Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell is a novel about William Shakespeare and his family without ever saying the name William Shakespeare. Instead, Maggie O' Farrell weaves a world of natural wonder and splendor, as well as an acknowledgment of the unseen, through the eyes of Agnes (history knows her as Anne Hathaway) and their children Susanna,… Continue reading Review: Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
The House With The Golden Door by Elodie Harper, the sequel to The Wolf Den, follows Amara after she has gained her freedom yet is still held under the control of her wealthy patron. Elodie Harper knocked it out of the park again with the sequel, and I am so invested and ready to read… Continue reading Review: The House With The Golden Door by Elodie Harper
Things Past Telling by Sheila Williams is the sprawling of tale of Little Bird, or Maryam, a girl taken from her home in West Africa in the 18th century and transported to the Americas where she is forced to carve a new life path. The book is loosely inspired by the author's discovery of a… Continue reading Review: Things Past Telling by Sheila Williams
The Swift and the Harrier by Minette Walters follows Jayne Swift, a pioneering physician navigating the English Civil War. The book opens in Dorset in 1642 and progresses through the years of the war. Okay, full disclosure, I gave up half way through. There are just too many books on my to-read to waste my… Continue reading Review: The Swift and the Harrier by Minette Walters
A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice by Rebecca Connolly tells the true, yet largely untold story of Titanic's rescue ship, the Carpathia. When Captain Arthur Rostron is woken in the middle of the night with an urgent message from the Titanic, he pushes his crew and twelve-year-old ship to their limit in a race… Continue reading Review: A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice by Rebecca Connolly
A Woman of Endurance by Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa takes place in mid-19th century Puerto Rico and follows Pola, once named Keera, who is kidnapped from her home on the west coast of Africa and taken across the infamous middle passage. Pola/Keera grew up with a gift of being able to see ones' soul and past via… Continue reading Review: A Woman of Endurance by Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa
Booth by Karen Joy Fowler explores a family made (in)famous by the history-altering actions of John Wilkes Booth. While many know that John Wilkes was an actor, many still may not know (including myself) that he came from a family of actors. His father, Junius Brutus Booth, was a famous Shakespearean actor in London who… Continue reading Review: Booth by Karen Joy Fowler
The Maiden of All Our Desires by Peter Manseau takes place about twenty years after the deadliest stretch of the Black Death in 14th century Europe, as well as incorporates flashbacks occurring just before the start of the plague. While the novel follows Sister/Mother John, Mother Ursula, and Sister Magdalene, the nuns sometimes feel like… Continue reading Review: The Maiden of All Our Desires by Peter Manseau
I really didn't know what to expect when I first started The Night Train to Berlin. I wasn't expecting the present day story line, which I normally wouldn't go for. Everyone has their specific tastes and honestly if I see a historical fiction novel with a present day story line I 98% of the time… Continue reading Review: The Night Train to Berlin
The Wolf Den begins in 74 AD (five years before the famous eruption of Vesuvius,) follows Amara from Aphidnai, Greece, who was sold as a slave by her mother after the death of her doctor father. Amara ends up in Pompeii, working in a brothel known as The Wolf Den, for a manipulative and cruel… Continue reading Review: The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper
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