📖 Blog Tour ~ A Beautiful Spy by Rachel Hore

 

  📖 Delighted to be part of this blog tour 📖 

Simon&Schuster
18 February 2021

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book
and to Random Things Tours for the invitation to the blog tour

Minnie Gray is an ordinary young woman. She is also a spy for the British government. It all began in the summer of 1928... Minnie is supposed to find a nice man, get married and have children. The problem is it doesn’t appeal to her at all. She is working as a secretary, but longs to make a difference. Then, one day, she gets her chance. She is recruited by the British government as a spy. Under strict instructions not to tell anyone, not even her family, she moves to London and begins her mission – to infiltrate the Communist movement. She soon gains the trust of important leaders. But as she grows more and more entangled in the workings of the movement, her job becomes increasingly dangerous. Leading a double life is starting to take its toll on her relationships and, feeling more isolated than ever, she starts to wonder how this is all going to end. The Russians are notorious for ruthlessly disposing of people given the slightest suspicion. What if they find out? Full of suspense, courage and love, A Beautiful Spy is a stunningly written story about resisting the norm and following your dreams, even if they come with sacrifices.

📖 My thoughts..

Minnie Gray longs to escape her mundane life in Edgbaston where the only excitement in her life is accompanying her mother to another tedious event. Employed as a typist, Minnie yearns for something more substantial than being a wife and mother, and so when she is approached by a contact to work for the British government as a spy she grabs the opportunity to  do sometime worthwhile for her country. 

What then follows is an interesting espionage story which sees Minnie become embroiled in the Communist movement, and with the political landscape of Europe about to change, her time spent undercover is fraught with both danger and intrigue. Based on the true story of Olga Gray, a British agent recruited by Maxwell Knight in 1932 to infiltrate the Friends of the Soviet Union, this clever mix of blending fact and fiction is done with a fine eye for political detail, and a clever understanding of the historical background to this tumultuous time in world history.

Keeping a fictional story so closely linked with factual evidence brings a genuine authenticity to the narrative and the author does a great job of building up the tension and showing the unease and trepidation involved in leading such a dangerous and, at times, exciting double life. The story is a little bit slow at the start but then as Minnie becomes more involved in the challenges ahead of her, it all starts to flow well. I enjoyed learning more about Minnie’s life, she is an interesting protagonist, determined to live life her own way and yet there’s a vulnerability to her which makes her character all the more fascinating.

Beautifully written, and impeccably researched, A Beautiful Spy is a cleverly controlled espionage story which brings to life the uncertainty of living in a time of political, and emotional, turmoil. 

About the Author

Rachel Hore worked in London publishing for many years before moving with her family to Norwich, where she taught publishing and creative writing at the University of East Anglia before becoming a full-time writer. She is married to the writer D. J. Taylor and they have three sons. Her last novel, The Love Child, was a Sunday Times bestseller.

Twitter @RachelHore #ABeautifulSpy

@simonandschusteruk @TeamBATC

@RandomTTours

Blog Tour ~ The Love Child by Rachel Hore

🌠 Delighted to host today's final stop on this exciting blog tour 🌠

Simon & Schuster
5 September 2019

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book
and to Random Things Tours for my invitation to be part of this blog tour

London, 1917 When seventeen-year-old Alice falls pregnant, she is forced by her father and stepmother to give up the baby. She simply cannot be allowed to bring shame upon her family. But all Alice can think of is the small, kitten-like child she gave away, and how the father, a young soldier, so beloved, will never have the chance to know his daughter. Meanwhile, Edith and Philip, a couple unable to have children of their own, secretly adopt a baby girl, Irene, given up by a young unmarried mother. Irene grows up knowing that she is different from other children but no one will tell her the full truth. As two extraordinary stories intertwine across two decades, will secrets long-buried at last come to light?

What did I think about it...

Seventeen year Alice has no choice but to give up her baby for adoption as to bring up an illegitimate baby in 1917 is near on impossible especially when Alice cannot rely on her well-to-do parents to support her choice. This decision will affect Alice as she goes through her life and she never forgets the tiny baby she gave away.

Irene grows up knowing that she doesn't quite fit with her family and although she is cared for by her adoptive parents she senses that something just doesn't quite feel right and her life is a constant struggle to try to fit in.

What then follows is a really lovely story which spans the early years of the twentieth century and highlights the changing social situations for those who were left to pick up the pieces after the Great War. On the surface circumstances seem to offer more opportunities for women but as Alice discovers searching for independence is not always an easy path to take and her training as one of the first women GPs is fraught with both prejudice and misunderstanding. With a skilful hand and a fine eye for historical detail the author cleverly weaves together several story strands bringing everything together with such authenticity that I immediately felt as if I was part of Alice and Irene's troubled journey.

The Love Child highlights the dilemma of illegitimacy and of the social prejudice of the early twentieth century and brings to life a strong story of two women who have to learn to deal with the hand that fate has dealt them but they do so in their own indomitable style. The author has captured the essence of this troubled time, and writes so beautifully that it has been an absolute pleasure to read The Love Child. I enjoyed getting to know both Alice and Irene, and ultimately wanted everything to work out well for both of them, however, whether it does or not is for you to find out for yourselves. 😊

The Love Child captured my attention from the very beginning and it quickly became on of those difficult to put down stories, so much so, I carried it from room to room, reading whenever I could find a spare minute. I’ve now read several of this author’s excellent stories and, without doubt, The Love Child is my favourite to date.

About the Author

Rachel Hore worked in London publishing for many years before moving with her family to Norwich, where she teaches publishing and creative writing at the University of East Anglia. She is married to the writer D. J. Taylor and they have three sons. Her latest novel, Last Letter Home, was a Sunday Times bestseller and a Richard and Judy Book Club pick for 2018.

Twitter @Rachelhore #TheLoveChild

@simonschusterUK

#RandomThingsTours

A Book revisited ~The Glass Painter's Daughter by Rachel Hore

A Tale of three covers ...

It's an interesting concept, this idea of re-branding books by changing the cover, because what it does is attempt to re-invent the story for a new audience, and it's surprising to see just how the trend in book covers changes with the passage of time. 

When I was given a copy of The Glass Painter's Daughter to read for the Curtis Brown Book Group - my initial thought was ..oh, I've read that, and as I've also read some 600 books, or more,  since this one, truthfully,  I couldn't really remember the finer details of the story .

I hoped that my 2009 Goodreads review would come to the rescue....and it did....

2009
Pocket Books

Here it is....

The Glass Painter's Daughter, whilst for me it wasn't quite as good as The Dream House and The Memory Garden, it is still a lovely read, with a fascinating dual time frame and some wonderful characters....I loved the descriptions of the different glass and would love to 'see' the Raphael window.....It has some wonderful angel quotes interspersed throughout the chapters...this one has always been a favourite of mine ....

It heads chapter 34...

We are never so lost our angels cannot find us.....

As you can see, I didn't write long reviews back in 2009. 

The Glass Painter's Daughter then went through another book cover change to look like this...

2009
Simon&Schuster

I'm not sure that this cover bears any resemblance to what the story is really about - it could be a totally different story...

And now in 2015, the cover has been updated again to look like this...

2015
Simon &Schuster

I can see 'more' of the story perhaps in this cover. I get a sense of Fran, the central character, who is on a journey of self discovery, she very much a loner, self sufficient, purposeful and determined. I see her in this figure and am drawn into the journey she is undertaking. I like the shadowy church rising in the background. 

There seems to be a trend for stylized covers, a representation of what lies within, and this is almost like a story board drawing you into the concept of what's about to happen.

Book cover art is so important. As a reader, the first thing I notice about a story is the book cover.  I want to be drawn into the story, I want to look at the picture and imagine the journey I'm going to take and imagine the adventure waiting to happen.

I've given up on a book several times because I find the cover hateful - and several covers spring to mind but I won't do the authors the injustice of naming them here.

And now, the million dollar question - which, of the three covers, do I like the best.... I think it's this latest cover which I like because it makes the story feel more contemporary. I like the muted colours and the gentleness of the cover art.

So, what did I make of reading The Glass Painter's Daughter second time around...

Fran Morrison returns home to London when her father's illness forces her to abandon her successful music career. Entering Minster Glass, her father's glass making business, is like stepping back in time and for Fran it conjures memories of a past she would rather have kept hidden. When she and her father's assistant, Zac, are given a commission to restore a damaged glass picture, the angel revealed in the glass tells a fascinating story of love, both lost and won and of the tragedy and heartbreak of devastating loss.

It's a lovely, lovely story with an over riding gentle theme which gives the novel a heart warming feel. Whilst it can be considered to be rather a slow read, for me this works, as there is ample time to become comfortable with the characters and there is enough space in the narrative to enjoy the way the story unfolds. I liked the authentic way Victorian England was brought to life in Laura's story, but was equally beguiled by the present day dilemmas faced by Fran as she struggled to find her rightful place in the tantalising world of glass making. And as the past and present intermingle, both the similarities and differences between Fran and Laura's individual stories are brought to life. The angel theme which pervades throughout the story is nicely done and I particularly enjoyed the angel references which head each chapter.

It's a slow burner of a story which looks at the rawness of human emotion, with an overriding theme of redemption and hope.

We should pray to the angels for they are given to us as guardians

St Ambrose, De Vidius

About the Author

My thanks to the Curtis Brown Book Club for my copy of this book to read.

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Review ~ A Week in Paris by Rachel Hore

Simon & Schuster
October 2014

The story of love, loss and wartime memories are nicely portrayed in this historical narrative which tells the story of Fay Knox and her mother Kitty, both of whom have long buried memories of Paris. Kitty was a naive young woman when she went to Paris in the 1940s to study music, whilst there she met and fell in love with Eugene Knox, a young American doctor and together they made a life with their baby daughter, Fay. Twenty years later, Fay appears to have some shadowy memories of Paris but her mother has never been willing to explain anything to her about her early years. Returning to Paris in 1961, Fay attempts to uncover some of her mother’s long buried secrets, with surprising results.

What then follows is a nicely written historical dual time story which takes the reader between two very different time frames and between two very different young women whose lives have been irrevocably changed by the events of the Second World War.

The starkness and imminent danger of occupied Paris is particularly well done. I enjoyed the way the story conjured up the atmosphere of living during a time of great unrest and it is obvious that the author has researched the period well and writes with some authority. The 1960s time frame had a charm all of its own and I enjoyed seeing Fay blossom from a rather naive ingénue, into a more confident and assured young woman. The overwhelming theme of the novel is about memory and the ties that bind us together and that fact that shared memories also have the power to both hurt us and protect us.

Whilst I don’t think this is the strongest of Rachel Hore’s books, I did enjoy the story and am sure that most of her fans will enjoy it too.

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