COURAGE: Tales of History, Mystery and Hope by Judith Arnopp, Annie Whitehead, Anna Belfrage, Cathie Dunn, Helen Hollick and others

 5 GOLD stars 

On Amazon (universal link)

On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: I saw it advertised pre-release, expressed interest, and one of the authors was kind enough to offer me a review copy :)

In a Nutshell: A collection of stories spanning an almost 2000 year time period, on the subject of great courage under adverse circumstances 

*

This is what you want from a collection: not one weak story.  These 15 tales of courage in the most adverse circumstances are all excellent, every one a winner.  They're presented in chronological order, from Roman times to the present day, and take place in various settings around the world.  Here's a short overview of my favourites.  Purely subjective, of course - time and place has so much to do with this.  Show me England in the middle ages or occupied Europe in WW2, and I'm all over it!

Siflede by Judith Arnopp: London 1066, when the residents of Southwark must fight or flee the Norman invasion.  Judith is one of my most-read authors and this story was no disappointment.

Daisy Chain by Annie Whitehead: a mother's grief, on the road in 12th Century England. Nothing like a good 'road' story, no matter when it's set, and this shows early medieval times in all its dank glory.

Stepping Between by Anna Belfrage: Ludlow Castle 1308.  A young man finds his way out of a nightmare homelife.  I hadn't read Anna Belfrage before, and liked this very much.

The Portrait's Secret by Amy Maroney: a fascinating look at the world of portrait artists in Paris, 1536.  I love stories like this that describe an aspect of life I know virtually nothing about.  Reminded me of The Silk Code by Deborah Swift, for this reason.

Legacy by Jean Gill: Tudor England, 1558.  An honest man blows the whistle on a member of the aristocracy, and pays the price... heartbreaking yet uplifting!

A Sack of Potatoes by Antoine Vanner: the Netherlands, 1954, though most of it is set ten years earlier.  Brilliant story about two women who travel through occupied territory simply to find food.  I wanted it to be a whole book.  What those people endured... you hear that in the war the people of *insert name of country* were starving, but this really brought it home to me what that actually means.

A special mention for The Gate by Elizabeth St John, the last line of which made my mouth drop open.  No clues, you'll have to read it. :)

The book is beautifully presented, with Author's Notes that add interest every time.  Highly recommended, and thank you!

HISTORICAL STORIES OF EXILE by Helen Hollick, Annie Whitehead and 11 others @HelenHollick @AnnieW History @abelfrageauthor

 5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: Twitter.  I expressed my interest in reading it when available, and one of the authors offered me an ARC :)

In a Nutshell: 13 historical stories of exile.

Deborah Swift, one of my favourite authors, has written a perfect introduction to this excellent collection, with a brief overview of the content as well as thoughts on the subject of exile itself.

I loved reading these stories, the standard of which is high throughout, though they are all so different, in subject matter and writing style.  It is these two aspects that determine one's favourites in an anthology such as this, and can only ever be subjective; bearing this in mind, the story that stood out most for me (and stayed with me afterwards) was the heartbreaking The Unwanted Prince by Anna Belfrage, about a 16th century heir to the Swedish throne forced into exile for his own safety - especially sad because the story is true, as I read at the end, with great fascination.  I would have happily read a whole novel about the rest of his life, as outlined.

My other favourites:

Wadan Wræclastas (Tread the Path of Exile) by the Lady of Saxon History, Annie Whitehead is set a few years before the Norman Conquest.  The title comes from 10th century poem The Wanderer, and in this case refers to the much travelled Ealdgyth.  Again, most of the events really took place, but what I loved most about this one was the glimpse into the Saxon world.

On Shining Wings by Marian L Thorpe, a beautiful story about a 13th century Norwegian falconer, telling his tale to his grandson.

Betrayal by Cathie Dunn: set in AD 900, it tells the story of the urgent flight of Rollo the Viking and his wife Poppa place from the part of modern day France then known as Neustria, to England.

I also liked The Past, My Future by Loretta Livingstone, which is a bit different as it involves time travel from a dark, dystopian future England, to an abbey in the 13th Century.

The book is beautifully presented, with notes about each story and a biography and links for each author.  Congratulations to Helen Hollick for the original idea, and a big thank you to Annie for sending me an ARC when I said how much I looked forward to reading this!  Historical Stories of Exile is available for pre-order now, and for sale on November 12th. Highly recommended, and a great way to dip into the work of authors yet to be discovered.

My Top Ten (and a little bit more) Books of 2020

That time of the year again....

Usually I do a Top Twenty, but I haven't found so much reading time this year.  Out of the fifty-five-ish books I have read or started to read (not all of them reviewed on this blog), I have chosen my ten favourites, which is actually twelve, because two of them have a sequel or related book that I liked just as much.  They were not necessarily published in 2020, but this is when I read them.

At the bottom are three other books that were my nearly-favourites, so it's really fifteen, I suppose!  Please note - when reviewing, I may on occasion give a book 4.5* or possibly even 5* because I feel it is worthy of that rating, even if it wasn't quite my thing; I try to always review objectively.  This list, however, is made up simply of those I loved the most.  

These are in no particular order, but they all come with my highest recommendation.  If you click the title of the book, it will take you to my full review, with Amazon and Goodreads links.

The Heretic Wind by Judith Arnopp

~ Tudor historical fiction ~

The Covenant by Thorne Moore

~ 19th/early 20th century historical fiction ~

Rum Hijack by Phil Motel

~ Contemporary Drama ~

and

Plumas de Muerte by Phil Motel

~ Memoir ~

Abandoned Pennsylvania by Janine Pendleton

~Photography, with non-fiction historical text~

Cometh The Hour by Annie Whitehead

~6th-7th Century Historical Fiction~

Fame & Fortune by Carol Hedges

~ Victorian Murder Mystery ~

The World Without Crows by Ben Lyle Bedard

~ Post-Apocalyptic ~ 

and 

The World Without Flags by Ben Lyle Bedard

~ Post-Apocalyptic ~

(I said 'no particular order', but, okay, the following are my top three 😉)

Smile of the Wolf by Tim Leach

~ 10th Century Icelandic Historical Fiction ~

The End of the Road by Anna Legat

~ Post-Apocalyptic ~

Nest of Ashes by Gemma Lawrence

~ Tudor Historical Fiction ~

*

I'd also like to give a mention for these three, that almost made the top ten:

Obsession by Robin Storey

~ Psychological thriller novella ~

Singularity Syndrome by Susan Kuchinskas

~ SciFi/Climate Change/Dystopian ~

Gorge by Katherine Carlson

~ Dark Contemporary Fiction ~

📚 Happy Reading! 📚

BETRAYAL: Historical Stories by Judith Arnopp, Cryssa Bazos and more

4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: Twitter

In A Nutshell: A collection of historical long-short stories by various authors, all on the subject of betrayal.

This is a fine collection—it is rare to find an anthology by many authors without a weak moment here and there, but this is such.  The stories follow on through time, chronologically, starting with Death At Feet of Venus, set in Roman times, by Derek Birks, and ending with a modern day story featuring alternative history, The Idealist by Alison Morton. 

The stories you like best will depend on your preferences for writing style and the periods that interest you most; my favourites were House Arrest by Judith Arnopp, about Margaret Beaufort, who is one of my historical heroes—I highly recommend Ms Arnopp's series about her, incidentally—and Love to Hatred Turn'd by Annie Whitehead, set in the 10th century; Ms Whitehead has that knack of making you feel as though you are sitting within the king's great hall in the kingdom of Wessex, as you are reading.  I also very much liked All Those Tangled Webs by Anna Belfrage, which covers the time in 1330 just after Edward II had died, and Road to The Tower by Elizabeth St. John, about the lead up to the imprisonment of Princes Edward and Richard, who famously disappeared from the Tower of London.

I bow with respect to all involved.  Highly recommended. 

COMETH THE HOUR by Annie Whtehead @AnnieWHistory

5 out of 5 stars

 

On Amazon UK

On Amazon.com

On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: I'd seen many historically-orientated tweets from the author, and decided to try one of her books.

In a Nutshell: Saxon England in the 6th-7th Century.

I loved this book, a fictionalised version of the true saga of the Saxon rulers, from Edwin of Deira to Penda of Mercia, in which I was engrossed.  Annie Whitehead has turned the history into a terrific story, as compelling as any Game of Thrones type fantasy.  There is a large cast of characters, but she has provided a family tree diagram in the front if you forget, for a moment, exactly who everyone is.  The characters themselves are so well defined that I didn't find their number confusing.

 

Until I read this I knew little about the period, other than the fact that what we now call Great Britain was divided into seven basic kingdoms, so I enjoyed finding out about the divisions of territory within these kingdoms, with the different tribes who had their own languages and traditions.  The book covers the period when Christianity was first becoming more popular; I was surprised to find how gradual it was, and I could understand why it was treated with such suspicion, the pagan ways being far more relatable.

 

The way in which the people lived is so well-researched, intricately detailed, painting a vivid picture of the era, but at no time did I feel bogged down with irrelevant facts.  What I loved most about the book, though, is the feeling it gave me; it made me want to be there.  To experience the times for myself.  That's the sign of a truly talented author of historical fiction, I think - one who can make you want to go back in time and live in it, because the scenes and people come alive.  The journeys, the battles, the winter nights in the long halls; I yearned to be Derwena, wife of Penda!

 

This is the first book I've read by this author, and I am sure I will pick up another at some point in the not too distant future.  Highly recommended to all histfic lovers, especially those with a particular interest in the 7th Century.