Mayflower Chronicles: The Tale of Two Cultures by Kathryn Brewster Haueisen straddles the line between fiction and non-fiction in telling the intertwining stories of the English religious rebels and the Pokanoket people and how these cultures clashed. There are two interesting points about the author, Kathryn Brewster Haueisen. She is the descendant of the… Continue reading Review: Mayflower Chronicles: The Tale of Two Cultures by Kathryn Brewster Haueisen
The Brief and True Report of Temperance Flowerdew by Denise Heinze is a short (hey, the title doesn't lie) and vibrant read about two women surviving in the starving Jamestown colony in 1609. Temperance Flowerdew and her maid, Lily, set out with the Virginia Company fleet to sail across the ocean for a second chance… Continue reading Review: The Brief and True Report of Temperance Flowerdew by Denise Heinze
Cursed by Thomas Wheeler (illustrations by Frank Miller) is a unique spin on the Arthurian legend in which Nimue, the Lady of the Lake, becomes the wielder of the Sword of Power and eventual Queen of the Fey. The main antagonists in this novel are the Church and the Red Paladins, Uther Pendragon and… Continue reading Review: Cursed by Thomas Wheeler
Glorious Boy highlights a place often overlooked in WWII fiction: the Andaman Islands. Located between India and Thailand, the Andamans were part of British Colonial India. On the eve of WWII, American Anthropologist Claire marries British surgeon Shep Durant. Shep is soon posted to the Andamans as a colonial doctor, and Claire takes the opportunity… Continue reading Review: Glorious Boy by Aimee Liu
Queen's Peril by E. K. Johnston is the follow-up to the acclaimed Queen's Shadow, although a prequel. Queen's Peril starts when Padme (Naberrie) Amidala is elected Queen of Naboo and finishes with the end of Episode I: The Phantom Menace. While QP was a quick, entertaining read (Padme, the handmaidens, and Naboo are my happy… Continue reading Review: Queen’s Peril by E. K. Johnston
More Miracle Than Bird by Alice Miller tells the true story of Georgie Hyde-Lees, who at the age of 25, married famous Irish poet W.B. Yeats (then 52.) Miller's narrative focuses on Georgie working as a nurse in London during WWI. While trying to strike it out on her own at the soldier's hospital,… Continue reading Review: More Miracle Than Bird by Alice Miller
The Secrets We Kept is a book about one of my favorite books: Doctor Zhivago. In 2002, I discovered Docotor Zhivago through the 2002 mini series with Keira Knightley. I fell in love with the story and then read the book, and I instantly became obsessed. Doctor Zhivago was a huge creative and literary influence… Continue reading Review: The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott
Little by Edward Carey tells the extraordinary, fascinating origin story of the real Madame Tussaud: Marie Grosholtz. Some people may not know that Madame Tussaud was a real person, as she seems more like a legend given the various wax museums around the world bearing her name. Marie was real (referred to by the nickname… Continue reading Review: Little by Edward Carey
Also known as Daughter of Albion: A Novel of Ancient Britain in other countries. Skin by Ilka Tampke takes place in the 1st century AD, when the Roman Empire began to encroach upon the British Isles. Although rooted in the history and culture of ancient tribal Britain, Tampke weaves a magical element into the story… Continue reading Review: Skin by Ilka Tampke
Mary Toft; or, The Rabbit Queen by Dexter Palmer fictionalizes the true story of an 18th century Englishwoman who convinced doctors of all rankings--even the King's own--that she could birth rabbits. This unique historical nugget seems stranger than fiction, and Palmer vividly fills in the blanks and the world in which Mary Toft conducts… Continue reading Review: Mary Toft; or, The Rabbit Queen by Dexter Palmer
