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. 

MARY ~ Tudor Princess by Tony Riches @tonyriches

4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie Amber's Book Review Team, of which I am a member, but I would have bought it anyway because I've enjoyed the other books I've read by this author, especially Jasper.

Genre: Tudor historical fiction

Like many people, I have an unquenchable thirst for good fiction about the Plantagenet and Tudor period.  I wondered if Mary Tudor's story in itself would be enough to sustain a novel, but was pleased to see that it added to my knowledge of the Tudor period and I liked the way the author used her story to produce another, interesting perspective on that of Henry VIII, as Mary fretted over the troubles with France and watched the fortunes of her friend Queen Catherine plummet.

There are some clever ideas in this tale of Henry's sister, such as placing the thirteen-year-old Anne Boleyn as her maid, on the night of her wedding to King Louis of France.  Whether she really was or not I don't know, and neither does it matter, though we are given the information that Anne became one of the ladies of Mary's bedchamber.  That the reader knows more about what was happening at court than the protagonist is a smart move, as we turn the pages in anticipation of her finding out; as an aristocratic woman of her time, Mary's life was, of course, subject to the machinations of the men who controlled her.  Later, when kept away from court at Brandon's seat in Suffolk, she knew only what she heard from others, which included very little of her own husband's infidelities.

As is usual with Tony Riches' books, it is clear that much research has been undertaken without it ever seeming research-heavy, a skill I always admire. 

Brandon and Mary/Margaret in Showtime series The Tudors;

for the series, Henry's two sisters were combined into one character.

Given that the story is of a whole life, and a not uneventful one, this is not a very long book and at times I felt that more detail might have made it more absorbing, for instance in the development of Mary's first, brief marriage to King Louis of France, of Charles Brandon's feeling towards her, of the discovery of her husband's infidelity, and the loss of her first son.  I didn't feel I knew Mary until half way through, and at times it seemed the story was being somewhat raced through as new characters emerged, older ones died off until, had I not known a great deal about this time, I might have forgotten who was who; on the other hand, it is written as Mary would have seen it—and novels of Tudor history are always hampered by the fact that everyone is called Anne, Mary, Catherine, Charles, Henry and Thomas!

I did enjoy it and read it in two sittings; I just felt that, on occasion, the story required extra depth to make me feel really involved with the main character and less as though I was reading a catalogue of factual happenings.  It's as well-written as all Mr Riches' books, though, and that I read it so quickly shows that I found it a page-turner.

Mary's death at the end was beautifully executed.  I do love a good ending.  I'd definitely recommend this book as an addition to the library of fellow Tudor addicts.

HENRY by Tony Riches @tonyriches #RBRT

4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE
On Goodreads HERE

How I discovered this book:  It was submitted to Rosie Amber's Book Review Team, of which I am a member, but I'm a big fan of this author so I would have bought it anyway. I adored the second part of the Tudor Trilogy, Jasper, and was looking forward to this last part.

I love Plantagenet and Tudor history, but Henry VII is one of the characters I knew less about; I've always thought of him, I suppose, as a not very interesting link between the wars of York and Lancaster, and the great era of the eighth Henry and Good Queen Bess.  This book showed, though, that the uniting of the two houses to end the Wars of the Roses, after Henry defeated Richard III at Bosworth and married Elizabeth of York, was far from the end of the story.  He then had to deal with kingship itself, something that his mother, Margaret Beaufort, had always assured him was his right, though he was not one who sailed gallantly into such a role.  His reign was beset by troubles with the Yorkist rebels, imposters like Perkin Warbeck, the Cornish rebellion, financial difficulties, and tragedy within his own family, with the deaths of children Edmund and Katherine and, of course, Prince Arthur ~ which gave way to the reign of the most famous of all English kings, Henry VIII.

I liked how Tony Riches has shown us the man behind the sombre portrait, and I warmed to his Henry Tudor very much.  Even though some of his problems were of his own making, he seemed like an honest, self-aware, realistic person, rather humble, and very much like his mother ~ the 'Beaufort Steel' is much in evidence, though to my mind it skipped a generation, and didn't come out again until Henry's granddaughter, Elizabeth, was on the throne.  Riches writes so well, and I read this book in almost one sitting.  So interesting, of course, to read about the young Henry VIII, and I had forgotten the difficulties that came with his desire to marry Catherine of Aragon, his brother's widow.  I couldn't help thinking that, given the events some twenty-odd years later, it might have not been meant to be.

Henry's story is not as thrilling as Jasper's, but this is a fine end to a superbly researched and well-written trilogy, one I would recommend to anyone with an interest in this period of history.  And don't forget to read the Author's Note!

WARWICK: The man behind the Wars of the Roses by Tony Riches

4 out of 5 stars

Plantagenet historical fiction

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE
On Goodreads HERE

Most interesting; this book showed me another side of the fascinating Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, otherwise known as The Kingmaker.  I liked Riches' portrayal of him as a man of intelligence and forethought, not just ruthless ambition.  Certainly made me see why he was so opposed to Edward IV's marriage to Elizabeth Woodville, too!

James Frain as Warwick in 'The White Queen' ~ it's how I always think of him!

I read this hot on the heels of the author's latest book, about Jasper Tudor; it's clear from reading this that it's an earlier book, simply because his writing has improved, as most authors' work tends to; Jasper is something of a masterpiece, whereas this is more of a very entertaining historical adventure.  I do enjoy the way Riches writes.  He sets the atmosphere of the time so well, and I particularly like reading about the battles.  This book gave me a clearer insight into exactly why the Wars of the Roses began and some bits made me smile for personal reasons: Richard and Edward at the ancient fort of Hunsbury Hill in Northampton, for instance; I used to live on Hunsbury, a residential area now built on that site.   Also, the mention of King Henry IV being cared for in Delapre Abbey, nearby ~ I was there last year with my father, taking a look at the renovations.  
 

I wonder if Warwick trod the same paths on Hunsbury as I used to?

The Wars of the Roses is such a massive subject for any novelist to take on, and Tony Riches has, once again, dealt with it very well.  There were some parts of Warwick's history with which I was not familiar, and I didn't find them too confusing!  Definitely worth the read, for anyone who wants to know more about this intriguing character.  Oh, and you'll be as interested as I was to see who a famous descendent of Warwick was, in the Author's Note at the back :)

The Eleanor Cross in Northampton, near Delapre Abbey

OWEN by Tony Riches reviewed HERE

  JASPER by Tony Riches reviewed HERE

QUARTERLY ROUND UP: Jan-March 2016

I have read far, far more books than usual this quarter (because I was laid up in bed for much of it), so it's been harder than usual to choose just ten for the 'highlights' out of the 45-ish I've read or started to read. I've been fortunate to find a high percentage of gems over the past three months, too, so all those in my top ten are those to which I've given either 5 stars or my extra special 5 GOLD stars.  They range from a classic, to the traditionally published, to a couple from small independent presses, to self-published. 

I've also read lots of great books to which I've given 4.5* which you can find HERE, and all the 4* are HERE .

A click on the title will take you to the review, and I've also written a quick line to say how I discovered the book, as I think this is interesting for both readers and writers alike.  I've listed them in the order I read them.

I've linked most of the authors' Twitter handles so you can follow them if you wish, too.

1. DO NOT WASH HANDS IN PLATES by Barb Taub

Non-fiction/Humorous travel memoir/India

 

I bought this after reading Barb's extremely funny blog @barbtaub on Twitter 

2. THE HERETIC HEIR by Gemma Lawrence

Tudor historical fiction

I got to know the author via Twitter @TudorTweep because of our mutual interest in the Tudors

3. LEAVING THE BEACH  by Mary Rowen

Quirky contemporary drama about eating disorders and music

I read the author's other book after reading a guest post by her on a book blog, and thought she sounded interesting; liked this one even more. @maryjrowen  on Twitter.


4. THE FABRIC OF MURDER by William Savage 

18th Century Murder Mystery

I read the author's first book in my capacity as a member of Rosie Amber's Book Review Team.
I liked it so much I've read and reviewed both his others; this is my favourite. @penandpension on Twitter.


5. OCTOBER RAIN by Dylan Morgan  

Dystopian/Sci-Fi Novella

A Rosie Amber's Review Team choice
 @dylanjmorgan on Twitter


6. THE ART OF STAYING DEAD by Joel Hames  

Conspiracy thriller 

I read Mr Hames's first book (discovered via a promotional tweet); didn't like the subject matter but loved the way he writes, so thought I'd give this one a go.
@BankersTown on Twitter


7.  BLACKWATER by Alison Williams

17th century witch hunts, novella
 

Discovered the sequel via Twitter ages ago, and for some reason had never got round to reading this, too - glad I did!
@Alison_Williams on Twitter


8. FIVE BOOKS  by Jon Krakauer

Non-fiction: adventure/religion/injustice/mountaineering

I discovered the books of Jon Krakauer earlier in the year and decided to lump them all together as they're all brilliant!  Above is the link to Under The Banner of Heaven, with links to my reviews of the others.


9.  THE CALL OF THE WILD by Jack London  

Classic; 19th goldrush century adventure

I read about this in one of Jon Krakauer's books, so thought I'd give it a whirl.   


10. JASPER: Book Two of the Tudor Trilogy by Tony Riches 

Plantagenet/Tudor historical fiction

A Rosie Amber Review Team choice.  Author is @tonyriches
on Twitter 

   

Hope there's something there that interests you!