DEATH OF KINGS by Bernard Cornwell, 2011.
The year is 899 AD, King Alfred the Great of Wessex is dying, and the kingdom is in turmoil. His lifelong desire to see a unified country is in danger of falling apart, unless his son and successor, Edward, can provide the leadership, cunning and know-how to pull the various tribes together and defeat their common enemies. But Edward, attacked from all sides by Saxon claimants to the throne, as well as Danish invaders, needs help with this daunting task. It falls to the novel's hero, Lord Uhtred, a Saxon raised by Vikings and who is liked and trusted by King Alfred, to participate in the power struggle upon Alfred's death. He had sworn oaths to Alfred but not to Edward to create a united "Anglcynn," so he must decide whether to assist Edward, or to follow his own path to reclaim his family's lands lost years earlier in Northumbria. It is a decision that will change Uhtred's life--and the history of England.
   Cornwell knows how to tell a story, keep it moving at a fast clip, and provide plenty of excitement and adventure. He creates well defined characters and situations, his descriptions are colorful, and his battle scenes are vivid. Uhtred, the main protagonist, he is a powerful warrior, with deeply conflicting loyalties and inner struggles that make him very human. Cornwell has created a multifaceted figure adept at the art of war and other manly exploits, yet who can also express a depth of feeling for several of the other characters, notably the spy Ludda, his sometime mistress Aethelflaed, and for his monarch, King Alfred. I found Uhtred a strong, likeable hero, decisive, determined, and loyal to his beliefs and vows.
   This novel is part of a series called "The Saxon Tales," but I have not read any of the previous books and found this fine to read on its own. I have to admit, though, that perhaps I would not have been so confused by characters' names or needed to continually use the place-name glossary if I had read the earlier stories. Nevertheless, I found this a rousing, stirring tale, complete with a strong and charismatic hero, and with plenty of history, adventure, brutality, and violence to keep me entertained throughout.

THE ORCHARDIST by Amanda Coplin, 2012.
This debut novel is a lush period saga set in the Pacific Northwest at the end of the nineteenth century and it continues forward into the early decades of the twentieth, and depicts how several individuals brought together by circumstances are forged into a sort of family.
   The major character in this vividly written story is William Talmadge, who had moved into the valley during the Civil War, lost his family there, and then remained a fairly solitary figure, tending to and extending his orchards of apricot and apple trees, with help only from a roving band of horse herders. A gentle, quiet sort of man, he asked for little and remained a fairly self-sufficient person for many years. Until one day, when his peaceful existence is shattered by two scared young girls who steal his fruit in the town market and then follow him into the shelter of his orchards.
   Jane and Della are sisters, running from a drug and alcohol addict named Michaelson, and have been living some months in the wild. Talmadge cautiously takes them in and tries to protect them from whatever they have left behind.Their existence in the orchard is kept fairly quiet, except from the local midwife/herbalist, Caroline Middey, who kindly aids them over the course of the story in many ways.The girls, feral and distrusting even of Talmadge's kindness, uneasily hang around, and even give birth on his property, but Della's twins both die, while Jane's daughter, Angelene, survives.Then one day, the harmony in the valley is disrupted when Michaelson and his henchmen show up, leading to an unexpected tragedy that sets off a chain of events that changes all their lives.
  Coplin has written a very readable story about how the compassion in one man is awakened and he learns to care, to open himself to others and their problems, to realize what he's missed, and to live a fuller life with all its accompanying challenges and rewards. She does a credible job with her setting, with period description, adding good details about fruit picking and marketing, the coming of the railroad to the area, life in local prisons, provides a good glimpse of changing times in the Pacific Northwest. Her language is lush and flowing, the narrative moves along at a good pace, and she takes her time with developing her characters. At times it did seem somewhat slow and a bit too lengthy. However, Coplin's sensitive and realistic portrayal of the relationships between Talmadge, Della, Jane, and Angelene were well done and sympathetic, and the wise and motherly Caroline is a real standout. Dramatic and rich with emotion and power, Coplin's novel is an intelligent and engrossing character-driven story.

HERESY by S. J. Parris, 2010.

Billed as an historical thriller, this novel is set in the colleges at Oxford, England, in 1583, a dreadful and chaotic time in England, with a longing for a return to the Catholic faith an ever present danger. The main character, a fugitive Italian monk named Giordano Bruno, is a philosopher, scientist, poet, and magician, and is based on a real historical personage. In Parris' story, Bruno has traveled to Oxford in the party of a Polish prince who has been visiting Queen Elizabeth. Unknown to most of the other characters, Bruno has been recruited by Elizabeth's spymaster, Sir Francis Walsingham, to gain information on the religious practices of the college officials, scholars, and other prominent local people. Bruno's friend, Sir Philip Sidney, nephew of the Queen's favorite Sir Robert Dudley, is also among the party.
   Bruno, considered a heretic and who managed thus far to escape the Inquisition, is in hopes of finding an ancient manuscript that will prove his beliefs that the universe is heliocentric. Clues have led him to believe that a copy of it was recently at the Oxford library before a general purge demanded by the government rid the library of controversial material. Bruno is hoping that somehow the book escaped and is hidden somewhere within the colleges. At first welcomed by the fellows, he soon learns that most of them question why he is among them and several become openly hostile towards him as the story progresses.
   But while Bruno conducts his investigation for Walsingham, a grisly murder occurs in the grounds. Bruno discovers fairly quickly that the academic community is caught up in a dangerous atmosphere that includes an underground network of spies, vicious intrigue, and a possible conspiracy against the queen, involving many characters, including a wealthy young student, the rector's well educated daughter, a nasty looking bookseller, the college librarian, and several other college fellows. More brutal murders occur among the Oxford fellows, and Bruno finds himself playing a game of cat and mouse with a fiendish killer. Someone seeks horrendous revenge in the name of faith, but which faith? Who is the real heretic in all this? And can Bruno control his own emotions and save the lovely Sophia, daughter of the college's rector from a gruesome fate? I found this an engrossing read, with plenty of historical interest, a good story with very atmospheric setting, and a relatively fast pace. It worked for me as both an historical and as a mystery.

SONG OF ACHILLES by Madeline Miller, 2012.

Miller provides an absorbing retelling of the story concerning the ancient Greek hero Achilles in her new novel: the story is told through the eyes of Patroclus, Achilles' best friend and constant companion from childhood. Using Homer's work as her basis, she pretty much adheres to the usual version of events, but places her own stamp on them by focusing on the relationship of the two men, with each other and with others in their orbit.
  Becoming acquainted as mere boys when the young prince Patroclus is exiled from his father's tiny kingdom for accidentally killing another boy, Achilles and Patroclus over time become the best of friends. When Achilles' father, King Peleus, sends Achilles to the aged centaur Chiron for his education, Patroclus ends up following and being accepted as a pupil as well. As they grow into young adulthood in the mountainous retreat, learning about warfare and healing and survival, their emotional bond grows as well, leading later to a physical relationship. Achilles' mother, the goddess Thetis, a totally cold and unemotional character who wants to keep her son at a superior level to be worthy of being Aristos Achaion--"best of the Greeks"--has ever had it in for Patroclus and continually tries to come between the two, even resorting to attempted murder of her son's only friend.
   The story turns more familiar when the beautiful Helen is kidnapped from Menelaus in Sparta and taken to Troy, war is declared by Agamemnon, the High King of Greece, and all who are allied must go to fight. Odysseus and Diomedes search for Achilles, as it is known that Troy will not fall without his help. Mother Thetis, knowing all the dark prophecies about her son's life, has hidden him in King Lycomedes' court, dressed as a woman, hoping that he can avoid his destiny, but he is discovered, and he and Patroclus join the war. Achilles leaves behind a son, Pyrrhus, who will later play out his own destiny at Troy.
   While the centuries-old saga of the Trojan War may be familiar to many, Miller adds new dimensions to the cast of characters, and brings forth those who have often remained in the background: the beautiful but hard Thetis, the captive maiden Briseis (who captures Patroclus' heart), the physician Machaon, the kindly and wise centaur Chiron, Achilles' charioteer Automedon, and others are here portrayed in proper context. Some of the more famous appear only briefly: Helen, Paris, Andromache, Priam, etc. I found it refreshing to read the story with the focus on less familiar characters who also took part in the conflict. Of course, at the center of the novel is Achilles, the golden hero, half human, half god, whom all believed was chosen to lead them to victory at Troy and who came to realize after his first battle that "this is what I was born for"; and Patroclus, generous and tender-hearted and un-soldierlike, who loved and supported his comrade, and who with his own actions ultimately found his place in history as well.
   I found Miller's storytelling skills superb; her writing is spare and simple, yet elegant, conveying a wonderful sense of time and place; her characters are full blooded and real; the historical details are meticulously researched. The reader experiences the changing relationship of two young boys that comes to fruition during a horrendous war, the values of friendship and loyalty and honesty, the screams of dying men and horses on the blood-and-gore soaked plains of Troy, the terrific misuse of absolute power, and the violence and brutality of a long ago age. While the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus may be off-putting to some readers, I felt the author handled it in an understated and quite inoffensive way. I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of the Trojan War and who would enjoy a well-told story from a different point of view. I found it a very beautiful rendering of a very old story.

THE FOREST LAIRD: A TALE OF WILLIAM WALLACE by Jack Whyte, 2010.

I picked this up solely by the cover art and author recognition, read the flap and was hooked. Whyte is a noted author of historical fiction, and this novel is part of a new trilogy he's writing, "The Guardians," which will concern the Scottish wars for freedom from England. This book concerns the life of William Wallace, known to many from the "Braveheart" film made some years ago.

   Whyte's book shows he has done his research. Not much of fact is known about William Wallace, but Whyte makes use of what is known and other historical detail about Scotland and its affairs in the 1290s to create his portrait of Will and without bogging down the pace of the story. The novel is told from the point of view of Wallace's cousin, Jamie Wallace, who becomes the cleric librarian/priest Father James. When the two cousins are young boys, English attack the Wallace homestead, killing Wallace's parents and sister, Will and Jamie are abused by the English, and then manage to flee and are taken in by the archer Ewan Scrymgeour, who nurtures and helps guide their futures. Eventually, they are reunited with family, educated at a local monastery, and years later they separate to fulfill their destinies: Jamie to be a priest/librarian, and Will to be an archer of uncommon talents. By the time they are young adults, Scotland is in crisis: the Scots king dies leaving a young heiress named the Maid of Norway who is drowned on her way to take the throne; Edward I of England is invited into Scotland to help settle the dispute between the claimants John Balliol and Robert Bruce; even after John is named King of Scots, the English presence remains and creates mayhem and havoc; and there begins a grassroots surge of folk who wish to drive the English out of Scotland and reclaim their freedom. But without a strong leader, there are multiple factions who don't cooperate and thus create more confusion and misery for all the populace. Wallace, meanwhile marries the love of his life, and begins to lead the life of an outlaw and fugitive on the border, his hatred of the English nurtured by such as Bishop Robert Wishart, but determined to remain apart from the fighting as long it stays away from his door and until a strong leader emerges to engage the English. Jamie moves in and out of his life, supportive of Will and his family, but knowing that eventually the chaos that exists in Scotland will have to be resolved and Wallace must help. And then the terrible day arrives with horrific and heartrending force...and Jamie and Will are forced into action.
   Whyte does a wonderful job of making medieval Scotland come alive as a place of great beauty and harshness, with its volatile politics concerning France and England, its powerful lairds and barons, its rising middle class and the poverty ridden peasants. His characters are colorful, vibrant, and realistically portrayed: his hero Will is conflicted, high minded and compassionate, yet also savage, unforgiving, and violent. Highly readable, with excellent pacing and great storytelling, filled with action and savage violence, gross injustice, love and patriotism, this is a hugely entertaining saga of an enormously talented and strong leader of the Scots people who over time became almost a myth and somewhat neglected by historians but who evidently still lives in Scottish memory as a national hero.

SERENA by Ron Rash, 2008.

This novel sucked me in completely from the very first page, and I found it very difficult put it down or stop thinking about it when I wasn't reading it.
   Set in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina, the story opens in 1929 with the return of George Pemberton from Boston to Waynesville, North Carolina, bringing with him his bride, Serena. Driven by greed, ambition, and power, and ideally suited, the couple is ready to lead a spectacular and thrilling life. They want to turn the area into a vast timber empire, harvesting the trees and despoiling the valleys and ridges until there's nothing left, and then move on. However, nothing in life is ever so simple, and they find themselves distracted by several issues: the Federal government's desire to create a national forest; the existence of Pemberton's illegitimate infant son; the numerous deaths of workers; the continuous hunt for new investors in their projects; an interfering local sheriff named McDowell, and Serena's tragic pregnancy. The Pembertons use every method available to vanquish all those who stand in their way--bribery, violence, and murder. And when Serena discovers she can never give Pemberton a child of her own, she ruthlessly sets out to murder both his young son and the boy's mother.
   Rash is a wonderful storyteller and brilliant in his writing--his descriptions of the western Carolina mountains are beautiful, the period details of the Great Depression in Appalachia are well integrated, his narrative flows smoothly, the story moves at a good pace. He provides details about timber harvesting, the logging industry, the whole concept of creating the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and how it was done, of the Appalachian people and their terrible poverty. His characters are larger than life: Pemberton, the handsome and powerful lumberman who realizes his fatal flaw much too late; Rachel, the young girl who gives birth to Pemberton's only child and then struggles to protect them both; McDowell, the honest sheriff who can't be bought and wants to stop the Pembertons; Galloway, the one-handed flunky of Serena's who protects her and carries out her bidding; old Adeline Jenkins, who takes care of Rachel's baby and pays dearly for it, and many others, some real--like Cornelia Vanderbilt Cecil of Biltmore--all brought to life by Rash's pen. But it is the character of Serena that is his most stunning creation--Rash's portrayal is amazing--she is brilliantly intelligent, practical, utterly ruthless, manipulative, and cruel, and at the same time able to show her care for Pemberton, her Arabian horse, her pet eagle, and, occasionally some concern for Galloway and other workers. I found this novel hugely entertaining, compelling, well plotted, with fine suspense and plenty of intrigue, violence, betrayal, lust, bribes, fraud; in short, an absorbing story of two intense and passionate people with a complete willingness to destroy a natural area for personal gain and to crush those who dared go against them. Hard to put down, totally recommend it.

SARUM by Edward Rutherfurd, 1987.

Sprawling, compelling and entertaining saga of the area of England famous for Stonehenge and Salisbury Cathedral. I'd read another couple of Rutherfurd's novels before this one. His books remind me a lot of James A. Michener's in the way they are constructed: he generally takes an area and begins his story with prehistoric times and moves forward, providing episodes of the area's history, usually involving multiple families and characters. In this case, Rutherfurd draws on the splendid history of Salisbury Plain, and intertwines the lives of five families through several thousand years. I found it a dense read, but very involving, and for the most part, quite interesting. I enjoyed learning about how Stonehenge was likely created and the likelihood of human sacrifices being held there; the early burial sites of the tribes (called barrows); about sheep herding and breeding; the rise and development of fulling mills; the effect of the Black Death on the area; how the English Civil War divided area families; the occupations the families took up, like stonemasons, farmers, and fullers, etc. At 900 pages, it's a huge investment of a reader's time, but it honestly is totally worth the effort. The best and worst of humanity shows up in these pages: dishonor, betrayal, murder, acceptance, love, witchcraft, heresy, lust, double-dealing, wars, piracy, religious persecution, social activism, political upheaval, greed, outright manipulation, etc. It was interesting to see the Shockley, Mason, Godfrey, Porteus/Porter and Wilson family fortunes rise and fall, based on cunning, laziness, greed, misperceptions and misinformation, as well as secrets and lies. Some episodes were better than others: I particularly liked the section in which the cathedral was built; the period of Roman rule of the various tribes was informative; the time of the brutal Viking raids on the land was quite thrilling; Bloody Mary's reign saw Abigail Mason and her husband Peter caught up in the terror of heretic burnings; the Civil War era had Margaret Shockley and her brothers divided into Cavalier and Puritan sympathies; the Industrial Revolution brought about huge changes in the fortunes of the Shockleys, and the Wilsons morphed into the Forests and gained a baronetcy. Filled with hundreds of characters, thank goodness the author included a family chart by time period to help keep them straight. Plenty of period details and historical events provide ample background and opportunity for his characters to come to life. An enormously rich and detailed narrative of a massively important area of Britain. Recommended.

THE FORGOTTEN GARDEN by Kate Morton, 2009.

A sprawling story spanning three generations, involving an abandoned child in 1913 Australia, a talented writer of fairy tales, and a granddaughter who discovers a new life for herself on the coast of Cornwall. When a little girl arrives at Brisbane all alone and unable to even say her name, the dockmaster and his wife adopt her, name her Nell and raise her as their own. On her 21st birthday, she's told the truth about her adoption and given a little suitcase with a few clothes and a lovely old book of fairy tales that had been in her possession when she arrived in Australia.The knowledge changes her very life, and she begins a search to find out about her past. Following slender clues, her quest leads her to the Cornish coast in England, to Blackhurst Manor, the Mountrachet family, and a dark web of secrets and lies and false hopes. As she learns more concerning the "Authoress," Eliza Makepeace, who wrote the beautiful fairy tales; the handsome artist Alexander Walker; the maidservant Mary, the overbearing, unkind Adeline and her daughter Rose, Nell realizes that her story is more tangled than she could have realized. She manages to piece together much of her past and comes close to solving the mystery of her identity, but it's left to her granddaughter, Cassandra, to discover the dark secret of the forgotten garden at Cliff Cottage on the estate and at long last put all the pieces together and solve the puzzle. Beautifully written (if a bit overlong), with an involving narrative, rich with interesting and almost Dickensian characters (Mansell and the Swindells most definitely), the reader gets sucked into the mystery almost immediately.The relationship between the cousins--the talented, determined and loyal Eliza Makepeace and the lovely but doomed Rose Mountrachet--is excellently portrayed. This is a book stuffed with characters and events, and if at times the shifting of the time periods was a bit confusing, the story clicks with an almost Gothic atmosphere in the Cornish setting, the characters are well drawn and the storyline intriguing. I found it an entertaining, at times comforting sort of read, much like the old fashioned sagas of Dorothy Eden or Susan Howatch.

THE RESERVOIR by John Milliken Thompson, 2011.

Based on a real murder case that occurred in Richmond, Virginia, in 1885, this novel quite ingeniously puts the reader right there, involving them in the events and the characters' lives from the very beginning of the narrative. On a chilly March morning in 1885, young Fannie Lillian Madison's body is found drowned in a reservoir near Hollywood Cemetery. It is soon revealed that the victim was also bruised on the head and pregnant. Investigation soon brings to light Lillie's somewhat checkered past, including her unsavory family life, and leads to the main suspect, Thomas Judson Cluverius, a young, ambitious lawyer from King William County. It was common knowledge Tommie was involved with Lillie, as well as with pretty Nola Bray. And furthermore, Tommie's older brother Willie, a quiet farmer, had been in a relationship with Lillie before Tommie. As clues are uncovered concerning that cold night's events, Tommie is charged with the murder, and the city is in the throes of excitement over the trial. But is Tommie guilty? Was Lillie's death a murder or was it suicide? Was someone else involved? Of what importance is the little watch key? And the torn letter? Tommie keeps changing his version of events, so much so that it's questioned by those around him as to just what is truth and what is not.Thompson, with straightforward storytelling, moves the narrative along, doing a credible job of presenting the known facts, as well as filling in gaps with creative imaginings, allowing the reader to draw his own conclusions. Using available documentation, including contemporary newspapers and court records,Thompson provides riveting courtroom scenes, with numerous witnesses and lawyers taking stage. His characters, like Aunt Jane Tunstall, Howard Madison, William Crump and Colonel Aylett, are all real people, and imaginatively brought to life in the course of the story. Set against the backdrop of rural, peaceful King William County and the prosperous city of Richmond, just twenty years after the Civil War, Thompson's story is an excellent rendering of a case that captured the public's imagination during those post-war days. Well done, as both an historical novel and a crime suspense story. It would make a for a good book discussion.

THE ISLAND BENEATH THE SEA by Isabel Allende, 2010.

Spanning the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries in Haiti and New Orleans, Allende's novel follows the life of Zarite, called Tete, born on the island of Saint-Dominigue, a slave and concubine who wishes to take control of her own life and destiny no matter what the cost.
  In 1770, young and foppish Toulouse Valmorain arrives on the island and begins running his father's plantation, Saint-Lazare, a sugarcane plantation of lush natural beauty and terrible brutality. When Valmorain, with little hope of ever returning to live in France, decides to marry the lovely Spaniard Eugenia del Solar, sister of his best friend and business partner Sancho, he asks his current mistress, Violette Boisier, to purchase a maid for his bride. Thus, the endearing and smart nine year old Tete, enters Violette's home and is trained as a domestic for Eugenia. Tete, an eager sort who comforts herself by dancing to African drums and learning about voodoo loa, becomes an indispensable part of Valmorain's life. As the years pass, Tete becomes far more important to her master than he does to her. Their lives fatally intertwine and involve others: the gorgeous and knowledgeable Violette, headstrong Gambo, guardian-like Loula, the vindictive Hortense Guizot, the kindly Dr. Parmentier, the witchlike Tante Rose, and Capt. Etienne Relais, who loves and tries to protect his family unto death. When the French Revolution rocks their world, creating a stunning and bloody revolution on their island with the rise of Toussaint L'ouverture and necessitating several characters' escape to New Orleans, Tete sees a chance for having her enduring wish for freedom granted. There, amidst the raucous multicultural city, with its slave markets, smuggling, governmental chaos, and famous quadroon balls, she renews her acquaintance with the free Zacharie. And at long last, after years of violence, childbirth, love, lies and betrayal, lust, slavery, cruelty, and loss, she finally finds peace and joy with the Zacharie and achieves a destiny greater than she had dreamed. 
  An interesting read, definitely of a literary bent, at times not easy to follow, with a huge cast of characters, and enough drama for several books. Allende's portrayal of the determined Tete is creative and sympathetic, she is a vigorous survivor with a heart and unquenchable spirit, able to rise above unimaginable suffering. Allende's depictions of New Orleans and Haiti are accurate and lively, and setting Tete's riveting story against these backdrops added much to the novel. For those who enjoy a lengthy saga about courage and hope against all odds. My only quibble: some of Allende's writing didn't seem well translated and made for awkward reading. Otherwise, a literate and engrossing (if sometimes slow) read.

PEOPLE OF THE BOOK by Geraldine Brooks, 2008.

Brooks takes on the challenge of writing about a beautifully wrought book (a Jewish haggadah) that moves through various characters' hands over the years from 1480s Spain to war-torn Bosnia in 1996. Her major character, Hanna Heath, is a rare books conservator who develops a special connection with this manuscript, known for its exquisite workmanship and curious history. Hanna is called in to perform some conservation work on this book and in the process, discovers artifacts within the book's pages--a hair, a stain, grains of salt, part of an insect wing, etc. Brooks takes us on a journey, piecing together the book's history from these various items. The overarching story of the conservator is interwoven with tales of the book. Each of these tales answers the question of how each of the tiny artifacts came to be found within the book. One episode describes how a Muslim in Sarajevo during World War II risks his life to save the book; another is about the last golden days of 1890s Vienna; still another contains the horrors of the Inquisition, and the last of the book's stories is set in Seville and describes the life of the young artist living in a Moorish house who created the luminous and unusual drawings for the book. Hanna's own research and investigation into the mysteries of the book lead her to questions of forgery and betrayal and cause dramatic changes in her own life. Based on a true event, Brooks has done an excellent job with this one. I found it entertaining, educational, and thought-provoking reading.

WENCH by Dolen Perkins-Valdez, 2010.

An interesting and often disturbing novel set at a summer resort, Tawawa House, in Ohio during the 1850s, a place where Southern white men could bring their enslaved black concubines. Near Xenia, Ohio, the resort is an idyllic retreat, and provides privacy to these men and their mistresses. Three women become acquainted there: Lizzie, Sweet, and Reenie, and remain friends through several years of visits, reuniting and sharing news and information about each others' lives at each visit. Even though they are aware that Tawawa is in free territory, they don't think much about it until a new visitor arrives--Mawu--and starts talking of escaping to freedom. It's a huge thing to consider for them all, as running away would mean leaving behind everything they know--families, children, friends, as well as breaking the emotional ties to the men who enslave them. The author has done an excellent job with the details of the period, her characters, black and white, are well drawn and full blooded, and I was totally engaged by the story of the trials and tribulations of these women. It's a story of great courage, strength, psychological as well as physical bondage, loyalty, and love. At times shocking and brutal, the narrative moves swiftly, and the reader is carried right along to the end. Very worthwhile read about a little known episode (Tawawa House really did exist--it later became a college for blacks).

ELIZABETH I by Margaret George, 2011.

A huge, sprawling saga spanning the later part of Elizabeth Tudor's reign from 1588-1603. I have always been a fan of long and involving historical novels of this nature, and of Margaret George's in particular, and this one did not disappoint me. Ms. George knows her history and she knows how to weave and spin out her stories, involving the reader and keeping their attention throughout.  In this novel, Elizabeth herself narrates the bulk of the story, but interwoven with her narrative is that of her most famous cousin and rival, Lettice Knollys. These two make a good counterpoint to each other: Elizabeth's and Lettice's lives became forever intertwined when young Lettice came to Elizabeth's court and became involved with Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester, and Elizabeth's love. After the Queen refuses to marry him, and Lettice's first husband dies, Dudley and Lettice secretly marry. Once their marriage is revealed,  Elizabeth, hurt and enraged, banished them both from court; she forgave Dudley and recalled him, but Elizabeth swore she'd never forgive Lettice for what she considered her betrayal. When this novel opens, the Spanish Armada has left Spain and is threatening England's future. By the end of the novel, Lettice, still alive and residing quietly in the country in 1634, is reminiscing to her grandchildren about her life and that of her glittering and powerful cousin.

George quite simply brings the entire Elizabethan era to life in her writing. Her use of period detail is wonderful and adds so much to the novel's meaning, and she writes so elegantly and vibrantly about the many colorful characters of that glorious era. The story is filled with enthralling people and events: the Armadas (there were four); the continuing problems in Ireland with the O'Neill; Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Hawkins and their piracy against Spain; Sir Walter Raleigh and his attempts to found a colony in the New World of Virginia; the Irish heroine Grace O'Malley; the Cecils, father and son, who ran the English government between them; Shakespeare, Edmund Spenser, John Donne and other literary lights; the mystical Dr. John Dee; Sir Francis Walsingham, who managed the Queen's elaborate spy network; Robert Devereux, Lettice's son and Elizabeth's last, and most tragic, favorite, and so many others. This is a rich, dense, and juicy book--it contains among its pages enough court scandals, gossip, political intrigue, executions, religious strife, and financial dealings to fill several books. At the center of everything is Elizabeth, always in the thick of it, always thinking and puzzling and scheming and attempting to maintain her power and control at all costs. And in the background was Lettice, the one woman she could not control.

George creates some wonderful scenes within this story, fictional and otherwise: Elizabeth at Tilbury speaking to the troops gathered against the Armada; Elizabeth's meeting with the wild and unruly Grace O'Malley; Elizabeth spontaneously attending a goose fair while on a Progress; Lettice juggling relationships with three different men, but only truly in love with one of them; Lettice and Shakespeare discussing several of his plays as he writes them, and Lettice's attempts to help her son, Robert, and slowly coming to the dreadful realization that he is doomed. One of the most moving sections is near the end of Elizabeth's life, when the aging queen and her cousins Catherine Carey and Lettice Knollys arrange to meet at Hever Castle, the ancestral Boleyn home, never visited by any of the three before. Here, amidst a secret bower once used by Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, Lettice and Elizabeth come to an understanding, lay to rest old rivalries and ghosts, and finally find forgiveness in each other.

In this book, Margaret George definitely used all her writing skills to bring these larger than life figures to life in these pages. I thoroughly enjoyed the witty dialogue, clever exchanges and asides, and humor that she injected into the lives of her characters. The scene in which Elizabeth's godson John Harington installs the newly invented water closet in Elizabeth's chamber is quite funny in its description. In every detail, George has created a believable world long gone and made these real historical people human in every way. She has outdone herself totally and written a meticulously researched and powerful novel about two women who were alike in so many ways--looks, intelligence, wit, strength of character, charm, courage, craftiness--and manages to give an entertaining and complex portrait of how they lived--the choices they made (or were made for them), the different paths they followed, and how their lives intertwined and played out across the broad and richly woven tapestry of their world. Enjoyable for historical fiction fans, especially those of the Elizabethan period. Highly recommended.

CALEB'S CROSSING by Geraldine Brooks, 2011.

Beautifully written and carefully researched, Brooks has penned an eloquent story concerning the little known Caleb Cheeshahteaumauk, a Waupanaug Indian from Martha's Vineyard, and the first Native American to graduate from Harvard College. Told from the point of view of the spirited Bethia Mayfield, daughter of a Calvinist missionary preacher, life on Martha's Vineyard during the seventeenth century was often harsh and hard, even though the island itself held wonderful natural beauty. Bethia meets Caleb, the son of a chieftain, unexpectedly one day when they are both children, and because of the strictness of the times, continue meeting in secret as they become young adults. Bethia learns much from Caleb about the wonders of the island, and Caleb, offered the opportunity of tutoring with Reverend Mayfield along with Mayfield's son Makepeace and another native boy, Joel, sees a chance to become a missionary to his people through education. This opportunity, as well as the minister's mission work, disturbs the island's medicine men, and a struggle over the old and new ways ensues in which Caleb becomes the prize...Caleb eventually finds himself at Harvard, studying Latin and Greek alongside scions of colonial leaders, and Bethia, who longs for an education herself, is summoned to go to Cambridge along with her brother and support his efforts at Harvard. As Caleb undergoes the struggle of trying to find his place in this new arena, Bethia tries desperately to find her own destiny in a rigid society in which few women have a voice. Brooks writes wonderfully well, providing excellent period details of the two cultures, using language of the time period, and keeps her storylines seamlessly interwoven. My only complaint is that because so little facts are known about Caleb and Brooks chooses to have Bethia tell the story, I never felt truly involved with Caleb or that I knew him as a person. Perhaps if Caleb had been the narrator it would have been more meaningful. Even so, overall, I found this a thoughtful, interesting, and provocative story of one Native American's hope of living peacefully with the colonists and his own people through education and faith in God.

THE OTHER QUEEN by Philippa Gregory, 2008.

Boring and dull and totally disappointing. How any author could make Mary Queen of Scots so boring is beyond me. Gregory sets this novel during the years 1568-1572, when Mary has fled Scotland into England and becomes Elizabeth I's guest under the charge of George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, and his formidable countess, Bess of Hardwick, who are still newlyweds. Pleased to be chosen for such an honor, they soon realize that no sooner is Mary established at Tutbury than plots and intrigues begin swirling around her. Broken promises, threats of rebellion in the North and a Spanish invasion, attempted rescues, secrets and codes and spies at every turn quickly become part of the household's daily life. Shallow characterizations, monotonous dialogue, and far too much repetition by having three narrators go over the same events make this a sluggish and unsatisfying story. Too much focus on Mary's beauty and Shrewsbury's weakness and Bess' penny-pinching--none of the characters were sympathetic. It became tedious to keep reading how the Shrewburys were bankrupting themselves by supporting this other queen and her court and they were getting no reimbursement from Elizabeth. Historical details abound, Gregory is good with description, but the pace is just too slow and the whole thing just so uninvolving. If I had not been recuperating from a recent illness, homebound, with plenty of time to read, I would have dropped this one after about fifty pages and moved on. I can't recommend it.

GRAVE GOODS by Ariana Franklin, 2009.

This novel is Adelia Aguilar's third (and last, as the author has died) outing. Set in England in 1176, Adelia, who is traveling with her companions Mansur and Gyltha and her daughter Allie in the cavalcade of Emma of Wolvercote, who is out to claim her infant son's inheritance. She is called to come to Glastonbury Abbey by King Henry II, to investigate two skeletons (a man's and a woman's) that have been discovered in the grounds of the recently burned abbey. It is thought by the locals that the skeletons are those of the fabled Arthur and Guinevere, but Henry wants proof, in the hopes that it will help him put down a Welsh rebellion. As the king's "mistress of the art of death", Adelia is to examine the bones and provide the proof Henry needs. Investigating the abbey fire is Rowley, the Bishop of St. Albans, the father of Adelia's daughter, who Adelia still has strong feelings for, even though she denies them at every turn. Complicating matters even further are: monks with various secrets; an innkeeper and his strange wife; hidden caves and tunnels; a secret colony of lepers; the seemingly complete disappearance of Emma and her entire party after arriving at Wolvercote Manor, and the fact that there is a dangerous and violent evil lurking in the woods around Glastonbury... Franklin does an excellent job of creating suspense amid everyday life, the historical details are accurate, her characters are involving, the story is always compelling, and she manages to infuse enough humor to relieve the tension at the right times. Her portrayal of Henry II is intriguing and genuine, and the novel on the whole is entertaining and well done. Highly recommended, whether you have read the first two in the series or not.

THE SULTAN'S HAREM by Colin Falconer, 2006.
This had been on my list quite a while, and I'm glad I got around to it at last.

Spanning the years from 1522 to 1561, the age of Suleyman the Magnificent, and set mainly in the ancient city of Constantinople (Stamboul), Falconer quickly introduces most of his large cast during the early chapters. The Sultan is all-powerful in this world of the Ottomans, called Lord of the Lords of this World, Possessor of Men's Necks, Allah's Deputy, etc. He holds the power of life and death over all his subjects, no questions asked. At the heart of the sultan's palace, though, is the Harem, a vast domain of women of various types and nationalities, beautiful and pampered and sheltered from the world and who always await the sultan's pleasure. Guarded by eunuchs, the Harem may not be entered by any man but the sultan himself. The women, some of whom are his wives, some concubines, some slaves, all live together under this roof and all compete for the sultan's notice. Falconer's story concerns three of Suleyman's women: Gulbehar, the mother of his heir; Julia Gonzaga, the daughter of an Italian lord who is kidnapped while on a journey from Venice to Cyprus to meet her husband; and Hurrem, a young Tartar from the Russian steppes who is sold into slavery and winds up in the Harem. These three characters form the main threads of the story as their lives intertwine along with Suleyman's and several other characters: Ibrahim, Suleyman's most trusted friend and adviser and right hand man who is cruelly betrayed in one of Hurrem's plots; Abbas, the eunuch who loves Julia and is destroyed by that love but first is able to redeem himself by saving her; Ludovici, who loves Julia but can never truly possess her heart, and Mustapha, Suleyman's eldest and dearest son and heir, who is forced to pay the ultimate penalty through no fault of his own. The main force of the novel is Hurrem, the manipulative and vicious Russian beauty who endlessly plots and schemes her way into Suleyman's bed at all costs, and once there, continuously hatches intrigues to remove anyone standing in the way of what she most desires: REVENGE. Falconer's narrative races along filled with fascinating historical details, lush descriptions, horrendous violence and cruelty, family strife, love and hate, forbidden desire and obsession, huge battle scenes, mistaken identity, missed opportunities, and eventual triumph. I found this a hugely entertaining and involving novel, and I enjoyed learning about the Ottomans and this time in their history. I thought Hurrem an especially interesting heroine of sorts: even though over the course of the novel the reader may come to despise her (as I did) for her wicked nastiness, Falconer's excellent characterization of her enables you to understand her motivations and almost admire her perseverance, utter determination, and courage in such a situation as she found herself. On the other hand, Suleyman, whom Falconer shows as a very dominating, powerful potentate, changes over time into a somewhat pitiable figure, one that the reader has sympathy for, but at the same time realizes that so much of his misery was caused by his own stubborn refusal to recognize people for what they truly are. A very worthwhile read, I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in stories of palace intrigue or an interest in historicals set during Ottoman Empire.

Finished reading on 4/23/11:
THE CONFESSIONS OF CATHERINE DE MEDICI by C. W. Gortner, 2010.
Intriguingly written, well researched, and beautifully realized portrait of one of history's most hated queens. Gortner's Catherine springs to life from these pages, beginning with a violent and uncertain childhood in Florence, Italy, as one of the last of the powerful Medici family. Married off to the French king Francois I's son Henri as a teenager, she is kept relatively in the background for years, looking on and observing the machinations and intrigues of the powerful figures of the dazzling and decadent French court. She is humiliated by her husband's mistress, Diane de Poitiers, but is able to hold her own through her own willpower and her gift as a seer. As queen, she sponsors the famous and enigmatic Nostradamus, whose prophecies give her much trouble and lead to horrendous conclusions in lives of all whom she holds dear. When she is widowed at forty, with young children to care for and a kingdom wracked by religious strife, class struggles and poverty, she manages to take control and drive for peace, even though the course she steers is dangerous and unpopular. Ultimately, Catherine must make terrible decisions and sacrifices in order to save the throne of France for posterity. Gortner does a wonderful job of portraying Catherine as a passionate, conflicted woman, torn between her love for her family and what is best for France. He provides a somewhat different view on Catherine's interest in prophecy and poisons, as well as her relationship with Gaspard Coligny, the Huguenot leader. His descriptions of the fabulous Court of France, with all its luminous notables, gorgeous palaces, plots, intrigues and scandals is brilliantly done, with lots of spice and bite, enjoyable writing all around. He shows more of Catherine's education at court, her relationships with other members of the royal family, her relationship with Francois' mistress Anne de Heilly, and her tangled and often dysfunctional relations with her children. I found this novel enlightening and fascinating because Gortner chose to portray Catherine as a more mult-layered character, rather than simply as the wicked and desperate horror she has generally been shown as, and provides examples trhoughout as to how that reputation began and endured. Gortner's novel and Jeanne Kalogridis' novel The Devil's Queen, have similarities, but Gortner's is probably the more sympathetic of the two and the better written. A very worthwhile piece of historical fiction about an infamous woman.

DELIVERANCE FROM EVIL by Frances Hill, 2011.
Frances Hill, a noted historian on the Salem witch trials here turns her hand to fiction. Although most people know the basics of the story, Hill gets it started a bit differently, beginning with an Indian attack in the outback of Maine, where the living is a bit more easy, especially as concerns religion, drawing in less hardnosed Puritans, Quakers, and even Baptists. The Harvard-educated Reverend George Burroughs, a former resident of Salem Village and who left it under a cloud, rescues young Mary Cheever during the Indian attack on York, and they are later married and live happily in Wells with Burroughs' houseful of children.

Meanwhile, in Salem Village, young girls playing at fortune telling get into serious trouble and become pawns and actors in a deadly plan by Thomas Putnam, who has many scores to settle. As Hill heats up the narrative and reveals the story in its logical pattern, the community she describes becomes a place of terror. When the group of afflicted girls becomes larger and more people are cried out upon, no one is safe. Even George Burroughs is accused and arrested, and when he is transported from Maine to Salem jail, Mary is determined to find a way to save him. Along with Peter White, an old friend of George's, Mary travels to Salem to plead for her husband's life; they both quickly discover firsthand the horrors that exist in Salem and just how unprepared they are to fight the hysterical forces that threaten to overwhelm them.

Hill, whose nonfiction account (A Delusion of Satan) of this well known chapter in American history is excellently researched and written, does a fine job with providing the period details and necessary background of New England during 1692. I like her taking the stance that Thomas Putnam took control of the situation to promote his own agenda, supplying the girls with the names of those he held grudges against and encouraging them to accuse them. It added dimension to the story and made it more real. Once she keeps the story focussed on the Burroughs, an urgency takes hold that made me keep turning pages even though I knew how things would turn out. Her descriptions of neighbors and friends betraying each other in order to save themselves, of farms and buildings gone untended, of cold and harsh judges, of children left without parents or homes, of awful jail conditions, all ring true and can be favorably compared to what Kathleen Kent depicted in her novel The Heretic's Daughter, as well. Her portraits of George Burroughs, Mary, Peter White, Nathaniel Cary, Margaret Jacobs, and several others are sympathetic and appealing. Mary's whole mission to save her husband is quite heartrending, and I thought Hill was clever in having Mary ask the questions that modern audiences often ask when reading about these cases: How can they believe this? Why is it that the witch didn't have to touch them that time to make them stop when she did before? Can't anyone see that they are play-acting? and suchlike. Her depiction of the judges and especially of their willingness to believe in "spectral evidence" during the trials was downright chilling and made my skin crawl. I wasn't thrilled with several of her pieces of fictional license: for example, her description of Bridget Bishop goes totally against what is known about her; Deliverance, not Lydia, Hobbs was the name of the accused person who implicated Burroughs; Abigail Williams didn't hang herself, she was present throughout the entire period. These changes seem unnecessary or purposeless, and to those very familiar with the story rather jarring. It was a nice touch to include a bibliography, although it seems a little self-serving that four of the nine titles listed were written by the author. But all quibbles aside, on the whole I found this a very readable and engaging novel about this shocking and terrible time in New England's history. It made me want to visit Salem again!

THE TUDOR SECRET by C.W. Gortner, 2011.
It's the summer of 1553, and young King Edward VI lies seriously ill in London. Brendan Prescott, an orphan without a past raised by the Dudley family, is sent to serve Lord Robert Dudley at court, and is immediately plunged into a world of politics, danger, and deceit. Within no time at all, he is forced to work as a double agent for William Cecil, a master manipulator whose main concern, along with the dark visaged Walsingham, is for Elizabeth Tudor's welfare. Plenty of villainous nobles, a headstrong lady in waiting, a helpful stableboy, ruthless royals, and enough dark plots and secrets for several books, keep the story moving at breakneck speed. Brendan becomes enmeshed in the attempt to disinherit the Lady Mary and the Lady Elizabeth and place Lady Jane Grey on the English throne, and during his involvement discovers the answers to some questions he has concerning his own troubled past. Gortner weaves his various threads of the plot together very well and provides enough background and details of Tudor England to add depth and interest. He's good with his characters, although at times his villains seem almost too villainous to be credible, but the whole thing is a fun, fast moving adventure with lots of twists and turns and suspense and violence and a bit of romance for good measure thrown into the mix. The end result for this reader: good writing, interesting characters, an appealing hero, and a strong story that kept me wanting to turn the next page. I also appreciated the author's afterword and bibliography. A very enjoyable outing overall; I liked the character of Brendan and hope that as this is the beginning of a series (Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles) that he will have many more adventures. If you enjoyed the Ursula Blanchard series by Fiona Buckley or Karen Harper's Elizabeth I mysteries, this novel should appeal.