Although this type of novel isn't really to my taste it was on the bookshelf so I thought that I would give it a go. It is based mostly in France though it begins in the tiny village of Hookton on the south coast in 1342. Following a raid on the village by French soldiers a sacred relic is stolen from the church - an unusual lance which Thomas, son of the local priest, vows to recapture. His adventures in France as an archer take him from Brittany to Normandy to Crecy and the author describes his part in the final battle there, obviously based on the real event whilst Thomas himself is a fictional character. His family history is also something of a puzzle and it is eventually revealed that he is a descendant of a notorious French family.
Cornwell's novel The Last Kingdom was televised recently and in an article in the Radio Times he describes that part of his technique when writing such action stories is to insert a battle here and there when the action slows down and to have a structural plan before he starts. He acquired his technique by dissecting that of writers such as C S Forester, but Cornwell is more than just a storyteller -he gives his characters enough detail to make them live on the page.
If you are a fan of this type of historical action story and enjoy realistic battle details you will enjoy this story and many of his others.
Wednesday, 23 December 2015
Tuesday, 10 November 2015
Master Georgie by Beryl Bainbridge
Photography and war are the central themes of this small book, only 212 pages. Master Georgie of the title is introduced as a teenage son, then becomes the head of the family and, later, a surgeon in the midst of war. Photography was his hobby and each chapter is named after a photograph that gives it inspiration. The photographs are taken by different people - the first by Georgie himself and the last by a friend of his, Pompey Jones.
The time period for the story is from 1846 to 1854 during which the life of the Hardy family in Liverpool is played out up to the Battle of Inkerman in the Crimean War. Each chapter is told from a different narrative perspective - the first from that of Myrtle, an poor orphan taken in by the Hardy family, and the last from Pompey Jones who had similar lowly origins.
The horrors of war are described in an almost matter-of-fact way during which men and horses are despatched with increasing regularity. Various attitudes to women and their place in society are displayed - most of the men in the book allow the women to occupy only a small part of their consciousness apart from Dr Potter, the family doctor, who is always thinking about his wife Beatrice. The actual role that Myrtle plays in the family is hinted at later in the book. Not all of the characters survive the war and those who survive physically are scarred in other ways.
An engrossing read with plenty of historical detail.
The time period for the story is from 1846 to 1854 during which the life of the Hardy family in Liverpool is played out up to the Battle of Inkerman in the Crimean War. Each chapter is told from a different narrative perspective - the first from that of Myrtle, an poor orphan taken in by the Hardy family, and the last from Pompey Jones who had similar lowly origins.
The horrors of war are described in an almost matter-of-fact way during which men and horses are despatched with increasing regularity. Various attitudes to women and their place in society are displayed - most of the men in the book allow the women to occupy only a small part of their consciousness apart from Dr Potter, the family doctor, who is always thinking about his wife Beatrice. The actual role that Myrtle plays in the family is hinted at later in the book. Not all of the characters survive the war and those who survive physically are scarred in other ways.
An engrossing read with plenty of historical detail.
Monday, 19 October 2015
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
This book is in line with my current penchant for reading historical novels that have an element of family history and a mystery to solve. It was originally published in Australia in 2008 and was the author's second novel, the first being The House at Riverton .
This ambitious book has a complex storyline spanning at least three time periods and is about three generations of women linked to the wealthy Mountrachet family of Cornwall. Chronologically the story begins with a brother and sister, Linus and Georgiana Mountrachet, in the early 1900s and ends in 2005 with Cassandra, grand-daughter of the mysterious Nell, whose origins have been covered over by time.
The writer weaves her stories from three different time periods. In 1913 a four year old girl is found abandoned on an Australian harbourside after making the perilous journey from England. The harbour master takes her home and she is to become the first of a family of daughters that the man and his wife will have together - he names her Nell.
In 1975 Nell is an old lady having lived and married in Australia with a daughter and grand-daughter - but she decides to make that return trip to England to find the truth about her history. She has hazy memories of The Authoress who left her on the boat all those years ago and discovers that The Authoress' name was Eliza Makepeace, author of a book of fairy tales that is one of the young Nell's few possessions and who mysteriously disappeared in 1913.
In 2005 Nell's grand-daughter, Cassandra, is suprised to be left a Cornish cottage in Nell's will and she also makes a journey to England to unravel the mystery of Nell's origins and her own heritage.
Cassandra's search in 2005 parallels that made by Nell in 1975 and she uncovers more information including some already found by Nell. She meets people that remember Nell and eventually finds descendants of servants who worked at Blackhurst Manor, home of the Mountrachet family, who contribute the final thread of the mystery.
The garden of the title belongs to the cottage on the Estate which was purchased by Nell and inherited by Cassandra. Years previously Eliza Makepeace had lived there and Nell discovers that she was the daughter of Georgiana Mountrachet who had scandalously eloped with a sailor and had been living in poverty in London. Upon the death of her mother followed by that of her twin brother Eliza is found by a private detective and taken to Blackhurst Manor.
The garden and the maze which leads to it contribute two of the main themes of the story together with the tell tale red hair born by several members of the family. Other themes are the nature of twin-ship and sibling connections, the parallels between the fairy tales and real life, the Victorian code which involved blocking out that which was not to be seen and the ties of blood that prove stronger than anything else.
Recommended as a page turner that you will not be able to put down, once you have got to grips with the different generations and relationships.
This ambitious book has a complex storyline spanning at least three time periods and is about three generations of women linked to the wealthy Mountrachet family of Cornwall. Chronologically the story begins with a brother and sister, Linus and Georgiana Mountrachet, in the early 1900s and ends in 2005 with Cassandra, grand-daughter of the mysterious Nell, whose origins have been covered over by time.
The writer weaves her stories from three different time periods. In 1913 a four year old girl is found abandoned on an Australian harbourside after making the perilous journey from England. The harbour master takes her home and she is to become the first of a family of daughters that the man and his wife will have together - he names her Nell.
In 1975 Nell is an old lady having lived and married in Australia with a daughter and grand-daughter - but she decides to make that return trip to England to find the truth about her history. She has hazy memories of The Authoress who left her on the boat all those years ago and discovers that The Authoress' name was Eliza Makepeace, author of a book of fairy tales that is one of the young Nell's few possessions and who mysteriously disappeared in 1913.
In 2005 Nell's grand-daughter, Cassandra, is suprised to be left a Cornish cottage in Nell's will and she also makes a journey to England to unravel the mystery of Nell's origins and her own heritage.
Cassandra's search in 2005 parallels that made by Nell in 1975 and she uncovers more information including some already found by Nell. She meets people that remember Nell and eventually finds descendants of servants who worked at Blackhurst Manor, home of the Mountrachet family, who contribute the final thread of the mystery.
The garden of the title belongs to the cottage on the Estate which was purchased by Nell and inherited by Cassandra. Years previously Eliza Makepeace had lived there and Nell discovers that she was the daughter of Georgiana Mountrachet who had scandalously eloped with a sailor and had been living in poverty in London. Upon the death of her mother followed by that of her twin brother Eliza is found by a private detective and taken to Blackhurst Manor.
The garden and the maze which leads to it contribute two of the main themes of the story together with the tell tale red hair born by several members of the family. Other themes are the nature of twin-ship and sibling connections, the parallels between the fairy tales and real life, the Victorian code which involved blocking out that which was not to be seen and the ties of blood that prove stronger than anything else.
Recommended as a page turner that you will not be able to put down, once you have got to grips with the different generations and relationships.
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