Book Review ~ The Wheelwright's Daughter by Eleanor Porter

Boldwood Books
21 April  2020

My thanks to the publishers for my ecopy of this book

Martha is a feisty and articulate young woman, the daughter of a wheelwright, living in a Herefordshire village in Elizabethan England. With no mother Martha's life is spent running her father's meagre household and helping out at the local school whilst longing to escape the confines and small-mindedness of a community driven by religious bigotry and poverty.

As she is able to read and is well-versed in herbal remedies she is suspected of being a witch. When a landslip occurs - opening up a huge chasm in the centre of the village - she is blamed for it and pursued remorselessly by the villagers.

But can her own wits and the love of local stable hand Jacob save her from a witch's persecution and death...

What did I think about it..

Martha Dynely is the eponymous Wheelwright's daughter living in a small Herefordshire village in the middle years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1. Martha is feisty and spiky, given to bouts of unpredictability, speaks her mind with a cutting edge and doesn't suffer fools, and because of this she is treated with suspicion, not just by the villagers, but also by the minister who suspects evil around every corner and finds more than enough devilment in Martha to cause him sleepless nights.

Martha's knowledge of herb lore and her ability to read and write sets her apart from the rest of the village and when some unusual things start to happen, the mistrust which has always festered under the surface threatens to destroy Martha. The characters who inhabit the village below Marcle Ridge have their own petty jealousies, their peevishness towards others, and an ingrained fear of authority casts a shadow which is difficult to expunge, and even their esteemed lord in his manor is not without his own dangerous secrets.

This fascinating story, written with an interesting turn of phrase, gives an authenticity to Martha's words and brings a sense of darkness to this shadowy corner of Elizabethan England. Brooding with an underlying menace and as with all stories which look at the persecution of women for witchcraft, The Wheelwright's Daughter gives us an imagined glimpse into our dark and dangerous past.

About the Author

Eleanor Porter has lectured at Universities in England and Hong Kong and her poetry and short fiction has been published in magazines. The Wheelwright's Daughter, her historical fiction debut is set in Elizabethan England.

Twitter @elporterauthor #TheWheelwrightsDaughter

@BoldwoodBooks

Hist Fic Saturday ~ The Incendium Plot by A D Swanston

On Hist Fic Saturday

Let's go back to ...Elizabethan England

Corgi
March 2018

My thanks to the author for my copy of this book

In 1572, Elizabethan England is rife with fear, not just from the sporadic outbreaks of plague but also from the danger of insurrection and invasion. The Ridolfi plot which sought to place Mary Queen of Scots on the English throne has just been thwarted and Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, has paid the ultimate price for his betrayal. Lawyer, Christopher Radcliff is in the Earl of Leicester's employ as his chief intelligencer and he is charged with the task of seeking out those who would threaten, not just the safety of the Queen, but also the stability of England.

When Radcliff discovers a new and deadly plot against the Queen, it is a race against time to search out those, both at home and abroad, who seek to destroy her.

The Incendium Plot is a really sleek thriller which has all the hallmarks of a great whodunit and set, as it is, against a backdrop of the glorious Elizabethan age there is much to enjoy, both in terms of historical background, which is beautifully authentic, and also in the sharpness of the investigative process. Radcliff is a likeable character, methodical, meticulous and with never a clue left uninvestigated, you feel as though you are in safe pair of hand as he moves stealthily through some very dangerous places and mixes with very undesirable characaters.

Historically accurate, as only good research shows, The Incendium Plot has all the necessary ingredients for a rollicking good historical adventure which moves effortlessly between France and England, and as Radcliff and his associates discover more about the darkness which threatens to overwhelm them, so the danger moves ever closer to home.The author writes this type of historical suspense very well and intersperses the story with a wealth of interesting characters, some act as spies and informers, whilst others add a colourful and lively glimpse into life in Elizabeth's England.

This is the first of two thrillers which will feature the adventures with Christopher Radcliff in his intelligencer role. The Incendium Plot certainly gets the stories off to a very good start.

About the Author

Andrew read a little law and a lot of sport at Cambridge University, and held various positions in the book trade, including being a director of Waterstone & Co, and Chairman of Methven’s plc, before turning to writing. Inspired by a lifelong interest in early modern history, his Thomas Hill novels are set during the English Civil Wars, and the early period of the Restoration. 

Andrew’s novel, Incendium*, was first published in February 2017 and is the first of two thrillers featuring Dr. Christopher Radcliff, an intelligencer for the Earl of Leicester, and is set in 1572 at the time of the massacre of the Huguenots in France.

*The Incendium Plot was first published in hardback as Incendium

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Twitter @AndrewSwanston

Hist Fic Saturday ~ The Cursed Wife by Pamela Hartshorne

On Hist Fic Saturday

Let's go back to ...Elizabethan England

Macmillan
8 March 2018

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book

“Sometimes I forget that I am cursed”, says Mary as she wakes to the pitter patter of rain on the roof of her merchant’s house, on Little Wood Street, in the Elizabethan city of London. And as her household stirs on this ordinary day in March, 1590, Mary puts on her shift and begins the day that will change her life forever.

Beautifully written and wonderfully evocative of the mean, and often, dangerous time period of Elizabethan England, The Cursed Wife is ultimately the story of two women, each with a thirst for self-preservation, and who have been so viciously hurt by the circumstances of their lives, that nothing, and no-one, can stop the momentum of their deadly downward spiral.

Filled with scurrilous gossip, dark innuendo and the creeping power of superstition, parts of The Cursed Wife made my blood run cold, and such is the richness of the story telling that I felt as though I occupied a privileged position in the household on Little Wood Street, quietly waiting, with Peg the doll on my lap, and fearfully watching, as the story begins.

The mystery at the heart of the story is sharp and precise and, as the unease drifts and lingers, there gathers about it a vibrant sort of energy which has its roots in darkness and vengeance, and which tells of the ruthlessness of ambition and of lives which been ruined by a deadly game of chance.

The Cursed Wife is something of a change of direction for the author as her previous novels have had some element of time slip about them, however, this story is very firmly placed in one time frame, and it is in this complex and convoluted Elizabethan mystery where the real strength of the story lies. 

Deeply disturbing and deliciously moody, The Cursed Wife is one of those fabulous stories which lingers long after the last page is turned.

About the Author

Pamela Hartshorne is a historian as well as an award winning romance writer. She lives in York and continues to draw inspiration from her PhD research to write about the 16th century, in fact and fiction, Time's Echo, her first novel written under her real name, was shortlisted for awards on both sides of the Atlantic.

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Twitter @PamHartshorne #TheCursedWife

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