The Good Wife of Bath

The Good Wife of Bath is a modern retelling of a story in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. I have never read The Canterbury Tales before so the plotline for the modern story was new to me. Taking place in the latter half of the fourteenth century, Eleanor Cornfed's life with her 5 husbands is portrayed. At the age of 12 she is caught in bed with a priest and married off a week later to a sheep farmer fifty years her senior. Fulk Bigod is well known in the community, well known for outliving 4 previous wives and for being dirty. The community loves nothing more than to tell stories about him. Eleanor is despondent but reflects on her father's past advice to make something out of nothing. With a head for business and a surprisingly kind husband, Eleanor manages to turn her first marriage into a success. She begins to rise through society to a woman of fortune who becomes a trusted friend of the poet Geoffrey Chaucer. More marriages follow. Some of them were happy while others were not. In between each marriage, Eleanor goes on a religious pilgrimage. Through her travels she determines what mistakes she made in her marriages but always returns home to repeat those mistakes. All along, though, she pines for control over her life. 

This book was a breeze to read. I loved it and read half of its 560 pages in one sitting. I finished it in the next sitting. Eleanor is an amazing character who didn't give up on marriage until the fifth one ended. Her flaws only bring suspense to the story. I kept wondering whether Eleanor would do as she knew in her heart to do rather than succumb to her fickle nature. She should never have married again. When Fulk died, she was a well off business woman and didn't need another man. However, she thought that she needed them because society told her so. It only goes to show how few choices women had in those times. It was funny that when she arrived at her new home with Fulk, all she could see and smell was shit. It was everywhere. The house and fields were filled with it. I was surprised that she decided fairly quickly that she needed to gain her step-daughter's acceptance and began cleaning that house.  Eleanor did not have to clean anything in Noke Manor where she grew up. Her family had staff so these decisions were pretty grown up for a twelve year old.

The novel is a fun romp through Eleanor's life. Romp is the correct word here as Eleanor could never get enough sex. In fact, it was her downfall. The Good Wife of Bath is must reading for historical fiction fans. 5 out of 5 stars.

In A Kingdom By The Sea

This historical novel is a slow moving story concerning an English wife and mother named Gabriella/Gabby.  Her 2 kids are in college and her husband Mike has worked in foreign countries their entire married life. Near their 25th anniversary, Mike asks Gabby to join him in Karachi, Pakistan where he will begin a job in the airline industry. As a book translator Gabby can work anywhere in the world and email her work to her employer. She decides to go to Karachi. I thought this was a wrong decision but I guess Gabby was trying to connect with Mike who she has only seen on summer holidays. 

When Gabby arrives in Karachi she is both shocked and amazed at the noise of the city and the cultural divide between the sexes. However, she needed a new experience in her life and Gabby quickly accepted the country as is. Her openness to the culture gains her several new female friends. Gabby finds that that she is closer to these women emotionally than she was to her friends in England. 

The story alternates between the present day Pakistan and the 1970s Cornwall where Gabby grew up with sister Dominique. Dominque holds a family secret that is revealed midway into the story. This reveal has no bearing on the main plot and the alternating plot was unnecessary. The book is about Gabby growing as a person and this childhood story has no effect on the present day story. Dominique was a fantastic character and could have been used in the plot differently. 

There isn't much action. The book is about Gabby's growth as a person. I found this appealing though. 3 out of 5 stars.

The Fugitive Colours

Nancy Bilyeau's The Fugitive Colours is the sequel to her 2018 novel The Blue. If you read The Blue you know that the main character is Genevieve Planche. After fleeing England for France, she met and married Thomas Sturbridge. Six years later they are back in Spitalfields for this installment of the series. It is 1764 and since men control the arts, sciences, politics and law, Genevieve is struggling to keep her silk design business afloat. Both Thomas and Genevieve are Huguenots, Protestants from Catholic France, which further makes them suspicious in the eyes of their associates in England. When Genevieve receives a surprise visit from an important artist, she begins to hope that, as a woman, she can be accepted as an artist. However, she soon learns that portrait painters have the world at their feet. Rivalries among them lead to sabotage, blackmail and murder and Genevieve gets caught up in their antics. Because she fears being exposed for her conspiracy and betrayal at the Derby Porcelain Factory several years back. The Blue novel is about that betrayal. 

I LOVED this novel. While it is a sequel, new readers should be able to follow the book easily. I would recommend though, that you read The Blue first, mainly because the characters are so strong and the plot picks up right where The Blue left off.  This sequel is just as strong as The Blue, something that does not always happen with a series. There is alot of history in the story as Genevieve interacts with artists such as Joshua Reynolds, George Romney, and Thomas Gainsborough.

The setting descriptions were expertly written into the story. I could feel that I was living in eighteenth century England. Crime and attitudes toward women in the trades were a consistent theme. The problems of women artists was depicted as well. The author also gives us insight into how well courtesans worked together to both seduce and rob their clients. I found it amusing that prostitutes could have that much power. For artists though, competition was high and most of them were overworked and miserable.

All of the characters were memorable, from Genevieve to the famous artists and the secondary characters.  I cannot help but love Genevieve.  She is a headstrong woman intent on getting recognition in her profession. This is something that I can easily relate to as I came of age during the 1970s when women were just beginning to enter the workforce. Her husband is a high moralist but falters easily as most of these kinds of people do. He does not work in Spitalfields or London as he teaches one of the sons of the Earl of Sandwich and is not part of much of the action. His presence in Genevieve's life controls how she behaves though.  Genevieve employs two artists to help her create silk embroidery designs. Caroline is known to have a dark past but we don't really know what that is about until the end of the book. Jean loves politics and supports Genevieve 100% in everything she wants to do. He is quite likable, much more than Caroline.

As far as what the fugitive colors are, I cannot say without giving out too many spoilers. This novel is definitely a must read. 5 out of 5 stars!

Peach Blossom Spring

Peach Blossom Spring is a poignant family saga that begins in China in the 1930s. It is Melissa Fu's debut novel and I am impressed with her ability to write such a beautiful story. The novel is about Dao Meilin and her son Dao Renshu. Meilin's husband Xiaowen is killed during a battle with the invading Japanese army but she remains with her in-law's family for support. She relies heavily on her husband's brother Longwei and his wife Wenling, who resents Meilin's presence. As the Japanese continue their advance through China the Dao family is displaced over and over again in their effort to survive. It is always hard to summarize these sagas so let's go with the publisher's summary:

It is 1938 in China and, as a young wife, Meilin’s future is bright. But with the Japanese army approaching, Meilin and her four year old son, Renshu, are forced to flee their home. Relying on little but their wits and a beautifully illustrated hand scroll, filled with ancient fables that offer solace and wisdom, they must travel through a ravaged country, seeking refuge. Years later, Renshu has settled in America as Henry Dao. Though his daughter is desperate to understand her heritage, he refuses to talk about his childhood. How can he keep his family safe in this new land when the weight of his history threatens to drag them down? Yet how can Lily learn who she is if she can never know her family’s story? Spanning continents and generations, Peach Blossom Spring is a bold and moving look at the history of modern China, told through the story of one family. It’s about the power of our past, the hope for a better future, and the haunting question: What would it mean to finally be home?

When I finished this novel I went back in the story searching for each reference to Peach Blossom Spring. Henry first learned of this fable from his mother while he was a youth. After Henry moves to America he hears the story again, but with a different ending. He wonders why his mother changed the ending. In the last chapter of the book he figures it out. Without being a spoiler I can say it refers to wherever your home is located. The location can be a specific place or state of mind. The way the author ended the story gives us a much bigger idea of what a Peach Blossom Spring is but I won't elaborate here. However, please note that I wanted to immediately re-read the novel after I finished reading it. There has never been a novel that has had this effect on me. Perhaps I am searching for my own Peach Blossom Spring.

The Chinese setting descriptions were spot on. The reader definitely feels the effects of war on all the Chinese cities and villages that Meilin and Renshu walked through on their way to safety. Whenever they found sanctuary, they soon had to move on because of the bombs that the Japanese planes dropped. No place was safe. Eventually Meilin and Renshu moved to Taiwan with their Dao relatives to escape the Japanese and the fledgling Chinese Communist Party. We get a glimpse that Longwei is working with Taiwan's KMT Party but this fact is never specifically stated. Longwei's actions show how the KMT spies operated in mainland China. The problems of emigrating to other countries is also shown. Many Chinese had to lie about their family background in order to get access to boats that would take them to a new place. The lies would always be a problem for the countries in which they relocated.

All the characters seemed flawed. However, each character had to make a decision on how to best handle the circumstances of war. Is this a flaw? Maybe not. When you are in a lose-lose situation, whatever you decide to do looks suspicious. The Dao family did not have positive options available and they used whatever power their family had in order to survive. Instead of saying that they were flawed it may be best to state that the characters were realistic for the era in which they lived, including Henry in America. The current Chinese government does threaten Chinese Americans with harming their relatives who are still in China in order to get concessions. Henry was afraid that he would hurt his mother if he associated with other Chinese in the U. S. 

I LOVED this novel! I am rating it 5 out of 5 stars.

Island Queen

When I initially saw this novel for sale on Amazon I was not sure whether I wanted to buy it. However, I did get it and I am glad that I read it. It is the fascinating, true life story of Dorothy Kirwan Thomas, a free black woman who rose from slavery to become one of the wealthiest and most powerful landowners in the colonial West Indies. At 592 pages, the book qualifies as a selection for the Chunkster Challenge.

The publisher's summary:  

Born into slavery on the tiny Caribbean island of Montserrat, Doll bought her freedom—and that of her sister and her mother—from her Irish planter father and built a legacy of wealth and power as an entrepreneur, merchant, hotelier, and planter that extended from the marketplaces and sugar plantations of Dominica and Barbados to a glittering luxury hotel in Demerara on the South American continent.

Vanessa Riley’s novel brings Doll to vivid life as she rises above the harsh realities of slavery and colonialism by working the system and leveraging the competing attentions of the men in her life: a restless shipping merchant, Joseph Thomas; a wealthy planter hiding a secret, John Coseveldt Cells; and a roguish naval captain who will later become King William IV of England.

From the bustling port cities of the West Indies to the forbidding drawing rooms of London’s elite, Island Queen is a sweeping epic of an adventurer and a survivor who answered to no one but herself as she rose to power and autonomy against all odds, defying rigid eighteenth-century morality and the oppression of women as well as people of color. It is an unforgettable portrait of a true larger-than-life woman who made her mark on history.

The story began when Dorothy was five-years-old. It started out slow but picked up when Dorothy was 18. At that point I couldn't put the book down. There were a couple of unsavory sections where Dorothy or another female family member were being raped and/or referred to with racist and sexist language. The book is not for everyone but it does tell a part of history that we don't usually hear about. I was surprised at how easily and quickly Dorothy was able to save money to buy herself and several family members freedom from their slave owners. This ease seemed wrong from the history that I have been told over the years. Her ability to get away with talking back to her white owners did not feel right to me either. Perhaps she was able because she lived in the Caribbean. I am not sure. Dorothy was able to build several businesses and became one of the most wealthy women in the Caribbean. It would be interesting to find out whether this was a norm or an anomaly for black women in the Caribbean during the early 1800s. 

Dorothy pushed her daughters to marry white men. She prospered off of these relationships but perhaps her motivation was just to ensure that her children had food to eat. These white husbands had the power of manumission and this was one way for Dorothy to keep her descendants free people. The language used in the book took some getting used to. The West Indies dialect as well as the Irish words used by the white slave owners was very hard to get used to. Most of this language was used in the first half of the book. It got alot better in the second half.  With all of these issues in my mind I am still thinking to myself about my feelings about the novel. There are many questions that the Author's Note does not answer.

3 out of 5 stars.

Hotel Portofino

I had high hopes for Hotel Portofino. The beautiful cover attracted me to pick it up but that old adage, don't judge a book by it's cover, seems appropriate. I just didn't care for the story. The plot premise was good, which was another reason why I borrowed it from my local library. The story revolves around a British family who opens an upper class hotel on the Italian Rivera during the 1920s. After only being open a few weeks, owner Bella Ainsworth is struggling to deal with a pile of problems. Her high society clientele are demanding and Bella is targeted by a corrupt politician. When her marriage falls apart Bella doesn't think she can handle any more adversity but it keeps on coming.

I had difficulty becoming interested in the book from its opening pages. I thought that once I knew who all of the characters were that it would get better. It didn't. Other reviewers have said that the story is similar to Downton Abbey and I think Hotel Portofino might make a great movie like Downton because it is high on atmosphere. However, it falls short as a novel. There was not much action and even that beautiful setting couldn't keep me interested.

Unfortunately, this one a little dull. 2 out of 5 stars.

Fast Girls

Fast Girls tells the story of the 1936 US women's olympic athletics team, a timely historical fiction novel given we have just watched the Beijing Olympics last month. The story actually begins with the 1928 women's athletics team and continues on to the 1932 team before getting to the main storyline. The athletes featured in the book are from real life. Betty Robinson, Helen Stephens and Babe Dickrickson are the best known. I was surprised that several of these women were from the Chicago south suburbs. I grew up there and loved seeing news articles from a local high school. What surprised me was that the school was integrated. 

Half of the book covers the 1928 and 1932 Olympics. The last half deals with the 1936 Olympics in Hitler's Germany. Louise Stokes was black and not welcome in the Third Reich but none of the others really were either. Because these Americans were expected to win gold, their German hosts did their best to tire them with activities. Their rooms were also rather cold. Helen had a meeting with Hitler that terrified her. She wrote in her diary that he groped her in front of a group of people and wanted to see her privately. Her coach led her to safety. I was astonished that the host country's leaders would behave in this manner. However, haven't we all recently read how the Chinese government publicly excoriated American athletes of Chinese descent? The athletes were told that they should have competed for China. Nathan Chen was told by government leaders to leave China after his gold medal skate. He refused.

The novel covers many races that these ladies participated in over an eight year time span. While there is alot of political drama, Fast Girls is basically a sports story. 

5 out of 5 stars.

The Magnolia Palace

The Magnolia Palace is the 6th book written by Fiona Davis. I had previously read her books The Address and The Masterpiece and loved them.  The Magnolia Palace takes it place among them both as great historical fiction.

The publisher's summary:

Eight months since losing her mother in the Spanish flu outbreak of 1919, twenty-one-year-old Lillian Carter's life has completely fallen apart. For the past six years, under the moniker Angelica, Lillian was one of the most sought-after artists' models in New York City, with statues based on her figure gracing landmarks from the Plaza Hotel to the Brooklyn Bridge. But with her mother gone, a grieving Lillian is rudderless and desperate—the work has dried up and a looming scandal has left her entirely without a safe haven. So when she stumbles upon an employment opportunity at the Frick mansion—a building that, ironically, bears her own visage—Lillian jumps at the chance. But the longer she works as a private secretary to the imperious and demanding Helen Frick, the daughter and heiress of industrialist and art patron Henry Clay Frick, the more deeply her life gets intertwined with that of the family—pulling her into a tangled web of romantic trysts, stolen jewels, and family drama that runs so deep, the stakes just may be life or death.

Nearly fifty years later, mod English model Veronica Weber has her own chance to make her career—and with it, earn the money she needs to support her family back home—within the walls of the former Frick residence, now converted into one of New York City's most impressive museums. But when she—along with a charming intern/budding art curator named Joshua—is dismissed from the Vogue shoot taking place at the Frick Collection, she chances upon a series of hidden messages in the museum: messages that will lead her and Joshua on a hunt that could not only solve Veronica's financial woes, but could finally reveal the truth behind a decades-old murder in the infamous Frick family.

This was a relaxing, easy read. I enjoyed Lillian's story more than Veronica's and am not sure the 1966 subplot was necessary. Usually alternating plotlines end up with characters being related in some way. Not so for Veronica. While Veronica and Joshua figured out what happened in the Frick family in 1919, I don't think the author had to use an alternating plot to inform the reader what happened earlier in the century. I usually like alternating plots but this book might have been better without it.

Lillian is an engaging character. Her ability to go with the flow contrasted with Helen's cryptic personality. As a model past her prime at age 18, Lillian shows us the futility of relying upon beauty for riches. Helen, on the other hand, was a woman who yearned for a career instead of marriage. Normally I would love this kind of character. For some reason she didn't impress me. I didn't see her as an independent person even though she turned away suitors so she could help out in her father's business. Still, this was an amazing story and I highly recommend it.

4 out of 5 stars.

London

Edward Rutherford writes historical fiction novels about big cities that span 1000 years. Each book is over 1000 pages and follows several families throughout the centuries. London, however, spans a period of 2000 years and tells the stories of six families. I previously read Rutherford's China and loved it.  In my mind, Rutherford is the James Michener of the 21st century.

London begins with the birth of the Thames River and quickly moves to 54 BCE, capturing the life of Segovax, a man with slightly webbed hands and a flash of white hair on the front of his head. This description of him will be carried forward by his descendants. Segovax is the ancestor of the Ducket and Dogget families, who are fictional families in the novel. There are several historical figures who also appear in the story such as Julius Caesar, Geoffrey Chaucer, Henry VIII and William Shakespeare. We also see the rise of chivalry and the Crusades. In addition, we read about the Norman Conquest of England and the Great Fire of London as well as the Blitz during WWII. 

London is much more than a history book. The reader is given a slice of what life was like for London's residents from its beginnings to the current time period. Not knowing anything about the city during times before Christ, I learned how people dealt with marital and sexual matters, trade and also the type of clothing that they wore. We get all of this information for each time period. In addition, we read what life was like when the Romans, Celts, Saxons, Danes and Normans arrived. It seems to me that people just wanted to go about their lives as best they could when invaders came to their shores. No one really cared who was in power. People just wanted jobs and to be able to feed their families. It was interesting, too, to read about why and how the Tower of London was constructed. The building of St. Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey is also covered but there was a greater emphasis on the Tower.

I would have to say that the Middle Ages was covered in more detail than other eras. However, the Middle Ages covers 800 years of history. I was surprised that more contemporary eras such as the Victorian Era was not written about in great detail. As far as characters go, I loved reading about Chaucer's life in particular. He is introduced as a friend of one of the main families.  He becomes a godfather to one of the kids before he became famous for his writing. 

There is so much more to say about this book. I absolutely LOVED it and can't wait to read Rutherford's novel on Paris next. I am happily rating this novel 5 out of 5 stars.

The Last Rose of Shanghai

I recently found out that Weina Dai Randel published this book and had to get it. Her prior two novels were fantastic.  The Moon in the Palace and Empress of Bright Moon are popular at my public library and are always checked out.  My reviews of them are my most read reviews. These two books comprise a duology about a woman who became China's only ruling empress. 

The Last Rose of Shanghai was an enchanting read. Beginning in 1940 our heroine Aiyi Shao is an 18 year old heiress and the owner of an unpopular Shanghai nightclub. She soon meets a Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany, Ernest Reismann, and asks him to work for her playing the piano in her club. He agrees and the club gains alot of new customers who want to hear him play jazz on the stride piano. Aiyi and Ernest are attracted to each other and although Aiyi is engaged to childhood friend Cheng, she meets him in the room he is renting. Almost immediately they fall into bed. Ernest becomes famous in Shanghai and is sought after by several other club owners. However, the war in Europe, the South Pacific and the Japanese occupation of China keep tearing the two of them apart. Ernest is wanted by the Japanese for killing a Japanese soldier and the soldier investigating the killing has threatened to shut down Aiyi's club if she does not tell him where Ernest can be found. His fate is bound up in Aiyi's handling of the matter. However, the war continues to escalate and their choices between love and survival become more desperate. 

I love that we now have a WWII story that takes place in China. The Japanese occupation of China is the prominent  war story and I learned alot about how that affected people of that time and place. In addition, the racism of the Asians toward the white Europeans is also prominent and is shown in detail. The Asians had different feelings toward the Americans and British but generally did not trust either of them. The cultural restrictions on Aiyi demanded that she marry the man her parents betrothed her to when she was a baby. Cheng was the typical domineering male but, in contrast, Ernest was sensitive to the needs of others.  

Ms. Randel is a fantastic writer. All 3 of her books were engrossing. I always appreciate it when a historical author shines a light on a not well known history. Randel shows us the horrors of the starving poor in Shanghai amidst the glamour of luxury hotels, nightclubs and family compounds. Soldiers from several countries are present everywhere and add to the unease of the city. Last Rose is told from two different points of view, Aiyi's and Ernest's. It also has an alternating plot from the current era where we read about a documentarian interviewing Aiyi about this time period. This plot has very little space in the novel though.  It is 90% about WWII.  

The Last Rose of Shanghai is an excellent read and I highly recommend it to all readers. It could very be in my top ten books of 2022. 5 out of 5 stars. 

The Winthrop Woman

I selected this historical novel because I thought that my ancestors might be in it. The book is a historical biography of Elizabeth Fones Winthrop, daughter-in-law to John Winthrop, the governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony. My people were cousins to John Winthrop and lived in the same English village as the Winthrops. Lavenham is also known as the birthplace of Harry Potter. Yes, my people are in the book and some of them traveled with Governor Winthrop in 1630 to the Massachusetts Bay Colony on the Arbella. I highlighted my copy of the book each time an ancestor was mentioned.

The Winthrop Woman was published in 1958. Elizabeth Fones was the niece of Governor John Winthrop and she married her cousin Harry Winthrop, which gave her prestige among the Puritan set. Elizabeth was a Puritan in name only. She scandalized her family and community with brazen behavior such as sleeping with a cousin before marriage, necessitating the marriage. Before her marriage Elizabeth blasphemed God during a conversation at home and was flogged in front of the entire family and household staff. She became areligious after the flogging and despised her uncle Winthrop for demanding that she receive the beating. Although Elizabeth was in love with her cousin Jack, she agreed to marry Edward Howes after Jack left England. She broke that engagement after dillydallying with Jack's brother Harry. At first, Elizabeth and Harry were happy in their marriage but Harry was an alcoholic and a spendthrift. When Jack returns to England he is shocked that Elizabeth did not wait for him, even though he never told her of his desire for her. Elizabeth still loves Jack but is stuck with Harry. In order to tame his son, Governor Winthrop demands Harry move to the new world with him. On the way, Harry is drowned. Elizabeth follows him to the colonies, not aware that she was a widow. She is unable to abide by societal rules here either, maintaining her damning reputation.

I was surprised that Governor Winthrop became more conservative after emigrating to Massachusetts Bay Colony. He wanted to please the colonists who were already on American soil. The Separatists in Plymouth Bay were much more conservative than the Dissenters in Massachusetts and, being politically ambitious, Winthrop did whatever he had to do in order to be re-elected as the Governor of Massachusetts Bay. Sound familiar? He was cruel toward anyone who opposed him and loved to think up punishments for alleged wrongdoers. You didn't have to actually violate the law to be accused of wrongful acts. Sound familiar again? Some of these acts included celebrating Christmas, which Winthrop celebrated when he lived in Lavenham. However, his conservative views became radicalized as he gained more and more power. I had been taught in elementary school to idolize these first Americans but their personal foibles are fully on display here. Their politics are no different than the brash politics of today with everyone distrusting everyone else. As the saying goes, the more things change the more they stay the same. 

This historical novel was very readable even though it was written over 60 years ago. I loved reading about the people who began this American experiment. I was struck, though, by the similarity of our politics in the initial 25 years on our continent with the politics of today. There is no difference. During the first three elections for selectmen and governor, Governor Winthrop and his buddies changed the voting boundaries to ensure that only their kind of Puritan was elected. There was also alot of name calling.  I can only conclude that we are what we have always been. As for our Elizabeth, she was only able to get away with her misconduct because of her affiliation with Winthrop.

5 out of 5 stars.

The Vivaldi Cipher

The Vivaldi Cipher takes place during the election of a new Pope in mid-18th century Venice. Famed violinist Antonio Vivaldi is a close friend of Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni who is expected to be elected as the next Pope. Before Ottoboni is killed during the conclave, Vivaldi learns about a ring of art forgers who are replacing the Vatican's priceless artworks with expertly painted fakes. Feeling desperate, Vivaldi hides a message in a special melody hoping that someone will take down the culprits. There is an alternate plot that takes place in the current era. When a dying mafia don gives his final confession, he informs the priest hearing the confession that there are many forged paintings in the Vatican Museum and that the key to their identities lies hidden in a piece of music. Father Dominic, prefect of the Secret Archives, investigates. He is mystified when he finds a cipher in an old composition from Vivaldi. Wanting to stop this centuries long conspiracy, he calls upon fellow sleuth Hana Sinclair and Dr. Livia Gallo, a music cryptologist, to help him crack the code and learn which paintings are fake. However, the Camorra, an Italian mafia clan, refuse to allow Father Dominic to interfere with their lucrative operation.

While this is an engaging story I could not help but think that the secret concerning the art thefts was divulged to too many people. By the time Hana and Dr. Gallo consult with other art experts as well as those providing security for them, 10 people know what the secret is. They, of course, tell more people and this deathbed secret is no longer much of a secret. Everyone in Venice who counts knows and so do several folks at the Vatican, putting them all in danger. 

That said, the story was engrossing. I couldn't put the book down and spent an entire day reading it. As an art lover, the descriptions of the artist studios interested me. Of course, it should go without saying that the Venetian setting was delicious. Reading about the boats gliding through the Grand Canal reminded me of my own gondola rides in Venice several years ago. The mask shop described in the novel sounds like one I actually visited so the book sent me on a huge trip down memory lane. 

It was quite creative for the author to hide clues to the art thefts in a musical score. The score needed a cipher so that someone could discover the clues. Esteemed musician Antonio Vivaldi created the cipher in the story as well as the score. The type of music was also another clue so there were many twists and turns in this mystery.

One of the characters, Dr. Gallo, is a music cryptologist which I had never heard of before. It is an actual profession though. The cipher is created by assigning a letter to each note in a score. A secret message can be found by decoding each word and then each sentence. Music cryptology has been written into the novels of other authors as well as in to a TV program. It is a new concept for me though. I found out from Wikipedia that it was popular in the 17th and 18th centuries.

While advertised as a historical mystery, approximately 60% of the story takes place in the current time period.  I thought that it was a great book and both historical fiction and mystery fans will like it as well. 4 out of 5 stars.

The Girl in the Painting

At 495 pages, this epic story of India more than meets the requirements for the Chunkster Challenge. Four alternating plots are gathered together in this captivating story. One plot takes place in 1913 where our heroine Margaret is growing up in Charleston, England. During the same time, Archana is growing up in India. In 1926, Margaret has fallen in love with her new husband Suraj and his native country, India. Having moved from England to India after Suraj obtained his law degree, the couple moved to his parent's home after their sudden deaths. In 2000, Emma McEwen plans to divorce her husband and seeks solace from her grandmother Margaret, now back in England.  

The publisher's summary:

India, 1926:  Margaret is in love, with her new husband and her new home, a sprawling villa amidst beautiful rolling hills, the air filled with the soft scent of spices and hibiscus flowers. Yet, she's unwelcome with the locals and grows close to Archana, her maid, who reminds Margaret of the beloved sister she lost in the great war.  

Overjoyed with her pregnancy, Margaret could stay forever, sipping tea, chatting with Archana, painting in the sun beside the stream full of water lilies. But when Archana finds herself in danger and Margaret makes the choice to save her, she doesn't realize the devastating consequences that will tear her and Archana apart, destroy her marriage, and haunt her for the rest of her life.

England, 2000:  Emma's relationship is falling apart, and her beloved grandmother, Margaret, is dying.  Margaret has one last request:  find Archana.  It's the first time Emma has even heard the name, but desperate for an escape and to bring Margaret closure, she travels deep into the heart of the Indian hills, to a crumbling house overgrown with vines, searching for answers.  

The more Emma learns, the more she sees of herself in her grandmother, and the stronger her need to uncover Margaret's secret.  But if she finds Archana and the truth is finally revealed - the story of a day spent painting by the stream, and a betrayal that tore three lives to pieces - can it help each woman find peace or are some rifts too deep to heal?

For the first time, an English town sounds appealing to me. Charleston, where Margaret met with fellow artists, was a place that intellectuals and artists of every persuasion met to discuss the arts. It was enlightening for Margaret. The cacophony of Bombay even feels appealing to me even though I don't like alot of noise. It seems charming though. I can smell the food being sold in the market places. Margaret, however, must have a few allergies because she initially cannot handle the smells and always has a coughing fit. It amazes me that writers can make a place that I don't think I would like seem so romantic. India has always captured my imagination even though I have my own allergies to outdoor fragrances and cannot stand noise. These are great writers who can accomplish this.

The Emma character did not do much for me but Margaret and Archana were interesting characters. I cannot pick which one I like the most. Both had awful upbringings but Archana was poor because she married an untouchable so she suffered much more both emotionally and physically. Her culture was harsher toward women who did not fit into the expected mold. I felt bad that society demanded that she keep her feelings bottled up but Margaret had a choice. She chose to mess up her marriage and I am not sure what in her background made her do so. Did she just not have decent enough life skills?  Suraj was a dream boat. However, he was a secondary character. The book is really about Margaret and Archana.

All in all, The Girl in the Painting was a captivating story. I highly recommend it to historical fiction fans.  5 out of 5 stars.

Brigid of Kildare

The publisher's summary:  

In Fifth Century Ireland:  Brigid is Ireland's first and only female priest and bishop.  Followers flock to her Kildare abbey and scriptorium.  Hearing accounts of Brigid's power, the Church deems her a threat and sends Decius, a Roman priest and scribe, on a secret mission to collect proof of Brigid's heresy.  As Delcius records the unorthodox practices of Brigid and her abbey, he becomes intrigued by her.  When Brigid assigns Delcius a holy task - to create the most important and sacred manuscript ever made - he finds himself at odds with his original mission and faces theist difficult decision of his life. 

In the modern day:  Alexandra Patterson, an appraiser of medieval relics, has been summoned to Kildare to examine a reliquary box believed to belong to St. Brigid.  Hidden within the sacred box is the most beautiful illuminated manuscript Alex has ever seen.  Even more extraordinary is the contents of the manuscript's vellum pages, which may have dire repercussions for the Catholic Church and could very well rewrite the origins of Christianity.  

I loved this book but had many questions about fact versus fiction as I was reading.  This novel has alot of information on how illuminated manuscripts are created.  Since I have been studying ancient manuscripts for 2 years I wanted to find out more about Brigid's manuscript, which is referred to in the book as the first illuminated manuscript in history.  Her manuscript was used as a guide for the sixth century Book of Kells.  I have never heard who or where the first illuminated manuscript came from before reading the book and later research showed me that they began being produced in the 500s AD.  That matches with Brigid's life time as she lived until 525.  Note that there are earlier illuminated manuscripts, some literature and some Muslim, but they were not Christian manuscripts.  The general definition of illuminated manuscripts these days is a manuscript with Christian themes.  After finishing the novel I headed over the Wikipedia for more information about Brigid.  There I read that most scholars do not believe that St. Brigid existed.  The reason is that the stories about her are fantastical, such as she healed people of physical ailments.  Since I am not a Catholic I had never heard of Brigid before but if she did not exist how did she come to be a Roman Catholic Saint?  Wikipedia cites her birth and death dates and places. If she never existed where did this information come from?  The book states that she was born in the 450s which is when this story begins.

Another fact versus fiction item that I had to research was that allegation that the veneration of Mary, mother of Jesus, began with Brigid.  The only authentic information I found was that the first image of Mary as "The Virgin Mary" was created in the 5th century in  Gaelic lands.  The author gives us a portrait of how the veneration of Mary began, with a Brigid who wonders why the people around Jesus were all men.  Why were there no woman of influence?  Why were the women around Jesus portrayed as whores and serving girls?  While Brigid was growing up, she read a heretical book that her mother owned titled The Gospel of Mary the Mother.  Brigid is captivated by the strong and wise Mary in this gospel and long after she joined an abbey, she hired the Roman scribe Decius to create an illuminated manuscript that glorified Mary.  Further along in the book we read that the Roman Church attempted to crush this idea about Mary but as the belief in Mary began spreading throughout Europe, Rome gave in and began to teach the veneration of Mary.  Rome was nearing its end and did not want to upset the faithful. 

The Gospel of Mary the Mother is an actual text written around 150 AD.  It was basically rewritten later in the 2nd century in the Protevangelium of James. (another actual 2nd century manuscript).  James enhances the role of Mary by describing her birth as miraculous, her childhood as one of incredible knowledge and wisdom and that she was taught faith in the Temple for 9 years. Her childhood as portrayed in the Protevangelium has no parallel in the New Testament and contradicts Jewish customs at the time but the fact that the author wove these details into her story is incredible. I was entranced by all these details and couldn't wait to finish the book to do some research. However, I knew that the process of creating an illuminated manuscript in the novel was spot on.

When I first began to write this review I intended to point out that the extensive playing with the facts outweighed any enjoyment I had from reading the novel. However, the author had me researching various parts of her novel for 2 hours. That alone makes this a 5 out of 5 star book.

The Samurai's Daughter

Soledad Maria, called Masako by her father, is a child of two worlds. Born in Seville in the seventeenth century, she is the daughter of a beloved Spanish lady and a fearsome warrior sent to Spain as a member of one of the most intriguing cultural exchanges in history.  After her mother's death, Soledad Maria and her father set out to return to Japan, though a journey across the world can never be without peril.  Once they return, even their position in her father's home is not secure. As they try to stay one step ahead of those who would harm them, Soledad Maria finds herself grappling with not only the physical challenges of her many voyages, but with who she is, which legacy to claim - that of a proper Spanish lady or of a samurai - and which world she can really call home.

This is a captivating story, one that continues the author's The Samurai of Seville novel, published in 2017.  It was hard to put down so I read straight through the night in order to finish reading it. I particularly enjoyed reading about their travels to and from Japan by two different routes which brought the scenery and cultures of the entire world into view. While traveling to Japan they traveled through Greece to Turkey and on to China. On their return trip to Spain, they crossed the North American continent and encountered peoples that they had never heard about before. Soledad Maria had to pretend to be a boy in order to prevent being abused and as a result learned the skills of warfare the most women of the era never gained. 

I loved this one!  5 out of 5 stars.

Anticipation

 

I have been looking forward to reading Melodie Winawer's 2nd novel for awhile. Her 2017 The Scribe of Siena was my book of the year in 2017. However, Anticipation was a difficult read. It is not only historical fiction but also romance and supernatural. There are 3 alternating plots going back and forth from 1259 Mystras, 1259 France and July 2015. I found the 2015 plot line to be the most interesting, not a good thing for a historical novel. 

The publisher's summary:

After the death of her beloved husband and becoming a single parent to her nine year old son Alexander, overworked scientist Helen desperately needs an escape.  So when Alexander proposes a trip to Greece - somewhere he's always dreamed of visiting - Helen quickly agrees.  After spending several days exploring the tourist filled streets, they stumble upon the ancient city of Mystras and are instantly drawn to it.  Its only resident is Elias, a mysterious tour guide living on the city's edges...both physically and temporally.  

In 1237, Elias's mother promised his eternal service to the Profitis Ilias in Mystras in exchange for surviving a terrible illness.  But during his 800 years of labor, he's had one common enemy:  the noble Lusignan family.  The Lusignan line is cursed by a deadly disease that worsens with each generation, and a prophecy hints that Elias's blood is their only hope for a cure.  He has managed to survive throughout the centuries, but the line has dwindled down to the last Lusignan and he is desperate to avert his family's destiny.

When Elias runs into Helen, he meets his match for the first time - but he unwittingly puts both her and her young son in danger as a result.  With time running out and an enemy after them, Elias and Helen are forced to choose between the city they love, and each other. 

I did not enjoy this novel. I had high expectations because of Scribe but I couldn't get interested in the story. While it was impeccably researched, there were too many details to keep track of and all of those lengthy Greek names were hard to read. However, there is a ton of Greek history here for the reader who likes this. In at least one of the alternating plots the author wrote in the thoughts of a character who belonged in a secondary plot. I was seriously confused. 

Although Anticipation has received top reviews it just didn't do anything for me. 2 out of 5 stars.

The Rabbi's Wife The Bishop's Wife

The Rabbi's Wife, The Bishop's Wife is about the life of Joana HaLevi. Joana gave up what she treasured the most, her family, in order to maintain her Jewish faith. She lived in the Spanish cities of Barcelona and Burgos during the 14th and 15th centuries. As with most historical fiction novels of late, there is an alternating plot between 1391 and 2020. The publisher's summary:  

Spain, 1391.  Joana, wife of Schlomo HaLevi, the Rabbi of Burgos, mother of five, and daughter of a wealthy and respectable family, is living a comfortable, carefree life.  Until her world is shattered without warning one summer day.  While her husband Shlomo, now Pablo de Santamaria, joins the Catholic church and takes their family with him, Joana struggles with the unrelenting yearning for her children.  Will her soul find relief?  Will her children return to her side?

Jerusalem, 2020.  Ruth is struggling with personal conflicts when the COVID-19 pandemic shakes her world, adding loneliness and isolation to her struggle.  With her new online friend, she embarks on a voyage that will set Joana HaLevi's memory free from oblivion. 

I absolutely loved Joana's story. Ruth's story was rather slow. I don't think the alternating plot worked well. Why not just feature Joana who is the heroine of the novel?  Joana had to deal with the forced conversion of Jews to Christianity.  Her husband, the Chief Rabbi of Burgos, Schlomo Halevi, converted and took custody of all of her children and raised them as Christians. He studied for the priesthood in Rome and eventually became the Archbishop of Burgos. Schlomo's sister Maria also converted and she raised their kids. Joana had to arrange with Maria each week in order to see her children. 

The authors stated that they believed that Schlomo's conversion was real because he was wealthy enough not to need to convert for power and prestige. However, I disagree.  I think he would have lost his standing in the community if he did not convert. While he would have kept his money, he wanted to keep the power he had as the king's tax collector.  Schlomo changed his name to Pablo Santamaria and also changed the names of his children too.  Joana became a strong woman from her adversities. She continued to practice Judaism and also continued to act as a rabbi's wife by taking care of the poor in her community. I cannot imagine myself handling what Joana had to handle. She is certainly a great example of persevering during trials.

The 2020 alternating plot was dull, especially in the beginning of the novel. As this plot advanced the reader gets a dose of genealogy research. However, it just was not executed well. In addition, there were alot of grammatical errors. This does not usually bother me but there were sentences so poorly formed that I was not sure what their meaning was. The novel was translated into English from Hebrew so perhaps there were translation issues. 

If this book was just about Joana I would rate it 5 out of 5 stars.  With the alternating plot problems, I am downgrading the rating to 3 out of 5 stars.

Defending Britta Stein

Defending Britta Stein is a gripping legal thriller that takes place in Chicago during 2018. Britta Stein is a 92-year-old woman who has a tiff with Chicago's beloved 95-year-old tavern owner Ole Hendryks. When it was publicly announced that Ole was going to be inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Danish American Association of Chicago, Britta spray-paints insults in the middle of the night on the exterior of his tavern The Melancholy Dane. Britta exposes Ole as a Nazi collaborator during the Nazi occupation of Denmark with her insults. Attorney Catherine Lockhart is asked by a lawyer friend, Walter Jenkins,  to represent her in a $5,000,000 defamation lawsuit filed by Ole. Ole Hendryks has retained a high priced lawyer named Sterling Sparks from the prestigious Jenkins and Fairchild law firm. Sparks' nickname is Six O'Clock Sparks because he is an aggressive publicity hound. A former law clerk of Walter's, Emma Fisher, is Britta's grand-daughter and she accompanies Britta to her appointments with Catherine as well as does research for Catherine.  

Ole Hendryks has had an old photograph of him and his father posted in his restaurant for fifty years. He claims that in 1943 his family helped hundreds of Jews escape from the gas chambers during WWII. Ole and his father snuck Jewish families out of Denmark in their fishing boat in the middle of the night heading toward Sweden. He has been labeled a hero by his customers as well as the media. However, Britta Stein has alleged that Ole did not rescue any Jews but in fact helped gather Jews for deportation by the Nazis. She also said that the family's name is Hendrickson, not Hendryks. The lawsuit is being heard by a no nonsense judge, Obadiah Wilson, in the Cook County Circuit Court Law Division. With Catherine's husband Liam Taggart investigating Hendryk's background in Denmark the defense of Britta Stein begins.

This story was captivating from the beginning. I couldn't put it down even on the day I needed to shop for my Thanksgiving dinner. While I got to the store in late afternoon, the book was satisfying enough for me to keep thinking about it for the rest of the day. The plot follows the work that Catherine is doing on Britta's case. Most of that work involves interviewing Britta to get her side of the story. Britta insists on taking her time telling her story even though Catherine only has 3 weeks to get ready for trial. The interview takes 100 pages but is very entertaining. Unfortunately, what Britta reveals about life in Denmark under German occupation actually happened. The rest of the story, including the characters, is fiction.  I loved that the 1943 photo of Ole and his father in front of their boat turned out to be proof that he was a Nazi collaborator. Because Catherine cannot prove Britta's allegations, she uses an in court strategy that tricks Ole into telling the truth.  

Awesome read!  5 out of 5 stars.

Prayers of the Dead

Prayers of the Dead is a historical mystery set in England's Tyndal Priory during the 1280s.  The story opens with a murder. Eda, Countess of Ness is found stabbed to death in the chapel by her husband's knife. Of course, he becomes the main suspect. Prioress Eleanor begins to investigate the matter as the crowner is out of town.  Soon thereafter a priest is found murdered in the same chapel. Eda had many enemies because she gossiped with another priest about sins that people in the area committed and they would be outed the next Sunday during the sermon. Eleanor interviews everyone in the priory and tries to find a connection between the two deaths. When Crowner Ralf returns, he insists that the crimes fall under the king's law and that Prioress Eleanor is biased because the Earl of Ness is her cousin.  Eleanor insists that she has jurisdiction over the crime.  She also believes that her cousin will talk more freely to her than to the crowner. After speaking with him, she realizes that he is lying to her. While she has given her word to the Crowner that she would not be blinded by family ties, she thinks that she may have to turn her cousin in.  Prayers of the Dead is the 17th novel in a series that features Prioress Eleanor and Brother Thomas of the Order of Fontevraud.

Tyndal Priory was part of the real Order of Fontevraud.  This particular Order had both men and women and both were ruled by a woman. I was not aware that there were Orders such as this one. The story started out well. The pace was fast and the introduction of the characters was fascinating. They all had interesting foibles and one of the priests was intersex. No one knew this until he ended up dead and an examination of his body showed that he had both female and male genitals. However, the middle of the book was slow.  Nothing much happened other than Eleanor interviewed the other characters. No real information about the crime was revealed here so it was a little boring.  Toward the end, the novel picked up as Eleanor discovers more and more truths about those who lived in the Priory. The ending was a surprise.  

What I found unbelievable is that two of the characters were aware that there were people who were intersex, or hermaphrodite as they were called in those days, and that it was OK for them to marry as long as the spouse knew about the condition. This doesn't sound 13th century to me. The Author's Note at the end of the book gives her views on gender and the belief that there are three genders: male, female and blended. She continues with a diatribe about how society has treated these people and developed rules governing them.  She stated that when she began writing the novel, she wanted to have an intersex character. Four out of the ten page Author's Note is devoted to gender roles. I was turned off by all of this. Reading is an escape for me and I do not like being preached to, especially with historical fiction. 

I would have rated the novel 3 out of 5 stars but the preaching requires a rating of 2 out of 5.

Berlin and Betrayal

Berlin and Betrayal is the third book in the Tangled Roots Historical Mystery Series featuring geneologist Lucas Landry. It is both a WWII and pandemic story all rolled in to one. The story has an alternating plot.  It takes place in February 2020 and in 1945 Germany. Lucas Landry's burning desire it to search for German relatives and host a family reunion.  He moves his family from California to Munich. Unfortunately, when the Landry family arrived in Germany the COVID pandemic began and a lockdown thwarted the speed of his research. Lucas has WWII surviving relatives in their 80s and 90s who are vulnerable to catching and dying of COVID. However, Lucas still hopes that being in Germany will help him with his research. He is surprised to find that many Germans want to forget the past as they live under a cloud of guilt over their ancestors' mistakes. 

When I began reading the book it was captivating. I could not put it down. At the halfway point, I just wanted to plot to move faster.  I wondered whether this novel was a cozy mystery or a cozy historical fiction book. This is not a typical historical mystery because there was no murder to be solved. The mystery is the discovery of geneological information that Lucas uncovers. That said, it was an interesting read. I couldn't wait to see how the story ended.  However, when I got to the end there was nothing resolved. Yes, Lucas uncovers his family history from the WWII era but there is not a big denouement. It seemed that there should have been more to the story. With the author having 14 published books under her belt, I expected more. I just didn't get that.

3 out of 5 stars.