Showing posts with label English Civil War. Show all posts
Showing posts with label English Civil War. Show all posts

The Black Madonna by Stella Riley
Read an Excerpt

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Publication Date: 31st May 2013
Publisher: Stella Riley
Series: Roundheads & Cavaliers (Book 1 of 4)
Page Length: 622
Audio Book Narrated By: Alex Wyndham
Genre: Historical Fiction, Historical Romance

Synopsis

As England slides into Civil War, master-goldsmith and money-lender, Luciano Falcieri del Santi embarks on his own hidden agenda. A chance meeting one dark night results in an unlikely friendship with Member of Parliament, Richard Maxwell. Richard’s daughter, Kate – a spirited girl who vows to hold their home against both Cavalier and Roundhead – soon finds herself fighting an involuntary attraction to the clever, magnetic and diabolically beautiful Italian.

The Drums of War by Michael Ward
Book Review

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Synopsis

London 1642.

The King has fled London with the drums of war ringing in his ears. Across the country, lines are being drawn and armies raised.

Influential royalist Lady Carlisle switches sides and presses spice trader Thomas Tallant and his partner Elizabeth Seymour into Parliament's service.

Soon Thomas faces double-dealing in his hunt for a lethal hoard of gunpowder hidden on the river, while Elizabeth engages in a race against time to locate a hidden sniper picking off Parliamentary officers at will in the city.

The capital also witnesses a vicious gang of

Traitor's Knot by Cryssa Bazos
Read an Excerpt

Publication Date: 1st October 2021
Publisher: W.M. Jackson Publishing
Page Length: 450 Pages
Series: Quest for Three Kingdoms
Genre: Historical Fiction/ Historical Romance

Synopsis

England 1650: Civil War has given way to an uneasy peace . . .   

Royalist officer James Hart refuses to accept the tyranny of the new government after the execution of King Charles I, and to raise funds for the restoration of the king’s son, he takes to the road as a highwayman.

 Elizabeth Seton has long been shunned for being a traitor’s daughter. In the midst of the new order, she risks her life by sheltering

Shame the Devil by Donna Scott
Read an Excerpt - Blog Tour - Giveaway (US only)

Publication Date: May 11, 2020
Paperback & eBook; 420 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis

England, 1643. The Civil War has created a great divide between those who support King Charles and those who would rather see his head on the block. Young Scot Colin Blackburne finds himself caught in the middle when he witnesses Parliamentarians murder his mother because of his father’s allegiance to the king. As further punishment, the family is sent to Yorkshire as indentured servants.

Mistreated by his master and tormented by a Parliamentarian soldier, Colin vows to take up

BOOK REVIEW/BLOG TOUR: Written in Their Stars by Elizabeth St.John

Publication Date: November 19, 2019
Falcon Historical
eBook & Paperback; 384 Pages
Series: The Lydiard Chronicles, Book 3
Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis

London, 1649. Horrified eyewitnesses to King Charles’s bloody execution, Royalists Nan Wilmot and Frances Apsley plot to return the king’s exiled son to England’s throne, while their radical cousin Luce, the wife of king-killer John Hutchinson, rejoices in the new republic’s triumph. Nan exploits her high-ranking

CAN'T-WAIT WEDNESDAY: I Can't Wait for Tidelands by Philippa Gregory

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they're books that have yet to be released. Find out more here.

Book Review: The King's Shadow by Cheryl Sawyer

The King's Shadow is the final book of Cheryl Sawyer's English Civil War trilogy. I've not read the previous two novels (The Winter Prince and Farewell, Cavaliers) and was hoping this wasn't an oversight on my part when I accepted an ARC from the author.  My concerns were unfounded for The King's Shadow is a great read on its own.

On New Year's Day 1660, an army sets out from Coldstream in the Scottish Borders for London under the command of General Monck. His intentions are unclear, causing unrest amongst the various factions on both sides.

The Parliamentary army is no longer a unified force and many of its high ranking officers are disillusioned at what the army has become. Colonel Mark Denton is assigned by Monck to seek out and ascertain the feelings of these men and determine if they pose a threat to Monck's plan to march south. Denton, too, is uncertain about Monck's intentions, but vows to be there when the General enters London, whether it is to support the return of the King or plunge the country into another civil war.

Lucinda Selby, from a dispossessed Royalist family, has every reason to detest Colonel Denton. Not only is he a Parliamentarian and opposes everything she stands for, he also holds her family's estate. Her one hope for the future is the elusive King's Shadow to whom she owes a debt of gratitude for saving her brother's life. Committed to the Royalist cause, she embarks on a dangerous mission on behalf of the King.

Cheryl Sawyer's excellent research skills, combined with her interpretation of the political situation of the day and her ability to write a good story, brings to life a very interesting period in history. Simply told, it is informative as well as entertaining. Her easy to read style moves the plot along at a smart pace. The dialogue flows naturally and the characters, whether historical or fictional, are well developed.

I liked Colonel Mark Denton from the start though his reputation as a passionate Parliamentarian, estranged from his family because of it, and despised and feared by the Royalists, conjured up visions of a hard hearted individual. At first he seemed reticent and taciturn, but as the story unfolds his true nature is revealed and I liked him even more. He is disturbed by the antipathy Lucinda feels for him and is resigned to the fact that she will never look upon him favourably, which makes everything he does on her behalf all the more sweeter. While Lucinda Selby has all the attributes of a thoroughly believable and lovable heroine, it is Colonel Mark Denton that stands out above the crowd and makes this story a memorable read.

The mysterious King's Shadow adds further excitement to the story. It was easy to figure out his identity from the clues dropped along the way. While this may be construed as a disappointment I found it had the opposite effect. Knowing a detail that the characters are yet to discover creates a sense of anticipation and it is amusing how they finally make the connection, but apt given the expertise of the character who interprets the final clue.

A nice bonus is the author's historical note at the end and shows how well Cheryl Sawyer knows her readers. To avoid spoilers, resist the temptation to take a peek. Read the story first before indulging in this little tidbit.

I thoroughly enjoyed The King's Shadow and recommend it to those who have an interest in this period in history, love a great  adventure story and are not adverse to a heart warming romance.

Book Review: Rebels and Traitors by Lindsey Davis


This is a lengthy novel, an epic of 742 pages and was not the fictional work with the English Civil War as its background that I expected. The novel started promisingly with an intriguing prologue, which introduced two of the main characters, but a few chapters in, I realized my error, when the fiction began to be dominated by swathes of social, political and military detail. It is much later in the novel that the focus remains on the main characters. 

Too many characters left me overwhelmed and a little confused. Not only was there a large cast of historical figures, but also the extended families of the other characters to follow, necessitating in some back tracking. I thought the way the characters crossed paths throughout the novel interesting and it was one of these chance meetings that leads to the dramatic ending.

As mentioned, the novel opens with a prologue. It is 1649 and the day of King Charles I’s execution. Among the spectators are a Roundhead Captain and a wife of an exiled Royalist.

The story then jumps back to 1634 when the Roundhead Captain, Gideon Jukes, is a rebellious thirteen year old about to be apprenticed to a printer. Seven years later, his apprenticeship served, Jukes joins one of the London Trained Bands and eventually rises to the rank of Captain in the New Model Army.  

Juliana Lovell, the wife of the exiled Royalist, Orlando Lovell, is abandoned by her husband for years at a time, and copes alone with being destitute and raising children. At times she is aided by friends, including the steadfast Edmund Treves, another Royalist.

Orlando Lovell is an enigma. He explains his absences as being on the King's business, but this is open to interpretation. He flits in and out of the story like the proverbial bad penny. Forever plotting and scheming, preying on the weak, selfish, indifferent to the plight of his wife and children, he is definitely the villain of the piece.

Kinchin Tews, a young girl from a family of scavengers, thieves and opportunists, who is neither for King nor Parliament, witnesses first-hand the atrocities committed by the Royalists in Birmingham. She flees the city for London where she hopes her life will be better. Kinchin is a survivor. 

These four characters form the nucleus of the novel, representing the common folk and the affect the war had on them. It is refreshing to have the view point from this angle rather than from the upper classes of society.

The action takes place mainly in London, Oxford and Birmingham. At times jumping from one city to another describing events taking place at the same point in time. This added vast tracts to the novel when perhaps a paragraph or two linking the events would have been all that was needed.

There is no doubt that Lindsey Davis researched this time period thoroughly by the amount of historical detail included, plus other facts and figures thrown in as if this was her one and only chance to write about this period in history. It was too much for me at times and I skimmed quite a few pages. At one stage I was tempted to give up, but after putting the book aside for a while I picked it up once more, admitting that I was interested in the characters and needed to know their fates.

It took me a long time to write this review as I wanted to be fair to Lindsey Davis and the huge effort she undertook to produce this work. There were aspects of this novel that I really liked, but for me, it would have been a great read without so much historical detail. It is definitely not one for the fainthearted: a very challenging read.

Also by Kate Sedley

My early morning browsing also uncovered another novel by Kate Sedley entitled "For King and Country". It is set during the English Civil war and has found its way onto my "Reading Wish List". Now to track down a copy ......