Princess: The Six Daughters of George III by Flora Fraser tells the little-known lives and trials of Princesses Royal (Charlotte,) Augusta, Elizabeth, Sophia, Amelia, and Mary. The daughters of George III came of age during great changes in the British Empire, and experienced great changes themselves--outside of the norm for 18th/19th century princesses. What is… Continue reading Review: Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III by Flora Fraser
Golden Hill opens in 1746 Manhattan and follows the mysterious and enigmatic Mr. Smith. Smith keeps both the characters and reader guessing his motives and identity, as he arrives in New York with a voucher for a sum of money larger than anyone of his age and station should have. It is important to… Continue reading Review: Golden Hill: A Novel of Old New York by Francis Spufford
Bomb Girls by Jacky Hyams examines the important, yet often forgotten work of the female munitions factory workers in the UK during WWII. Hyams provides historical context and research as a foundation before the book moves into real accounts from women who worked in the factories. Hyams interviewed several women who worked in munitions… Continue reading Review: Bomb Girls: Britains’ Secret Army: The Munitions Women of World War II by Jacky Hyams
Slammerkin tells the story of teenaged Mary Saunders in 18th century London, who resorts to a life of selling her body in an effort to move past her working class, poverty stricken upbringing. The first thing I want to say is that Emma Donoghue is such a talented writer. I hadn't read anything by… Continue reading Review: Slammerkin by Emma Donoghue
I haven't gotten into the habit of reviewing non-fiction books, as I often find them hard to review in the same way I review fiction. Nevertheless, I will try to make more of an effort to do so. Never Caught seems like an exception to me, though. Dunbar has written what I would classify… Continue reading Review: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge by Erica Armstrong Dunbar
Enchantress of Numbers tells the true story of [Augusta] Ada Byron King, the daughter of the famous poet, growing up in the shadow of the famous father she never knew. I admit I did not know much about Ada or Byron historically, so it was certainly interesting to read how liberal and pioneering Ada and… Continue reading Review: Enchantress of Numbers by Jennifer Chiaverini
See my review at the Journal of the American Revolution!
As we well know, Captain Phasma was grossly underused in The Force Awakens. We were teased with marketing hype for this amazing-looking character, and what we got was a glorified extra who was implausibly bested by a rookie trooper with a blaster. Phasma by Delilah S. Dawson rights what TFA got wrong, or rather, what it didn't… Continue reading Review: Phasma by Delilah S. Dawson
I don't know how I didn't discover Beverly Swerling until now, but wow--Shadowbrook was right up my alley! Scouring Amazon for 18th Century fiction paid off! Shadowbrook takes place during the Seven Years War (French and Indian War), and for anyone who doesn't know, I have an obsession with the Daniel Day-Lewis version of… Continue reading Review: Shadowbrook by Beverly Swerling
Inferno Squad by Christie Golden is the prequel to the highly anticipated Battlefront II game, and follows the conception of the elite Imperial Inferno Squadron and its first undercover mission. What's interesting about main character Iden Versio and Inferno Squad as a whole is the idea of humanizing the Empire. Through Iden, we come… Continue reading Review: Battlefront II: Inferno Squad by Christie Golden
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