ReadingAdventures

This is the first stand alone Nora Roberts book that I have read, and whilst it was enjoyable I didn't think it measured up to either the Chesapeake Bay books or the Born In trilogy that I read earlier.

When the Lusitania sank, more than one thousand people died. One passenger, however, survived to become a changed man, giving up his life as a petty thief but keeping a small silver statue that would become a family heirloom to future generations.

Now, nearly a century later, that heirloom, one of a priceless, long-separated set of three, has been snatched away from the Sullivans. And Malachi, Gideon, and Rebecca Sullivan are determined to recover their great-great-grandfather's treasure, reunite the Three Fates, and make their fortune.

The quest will take them from their home in Ireland to Helsinki, Prague, and New York and introduce them to a formidable female professor whose knowledge of Greek mythology will aid them in their quest; to a daring exotic dancer who sees the Fates as her chance at a new life; and to a seductive security expert who knows how to play high-tech cat-and-mouse. And it will pit them in a suspenseful fight against an ambitious woman who will stop at nothing to acquire the Fates.

Fast-paced and full of the romance and passion for which she's famous, Three Fates is Nora Roberts at her adventurous best-an unforgettable tale of luck, love, and the fateful decisions that shape
our lives.

Whilst this book was enjoyable I couldn't help feeling that the author had made a story too complex to be able to hold all the strings in hand and get a successful resolution in only 300 odd pages. First of all we have the three Sullivan children, Malachi, Gideon and Rebecca. As they pursue the three silver statues around the world they meet and fall in love with a nervous academic specialising in Greek mythology named Tia, a sexy exotic dancer named Cleo and a self made millionaire by the name of Jack. It was a big ask to combine three romances, and a suspense plot in only one book, and for the most part Nora Roberts is successful at it, although I have to say that I didn't feel the chemistry between Gideon and Cleo all that much. Interestingly for all the world travel, I didn't get much of a feel for many of the places that are featured in the book. Basically, you knew that they were in Prague or Helsinki or wherever and that was about it.

As the six characters fight to keep the Three Fates out of the hands of ruthless business woman Anita Gaye, they are united with bonds that will seem to hold for a lifetime. As they try to stay one step ahead of the double crossing Anita, the game turns deadly, and they all must remain aware at all times. By working together can they come up with a plan clever enough to beat Anita and stay alive.

The suspense element was quite well done with several twists along the way. The idea of lives, both past and current, being drawn together by these three little statues is a good one, and Roberts' execution isn't bad, but in the end I think it was too complex a story for the format, and the length of the book.

Rating 3.5/5

This is one of Mary Balogh's older books that has recently been rereleased. On her website she says that "is often named by long-time readers as one of their favorites among my books". I'm afraid that I am going to disagree!

Mary Balogh has no equal when it comes to capturing the complex, irresistible passions between men and women. Her classic novel, The Secret Pearl, is one of the New York Times bestselling author’s finest–a tale of temptation and seduction, of guarded hearts and raw emotion…and of a love so powerful it will take your breath away….

He first spies her in the shadows outside a London theatre, a ravishing creature forced to barter her body to survive.

To the woman known simply as Fleur, the well-dressed gentleman with the mesmerizing eyes is an unlikely savior. And when she takes
the stranger to her bed, she never expects to see him again. But then Fleur accepts a position as governess to a young girl…and is stunned to discover that her midnight lover is a powerful nobleman. As two wary hearts ignite–and the threat of scandal hovers over them – one question remains: will she be mistress or wife?

Fleur is a desperate young woman. She thinks that she has killed a man and has fled from her home, expecting at any moment to be arrested for murder to have her fate sealed at the hand of the hangman. When she hasn't eating for two days she feels she has only two options. The first is to give up and die, the second to fight for life, anyway she can. So she goes to Covent Garden to hopefully make some cash to be able to survive for the next few days at least.

Adam is married to his Duchess Sybil in name only and has a very precocious child, Pamela, who is one of those terribly not cute children that populate romance novels. When his brother returns his marriage once more turns a corner towards more unhappiness.

After Fleur has been at the Duke's residence at Willoughby, she finally finds out that the man who has employed her was the same man who now taunts her in her nightmares, but she is still safe, that is until a few weeks later, when her accuser tracks her down and then attempts to blackmail her. When Adam finds out he sets out to find out the truth of the matter, unveiling many secrets along the way.

I have a real problem with the hero of this book. I can see why some readers would like him - he is damaged both emotionally from his unhappy marriage to his ill wife, and physically from wounds he received at the Battle of Waterloo. I guess my main problem is with his treatment of Fleur. When he first sees Fleur she is trying to offer herself as a prostitute for the first time. Adam engages her, and then roughly welcomes her to the world of sex. Granted that he has no way of knowing that she is a virgin, and he has no reason to think that she is anything other than a seasoned prostitute. He does then seek her out and employ her as his daughter's governess, which in some eyes I guess would redeem him, but I guess what really annoyed me was that later in the book he says that he recognised her as the love of his life the second that he saw her standing in the shadows of Covent Gardens. If that is the case, why did he treat her so badly. Yes, he redeemed himself to an extent by giving her a respectable job, and by tracking down the truth but for me it just wasn't enough.

That doesn't mean that there weren't some lovely moments as Fleur begins to learn to trust him. There is a scene in a carriage where they just link little fingers that I thought was lovely, but those scenes are not enough to redeem Adam in my eyes. Luckily fate provided the means to a happily ever after!

Rating 3.5/5

I first read this book when I was about 13 or 14 for school. Kailana was talking about it to me one day during a conversation that we were having and as soon as she mentioned it I was like I have to reread this book!!

The summer that Patty Bergen turns twelve is a summer that will haunt her forever. When her small hometown in Arkansas becomes the site of a camp housing German prisoners during World War II, Patty learns what it means to open her heart. Even though she's Jewish, she begins to see a prison escapee,
Anton, not as a Nazi, but as a lonely, frightened young man with feelings not unlike her own.

In Anton, Patty finds someone who softens the pain of her own father's rejection and who appreciates her in a way her mother never
will. While patriotic feelings run high, Patty risks losing family, friends -- even her freedom -- for this dangerous friendship. It is a risk she has to take and one she will have to pay a price to keep

I did have some recollection of the basics of the story when I started reading it, but I have to say that I was very surprised by how vicious Patti's father really is to her, and the reasons why Patti isn't really loved by her family is never explored or answered. I don' t remember thinking about this when I read it the first time around at all (of course that is a LONG time ago!)

The Bergen's are the only Jewish family in their small Arkansas town and Patti has always known that she is different. Her father runs the local store, and Patti tries to help out when she can to try and gain some approval from her father. One day she gets to serve a young German POW when a group of them come in to the store to buy some hats.

When the same young man escapes from prison, Patti sees him running along the railway tracks, Patti gives him a hiding place, and starts to befriend him, feeding him and spending time with him in his hiding place.

This is not only a look at the unlikely friendship between a young Jewish girl and a German POW, but also between Patti and her family's African-American servant, who is the only person apart from Anton who seems to value Patti.

I was left with an overwhelming feeling of sadness for this young girl who was living in an abusive family, and wondered how she would ever get to a point in her life where she could be successful and happy. There is a sequel to the book, but I haven't been able to locate it anywhere here.

Reading it did, however, make me think about rereads in general a little. This is the first reread for me this year, and it was a book that I read over twenty years ago. That doesn't mean to say that I haven't tried to reread other books this year. I have tried to reread two of my favourite books and the thing that seems to happen is that I really enjoy the book, and then I put it down, and something that I haven't read calls my name and that is it! Maybe I am just not cut out for rereads.....at least not whole books! I do reread the good bits of certain books though!!! So why do I keep all of these books? Maybe a just in case thing I think.

Rating for this book 4/5

I am only now getting into buying things off of eBay. So far I have bought a couple of books (both hard to find Jennifer Crusie books), and an MP3 player! Yes...I joined the 21st century. I don't think I am doing too badly really seeing as I only just got a CD Walkman six months ago! The first audiobook to get the MP3 treatment was Naked in Death, the first of the mega popular In Death books by Nora Roberts writing as J D Robb. And I have to say that it is an experience that I will be undertaking again! It was fantastic. I listened whilst I did the dishes, folded the clothes, put washing on! My house actually looked clean for.....oh, about two hours - something quite out of the ordinary given that if I am not on the net talking about reading, I am usually reading! Anyway, enough of that!

Eve Dallas is a New York police lieutenant hunting for a ruthless killer. In over ten years on the force, she's seen it all - and knows that her survival depends on her instincts. And she's going against every warning telling her not to get involved with Roarke, an Irish billionaire - and a suspect in Eve's murder investigation. But passion and seduction have rules of their own, and it's up to Eve to take a chance in the arms of a man she knows nothing about - except the addictive hunger of needing his touch.

It didn't take very much arm twisting to get me to pick up the first book in this series. I had been meaning to for a while but hadn't got around to it so when I was at the library a couple of weeks ago and saw this on audiobook I thought I would give it a go.

Set in New York in 2058, the author takes a lot of time in this books world building, establishing a world where technology has taken control, real coffee is as rare as gold and almost as expensive. When the granddaughter of a powerful senator is found dead, murdered using an antique handgun from the 1980's, Lieutenant Eve Dallas is assigned as the primary investigator despite the fact that she has just had a very shocking experience where she has had to kill a perpetrator. Because of her family, Eve is under a lot more pressure to get a result and at times it feels as though she is being manipulated by unknown sources either within the police force or externally. It seems as though there is a very obvious suspect - the extremely rich, successful and sexy Irish multimillionaire known just as Roarke, a man with a mysterious past!

There is a clue saying "one of six" left behind therefore when a second girl and then a third girl who was working as a licensed companion (ie prostitute) is found murdered, Eve knows that it is a race against the clock. The only link appears to be the professions of the girls, they didn't appear to know each other at all - very puzzling. However it then appears that the clues are pointing into the very highest level of power within the city and the country and it to Roarke that Eve turns to assistance.

Is it too early to say that I really liked Roarke and that I can't wait get to know him better. I loved the interaction between Eve and Roarke and the fact that even though Eve is a strong woman with very high emotional walls erected around her, Roarke is not afraid to show his own strength to give her what she needs, even if she doesn't know that she needs it!

Whilst I did really enjoy this book, there was one aspect of the storyline that disturbed me which I won't say anything about in case of spoiling. Now that I am aware that this is an issue that I will be prepared for and I won't be so affected by it going forward!

Overall a very enjoyable listen! Now, off to rip the next audiobook!

Rating 4/5

It would appear that the state of historical fiction is pretty good here in Australia. Today the five nominations for The Miles Franklin Award 2006 were announced and all five of them are historical fiction.

The nominations are:

The Secret River by Kate Grenville

Historical novel set in the early years of the settlement of NSW, and follows the life and times of William Thornhill, who was sentenced in 1806 to be transported to NSW for the term of his natural life. With his wife and children, he eventually takes up land on the Hawkesbury River, and it’s this phrase, ‘takes up land’, that Kate Grenville examines, because it’s a phrase that doesn’t instantly invoke the risk and bloodshed that actually happened.

The Wing of the Night by Brenda Walker

The novel is mainly set in the farming communities of the south west of Western Australia where women were left to run farms. They formed strong bonds with their neighbours which transcended class divisions.

The book also explores what it was like for the men who survived the war and returned home.


Everyman's Rules for Scientific Living by Carrie Tiffany

Living off the land must be scientifically based. If you don’t do it properly, you fail. In the old days you’d starve. In the 1930s, a train carrying experts travelled across the countryside dispensing knowledge in the confident expectation that crop yields could be increased. This is the setting for an extraordinary novel by Carrie Tiffany, just published here and abroad.

The Ballad of Desmond Kale by Roger McDonald

Roger's latest novel delves into the tough and vibrant landscape that was the setting for the colony of New South Wales' emerging wool industry. In 'The Ballad Of Desmond Kale' two tough men - Kale, an Irish political prisoner and Parson/Magistrate Matthew Stanton become arch rivals as they both endeavour to produce the finest wool ever produced in New South Wales.


The Garden Book by Brian Castro

Brian Castro's new novel is set in the Dandenong Ranges in the years between the Depression and the Second World War. The story revolves around Swan hay, born Shuang He, daughter of a country schoolteacher, her marriage to the passionate and brutal Darcy Damon, and her love affair with the aviator and architect Jasper Zenlin. Fifty years after her disappearance, Norman Shih, a rare book librarian, pieces together Swan's chaotic life from clues found in guest house libraries, antiquarian bookshops and her own elusive writings. But what exactly is he hoping to find?


Of these the only one I have read is The Secret River and it was quite a good read. As for the others...well, I have added another four items to my TBR list! I'm excited at the prospect of discovering four new authors as well.

Previous winners of the award include Patrick White, Andrew McGahan, Thomas Kenneally and Tim Winton.

The fifth entry in the Amelia Peabody mysteries following on from Lion in the Valley, this time our mystery is set in London, instead of Egypt. I think I am correct in saying that this is the only one of the entire series of something like 18 books that is set predominantly in England (but I could be wrong!)

Can fear kill? There are those who believe so--but Amelia Peabody is skeptical. A respected Egyptologist and amateur sleuth, Amelia has foiled felonious schemes from Victoria's England to the Middle East. And she doubts that it was a Nineteenth-Dynasty mummy's curse that caused the death of a night watchman in the British Museum. The corpse was found sprawled in the mummy's shadow, a look of terror frozen on the guard's face. What--or who--killed the unfortunate man is a mystery that seems too intriguingly delicious for Amelia to pass up, especially now that she, her dashing archaeologist husband, Emerson, and their precocious son, Ramses, are back on Britain's shores. But a contemporary curse can be as lethal as one centuries old--and the foggy London thoroughfares can be as treacherous as the narrow, twisting alleyways of Cairo after dark--when a perpetrator of evil deeds sets his murderous sights on his relentless pursuer...Amelia Peabody!

What a hoot this book was! The Emersons are on their way home after another successful season in Egypt. Before they even leave Egypt though, Professor Radcliffe Emerson (although you should never actually call him Radcliffe) sees the story of a mysterious death at the British Museum in the newspapers, and he warns his wife that they will not become involved, because he MUST finish his manuscript to send the Oxford University Press. Of course, Emerson knows all too well that he might not have any say in the matter.

Instead of the bazaars of Egypt this time we are treated to the streets around St James' Park, the hallowed hallways of The British Museum, and mansions of Mayfair, as well as some of the less salubrious parts of London! Soon, there is not only the death of the night watchman, but also of one of the curators from the Museum, whose body was found at the bottom of Cleopatra's Needle on the Embankment, threats to Emerson and others, and a very mysterious priest who keeps on appearing just in time to titillate the public enough to keep the story on the front pages. Of course, it doesn't help that both Kevin O'Connell and M M Mintern are constantly trying to recruit Amelia to their respective newspapers as their resident expert. But then Miss Mintern disappears, and it turns out that she is not really who she appears to be. Is her disappearance connected to the case. Is she safe? And when Emerson takes Peabody to an opium den who is the mysterious woman that he knows. Of course, Amelia knows that she should be worried, shouldn't be jealous, but she doesn't know if she can help herself.

Emerson was relieved that this time it appeared that there was no involvement of the aristocracy in the case - In fact for the longest time he refused to acknowledge that there was a case to be investigated. He was also relieved that there was no love struck young people for Amelia to meddle in the relationships. Could it be true??

This was such a fun read, with many laugh out loud moments, including when Emerson appears to be seducing Amelia, but then locks her in her bedroom much to her indignation, so that he can at least get a head start on her. Ramses also features in this book, and in fact starts to become a master of disguises himself. Interestingly, there are two other children in this book - Amelia's niece Violet and her nephew Percy who come to stay with Amelia for the summer. Even this eventuality may not be as simple as it seems.

This is the first of these books that I have listened to on audiobook, and I have to say that I loved the experience. The narrator, Barbara Rosenblat, does such a fantastic job with the vocals, getting just the right amount of plumminess in her upper crust English accents, plus brogue in her Irish, and adding an extra layer of enjoyment that I wasn't expecting to hear!

Amelia is a very lucky woman, as she constantly tells us, to have the love of her fantastic husband Emerson, and the author gives us enough information to know that they are very satisfied in every sense of the word, without feeling the need to show us any details. I am very much looking forward to reading (or maybe even listening to) the next Amelia Peabody adventure!

What the devil....I think I will give this a rating of 4.5/5

Because I tend to like to read book series in order I am working my way up to Worth Any Price by Lisa Kleypas. This book is where we first meet the hero of that book, Nick Gentry.

Why is Lady Sophia looking for a lover?
And could she seduce the most marriageable man in London?

Lady Sophia Sydney would do anything to ensnare the unattainable Sir Ross Cannon. Her goal -- to ruin his reputation and cause a scandal that would be the talk of all London. So she insinuates herself into his life by gaining his trust and living in his house.

She knows he is falling more in love with her each day. But she never counted on falling in love with him. And she never dreamed he might very respectably ask for her hand in marriage...

When Sophia Sydney approaches Sir Ross Cannon for a job he is instantly attracted to her, in a way that surprises him. He knows that she is not quite telling him the truth about why she wants a job, but he dismisses his doubts and hires her anyway. As for Sophia her plan is to gain revenge on her for destroying her brother.

I have to say that the visual picture that I had of Sir Ross Cannon that we met in Someone to Watch Over Me was not of a very fit, dashing man of just under 40 years of age. I can't remember if we ever did get a description of Ross, but my imagination had him as a much older man, maybe a bit portly, balding so it was as much a surprise to me as it was to Sophia! When Sir Ross is shot whilst pursuing a criminal, Sophia becomes his nurse, and their growing attraction to each other is fostered.

As for Sophia, there were various times in the book that I wished that Sophia would just talk to Ross and tell him the truth about things she had found out, particularly in relation to her brother.

Whilst I didn't dislike this book, it wasn't great, maybe because I was seeing it a mere stepping stone to Worth Any Price which comes highly recommended! I do, however, have a problem. When I added all of Kleypas' books to my TBR list I checked which books were available from the library and which ones weren't. WAP was listed as being in the one I use most regularly. When I went to request it today...no trace! Darn, darn! In the end I have ordered it new. Hopefully I should get it soon!

Rating 3.5/5

When I first started reading romance again, Celeste Bradley was one of the first authors who I bought. I bought the first book in the Royal Four series (To Wed a Scandalous Spy) and then got all the books in The Liar's Club series and enjoyed them all (The Pretender was my favourite) and then I got the second book in The Royal Four series, and suddenly found that I didn't really like it anywhere as near as the rest. It was therefore with some trepidation that I bought One Night With A Spy not too long go. I am pleased to say that even though it was nowhere near as good as some of her earlier books, it was nowhere near as disappointing as Surrender to a Wicked Spy...somewhere in the middle!

The Royal Four are spies without compare—daring, dangerous, beholden only to the King. With the fate of the Crown in their charge, no temptation can interfere with the mission at hand. But as one spy is about to discover, some women refuse to play by the rules...and the results can be sinfully pleasurable…

ONE NIGHT WITH A SPY

For years, Lady Julia Barrowby has acted the part of an old man’s ornamental bride, never revealing that she has secretly helped the ailing Lord Barrowby in his work with the Royal Four. Now that her husband has died, Julia believes his place in the Four is hers by right. But convincing the remaining members will not be easy, especially with Marcus Ramsay, Lord Dryden, distracting her at every turn. Somehow, the mysterious Marcus seems to see into her very soul, effortlessly satisfying all her secret, forbidden longings…

Marcus stood next in line to be chosen for the Four, and he is not willing to be displaced by a woman, no matter how intriguing or beautiful she may be. Under orders to investigate Julia, Marcus discovers her diary, overflowing with years of loneliness and yearning. Fulfilling Julia’s fantasies is the perfect way to get closer to her, but seducing this fascinating creature is fast becoming more than a means to an end—it is his soul’s deepest desire…

Marcus, Lord Dryden is determined to become the next Fox, one of the members of the all powerful Royal Four, men who had their fingers on the pulse of just about every thing going on in England. It shouldn't be too difficult, after all he had done his apprenticeship - it was his for the taking. Or was it? Julia Barrowby had, in all but name, been acting as The Fox for the last three years. Her late husband, a much older man, had been officially The Fox, but he had chosen his own apprentice well and as he became more and more incapacitated Julia had taken over. Julia had links to the people who travelled in the fairs around the country, providing her with a large spy network of loyal people to let her know what was going on and where.

Since her husband's death, Julia has been inundated with young men who wish to gain her favour, and her estate, and it is to this group of men Marcus attaches himself in his current guise as Marcus Blythe-Goodman. Soon Marcus is only one of two serious contenders for Julia's affection. When a series of things starts going wrong (privies blowing up, wells being contaminated) Marcus and his main rival stay around to assist Julia and to try to protect her. It turns out that Julia has a pet lion and all of her servants are actually former members of the travelling troupe (acrobats etc). Marcus, however, has an advantage over his rival - he has read Julia's secret diaries which details her privatest fantasies, and Marcus was determined to be her fantasy man.

The problem for Julia is that no matter how well she performs her role, she does not meet all the criteria - for she comes from a humble background, being Jilly the horseback rider before she became the wife of Aldus Barrowby. Being betrayed by Marcus is almost enough to destroy his spirit, but not quite! Given all the lies that have been between them, what hope is there that they can be together.

Julia was a good character - intelligent, beautiful and yet more innocent than she appeared, and Marcus was great fun. I guess there wasn't a lot of honesty between them but the fact was that they were rivals for the same position, and Marcus was actively trying to find information to discredit Julia, so that lack of honesty was probably understandable.

Sometimes Celeste Bradley seems to try a bit too hard to be funny, and there were glimpses of that here again, but for the most part the author manages to control herself during this outing, in a way that the last book could really have benefitted from!

Overall, this was entertaining. I will get the next book so that I can have the complete set, however, if it isn't good then there is a fair chance that I won't be buying the next series that Bradley writes.

Rating 3.5/5

Leningrad, September 1941. German forces surround the city, imprisoning those who live there. The besieged city of Leningrad face shells, starvation and the Russian winter.

Interweaving two love affairs in two generations, The Siege draws us deep into the Levin family's struggle to stay alive during this terrible winter. What is it like to be so hungry you simmer your leather manicure case to make soup, so cold you burn first your furniture and then your books? An in spite of everything to resist...

The Siege is a brilliantly imagined novel about war and the wounds it inflicts on ordinary people's lives. It is also a profoundly moving celebration of love, life and survival.

The main characters in this book are the Levins - Mikhail, a writer who is unfortunately out of favour with the Communist authorities, his daughter Anna who is a talented artist who works as a child care worker and 5 year old Kolya, her brother. Her mother having died during childbirth, Anna is both her brother's sister and substitute mother, and provider for the family.

When war is declared Anna is at the family dacha, working in the family vegetable plot, and just beginning a portrait of the mysterious actress Marina Petrovna. As war goes on, the little family grows as Marina comes to join the Levin's in their apartment. What is her connection to Anna's family? Is Anna right to feel the animosity for Marina that she does? Is it right to accept the gifts of food that Marina has brought with her that will in the end help keep them alive? Eventually, Anna's doctor boyfriend Andrei also moves in. She met him when he comes to tell her that her father had been wounded when working out at the defense line against the Germans who have encircled Leningrad, and who are gradually tightening the screws on an increasingly desperate population.

The aspect of this book that Dunmore did excel at were the pictures that she drew of the population as they went through the various phases of The Siege. The initial disbelief that they were at war, the feeling of still having to be careful about what you say even as you are working at the front lines to provide defense against the oncoming Germans, the repatriation of the children of Leningrad only to find them needing to be repatriated back to Leningrad when it turns out that they were in the way of the advancing Germans. As the war and the siege proceeds, the desperation becomes more intense as each person gets meagre rations of what is loosely called bread, and as the winter progresses, means of keeping warm. Eventually the only way for supplies to get in is over the Road of Life, over the frozen ice of Lake Ladoga. When the siege of Leningrad began there were approximately 3 million people living there...a million people died before the siege was lifted!

Where this novel didn't excel in my opinion, is in the relationships. Reading the back cover I was expecting that the relationships would be given a major focus, and yet they weren't. The book was a quarter of the way through before Anna and Andrei even met, and the relationship between Mikhail and Marina was mainly alluded to through the later part of the book. It was really a relationship from the past, as opposed to one that has been rekindled and explored with the reader.

My question to myself is really....if I had read this book before I read The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons, would I have liked it more than I did. I'm not sure what the answer is. All I can say is that The Siege pails in comparison to The Bronze Horseman, even despite the fact that the focus is different in the two books. TBH is all about the relationships, against the elaborate background of the siege in Leningrad, whereas The Siege seems to be about conditions in Leningrad with a nod to the relationships between the two couples in the book. TBH also seems to be better at giving some idea of the grandeur of Leningrad (now St Petersburg), the sights and sounds if you will. (I have had a desire to go to St Petersburg ever since reading TBH...for now I content myself with cyber tourism!)

I'm afraid it will be a long time before I attempt a book with a similar setting to TBH because there aren't many that will stack up against it! I should have known better, I really should have!


Rating 3/5

I have never read any Elizabeth Chadwick novels before even though I have had her on my TBR list for quite some time. When I saw this book sitting on the new releases shelf at the library I thought here is my opportunity! So it then moved to my shelf for the best part of a two and a half months until suddenly I realised that I was not going to be able to extend any further, so I was going to have to either take it back or just get on with it and read it. I chose the latter, and to be honest I am wondering why on earth I didn't read it when I first got it because it was a very enjoyable read!

The book follows William Marshal from the time he is 5 years old through to around 48 years of age (there will be another book to cover from then until his death that the author is currently working on). This is a fictionalised version of his life, taking the events that we do know from history, and then weaving and fleshing out the story into very readable, very enjoyable look at life in the times of the Plantagenet period of English history.

William was the fourth born son of John Marshal (Marshal to King Stephen), and nephew to the Earl of Salisbury. When he was approximately 5 years old William was handed off as to King Stephen as a hostage against his father's promise (not an uncommon event at that time). When William's father did not keep his word, King Stephen had every right to hang William, but he did not. What King Stephen did do was give William what would appear to be his life mantra - A King Values Loyalty.

When he was around 20 years of age William was knighted and began to participate in the tourneys that were part of the life in Northern France. After suffering a setback in his first major tourney, William quickly learns how to fight and win, and build his store of wealth. The author has done a great job at portraying the colour, and the pageant associated with the tourneys, but it was not an easy life, especially for a young man who was born with such limited prospects, and who is living in his uncle's house by his good grace alone. As his success continues and reputation grows, William becomes probably the most successful knight on the tourney circuit. In the epilogue, Chadwick compares the adulation that William Marshal would have received due to his success at the tourneys to that accorded to modern footballers now:

Rather like the sporting heroes of today, the great tourney champions were much in demand and sponsors would pay vast sums of money to have them on their 'team'. The world of high earnings, transfer fees, hero worship and celebrity that, for example, we associate with modern-day football was a concept already embraced by the followers of the tourney circuit in the late twelfth-and early thirteenth century Europe. William Marshal was the David Beckham of his day!

Whilst out riding with the Queen one day, William saves her life when they are attacked by a group of rebels. He is taken captive and is not released until someone pays the price of his release. Once he is released, William is appointed as tutor to the sons of Queen Eleanor, thus beginning a life long service to the Plantagenet family.

His service was to Prince Henry, who was eventually crowned the Young King concurrently with his father King Henry II. This was one of several things that I learnt whilst reading this book. I had no idea that it was the French tradition to crown the heir to the throne, whilst the current King was still alive. Another thing I learned was that tourneys were not at that time held in England because King Henry didn't like them.

If you know anything about the Plantagenet family, you will know that they were practicallly the model of the ultimate dysfunctional family (throughout the events of this book Queen Eleanor is being held as her husbands captive!) and it is not long before Prince Henry was fighting his father, and eventually openly rebelling against him, making alliances with his father's enemies. Whilst William did his best to contain his charge without upsetting him too much, William's enemies saw ideal opportunities to undermine his position and his authority. For with success in the Royal courts comes ambitious jealousy and dangerous gossip to which William falls prey when he is accused of having an affair with the Young Queen Marguerite, Henry's bride and sister of the French king. William is banished from court and begins a period of wandering, mainly making pilgrimages to atone for the sins of the desecration of a chapel that occurred under the order of Henry earlier.

Eventually recalled to court, William once again acts as right hand man to the Young King, knowing that it could well count against him with the King because of the open rebellion between the two Kings, but then the young king Henry is taken ill and dies. William takes time out and journeys to Jerusalem to fulfill the dying wish of his master. There is little known of this time in his life, and this is one area in which Chadwick chooses not to elaborate, keeping this mystery for us as we read through her book. When William returns to court, Henry recognises the loyalty that William displayed to his son and appoints him to his court, again rising to a position of authority and influence. And then it seemed that the cycle began again, this time with the rebellion between King Henry and his now heir Richard (known to us these days as Richard the Lionheart), and then between King Richard and his brother Prince John who is attempting to undermind Richard through underhanded scheming and dealing as Richard is held hostage in Austria and Prince John attempts to gain the throne any way he could.

Rewarded with various lands and gifts, one of the greatest gifts that William was given was the marriage to Isabel de Clare, bringing both what certainly appeared to be a happy marriage, but also children, lands, and wealth. In order to win this great prize though, William had still had to figure out whether to accept what he was given (for he was originally given another young ward with a view to marriage) or asking for more! He was ably assisted in this regard by Queen Eleanor who was a great champion for his cause.

Not only did William have to tread carefully as he made his way through the Plantagenet court, he also had to deal with his own family, finding himself more often than not on the opposite side of a quarrel to his own brother, and trying to ensure that his family was advanced as much as possible.

There is a great deal to cover to give animation to the facts that are known of the life of this man, and so the author moves through from event to event. There are times when the time difference between two chapters can be several years. Whilst at times I found these jumps a bit distracting and had to go back and check the dates so that I had it straight in my mind, this is probably the only criticism I would give. The William Marshal we meet is highly successful despite the attempts of his enemies to cause his downfall - a man with a very strong sense of integrity, honour and loyalty, who often has to contemplate whether these values will be enough to help in to survive in the very fickle world of court affairs.

Overall this was a very enjoyable read, spending time in the courts of Plantagenet England, one of my favourite eras in English history. I look forward to the second book to be released and will read it as soon as I get hold of it this time, and will be reading more from her!

Rating 4/5