Review ~ Leopards of Normandy : Duke by David Churchill

Headline
APRIL 2016

The Leopards of Normandy #2

Duke

He came, he fought and he conquered and that's really all I knew about William the first of England, the King who built the Tower of London with stone from his native Normandy. I didn't know anything about his life before the conquest of England and what's been so fascinating about reading David Churchill's excellent trilogy, so far, is that it has started to flesh out William, to give him personality and purpose, and in this second book in the trilogy, which spans the years between 1039 to 1051, William starts to emerge as a strong and decisive character.

Of course, there are going to be gaps in history, and this is most definitely a fictional account of William’s early life but wherever possible the author has used available historical evidence to add motivation and gives a plausible suggestion of what might have happened. The one thing that is certain, however, is that the eleventh century was a time of great political and democratic uncertainty. Conflict between the ruling families of northern Europe was rife and political assassination was both endemic and accepted as commonplace.

There is no doubt that the author writes well around a subject about which he is passionate. Factual and fictional history blends really well and as time and place starts to come alive, before you know it, the creeping menace of the eleventh century starts to surface, and in your imagination you are moving surreptitiously in the cold, dark shadows watching as William's story continues to unfold.

This second book in the trilogy shows just how unpredictable life was in the eleventh century, and as families fought against families, the only certainty was that the victor would be the one with enough ambition and motivation to succeed. I look forward to seeing how the story finally plays out in the final part of the trilogy and although the outcome is known, it's going to be really interesting to see how William finally gets to becomes the conqueror we know from our history books.

Best read with … A haunch of venison and a flagon of ripe and fruity Normandy cider..

About the Author

David Churchill is the pseudonym of an award-winning journalist. He has investigated financial scandals on Wall Street, studio intrigues in Hollywood and corrupt sports stars in Britain, and lived in Moscow, Washington DC and Havana. He has edited four magazines, published seventeen books and been translated into some twenty languages. The Leopards of Normandy trilogy reflects his lifelong passion for history and his fascination for the extraordinary men and women of the past who shaped the world we live in today.

Amazon UK

My thanks to Caitlin Raynor at Headline for my copy of this book

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Review ~ The Butcher's Hook by Janet Ellis

Two Roads
February 2016

When I was offered the chance to read The Butcher's Hook, the debut  historical novel by Janet Ellis, I jumped at the chance, as it sounded just the sort of book I enjoy reading, and I'm pleased to say that I wasn't disappointed.

The story opens with the introduction to the cloistered life of Anne Jaccob, who, it must be said, is a rather unusual young woman. The home Anne shares with her mother and father is a sad place, wreathed in gloomy shadows and in fractured, almost pointless relationships. In the summer of 1763, while the house readies itself for the birth of another baby, Anne tiptoes around content to leave the matter of birthing to her mother, and yet, this latest birth hangs heavy with Anne, as she is determined not to get too close to another baby, only to grieve its loss when fate intervenes.

With her mother incapacitated following the birth, Anne takes it upon herself to learn more about household management in the hope of striking up a friendship with Fub, the enigmatic butcher's boy, with whom she hopes to start a romantic affair. However, Anne's father has already picked out a suitable match for his daughter, the odiously named Simeon Onions, but unfortunately, this loathsome suitor, is not a man to make Anne's heart flutter with sensual excitement. With a determined candour, Anne sets out to thwart her father’s plans, and with an unease I found quite unsettling, she becomes quite a chilling character, not terribly likeable but always fascinating in her desire to do things 'her way'.

There is no doubt that in the hands of this talented author, Georgian London comes gloriously alive; the fractured underbelly of the lower classes teem with darkness and as this sinister edge starts to infiltrate, before you know it,  you are completely under its spell. The story has an edginess which is quite disturbing and, it must be said, not what I was expecting from this lovely, smiley author.

As a debut novel's go this is up there with the best of them and I am interested to see where Janet Ellis goes from here, as she has certainly set the bar high with The Butcher’s Hook.

Best read with…. thick slices of rare, roast beef and a glass of good red wine... 

About the Author

Janet Ellis trained as an actress at the Central School of Speech and Drama. She is best known for presenting Blue Peter and contributes to numerous radio and TV programmes. 

She recently graduated from the Curtis Brown creative writing school. The Butcher's Hook is her first novel.

Visit the author on her website

Follow on Twitter @missjanetellis

The Butcher's Hook was published on the 25th February by Two Roads Books

#TheButchersHook

Read a guest post by Janet Ellis here

My thanks to Two Roads and Bookbridgr for my review copy of The Butcher's Hook

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The author in my spotlight is ....Marie Laval

I am delighted to welcome to Jaffareadstoo

Marie Laval

Marie ~ welcome to Jaffareadstoo, it's a pleasure to have you as our guest today..

Tell us a little about Marie Laval, author.

I grew up near Lyon and went to university there before moving to England. I was always very attracted to England (I blame my obsession with Agatha Christie's novels!) and it seemed normal to come to live here after graduating. I was very lucky to find very interesting jobs as a PA in various departments of Manchester University. After having my second son however I felt it was time to try another, more creative, career and I retrained to become a modern languages teacher. I now have three lovely children, still teach full-time and live in the Rossendale Valley, a gorgeous, hilly place where I'm sure it rains more than anywhere else in England!

How long have you been writing and what got you started?

I have been writing since I was a child. I wrote a diary, very bad poems and play scripts with my best friend Nathalie, and every night I used to tell myself a story - usually a very romantic story.

However I only started writing 'properly' about seven years ago when I entered my short stories into competitions. I was so happy when one of them was published! When another story was short-listed in an international competition and another won first prize in a competition organised by Calderdale libraries, I thought that maybe I could actually write and people liked my style.

The turning point for me came when I attended a romance writing workshop. I came home that evening and started writing my first novel. I haven't looked back since.

Without revealing too much, what can you tell us about your style of writing?

This is a tricky question. Being French and writing in English, it takes me a long time to complete a novel because I need to go over everything several times to make sure I'm not making words up and the syntax and grammar are correct, but otherwise I don't really think I have a particular style.

How important is location to your writing, and do you visit any the places you describe so vividly in your novels?

Location is very important and I always strive to get the details right and give readers a strong impression of the atmosphere of a place. When writing ANGEL HEART I drew on my personal experience of Lyon, the Beaujolais region and Saint Genis Laval (my home village!) for example. For A SPELL IN PROVENCE, I had lots of memories of family holidays in the South of France when I was growing up to help me set the scene. 

However, I also have to resort to travel accounts, road maps, photos or documentaries to get an idea about places I have never visited, and let my imagination do the rest. THE LION'S EMBRACE, which is set in North Africa, is very dear to me because although I have never been to Algeria, my mother grew up there and I could remember her stories and look at her black and white photos. I was always fascinated by the place, and it was a joy to research the many locations my characters travel through on their way to the Sahara desert. I was also very lucky to be given a Guide Bleu dating from the early twentieth century containing invaluable information for travellers in North Africa at that time.

As I have never been to Sutherland either, I had to resort to lots of photos, films and holiday brochures to help me get the atmosphere of THE DREAM CATCHER right too.

Your writing is very atmospheric – how do you ‘set the scene’ in your novels and how much research do you need to do in order to bring your stories to life?

Thank you very much, Jo. It's very kind of you to say that my writing is atmospheric! I do lots and lots of research, some may find that I do too much research because I find it difficult to stop and I have to force myself to get on with writing the story. I love it when one thing leads to another and I find little gems - pieces of information which may seem anecdotal at the time but fit into a scene and make the story come to life.

What is your perfect writing day?

It's very rare when I have a writing day. Every moment I snatch for my writing is special, but unfortunately there are never enough of them!

Do you get writer’s block, and if so, how do you overcome it?

I have finally understood that when I'm stuck, it's because I haven't thought things through properly. I am a terrible plotter - or rather, I don't plot at all. When I start a new story, I have my characters, my settings, I know where the plot starts and where it's all going to end, but I make up everything in the middle as I go along! I find that going for a long walk really helps because I can let my thoughts flow freely without feeling under pressure.

What do you want readers to take away from your books?

Adventure, love, an escape from day-to-day life and a few new dreams! I hope it doesn't sound too pretentious.

You can find Marie at :

Amazon UK

Find Marie on Facebook

Website
Twitter @MarieLaval1

Originally from Lyon in France, Marie has lived in the beautiful Rossendale Valley, Lancashire, for the past few years and works full-time as a teacher. When she isn't busy looking after family, marking books and planning lessons, Marie loves nothing more than dream up a romance story. ANGEL HEART, her debut historical romance, has just been re-released by Áccent Press, together with award-winning THE LION'S EMBRACE. Marie also writes contemporary romance with A SPELL IN PROVENCE, which was published earlier in 2015.  

    

THE DREAM CATCHER, Part I of her historical romance Trilogy DANCING FOR THE DEVIL, has just been released by Áccent too.

Áccent Press
2 December 2015

DREAM CATCHER

Can her love heal his haunted heart?

Cape Wrath, Scotland, November 1847.

Bruce McGunn is a man as brutal and unforgiving as his land in the far North of Scotland. Discharged from the army where he was known as the claymore devil, haunted by the spectres of his fallen comrades and convinced he is going mad, he is running out of time to save his estate from the machinations of Cameron McRae, heir to the McGunn's ancestral enemies. When the clipper carrying McRae’s new bride is caught in a violent storm and docks at Wrath harbour, Bruce decides to revert to the old ways and hold the clipper and the woman to ransom. However, far from the spoilt heiress he expected, Rose is genuine, funny and vulnerable - a ray of sunshine in the long, harsh winter that has become his life.

But Rose is determined to escape Wrath and its proud master - the man she calls McGlum.

DREAMCATCHER is the first of the DANCING FOR THE DEVIL trilogy and is followed by BLUE BONNETS and SWORD DANCE.

It is available from 2 December both as ebook and print from:

Amazon UK

Huge thanks to Marie for sharing her love of writing with us. 

Jaffa and I wish you much success with your Dancing for the Devil trilogy.

~***~

Review ~ The Winter Isles by Antonia Senior

Corvus

November 5 2015

Twelfth century Scotland is a place of brutal warfare, and for Somerled, the son of an ageing Scottish chieftain, life is harsh and often unpredictable. There is much to lose in the frequent battles and turmoil that command his attention, and yet his unfailing enthusiasm for his land and his people shine through in this story of ancient conflict, and of a young man's quest to reclaim what is his, by right of birth. To be Lord of the Isles in such a time of great uncertainty was tantamount to risking everything but the ties that bind him to this desolate country are strong and deep.

Twelfth century Scotland is vividly recreated and the storm tossed days of battle thunder and ruthless conflict is depicted in such glorious detail that I felt the earth tremor with excitement at the lyrical quality of such powerful storytelling. There are clever interpretations of light and shade with struggles and skirmishes sitting comfortably alongside tender moments between lovers, and an abiding love for home, land and people.

Not much is known about the character, Somerled, and I must admit that my own knowledge was woefully ignorant, shrouded as he is in mythology and buried in legend, there is little to really know about what actually happened during these early years in Scottish history. With that thought firmly placed in my mind, I must admit to reading the author’s historical notes at the end of the book before I had reached the end of the first chapter. That’s not to say that the rest of the story was spoiled by reading the notes out of sync with the book, far from it, in fact, it helped enormously to put time and place into context.

It is obvious that the author is extremely passionate about Somerled. Her enthusiasm shines through with every well written word and there is no doubt that her impeccable research and many, many visits to Scotland have paid off on abundance.

A perfect read for a wintry afternoon and best enjoyed with a glass of Bunnahabhain ,a smooth Islay single malt, and maybe a plate of oat biscuits.

About the Author

Antonia Senior is a former staff writer for The Times. She is now a freelance journalist, living in London with her family. She has travelled extensively through Scotland's Highlands and Islands.

Visit the author's website

Find the author on Twitter@Tonisenior

My thanks to Karen Duffy at Atlantic Books for my review copy of this book

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My guest author today is ....Margaret Skea

I am delighted to welcome back to Jaffareadstoo

Margaret Skea

Margaret's Second Novel



A House Divided is Published today

Sanderling Books
15 October 2015

Margaret talks about writing the sequel to an award-winning debut novel. The pressures, the problems, the pitfalls and the process, including the all-important editing. And ultimately the pleasure (and relief) of seeing her second novel finally make it onto the bookshop shelf.

The Dreaded Sequel.

Turn of the Tide, my debut novel, had, as with many first novels, a long gestation period, so it was with great excitement (and considerable trepidation) that I approached the book launch, held in Waterstones Bookshop in Edinburgh.  It was a wonderful evening, full to bursting point with not just family and friends, but also total strangers who had picked up tickets in the shop. The publisher provided refreshments, everyone, including me, was relaxed, and walking down the stairs and seeing my book piled high on the signing table was an experience I will always remember.  And with a great audience I even managed to enjoy reading and answering questions.

I’d always intended the book to be part of a series and so, once the first flurry of excitement was over it was time to get back to work.

With the first book mainstream published, an option on the second and the plot for it already partially outlined, producing a sequel should have been straightforward – right?

Wrong!

I’ve heard folk say that the second book is hardest to write – I certainly hope so – for I wouldn’t want No 3 or 4 to prove as difficult as No 2 has been.  ‘Second-child syndrome’ springs to mind – prickly, difficult, hard to rear…

What were the pressures?

Well for starters, the first book was very well received. Not a problem you might think. But for me it was. Although I always hoped Turn of the Tide would be published, there were never any guarantees and so I’d primarily written it to please myself. Now I found that I had a whole new group of people to please, namely the readers who’d enjoyed the first book and wanted to read more. So I found myself worrying whether they’d be happy with what I was doing with and to the characters, especially ones that they liked.   That was a tough barrier to overcome.

Then there was the fear that I wouldn’t be able to match the first book in terms of the quality, cadences and tone of the writing, something I found very hard to assess. It took a beta-reader who read it after it was completely finished, to set my mind at rest on that score.

And as for the plot. Although I had a partial outline, I didn’t know how the book was going to end, nor in fact at what point in my fictional family’s history I should begin. That was very uncomfortable because for Turn of the Tide I had known from Day 1 what the climactic scene would be and so had a goal to aim for. 

There were practical problems too – when I was about one third of the way through the first draft circumstances meant that I had to stop writing completely for almost a year.  Once things had settled down again I found it very difficult to pick up the thread of the story, and even more importantly, it had become impossible to work at home.

Enter a ‘good fairy’ in the shape of a person that I didn’t know, but whom, having overheard me at a writers’ event telling a friend that I wished I could maroon myself on a desert island, immediately offered me the keys to a remote, almost empty cottage, to use as much as I liked.  And what a fantastic gift that was. Within a day or twoeach time I  drove up the single track road to the cottage I found my brain reacting to the journey by clicking over into writing mode - Pavlov’s dogs style.

Three-quarters of the way through the book I was thrown another curved ball, in the form of advice from a London literary agent, who suggested I re-think the idea of a trilogy and finish the story in the second book.  Perhaps it was a good thing that I hadn’t my mind set on a particular ending, because as a result of that advice the story took a new turn.

If the pressures and the problems were new, the process was familiar.  While writing the first draft I tried to discipline myself not to stop to fact-check. Instead if there were historical details I wasn’t sure of I typed in red, so that they would stand out during editing.

I had done a lot of edits of Turn of the Tide - seven to be precise, so I was expecting that part of the process to be lengthy.  In the end it was the one thing that I found much easier second time round, though I approached it in a very similar way.  First the factual edit, sorting out all the red-pen sections, then macro editing for the story arc and drama; followed by a series of micro-edits  - looking at punctuation and repetitions; and a final trim to get rid of words that added nothing to either the story or the writing style. (I took out more than 300 occurrences of ‘that’ and didn’t miss any of them!)

  

As for the pitfalls – for me there are two main ones, but I suspect these are true of many authors.

The first is the internet – wonderful as it can be, I need to switch it off when I’m writing, otherwise the temptation to browse would mean I’d get no work done at all!

The second issue is promotion. In an ideal world I’d just write, and someone else would do the promotion bit, but sadly publishers now expect all but the most well-known authors to become involved. Not that I’d mind a world book signing tour! but I hate the (very un-British) concept that everyone you meet is a potential customer.  Hopefully I can get the balance right.

But amidst all the pressures and problems there is also pleasure. My husband has been enormously supportive throughout, and as chief cook over the last few months his culinary skills have increased exponentially. Something I suspect I shall continue to exploit! I was taken completely by surprise both by the strength of my emotions when I finished the first draft – a mix of euphoria and relief that is hard to describe - and the excitement I felt when my paperback copies arrived, and I knew for sure that the bookshop would have them in time for the launch. (It has been a close run thing…)

And the future? I will be starting to write another historical novel very soon - there are lots of ideas fighting it out in my head. Munro may not have finished with me yet.

You can follow Margaret via her website – www.margaretskea.com

Or on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/MargaretSkeaAuthor.Novels

Her books are available in all good bookshops in the UK and online via Amazon as both paperback and e-book.

Turn of the Tide http://tiny.cc/v5dg3x

A House Divided http://tiny.cc/s4xp2x

Huge thanks to Margaret for giving us such an insight into the writing of the Dreaded Sequel !

Jaffa and I wish you continued success with A House Divided.

Sanderling Books
15 October 2015

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Letters to the Lost Blog Tour 2015....

Jaffa and I am delighted to welcome

Iona Grey

Author of 

Letters to the Lost

Simon & Schuster
23 April 2015

Iona ~ welcome to Jaffareadstoo....

What can you tell us about Letters to the Lost which will pique the reader’s interest?

I’m an out and out romantic, and Letters to the Lost is very much a love story. Or two love stories, really, as it’s a dual time frame book, with two sets of characters. It’s set in the 1940s – in wartime London – and in 2011, so I really hope that anyone who has an interest in the war and a weakness for a good old fashioned romance will enjoy it. It involves some unfinished business from the past, and a quest to resolve things before it’s too late.

What came first for you – the idea, the plot, the place or the characters?

Actually, the title came before anything else! The phrase Letters from the Lost came into my head one day, when I caught a glimpse of a handwritten letter on my daughter’s desk. I really liked the sound of it and wrote it down immediately, then couldn't stop myself trying to work out what story might lie behind it. I think the piece that slotted into place next was the location – the deserted house in the present day. I knew that the letters would arrive there, so I then had to find out who had sent them and why. From there Dan and Stella’s story really wrote itself, and the characters came to life for me.

What was the most difficult aspect of writing the story? How did you overcome it?

I wrote the whole of Dan and Stella’s story first, without stopping until I reached the end, and it really was lovely! I used to get in the shower in the morning and start thinking about the scenes I was going to write that day, and couldn't wait to get up to my office in the attic to get stuck in. I reached the end of their bit at about the same time as my daughters broke up for the summer holidays, and so I stopped writing altogether for the next month or so, and mulled over the present day story in my head. It felt like starting an entirely different book, so was fairly daunting, but once I reached the part when Jess finds the letters and the two stories started to merge I felt much happier. That was the most difficult bit – weaving the two strands together (in fact, I often wonder what masochistic instinct makes me write dual time frame books!) but I overcame it by planning everything out on a whiteboard (and then mostly ignoring it and writing whatever felt right at the time – but the planning made me feel better!)

What is your definition of writing Heaven? And writing Hell?

Oooh – lovely question! I think my definition of writing Heaven is time and space to Think. Of course (standard disclaimer) I adore my family, but the necessity of feeding them (three times a day!) and shopping for the food is the ultimate enemy of creativity. (I have a slight concern that on occasion I have wandered around the aisles of Sainsburys with an empty trolley actually muttering to myself). So, Heaven would be someone to plan, shop for and cook decent healthy food for us all 5 days a week. Actually, when I was writing Letters to the Lost, I had a week of writing heaven in Ironbridge in Shropshire. My middle daughter had a work experience placement at lovely Blist’s Hill and we’d rather underestimated the journey time from home, so the two of us stayed in a beautiful Landmark Trust house right beside the famous bridge. I dropped her off in the morning, then went back to the house for a whole day of writing, uninterrupted by laundry, cleaning or cooking, as we happily existed on ready meals and pub food. (It’s probably relevant to mention that there was no television or wifi there, either...)

Writing Hell for me is time pressure. Sometimes it’s not a linear process, and it’s really important to have the luxury of time to go back and change something, or slash whole swathes of words. It’s never an easy decision to make, but having the deadline clock ticking loudly in your ear makes it infinitely harder to make that call. I also think that books grow organically, and at certain stages of their development they just need time to... settle. At those times there’s no sense at all in rushing on and trying to beat a wordcount goal. Far better to put the kettle on, open a packet of biscuits and stare out of the window... (*EXCUSE KLAXON*)

Which writer do you admire most and why?

There are so many writers that I love and admire, and am inspired by. One of my all-time favourite writers, and my earliest influence was Jilly Cooper. I picked up my stepmother’s copy of one of her shorter novels (Imogen) while on holiday in France at the age of 10, and I absolutely devoured it. It was a total revelation. Up until then I’d only read children’s books, with overwhelmingly virtuous heroines, but here was a book about real people: funny and awkward and sexy and vivid. It was like getting a glimpse into a grown up world I longed to be part of. I still pre-order everything she writes.

Other writers I admire include Kate Atkinson for her effortless prose, which often seems to make me laugh while I’m still reaching for the tissues to mop up the tears, and Rosamunde Pilcher for her amazing skill at telling a story that totally transports you to a different world. I’m in awe of that power. (And having her provide a cover quote for Letters to the Lost was one of the most exciting and moving and amazing things ever. Totally incredible.)

What books are you reading at the moment?

I often have two books on the go – one for research, and one for pleasure. At the moment my research book is Up West, by Pip Granger, which is about life in Soho in the post-war years and is wonderfully absorbing as well as being informative. For bedtime reading, I’m deeply enthralled by Vanessa Lafaye’s brilliant Summertime which is utterly breathtaking, (sometimes quite literally, as the tension keeps building) and keeps me reading long after I should have switched out the light.

Can you tell us if you have another novel planned?

I do! I’m deep into writing book 2, which is set in the early 1950s (hence the research!). The war is over and the King has just died. It’s only a decade after the era I wrote about in Letters to the Lost, but it feels like an entirely different world; in many ways a more drab and depressed one than in wartime. And of course, it’s a love story!

My review of Letters to the Lost can be found here.

Huge thanks to Iona for sharing her thoughts so eloquently and to Hayley at Simon and Schuster  for her invitation to be part of this exciting book tour.

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Review ~ Lamentation by C J Sansom

Shardlake Book 6

PanMacmillan
2014

The latter days of the reign of Henry VIII are overshadowed by political and religious strife. No one who has any religious conviction feels safe to worship any religion other than that which is dictated by the King. For Queen Catherine Parr, Henry’s last stoical Protestant Queen, there are forces at work who would like to see nothing more than her downfall. When the Queen’s highly controversial confessional book goes missing, Shardlake is enlisted to track down the book on the pretext of looking for a missing jewel. Should anyone discover the real reason for Shardlake’s investigation, then the Queen, and all who are associated with her will be brought down.

Sansom writes about the Tudor age with great conviction, and allows Shardlake, as always, to take centre stage. The superb attention to detail, from the closeted elegance of the Tudor Court, through to the raggle-taggle print works in Paternoster Row, takes the reader on a journey through the vagaries of life in London during 1546. The noise, the stink, the sheer perversity of living alongside cut purses and murderers, as well as the stirrings of religious mania gives Shardlake one of his most complicated investigations. It’s a real joy to watch the pernickety lawyer and his dastardly sidekick, Jack Barak, go about solving such a convoluted murder mystery.

It’s a hefty read, well over 600 pages, filled with the usual subplots, red herrings and dangerous subterfuges, and if I have to be a little bit picky, I would say that its about 200 pages overlong, however, having said that, the story flows well; the political and religious turmoil is written about with great authority and the portrait painted of the failing Henry VIII, is both poignant and terrifying in equal measure.

I can’t see any time soon when Sansom’s legions of fans don’t demand another Shardlake adventure. The ending of this one certainly lends itself to a continuation and  I for one, can’t wait to see where Shardlake's story goes next.

About the Author

Review ~ The Lie by Helen Dunmore

2014

A young man stands on a headland, looking out to sea. He is back from the war, homeless and without family.

For Daniel Branwell, newly returned to his native Cornwall, from the battlefield trenches of northern France, life is never going to be the same again. Tortured by the loss of  Frederick, his childhood friend, Daniel seeks to find some sort of resolution, and in the windswept corner of his Cornish home village, Daniel anguished and bereft, can only flounder from one set of tormented memories to another.

Beautifully written and in stark and often desolate prose, Daniel’s story intertwines with that of Felicia, Frederick’s gently grieving sister, whose own devastating loss overshadows any hope she has for the future. The story develops slowly, oh, so slowly, so that you truly get the chance to delve into Daniel’s psyche and learn to see the world through his eyes, and far too often, it’s a world that is found to be wanting.

In this commemoration year of the start of the Great War I have read quite a few books which uncover the thoughts and feelings of a lost generation of young men and women. Of lives, irrevocably changed by the momentous events of what they witnessed during the years 1914-1918. Without doubt, The Lie is up there with the best of the current crop of WW1 commemoration reads.

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Review ~ The Widow Makers by Jean Mead

Reissue
2014

Nineteenth century Wales is brought to vivid life in this family saga which takes the reader from the coal mines of Lancashire, to the slate quarries of North Wales. Following a devastating tragedy Joe Standish, his wife, Emily and their small son, Tommy, leave behind friends and family in Lancashire to start a new, and hopefully, better life in Wales.

Following the fortunes of this family makes for an enjoyable read, one which is made all the more interesting by the author’s fine eye for detail and interesting use of dialect, particularly in the Lancashire sections. All too often vernacular can be overdone, but as a Lancastrian, I found the colloquialisms realistic and appropriate. It was interesting to see the progression this family made during their time in Wales and the direct contrast between the working classes and the upper class quarry owners is done well and demonstrates the difference in social status.

There is no doubt that the author has a keen eye for social observation and combines this with an obvious love of history and a well thought out storyline. The Widow Makers is a good start to a trilogy which I am sure will only go from strength to strength as the story progresses.

The Trilogy

The Widow Makers #1

Strife #2

Road's End #3

 

  More about the author can be found here

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