My novel, The Bridled Tongue, is set partly in Norwich. Although Norwich suffered extensive bombing during World War II, there are numerous areas where Norwich's history is still plain. In 2016 I visited Norwich and so was able to glimpse the streets and sights that would have been familiar to my 16th century characters. While … Continue reading A Glimpse of Elizabethan Norwich
Book Review – The Woman in the Shadows by Carol McGrath
The Woman in the Shadows* is a fictional account of the adult life of Elizabeth Wykes, the wife of Thomas Cromwell, a man from relatively humble origins who rose from merchant and lawyer to become chief minister to Henry VIII. For most people, all that is known of Elizabeth is as Cromwell’s wife, a background … Continue reading Book Review – The Woman in the Shadows by Carol McGrath
My Reading – June 2018
The Woman in the Shadows by Carol McGrath 'It is a glorious day: the sky a spread of blue with the midsummer sun slowly rising towards its zenith.' The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi Di Lampedusa 'Nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen. The daily recital of the Rosary was over.' The Shadow of the Pomegranate … Continue reading My Reading – June 2018
Book Review – The Coffin Path by Katherine Clements
From the very first page The Coffin Path gives off a sense of foreboding and building menace. It begins in the Spring 1674, fourteen years into the reign of Charles II, although people and places still bear the scars of the English Civil War. Mercy Booth lives with her father, Bartram Booth, and an aging … Continue reading Book Review – The Coffin Path by Katherine Clements
Book Review – The Good People by Hannah Kent
The Good People is set in an isolated village in Kerry, about ten miles from Killarney, in the years 1825 and 1826. It begins with the sudden but seemingly gentle death of Martin Leahy at the village crossroads, the place where traditionally suicides were buried. From the start, it is clear that this is a … Continue reading Book Review – The Good People by Hannah Kent
My Reading – May 2018
Herald of Joy by Pamela Belle The Last Painting of Sara de Vos by Dominic Smith The Coffin Path by Katherine Clements Girolamo Savonarola: The Renaissance Preacher by Samantha Morris
Book Review – Little Boy Lost by Marghanita Laski
Little Boy Lost begins at Christmas 1943 when poet Hilary Wainwright receives the news, brought by Frenchman, Pierre Verdier, that his three year old son, John, is lost somewhere in France. Hilary has only seen his son once, just after his birth, as he had to flee France following the German invasion. His wife Lisa, … Continue reading Book Review – Little Boy Lost by Marghanita Laski
I Spy – Book Challenge
I saw this book challenge on the There's Something About KM blog and thought I would give it a go as it looked like fun. If you want to try it yourself, these are the rules: - Find a book on your bookshelves that contains (either on the cover or in the title) an example … Continue reading I Spy – Book Challenge
One Minute Book Review – Girolamo Savonarola: The Renaissance Preacher by Samantha Morris
Girolamo Savonarola was a 15th century Dominican friar. For most people today, he is known either for his striking portrait by Baccio della Porta (Fra Bartolomeo) or for his association with the Bonfires of the Vanities in Florence where Savonarola’s supporters publicly burnt thousands of objects considered to be distractions from religious duties and possible … Continue reading One Minute Book Review – Girolamo Savonarola: The Renaissance Preacher by Samantha Morris
My Reading – April 2018
The Good People by Hannah Kent The Architect's Apprentice by Elif Shafak The Story of English in 100 Words by David Crystal
Catherine Meyrick 