📖 Hist Fic Saturday ~ The Lines Between Us by Rebecca D'Harlingue

 

On Hist fic Saturday

Let's go back to ...1661 Madrid 

She Writes Press
2020

My thanks to the author for my copy of this book

In 1661 Madrid, Ana is still grieving the loss of her husband when her niece, sixteen-year-old Juliana, suddenly vanishes. Ana frantically searches the girl’s room and comes across a diary. Journeying to southern Spain in the hope of finding her, Ana immerses herself in her niece’s private thoughts. After a futile search in Seville, she comes to Juliana’s final entries, and, discovering the horrifying reason for the girl’s flight, abandons her search.

In 1992 Missouri, in her deceased mother’s home, Rachel finds a packet of letters, and a diary written by a woman named Juliana. Rachel’s reserved mother has never mentioned these items, but Rachel recognizes the names Ana and Juliana: her mother uttered them on her deathbed. She soon becomes immersed in Juliana’s diary, which recounts the young woman’s journey to Mexico City and her life in a convent. As she learns the truth about Juliana’s tragic family history, Rachel seeks to understand her connection to the writings―hoping that in finding those answers, she will somehow heal the wounds caused by her mother’s lifelong reticence.

📖 My thoughts..

There is thought to be a story in all of us but only some are brave enough to put pen to paper and in this, her first novel, Rebecca D'Harlingue has been brave enough to share her words and presents a beautifully written and at times lyrical, family saga. We make the momentous journey with Ana in seventeenth century Madrid as she desperately tries to discover the whereabouts of her sixteen year old niece Julianna, who has gone missing from her home.

In descriptive journal entries we begin to piece together this tragic story which, we later discover, has never been told within the family. Three hundred years into the future, in 1992, Rachel's discovery of a diary, and a bundle of letters, written by Juliana opens up this family secret to scrutiny, and so secrets, so long hidden, gradually start to be revealed.

I enjoyed reading of the juxtaposition of the two worlds, that of the older seventeenth century world inhabited by Juliana and Ana which runs comfortably alongside Rachel's life and personal dilemmas in the new world of America in the twentieth century. There is much to learn about all three women and the author brings them to life with intricate historical detail and a charming eloquence which makes the story so interesting to read.

The Lines Between Us is a well written, dual time family drama which takes us on a fascinating journey and allows the voices from the past to reach out to those who, we hope, will carry their stories forward, way into the future.

About the Author

Rebecca D’Harlingue has studied Spanish literature, worked as a hospital administrator, and taught English as a Second Language to adults from all over the world. The discovery of family papers prompted her to explore the repercussions of family secrets, and of the ways we attempt to reveal ourselves.

Her debut novel, The Lines Between Us, was a finalist in the Best New Fiction category in both the International Book Awards and the Best Book Awards. It was a finalist in Historical Fiction in the Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards.

Website

Amazon 

📖 Book Review ~ Lucia's War by Susan Lanigan

  

Idee Fixe Press
2020

My thanks to the author for my copy of this book

London, 1950. Soprano Lucia Percival has overcome racism and many obstacles to become a renowned opera singer. She is now due to perform her last concert. But she has no intention of going onstage. A terrible secret from her service during the First World War has finally caught up with her.

London, 1917. Lucia, a young Jamaican exile, hopes to make it as a musician. But she is haunted by a tragic separation that is still fresh in her memory – and when she meets Lilian, an old woman damaged by a similar wartime loss, she agrees to a pact that could destroy everything she has fought so hard to achieve.

From the Western Front and the mean streets of Glasgow, to black society in London, Lucia’s story tells a tale of music, motherhood, loss and redemption.

📖 My Thoughts..

The early part of the twentieth century was largely overshadowed by the catastrophic events of the First World War and for Jamaican Lucia Percival life is going to turn out very differently from what she expected. Being part of the Voluntary Aid Detachment, Lucia works as a VAD during some of the worst conflicts of the war, memories of will which never leave her and which shape her destiny. During the early part of this troubled century living life as a black woman was difficult as racism was neither covert nor undisclosed, and whilst Lucia suffered this ghastly prejudice with stoicism and a considered resignation it didn't make it any easier to bear nor excused its narrow-mindedness. 

We pick up the story in a dual time frame, that of 1917 when Lucia finds herself living in London, and later in 1950 when Lucia is a very different woman but one who has carried her secrets close and whose vulnerability continues to dominate. Lucia has a sublime gift for music, and singing, and it is this gift which will cut through her defenses and allow her to succeed in a world where to be both female, and black, was practically a none starter. 

Whilst this story highlights this struggle to succeed, it also takes us back, through Lucia's thoughtful narration, to the events which have brought her to this place and time and by cleverly inserting some Jamaican patois Lucia comes alive in our imagination and the author's thoughtful storytelling allows us to follow every step of her journey. Lucia's War may start during the early part of the twentieth century but as the story moves on it becomes obvious that perhaps, for this brave and stalwart woman Lucia's own personal war never truly ends.

Rich in history, imaginatively written, and with a strong sense of the social and prejudicial injustices which were rife at this time, Lucia's War is another thought provoking novel from this talented writer.

About the Author

Susan Lanigan graduated from Trinity College Dublin with a degree in English and History in the late 90s, then pursued a Graduate Diploma in I.T. in Dublin City University and a Masters in Writing in NUI Galway.

Her first novel White Feathers, a tale of passion, betrayal and war, was selected as one of the final ten in the Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair, 2013, and published in 2014 by Brandon Books. The book won critical acclaim and was shortlisted for the UK Romantic Novel of the Year Award in 2015.

Her second novel, Lucia’s War, also concerning WWI as well as race, music and motherhood, was published in June 2020 and has been named as the Coffee Pot Book Club Honourable Mention in the Modern Historical Book of the Year Award.

Twitter @susanl_lanigan #LuciasWar

Featured Book Review ~ The Honey and the Sting by E C Fremantle

Today on the blog I'm combining 

Hist Fic Saturday with my Featured Book of the Month

Lets go back to ...1628

Michael Joseph
6 August 2020

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book

Three sisters.

Three secrets.

Three ways to fall . . .

England, 1628.

Forcibly seduced by the powerful George Villiers, doctor's daughter Hester is cast aside to raise her son alone and in secret. She hopes never to see Villiers again.

Melis's visions cause disquiet and talk. She sees what other's can't - and what has yet to be. She'd be denounced as a witch if Hester wasn't so carefully protective.

Young Hope's beauty marks her out, drawing unwelcome attention to the family. Yet she cannot always resist others' advances. And her sisters cannot always be on their guard.

When Villiers decides to claim his son against Hester's wishes, the sisters find themselves almost friendless and at his mercy. But the women hold a grave secret. The question is, will what they know be their undoing or their salvation?

What did I think about it..

The Honey and the Sting takes us back to a time when to be an independent woman was treated with suspicion and to have three single women living together without the protection of a man was nothing short of scandalous. For sisters, Hester, Melis and Hope, surviving against the odds is what keeps them going, that and protecting Hester's illegitimate son, Rafe, from the clutches of his scheming father. Forced to flee their family home, and the small circle of  friends who support them, the sisters have no choice but to take Rafe far way from his father. A father who is powerful and who has  both the guile and the means to track the family down. What then follows is a fascinating historical drama which has danger, intrigue and the shadowy darkness which comes from living a life in fear of being discovered. When Rafe's father sends a formidable adversary to find the women the story takes on an altogether more sinister atmosphere.

I've really enjoyed spending time with the sisters, they're an interesting bunch to be sure. Hester is the family matriarch who wants to keep them all safe, Melis is the ethereal one, given over to visions of the future and, if this was discovered, she would be denounced as witch. The youngest of the three is Hope,  the beautiful one with an allure which attracts her to the wrong type of men. 

The Honey and the Sting is an interesting historical mystery and I have enjoyed placing myself in the early part of the seventeenth century. I liked being back in the time of James I, and more particularly discovering more about George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, who I always had in mind as the quintessential villain. I wasn't disappointed in the way he is portrayed in this story.

The Honey and the Sting is a well written historical adventure. The author captures the mood of the time very well and intertwining this drama with what is known about Villiers gives the story a dangerous edginess. I've now read several of this talented author's historical novels and I am always impressed by the way she brings history alive in the imagination.

The Honey and the Sting will be published on the 6th August by Michael Joseph.

About the Author

Elizabeth Fremantle is the critically acclaimed author of Tudor and Elizabethan set novels: Queen's Gambit, Sisters of Treason, Watch the Lady and Times Books of the Year: The Girl in the Glass Tower and The Poison Bed, a historical thriller written under the name EC Fremantle described as 'a Jacobean Gone Girl.' Her latest novel is The Honey and the Sting, published August 6th 2020 as EC Fremantle

Twitter @LizFremantle #TheHoneyAndTheSting

@MichaelJBooks

Website

Hist Fic Revisited ~ The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel

It is the last Saturday of the month so time for Hist Fic Revisited

Let's do a bit of time travelling..

Bantam 2016

Through Jean M. Auel's magnificent storytelling we are taken back to the dawn of modern humans, and with a girl named Ayla we are swept up in the harsh and beautiful Ice Age world they shared with the ones who called themselves the Clan of the Cave Bear.

A natural disaster leaves the young girl wandering alone in an unfamiliar and dangerous land until she is found by a woman of the Clan, people very different from her own kind. To them, blond, blue-eyed Ayla looks peculiar and ugly--she is one of the Others, those who have moved into their ancient homeland; but Iza cannot leave the girl to die and takes her with them. Iza and Creb, the old Mog-ur, grow to love her, and as Ayla learns the ways of the Clan and Iza's way of healing, most come to accept her. But the brutal and proud youth who is destined to become their next leader sees her differences as a threat to his authority. He develops a deep and abiding hatred for the strange girl of the Others who lives in their midst, and is determined to get his revenge. 

What did I think about it..

Over this lock down period I have been listening to more audio books and The Clan of the Cave Bear, expertly narrated by Rowena Cooper, has been a perfect distraction. It is rather a long listen, over 20 hours but, once the story gets going, I found that I was easily transported back to living amongst the Cave Bear people, over 35,000 years ago.

Ayla is an orphan child when she is found, and rescued, by a group of individuals who belong to the Clan of the Cave Bear. This primitive Neanderthal tribe take Ayla into their group but they realise that she is not one of them. With her blue eyes and blonde hair Ayla is one of the Others, a disparate group of people who are infiltrating the ancient lands. However, with no-one to claim her, Ayla is adopted into the clan and cared for by Iza, the medicine woman, and Cleb, the Mog-ur, who, over time, come to love this unusual child. Over the passage of time, Ayla grows to young womanhood as part of the Clan of the Cave Bear, but her journey  into adulthood is not without problems, as she is not universally welcomed by the rest of the clan.

The author brings this ancient world alive, and the myths and legends of the clan, and its people are vividly recreated. In many ways it's rather a slow story with not much happening other than descriptions of the clan as they search for their forever home, and it takes a while to get to know all the individual characters and to appreciate their faults and foibles. I grew to love Ayla, whose affection for her adopted family, particularly Iza and Cleb, is fascinating, however, there were others amongst the clan who become more and more unlikable as the story progresses. 

Written over 40 years ago, The Clan of the Cave Bear is far from perfect, it is rather over long in places and a bit repetitive, however, it is still an interesting story and has definitely been well worth a revisit 😊

The Clan of the Cave Bear is just the beginning of The Earth Children series 

  

  

About the Author

Jean M. Auel is an American author best known for her Earth's Children books, a series of historical fiction novels set in prehistoric Europe that explores interactions of Cro-Magnon people with Neanderthals. As of 2010 her books have sold more than 45 million copies worldwide, in many translations.

His Fic Saturday ~ Dance to the Storm by Maggie Craig

On Hist Fic Saturday

Let's go back to...1743

Alligin Books
February 2020

My thanks to the author for my ecopy of this book

Edinburgh, December 1743: Redcoat Captain Robert Catto is between the Devil and the deep blue sea. His investigations have turned up compelling evidence of a real threat posed to the House of Hanover by a plan to restore the House of Stuart to the British throne. His duty is to draw out as many Jacobites as he can find in Scotland's capital and gather evidence against them, their names to be handed over to Duncan Forbes of Culloden, Lord President of the Court of Session, and Catto's mentor. Two of those dedicated Jacobite plotters are Patrick Rankeillor, surgeon-apothecary, and his daughter Christian Rankeillor. Yet with every day that passes and despite their very different and deeply held views, Robert and Christian are falling ever more deeply in love. How is he to reconcile doing his duty with his feelings for Christian Rankeillor?

What did I think about it..

Those who have read this author's previous historical novel will be familiar with the Storm over Scotland series which features Redcoat Captain, Robert Catto, and his growing attraction to the rather unconventional, Christian Rankeillor, a young woman, who, with her passionate zeal for the Jacobite cause, has a distinct knack of being caught up in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

The story begins immediately where Gathering Storm left off and continues in the same theme with Robert Catto doing all he can to discover the activities of those Jacobite followers who would seek to plot against the Hanoverian crown, but in doing his undercover work, Catto continually puts himself and his friends and associates in grave danger. I particularly enjoyed reading of Catto's relationship with young Geordie Smart, who, it must be said, doesn't have an easy time of it in this novel.

The author knows more than most about the Jacobite history of Scotland having written non- fiction books about the subject and writes with great enthusiasm bringing a wealth of historical knowledge to her stories. This continues in Dance to the Storm where the general air of unease continues to threaten, and as the mystery surrounding the Jacobite plotters grows ever deeper, so the hint of danger to both Catto and Rankeillor continually threatens to engulf them.

It has been interesting to travel back in time to these rather dark days of Scottish history, when the political intrigue was at its height, and when the Jacobite cause was just starting to gain momentum in the city which would see much political upheaval in the following few years.

I am sure that the author will continue to explore this theme in the Storm over Scotland series.

About the Author

Maggie Craig writes Scottish historical fiction and non-fiction. As the author of the ground-breaking and acclaimed Damn' Rebel Bitches: The Women of the '45, she is the acknowledged expert on the women who supported - and some who opposed - Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobites of 1745.

Twitter @CraigMaggie

Website

Amazon UK

Hist Fic Saturday ~ The Bastille Spy by C S Quinn

On Hist Fic Saturday

Let's go back to Paris, 1789 ....on the eve of Revolution

Corvus
1 August 2019

Revolution Spy #1

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of the book

England's best spy. France's deadliest prison.

Paris, 1789. English spy Attica Morgan's success freeing kidnapped Britons has earned her acclaim with an underground network. But it has also led to attention of dangerously powerful men. So when she's given a new assignment in Paris, a city with revolution in the air, her instinct is to run.

Because in Paris, nothing is what it seems. Skirmishes in the city are rife and English visitors are viewed with suspicion. Attica is charged with investigating the murder of a rebel in the morgue of the Bastille, that notorious prison of no return. A murder her backers are convinced is part of a much more treacherous plot.

With France is on the cusp of a bloody revolution, Attica soon realizes her mission is a great deal deadlier than she bargained for. A mythic treasure has vanished, a strange man named Robespierre wants her dead, and on the city streets, all hell is about to break loose...

What did I think about it..

In this well written and exciting historical novel, we go back in time to eighteenth century Paris when the city was on the cusp of revolution. Emotions run high and anyone with any connection to the aristocracy is viewed with a growing sense of outrage and suspicion.

Attica Morgan is a female spy working for the English, and what makes her so unusual is her clandestine involvement in a male dominated secret society known only as the Sealed Knot. Attica's femininity really sets her apart, and yet, her strong and decisive personality, and her ability to get right into the action, makes her more than a match for any man, and takes her into some very dangerous territory. 

From the notorious Bastille, to unwanted meetings with Maximilien Robespierre, there is plenty of intrigue and more than a little danger, as Attica and her associate race against time in order to  keep one step ahead of those who wish them harm. Attica is most certainly a woman to be reckoned with, she wields a knife with alarming accuracy, and her ability to mingle with the great, and the not so great of revolutionary Paris certainly shows her to be a courageous and intrepid heroine. There's also whole cast of supporting characters who add their own lively enthusiasm to what is, after all, a rollicking good historical adventure.

The Bastille Spy gets the series of to a really good start and I look forward to seeing just where the stories take us in the next Revolution Spy historical adventure.

About the Author

C.S. Quinn is a travel and lifestyle journalist for The Times, The Guardian and The Mirror, alongside many magazines. Prior to this, Quinn's background in historic research won prestigious postgraduate funding from the British Art Council. Quinn pooled these resources, combining historical research with first-hand experiences in far-flung places, to create her bestselling The Thief Taker' series.The Bastille Spy is the first in a new series featuring Attica Morgan.

Twitter @CathWritesStuff #TheBastilleSpy

@CorvusBooks

Hist Fic Saturday ~ The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar

On Hist Fic Saturday


Lets go back to Georgian England...1785

Vintage
January 2019

One September evening in 1785, the merchant Jonah Hancock hears urgent knocking on his front door. One of his captains is waiting eagerly on the step. He has sold Jonah’s ship for what appears to be a mermaid.

As gossip spreads through the docks, coffee shops, parlours and brothels, everyone wants to see Mr Hancock’s marvel. Its arrival spins him out of his ordinary existence and through the doors of high society. At an opulent party, he makes the acquaintance of Angelica Neal, the most desirable woman he has ever laid eyes on… and a courtesan of great accomplishment. This chance meeting will steer both their lives onto a dangerous new course, a journey on which they will learn that priceless things come at the greatest cost…

What will be the cost of their ambitions? And will they be able to escape the destructive power mermaids are said to possess?

My thoughts...

Middle aged widower, Jonah Hancock is awakened early one morning to the news that one of his merchant ships has been lost at sea and in place of his livelihood the captain of his fleet has returned with, of all things, a mermaid. Jonah is both dismayed and intrigued by this turn of events and more than a little alarmed at being the owner of such an unusual curiosity.

With the need to recoup his losses, Jonah allows the public a tantalising glimpse of this creature and his mermaid exhibition causes a furore in London, with the great, and the not so good, queuing to see it. Against his better judgement Jonah comes into contact with Mrs Chappell, a notorious brothel keeper, who has her own more risqué ideas on how to enhance the mermaid’s effect. However, Jonah’s uneasy association with the brothel keeper brings him into contact with Angelica Neal, a famed courtesan, who is the most beautiful woman Jonah Hancock has ever seen.

This is a really intriguing story about love, greed and obsession and is a real journey through Georgian London, with its fascination for curiosities and its ambiguous morality. The characters are a fascinating bunch, from the rather staid atmosphere of Jonah Hancock’s merchant’s house, to the bawdy illumination of Mrs Chappell’s establishment, there is never a moment when the story doesn’t draw you in. Angelica Neal takes some getting used to, she’s brash and lively, petulant and greedy and yet, by the end of the story I really liked her spirit and determination.

The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock, is really a story of two definite halves; with, I think, the second half of the story being stronger than the first, but throughout it all is a real sense of time and place, and Georgian London with all its pettiness, squabbles and obsession with society is brought to life in quite a vivid way.

I listened to The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock as an Audible recording, which was beautifully narrated by Juliet Stevenson. ( 17 hours and 19 minutes)

About the Author

Imogen Hermes Gowar studied Archaeology, Anthropology and Art History before going on to work in museums. She began to write fiction inspired by the artefacts she worked with, and in 2013 won the Malcolm Bradbury Memorial Scholarship to study for an MA in Creative Writing at UEA. The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock was a finalist in the MsLexia First Novel Competition and shortlisted for the inaugural Deborah Rogers Foundation Writers’ Award.

Review ~ The Bladesmith by Melinda Hammond

On Hist Fic Saturday

Let's go back to ...Northumberland, 1745

12 February 2019

My thanks to the author for my ecopy of this book

A tale of high adventure in the turbulent days of the Jacobite Rebellion

1745: John Steel takes a consignment of swords to Warenford Keep on the wild Northumberland coast. He suspects that the swords are destined for the rebel army of Charles Edward Stuart, but matters are complicated by his growing attraction to Katherine Ellingham, daughter of a known Jacobite and betrothed to the powerful Lord Warenford.

With Carlisle in the hands of the Jacobites, and government troops patrolling Northumberland, John makes a desperate bid to retrieve the swords from the Keep before his family is implicated in the uprising, but can he succeed, and protect Katherine and her family at the same time?

My thoughts..

This lovely romantic adventure takes us back 1745 and to the uncertain days of the Jacobite uprising. John Steel comes from a long line of sword makers who is given the task of taking a consignment of his family's swords to Lord Wallingford, a powerful adversary who lives in a strong fortress on the rugged Northumberland coast. To be caught supplying weapons to the enemy is a dangerous activity and John finds to his cost that the price of his association with Lord Wallingford will change his life forever.

There's a nice mixture of both romance and historical adventure in The Bladesmith , as not only does John get embroiled in some dangerous political events, but also his growing attraction to the beautiful Katherine Ellingham makes for interesting reading. The attraction between them is powerful and, despite their differences, the challenge for them to be together, whilst all-consuming, proves to be filled with danger.

I think that the author captures this uncertain period in history really well, the wild and rugged nature of the Northumberland coast is described beautifully, and it all becomes so atmospheric that I felt as if I walked the area alongside John, his manservant Matthew, and of course, the beautiful Katherine. The attention to detail comes across in the way that the political uncertainty is shown to impact on those characters who rely on Lord Wallingford for their existence and who are living nervously in such uncertain times.

Primarily a love story, The Bladesmith, combines history, adventure and romance to really good effect and, I'm delighted to say, is this author writing at her absolute best. I loved it 😊

Read an interview with Melinda  where she explains the background to The Bladesmith

by clicking here

Melinda on the battlements 

Website

Goodreads

Twitter @SarahMRomance

Amazon UK

Review ~ Roma Nova Extra by Alison Morton

My thanks to the author for my e-copy of this book

Suppose Roma Nova, the last remnant of the old Roman Empire, had struggled through to the 21st century – a tough little country with tough, resourceful people? 

Apulius, a young tribune sent to a backwater in 370 AD for having the wrong religion, encounters the fiery Julia. 

What does his lonely descendant, Silvia, labouring in the 1980s to rebuild her country, make of the Italian architect supervising the reconstruction? 

Can imperial councillor Galla stop the Norman invasion of England in 1066? 

And will Allegra, her 21st century Praetorian descendant fighting her emotions, find her way to her own happy ending?

My thoughts about it...

There's something quite intriguing about reading a set of short stories which have links to a book series which has really captured my imagination. Roma Nova Extra does all that is good in short story writing, which is to share enough information so that new readers can be lured in and encouraged to find out more, whilst at the same time allowing those who are familiar with the novels, to find something new to enjoy. 

There is no doubt that this author has made the complicated world of Roma Nova come alive, from its original concept in the novel, INCEPTIO and now through to ROMA NOVA EXTRA this set of short stories cleverly combines a blend of past, present and future. The power and inherent danger of ancient Rome combined with an altogether alternate way of looking at history captures the imagination with both clever story-telling and wonderful characterisation. 

It’s always a real treat to scurry back to the Rome of this author’s imagination, and in the first short story, of ROMA NOVA EXTRA, I was delighted to find myself in AD 370, an innocent bystander at the meeting of Roma Nova’s founders, in a clever little story about a girl in a marketplace. Throughout the collection, there are lots of lovely touches, and I won’t give any of the game away by recounting too much, however, I was delighted to find that the author’s alternative 1066 story, which was previously published in a collaboration with other historical fiction writers, 1066 Turned Upside Down, also finds its worthy place in this collection. 

Roma Nova Extra is a new venture into the world of short story writing by this clever author and I am sure that it will act as a tantalising taster into the fascinating world of Roma Nova.

By clicking here you can read a guest post by Alison Morton about how she overcame her fear of writing short stories.

About the Author

Alison Morton writes the award-winning Roma Nova thriller series featuring modern Praetorian heroines. She blends her deep love of Roman history with six years’ military service and a life of reading crime, adventure and thriller fiction.

All six Roma Nova full-length novels have been awarded the BRAG Medallion. SUCCESSIO, AURELIA and INSURRECTIO were selected as Historical Novel Society’s Indie Editor’s Choices.  AURELIA was a finalist in the 2016 HNS Indie Award. SUCCESSIO was selected as an Editor’s Choice in The Bookseller. CARINA is a novella set between INCEPTIO and PERFIDITAS.

A ‘Roman nut’ since age 11, Alison has misspent decades clambering over Roman sites throughout Europe. She holds an MA History, blogs about Romans and writing.

Now she continues to write thrillers, cultivates a Roman herb garden and drinks wine in France with her husband.