Category: Historical Fiction

In Darkness, Nick Lake

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In Darkness is Nick Lake's debut novel and an extraordinarily powerful one at that. Set in the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti Earthquake, the novel is literally set in darkness: our narrator, Shorty, is entombed in the remains of a collapsed hospital as rescuers lose hope of finding any survivors. In the darkness and rubble,… Continue reading In Darkness, Nick Lake

Midwinterblood, Marcus Sedgwick

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This is my second foray into Marcus Sedgwick's writing: White Crow, shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal a couple of years ago was the other. And this is by far superior, more beautiful, more powerful, more poignant. This book is shortlisted for the Cilip Carnegie 2013 and tells the tales of Eric and Merle. Tales. Tales… Continue reading Midwinterblood, Marcus Sedgwick

Carnegie 2013 Shortlist

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It's that time of year again: the Cilip Carnegie Medal Shortlist has been announced! It is genuinely one of the highlights of my year! I reserve the Easter holidays to reading as many as I possibly can of the list. I mean, we do shadow the Carnegie Medal in our school and I like to… Continue reading Carnegie 2013 Shortlist

The Yard, Alex Grecian

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What was this book about? Murder and a new detective in the Murder Squad of Scotland Yard. What was the detective like as a character? (Shrugs) I didn't think he was a very confident person in what he did but he was actually very good at it. How would you compare him to other detectives?… Continue reading The Yard, Alex Grecian

The Bloody Red Baron, Kim Newman

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After reading a couple of extremely well-written, moving but rather serious books, picking up The Bloody Red Baron was intended to be a welcome piece of light relief: a bit of fun vampiric horror. Kim Newman takes up the reigns of his alternate history some thirty years after the events in the previous Anno Dracula. Having fled from England… Continue reading The Bloody Red Baron, Kim Newman

The Shakespeare Curse, J. L. Carrell

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The last book I read, The Passage by Justin Cronin, took me a month to read. This book, The Shakespeare Curse, took me 72 hours. That's not a good sign. Not good at all. I like to lose myself in a book, to live, breathe, love and bleed with the characters I share my reading… Continue reading The Shakespeare Curse, J. L. Carrell

Here Lies Arthur, Philip Reeve

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For some reason, I cannot read this title without intuitively reading it in Latin hic iacit Arcturus. I attended a literacy conference this week where Philip Reeve was - for wont of a better phrase - the keynote speaker and I was lent this book as an introduction to his work as - to my… Continue reading Here Lies Arthur, Philip Reeve

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky

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I was lent this by a student at school - ironically as one of the main features in the book is that Charlie is lent books by his English teacher! It took a while to get around to actually opening it, until I ran out of time and had to read it before the kid… Continue reading The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky

Tsotsi, Athol Fugard Analysis

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So these are the ideas which I have been discussing with my class. Tsotsi is set in 1956, give or take, in Sophiatown, a township on the outskirts of Johannesburg, South Africa. It was written by Fugard in the early months of 1960 after Sophiatown had been destroyed by the white community in Johannesburg and,… Continue reading Tsotsi, Athol Fugard Analysis

Sovereign, C. J. Sansom

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There are days, those dark days, when you sit down and realise that you've had the same meal for three days ... I've just sat down and realised that the last three books I've read are all historical fiction. Bring Up The Bodies by Mantel, Pure by Andrew Miller and now Sovereign by C. J.… Continue reading Sovereign, C. J. Sansom

Pure, Andrew Miller

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You know what it's like... Unless it's just me... You see a book on a shelf, perhaps at a Service Station, maybe on the M5. Something about the cover appeals; the blurb interests you; the historical context intrigues you.... And yet for some reason (let's call them children and imagine the reasons were at the… Continue reading Pure, Andrew Miller

Bring Up The Bodies, Hilary Mantel

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What a fabulous book! It is rare that I anticipate a book as eagerly as this one; rare that a sequel can live up to the expectations of the first book; rare that historical fiction can grip me quite so intently! But Mantel manages all this in Bring Up The Bodies which, in my opinion,… Continue reading Bring Up The Bodies, Hilary Mantel

Anthony and Cleopatra, William Shakespeare

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Absolutely sublime play. Re-reading it after many many years and still bowled over. A GCSE set text; an integral part of Degree level "tragedy" unit (other people got to play with dead bodies, I learned how to be miserable: thanks Cambridge!!); and a vital part of my make up! As I write, please near in… Continue reading Anthony and Cleopatra, William Shakespeare

Bring Up The Bodies, Hilary Mantel

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Ooooo the adorable and lovely Mrs P has just returned from Exeter with my pre-ordered copy of Bring Up The Bodies. As a big chunky two inch thick book, released in the midst of a busy time at work, it may take a while to be able to give a full review so I thought… Continue reading Bring Up The Bodies, Hilary Mantel