I didn’t think it possible that Juliet Marillier could top her achievement of DAUGHTER OF THE FOREST, the first of the Sevenwaters Trilogy, which is also a re-telling of the Grimm’s Fairy […]
Juliet Marillier’s SON OF THE SHADOWS (SEVENWATERS #2)
Juliet Marillier’s DAUGHTER OF THE FOREST (SEVENWATERS #1)
It takes eight pages for conflict to erupt in DAUGHTER OF THE FOREST, for the first plot point to be anchored to the story, when Finbur quietly defies his father’s anger and […]
FRONTIER WOLF by Rosemary Sutcliff (DOLPHIN RING CYCLE #3)
Rosemary Sutcliff’s FRONTIER WOLF concerns a young man, Alexios, who is in his early twenties. He is given the responsibility of commanding a unit in what is now Germany, but when the […]
Victoria Holt’s MISTRESS OF MELLYN
Mistress of Mellyn really creeped me out. There I was sitting up in bed at midnight, the dark only relieved by the light from my iPad screen. And I really felt uncomfortable. […]
Rosemary Sutcliff’s THE SILVER BRANCH (DOLPHIN RING CYCLE #2)
THE SILVER BRANCH is set about 200 years after THE EAGLE. Marcus Flavius Aquila’s namesake grandson (called Flavius rather than Marcus) and his cousin Justin come across something that points to treason […]
THE EAGLE OF THE NINTH (DOLPHIN RING CYCLE #1)
No-one knows what really happened to the Ninth Legion, the Hispana. All that is known is that it marched north into what is now Scotland to deal with the Painted People, and […]
A fairy tale set in the years 1859 to 1870 in Germany…(ON THE NIGHT OF THE SEVENTH MOON)
ON THE NIGHT OF THE SEVENTH MOON by Victoria Holt is a fairy tale set in the years 1859 to 1870 in Germany. A young English girl gets lost in the mists […]
THE STONES OF GREEN KNOWE (GREEN KNOWE #6) by Lucy Maria Boston
In this last, sixth novel of the series, we say “goodbye” to our friends at Green Knowe. In this farewell volume, published in 1976, twelve years after volume five, we see our […]
AN ENEMY AT GREEN KNOWE (GREEN KNOWE #5) by Lucy Maria Boston
Like Volume 4, Volume 5 is about a stranger who arrives at Green Knowe. However, this stranger is no gorilla trying to find a place to hide, but a creepy academic woman […]
Victoria Holt’s THE TIME OF THE HUNTER’S MOON
Victoria Holt was one of those authors I loved as a child, and it wasn’t until I was nearly grown up that I realized that she, and Jean Plaidy, and Philippa Carr, […]
Georgette Heyer’s THE MASQUERADERS
THE MASQUERADERS by Georgette Heyer turned out to be the most unexpected delight. I cannot remember now why I put it on my reading list, but as I opened it to read […]
Philippa Gregory’s THREE SISTERS, THREE QUEENS
In this novel Philippa Gregory portrays the voice of an unknown Tudor princess, Princess Margaret, the elder sister of King Henry VIII who married James IV of Scotland at the tender age […]
A wonderful novel with an outstanding ending (POSSESSION)
POSSESSION by A.S. Byatt employs a parallel plot device, in which two modern researchers (Maud Bailey and Roland Mitchell) try to find out what (if any) was the relationship between two Victorian […]
Margaret George’s MARY, CALLED MAGDALENE
What a wonderful book this is! Margaret George’s MARY, CALLED MAGDALENE is about the life and ministry of Jesus Christ and what happened to his disciples after his death. The book is […]
Madame Defarge knits in code…(A TALE OF TWO CITIES)
If there is one thing that people remember about Charles Dicken’s A TALE OF TWO CITIES, it is of Madame Defarge knitting while the heads roll: “The ministers of Sainte Guillotine are […]
TOM’S MIDNIGHT GARDEN by Philippa Pearce
Poor Tom. It’s the beginning of his summer holidays, but his brother Peter catches measles. And so Tom is hustled off to stay with his Uncle Alan and Aunt Gwen, a well-meaning […]
She wanted to be a doctor, but it was 1861…(MY NAME IS MARY SUTTER)
MY NAME IS MARY SUTTER is the debut novel of Robin Oliveira, who gained an MFA at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Ms. Oliveira has a story to tell about a […]
A well-brought-up young lady meets a mischievous sprite…(THE RUNAWAY)
THE RUNAWAY by Elizabeth Anna Hart was originally published in 1872, and tells the tale of an excessively conscientious, well-brought up young lady named Clarice, and what happens when she comes across […]
