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Bloomsbury Girls: A Novel

June 6, 2022

bloomsbury

Hello! Before I get into my thoughts on the book I need to preface them. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while (thank you!) you know at least two things about me. One, my disdain for books I deem too sweet or cozy. Two, I’m not quiet when it comes to my thoughts about women’s rights. These are not worlds that usually collide, but today I have a 5-star fabulous novel, ... Read More...

6 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: chick lit, England, historical fiction, women

The Christie Affair: A Novel

February 14, 2022

christie

When Agatha’s husband informs her that he’s leaving her for another woman she doesn’t react well. In fact, she disappears. For eleven days, leaving their young daughter behind. This situation is both fact and the premise of Nina de Gramont’s novel The Christie Affair. Because yes, Agatha, is that Agatha and in 1925, when her husband asked her for a divorce she disappeared. ... Read More...

6 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 1920s, England, historical fiction, mystery

The Book of Magic by Alice Hoffman

October 14, 2021

magic

What you put out into the world came back to you threefold. In The Rules of Magic Jet Owens and her siblings Franny and Vincent were dealing with their family’s curse about falling in love. Decisions were made and prices were paid. Now decades later both Jet and Franny live in the family’s house on Magnolia Street with their niece Sally, who’s suffered the most, losing two ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: England, family, family saga, magic, New England, women

Hamnet: A Novel of the Plague

September 6, 2021

hamnet

What never ceases to amaze me is the way one person can take the smallest notation from history, and turn it into a story of staggering depth and beauty that the rest of us would never have even considered. In this case, I’m referring to Maggie O’Farrell and her newest novel, Hamnet, the story of one real little boy in 16th century England, his mother, the bubonic plague, and ... Read More...

12 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, England, historical fiction, literary

In Love with George Eliot: A Novel

October 21, 2020

george

If you’ve ever read the classics (either for school or pleasure) you’ve heard of George Eliot. If you’re like me, you didn’t know, until later, that Eliot was a pen name and the great English novelist is actually Marian Evans. I learned this decades ago, but beyond that knew nothing about Evans herself. Now, thanks to In Love with George Eliot, by Kathy O’Shaughnessy I’m better ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 19th century, book clubs, England, historical fiction, literary

The Woman Before Wallis: A Novel

July 27, 2020

wallis

My love of British royalty is old news. Earlier in the month I read, The Heir Affair, about the fictional modern-day travails of a newly married Prince of Wales and his American bride. I loved it and am happy to be back today with historical fiction about the real royal family. Bryn Turnbull’s The Woman Before Wallis is the best of both worlds—scandal encompassing the royals ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 1930s, debut, England, historical fiction

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