#BookReview ‘Panic Room’ by Robert Goddard #thriller

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Panic Room by Robert Goddard starts in the voice of someone unnamed, someone who feels safe in a beautiful, calm place, who wants to stay there forever but who knows that is unrealistic. It made me ask so many questions: who is the speaker, where is this safe place and why isn’t it forever? Robert GoddardIt’s a while before we learn the identity of the first speaker. We are next introduced to Don Challenor, an ordinary middle-aged bloke, an estate agent who has been sacked, who is given a temporary job by his ex- wife Fran. To prepare for sale a multi-million property, Wortalleth West in Cornwall, for a client of Fran’s. Don jumps in his vintage MG to drive west, not realising how his life will change.
In the house he sets about his job, taking photos and measurements in order to prepare the sales brochure. Except the dimensions of one room don’t make sense. There is a mystery void. A steel door which cannot be opened. Is it a panic room? Why is it there? What’s in it? Is it dangerous? Could someone be inside, watching? Or are they trapped? Why not simply ask the owner of the house? Of course, nothing is that straightforward. And so the search to solve the riddle begins.
This is a cracking thriller which starts slowly and winds up and winds up as all the disparate threads of story begin to fall into place. It is an old-fashioned thriller with a conflicted but strong heroine, a disillusioned male hero who rediscovers his strength and guile, an arch villain who cannot be fathomed because he seems too nice and reasonable, and a couple of thugs who don’t worry about the trail they leave. Add in a Cornish witch, a kidnapping and a disappearing teenager, and you begin to wonder how on earth it will all make sense.
Goddard draws a beautiful picture of the Cornish coastline, it will make you want to go there… just not to Wortalleth West. You don’t have to work hard, just sit back and let this master thriller writer take you on a journey of family lies and disappearance, manipulation and fraud, big finance, global warming and cutting edge science. It will not be what you expected.

Read my reviews of Goddard’s other books:-
THE FINE ART OF INVISIBLE DETECTION #1UMIKOWADA
THE WAYS OF THE WORLD #1WIDEWORLDTRILOGY
THE CORNERS OF THE GLOBE #2WIDEWORLDTRILOGY
THE ENDS OF THE EARTH #3 WIDEWORLDTRILOGY
THIS IS THE NIGHT THEY COME FOR YOU #1SUPERINTENDENTTALEB

If you like this, try:-
‘An Officer and a Spy’ by Robert Harris
‘The Travelers’ by Chris Pavone
‘Purity’ by Jonathan Franzen

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
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#BookReview ‘Hangover Square’ by Patrick Hamilton #WW2 #historical

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Hangover Square by Patrick Hamilton, first published in 1941, is deservedly being re-discovered as a perceptive portrayal of people getting-by, living in the low rent district of Earls Court, London, months before war is declared. It is the mournful tale of one man’s hopeless love for a woman who exploits him relentlessly, his inability to see her for what she is, and the battle of his psyche, half of which is telling him to commit murder. Patrick HamiltonGeorge Harvey Bone loves Netta Longdon despite, or perhaps because of, her disdain for him. ‘When she had finished making up, she went into the sitting room to change her shoes, and he followed her. He was always following her, like her shadow, like a dog.’ This is a novel about love, about living on the edge, and schizophrenia, and about the underbelly of a city paused on the brink of war.
The story flicks back and forth in George’s head between his lucid moments planning a new life in Maidenhead when he will stop drinking, and what happens after the ‘click’ in his head – a blackout or loss of sense of time and place – when he realizes the only solution is to kill Netta. George is put-upon by Netta and her circle of friends, he buys drinks, brings food, and they tolerate his company only when he can contribute something. Netta goes to Brighton with George, not to be with him but because she hopes he can introduce her to someone useful. George, bless him, fails to see this. ‘She was wildly, wildly, lovely that night. He looked across the table at her, and she was violets and primroses again.’ Netta and her heartless group of friends exploit George mercilessly and he allows them to do it.
Hamilton’s Earls Court is a seedy place where people get-by on little money, living in rented rooms or boarding houses, scrounging off others, seemingly without jobs to go to. Netta goes to bed in the small hours, rises at eleven in the morning with a hangover – the Hangover Square of the title – then navigates her day via pubs, bars and restaurants or drinking from a bottle of gin provided by a friend. Brighton – London-by-the-Sea – brings a breath of fresh air but, as is always the way, George’s problems follow him there. There is a lovely section when he plays golf, a successful round which gives him the confidence to woo Netta. ‘He wasn’t going to get drunk. She could drink if she wanted to, but he wasn’t going to – at least only a little. He was going to keep his head.’ The irony, of course, is that George is schizophrenic and has another psychotic episode.
This novel is very funny in places, in others the action can seem slow to progress, but I found myself willing George to tell Netta where to go. He is the sort of character you want to take by the hand. Of course, he is unable to stand up to Netta’s rude and ungrateful behaviour and it is the uncertainty of what he will do, where he will go, and whether his schizophrenic murder plans will come to fruition, which made this such an absorbing read.

Read my review of THE SLAVES OF SOLITUDE, another World War Two novel by the same author, and click here to try the #FirstPara of THE SLAVES OF SOLITUDE.

If you like this, try:-
‘The Heat of the Day’ by Elisabeth Bowen
‘Midnight in Europe’ by Alan Furst
‘At Mrs Lippincote’s’ by Elizabeth Taylor

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
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#BookReview ‘The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle’ by Stuart Turton #crime #thriller

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The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton is a whodunnit version of Groundhog Day set at a country house party. There is a twist: the Bill Murray character must live each day in a different body, a host, and solve a murder or never escape back to his normal life. I found this to be a tortuous, convoluted and mystifying plot, impossible to review without giving away clues (intentionally or not), but I will have a go. Stuart TurtonIf you like conventional detective stories which follow the rules of crime fiction, presenting a challenge to be solved, this may not be for you. If you like going on a mystery journey where nothing is as it seems, you will like it. Mysteries work when the reader has something to cling onto, to make them identify with a character, to make them care, to give them someone to root for. This story has so many unknowns I spent most of the story in a state of confusion. Like Coco Chanel dressing for the evening and then removing two elements to ensure she wasn’t over-dressed, I finished this book wishing the author had undertaken a similar cutting exercise. The solution to the murder, and the fate of the protagonist were not the elements I found most fascinating; I enjoyed the challenge faced by Aiden – if that is his true name – when he inhabits the body of a host, a stranger. The obese body but sharp mind of Lord Ravencourt; the over-excited Jonathan Derby who acts without thinking and molests the chambermaids; the beaten-up butler who knows a lot but lays in bed drifting in and out of consciousness.
The list of characters is so long – with too many similar names, Millicent/Madeline, Daniel/Donald – plus others who are simply unnamed background extras, I couldn’t remember which each one was. This is complicated by the fact that the hero – whose name might be Aiden Bishop – doesn’t know who is who either. He doesn’t know who can he trust, who has he already met at Blackheath House, and who he knew before arriving at the party – as he also has amnesia about his real identity and previous life. Two/three other people are also experiencing this mobile bodied state, and Aiden is competing with them to solve the crime. Because only one, he is told by the mysterious fancy dress Plague Doctor, will survive. Oh and there’s a mysterious footman too who may or may not be trying to kill Aiden. Oddly, none of the other time-trapped people appear in Aiden’s body.
By a quarter through I was seriously confused and becoming seriously irritated. Is this a story best read in one sitting, so you are better able to remember all the twists and obfuscations? But the book is not short, 528 pages. Or could it be that there is just too much going on? A closed room mystery, each day repeating itself, a hero with amnesia who must relive each day in a different host body and be influenced by the stranger’s body and personality, a murder that happens every night meaning the victim cannot be rescued, a competition to solve the murder in order to survive, obtuse threats from sinister unidentifiable figures, key characters introduced rather late in the game. There is no doubting the planning skills of the author but at times I did suspect he set out to wilfully confuse rather than tease the reader. I ran through various scenarios: is it a game show, is it a wind-up like Candid Camera, is Aiden the murderer and doesn’t know it, is Aiden the murderer and cleverly duping everyone?
Ambitious, overwhelming, fantastical, mysterious, I can’t help but admire the ambition of the author and the scope of his story. Hidden beneath the machinations are two serious questions: how far will a person go in order to escape an intolerable situation, and is it ever possible to escape your own past? A Marmite book: love it or hate it.

If you like this, try these:-
‘Himself’ by Jess Kidd
‘The Last of Us’ by Rob Ewing
‘Curtain Call’ by Anthony Quinn

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#BookReview ‘Love is Blind’ by William Boyd #historical

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When a new novel by William Boyd features a male protagonist, my first thought ‘is it another Logan Mountstuart’ with a feeling of anticipation. But Love is Blind is not another version of Any Human Heart. It tells the story of Brodie Moncur, a young Scottish piano tuner who travels Europe as he seeks warmer climes and the love of his life. William BoydBoyd is on good form and I raced through Love is Blind, enveloped in Brodie’s end of 19thcentury/early 20thcentury story. Told almost exclusively from Brodie’s viewpoint, plus some of the letters he writes and receives, we see the world and the people he meets through his eyes so, as he falls in with thieves the sense of impending doom increases. He is a likeable, believeable character, son of a fire-and-brimstone alcoholic preacher, living in a time of great change as motor cars appear on the road and the signs of war increase but when consumption kills. The details of Brodie’s piano tuning are fascinating, these skills are the passport to his travels, getting him into and out of trouble, enabling him to earn money wherever he finds himself.
When the story starts in 1894 Brodie is a piano tuner for Channon & Co in Edinburgh. Offered a job at the Channon shop in Paris, he takes the opportunity to escape his oppressive father and so falls in with John Kilbarron, a fading Irish concert pianist who comes to rely on Brodie’s magical skills with his tuning tools. The major difficulties of Brodie’s story are established in Paris. He falls in love with Lika Blum, would-be Russian opera singer, who may or may not be in a relationship with Kilbarron. And he starts to cough up blood.
Consumption is diagnosed and Brodie travels to Nice in search of a warmer climate, unable to work, leaving Lika behind. From the beginning, Brodie pursues Lika rather than the other way round, she insists on secrecy and is enigmatic when pressed for details of her earlier life. Warning signs that are obvious to the reader but to which Brodie is blind, the blindness of the title, are everywhere. Lika does not share many secrets and there is no authorial voice to fill in her backstory. He is a young man in love/lust and cannot see what seems to be staring him in the face. He writes a succession of letters which, given the need for secrecy, are foolhardy. So when trouble finds him, in the shape of Kilbarron’s thuggish brother Malachi, it is not a surprise.
The character of Lika is lightly drawn but that is perhaps because Brodie knows so little about her. They arrange assignations in hotel rooms and on riverbanks, passing notes to each other and sharing significant glances. The affair continues as the Kilbarron party moves to St Petersburg, Russia, to perform a programme for a new wealthy benefactor. It is here that the cracks start to appear in the Kilbarron/Moncur relationship.
The final part of the book was less satisfactory for me. The Prologue to the story is a short letter written in 1906 by a woman called Page from an address in the Andaman Islands, Indian Empire, in which Brodie Moncur is briefly mentioned. In Part VII, Brodie is living at Deemer’s Hotel, Port Blair, the Andamans. I found his encounter with ethnologist Page Arbogast and their research trip to the Nicobar Islands superfluous.

Read my reviews of:
ANY HUMAN HEART
NAT TATE: AN AMERICAN ARTIST 1928-1960
ORDINARY THUNDERSTORMS
SWEET CARESS
THE BLUE AFTERNOON
THE DREAMS OF BETHANY MELLMOTH
TRIO
WAITING FOR SUNRISE
… and try the first paragraph of ARMADILLO

If you like this, try these:-
‘After the Bombing’ by Clare Morrall
‘The Translation of Love’ by Lynne Kutsukake
‘Exposure’ by Helen Dunmore

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#BookReview ‘The Ashes of London’ by @AndrewJRTaylor #Historical

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1666 and a fire starts in London, soon to devastate the medieval City of London. Watching the flames, a young man notices a boy in a ragged shirt who is standing so close as to risk to his life. When he pulls the boy to safety, he finds it is not a boy but a young woman. She bites him and escapes, though he intends only to help. And so are introduced the two key characters in The Ashes of London by Andrew Taylor. Andrew TaylorThis is not a novel about the Fire of London, rather a political mystery involving murder in the turbulent years following the execution of King Charles I, the English Civil War, the Commonwealth and subsequent Restoration of King Charles II. In the ruins of St Paul’s a body is found, differing from other mortalities for its thumbs tied together behind the man’s back. This is the sign of those who committed Regicide by signing the death warrant of Charles I. Though in hiding, these traitors are still active, lurking in the shadows.
The account of London burning is written vividly, so vivid I could imagine myself there, smell the charred timber and smoke. We see it through the eyes of two people. James Marwood, clerk, son of a traitor, is required by his superiors to investigate on their behalf. Catherine Lovett, a wealthy young woman lodges with the family of her mother but secretly searches for her father, a Regicide. Her position becomes precarious when her uncle seeks to marry her to a suitable man, one she detests. She flees and, at risk of discovery, Cat hides her identity with a false name. She is a bright woman who adapts to her changing circumstances, has a great presence of mind and is not afraid to defend herself when threatened. I particularly enjoyed her interest in architecture, something which brings her into the wider circle of Master Hakesby and Dr (Christopher) Wren as the new design for St Paul’s takes shape. She has a skill of fine draughtsmanship, and helps Master Hakesby who suffers from the ague.
We learn the story as seen by Marwood and Cat; the author controls what we know and don’t know. As they are aware of other things happening outside their circle, but not of the detail – of surviving traitors helping each other, of powerful men borrowing and lending money, of the scientifically-minded Charles II and his circle of influencers – so the reader realizes more is going on behind the scenes than is written on the page. Which adds to the mystery. This was a complex political time. We watch Marwood tread a delicate path as he tries to protect his elderly weak-witted Regicide father from persecution whilst also obeying his employer, Master Williamson, editor of The London Gazette. It is a time of whispers, gossip in the coffee houses, of secret meetings and spies standing behind screens the better to eavesdrop.
The paths of Marwood and Cat almost cross a number of times and as neither knows the true identity or intentions of the other, the reader is in a privileged position. When they do meet, the outcome is unexpected.
This is not a page-turning thriller or a crime novel, more a historical mystery. Taylor takes time to develop his characters and to show his location, the Restoration context is fascinating. Though a slow-burn I read this book quickly, finishing it and wanting to read its sequel, The Fire Court. That is always a good sign.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT THIS BOOK AT AMAZON

Try the first paragraph of THE ASHES OF LONDON here.

Read my reviews of the next books in this series:
THE FIRE COURT #FIREOFLONDON2
THE KING’S EVIL #FIREOFLONDON3
THE LAST PROTECTOR #FIREOFLONDON4
THE ROYAL SECRET #FIREOFLONDON5
THE SHADOWS OF LONDON #FIREOFLONDON6

And a World War Two novel by the same author:-
THE SECOND MIDNIGHT

If you like this, try:-
‘The Witchfinder’s Sister’ by Beth Underdown
‘The Last Hours’ by Minette Walters
‘The Western Wind’ by Samantha Harvey

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
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#BookReview ‘Our Friends in Berlin’ by Anthony Quinn #WW2

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Our Friends in Berlin by Anthony Quinn tells a story of London in World War Two seldom told. It is a spy novel but not a thriller. It focuses on the individuals concerned and has a deceptive pace which means the threats, when they come, are more startling. Jack Hoste is not who he seems to be. He is not a tax inspector; he is not looking for a wife. He is a special agent who tracks down Nazi spies. And at night he is an ARP warden. Anthony Quinn The juxtaposition of Hoste’s life of secrets is set nicely against that of Amy Strallen who works at the Quartermaine Marriage Bureau. Ordinary life does go on in London during the Luftwaffe bombing and Amy must match clients together, a matter of instinct rather than calculation. In order to be matched with the right person, clients are asked to tell the truth about what they are seeking, truths which may have been disguised or hidden until now. Client requests include ‘a lady with capital preferred’ and ‘not American’. Then one day she meets a new client who seems oddly reluctant to explain what he is looking for. The client is Jack Hoste and he doesn’t want a wife, he is searching for Marita Pardoe, a suspected Nazi sympathiser and friend of Amy in the Thirties. What unfolds is a story of spying, gentle romance, betrayal, fanaticism and the life of living in a bombed city.
Jack and Amy seem to run on parallel tracks, veering towards and then away from each other, both romantically unsure, both allow the real world to get in the way. And get in the way it does, in the shape of Marita. Quinn is excellent at building characters, he makes you care for them and that’s what keeps you reading. In a time of war, decisions are often made recklessly but Jack and Amy draw back from doing this. Both are people of honour, making the secrets they must keep and the lies they must tell all the more pertinent. The nature of truth is a theme wriggling its way through every page.
Anthony Quinn is a favourite author of mine, his novels are each quite different and I will read everything he writes. I read this one quickly.

Read my reviews of these other novels also by Anthony Quinn:-
CURTAIN CALL
FREYA
HALF OF THE HUMAN RACE
MOLLY & THE CAPTAIN
THE RESCUE MAN
THE STREETS

If you like this, try:-
‘Mrs Sinclair’s Suitcase’ by Louise Walters
‘The Paying Guests’ by Sarah Waters
‘The Heat of the Day’ by Elizabeth Bowen

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview OUR FRIENDS IN BERLIN by Anthony Quinn https://wp.me/p5gEM4-3pl via @SandraDanby

My Porridge & Cream read: Paula Harmon

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Today I’m delighted to welcome murder mystery author Paula Harmon. Her ‘Porridge & Cream’ read is Onions in the Stew by Betty MacDonald. This is the second Betty MacDonald book featured in the series following Anybody can do Anything which was chosen by Judith Field in 2015. Read what Judith said here.

“Dad handed me Onions in the Stew by Betty MacDonald when I was an adult saying, ‘you must read this’. Feeling rebellious, I left it on the shelf for a while. Besides, this copy is old and a bit musty, its paper cover long gone. But one day I came across it, remembered how funny (even when poignant) her other books were and took it down.

“Now I read it at least once a year. Why? Because although it covers a period of time I didn’t experience and a place I’ve never visited, it is one of those books that describes things that never change, finds humour in the most difficult of situations and makes me laugh. Also, it takes place on an island, and I have a soft spot for islands.

“Onions in the Stew starts during WWII as Betty seeks a home in Seattle for herself, her new husband, two pre-teen daughters, a cat and a dog. Finally, the MacDonalds hear about a house with its own beach on Vashon Island. Who among us won’t have met schmoozing estate agents; started packing with such organisation and ending up stuffing things in anywhere; endured strange neighbours, guests who won’t leave, dubious handymen. Even more recognisable, despite the passing of over seventy years are Betty’s two daughters as they drag the whole family through the trauma of adolescence.

“When I first read the book my children were still small. Now they are seventeen and nineteen. I think reading Onions in the Stew was one of those things that helped me put some perspective on their teenage years and find the humour in them. I haven’t many books which make me chuckle but this is one of them. Old and musty as it is [below], it is definitely a keeper.”

Paula Harmon’s Bio
Paula Harmon, is a Chichester University graduate who has lived in Dorset since 2005. She is a civil servant, married with two children. Paula has several writing projects underway and wonders where the housework fairies are, because the house is a mess and she can’t think why.

Paula Harmon’s Latest Book
Paula HarmonIt’s AD 190. Romano-Briton Lucretia is determined that her get-rich-quick scheme will not be undermined by minor things like her husband’s death, dubious imposters or her married daughter’s fascination with a celebrity gladiator. But when the deaths start to mount up, wise-woman Tryssa starts to ask awkward questions.
‘Murder Britannica’ by Paula Harmon [UK: January Press]

Paula Harmon’s Links
Blog
Amazon Author page
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter

What is a ‘Porridge & Cream’ book? It’s the book you turn to when you need a familiar read, when you are tired, ill, or out-of-sorts, where you know the story and love it. Where reading it is like slipping on your oldest, scruffiest slippers after walking for miles.

Cat Deerborn is a character in Susan Hill’s ‘Simon Serrailler’ detective series. Cat is a hard-worked GP, a widow with two children and she struggles from day-to-day. One night, after a particularly difficult day, she needs something familiar to read. From her bookshelf she selects ‘Love in A Cold Climate’ by Nancy Mitford. Do you have a favourite read which you return to again and again? If so, please send me a message.

Paula Harmon

 

‘Onions in the Stew’ by Betty MacDonald [UK: George Mann Books]

Discover the ‘Porridge & Cream’ books of these authors:-
Rachel Dove chooses ‘Dead Until Dark’ by Charlaine Harris
Claire Dyer chooses ‘The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society’ by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Burrows
Julie Christine Johnson chooses ‘Pride and Prejudice’ by Jane Austen

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
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Great Opening Paragraph 110… ‘Jane Eyre’ #amreading #FirstPara

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“There was no possibility of taking a walk that day. We had been wandering, indeed, in the leafless shrubbery an hour in the morning; but since dinner (Mrs Reed, when there was no company, dined early) the cold winter wind had brought with it clouds so sombre, and a rain so penetrating, that further outdoor exercise was now out of the question.”
Charlotte BrontëFrom ‘Jane Eyre’ by Charlotte Brontë

Here’s the #FirstPara of AGNES GREY by Charlotte’s sister, Anne Brontë.

Try one of these #FirstParas & discover a new author:-
‘The Last Juror’ by John Grisham
‘A Change of Climate’ by Hilary Mantel
‘Astonishing Splashes of Colour’ by Clare Morrall

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
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#BookReview ‘Tulip Fever’ by Deborah Moggach #historical

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Amsterdam in the 17th century was a time when commerce was king and the sale of tulip bulbs made some people very rich and others bankrupt. This is the setting for Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach, when Rembrandt and Vermeer painted some of the most-recognised art of our time. Sophia’s husband Cornelis is rich, thanks to tulips, and he celebrates his wealth by commissioning a joint portrait to be painted. It is a decision which changes their lives. Deborah MoggachThe deft switching of viewpoints – and each chapter is a single voice, Sophia, Cornelis, Jan [the painter], Maria [their servant] and Willem [Maria’s lover] – allows for a new take on each situation. The plot moves quickly, things are hinted at and passed over but relevant later. It is the sort of novel which seems simple but has hidden depths. The language can be so sensual. “Jacob van Loos is not painting the old man’s mouth. He is painting Sophia’s lips. He mixes pink on his palette – ochre, grey and carmine – and strokes the paint lovingly on the canvas. She is gazing at him. For a moment, when the old man was talking, her lips curved into a smile – a smile of complicity. He paints the ghost of this, though it is now gone.”
The reader must remain vigilant to catch everything. After four chapters I realised the significance of the quotation at the head of each chapter, and went back to the beginning again. They shed fresh light on the story being told. For example, “‘Trust not to appearances.’ Jacob Cats, Moral Emblems, 1632.” And, another chapter heading, by the same author, ‘Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret places is pleasant.’
In places, Moggach’s description echoes Dutch paintings of the period: “Sophia stands at the window. She is reading the letter. Through the glass, sunlight streams on to her face. Her hair is pulled back from her brow. Tiny pearls nestle in her headband; they catch the light, winking at the severity of her coiffure. She wears a black bodice, shot with lines of velvet and silver. Her dress is violet silk; its pewtery sheen catches the light.” Certainly an understanding of art of the period will help a reader get more from the text.

Read my review of these other novels by Deborah Moggach:-
SOMETHING TO HIDE
THE BLACK DRESS
THE CARER

Read the first paragraph of THESE FOOLISH THINGS [now THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL] here.

If you like this, try:-
‘The Miniaturist’ by Jessie Burton
‘An Appetite for Violets’ by Martine Bailey
‘Girl in Hyacinth Blue’ by Susan Vreeland

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview TULIP FEVER by Deborah Moggach via @SandraDanby http://wp.me/p5gEM4-2sv

A poem to read in the bath… ‘Because I could not stop for Death’

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This lyrical poem by Emily Dickinson sees the poet meet Death who, as a gentleman caller, takes a leisurely carriage drive with her. It was first published posthumously under the title ‘The Chariot’ in Poems: Series 1 in 1890, the edition assembled and edited by her friends Mabel Loomis Todd and Thomas Wentworth Higginson.

Here are the first two verses.
‘Because I could not stop for Death –
He kindly stopped for me –
The Carriage held but just Ourselves –
And Immortality.

We slowly drove – He knew no haste
And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too,
For His Civility.’

The poem has since been set to music by Aaron Copland as the twelfth song of his cycle The Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson. Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson

 

‘The Picador Book of Funeral Poems’ ed. by Don Paterson [UK: Picador]

Read these other excerpts, and perhaps find a new poet to love:-
‘Happiness’ by Stephen Dunn
‘Lost Acres’ by Robert Graves
‘The Roses’ by Katherine Tempest

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
A #poem to read in the bath: ‘Because I could not stop for Death’ by Emily Dickinson https://wp.me/p5gEM4-3dG via @SandraDanby