#FridayReads If you like #HistFic I can recommend these books #amreading

If you like books with historical themes and elements I can recommend these books

A privileged young wife on a large Cornwall estate gains responsibility and confidence when her husband leaves to fight overseas. This English home front saga then becomes something more when she leaves for France herself to rescue a friend from danger. Elin lives a luxurious but lonely life at Hiram Hall. Her husband Hugo loves her but never recovered from the Boer War. Now another war threatens to destroy everything she knows. With Hugo at the front, and her cousin Alice and friend Mouse working for the war effort, Elin has to learn to run the estate in Cornwall, making new friends – and enemies. But when Mouse is in danger, Elin must face up to the horrors in France herself. And when the Great War is finally over, Elin’s battles prove to have only just begun. Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Terry Tyler’s seventh novel is a romantic drama spanning the years 1971 – 2007, with an unusual echo from history …

“KINGS AND QUEENS” tells of the life and loves of charismatic Harry Lanchester, which just happen to mirror the story of Henry VIII and his six wives. All the passion and suspense of the Tudor court, but set in modern times.

Harry’s realm is his South of England property developing company, Lanchester Estates, while his ‘wives’ are the twentieth century sisters of their historic counterparts: Anne Boleyn is reincarnated as the equally intriguing Annette Hever, and Henry VIII’s fifth wife with the risqué past, Catherine Howard, lives again in 1999 as Keira Howard, a former lap dancer.

The saga is narrated by each of the six women, in turn, interspersed with short chapters from the point of view of Harry’s lifelong friend, Will Brandon.

Don’t worry if you know nothing of this period in history – “Kings and Queens” can be enjoyed as a contemporary family drama, very much in the vein of Ms Tyler’s previous novels. Readers with an interest in the Tudors, though, will pick up on many similarities, references and metaphors, some quite amusing. For those non-Tudor fanatics who would like a brief look at the life of Henry VIII before reading, the author has included, in the Kindle book, a link to a mini-biography on her blog. Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Shiri blocks her ears to her mother’s screams and sees the arrows strike her father’s chest. With their murderers bearing down on her she turns to obey his final command. “RUN!” Amenhotep, Prince of Egypt, burns her village, enslaves her people, and destroys all she loves. Only Shiri escapes. With tears in her eyes and vengeance in her heart, she races to warn the Shepherd King. If she doesn’t reach him in time, all Palestine will burn. It’s a race that takes her from the fields of Armageddon, to the sands of Ancient Egypt and the very heart of Pharaoh’s court. It’s a struggle that brings the deaths of kings and the birth of a god. It’s a quest that sees her fall in love.   Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

‘Look upon this wretch, all of you! Look upon her and thank God for his love and his mercy. Thank God that he has sent me to rid the world of such filth as this.’ 1647 and England is in the grip of civil war. In the ensuing chaos, fear and suspicion are rife and anyone on the fringes of society can find themselves under suspicion. Matthew Hopkins, self -styled Witchfinder General, scours the countryside, seeking out those he believes to be in league with the Devil. In the small village of Coggeshall, 17–year-old Alice Pendle finds herself at the centre of gossip and speculation. Will she survive when the Witchfinder himself is summoned? A tale of persecution, superstition, religious fundamentalism, hate and love, ‘The Black Hours’ mixes fact with fiction in a gripping fast-paced drama that follows the story of Alice as she is thrown into a world of fear and confusion, and of Matthew, a man driven by his beliefs to commit dreadful acts in the name of religion. Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

February 1603, the last of the Tudor monarchs is dying, but Death must wait for Elizabeth of England to finish her tale…

As The Bastard Princess, Elizabeth Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, has fought through a childhood of intrigue and peril to her place as the heir to the English throne. But as her sister, Mary I, the first anointed and sole Queen of England takes the crown, Elizabeth must face her most dangerous challenges yet… for Mary I is determined to return England to the Catholic faith, and will have none stand in her way.

Protestant Elizabeth knows that she must survive the suspicions and distrust of her sister, in a reign where rebellion and war freely stalked the lands of England.
To survive, this heretic heir must hone her skills in survival, wit and wile, in order that she may one day… become Queen.

The Heretic Heir is Book Two of the Elizabeth of England Chronicles by G. Lawrence. Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

The boy looks up and sees the foreigner’s rifle aimed at him. Why is this man here? This is not his conflict, it is not the boy’s… it is hell.

Jay has been home for a long time, but the ghosts of Yugoslavia
are still with him as he busks his way round the country.

Marilyn is fresh out of a controlling relationship and desperate
to reassert her independence. The last thing she needs is to fall
for an itinerant storyteller who has a strange relationship with
the truth. And then the police call on her.

When the past catches up with the present and stories become
reality, Jay and Marilyn must decide who to believe and who
to betray.

A compelling narrative of trust and betrayal, love, loyalty and honour from a talented debut novelist. Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

WINNER and Runner-Up of the 2015 Historical Fiction Award #SundayBlogShare

The 2015 Golden Rose Book Award for Historical Fiction

went to Zoe Saadia with Two Rivers

Meet Zoe

Zoe Saadia is the author of several novels of pre-Columbian Americas. From the glorious pyramids of Tenochtitlan to the fierce democrats of the Great Lakes, her novels bring long-forgotten history, cultures and people to life, tracing pivotal events that brought about the greatness of Meso and North America.

Having researched various pre-contact cultures of this continent for more than a decade, she is convinced that it’s a shame that such a large part of history was completely overlooked, by historical fiction most of all. Both Americas has an extremely rich, diverse, fascinating history long before this continent came in contact with the rest of the world.
So her professional motto is set. America has not been ‘discovered’, not yet. Not in her novels.

Find Zoe on Twitter @ZoeSaadia

Book Description

Having survived the failed raid on the enemy lands, Tekeni had no illusions. He was nothing but an enemy cub, adopted into one of the clans, but not accepted, never for real. To fit in was difficult, to run away – impossible. To get into trouble, more often than not, was the only available option. They did not expect anything else from him, anyway.

However, when a meaningless row during a ballgame grew out of proportion, resulting in a fight, Tekeni has found himself in a truly grave trouble. Neither he nor anyone else could have foreseen the chain of events the consequences of this fight would release, when the highly esteemed but controversial Two Rivers decided to help Tekeni out.

Two Rivers was a strange person with unacceptable notions and ideas. He maintained that to war on and on was a mistake of disastrous consequences. He went as far as suggesting a negotiation of peace with some of the neighboring nations. Even Tekeni, the despised enemy, thought such ideas to be far-fetched and wild. And yet…

With their trouble mounting and the revengefulness of some people around them growing, both Tekeni and Two Rivers find themselves pushed beyond limits.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

The Silver Award went to

Frances Evesham with Danger At Thatcham Hall

Meet Frances

Frances Evesham writes mystery stories: the Exham on Sea contemporary crime series set in a small Somerset seaside town, and the Thatcham Hall Mysteries, 19th Century historical mystery romances set in Victorian England.

She collects grandsons, Victorian ancestors and historical trivia, likes to smell the roses, lavender and rosemary, and cooks with a glass of wine in one hand and a bunch of chillies in the other. She loves the Arctic Circle and the equator and plans to visit the penguins in the south one day.

She’s been a speech therapist, a professional communicator and a road sweeper and worked in the criminal courts. Now, she walks in the country and breathes sea air in Somerset.

Catch up with Frances on Twitter @FrancesEvesham

Book Description Danger At Thatcham Hall published by Wild Rose Press

Ambitious lawyer Nelson Roberts, embittered by war, jilted by his fiancée, and trusting no one, aims to make his name solving the mysterious thefts and violence at Thatcham Hall, a country house in Victorian England.

Olivia Martin, headstrong and talented, will stop at nothing to overcome the conventions of the day, avoid a miserable fate as a governess and fulfill dreams of a musical future.

The pair stumble on a body. Is the farmhand’s death a simple accident, or something more sinister? Who attacked the livestock at the Hall and why are the villagers so reluctant to talk? Can Nelson and Olivia overcome their differences and join forces to unravel the web of evil that imperils the Hall?

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Final congratulations to all our Historical Fiction nominees.

Alison Williams with THE BLACK HOURS

William Savage with AN UNLAMENTED DEATH

Tony Riches with OWEN

Vanessa Matthews with THE DOCTOR’S DAUGHTER

Rosie’s Book Review Team #RBRT The Black Hours by @Alison_Williams #SundayBlogShare

Today’s team review is from Luccia she blogs at http://lucciagray.wordpress.com

Luccia chose to read and review The Black Hours by Alison Williams.

Chilling Historical Fiction

The Black Hours is not an easy novel to read because it’s based on the true story of a cruel witch-finder during the English Civil War, in the 17th century.

Alison Williams thrust good and evil upon me disturbingly, because at the beginning, evil is shown to have the upper hand. I was outraged as I was taken inside the vicious witchfinder’s sick and manipulative mind, which enabled him to enlist the help of the landowners, magistrates, other members of the clergy, as well as some spiteful townspeople. I was shocked by the plight of the hopeless good people like poor Alice, who was constantly in the throes of a dreadful situation, because she was almost alone, poor, and helpless.

I was appalled and angered by the rampant misogyny, injustice, and violence for three-quarters of the novel, until eventually a small light shone, and a sensible and respectable hero appeared. At last I had some hope that the situation would improve, and it did, in a way which may not be totally satisfactory for those of you who like HEA, but in the only way such a dark episode could end realistically.

I loved the way Alison transported me to rural 17th century England, into the cottages, the prisons, and the courts, making me feel I was really there as I squeezed my kindle in horror. I couldn’t stop reading in spite of the distress I was feeling, because I really felt sympathy and concern for Alice and her grandmother’s plight.

The Black Hours is a must for lovers of well-written historical fiction, which deals with ordinary people and factual events, and for readers who don’t mind being chilled to the bone.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Beach Reads Blog Tour 2015 Day 3 #BeachBooks @Alison_Williams #wwwblogs

 

Whoa! It’s Day 3 of our Holiday! With amazing book suggestions for your own vacation.

Today my guest is Alison Williams

I’m very lucky in that my ideal holiday destination is actually where I’m going this year (and where I went last year) – a beautiful restored farmhouse in a secluded valley in the Lot-et-Garonne area of Aquitane in France. I love France – the food, the weather, the people, the attitude to life, and our holidays there are always wonderful. Lot-et-Garonne isn’t as well known or as touristy as some other regions in France and yet it is beautiful. I have an incredibly busy life and here I can truly relax, unwind and breathe. And read, of course.

I like to take a mixture of genres and a mixture of formats – some on Kindle because I can read seven or eight books a week when I’m on holiday and there just isn’t room for them all, and some paperbacks, because I appreciate it when other holidaymakers leave books for future guests, and I like to do the same.

A book about the place I’m going to.

As we’re in Aquitane, and because I am fascinated by history and particularly by women in history, I shall be taking Alison Weir’s ‘Eleanor of Aquitaine: By the Wrath of God, Queen of England’. I love this area of France, and so I’d love to know more about its history. I’ve also read about Eleanor before – married to Louis VII and then England’s Henry II, her sons were Richard the Lionheart and King John. She had a huge influence on the politics of the time and lived to the ripe old age of eighty-two. A fascinating woman. Or find this book on Amazon.com

A book that interests me

I’ll also be taking Stephen King’s ‘On Writing’. I read King’s novels voraciously as a teenager. I’ve heard excellent things about this book – part memoir, part writing master class – and can’t wait to read it. But realistically, a holiday is probably the only time I have when I’ll be able to read it thoroughly and properly. It’ll definitely have to be the paperback version – and it won’t be getting left behind. Or find this on Amazon.com

A book I’ve mean meaning to read for ages is Hilary Mantel’s ‘A Change of Climate’. Anyone who knows me at all knows I have a bit of an obsession with Hilary. She’s a marvellous writer and I love her novels. A holiday – where there are no pressures and no time constraints – is the ideal time to relax and give this book the attention it deserves. A family saga about ex-missionaries living in Norfolk, this is a book unlike the historical dramas that have made Mantel so popular, but a storyteller is a storyteller, and Mantel writes just as well about the modern day as she does about history. Or find it here on Amazon.com

 

 

For me a holiday is all about escaping the day-to-day and a book that I can really escape with is Emily Bronte’s ‘Wuthering Heights’. I have no idea now how many times I’ve read it – with the exception of Hilary Mantel, the Brontes are the only writers I can read again and again – but every time I read it I’m swept away to those wild moors and can truly lose myself. This has to be read in paperback format – I have about five rather raggedy, well-thumbed copies, including the one I filched from my son when he had to study it for his English ‘A’Level (he is somewhat less enamoured!) so will leave one behind. Or find it here on Amazon.com

The Black Hours by Alison Williams

And of course, I’ll be leaving a copy or two of my own novel ‘The Black Hours’ . A very dark historical drama, based on the life of the notorious Witchfinder Matthew Hopkins, ‘The Black Hours’ is probably best read in bright daylight (so you don’t get too scared) with a revitalising glass of wine or two at hand. Or find it here on Amazon.com

Now all I need is a guarantee of hot weather, a few bottles of the local red, and a pile of croissants and chocolate éclairs. Perfect.

Letter M April A to Z Challenge #AtoZChallenge

Day 13 of the April A to Z Challenge, my theme is characters from books I’ve read, plus some audience participation.

Letter M is from Matthew Hopkins from The Black Hours by Alison Williams

The Black Hours is a book that thinks about the actual lives of ordinary people who are mixed up in a period of history that is well publicised. Set in England around 1647, a time of Civil War and strong religious times. This book looks at the famous Witch Trials.

The author has interpreted some of the documented names and facts into a thoughtful story about the horrors of the period. We meet Alice Pendle and her Grandmother Maggie, wise women of Coggeshall who have used herbs and ointments to help and heal the villagers for years. When their midwifery skills result in the unfortunate death of a mother and child, people start to whisper.

Religious fears have been stirred up in the country and Matthew Hopkins believes he has a duty to God. He must rid the earth of evil in the form of Witches. With the law behind him Matthew arrives in Coggeshall and finds a supportive Minister and Lord of the Manor. Villagers are encouraged to sign witness statements condemning Alice and Maggie.

What follows is a horrific tale of their trials and suffering at the hands of Matthew and his supporters. This tale depicts the suffering of just 2 lives. During the actual period of history in question it is believed that between 200 and 300 women were similarly accused and tried. It was a terrible time and an example of how people are easily led and manipulated by their fears.

This is a well written glimpse in to the window of history.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

For my audience participation I’m asking readers to create book titles using the letter M for the picture below.

A book title and cover picture can often make or break a book sale. Is a book cover eye-catching? Does the book title appeal to the reader?

Have fun creating book titles from my own pictures, you might even think about a genre they could fit.

Leave you answers in the comments below and I’ll be choosing my favourites.

Today’s randomly chosen fellow challengers for you to visit today

http://susannedrazic.blogspot.co.uk/

http://fromthemarkettotheplate.blogspot.co.uk/

http://catstarrastraltraveller.com/

http://curiousasacathy.com/

Blog

As part of the challenge we encourage all readers to leave comments, thank you.

Rosie’s Book Review Team #RBRT Crystin reviews The Black Hours by Alison Williams

Today’s book review comes from Crystin, she blogs at http://crystinlgoodwin.wordpress.com

Crystin Chose to read and review The Black Hours by Alison Williams

The Black Hours – Alison Williams

Title: The Black Hours by Alison Williams

• Genre: Historical Fiction

 

First off, I’d like to mention that this novel is very different from my typical reading preferences. This isn’t a young adult novel, nor is it fantasy. There is very little romance, and there isn’t really a happily ever after. The Black Hours is a very dark tale; written like fiction, but based on actual events that occurred in 16th century England.

The story follows two main characters – Matthew Hopkins, a documented witch hunter during the 16th century, and Alice Pendle, a fictional young woman who is suspected of witchcraft. The story goes through the process of how women were first suspected of witchcraft during those times, then goes into further detail into their trials and how the witch hunters would ‘prove’ the witches guilty.

Again, this is not a happy book. It is dark, gritty, and gruesome at times.

It was still fascinating.

The story was extremely well done – one could read the novel as fiction and it would provide everything a fiction reader would need. Suspense, action, resolution – even some much needed karmic retaliation. The hero and the villain were both fleshed out beautifully – you could see the reasoning behind both views – but the villain stayed very much a villain. (Yes, I’m being vague. I don’t want to ruin it for you.)

However, the story is also extremely depressing. It was heartbreaking to realize that the events that unfolded could have (and probably did) happen in those times. The unfairness, the inequality … I found myself getting frustrated and angry at the ignorance of many of the characters multiple times while reading. Sadly, the ignorance was real back then. There were no lie detectors, no means of sending to another town for impartial witnesses. Doctors weren’t around then, either – in fact, to claim to be a healer was one of the ways to be suspected of witchcraft. The fact that the author was able to infuse the reality of those times so authentically … it was absolutely amazing.

I would highly recommend this book for history lovers, especially old English history, or anyone interested in the details surrounding witch hunts of the middle ages.

I would NOT recommend this book for children, anyone with a weak stomach, or anyone overly sympathetic. There are detailed torture scenes, rape, extreme prejudice, fanaticism, and death. It is not for the faint of heart, but for anyone who is interested in the real events of that time period – this book is gold.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Rosie’s Book Review Team #RBRT Karen reviews The Black Hours by Alison Williams

Today’s book review comes from Karen, she blogs at http://mytrainofthoughtson.wordpress.com/

Karen chose to read and review The Black Hours by Alison Williams

The Black Hours – Alison Williams

My Opinion

The book introduces you to Alice, a 17-year-old girl and her grandmother Maggie. Matthew Hopkins, the Witchfinder General accuses them of witchcraft. I will not tell you more about the story than shown in the Goodreads plot description. This would spoil the fun of reading this book yourself.

With The Black Hours, Alison Williams has created a compelling story of women accused of witchcraft and their Puritan prosecutor Matthew Hopkins. The Black Hours is a story based on historic events, Matthew Hopkins’ activities were done ‘in God’s name’, and show some pitch black hours of history, indeed; 200-300 women had to die. Alison Williams did a thorough research and elaborated a gripping read. It is a story that grips and holds you in its spell. I felt rather close to the events, at times a little too close for comfort. All characters very believable for this time in history. It is easy for the reader to decide if someone is friend or foe. The Black Hours is a good read for fans of history novels, readers who can put up with this intense story.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Rosie’s Book Review Team #RBRT Melissa reviews The Black Hours by Alison Williams

Today’s book review comes from review team member Melissa, she blogs at http://mllegette.com/

Melissa chose to read and review The Black Hours by Alison Williams

The Black Hours – Alison Williams

Good golly. Talk about intense. I had never heard of Matthew Hopkins until reading Williams’ The Black Hours. Learning that he was in fact an actual human being was almost more than I could stand. (I was having a hard enough time when I thought he was fictional.)

The book is aptly named. Serious dark hours will be before you, reader, you have been warned. We are talking injustice piled onto injustice, served with a heaping side of (you got it) injustice.

But if you’re fascinated by history — especially Witch Trials — you will find this to be a trip back in time. It’s clear that Williams took great care in her research. The characters are vivid (I liked that both the persecuted and persecutor told their views — made it all the more horrifying), and the writing is smooth. If you’re looking for a Halloween read, check it out. You’ll certainly get chills.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Rosie’s Book review Challenge – A review by Cindy

Today we have a review from book review challenger Cindy Harrison. Her website is http://cynthiaharrison.com/

Cindy chose to review “The Black Hours” by Alison Williams.

The Black Hours – Alison Williams

Here is her review.

Although the chilling historical novel The Black Hours by Alison Williams is fiction, it is written with such detailed realism that readers will feel they are in the village of Coggeshall where the story is set. In this bucolic and tranquil place, Alice Pendle and her grandmother are midwives and herbalists with a deep affinity for helping those in need. When they come under the jealous eye of a competing midwife, Annie Everard, this woman spreads rumors about the Pendles, hoping to blacken their name and steal their business. In this, she more than succeeds.

Matthew Hopkins is an historic figure who here is known as the Witchfinder. When he comes to Coggeshall searching for witches, Annie is more than willing to point the finger at the Pendle family. With excruciating detail, Williams describes the horrors that were the witch hunts of old. Midwives were often blamed when a mother or child died, and herbalists were celebrated when they brought the ill back to health. As we now know, these early keepers of medicinal knowledge did not have the power or the wish to kill, only to heal. This is especially true of the Pendles.

                Superstitions of the times swept the lands and the horrifying portrayal of the torture and degradation suffered by Alice Pendle and her grandmother as they is put through the dishonest and shameful rigors of Hopkins’ Witchfinder ways is not easy reading. Williams is a skilled storyteller, but make no mistake, this tale is a dark one from a black chapter in human history. Williams does not shy away from the details that make it so, and for that she deserves highest praise.

                There are also moments of light, but to tell these would be to spoil the story for readers. Suffice to say, there is evil afoot in Coggeshall, and the good news is it does not entirely prevail. Williams is a writer of power and strength and deserves a wide audience for her compelling work. – Cynthia Harrison

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Rosie’s Book Review Challenge – A Review from Barb

Continuing with the posting of reviews written by readers who took up The Book Review Challenge, today our review is from Barb. She blogs at http://barbtaub.com/

Barb chose to read “The Black Hours” by Alison Williams.

The Black Hours – Alison Williams

Here is Barb’s review.

In the three years of his short career as Witchfinder General from 1644 to 1647, young Matthew Hopkins was directly responsible for the deaths of over three hundred women. What author Alison Williams wants to know is not what happened or even how or why. What she sets out to examine in The Black Hours is who. Who were the murdered women, who were their accusers, and even who was the young man who became the Witchfinder?

 

She introduces us to a tiny English village, Coggeshall, where seventeen-year-old Alice Pendle lives with her Grandmother Maggie—Margaret Prentice, the village healer. Against the polarizing backdrop of religious and political divisions of the Civil War, witch-hunters claiming to have grants of safe conduct travel the Puritan and Parliamentarian strongholds. They are accompanied by women who administer witch tests such as “pricks” —needle piercings, often faked—to “prove” accusations of witchcraft, an often lucrative career financed by frightened local officials.

 

When Maggie and Alice are suspected of witchcraft, we see the proceedings from several points of view. Their neighbors—by turns vindictive, bullied, righteous, or frightened—are the accusers. Witchfinder Matthew Hopkins is secure in his belief that he is fulfilling his religious duty, contemptuous of the simple villagers who don’t immediately follow his commands, and self-righteously determined to fight the devil he sees in basically everyone except himself. He has no hesitation in ordering their arrest, torture, and trial. But there are others who don’t give up, who are willing to fight against what they believe is unjust.

 

What makes The Black Hours so interesting to me is the unusual choice to alternate point of view between the victims and their accuser. Alice’s story is difficult to read in places, as she’s subjected to assault, torture, deprivation, and loss. But it is also one of triumph, a quiet individual victory. With the perfect hindsight vision of history, we want to see the Witchfinder as a monster, his victims as powerless pawns, his allies as weakminded minions. But what we get instead are strong women who fight what they see as the sin of false confession. We see a weak, increasingly sick young man who has no real grasp of the events he thinks he’s orchestrating. And most interesting of all, we see the neighbors. Not only are there the malicious or easily manipulated accusers, but there are those who become increasingly infuriated by the abomination perpetrated against their families and friends. If there are victors or triumphs in this story, and if there is a message, it is that these everyday people are inherently good, and eventually victorious.

 

There is so much I found fascinating in this story. Alison Williams gave us an amazingly detailed description of everyday seventeenth century lives, with meticulous research and beautiful descriptions of people and places. But more than that, she made me think about so many other witch hunts throughout history. Like Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, it serves as a parable for political witch hunts such as McCarthyism and the House Un-American Activities Committee’s infamous hearings that led to the blacklisting of the anti-Communist purge of the American film and media industry.

 

Seeing the way the Witchfinder is eventually discredited by those he confidently bullied reminds me of CBS news anchor Edward R. Murrow’s challenge to McCarthyism. “We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason if we dig deep in our history and our doctrines and remember that we are not descended from fearful men, not from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate and to defend causes which were for the moment unpopular.”

 

Because she made me think, because she wrote a challenging and entertaining book, and because she succeeded in bringing a difficult historical page to life, I would give five out of five stars to The Black Hours

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com