2018 WHEN Are You Reading? @SamAnnElizabeth ‘s Challenge – Completed

Way back in January I decided to try this challenge run by Sam Ann Elizabeth 

The complete challenge was to include at least 12 books, one from each of the following eras:

• Pre 1500
• 1500-1599
• 1600-1699
• 1700-1799
• 1800-1899
• 1900-1919
• 1920-1939
• 1940-1959
• 1960-1979
• 1980-1999
• 2000-Present
• The Future

I wasn’t sure if I read widely enough across the timeline, but today my results surprised me. In sections where I’ve read a high volume of books, I’ve chosen a selection of books. Book titles have links to my reviews.

Pre 1500s

Athena’s Champion by David Hair and Cath Mayo – Greek mythology

Brethren by Robyn Young – Knights Templar

Smile Of The Wolf by Tim Leach – Set in Iceland

The Greenest Branch by J.K. Adams – Set in Germany and features Benedictine abbess Hildegard

The Heart Of The Conqueror by G. Lawrence – About William the Conqueror

Daughter Of War by S .J .A. Turney – Knights Templar

1500-1599

The Golden Lynx by C.P. Lesley – Set in Russia

1600-1699

Flood by Ann Swinfen – Set in England’s Fenlands

The Green Phoenix by Alice Poon – Set in China

1700-1799

The Earl And The Enchantress by Paulette Golden – Historical romance

Whales And Strange Stars by Kathy Sharp – Set in Kent

1800-1899

The Tides Between by Elizabeth Jane Corbett – YA tale of emigration

The Mysterious Lord Millcroft by Virginia Heath – Historical romance

From Governess To Countess by Marguerite Kaye – Historical romance

The Dressmaker’s Secret by Charlotte Betts – Features Princess Caroline Of Brunswick

Winds Of Time by Lilly Gayle – Historical romance set in Texas

My Antonia by Willa Cather – Classic American historical fiction set in Nebraska

1900-1999

The Wild Air by Rebecca Mascull – Featuring early women aviators

Call Of The Canyon by Zane Grey – Set in Arizona

The Captain And The Calvalry Trooper by Catherine Curzon – M/M romance set during WW1

1920-1939

Trusting The Currents by Lynnda Pollio – Set in small town America, with a spiritual theme.

The Madonna Of The Mountains by Elise Valmorbida (begins in 1923) Set in Italy

1940-1959

A Ration Book Christmas by Jean Fullerton – Family saga set in London during WW2

Never Say Goodbye by Hilary Green – A resistance-themed WW2 drama

1960-1979

Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen (begins in 1962) Set in southern Georgia

Mourning Dove by Claire Fullerton – Set in Memphis

1980-1999

Nightfall Berlin by Jack Grimwood – A cold war thriller

Dear Comrade Novak by Silvia Hildebrant – Set in Romania during the revolution

Lucky Star by Holly Curtis – Coming of age story

2000- present

Connectedness by Sandra Danby (begins in 2009) – Story featuring adoption

Lush by Gabrielle Fernie – A true story soaked in gin

The Woman At Number 24 by Juliet Ashton – Set in Notting Hill

Future

Amendments by Hannah Lynn – Set in futuristic Britain

The Afterlife Of Alice Watkins by Matilda Scotney – Mild scifi

If you’d like to join in with the challenge for 2019 check out Sam’s blog post here.

Cultural #HistFic My #Bookreview of The Green Phoenix by @alicepoon1 #TuesdayBookBlog

The Green Phoenix: A Novel of the Woman Who Re-Made Asia, Empress Xiaozhuang by Alice Poon

3.5 stars

The Green Phoenix is historical fiction set in China during the 1600s. The book tells the story of Mongolian Princess Bumbutai, who became a concubine to the Chinese emperor Hong Taiji, and how, over her life-time, she became influential in many decisions taken by those who ruled the Qing dynasty. An empire which ruled from 1644 to 1912, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the Ming empire.

Bumbutai was married to Hong Taiji when she was just twelve years old, a political marriage; it was the emperor’s brother Dorgan who always held her heart. But Bumbutai understood the importance of her role and with it the need to produce male heirs. A natural linguist and eager scholar, Bumbutai was allowed to continue to study religion and Chinese history.

Life in the Chinese courts was perilous with mass corruption, constant rebellion and the complex, ever-changing hierarchy within the concubine households. Through this Bumbutai rose and fell, but when Hong Taiji died she was forced to use political ties to ensure her own son became the next Emperor against a strong opposition. She played an advisory role to her son, and then her grandson, in her remaining years.

This was a challenging book to read. I knew nothing of this period of history and struggled with the unfamiliar names, especially when many of the main characters had several names and titles bestowed upon them. The author’s research shines through, but I felt, on several occasions, that Bumbutai’s story became lost under the weight of the battles and corruption. I understand that the historical evidence was important to the building of the empire, but, at times, the book fell heavily towards a non-fiction account of the period rather than historical fiction.

Overall, a good window into an important historical period, but, for me, it needed more to make Bumbutai’s story outshine the facts.

View all my reviews on Goodreads

With the fate of East Asia hanging in the balance, one Mongolian woman manipulated her lovers, sons and grandsons through war and upheaval to create an empire that lasted for 250 years. The Green Phoenix tells the story of the Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, born a Mongolian princess who became a consort in the Manchu court and then the Qing Dynasty’s first matriarch. She lived through harrowing threats, endless political crises, personal heartaches and painful losses to lead a shaky Empire out of a dead end. The story is set against a turbulent canvas as the Chinese Ming Dynasty is replaced by the Qing. Xiaozhuang guides her husband, her lover, her son and her grandson – all emperors and supreme leaders of the Qing Empire – to success against the odds.

Alice is an avid reader of world historical fiction. Born and educated in Hong Kong, she grew up devouring Jin Yong’s martial arts and chivalry novels, all set in China’s distant past. That sparked her life-long interest in Chinese history. Writing historical novels set in Old China has been her long cherished dream.

Her new historical novel The Green Phoenix set in 17th century China was released in September 2017 by Earnshaw Books.

She is the author of the bestselling Chinese Edition of Land and the Ruling Class in Hong Kong, which won the 2011 Hong Kong Book Prize . Canadian Book Review Annual selected the original English Edition as Editor’s Choice (Scholarly) in 2007.

She currently lives in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, and is working on her next Old China novel.

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