Book Reviews

Reviews of recent books, both literary and historical fiction

• Book Review: My Name is Emilia del Valle by Isabel Allende
  Born in 1866, Emilia del Valle Claro is brought up by poor but hard working parents in San Francisco’s Mission District. She is determined to escape the expectations of a woman of her time and class, and starts to write popular crime novels under the name of Brandon J Price. Using the same male identity… Read more: Book Review: My Name is Emilia del Valle by Isabel Allende
• Book Review: The Lost Passenger by Frances Quinn
  It is 1912 and Elinor Coombes, wealthy and clever but unsophisticated, finds herself trapped in a loveless marriage with an impoverished aristocrat. The only solace in her life is her infant son Teddy, but her access to him is limited and she dreads the day when he will be sent away to school against her… Read more: Book Review: The Lost Passenger by Frances Quinn
• Book Review: The Book of Days by Francesca Kay
  The year is 1546 and in an English village a dying man has commissioned the building of a chantry chapel where prayers will be said for his eternal soul. The building of the chapel – and the inevitable disruption to the existing church – dominates the lives of the village and of his household. As… Read more: Book Review: The Book of Days by Francesca Kay
• Book Review: Run To The Western Shore By Tim Pears
  It is the year 72 CE, and Olwen, the headstrong daughter of a local chieftain, has been promised to the Roman governor of Britannia as part of a peace treaty. Together with Quintus, an enslaved Roman, she flees the army camp and sets off towards the coast. Olwen is fierce and warrior-like, and has a… Read more: Book Review: Run To The Western Shore By Tim Pears
• Book Review: The Ghost Ship By Kate Mosse
  17th century Europe wasn’t the best place for an independent, unconventional woman. It was even more problematic if she had a love of the sea, and a burning desire to sail in her own ship. Louise Reydon-Joubert, the central character of The Ghost Ship, faces these problems, and more. She is haunted by her family’s… Read more: Book Review: The Ghost Ship By Kate Mosse