Tag Archives: English Civil War

#BookReview ‘The Wanton Road’ by JC Harvey @JCollissHarvey #historical #EnglishCivilWar

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1637 Picardy, France. A husband is widowed and must find a way to continue with life, for the sake of five-year old Ned and newborn James. The Wanton Road, fourth in the Jack Fiskardo series by JC Harvey, begins with the heartbreak of grief, a description of loss so deep it is immobilising. JC HarveyFiskardo is a soldier and he does go on, as readers of the previous three books know he will. Harvey has told Jack’s story from childhood. Now he is a widower, a single father, and all he knows is fighting so he sets off on his loyal horse M’sieu in search of employment. He heads for the much-contested Dutch town of Breda intending to offer his services as a discoverer, a scout, where he stumbles upon not only his old comrades the Dead Men but also his oldest enemy Carlo Fantom and a potential new love. Pris Holland is an intriguing heroine, feisty, brave, resourceful, she has her own shadows and pain to bear.
After a detour back to Picardy to collect his children, Jack heads for London where there is talk of war coming and possible employment. With the Thirty Years War coming to a stuttering close, it seems fitting that Harvey brings Fiskardo to England eventually to fight with the King against Parliament. This is a doomed task, as we know from the history books. Threads and characters from the previous books are woven together with the history of the period, entangled, twisted and re-imagined. The pages turn quickly without me noticing how absorbed I am in the story, whether it is the speed of battle or the slower intrigue of politics and love. Pris returns to London to her family, inn owners, brothel keepers, smugglers, and at occasional war with rivals the Skinner family. These enmities and loyalties bob in and out of the novel, bringing threat, rescue, safety, betrayal. Fiskardo, his soldiers and French servants find a new home at Varney, a country house near Oxford. There they feel secure, both boys grow and particularly James, premature, underweight, mis-shapen, thrives. But how long can this peace, and love, last before war returns again?
There are so many plot twists and turns it is difficult to describe the story and do it justice. Jack and Pris meet, they part, they’re together, they’re separated by war, they grieve. Just surrender yourself to the rollercoaster. The ending is magnificent; a fast-paced rush as Jack, who must finally confront his lifelong enemy if he is ever to live in peace, is chased from one safe haven to another.
Magnificent 5*.

Here are my reviews of the Jack Fiskardo series:-
THE SILVER WOLF #1FISKARDO’SWAR
THE DEAD MEN #2FISKARDO’SWAR
PEACE AND LOVE #3FISKARDO’SWAR

If you like this, try:-
‘Orphans of the Carnival’ by Carol Birch
‘Broken Faith’ by Toby Clements #2KINGMAKER
‘The Armour of Light’ by Ken Follett #4KINGSBRIDGE

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview THE WANTON ROAD by JC Harvey @JCollissHarvey https://wp.me/p2ZHJe-9UM via @SandraDanby

COMING SOON… THE NEXT BOOK I REVIEW WILL BE:- Sophie Hannah

#BookReview ‘The Leviathan’ by Rosie Andrews #historical 

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Soldier Thomas Treadwater returns home on leave from the army, summoned to Norfolk by a pleading letter from his sister Esther. ‘Our home is under attack by a great and ungodly evil’, she writes. The Leviathan by Rosie Andrews is a tale of religious extremism and intolerance, fear of witches, superstition and the power of evil. Rosie Andrews The atmosphere at all times is full of foreboding. As Thomas approaches his father’s farm at dawn, he sees dead animals in the field. This is 17th century Norfolk when England is riven by civil war. The story of Thomas and Esther, narrated by Thomas in two timelines – 1643 and 1703 – is ultimately a slow one. The beginning is excellent, ‘She is awake,’ and moves quickly as Thomas investigates the strange goings-on. When this moves from witchcraft to theology and the meaning of evil, the pace slows. The explanation of the title is remarkably late in arriving and I was distracted by trying to fit ‘the leviathan’ into the domestic story of the Treadwater family.
According to Esther, their religious father has been corrupted by their servant Chrissa Moore who is with child. Richard Treadwater is now insensible after suffering a stroke and cannot explain. Chrissa, since accused of witchcraft and imprisoned, denies she is pregnant. When Esther must give evidence in front of the Justice of the Peace, Sir Christopher Manyon, and his assistant John Rutherford, Thomas realises Esther herself may be charged as a deviant. Struggling to understand what is happening, he turns to his former tutor John Milton, for help. It was only after finishing The Leviathan that I made the connection with the real poet and author of Paradise Lost.
Steeped in historical detail and the superstitions of the time, the early mystery of the unexplained deaths and the accusations of witchcraft are well written but this momentum is lost as the story transitions to one about possession and evil. All of it is a metaphor for the cruel and intolerant acts of war when sensible men behave without reason.
I struggled for an emotional connection to the story and wonder if a second viewpoint – perhaps of Mary – may help, also sharper transitions between the three phases of story which seem oddly disconnected. But the early passage of Thomas walking home with his horse Ben is particularly lovely. I finished it not knowing what to think, wanting to like it more, in awe of the scope of subject matter and the intensity of writing.

If you like this, try:-
‘The Almanack’ by Martine Bailey
‘The Witchfinder’s Sister’ by Beth Underdown
‘Rush Oh!’ by Shirley Barrett

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview THE LEVIATHAN by Rosie Andrews https://wp.me/p5gEM4-5OQ via @SandraDanby

#BookReview ‘The Swift and the Harrier’ by Minette Walters #historical

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The latest historical novel from former thriller writer Minette Walters is an absolute cracker. I raced through The Swift and the Harrier which is a fabulous mixture of dramatic history, medicine, family divisions and romance, all set in the English Civil War. Minette Walters Three days before the English Civil War begins in 1642, a Catholic priest is hung in Dorset for treason. Gentleman’s daughter and physician Jayne Swift is introduced to us in the public crush on Dorchester’s streets as people press to see the action. To avoid confrontation, Jayne steps into a doorway and finds herself drawn into the house by a thin-lipped elderly woman. They are strangers and in the current political unrest, all strangers must be mistrusted. This meeting is the catalyst for a narrative which takes us through the twists and turns of this war which sets brother against brother, where unpaid soldiers are ordered by superiors to loot and ransack civilian property, where small towns are attacked under siege for little gain and where men choose sides on blind belief rather than an understanding of the facts. Disguise and dissimulation are necessary to avoid the attention of whichever band of soldiers are encountered.
Jayne is a wonderful heroine. Plucky, bloody-minded, honest and fair, with a strong belief of a medic’s neutrality in time of war despite her staunchly Royalist father, she concentrates on treating the sick and wounded. This gets her into trouble numerous times. During the execution in Dorchester, Jayne encounters so many arrogant and boorish men, dismissive not just of women but of anyone whose views or experience are different to their own. She manages to evade arrest, and worse, thanks to some examples of honourable men. The role of women and the lack of freedoms is a theme running throughout the book, not just Jayne’s own medical career but a gentlewoman’s hidden proficiency as an artist, cousin Ruth’s marriage to a domineering violent man, and the bravery and efficiency of the women of Lyme Regis during its siege by Royalty forces. At the heart of it all – the war, the political and religious divide, marriage, work and family relationships and inheritance – is the right of everyone, man or woman, rich or poor, to the freedom of choice.
In the first action scene in Dorchester, Jayne is aided by William, a footman to Lady Alice Stickland, the elderly lady whose doorway in which Jayne takes shelter. And here is the first romantic thread which is stitched to the end of the book. Who is William? Why does his appearance change and why does he tell a different story every time Jayne sees him? Is he trustworthy?
A book I didn’t want to end. My knowledge of the Civil War is superficial and I particularly enjoyed the passages about the siege of Lyme Regis, a place I know.

Read my reviews of the two ‘Black Death’ historical novels, also by Minette Walters:-
THE LAST HOURS #1BLACKDEATH
THE TURN OF MIDNIGHT #2BLACKDEATH
THE PLAYERS

If you like this, try:-
‘The Evening and the Morning’ by Ken Follett #PREQUELKINGSBRIDGE
‘The Pillars of the Earth’ by Ken Follett #1KINGSBRIDGE
‘World Without End’ by Ken Follett #2KINGSBRIDGE

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview THE SWIFT AND THE HARRIER by Minette Walters https://wp.me/p5gEM4-5wd via @SandraDanby