Hist Fic Saturday ~ Blood's Game by Angus Donald

On Hist Fic Saturday

Let's go back to .....Restoration England and London 1670

Zaffre
September 2017

I think most of us have heard the story, and marveled at the audacity of Captain Thomas Blood, the man, who in 1671, stole the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London. And whilst I knew the vague details of the story, I wasn't aware that Thomas Blood had in fact been captured, imprisoned and then by some sheer twist of fate, had not only been freed without trial, but had been granted a generous gift of lands by the gracious permission of King Charles II. This novel explains , perhaps, just how this all came about...

Blood's Game is a real romp into Restoration England. All of its glorious bawdiness comes alive with descriptions of the King's court, his amorous exploits, and the schemes and machinations of unscrupulous individuals. Into this scheming hotchpotch comes Holcroft Blood, Thomas Blood's youngest son, who has real flair for doing things in a quite unusual way. Holcroft becomes enmeshed in the plots and schemes of the notorious, Duke of Buckingham, and learns of information which will ultimately make or break those dearest to him.

The author writes with skill and understanding, and brings to life his characters, both real and imaginary with such  a fine eye for detail, that I felt like I was a fly on the wall and observing events first hand. Even the notorious criminal, Thomas Blood comes across as a rather likeable rogue and I couldn't help but be drawn into his story, which is regaled with great gusto. Holcroft Blood is rather the hero of the story and I thought that his character, and his rather special personality, was handled with sensitivity, and yet totally in keeping with the time in which he lived.

Blood's Game is the start of  a new series for this talented writer, who in his previous novels gave us the excellent series about Robin Hood. Moving forward by several hundred years now gives the author scope to take his historical fiction into a new direction. I can't wait to see where the next book takes us.

About the Author

You can read a guest post by the author explaining the background to Blood's Game by clicking here.

Follow on Twitter @angus_donald #BloodsGame


Visit on Facebook

Huge thanks to the author for sharing his work with me and also to Emily at Bonnier Zaffre for sending a copy of Blood's Game to me .

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#OneInAMillion Competition...

#OneInAMillion Competition Launches on Bookshop Day

Celebrate 1 Millionth Books Are My Bag Supporter

One Lucky Book Lover Will Win:

A one-off Orla Kiely bag | £250 in National Book Tokens | A Golden Ticket to Hay Festival |A rare print signed by Quentin Blake | Special edition Handmaid’s Tale | Lots of new books expected to be bestsellers this Christmas | West End Tickets

And much more!

London. 9 October 2017. Book lovers in the UK & Ireland have the chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime competition with an incredible bundle of prizes on offer to celebrate Books Are My Bag (BAMB) – the annual bookshop campaign – reaching one million supporters this year.

One lucky book lover is in with the chance of winning a host of extraordinary prizes donated from across the book industry and beyond, including a beautiful, totally one-off Orla Kiely luxury leather bag, in the style of this year’s Books Are My Bag tote bag.

To enter, book lovers just need to Tweet #OneInAMillion saying what their favourite bookshop is and why.

The #OneInAMillion Prize winner will take home:

· An exclusive, one-off Orla Kiely leather bag

· £250 in National Book Tokens

· A golden ticket to Hay Festival

· Afternoon Tea for Two at Claridges (Hachette)

· London Zoo tickets and a copy of Zoo Quest (Hachette)

· A limited-edition copy of Alan Bennett’s Keeping on Keeping On, RRP £200 (Faber)

· A limited-edition print from Billy and the Minpins, signed by Quentin Blake (Puffin)

· A special edition Handmaid’s Tale (Vintage)

· A set of Vintage Classics Dickens (Vintage)

· A signed Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World print by Kate Pankhurst (Bloomsbury)

· A signed first-edition copy of Sparsholt Affair by Alan Hollinghurst (Pan Macmillan)

· A set of PanMacmillan70th Anniversary edition books (Pan Macmillan)

· A pair of tickets to The Christmasaurus Live on Stage at the London Apollo (Penguin Random House) – any date between 20 – 28th December

wo runners up will also be in with the chance of winning the following fantastic prizes:

Second Prize

· A signed copy of Hurrah for Gin by Katie Kirby, together with a bottle of Sipsmith gin (Hachette)

· A copy of Nigella Lawson’s new cookbook, At My Table (Vintage)

· A signed copy of The Pearl Thief by Elizabeth Wein (Bloomsbury)

· A signed copy of My Name is Victoria by Lucy Worsley (Bloomsbury)

· A signed copy of Moonrise by Sarah Crossan (Bloomsbury)

· Subscription to the New Scientist magazine (Hachette)

· Haunted House tour and a signed copy of Devil’s Day by Andrew Hurley (Hachette)

· A mounted Emily Sutton print (Bloomsbury)

Third Prize

· A copy of Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King and a box set of Stephen King DVD’s (Hachette)

· A signed copy of Down to Earth: Gardening Wisdom by Monty Don (DK)

· A copy of The Creakers by Tom Fletcher (Puffin)

· A signed print of Oliver Jeffers’ new book Here We Are (Penguin Random House)

· A Perfectly Norman print by Tom Percival (Bloomsbury)

The competition marks the 1 millionth Books Are My Bag tote bag to be worn by the public, showing their support for bookshops in the UK & Ireland.

Meryl Halls, Head of Membership Services at the Booksellers Association, said: “Reaching our one millionth supporter is a hugely exciting milestone, and we’re delighted to be able to show our thanks to bookshop lovers across the UK & Ireland with this fabulous prize. It is wonderful to see the book industry coming together to support bookshops with the amazing prizes they have donated. We wish everyone the best of luck, and look forward to hearing all about our supporters’ favourite bookshops!”

Bookshop lovers will have until 7th November to enter the competition, with the lucky winners being revealed on 25th November, when bookshops across the country will offer a Saturday Sanctuary as respite from the business of daily life.

Orla Kiely, said: “I am so happy to have collaborated with the Bookseller’s Association. As a great lover of books and bookshops, nothing gives me more pleasure than discovering a new book, whether it’s a beautiful edition on a new favourite photographer, a great novel or a rare out of print edition. There is nothing more relaxing, inspiring or stimulating than reading and losing oneself in another world. We should all take time to read and importantly, to encourage our children to love books.”

Now in its fifth year, the Books Are My Bag campaign highlights and celebrates the vital role of high street and campus bookshops. Over the last four years, a million people have worn a Books Are My Bag canvas bag in support of the campaign.

More details on Books Are My Bag 2017 will be unveiled in the coming weeks; keep an eye on www.booksaremybag.com for updates.

For more information on events, visit www.booksaremybag.com



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Review ~ A Whiff of Cyanide by Guy Fraser-Sampson

Urbane Publications

June 2017

Blurb...

The third volume of the bestselling Hampstead Murders sees the team become involved with a suspicious death at a crime writers' convention. Is this the result of a bitterly contested election for the Chair of the Crime Writers' Association or are even darker forces at work? 

Peter Collins, who is attending the convention as the author of a new book on poisoning in Golden Age fiction, worries that the key clue to unlock this puzzle may be buried within his own memories. A character called Miss Marple offers her advice, but how should the police receive this? 

Meanwhile an act of sudden, shocking violence and a dramatic revelation threaten tragic consequences.

My thoughts...

Returning to this series of Hampstead Murder mysteries, and this is now book number three, is rather like becoming reacquainted with group of cherished friends and from the very start of this latest novel there is a comfortable feel to the story which, even though it covers a rather dark subject, it is such a delight to read.

A Whiff of Cyanide is set, it would seem, in the rather murky world of literary malcontent and focuses on the petty jealousies of those authors who are attending a crime writer's convention and who feel that they are not getting the attention that their work deserves.

The mystery at the heart of the novel is complex and convoluted and there is a real sense of unease which starts to infiltrate almost from the beginning of the story. I especially like the pervading sense of nostalgia and that subtle hint of bygone days when police investigations were conducted with good manners and old fashioned sleuthing.

The author has most certainly created his own special literary niche with this wonderful collection of crime stories which seem to go from strength to strength. As with all series it is usually better to read from the beginning and I think this is especially important in this instance as to see the progression of the characters as they settle into their individuals roles is one of the unique strengths of the Hampstead Murders series. There is a real surprise in this book which I didn't see coming but which now adds a really interesting dynamic to a couple of relationships and I am sure that these will be expanded upon in future novels.

A Whiff of Cyanide is a strong story with a tantalising beginning, a complex middle and a satisfying conclusion and is written with all the fine attention to detail which is so beautifully reminiscent of the glorious age of crime writing.

About the Author

Guy Fraser Sampson is an established writer best known for his Mapp and Lucia novels which have been featured on BBC radio and optioned by BBC television. 

Follow on Twitter @GuyFSAuthor

Urbane Publications

  

My thanks to the author for sharing his book with me and also to Matthew at Urbane Publications for my review copy of A Whiff of Cyanide.

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Guest Author ...Victoria Cornwall

I am delighted to welcome Choc Lit author

Victoria Cornwall

What Makes the Perfect Heroine?

I was once asked, “What is your perfect heroine?” It was a simple question and the answer was easy … or so I thought. I stirred my cappuccino as I considered my reply and eventually answered, “She has to be nice.” It was a lame answer and one that my English teacher would have scolded me for. The word “nice” didn’t quite sum up what I meant. The word was just too ... well … nice.

The topic moved on to something else quite unrelated to writing, so it was much later when I thought about the question again. I realised the heroine had to be someone I, as a reader, wanted to spend time with as I accompanied her on her fictional journey.

I realise that there are many unlikeable heroines who have propelled their authors to the bestseller list. Amber in Forever Amber and Scarlet in Gone with the Wind are manipulative and shallow women. They are not the type of woman I would want to befriend, yet these heroines are some of the most successful in the literary world. Readers identified with their inner strength and determination to succeed. These unique women were not the “perfect” heroine.

However, the perfect heroine can be just as annoying to read about. She has beauty, education, cares for wounded animals, the homeless … even the rat in the pantry. She has medical knowledge to heal every wound, can shoot, ride, dance and play the minuet with her eyes closed. In her spare time she teaches orphans three languages and men fall at her feet. No, she is not my perfect heroine. A little too much perfect is like too much sugar, too nauseatingly sweet and makes me prone to feelings of inadequacy.

A writer has to strike the right balance. If she doesn’t, the heroine risks being thrown in the bin or deleted into hyperspace, along with the rest of the characters in the book!

So when I became a writer, I made a list of attributes for my perfect heroine and the list went something like this:

- Feminine without being weak.

- Shows both strength and vulnerability.

- Shows kindness without being over indulgent or saintly.

- Shows wit without being prickly or sarcastic.

- Has fears, insecurities and imperfections, but finds the courage to overcome them.

- She can change her mind without appearing fickle.

It was a tall list, but one I kept in mind when I wrote the heroines in The Thief’s Daughter and The Captain’s Daughter.

Jenna, in The Thief’s Daughter, is loyal, resilient and brave, but these same admirable qualities lead her into trouble when she feels unable to refuse her brother’s request for help. Jenna also has weaknesses and insecurities which she has to learn to overcome. 

Janey, in The Captain’s Daughter, starts out naïve, but events beyond her control force her to become wiser and stronger until others look to her for her strength and courage. According to my list, they are my perfect heroines for the simple reason they are imperfect, but have a hidden strength … just like the rest of us.

The Thief’s Daughter is now available to purchase in paperback and eBook and The Captain’s Daughter is available to buy as an eBook. 

The Thief’s Daughter

Hide from the thief-taker, for if he finds you, he will take you away ...

Eighteenth-century Cornwall is crippled by debt and poverty, and the gibbet casts a shadow of fear over the land. Yet, when night falls, free traders swarm onto the beaches and smuggling prospers.

Terrified by a thief-taker's warning as a child, Jenna has resolved to be good. When her brother, Silas, asks for her help to pay his creditors, Jenna feels unable to refuse and finds herself entering the dangerous world of the smuggling trade.

Jack Penhale hunts down the smuggling gangs in revenge for his father's death. Drawn to Jenna at a hiring fayre, they discover their lives are entangled. But as Jenna struggles to decide where her allegiances lie, the worlds of justice and crime collide, leading to danger and heartache for all concerned ...

For buying options click HERE.

The Captain’s Daughter

Sometimes you need to discover your own strength in order to survive …

After a family tragedy, Janey Carhart was forced from her comfortable life as a captain’s daughter into domestic service. Determined to make something of herself, Janey eventually finds work as a lady’s maid at the imposing Bosvenna Manor on the edge of Bodmin Moor, but is soon caught between the two worlds of upstairs and downstairs, and accepted by neither, as she cares for her mistress.

Desperately lonely, Janey catches the attention of two men – James Brockenshaw and Daniel Kellow. James is heir to the Bosvenna estate, a man whose eloquent letters to his mother warm Janey’s heart. Daniel Kellow is a neighbouring farmer with a dark past and a brooding nature, yet with a magnetism that disturbs Janey. Two men. Who should she choose? Or will fate decide.

For buying options click HERE.

Author Bio

Cornish born author, Victoria Cornwall, can trace her Cornish roots as far back as the 18th century. This background and heritage has given her an understanding and knowledge of Cornish rural life which is the inspiration for her writing.

Following a fulfilling twenty-five year career as a nurse, a change in profession finally allowed her time to write. Her writing has been shortlisted for the New Talent Award at the Festival of Romantic Fiction in 2014 and her debut novel, The Thief’s Daughter was a finalist in the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Joan Hessayon Award.

She likes her romance books to have a strong background story but at the centre is the unmistakable emotion, passion and even pain of loving someone.

She is married with two grown up children.

Website: www.victoriacornwall.com

Twitter: @VickieCornwall

Facebook: www.facebook.com/victoriacornwall.author

Instagram: www.instagram.com/victoria_cornwallx

Pinterest: uk.pinterest.com/vickiecornwall/

Huge thanks to Victoria for her wonderful guest post today and also to Lusana at Choc Lit for her continued support of Jaffareadstoo.

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Blog Tour ~ Invisible Women by Sarah Long

Zaffre
5 October 2017

Sharp, irreverent and very funny women's fiction for grown-ups. For fans of Dawn French, Sue Townsend and Veronica Henry.

Tessa, Sandra and Harriet have been best friends through first crushes, careers, marriage and the trials of motherhood. After twenty years of taking care of everyone else's every need, they've found themselves hitting the big 5-0 and suddenly asking themselves: 'what about me?!'

Sandra has a sordid secret, and Harriet is landed with her ailing mother-in-law. Tessa is looking for something to fill the gaping hole left by her youngest daughter's departure for uni, where it seems she's now engaged in all sorts of unsavoury activities, if Tessa's obsessive late-night Facebook stalking is anything to go by.

When Tessa impulsively responds to an online message from an old flame, she soon finds herself waiting at Heathrow Airport for The One That Got Away. 

But what will the plane from New York bring her? The man of her dreams, or a whole heap of trouble? 

And could this be the long-awaited moment for Tessa to seize her life, for herself, with both hands?

My thoughts...

Tessa, Sandra and Harriet have been friends forever, they've shared every event you can think of and now, as they all turn fifty, it's time to take stock of their lives and do things to suit themselves. However, as they find out to their cost, living the life they think they've earned often comes at a price.

I'm always interested in reading stories about the vagaries of female friendships and it's refreshing to have a group of women of a certain age who are facing a very different time in their lives. The empty nest syndrome as children leave home for university, the heartbreak and dilemma of looking after aged parents, and that last ditch attempt at trying to find happiness with an old flame. All manner of life is experienced and the author does a good job of showing the twists and turns of female relationships.

I think that the author writes well and even though it covers some serious issues there is a lovely light feel to the story. I enjoyed getting to know the women as individuals, and understanding their lives, marriages, and relationship issues goes a long way to discovering just what has made them into the people they are now.

Invisible Women is an engaging read with a set of likeable characters whose stories capture their personalities in an appealing way. I especially loved the little snippets from the book, Don'ts for Wives, Blanche Ebbutt 1913 which head each chapter.

About the Author

Sarah Long is a London-based author of two previously published commercial fiction novels and one hilarious memoir about her ten years living in Paris. She is a married mother of three.

Follow the blog tour on Twitter #InvisibleWomen

My thanks to Imogen at Bonnier Zaffre for the invitation to be part of this blog tour and also for my review copy of Invisible Women.

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Blog Tour ~ The Book of Forgotten Authors by Christopher Fowler

Jaffareadstoo is delighted to be hosting today's stop on 

The Book of Forgotten Authors Blog Tour

Like any bibliophile I am always thrilled to have  a book specifically about books and when offered the opportunity to take a look at The Book of Forgotten Authors, well, I couldn't resist...

Riverrun
An imprint of Quercus
October 2017

Why are good authors forgotten? So heads the introduction to this look at 99 authors, their forgotten work, the possible reasons why they have fallen out of favour and the jolly good reasons why some of them should or, quite possibly, shouldn't be back in favour again.

When I was a child I used to love lucky dip packages. That growing feeling of excitement as you tear open your lucky dip bag to see what's inside and for, grown up me, dipping into and out of The Book of Forgotten Authors was rather like a lucky dip into a forgotten world of writers and their art. 

I've been reading adult literature for a long time, and many of these authors I remembered reading  in my dim and distant past, so much so, that perusing the book became more like a long walk down memory lane. Some authors, may be justifiably forgotten, whilst others sparked such an air of nostalgia that, time allowing, I am sorely tempted to head back and re-read some of their work just to see if they will stand the test of time, or if they truly do deserve to languish in that dusty library of forgotten writers.

It's fascinating to see just how trends change and evolve. As a young teen, I devoured the historical fiction of Jean Plaidy and Victoria Holt, all, of course, written by the excellent author, Eleanor Hibbert, who makes an appearance in the book at number 46.  I'm not sure that these gentle stories would work for today's young readers, but for me the thrill of reading about the lives, and loves, of our Kings and Queens, gave me my first taster of historical romantic fiction. The decidedly creepy writer, Dennis Wheatley also makes an appearance at number 96. I remember, in the mid 1970s, his, rather controversial novel, To the Devil A Daughter, being passed surreptitiously around my all girls grammar school. A book which had many well thumbed pages and ear marked corners !

The Book of Forgotten Authors is set out in an easy to read way. The author writes well and captures interesting snippets of information which make the book all the more fascinating to read. I particularly enjoyed the short and concise biographies of each of the authors chosen and whilst the 99 authors are very much the author's own personal choice, I am sure there are many hundreds more forgotten authors who could quite easily have graced the pages. However, many of the forgotten resonated with me and sparked memories which I had long forgotten. 

If you're a bibliophile, or have one close to you, then I am sure that they would enjoy this book of forgotten authors as much as I did.

About the Author

A typical example of the late 20th century midlist author, Christopher Fowler was born in the less attractive part of Greenwich in 1953, the son of a scientist and a legal secretary. He went to a London Guild school, Colfe's, where, avoiding rugby by hiding in the school library, he was able to begin plagiarising in earnest. He published his first novel, Roofworld, described as 'unclassifiable', while working as an advertising copywriter. He left to form The Creative Partnership, a company that changed the face of film marketing, and spent many years working in film, creating movie posters, tag lines, trailers and documentaries, using his friendship with Jude Law to get into nightclubs.

During this time Fowler achieved several pathetic schoolboy fantasies, releasing an appalling Christmas pop single, becoming a male model, posing as the villain in a Batman comic, creating a stage show, writing rubbish in Hollywood, running a night club, appearing in the Pan Books of Horror and standing in for James Bond.

Now the author of over forty novels and short story collections, including his award-winning memoir Paperboy and its sequel Film Freak, he writes the Bryant & May mystery novels, recording the adventures of two Golden Age detectives in modern-day London.

In 2015 he won the CWA Dagger In The Library award for his detective series, once described by his former publisher as 'unsaleable'.

Fowler is still alive and one day plans to realise his ambition to become a Forgotten Author himself.

Website

Twitter @Peculiar

Facebook

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for her invitation to be part of this blog tour

 and also to the publishers, Riverrun for my review copy of The Book of Forgotten Authors

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Sunday WW1 Remembered...

The Battle of Poelcappelle (Ypres)

The Battle of Poelcappelle was fought in Flanders, Belgium, on 9 October 1917 by the British and German armies, during the First World War and marked the end of the string of highly successful British attacks in late September and early October, during the Third Battle of Ypres.

Duck-board carrying party, near Langemarck (Langemark-Poelkapelle),

11th October 1917.

Brookes, Ernest (Lieutenant)
© IWM (Q 3005)

Ruined houses in Poelcappelle.

German Official Photographer
© IWM (Q 45462)

 Walking wounded coming down and reinforcements going up a duckboard trench near Langemarck (Langemark-Poelkapelle), 11 October 1917.

Brookes, Ernest (Lieutenant)
© IWM (Q 3006)

The weather and ground conditions put severe strain on all involved and led to many soldiers being killed or wounded.

Five miles North East of Ypres, there is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery in Poelcappelle, now spelled, Poelkapelle. It contains 7,500 burials, with over 6,000 of these being unknown. Many of the burials are from the later part of 1917.

As always, I am indebted to the Imperial War Museum for the opportunity to share these fascinating photographs taken at the time by WW1 photographers.

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