I haven't previously come across or heard of Kitty Neale, but it seems she writes realistic historical novels set in the UK.
In 'Nobody's Girl', Bernie Dolby and his dominating wife Dolly run a café. As the story starts, their only waitress walks out, unable to cope with Dolly's bullying. Shortly afterwards, the job is taken by Pearl, a sixteen-year-old who grew up in an orphanage.
Pearl is meek and respectful, and gets along fairly well at first. Some rather seedy characters visit the cafe, but one of them takes Pearl under his wing, and she finds many of them to be warm-hearted under rather rough exteriors.
Unfortunately, Pearl falls for Kevin, who is Bernie and Dolly's lazy and selfish son. And although Kevin isn't interested in her at first, he gradually starts to notice her, much to Dolly's disapproval. Pearl has to make a very difficult decision, which hurts someone who cares for her deeply.
The story revolves around these people and their friends, set in the 1950s in South London. I found it very readable, on the whole, although there were some slightly irritating authorial asides in places. The background and conversation all seemed authentic, and although many of the people were somewhat caricatured, Pearl is a likeable girl on the whole. She has some faults, which she gradually acknowledges as she matures.
Unfortunately, I felt there were far too many sordid situations covered. Kevin is involved in some shady enterprises, which are important for the overall plot of the book. But he also has an unpleasantly sadistic side which seemed entirely unnecessary. Then there is bullying, prostitution, kidnapping, rape, burglary, mental illness, attempted murder and worse... I found it rather stressful having so much unpleasantness in one book.
Still, anyone who enjoys the gritty style of historical novel would probably like it.
It does not yet appear to have reached the USA, but is available inexpensively from Amazon UK.
(I wrote a longer review of 'Nobody's Girl' at the Bookbag site)
When I found this book in a second-hand shop, I thought I was coming across a new author (to me). I could not remember having read anything by Elizabeth Palmer, and I'm always happy to try someone new. The blurb on the back said that this author is a welcome addition to the ranks of storytellers like Mary Wesley and Joanna Trollope. Though I have mixed feelings about Mary Wesley's books, I very much enjoy Joanna Trollope's.
A little research showed me that I have in fact read one of Elizabeth Palmer's books previously: I read 'Plucking the Apple' six years ago. I picked it up for similar reasons - it looked like my kind of book! - but wasn't actually all that impressed.
'The Stainless Angel' is the story of George and Camilla. George is a very respectable landowner from the UK, while Camilla is a society girl with a large number of debts. They met in Rome and married shortly before the book starts, but never actually discussed where they would live. Camilla can usually twist George around her little finger, but he is adamant that they must - sooner or later - return to his family home in England.
Camilla does not fit in, and is not popular with George's rather stuffy relative. Her arrival is the catalyst for all kinds of problems which were simmering just under the surface; tragedies happen during her first year there, although she does not seem to realise what a negative influence she has.
So it's a society novel in a sense, a rather grim picture of life amongst the upper classes. Most of the people are rather caricatured, and I simply couldn't believe in someone as dreadful as Camilla. Nevertheless, I kept turning the pages to find out what would happen.
More like Mary Wesley than Joanna Trollope, it wasn't a bad read for a wet weekend or a flight on an aeroplane, but I won't be keeping the book to re-read.
It's out of print, but can be found second-hand in many charity shops, or on Amazon UK.
I do like Terry Pratchett's books! It's strange, really, because I'm not a huge fan of fantasy, or science fiction, and his books have been classed as both. I tend to think of them more as satire of the human race, with its strange cultures and customs, that just happens to be set in a distant (and unlikely) world.
'Wintersmith', although set in the Discworld, is the third book intended for a younger audience than the regular Discworld series. It features Tiffany Aching, a young witch, and the Nac Mac Feegles, a bunch of small (six inches high) blue, kilted, hard-drinking, violent, but very loyal men. The Feegles consider Tiffany their 'big wee hag', and try to look after her, with mixed results. Their earlier adventures together are found in 'The Wee Free Men' and 'A Hat Full of Sky'.
Tiffany is thirteen when this story starts. She takes an impulsive and foolish step - or several steps - and finds herself courted by the Wintersmith. He is an elemental spirit responsible for the winter on the Discworld. Tiffany is somewhat flattered.. but also very worried, as are her older and wiser counsellors. The Feegles both help and hinder her...
Some good moments of Pratchett humour, and a good story overall, with Tiffany's character being much more developed than most. There are cameo roles for Discworld favourites Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax, although it's not necessary to have come across them before reading this book. Oh, and there are also two cats, a cornucopia, and a trick joke shop.
It's not the greatest of literature; not even one of the best of the Discworld books, but a good way to introduce children to the concept. Complete in itself, but all the more enjoyable for having read the first two books beforehand. Entirely suitable for older children or young teenagers with a sense of humour, so long as they don't mind a bit of bawdiness, as well as older teenagers and adults. My sons are now 21 and 19, and they enjoyed this as much as I did.
I'm not really a fan of crime fiction, but I do enjoy the occasional Agatha Christie book.
'Murder in Mesopotamia' is written from the point of view of Miss Letheran, who is a nurse. It's the account of her time looking after Mrs Leidner, a nervous woman who has seen strange things and has been threatened in anonymous letters.
Mrs Leidner is part of a party visiting an archaeological dig which her husband is leading. Amongst the party are some old friends of his, and also some newcomers. Each of them is different, although I had a hart time distinguishing some of them.
There's a very tense atmosphere and it's not surprising when someone is brutally murdered. Hercule Poirot just happens to be nearby, and is called in to help along with the local police, and a doctor. Poirot interviews everyone around, since it seems that one of the party must have committed the murder. There appear to be possible motivations for everyone.
I didn't guess who the murderer was, since as ever the trail was laid with red herrings, and I was out of practice. The writing was very clever, albeit rather racist and classist in places without directly stating it. However as it was written in 1936 that's probably how many Brits were at the time.
Fast-moving and exciting - good light reading.
This is the third book I read by the American writer Grace Livingston Hill in a fairly short space of time, having found them in a Christian library. I quite liked one, I was less impressed by the second, but her story-lines are interesting and her characters likeable, so I thought I'd try one more.
'In the Way' is set in America in the late nineteenth century, when the author was fairly young. It features David and Joseph Benedict, two brothers who are farmers. Since the death of their aunt they have cared for themselves - just about - in a rough and ready way.
Then their sister comes to stay: the lovely Ruth, who was brought up by another aunt, and is unknown to them until now. They expect her to be snooty and arrogant, with no wish to stay long-term with her new-found brothers. However Ruth turns out to be an excellent cook and home-maker, and she begins to bring some order and beauty into their lives.
It takes a while to win her brothers' hearts, with some misunderstandings along the way. Their neighbours have mixed reactions too, particularly when Ruth is seen out on that shocking new invention, the bicycle!
It's a pleasant story, and well-written, but suffers enormously from introspection of all the characters with far too many different viewpoints and author asides. Admittedly these were fairly common at the time of writing (1897) - stating the obvious, explaining what should have been left as hints, and so on - but they are distinctly annoying.
Worse, this novel shows rather horrendous culture and class biases. Again, it was probably common over 100 years ago. Indeed, the characters were probably forward-thinking and open in those days. But in the 21st century much of the book comes across as snobbish and condescending.
Besides that, the Christian message is pushed and pushed, along with some legalistic biases of the time (eg that dancing at a ball was 'wrong') and over-puritanical ethics.
All in all, a readable light book if you don't mind skimming, but distinctly irritating in places.
Can be found second-hand in various places; it has also been reprinted by various people as it is out of copyright. But not one that I would recommend, although it's quite popular in some circles.
I very much enjoyed some of Robin Lee Hatcher's novels which I read about a year ago. So I was pleased to see her latest book in a Christian library I was visiting.
'The victory club' is the story of four American women during World War II. They work at the same place and see each other on the bus each morning.
Lucy was married just before her husband enlisted for the war, and she is afraid that he may never return. In her loneliness she is seriously tempted to become over-friendly with an older neighbour.
Dottie is engaged to another man who is also away in the war. Unfortunately, before he left, they did something which will have lasting consequences, and she is scared.
Margo, Dottie's mother, is strict and legalistic. She has a dark secret of her own from the past, but rather than being more sympathetic as a result, she finds it impossible to relax or to allow her children to 'fail' in any way. She is afraid for her son Clark, who is also away in the war.
The fourth woman is Penelope, whose husband stuart is unable to enlist, or even work, due to back injuries. Penelope is resentful and bored.
The four form a club to help other friends, and to support and pray for each other and their loved ones. The story follows them all over a few months.
I thought the novel interesting from a historical perspective. For one thing, I had not realised that the USA had some food rationing, albeit nowhere near as stringent as that in Europe. It was well-written too - Robin Lee Hatcher has an interesting style, and makes the characters come alive.
On the other hand, I felt that there was far too much introspection and overtly Christian conversation, none of which seemed realistic. I didn't disagree with what was said, but found the style of discussion rather off-putting and unbelievable, which was a pity in an otherwise believable setting.
Quite a good light read, although I felt the lack of an overall plot or single main character.
Since I quite enjoyed the first book I read by Grace Livingston Hill ('The White Lady') I borrowed another. It has a similar theme - that of someone living in unexpectedly difficult circumstances, who is falls in love with a wonderful man. Like a Christian version of Mills and Boon romances, written nearly 100 years ago, perhaps.
'Not under the law' is the story of Joyce, an orphan who has lived with her loving aunt for many years. The novel opens shortly after the aunt has died, when Joyce is not being treated at all well by her cousin and his wife, who basically want her as an unpaid cook, babysitter and general skivvy.
Joyce hopes to qualify as a teacher so as to earn her own living, but her cousin does all he can to stop her taking the necessary exams. Life becomes so difficult for Joyce that she finally walks out of the house, determined to make a new life for herself somewhere else. She gets briefly mixed up with some unknown criminal activity in a cemetery; one of the gang is a young man she has known and liked for some years.
The following day she catches a train to a small town a hundred miles away. She begins to make friends, buys a very surprising place to live, and finds work. However, back home people have no idea where she is, and her aunt's lawyer is eager to find out.
It's an exciting story in some ways, set and written in the 1920s in the USA, with a dramatic and satisfying conclusion. However, it's (in my view) a bit too 'religious' - and that's writing as a Christian myself. Following God's leading is, of course, always a good thing, and the description of a repentant sinner that occurs in the book is fairly realistic, and possibly could have been useful to help someone understand the Christian message in the time the book was written.
But there's a huge amount of repetition, introspection, and over-preachy writing which I found myself skimming to find out what actually happened! This style would be off-putting for most folk today, unfortunately; yet it's a good story, albeit a little unlikely, and basically very well-written.
Long out of print, but sometimes available second-hand.
I had never before heard of the author Grace Livingston Hill. I came across a large number of her books in a Christian library, and thought the blurb on the back sounded interesting. They were evidently light romances with a Christian message.
'The White Lady' is set in the 1920s, written in the 1930s so not really a historical novel as such, but based on the author's own memories and experiences of life. It features Constance Wetherill, a society heiress in New York, who suddenly hears that she has lost her fortune due to faulty investments. However she is left with $5000, which must have been quite a significant amount of money nearly ninety years ago.
Constance, who's quite a strong-minded and independent young lady, decides to close her house. She travels for a while, and then rents a smaller place in the country, which is supposedly haunted. In order to make her living she opens a genteel tea-house with the aid of her devoted maid Norah and a delightful twelve-year-old boy called Jimmy, whom she meets by chance when he helps her to carry her luggage from the station.
Constance struggles while dealing with the practicalities of daily life without an army of servants, but learns to cope, and also discovers who her real friends are.
The book contains a measure of suffering, significant culture shock as Constance adjusts to her new life, a great deal of bravery, and a pleasant - if predictable - conclusion.
There's a bit too much authorial comment and explanation in places, but that's partly the style of the times. The Christian message is clearly there, particularly with the very pleasant young minister Constance meets, but I didn't feel it was preachy or over-done.
All in all, not much substance but an enjoyable light read. Out of print for many years, but sometimes available second-hand. Depending on postage, it may be better to buy this in the USA than the UK.
I just finished reading the Shiloh Legacy trilogy by Bodie Thoene. The final book of the series, 'Say to this Mountain' draws together many threads from the first two books, and ends in a very encouraging and satisfying way.
I should have been satisfied. But I saw, in the library I was visiting, another book, written by Bodie and her husband Brock Thoene together. They collaborated on the trilogy of books, but Bodie was the primary writer. This one, apparently, was a more equal project.
So I picked up 'Shiloh Autumn', which is in fact complete in itself although it's also a sequel to the Shiloh trilogy. It features the same people, but doesn't expect the reader to have met them before. The authors managed this well, making the book interesting for someone like me who had just read the series, without continual flashbacks or repetition.
The story, once again, features folk in Shiloh, Arkansas, as the American economy collapses in the early 1930s. Capitalism fights with struggling workers as the bank gives mortgages with very unfair conditions, and the rich become richer - generally by dishonest means.
Brock Thoene is a historian, and I assume his research was accurate. Certainly the people and situations all seemed real - sometimes shockingly so. The writing is good, and there are some very moving moments as tragedies strike, people suffer, and the poor lose even what little they have. There's a Christian message running throughout, too. It occurs to me that this may be somewhat unusual in a book so opposed to capitalism in the USA.
I found the book interesting, and liked catching up on the characters of the Shiloh Legacy series. On the other hand, in a way I wish I hadn't read it since some of the characters became a great deal unhappier in this book and there was less of a 'happy ever after' feeling when I had finished it, although it was basically hopeful.
This is the third in the Shiloh Legacy trilogy by Bodie Thoene.
'Say to this Mountain' draws together threads from the first two books, 'In my Father's House', and 'A Thousand shall Fall'. Max and his son David are on the run from hitmen after the Wall Street crash in the USA in 1929, and decide to visit Max's cousin Trudy and her husband Birch in Shiloh, Arkansas.
Shiloh, meanwhile, is just recovering from a tornado, which ripped up some of the train tracks, and destroyed the home of JD, Birch's unlikeable cousin.
Then there's Ellis, barely mentioned in the second book, who is a doctor. He is struggling with serious debt after some bad investments, and doing extra private work just to make ends meet. He gets asked to do something unethical and has to struggle with his conscience.
Ellis lives in the same town as Willa-Mae and Hock, who also struggle to make ends meet. Yet even they are better off than Frank and John, two boys in the same apartment block, whose mother sells herself to make a few dollars each night.
Willa-Mae hasn't seen her son Jefferson for ten years, and has no idea if he's alive. But in fact he's working for Birch and Trudy, and trying desperately to find out if his parents are still living.
The novel revolves around all these scenarios and others, gradually interweaving people's lives. There's a low-key Christian theme running throughout - of hope, even when life seems to be falling apart, and of trusting God even when terrible crises or tragedies happen.
The story, like the others in the series, was eye-opening to me, from an American history point of view. It's probably best to read it after at least one of the others in the series, as the sheer number of characters and sub-plots would otherwise be overwhelmingly confusing.
I thought the book was very well-written with believable people and situations, and a satisfying ending to the series. It was difficult to put down, once I had started.
This book in the Shiloh Legacy trilogy is the first sequel to 'In my Father's House'. Bodie Thoene is a powerful writer, all the more so, perhaps, because her husband Brock is a historian who helps with her research.
'A thousand shall fall' mainly features Max, who is now a well-known financial journalist in the days leading up to the Wall Street crash of 1929. It also features his nine-year-old son David, whom he has never met. Indeed, he doesn't even know that David exists at the start of this book.
The other main characters in this book are Birch, Max's friend from the First World War, and Birch's wife Trudie who is Max's cousin. They have three small sons, and have decided to return to Birch's family home after the death of his alcoholic father.
There's lots of excitement in this book, which is less violent than the first in the series, and could easily be read on its own. It's a great picture of life in the USA in the late 1920s - at least, I assume so, given the historical credentials of the author's husband. It certainly helped me to understand what the Wall Street crash meant for ordinary people in America, and how far-reaching its effects were.
As well as the main plot-lines, there are horrors of high-up financial crooks, connected with illegal bootleggers in the days of prohibition. There's also still some racism in the South of the country, where few white people, even then, treated black people as human beings.
There's an over-riding theme of the need to trust in God no matter what one's circumstances, and also of knowing which people to trust.
Well-written, exciting and believable, if a bit too finance-orientated for my tastes in places.
I hadn't previously read anything by Bodie Thoene, so I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. According to the introduction to the book, she and her husband Brock work together on novels - she creates the character and does the bulk of the writing, but he does all the historical research.
This novel is set mainly in the USA in the aftermath of World War I. Three young men - Ellis, Max and Birch - become friendly in the trenches, despite very different backgrounds. They survive many horrors, and return home.
Max goes back to his Jewish grandparents in New York; Ellis goes to his farming family and sweetheart Rebecca. Birch, however, has only his drunken father, after losing his mother in the flu pandemic that swept the world in this period.
There's also Jefferson, a huge black man who has also fought in the war, and who returns to his large and loving family, travelling in the same train as Birch. Unfortunately, segregation was still rife in the Southern USA in the earlier part of last century, fuelled by the sinister Ku Klux Klan. So although Jefferson is considered a hero in Paris, he is still treated like dirt when he returns to America.
There is drama, violence, loss and heartache in this fast-moving book. It paints a horrific picture of life in the USA eighty years ago, where racism was rife, as bad (apparently) as the apartheid years in South Africa.
I found the book confusing at first, as there are so many people and the story keeps switching between different viewpoints. However it was very well-written and believable, and eventually I found I could remember who was who without having to track back to the previous time they appeared.
I found this very readable overall, and quite gripping by the end. There's a distinct Christian influence within the book, but it's not pushy at all.
