Just when I think I know all I need to know about the Tudors, Philippa Gregory writes another riveting piece of historical fiction about the family. And when her latest, The Last Tudor, ends I’m still thinking there should be one more book to come. I began The Last Tudor thinking it would be about either Henry’s only son, Edward or his cousins Mary and Elizabeth. I ... Read More...
The Necklace by Claire McMillan
There are few literary set-ups more likely to grab my attention than the wealthy family black sheep/outcast who unexpectedly comes in to power when the patriarch/matriarch dies. What could go wrong? Everything and that’s what makes it so delightful. Claire McMillan must know this because it is the premise for her new novel, The Necklace. Nell Merrihew has never spent ... Read More...
Feast of Sorrow: A Novel of Ancient Rome
One of the grandest things that can happen to a reader is coming across a book with a new perspective on a subject they’ve read about extensively. Recently, I read Crystal King’s Feast of Sorrow, a novel about Italy in the time of Caesar Tiberius, because, hello, I read all of the Colleen McCullough Masters of Rome books and just finished reading a novel about Nero. I ... Read More...
September Reading Wrap-Up
Goodbye to the first month of fall! Did anyone have fall weather? Or great fall reading? Despite this being the time of year for the biggest book releases, I did not have that much luck with my September reading. Am I the only person who feels abandoned by the book gods? Read The two notable exceptions to a so-so month are: A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (I'm ... Read More...
The Madwoman Upstairs
It’s no secret that Catherine Lowell styles certain elements of The Madwoman Upstairs after Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. In fact, the novel’s protagonist, Samantha Whipple, is the last remaining descendant of the Brontë family after her father dies in an unexplained fire at their home. Now she’s at Oxford and her professor, Timothy Orville, is handsome and brooding. ... Read More...
Rebel Queen: A Novel
As a fan of historical fiction I often find myself reading about women as either accessories or behind-the-scenes figures so it was a welcome delight to read Michelle Moran’s Rebel Queen, about Lakshmi, the Rani (or queen) of one of the states in India in the late 19th century. The novel is told from the perspective of a young woman named Sita who lives with her family ... Read More...
