
FAREWELL MY LIFE: What would you do if your sister became engaged to a mysterious suitor? Drink in a dark historical about a hidden murderer mostly set in 1920s Berlin. A SURPRISING […]
Cynthia Sally Haggard was born and reared in Surrey, England. About 30 years ago she surfaced in the United States, settling in the Mid-Atlantic region as she wound her way through four careers: violinist, cognitive scientist, medical writer, and novelist.
In June, 2015, Cynthia graduated with an MFA in Creative Writing from Lesley University, Cambridge MA.
Her first novel, "Thwarted Queen," a frustrating tale (hence the title) of a woman who was nearly crowned Queen of England, was shortlisted for many awards, including the 2012 Eric Hoffer New Horizon Award for debut authors. To date, sales have surpassed 38,000 copies.
Her second novel, "Farewell My Life," a Cinderella-ish tale with not-so-charming princes who inhabit the edgy setting of 1920s and 1930s Berlin during the rise of the Nazis, won a Pinnacle Award for Historical Fiction (2019) and was a Distinguished Favorite for the 2019 New York City Big Book Awards.
FAREWELL MY LIFE: What would you do if your sister became engaged to a mysterious suitor? Drink in a dark historical about a hidden murderer mostly set in 1920s Berlin. A SURPRISING […]
This novel is the third of three about the younger generation, the sons and daughters of Ceridwen, Sidroc, Gyric, Godwin, and Aelfwin. The first of these three (SILVER HAMMER, GOLDEN CROSS) ends […]
Instead of being in the foreground of WILDSWEPT, as one might expect, the war formed a slightly edgy backdrop to a story about the relationships that the heirs to Ceridwen, Sidroc, Godwin, […]
Fifteen-year-old Ceridwen faces a plight common to most girls of her age: the unpalatable choice between taking a man she finds repulsive as a husband, or taking the veil and living a […]
As the only woman in the room myself during my 15-year career as a cognitive scientist, I was very taken by the premise of this volume. And I was not disappointed, at […]
This is a haunting book about domestic violence and the power of belief set in the remote backcountry of rural Alaska in the 1970s and 1980s. Leni Allbright is only 13 years […]
THE END OF CHILDHOOD: What if your Master begins flirting? Would you be able to refuse? A tale about my 5 times grandmother set in 1809 during the Napoleonic wars. SHADES OF […]
As everyone knows, PILLARS OF THE EARTH is a huge novel that takes place in England over a 50-year period from about 1121 to 1172. The novel begins and ends in violence: […]
Despite its flaws, I absolutely loved this novel. From the very beginning, I found protagonist Clara Kelley compelling, and I loved the way that author Marie Benedict introduced a flavor of danger […]
Having absolutely loved 1421, I had to see what author Gavin Menzies would make of the mystery surrounding Plato’s Atlantis. For some reason, I was not expecting a compelling argument, nor was […]
I hadn’t intended to write about the war in Ukraine, but as the conditions there have deteriorated, as they have become beyond shocking, I decided I couldn’t just ignore what was going […]
I have never heard of Lauren Willig before, so when I picked up THE SUMMER COUNTRY, I honestly thought I was reading a tale about an Anglo-Saxon person’s journey to the afterlife. […]
Like many readers, I found this volume disappointing after Gavin Menzies’ stunning debut 1421. For starters, this book was a great deal dryer than 1421, filled as it was with descriptions about […]
How utterly fascinating it was to read about a long-forgotten Ming Emperor of China, who, in 1421, sent off a flotilla of 800? 900? huge ships, built of teak, their red square […]
Lady Cecylee had an affair with an archer on the Rouen garrison…in the summer of 1441. Her one night of passion changed her life, her family’s life and the Game of Thrones-like […]
This fourth novel by Marie Benedict (the pen-name of lawyer-turned-writer Heather Terrell) sets the tone for many of the novels that follow, in that it explores what it’s like to be the […]
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