by Anthony Horowitz #2SusanRyeland

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview MURDER AT ENDERLEY HALL by Helena Dixon @NellDixon https://wp.me/p2ZHJe-7zK via @SandraDanby

COMING SOON… THE NEXT BOOK I REVIEW WILL BE:- Rachel Hore

#BookReview ‘Tombland’ by CJ Sansom #Tudor #detective #crime

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Before reading Tombland by CJ Sansom I knew nothing about the English rebellions in 1549. What a magnificent series this is, so often emulated but rarely equalled. And how fitting that the final Matthew Shardlake book should shed light on such a little-known uprising. CJ SansomTwo years after King Henry VIII’s death his young son Edward VI sits on the throne, but a Protector rules in his stead. With war against the Scots and a new law allowing the enclosure of land, dissent among the yeomen and farm labourers rumbles into protest into rebellion. The poorest in society find their voice to protest against injustice imposed by the wealthy.
In these uncertain times lawyer Shardlake, living a quieter life in London, is called to investigate a murder in Norfolk. The man accused is related distantly to Anne Boleyn and therefore to her daughter Princess Elizabeth. What is planned as a short visit to Norwich turns into a prolonged stay when Shardlake and his assistant Nicholas Overton are caught up in the rebellion, captured by the rebels who see them as gentlemen and therefore enemies in the fight for peasant rights against the powerful landlords. Set in a time of continuing religious changes, the introduction of Cranmer’s new English language prayer book, churches stripped bare of decoration and walls painted white, people have become used to hiding their true beliefs. As the crown has spies amongst the rebels, the rebels have their own spies. Amidst this suspicion, distrust, gossipmongering and manipulation, Shardlake must find the murderer of John Boleyn’s former wife. Able for some time to survive in the rebel camp, aiding the leader Robert Kett to ensure good law is followed, he must decide whether he is a rebel or a loyalist.
Sansom sets a complicated murder story within a patchwork of historical events, some of those described sound too violent and far-fetched to be true though the Author’s Note assures us they happened. With familiar characters – the return of Jack Barack is welcome – many new faces add their voices to the world as we see it through Shardlake’s eyes, troubled as he is that the valid demands of the protestors will be defeated. Bullied stable boy Simon. Shardlake’s former servant Josephine and her husband Edward. Goodwife Everneke who is the ‘mother’ of the Swardeston village group within the huge Mousehold Heath rebel camp outside Norwich. Isabella Boleyn, former barmaid and second wife of the accused man. Throughout it all, the honesty and goodness of Matthew Shardlake shine through. He defends the underdogs, challenges the liars and stands up to bullies. Always in pursuit of the truth, no matter how uncomfortable, how painful, how inconvenient.
Tombland is a big book, 880 pages, but I read it far quicker than I do many shorter novels, picking it up at every opportunity. And though long, I would not reduce it. This paperback has been sitting on my shelf for ages, calling to be read. From the first sentence I knew I was in a familiar place, ‘I had been in my chambers at Lincoln’s Inn when the messenger came from Master Parry, asking me to attend him urgently.’ Such a simple sentence but the voice so clearly that of Matthew Shardlake.
I had been hesitating over picking up Tombland, wanting to have one more Shardlake book left on the shelf still to be read. Oh what a treasure it is. So now I’ll go back to the beginning and read Dissolution again.

And here are my reviews of other novels by CJ Sansom:-
DOMINION
DISSOLUTION #1SHARDLAKE
DARK FIRE #2SHARDLAKE
SOVEREIGN #3SHARDLAKE
REVELATION #4SHARDLAKE
HEARTSTONE #5SHARDLAKE
LAMENTATION #6SHARDLAKE

If you like this, try:-
‘Three Sisters, Three Queens’ by Philippa Gregory
‘Cecily’ by Annie Garthwaite
‘The Lady of the Ravens’ by Joanna Hickson #1QueensoftheTower

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview TOMBLAND by CJ Sansom #Tudor #detective https://wp.me/p2ZHJe-7z3 via @SandraDanby

COMING SOON… THE NEXT BOOK I REVIEW WILL BE:- Helena Dixon

#BookReview ‘Sisters Under the Rising Sun’ by Heather Morris #WW2

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Sisters Under the Rising Sun by Heather Morris tells the story of a group of women imprisoned in a Japanese camp in Indonesia during World War Two. Morris is a new author for me. I chose the book because of the subject matter and my memory of Tenko on television in the Eighties, which made a big impression on me. Only later did I discover the same author wrote The Tattooist of Auschwitz. Heather MorrisAs the Japanese army invades Singapore in 1942, families and nurses flee on ships only to be attacked, shipwrecked and washed up on a remote Indonesian island. There are two main groups of women, Sister Nesta and her group of Australian nurses, and English sisters Norah and Ena and other civilian women and children. All arrive at the camp traumatised, weak, dehydrated, under-nourished and terrified. Loved ones missing or drowned or shot, isolation from everything familiar, fearing death at any moment. This is a traumatic tale and I stuck with it early on as the subject is interesting despite, emotionally, feeling a step away from what was happening. The third-person viewpoint is distant, wandering from Nesta to Norah and quickly back again when I really wanted to know their inner thoughts, the things they weren’t saying out loud.
The women are separated from the men and Norah’s sick husband John is taken to a different camp. Their daughter Sally was evacuated earlier from Singapore and Norah can only hope Sally is safe with her aunt. This is a story of female support, friendship, bravery and determination in the face of despair, cruelty, deprivation, filth and disease. The women get settled into a camp, organise, clean, work out systems to survive and to support each other, but no sooner are they settled than without warning they are moved again to another rat-infested filthy camp. The story is linear which, given we know the outcome and timeline of the war, is natural, but there was little suspense about the outcome of key characters. I particularly enjoyed the musical sections about Norah’s voice orchestra and would have appreciated more of this, particularly from individual singers.
I’ve read many novels now that are ‘based on a true story’ which have left me feeling vaguely disappointed. Does true history in some way shackle the writer’s imagination? This only seems to happen with novels based on relatively recent true history, as if there is a sub-conscious duty to tell the truth at the sacrifice of fiction. It doesn’t seem to happen with historical fiction that is based centuries ago.
A fascinating subject, the true story of these women really was horrendous.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT THIS BOOK AT AMAZON

If you like this, try:-
‘Our Friends in Berlin’ by Anthony Quinn
‘Day’ by Al Kennedy
‘The Bird in the Bamboo Cage’ by Hazel Gaynor

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview SISTERS UNDER THE RISING SUN by Heather Morris https://wp.me/p2ZHJe-7zB via @SandraDanby

COMING SOON… THE NEXT BOOK I REVIEW WILL BE:- CJ Sansom

#BookReview ‘Gregor and the Code of Claw’ by Suzanne Collins #fantasy #adventure

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Gregor and the Code of Claw is the fifth and final book in the Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins. From the first page there is no preamble, no explanation of the back story. If you’ve got this far in the series, you know who Gregor is, where he is, and you know that what happens next may kill him. If you don’t know what I mean, start at the beginning with Gregor the Overlander. Suzanne CollinsGregor could turn his back on the Underland, ignore his destiny and return safe to the New York streets above. He could, but will he? Of course not. An army of rats is closing on Regalia, deep beneath the New York streets, and Gregor cannot abandon his friends. This is the war to end all wars. Central to the defence of Regalia – where the humans have put aside generational divisions to join with their allies; bats, mice, spiders, cockroaches and Ripred the rebel rat – is breaking the rats’ version of the Enigma code. If the humans can unlock the Code of Claw and read the rats’ military messages, they believe they can win the war. According to a prophecy the Princess, who everyone says is Gregor’s youngest sister Boots, will unlock the code. But Boots is causing chaos in the code room until Lizzie, Gregor’s other sister, arrives.
This is a fast-moving story of war and it doesn’t all go Gregor’s way. He’s struggling to be what everyone expects him to be, the Warrior who will save Regalia. At last he has achieved some level of competency at echolocation, useful when fighting in the dark, but he is deemed a limited fighter as he only uses his right hand. His relationship with his bonded bat, Ares, another outsider in Regalia, is close and touching. So is his growing closeness with Luxa. There is also the verbal jousting with Ripred to enjoy.
The final battle is, inevitably, Gregor versus the Bane. The white baby rat which made its appearance in the second book in the series is now a mad giant. How can Gregor defeat him?
Collins doesn’t shy away from the brutality of war, or sad endings, and some favourite characters are lost. There are spies, traitors and resistance fighters, lots of blood and strange animal fluids, and some pretty gruesome injuries. And like life, the ending does not have neat conclusions.
An inventive series that brings adult themes of war, death and betrayal plus love, loyalty, bravery and friendship, to a tweens audience. Well written and thought-provoking.

Here are my reviews of the first four books in the series:-
GREGOR THE OVERLANDER #1UNDERLANDCHRONICLES
GREGOR AND THE PROPHECY OF BANE #2UNDERLANDCHRONICLES
GREGOR AND THE CURSE OF THE WARMBLOODS #3UNDERLANDCHRONICLES
GREGOR AND THE MARKS OF SECRET BY SUZANNE COLLINS #4THEUNDERLANDCHRONICLES

And try the first paragraph of THE HUNGER GAMES, also by Suzanne Collins.

If you like this, try:-
‘Viper’s Daughter’ by Michelle Paver #7WOLFBROTHER
‘Dark Earth’ by Rebecca Stott
‘The Bear and the Nightingale’ by Katherine Arden #1WINTERNIGHT

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#BookReview GREGOR AND THE CODE OF CLAW by Suzanne Collins https://wp.me/p2ZHJe-7zj via @SandraDanby

COMING SOON… THE NEXT BOOK I REVIEW WILL BE:- Heather Morris

#BookReview ‘Mystery by the Sea’ by @BrightVerity #cosymystery #crime

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Lady Eleanor Swift, who has been a ‘lady’ for less than a year, is going on an elegant seaside holiday but is more used to travelling by bicycle in foreign climes. She doesn’t know what to pack. One thing is certain; Ellie will encounter another murder which simply must be solved. Mystery by the Sea by Verity Bright is fifth in this 1920s cosy historical mystery series. Verity BrightEleanor, accompanied by her household staff, visits the seaside at Brighton [though the real thing has a pebble beach, not sandy]. Such a glamorous destination in the Twenties, the tourists visit The Royal Pavilion, the Grand and Metropole Hotels, drink cocktails, eat fish and chips and gourmet food, and generally let their hair down. But Eleanor, and butler Clifford, have kept a secret from their cook, housekeeper and maid. There has been a murder at their hotel, the Grand [the three staff and Gladstone the dog are staying nearby], and the victim is none other than Eleanor’s husband. Who died six years earlier.
The hunt for the truth is a race through clues and tangled suspicions, a disagreeable local policeman, dodgy suspects who all seem to have something to hide and a femme fatale who seems preoccupied with Eleanor, all wrapped up in Eleanor’s grief and confusion at the news about her husband. How did Hilary, shot dead by firing squad in South Africa, come to be in Brighton in 1921? Complicated by the presence of a certain Detective Chief Inspector, on holiday from his usual beat in Oxford and London. With Eleanor’s emotions in a spin, she tries to make connections between the Hilary she knew and loved, with the danger and threats surrounding her in such a glamorous place.
The best of the series so far, if a little edgier. It’s becoming addictive.

Read my reviews of other books in the Lady Eleanor Swift series:-
A VERY ENGLISH MURDER #1LADYELEANORSWIFT
DEATH AT THE DANCE #2LADYELEANORSWIFT
A WITNESS TO MURDER #3LADYELEANORSWIFT
MURDER IN THE SNOW #4LADYELEANORSWIFT
MURDER AT THE FAIR #6LADYELEANORSWIFT
A LESSON IN MURDER #7LADYELEANORSWIFT
DEATH ON A WINTER’S DAY #8LADYELEANORSWIFT

If you like this, try:-
‘The Cornish Wedding Murder’ by Fiona Leitch #1NoseyParker
‘Elizabeth is Missing’ by Emma Healey
‘The Killings at Kingfisher Hill’ by Sophie Hannah #4Poirot

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview MYSTERY BY THE SEA by @BrightVerity https://wp.me/p2ZHJe-70r via @SandraDanby

COMING SOON… THE NEXT BOOK I REVIEW WILL BE:- Suzanne Collins

#BookReview ‘Dying in the Wool’ by @FrancesBrody #cosycrime

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I’ve gone back to the beginning to read Dying in the Wool, first in the 1920s Kate Shackleton crime series by Frances Brody. What a joy it is to meet Kate for the first time, as the author intended. I read this novel quickly over a weekend, jealous of distractions that drew me away from my library book. frances brodyUnlike most first books in what become long-running series, Dying in the Wool starts quickly and gets to the point. A man disappeared seven years ago and his soon-to-be-wed daughter, convinced he ran away to start a new life, asks former VAD colleague Kate to discover his whereabouts so he can walk her down the aisle at her wedding. Widow Kate, her husband Gerald died in the Great War, has become accomplished at solving the mysteries of missing soldiers. But Joshua Braithwaite is the wealthy owner and master of a Yorkshire mill, not a man lost in the horror of battle. Staying with the Braithwaite family, and meeting Joshua’s colleagues and workforce at the mill, present Kate with new challenges and new investigative territory. This is not simply a matter of telling a wife or daughter that a man was killed in action, this is possibly about family secrets, fraud and murder. Kate soon finds herself the subject of gossip in Bridgestead village, and begins to start at moving shadows.
Brody cleverly tells us Kate’s background with Gerald in parallel to her investigations in the Braithwaite case, avoiding the ‘exposition dumps’ that can happen in the first of a series. Already familiar with some of the later books, I was pleased to meet for the first time Kate’s housekeeper Mrs Sugden and private detective Mr Sykes. Seeing Mrs Sugden fussing over Kate’s meals, and Kate encouraging Mr Sykes to get behind the wheel of her motor car for the first time, made me smile. The final quarter of the book moves quickly and, with only a few pages, left there are further twists and turns to challenge Kate’s working theory.
A well-researched and written novel that made me want to start the second book in the series straight away. The textile industry is a fertile setting for a murder mystery and Brody cleverly uses the mill and its workforce, management and working class, the weaving techniques and business finances to good effect. Kate, a wealthy young woman with her own motor car, is noticed by everyone in the mill village where workers and their bosses know everyone and there are few secrets. Or are there?
Enjoyable.

Try the #FirstPara of DYING IN THE WOOL.

Read my reviews of these other Kate Shackleton novels:-
A DEATH IN THE DALES #7KATESHACKLETON
A SNAPSHOT OF MURDER #10KATESHACKLETON
DEATH AND THE BREWERY QUEEN #12KATESHACKLETON
A MANSION FOR MURDER #13KATESHACKLETON

If you like this, try:-
‘An Unsuitable Job for a Woman’ by PD James
‘Fortune Favours the Dead’ by Stephen Spotswood
‘The Blind Man of Seville’ by Robert Wilson

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview DYING IN THE WOOL by @FrancesBrody https://wp.me/p2ZHJe-7y6 via @SandraDanby

COMING SOON… THE NEXT BOOK I REVIEW WILL BE:- Verity Bright

#BookReview ‘The Figurine’ by Victoria Hislop @VicHislop #Greece #historical

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It’s a rare occurrence for me to abandon a book, but I almost gave up on The Figurine by Victoria Hislop. I persevered through the glacial pacing of the first half and at 55% on my Kindle the story kickstarts. A story about archaeological mysteries is melded with dark truths about a family’s wartime history. Victoria HislopHelena McCloud is half-Greek and from the age of eight is sent every summer to Athens to spend time with her maternal grandparents in their wealthy apartment. Her mother Mary never accompanies her and doesn’t explain why. Helena sees much she doesn’t understand. When as an adult she returns to Athens, she becomes involved in uncovering a criminal gang exploiting precious Greek statues and treasures. Now her childhood recollections of those long-ago visits begin to make sense.
I struggled to connect with this story for a long time and by the end I wished it had been told in a different order and was a third shorter. Lacking a close personal perspective – admittedly, telling a story through the eyes of a child has to be one of the biggest challenges for an author – it was at times like reading at distance through binoculars.
The figurine of the title is the turning point in the story, bringing with her admiration, awe and suspicion. Helena, head over heels in love with fellow student Nick, is at first too enamoured to acknowledge what is going on around her. Gradually the story focusses on the theft of archaeological antiquities in Greece, predominantly at digs on isolated, little-populated islands, and run by criminal gangs in Athens. Helena assumes that her grandfather, a figure of imposing military force, benefitted in trade from stolen antiquities. Along with an intrepid brother and sister who are antique specialists, and a new group of Athenian friends, she digs deeper into her painful family past. This is when the story begins to buzz.
Not Hislop’s best, which for me remains The Island. The small figurine is the large heart of the story. ‘With her head tilted towards the heavens, the figurine seems proud. With her arms folded, she seems relaxed. With her diminutive ears, she seems to listen. With her pale eyes, she seems to be aware of the crowd.’

Read my reviews of other these books by Victoria Hislop:-
THE STORY
THE SUNRISE
THOSE WHO ARE LOVED

If you like this, try:-
‘My Brother Michael’ by Mary Stewart
‘The Miniaturist’ by Jessie Burton
‘The Animals at Lockwood Manor’ by Jane Healey

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview THE FIGURINE by Victoria Hislop @VicHislop https://wp.me/p2ZHJe-7xL via @SandraDanby 

COMING SOON… THE NEXT BOOK I REVIEW WILL BE:- frances brody

#BookReview ‘The Glassmaker’ by @Tracy_Chevalier #historical #Venice

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Enthralling from the first page to the last, The Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier is by far the best novel I’ve read so far this year. It’s a heady mixture of beautiful glass, Venice in rich times and poor, passion, jealousy and intense competition, focusing on Orsola Rosso and her glass-making family on Murano island within the Venice lagoon through the centuries to the present day. Tracy ChevalierChevalier introduces us to the idea of time-skipping in her brief introduction. ‘The City of Water runs by its own clock. Venice and its neighbouring islands have always felt frozen in time – and perhaps they are.’ And so we follow the same family across six hundred years. In the first chapter in 1494 we meet nine-year old Orsola; this is her story, told in leaps and skips across the centuries. The second instalment of Orsola’s life is in 1574 when she is eighteen years old. Those close to her have aged similarly, only Venice is at once the same and different. Its an ingenious way to tell the story of the Rosso family, the ups and downs of the glassmaking business, their loves and losses, the wars and disease, all set within the framework of Venice and of Murano glass.
When Maestro Lorenzo Rosso dies, Orsola’s eldest brother Marco must take charge of the family business but he is impulsive and designs flamboyant impractical pieces. When contracts are lost and Marco is in his cups, Orsola learns the art of glass bead making. The business of glassmaking is always kept within the immediate family, different families have different specialities, and so matches are made for the sons and daughters of maestros according to the skill or wealth of the incomer. Orsola knows she must marry one day. Her mother and brother’s selection of the man to be her husband is pragmatic, it turns the direction of the story and influences everything that follows.
Life is lived in a bubble on Murano island; loyalties are intense but so is hatred and rivalry. While most women are mutually supportive, others are jealous and ambitious. Murano families rarely go to Venice, Venetians don’t go to Murano. None of them go to the mainland, terraferma. Above all for these families who live close to the bread line, security of employment and supply of food for the family is the primary concern. We follow the Rossos through feast and famine, war, plague, flood and Covid.
So many of Chevalier’s novels are based upon a specific craft or skill – art in The Girl with a Pearl Earring, embroidery in A Single Thread, tapestry weaving in The Lady and the Unicorn, fossil-hunting in Remarkable Creatures. The Glassmaker is another homage to skilled craftsmen who create beautiful objects that last across time.
A magical story, beautifully written. And what a gorgeous cover!

Read my reviews of other novels by Tracy Chevalier:-
A SINGLE THREAD
AT THE EDGE OF THE ORCHARD
NEW BOY
THE LAST RUNAWAY

If you like this, try:-
‘Disobedient’ by Elizabeth Fremantle
‘How to be Both’ by Ali Smith
‘Nat Tate: an American Artist 1928-1960’ by William Boyd

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview THE GLASSMAKER by @Tracy_Chevalier https://wp.me/p2ZHJe-7xg via @SandraDanby

COMING SOON… THE NEXT BOOK I REVIEW WILL BE:- Victoria Hislop