Peculiar Ground By Lucy Hughes-Hallett

Peculiar Ground is the first novel from award winning biographer Lucy Hughes-Hallett and it is a huge and ambitious tale set in one place with narrators and timelines spanning three hundred years. The novel opens with the voice of landscaper Mr Norris as he navigates his way through the vagaries of Restoration society as those who supported the King replace those who favoured Cromwell. Wychwood is witnessing its own restoration as the Earl of Woldingham and his family reclaim their lands from their cousins the Rivers. Mr Norris describes oppositions of class, religion, politics and values as well as the Fortescue’s tragic loss of their son. The loss of a child is echoed in the second section set in 1960s when we visit the Rossiters and the Lanes and there are further conflicts for those living at Wychwood as the villagers demand the right to roam and use the ancient pathways. While on the wider stage the cold war and the Berlin Wall are the news of the day. The novel is an intriguing study in landscape, manners, class and the changes in the English countryside it twists and turns through genres from family drama to ghost story to historical fiction never quite sure where it fits. While the story telling is well paced and the characters interesting the use of multiple narrators can drag the story down and convolute the tale. There are at times too many actors on the stage. A book full of interesting people and details but sadly it didn’t quite capture me.

Published by 4th Estate on May 18th. Thanks to the publisher and lovereading.co.uk for a review copy. 

The Chosen Queen by Joanna Courtney Blog Tour

I am delighted to be involved in the Blog Tour for the first book in an exciting new Historical Fiction Trilogy. 

The Queens of the Conquest trilogy1066. Three Queens. One Crown.
As a young woman in England's royal court, Edyth, granddaughter of Lady Godiva, dreams of marrying for love. But political matches are rife while King Edward is still without an heir and the future of England is uncertain.

When Edyth's family are exiled to the wild Welsh court, she falls in love with the charismatic King of Wales - but their romance comes at a price and she is catapulted onto the opposing side of a bitter feud with England. Edyth's only allies are Earl Harold Godwinson and his handfasted wife, Lady Svana.

As the years pass, Edyth finds herself elevated to a position beyond even her greatest expectations. She enjoys both power and wealth but as her star rises the lines of love and duty become more blurred than she could ever have imagined. As 1066 dawns, Edyth is asked to make an impossible choice.

Her decision is one that has the power to change the future of England forever . . .

The Chosen Queen is the perfect blend of history, fast-paced plot and sweeping romance with a cast of strong female characters - an unforgettable read.

Review

Joanna Courtney has blended history and powerful storytelling to create an outstanding opening to this new series set to rival historical fiction heavyweights like Philippa Gregory and Susanna Dunn. The series is set in the lead up to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 and the first book is the tale of Edyth daughter of the Earl of Mercia who through her two marriages was firstly Queen of Wales and then Queen of England.

Edyth is a fantastic protagonist, from the merest hints that survive in historical record Joanna Courtney has fleshed out an outstandingly vivid and human character. Wrapping a story of love, friendship, politics, war and power around the bones of history is no mean feat but Joanna Courtney has really pulled it off. The book opens with Edyth as a young girl just beginning to understand the politics of life at court and between men and women when suddenly her life is transformed; her father is out of favour with the King and the family are banished. They seek refuge at The Welsh Court were everything from the language to the table manners seem wild and strange, nevertheless Edyth feels a freedom in Wales and before long the land and it's King have captured her heart. Marrying the King of Wales makes Edyth a powerful figure but an isolated one and when the Welsh make one raid too many against the English, Edyth finds herself on the opposite side to her own family as the two countries prepare for war. Edyth is an incredibly likeable character and her lifelong friendship with Svana the handfasted wife of Harold Earl of Wessex is wonderfully drawn. I cannot recommend this book highly enough if you are a fan of Anne O'Brien, Philippa Gregory or the late Ariana Franklin then meet your new favourite author. I look forward to reading the rest of the series and immersing myself in Joanna Courtney's wonderful storytelling once more.

Huge thanks to Natasha Harding at Macmillan for sending this book to me and asking me to be part of the blog tour.

Learn more about the author on her gorgeous website http://www.joannacourtney.com/ or connect with her on twitter at @joannacourtney1

Bellman & Black by Diane Setterfield

It's a number of years since I first read Diane Setterfield's debut The Thirteenth Tale and I enjoyed it so much I have recommended it to many others since, friends, family and customers alike I even listed it in my top five reads of all time which believe me was not an easy list to compile.
So of course I jumped at the chance to read an early review copy of her next book Bellman & Black which will be published by Orion this October in time for Halloween. I dived straight in to find a glorious slice of Victoriana layered with gothic suspense and mystery. The story opens with the last dying moments of William Bellman as his life flashes before him. He remembers being a ten year old playing in the cemetery with his friends and firing a stone at a rook with his catapult. He knocks the bird to the ground and instantly feels that he has crossed a line. Death has entered William's young life and it follows him through the years. The image of the rook, of the cemetery of the mourning clothes and all the trappings of the Victorian cult of mourning recur throughout the story and lead William to open an emporium of mourning, the first department store dedicated to funerals; black hats and gloves, coffins, black edged stationary can all be purchased at Bellman & Black. This novel is a glorious return for a wonderful and talented writer.