It is now after midnight in my corner of the world so 2021 has begun. Wishing everyone the very best for 2021 – here's hoping that this year's surprises are all pleasant ones.
Author: Catherine Meyrick
My Reading – December 2020
Grace by Paul Lynch This flood October. And in the early light her mother goes for her, rips her from sleep, takes her from a dream of the world. Bone China by Laura Purcell Love is fragile, my mother once said. It can break. Strange Flowers by Donal Ryan All the light left Paddy Gladney's … Continue reading My Reading – December 2020
A Conversation with Catherine Meyrick
This interview is from the website of Pam Lecky a historical novelist who writes enthralling historical mysteries.
My Reading – November 2020
A Plague on Mr Pepys by Deborah Swift Bess Bagwell clung to the seat as a wash of freezing river water sluiced over the side of the wherry. She had to shift fast, to avoid a drenching. Expectation by Anna Hope It is Saturday, which is market day. It is late spring, or early summer. … Continue reading My Reading – November 2020
My Reading – October 2020
Singapore Sapphire by A M Stuart 'Hello,' she called, her voice vanishing into the dark bowels of the house. Moominvalley in November by Tove Jansson Early one morning in Moominvalley Snufkin woke up in his tent with the feeling that autumn had come and that it was time to break camp. Moominpappa at Sea by … Continue reading My Reading – October 2020
Book Review – A Murder by Any Name by Suzanne M Wolfe
A Murder by Any Name is set in 1585, a time when England was providing arms and support to the Dutch in their fight against Spain, the King of Spain had already begun building his great armada and the English government was ever alert to plots against the life of Queen Elizabeth I. The story … Continue reading Book Review – A Murder by Any Name by Suzanne M Wolfe
The Devil’s Dye by Jeni Neill
Today, I’m delighted to be sharing an excerpt from Jeni Neill's debut novel, The Devil's Dye which is set in and around Norwich in the 1560 and 1570s and follows the fortunes of a family of Strangers, Protestant refugees escaping persecution in the Spanish Netherlands. Excerpt Apprenticing the two Wright boys to Jowan has been … Continue reading The Devil’s Dye by Jeni Neill
My Reading – September 2020
The Devil's Dye by Jeni Neill 'The hog can be smelt from the street for Lord's sake!' The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue Still hours of dark to go when I left the house that morning. A Murder By Any Name by Suzanne M Wolfe 'God's bollocks, girl! I'm freezing my tits off!' … Continue reading My Reading – September 2020
‘WANTED a BOY to make himself generally useful.’
In the 19th century the front page of newspapers was not the place for lurid headlines and large photographs designed to catch the eye. It was a serious place where births, marriages and deaths were announced; timetables for ferries listed; ‘superior’ accommodation, government tenders and everything from grain, newly milled flour and candles to ladies’ … Continue reading ‘WANTED a BOY to make himself generally useful.’
Book Review – This is Happiness by Niall Williams
This is Happiness begins with the sky clearing and the rain stopping just after 3 o’clock on the Wednesday afternoon of Holy Week in 1958 while the people of Faha in county Clare are at Church. This is a rare occurrence in Faha as rain 'was a condition of living'. Seventeen-year-old Noel Crowe, known as … Continue reading Book Review – This is Happiness by Niall Williams
Catherine Meyrick 