Anangokaa by Cameron Alam follows a 14-year-old Scottish girl, Flora MacCallum, newly arrived with her family in the Canadian wilderness in 1804. The novel opens with Flora emerging from a grave illness (I suspect malaria or smallpox) of which her parents and one of her sisters did not survive. Flora, her older brother Hugh, and… Continue reading Review: Anangokaa by Cameron Alam
The War Girls by V. S. Alexander opens at the start of WWII and follows Stefa, a Polish Jew in Warsaw, Janka a Catholic in Warsaw, and Hanna, Stefa's sister who fled her home before the war to live with her aunt in London. There is quite an over saturation of WWII stories, so I… Continue reading Review: The War Girls by V.S. Alexander
The Witches of Vardo by Anya Bergman is based on the true story of the witch trials of Vardo in northern Norway, in the 17th century. I did not know about these particular witch trials, and the fact that this book took place in Norway drew me in further. Within the Arctic circle, Vardo is… Continue reading Review: The Witches of Vardo by Anya Bergman
Daughters of Nantucket by Julie Gerstenblatt follows three women during Nantucket's Great Fire of 1846: Eliza Macy, the once-wealthy but now financially ruined wife of an absent whaling captain. Maria Mitchell, librarian and archivist at Nantucket's Atheneum. Meg Wright, a free black woman who fights for her family's right to own a business on main… Continue reading Review: Daughters of Nantucket by Julie Gerstenblatt
Click the image to read my review of The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley on Journal of the American Revolution.
The Once and Future Sex: Going Medieval on Women's Roles in Society by Eleanor Janega, professor of Medieval and Early Modern History at the London School of Economics, explores the roles of women in medieval society in terms of sexuality, beauty standards, occupations, religion, and much more. Dr. Janega writes in an accessible way, so… Continue reading Review: The Once and Future Sex by Eleanor Janega
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
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
I couldn't resist returning to the world of the Jacobite Chronicles, this time with The Highlander's Tale: Alex. This book follows Alex as a young boy coming of age with the MacGregor Clan on the banks of Loch Lomond. Hisfather, MacGregor Clan chieftain, teaches him and his brother Duncan the ways of cattle reiving, swordmanship,… Continue reading Review: The Highlander’s Tale: Alex by Julia Brannan
Daughter of the King by Kerry Chaput follows French Huguenot (Protestant) Isabelle Collete as she continually fights for survival in a Catholic country. Opening in La Rochelle, France in 1661, Isabelle and her mother are all that remain of their family. Huguenots are being persecuted, tortured, and killed in the streets. Everyday, Isabelle walks the… Continue reading Review: Daughter of the King by Kerry Chaput
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