Mary I – Queen of Sorrows by Alison Weir – a powerful new view of the first Tudor Queen to reign in her own right

May 13, 2024

Mary I – Queen of Sorrows by Alison Weir

I have been an avid reader of Alison Weir’s fictionalised biographies of the Tudors for many years, – and this latest monumental book about the first woman to reign in England and Wales in her own right feels somehow a climax. Mary I is not an easy person to write about, as her life and reign is often cast into the shadow of her half sister’s triumphant time on the throne. Indeed, my own early reading of novels about Elizabeth I viewed Mary’s brief and difficult reign as a hurdle to get over before the glory of her successor began. This book tries to give a view of Mary in her own right, the product of a traumatised life after the advent of the hated Anne Boleyn, the danger of her teenage years, the difficulties of coping with changes in her once loved siblings, and a Queen who saw her destiny as the destruction of heretics. Her naivety in some respects contrasts sharply with her absolute determination to recover her country for the true faith, as she longs for a husband who has other priorities and fails to appreciate her as a Queen and a woman.

 This is a vivid novel of the behind-the-scenes life of a woman having to meet challenges in a world that would frequently disregard her, and Mary herself is a revealed as a vulnerable woman who struggles to take a stand in her own right. This is a powerful novel of real insight into a figure long condemned for her cruelty, but also a portrait of a real woman with many doubts. I was very pleased to have the opportunity to read and review this very special novel.   

In the beginning Weir shows Mary as a happy girl, the focus of her parents’ attention and love, blossoming as a scholar and musician. The only shadow is her charismatic father’s interest in a fascinating lady in waiting, Anne Boleyn, newly arrived from France and seemingly determined to become more than a mistress. Mary is now refers to her as the Witch, as her malign influence seems behind Henry’s determination to exile Katherine and break with Rome. Denied her mother’s comfort, Mary turns to the consolation of her Catholic faith, which makes her relationship with her father even more difficult. She is eventually forced into denying her parents’ marriage and is ill-treated by the first of her stepmothers. As Jane Seymour succeeds her, a calmer period ensues, and a precious son is born, but Jane’s death leads to a succession of stepmothers who the lonely Mary tries to make a relationship. When her brother Edward succeeds to the throne if not real power, Mary’s life is again in peril, but she survives to become Queen. Her determination to reunite her country with Rome and her desperation to have a Catholic heir leads her to personally condemn hundreds to death, as part of her desperation to reclaim the glorious certainties of her childhood.

Weir’s skilful creation and development of Mary’s character is central to this moving and intense novel. Although she has flashes of determination and even courage, she is worn down by events and ill health into a woman who frequently seeks solitude and excessive religious observance. It is difficult to reconcile her own physical frailty with her determination to condemn others to death, but Weir does succeed in conveying Mary’s absolute convictions into explaining her actions. Mary uses her clothes and jewels as symbols of her position and attempts to communicate her feelings to others, but she often sees herself as drab and unimpressive alongside her stylish younger sister. This is a novel of great depth and immaculate research, but Weir never allows her discoveries to slow her narrative of a famous woman often reduced to desperation by circumstances beyond her control. I recommend this novel as a powerful insight into a woman’s difficult life and times, and a suitable third book in a trilogy featuring three generations of the Tudor dynasty.     

The Home Front Girls by Susanna Bavin – the first in a brilliant new series featuring young women facing the challenges of War

May 10, 2024

The Home Front Girls by Susanna Bavin

This book is the first one in a brilliant new series focusing on women dealing with life in Manchester and the surrounding districts during the Second World War. As with Susanna’s other novels, she has got into the characters’ thinking straight away – the two main characters are quickly established and are consistent throughout. Both Sally White and Betty Hughes are young women facing challenges in their families and friends, as well as the whole situation of a country at war when its effects are deeply felt everywhere. Their war work, as well as their night shifts, are challenging, but Susanna has got right to the heart of both tasks, with some excellent research which is never allowed to slow the story down. A Food Office, a scrap yard and watching for incendiaries are shown in all their reality at the time, with the day-to-day concerns and challenges. The women’s families are also well developed, including a difficult stepmother and loving parents who struggle to do their best. As always, the subsidiary characters in the novels have real voices and identities even if they only play small parts in the plot. There is real depth to the story, emotional and factual, and I am very pleased to have had the opportunity to read and review it.

The beginning of the novel shows Sally doing a Food Test as part of her job in the Food Office. There is a good description of the streets on which the small grocery shop is situated, and the sort of customers that it usually attracts, one even sporting a tin hat as a concession to the recent bombing for the first time in the area. Even more powerful is the description of how Sally must trap the assistant, as her honest and kind nature means that she is discomforted by another’s difficulty. Even more worrying is the assumptions that everyone, including her best friend Deborah, is making about her relationship with Rod. As an only child of older parents, she has close to Deborah and Rod’s family for a lifetime, but that does not mean that she feels totally comfortable with the possessive local hero. A chance meeting with the quiet and undemanding Andrew confuses her, and soon her life changes in every way, with even the love of her life seemingly having secrets. Her move to work at a salvage yard seems a huge change from an office job, especially when she has to work for and with some people with their own issues.

Betty is soon deeply upset by a mistake which changes her life. As her difficult stepmother forces her to move on, she finds herself in a new home with some lively characters and working at a salvage yard with a whole new set of challenges. She too faces problems in those she is to work with, but a shared danger may well bring them together as Betty must face up to more complicated issues.

This is such a well written novel by a talented and experienced writer of novels set in this fascinating period. I enjoyed the references to some of her other novels in a memorable place and character. This is a very engaging read which has just had a sequel published, and I recommend this novel to everyone who enjoys reading about this time when women really had to take the lead on the Home Front.  

Secret Voices – A Year of Women’s Diaries Edited by Sarah Gristwood – a beautiful book containing multitudes

April 30, 2024

Secret Voices Edited by Sarah Gristwood

This is not a book to read cover to cover – unless you are very organised! The subtitle sets out why – “A Year of Women’s Diaries”. It is actually just that, for each date in the year (a leap year at that), a selection of extracts from diaries written by women. They may be long (though each one is extremely well edited to convey the sense without padding) or really brief “Rapture without end” – 4th January.

I was really fortunate to attend a Book Festival event in which Sarah Gristwood spoke about this book and was so impressed with the knowledge that she shared. This is a book that obviously means a lot to her, as representing women’s thoughts and feelings over centuries (the earliest entries are from the 1600s) which were often privately expressed, though some, as from Virgina Woolf, with an eye to possible publication at some point. Not that all the authors represented here are predictable; for every Anne Frank extract there is one from an unknown woman like farmer’s wife Mary Hardy 1733 – 1809. Others may have appeared in print from such sources as Persephone books, as in the case of wartime diarists Etty Hillesum and Vere Hodgson. Lady Bird Johnson witnessed the assassination of Kennedy, and Nella Last was a Mass Observation Archive diarist whose writings emerged in Victoria Wood’s “Housewife 49” and were published to great success. Fanny Kemble was known as an actress, but also writes as an abolitionist wife to a slave owning planter. On every page there is a woman’s name I recognise, but there may well be others like Charlotte Forten, an American woman who lived 1838 – 1914, and writes of the wrongs she experienced as a black woman living in Philadelphia before the Civil War. There are women from Britain, America, and other countries, situations and eras. At over one hundred individual diarists, there is sure to be someone of interest on every date.

Sarah spoke of the excitement of discovering diaries that had not previously been well known, some representing miraculous survivals, others well known. Whereas when she previously had tackled the subject of women’s diaries many years ago, she had been limited to copies in libraries and archives that were geographically accessible, now the internet has transformed accessibility in many cases. Even so, the earliest diaries are only existence now in any form because their writers were literate, had access to writing materials, time and energy to write, and have had their writings preserved by family or friends. Some, like Anne Lister, famously chose to write in code because of their (at the time) controversial life styles, whereas others, like Anne Frank, were constrained by other factors but still produced writings of great beauty and depth. Sarah pointed out that some diaries were kept throughout long lives, where others may only cover a relatively short time because of life changes, marriages and child birth. Some were severely edited, like the later diaries of Queen Victoria, whereas others were allowed free reign and preserved proudly in their entirety.

Women’s diaries are valuable because they reflect an honest picture of women’s lives in all their realities, as well as reflecting something of the lives of those around them. They differ generally from men’s writings as they are so often private, as opposed to featuring great events, battles, or Parliamentary debates. This collection does give a reflection of the secret, private lives of women often meeting challenges, but also with the joys and pleasures of their lives.

Sarah did say that she was not responsible for the contents of this book, but it is in her inspired choice of extracts and their ordering that she has been so skilful. Apart from a considered Foreword which sets out some of the nature of the book and her work on it, she has also provided very short biographies of each diarist which allows for further investigation of each woman, her life and times. This is a book which contains the beginnings of so much further study, or rabbit holes, presented in manageable chunks. It is also a beautiful object as a hardback book complete with marker ribbon and glorious printing and layout. It is a wonderful read that can be dipped into on a daily basis or consumed in larger periods. It would make an excellent gift or a present to oneself for anyone interested in the thoughts of women over many centuries.     

The Mysterious Mr. Badman by W.F. Harvey – a rare 1934 bibliomystery recently reprinted in the British Library Crime Classics series

April 26, 2024

The Mysterious Mr. Badman by W.F. Harvey

This novel is subtitled “A Yorkshire Bibliomystery”, the unusual title comes from a much sought after book that features heavily in the story. It was an actual book written by John Bunyan; the full title being “The Life and Death of Mr Badman”, and even in 1934 when this book originally appeared in a short run it would have been comparatively rare. This recent reprint in the British Library Crime Series is a very enjoyable read, as it features a clever and complex plot with genuine suspense and some excellent characters led by Mr Digby. Athelstan Digby is a worthy blanket manufacturer with more than a usual amount of common sense and insight who has great determination to do the right thing, while considering everyone involved. While some of the leg work is done by his much younger nephew Jim, it is Digby who must save the day when events and other people threaten everything.

This book represents the Golden Age tradition of an amateur sleuth and very little mention of the police, but also provides an in depth view of a world where letters and telegrams were important methods of transmitting news, and cars with drivers could be hired for long distances. There is a hint of politics in a novel chiefly concerned with secrets, but also some violence and at least one body. According to Martin Edwards’ excellent Introduction to the life and times of the author, William Fryer Harvey, an eventful existence meant his writing had a sometimes unsettling quality amid the detection of crime and mystery. This novel features the returning character of Mr Digby, whose progress is a solid effort to elicit the truth and an expectation of fair play. It also contains some fascinating aspects of somewhat strained family relationships in difficult circumstances. I was very pleased to have the opportunity to read and review this enjoyable novel.

The book begins with Mr Digby undertaking the responsibility of running a small book shop below his lodgings where he is visiting his nephew Jim, who is considering taking over a local doctor’s practice. All is quiet until three men enter the shop and request the same somewhat obscure book on separate occasions. After they depart a copy does arrive, and Mr Digby agrees with the shop owner to keep it on the premises. When it disappears the situation seems to demand further investigation, and a link is found to some locals who may have reasons for silence despite the costs. Mr Digby’s persistence takes him, Jim and another friend to some strange places and adventures as danger of various kinds threatens. As deceits and deception’s loom, can Mr Digby and his helpers deal with the situation?

There is a murder in this book, but as befits a novel where the mystery is all important there is little brutality and violence. Mr Digby and his companions are memorable characters placed in a series of settings that are typical of an interwar Britian of local pubs and villages, but there are suggestions of greater forces threatening and the deep importance of their actions. I recommend this book as a well written novel with a solid plot and consistent characters.  

Springtime with the Railway Girls by Maisie Thomas – the women who work on the Wartime Railways of Manchester band together

April 22, 2024

Springtime with the Railway Girls by Maisie Thomas

This vibrant and lively book continues the story of a group of women who worked for the Railway system in and around Manchester during the Secon World War. Over the previous eight books we have followed the progress of these women and their families and friends “through life, love and war”. There have been losses during air raids and similar incidents, and this book, like its predecessors, has impeccable descriptions of the situation that people faced in cities like Manchester, which was a target for enemy bombers. The aspects of work that the women undertook on and around the railways is closely researched and written, but none of the excitement or drive of the story is lost. While fictional, all the well written characters in this novel, even if only on the sidelines, are entirely consistent and true to life.

Like its predecessors, this novel picks up and develops the stories of three women in particular, without leaving the stories of other characters unresolved alongside. Persephone, the former London socialite from a wealthy family who has worked alongside the other women with her brand of charm and efficiency, must come to terms with a huge challenge in her life. Alison, formerly so determined to get married to a somewhat untrustworthy man, has a fulfilling professional role on the horizon, but a tragedy closer to home makes her look at her life from the perspective of others. Colette, for whom marriage brought misery and fear, is discovering new possibilities, but the shades of the past still haunt her in the form of her husband. Can the three women pull together with their friends to survive to the end of a war which still affects everyone in so many ways?

Persephone is in love, and yet her family are appalled with her relationship with a railway fireman. Such is the quality of the writing that compares her travelling to London for a few days of her former social life with her existence in an admittedly huge house working on the trains that her dilemma is plain to see. Her relationship and scant time with Matt are delicately described, but the reality that they can only be “happy for now” during the duration of the War is pressing on Persephone. Meanwhile Alison is happy in many ways, but sadly that does not extend to a member of her immediate family, and she must help several other people deal with their difficulties. I have found the story around Colette the most powerful of all – this book may be set in 1944 but her problems with domestic violence in many forms is still relevant today. A plausible husband and expectations from outsiders mean that she is still trapped in many ways, and the situation is intolerable for her and those who genuinely care. Apparently, people have contacted the author to say that it is a painfully accurate picture of an abuser. Not that this is all grim and despair by any means; for Colette as with the other women there is hope for the end of the War which has so changed their lives.

Altogether this is a really well written series, and this book is similarly an excellent read. It really brings a difficult period in recent history to life in all its depth. It is a female led dram without the grimness of many sagas, where friendship and hope can win out. I am so very grateful to have had the opportunity to read and review this novel, and thoroughly recommend it to everyone who enjoys a good wartime book set outside the capital with all its challenges.   

In the Shadow of Queens – Tales from the Tudor Court by Alison Weir – Thirteen tales from the Six Tudor Queens and those who knew them

April 16, 2024

In the Shadow of Queens by Alison Weir

This book is the companion to a majestic (in every sense of the word) series of six novels by that great historical novelist, Alison Weir. “The Six Tudor Queens Series” is a brilliant series of novels which revolve around the six women who became Queen during the reign of Henry VIII. Their relationship to the King is not always the dominant theme of the novel; as a historian Weir has rooted many details about the lives of the women before their marriages to Henry, and in some cases afterwards. Some novels contain a wealth of story as the woman involved had relatively long lives and had even in one case been widowed twice before, others, such as Katheryn Howard, being very young when she was killed had a brief biography. Each of the novels are totally absorbing in their own right as the stories of women with fascinating lives. I have reviewed five of them, as well as two of Weir’s other novels on the Tudors. (Search under Alison Weir in the column to the right)

This book is subtitled “Tales From the Tudor Court”, being thirteen short stories from the edge of each of the main six novels. Originally produced as ebooks alongside the publication of the main novel, each Queen is represented by two stories, often featuring members of the Court or as in  the case of Katherine of Aragon, the story of Arthur, Henry’s elder brother and her youthful if already ill first husband. Some stories are the length of novellas, others shorter, but all add greatly to the story of these much-discussed women. As Weir says in the Introduction, she chose the people who would feature in each story of the queens who had “a rich supporting cast of characters”. Each section has a Timeline which gives the important dates for each woman, which if nothing else brings home how short some of the lives were. Some of those who are the focus of the stories were devoted to servants of the queens, others were relatives in complicated ways – given that Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard were related, and one of the people who was involved in both of their downfalls was Anne’s sister in law, she was an obvious choice to focus on. Most of the characters are women, who were called on to be ladies in waiting or nurses to babies, some for dynastic reasons, others because they were seen to be trustworthy to be in important roles. Some stories are complex, others straightforward. Nearly all are set very firmly in the Tudor period, even if the story may cover a wider time than Henry’s life. There are exceptions, including a story of a twenty first century re-enactor and the story of a Sepulchre over several generations.

Given the subject matter of the book, these are not cheerful stories as with much historical fiction, when we know what happened to many of the main characters. Having said that, this book is also a collection of stories of loyalty, love beyond romances, and the nature of women’s lives at the time. As someone who wrote nonfiction history books for many years, Weir has done so much intense research and given a great deal of thought to the subject matter in terms of answering many questions about these characters, so these stories are firmly authentic. Not that the narrative is ever not engaging; Weir is an experienced hand at weaving the facts into the stories. This book is a real treat for those who appreciate traditional historical fiction in a different format, and I recommend it to anyone whether they have read the Six Queen series or still have that pleasure to come.

Casual Slaughters by James Quince – dubious goings on in a Devon village in a 1935 novel reprinted by the Oleander Press

April 13, 2024

Casual Slaughters by James Quince

Those who enjoy classic murders set in an English village between the two World Wars will relish this book, as all human life is represented here. Originally published in 1935, this is another reprint from The Oleander Press, and it certainly has its moments of gentle humour and insight into the characters of a village from the Rector through to the blacksmith and everyone else. Written in the voice of Blundell, a retired naval officer and Secretary of the church Parochial Church Council or PCC, he undertakes the voluntary role as he has “so much experience of keeping accounts without balances” in his business of surviving on his income as a keeper of chickens. He evidently gets very involved in sorting out a series of mysteries that beset the village that emerge from the innocent decision to level the churchyard to make maintenance easier. He is an engaging narrator with a keen insight into the people of the area and as they are an eccentric bunch there is a lot of humour. There is not a huge body count, but the discovery of a second body curiously sends the official police officer away and leads to a slightly more amateur investigation. The setting and characters in this novel make it an engaging read with some unusual aspects. I was very pleased to have the opportunity to read and review this book.

The book opens with a PCC meeting which well illustrates how the book will proceed; a group of villagers come together to discuss matters apparently of vital importance to the village, or a gossip. Eventually the Rector manages to state that as the maintenance of the churchyard is a great responsibility, he would like to see the “mounds” on the graves levelled off. There are predictable reservations around family plots. It is therefore resolved to begin with the grave mound of a elderly lady with no local family, so Barlow intends to begin there. However, he soon uncovers a surprise – a headless corpse of a mystery man. As it is obvious that it was murder, the locals summon the Chief Constable, who finds the experience somewhat overwhelming and has to be moved somewhere in the churchyard while everyone else is busy. As a temporary hearse is pressed into service, gossip is everywhere. Scotland Yard’s Detective Inspector Lawless appears and together the investigators both professional and amateur make some progress via some dubious methods. Another discovery seems to answer some questions and Lawless disappears in great haste, but not before some words of encouragement are given. As the somewhat hapless investigations continue, many of the villagers fall back on superstition and inevitable gossip before all is revealed.

This is a very good read as a fictionalised social history as well as a convoluted plot, and in some respects it is also a very funny book. The title is a Shakespearean quotation rather than an accurate description of the level of brutality found in the story. It is a little uneven in its narrative, with some dubious dialect from one or two characters, but overall, it is a fascinating and engaging short novel with plenty of local colour and setting. I enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who enjoys novels from the Golden Age of crime, especially quirky tales of Devon villages.

The Wartime Book Club by Kate Thompson – an amazing novel about the value of books and reading in difficult times

April 8, 2024

The Wartime Book Club by Kate Thompson

Books and reading are vital in difficult circumstances. That is the theme of this powerful novel about life in Jersey during the Second World War, which concentrates on how the movement of books gave hope and respite in impossible circumstances. Based very much on true events and people of the Channel Islands during the notorious occupation by German forces from June 1940 to early May 1945 it uses so much research to back up the fictional narrative which never slows the action.  Several novels have been written about this tortuous time, some which concentrate on the collaboration, the slavery used to build enormous fortifications and the general starvation of the Islanders, but this book is significant in its own themes.

This book looks through the eyes of two fictional characters, the Post Office Worker Bea and the librarian Grace, at their quiet work supporting their friends. Their actions, as Bea discovers hateful letters and Grace passes on books and messages against the rules, is set in a truly fascinating background. These are not isolated people making moral decisions, but very human women who have massive doubts about their actions and the possible ramifications for themselves and those they love. Grace is the most interesting in my opinion, as she has been left in charge of the beautiful library at the heart of the island. When people are desperate and hungry they discover a need for distraction, an urge to escape into fiction and the library as a refuge shines through. Grace’s work in terms of providing books, even to people who are in hiding, and secretly preserving books banned by the Nazi regime has a real ring of truth. Many of the novels and authors banned during the mid twentieth century are listed at the start of most chapters, and it is a shocking and painful list. It is the hiding of these books, the reading aloud of some texts, that underlies Grace’s actions, even though she runs a greater risk in helping Bea in her unofficial work.

There are brutal elements of this novel, as the Nazi officers enforce their complex rules on the population. While there are elements of hope, of loyalty and endurance in the face of oppression, there are vivid descriptions of violence as an essential part of people’s stories. The book begins with a Prologue in which Grace and others experience the invasion when they are vulnerable, then the focus switches to the events of 8th September 1943, three years later when the occupation is leading to desperate decisions. The death on the beach is a topic which fuels many of Bea’s later actions, and Grace also makes a big discovery on the same night, as she begins to question her total commitment to imaginary emotions. As Bea involves herself in the warning of those who have been betrayed by their fellow islanders and the oppression of various people, Grace discovers how the power of reading can sustain people whose very existence on the island is a life and death matter not only to themselves but those who shelter them.

It is the terrific characters who make this novel come alive as Thompson recalls the wonderful Queenie, the quiet but talented Peter and the book obsessed Red among others. There is a quiet note on the women who were seen to have collaborated with the Nazis in the form of a sister who seems to have taken a wrong path. This novel has the depth to show that matters were not straightforward, that people were struggling in so many circumstances, and they had to take decisions in so many ways in a small community.

The uplifting message of this novel is that books can give the will to survive, especially when people come together to enjoy a good story. As with Thompson’s other excellent book “The Little Wartime Library”, she has included a wealth of information about the Channel Islanders’ real stories and memories, as well as details of how to read further on these fascinating times and some of the books involved. This section at the end of the fascinating novel is almost worth the price of the book alone, as it is such a good read. Altogether this is a tough but ultimately hopeful book about impossible circumstances and how people tried to survive in so many ways, partly through the love of reading. I really recommend this memorable novel, which would make a great book club read as well as a wonderful solo reading experience.    

The Fair Miss Fortune by D.E. Stevenson – a light hearted book reprinted by Furrowed Middlebrow at Dean Street Press

April 4, 2024

The Fair Miss Fortune by D. E. Stevenson

This book almost has the atmosphere of a fantasy, one set in a village with some very real seeming people but with a twist at its centre. It was actually written and rejected in 1938, and only appeared in a limited edition in 2011.Happily, Furrowed Middlebrow at Dean Street Press have made it more available, and I think it follows “Miss Buncle’s Book” as a distraction and very funny read. Even the title is a sort of joke, one enlarged in the novel as a character reports he has “met Miss Fortune” to a sympathetic listener. At its heart is the genuinely good-natured Miss Jane Fortune, whose ambition to retire to the countryside and open a tea shop is met with great interest by a significant number of villagers in Dingleford. Here is Stevenson at her most playful; an idyllic English village with memorable characters who sometimes indulge in actual fights in some memorable circumstances. There is a controlling parent, a rather cosy and thoughtful mother, and two young gentlemen whose adoration of the beautiful Miss Fortune causes much confusion. Apparently, its theme was seen as old fashioned and sentimental by one publisher in 1938, which seems a shame as it would no doubt have been a valuable distraction in the dark days to come. It is a neatly and skilfully written book that I very much enjoyed, with some interesting ideas below the seemingly light hearted surface.

Captain Charles Weatherby is a man of experience, being an army officer on leave from India, staying with his mother in his home village. An invitation to a sort of house warming party is received, and despite his original reluctance to attend he is instantly interested when he calls on the young woman and her “Nannie” and is mistaken for a plumber. Such is the effect of the meeting that he soon resolves to offer Miss Fortune more assistance in order to spend time in her vicinity. His mother is delighted but adopts a low key attitude to the budding romance. Meanwhile Harold Prescott, the much put upon son of the difficult Mrs Prescott, is also very much attracted to Miss Fortune, and resolves to improve his physique to attract her. Into this interesting situation arrives another Miss Fortune, the slightly more forward Joan, who has arrived from London pursued by a mysterious Frenchman. When fates and farcical situations collide as reasonably predictable in such a set up, more than one disagreement occurs.

This book represents an amazing contrast with some of Stevenson’s other novels of the time, such as the thought provoking “The English Air”, which asks some serious questions about identity, and the later “Five Windows” about a challenging life. In contrast this is a light and funny read with some characters who may be surprised by events, but not always delighted. Stevenson wrote a wide range of novels, some very much in a series, others standalone like this one. I really recommend this as a delightful read which I enjoyed as a distraction from more serious novels, and I am very pleased that it eventually saw publication.

A Court of Betrayal by Anne O’Brien – a wonderful historical novel of a determined woman

April 2, 2024

A Court of Betrayal by Anne O’Brien

This is a very enjoyable, readable novel of historical characters written in the voice of a strong and determined woman. It is based in a lesser known period of British history; the early 1300s, so pre Tudors, and the usual time for historical fiction. It is the story of Johane de Geneville and her marriage to Roger Mortimer at the age of fifteen, which goes on to span betrayal of different types, both political and personal. It is a period that I knew very little about before reading this novel, and I am happy to say that it is so well written that I was able to follow the major upheavals of the reign of Edward II and the aftermath. On one level it is the story of a woman married early to an ambitious young man whom she has never met, and what happens to her and her family as time goes on. On another level it is the story of Roger through her eyes, and how his ambition and actions have an effect on a country as well as their marriage. There is great love and great hurt, great success and great threat. Johanne emerges as a woman who from the beginning shows her enormous strength and quick wits, and her genuine emotional intelligence in understanding those around her. She has many children, takes strength from an older woman, and has to develop survival skills that help in unexpected circumstances. There are genuinely touching moments in this book with its account of difficult relationships, as well as an understanding of the political realities of the time. I found this an excellent read which kept me engaged from beginning to end; an historical novel that is firmly and convincingly set in a turbulent time with a substantial amount of research that never slows the narrative.

The book begins with a Prologue in which Johane is informed that a marriage has been arranged for her with the young Roger Mortimer, the heir of one of the English Marcher lords. She has substantial lands and estate, but in order to satisfy the dynastic demands of both families the inheritance must be kept intact, so her two younger sisters are condemned to a convent. Johanne is very young, and she is naturally apprehensive of marriage, but as the book begins she discovers that in Roger she has met her match, fiercely ambitious but also potentially quietly affectionate. It was no easy position to maintain the peace on the Welsh border for Roger and his immediate family, and Johanne soon discovers that she has married a very able man whose determination to hold his position and estate, as well as his love of jousting, means that he is frequently absent, and she is left to worry if he will return. The political situation is not made easy by the vacillations of King Edward and his favourites, especially when he is strongly influenced to meet their demands for power and land. Johanne is not only left to manage huge estates on a daily basis, but also witness at a distance the building up of a crisis that imperils not only her husband, but all those she loves. Yet there is still betrayal to come.

This is a book that I thoroughly recommend if you enjoy straightforward historical fiction without time slips or other distractions. The characters, especially Johane herself, jump off the page and are consistent throughout the book. There is much to enjoy in terms of descriptions of clothes, jewels and tapestries that make the settings of the various castles and great houses seem so real and add enormous depth to the story; these are real places populated and entire even if now in ruins. This is a terrific story with real depth, and I am so pleased to have read it.