I’ve been enjoying some fantastic historical fiction this year so far and historian Juliet Nicholson’s debut novel sounds like another excellent read set in one of my favourite periods. The novel is released on June 7th so look out for a review soon!

England, 1936. After the recent death of George V, the nation has a new king, Edward VIII. But for all the confident pomp and ceremony of the accession, it is a turbulent time. Terrible poverty and unemployment affect many, but trouble few among the ruling elite; for others, Oswald Mosley’s New Party, which offers a version of the fascism on the rise in Germany, seems to offer the vision of the future.

Nineteen-year-old May Thomas has just disembarked at Liverpool Docks after making the long journey by steamer from Barbados to escape the constraints of her sugar-plantation childhood. Her first job as a secretary and chauffeuse to Sir Philip Blunt, Chief Whip in Baldwin’s Conservative government, will open her eyes to the upper echelons of British society…

The unlikely friendship she forms with Evangeline Nettlefold, American god-daughter of the Chief Whip’s wife and an old school friend of Wallis Simpson, will see her through family upheavals including the shocking, sudden loss of her mother; but more significant for May, the Blunts’ son Rupert has an Oxford University friend, Julian, a young man of conscience for whom, despite all barriers of class, she cannot help but fall.

Secrets, hidden truths, undeclared loves, unspoken sympathies and covert complicities are everywhere – biggest and most dangerous of them all, the truth about the new King’s relationship with a married woman, and the silent horror that few in Britain dare voice: the increasing inevitability of another world war…

In celebration of the paperback publication of her debut historical novel, The Last Summer, I’m very excited to welcome Judith Kinghorn to One More Page today. The Last Summer is my favourite of the books I’ve read so far this year – a beautiful and heartbreaking story of the First World War and its aftermath, telling the story of a lost generation. You can read my full review here. Welcome Judith!

I absolutely loved The Last Summer and felt it really captured the story of the survivors of the First World War. What drew you to the period and why did you decide to tell this particular story?

Thank you, Amanda. I’m delighted to hear that!

A few things came together to give me the idea for The Last Summer. Firstly, I’d recently reread Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca and decided that I’d like to write a first person narrative. Also, I’d been researching – and was immersed in – the years leading up to and including the First World War. And I knew I wanted to write a love story, because I believe all the greatest stories have that at their heart.  I realised that although there have been many books written about that time, and any number of novels set around the actual war – in the trenches, there are very few told from a single female perspective. So I decided that this book would offer a different perspective, and would tell the story of the war – and its effects – from very personal point of view, and from home.

This is your debut novel; how does it feel to finally see your words in print?

It feels great, but I haven’t had a lot of time to think about it yet, because I’ve been so busy working on my second novel. The most rewarding aspect of it all is hearing from readers. I’ve had messages and emails from all over the world, and that’s been wonderful.

I thought Clarissa was a wonderful character and really enjoyed watching her develop through the book. For readers who haven’t met her yet please could you describe her in one sentence.

Naive and vulnerable, a product of her background and time, Clarissa is tested when the world she knows collapses, and proves herself a survivor.

The descriptions of Clarissa’s childhood home, Deyning Park, are beautiful. Is it based on a real location?

No, Deyning Park is fictitious, but I know setting, the landscape, because it’s not far from where I live, and I very quickly saw the house and grounds in my mind’s eye. I think it’s an amalgamation of places I’ve visited or read about, or seen photographs of. And the more I thought about the place the more vividly it came to me.

At the heart of the last summer is a sweeping and heart-breaking romance; who are your favourite literary romantic figures?

Anna Karenina was one of the first great love stories that had an impact on me, along with Lady Chatterley’s Lover and The Great Gatsby. I also recently reread L P Harltey’s The Go-Between, which is a sublime read and chronicles the doomed love affair of Marian and Ted. And I’d have to include Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre and Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. I think Mr Darcy remains pretty unbeatable as far as romantic heroes go.

Some of the events in The Last Summer are quite shocking and many of the social mores and cultural impacts of the war that are drawn out were a surprise to me; how did you go about your research and what was the most interesting part for you?

I’ve always read a lot of historical biographies and I returned to some of them during my research for The Last Summer. Whilst I was writing the book I limited my reading to biographies and novels specifically from that time. I also kept old postcards, images and photographs around me to act as visual prompts and reminders. I wanted the story to be seen as much as read, for the reader to be transported to that time. I wanted the book to be historically accurate without being too turgid or bogged down by detail, and for the voice to be authentic but at the same time not alienate the twenty-first century reader.

Almost everything I learned during the course of my research shocked me in one way or another, and often reduced me to tears. Over and over I was struck by the scale of loss, and grief, and the extraordinary bravery, not just of the men at the front, but of the mothers and families and those left at home. I have a teenage son, and so to read about boys as young as fourteen or fifteen who went off to fight was heart wrenching. And reading first hand accounts of mothers who lost not just one son, but – two, three, four – all of their sons, drove home the enormity of that loss, and of a nation crippled and brow-beaten by grief.

It’s a very emotional novel. Which character did you find hardest to write? 

Clarissa: because it is her story. And although at first I wasn’t sure if I liked her, she proved she could survive. Her journey was definitely the hardest, emotionally. When we first meet her she is very much a product of her background: naive and cosseted and destined to be married off. Three years later, her world and expectations have changed. She copes – the best way she can, in a time when women of her class were considered mere trophies, and whose main purpose in life was to produce an heir and a spare. In many ways, and according to the conventions and expectations of that time, she failed. Because she did not become the person she was destined and brought up to be.

For readers with a particular interest in the period which books and novels would you recommend as further reading?

Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain

The Perfect Summer by Juliet Nicolson

The Great Silence by Juliet Nicolson

Ettie by Richard Davenport-Hines

The Duff Cooper Diaries edited by John Julius Norwich

The Edwardians by Roy Hattersley

Forgotten Voices of the Great War by Max Arthur

Lost Voices of the Edwardians by Max Arthur

Daisy: the Life and Loves of the Countess of Warwick by Sushila Anand

Born 1900 by Hunter Davies

And finally … what can we expect next from Judith Kinghorn?

Well, I can tell you that the next book is set in the same era, but this time a few years before the outbreak of World War One. It’s a story about memory, and duplicity, and obsessive love.

I’m already looking forward to it! Many thanks Judith and happy publication day.

You can find out more about Judith and her writing at: http://judithkinghorn.blogspot.com/

Vivian Lawson’s fantasy of being the perfect 1950s suburban housewife is shattered when an uncontrollable event changes her life forever.

Destitute and left to fend for herself in a man’s world, she searches her New England town unable to find a job. With nowhere to turn, Vivian takes the advice of her wisecracking best friend, Babs, and reluctantly becomes a Tupperware lady.

Vivian struggles with low self-esteem as well as stage fright but with the support of Babs’ lovesick brother, Stew, and the creator of Tupperware’s Home Party Plan system, Brownie Wise, she may just find the strength to conquer her inner demons and take control of her life.

Set in 1950′s suburban America, Leftovers tells the story of Vivian Lawson and the ups and downs of her life. This is the first novel I’ve seen described as a ‘romantic dramedy’ but the description fits perfectly and Leftovers ticked all the right boxes for me by combining elements from my favourite genres to create a memorable story that really stands out.

Initially, Leftovers is a sad tale as we meet the downtrodden Vivian who is trying her best to be a domestic goddess but failing at every turn. Aside from her domestic failings Vivian is desperately trying to please a husband who is less than interested, longing for a child and has a fraught relationship with her own mother. As the story progresses a dramatic turn of events sees Vivian hit rock bottom. It’s at this point that the story really took off for me. I love a good transformation tale and Vivian’s is one of the most entertaining and enchanting that I’ve read. To say that Vivian becomes a Tupperware lady is an understatement as she meets Tupperware goddess Brownie Wise and starts to turn her life around.

I loved the historical detail that Arthur packed into the novel. Wooten is a very visual writer and I could easily see a film or TV series based in Vivian’s 1950′s world. The Tupperware events in particular had me fascinated and I was surprised to find that Brownie Wise and her annual ‘Jubilee’ were actually historical fact. Although Leftovers  is a fairly lighthearted quick read it’s also a nice commentary on the roles and chances that were opening up to women at the time and the changes that have come about in society in the last 60 years.

The characters are well drawn and I loved the contrast between mousy Vivian and her outgoing friend Babs. As well as helping her friend out of an awful situation, it is Babs that brings a lot of the comedy element to the novel. Leftovers also has a quirky romantic side as Vivian flatly refuses to see what’s right in front of her own eyes (both the good and bad) for much of the novel. I thought the ending to the story was really sweet and although not preachy, this is a novel that puts a high value on friendship.

Leftovers is the second of Arthur’s novels that I’ve read and he’s fast becoming one of my favourite indie authors. With wonderful characters and a thoroughly entertaining story, I highly recommend having some Leftovers as soon as possible!

5/5

Leftovers is officially launched today and I’d like to thank Arthur for sending me a copy to review.

You can find out more about Arthur and his writing on his website at: http://www.arthurwooten.com

Gill Paul’s historical fiction novel Women and Children First is released today. The book is based around the stories of a number of Titanic survivors. It’s an excellent read and I reviewed it earlier this week so I was delighted when Gill agreed to be interviewed on One More Page. Welcome Gill!

Women and Children First focuses on the survivors of the Titanic. What inspired you to write this story?

Most Titanic books and films finish at the point when the lifeboats reached the Carpathia but I was always fascinated by what happened to survivors after that. They had sat in lifeboats listening to 1,500 people dying in the water around them, and I couldn’t imagine how you would ever get that sound out of your head. There’s clear evidence that many survivors experienced different forms of post-traumatic stress disorder in an era when very little was understood about it, and I wanted to explore what that was like.

You’ve also written a non- fiction book about the Titanic; what drew you to the subject and why do you think the Titanic story continues to fascinate people?

I grew up knowing about the Titanic because both my grandfathers worked in shipbuilding, and my dad was a steam obsessive. The story really got under my skin when I saw the film A Night to Remember as a teenager. It’s a part of our cultural memory now, mainly because of the controversial elements: the fact that the ship was speeding through ‘Iceberg Alley’ in April; the loading of the lifeboats was erratic, with many going off half-full; the rich were prioritized over the poor; and there’s a strong possibility that the Californian was just a few miles away and could have saved everyone. Catastrophe could so easily have been avoided.

Women and Children First is packed with wonderful historical detail. How did you go about your research for the book?

I read dozens and dozens of books on the subject; in fact, for the last three years I’ve hardly read a book that wasn’t about the Titanic. There are also some great websites, such as www.encyclopedia-titanica.org. My non-fiction book is about the honeymoon couples on the Titanic, and I researched them in newspaper archives and local history libraries. In some cases I managed to contact relatives and friends of survivors.

What was the most interesting fact about Titanic that you found during your research?

There are so many. One thing I found fascinating was that the lowest survival rate for any single group was for the men in second class, where only 8 per cent lived. They fared worse than men in third class, who had much further to come to get to the lifeboats yet 16 per cent of them made it, and significantly worse than crew (of whom 22 per cent survived). Second class was predominantly British, and they were professional types – teachers, ministers, farmers – emigrating to the US. It seems that they stood back, like ‘gentlemen’, and let other people board the lifeboats first. They didn’t presume to step forward to the first-class areas where boats were going off half-full. They were victims of their conditioning in the British class system and ‘knew their place’.

The novel focuses on the lives of a number of fictional characters before and after the Titanic sank; who was your favourite character to create and why?

I have enormous fondness for my main character, Reg, because he is so young and vulnerable. There’s no one else looking out for him and he makes some morally flawed decisions, although he is fundamentally a good person. I enjoyed writing from a male character’s point of view, which I hadn’t tried before.

Reg is a young First Class steward; why did you choose to focus on him?

The story of what happened to the crew isn’t told as often as that of the passengers, and choosing a crew member allowed me to go behind the scenes and look at the working of the ship. I was lucky enough to meet an elderly man who used to work on transatlantic liners a couple of decades after the Titanic and he was able to give me a lot of inside information.

14th April marks the Centenary of the sinking; do you have any special plans to mark the day?

I’m doing a book signing that afternoon and a couple of press interviews, then I plan to come back and watch any Titanic programmes that are on television (I’m sure there will be lots).

What do you like to read when you’re not writing and researching?

I read novels: Barbara Kingsolver, Rose Tremain, John Banville, Andrew Miller… I’ve got stacks of novels under my bed waiting to be read once I am not researching the Titanic any more.

And finally, what can we expect next from Gill Paul?

I have another historical novel being published in May 2013. This one is set in the 1960s and has a Mad Men vibe!

I’m looking forward to that already! Many thanks Gill.

You can find out more about Gill Paul and her work on her website at: http://www.gillpaul.com/

The Titanic was the most magnificent ship ever built, offering every possible luxury to her passengers – yet on the night on the 14th of April, 1912, she sank in the North Atlantic, leaving the lucky ones floating in wooden rowing boats, and the rest struggling for their lives in the icy water.

This novel follows the fortunes of Reg, a handsome young steward who works in the first-class dining room; Annie, a gifted Irishwoman who is travelling to America with her four children; Juliette, a titled English lady who is pregnant and unmarried; an American millionaire and his wife who are trapped in a poisoned marriage; and a mystery passenger who never shows her face in public.

The sinking of the Titanic not only steals lives but blows apart the futures of those who survive. Coming to terms with the shocking events, survivors form new attachments, make decisions with tragic consequences, and watch all their old certainties crumble. How can life ever be the same again when you have heard 1,500 people dying in the water around you?

I think we all know the story of the Titanic; the ‘unsinkable’ luxury ocean liner that tragically hit an iceburg and sank on 15th April 1912. Of over 2000 people on board only 711 survived. As the 100th anniversary of the sinking approaches, Gill Paul’s historical novel Women and Children First explores the impact of the tragedy on those who survived. Although Women and Children First is historical fiction, it is very firmly based upon fact; Gill Paul’s descriptions of the ship clearly show the depth of her research and although all of the characters are fictional, they and their stories are very believable which makes the novel an absolutely gripping read.

Women and Children First is a novel of two parts; the first tracking the characters as they set sail on the Titanic and following events to the point where the survivors reach New York and the second part following their lives in the months after the sinking. The ‘before and after’ scenario is very well done and despite the fact that I already knew the events leading up to the sinking, Gill quickly establishes a wonderfully varied cast of characters which had me wishing I could change the course of history and praying that they and their friends and families all survived which made this novel a real page turner. Gill’s descriptions of the ship and the sinking are vivid and made for heartbreaking reading and having established the hopes and dreams of her passengers, I found the second part of the novel equally as absorbing as the first as the survivors attempt to come to terms with what has happened to them.

Although the novel follows a number of individuals and families, it is First Class steward Reg Parton who is the lead character and a uniting link between the set of characters. Reg is an excellent lead and his position on the ship means that he can move easily between the different classes which really ties the individual stories together nicely. I liked Reg a lot and was rooting for him from the beginning and I thought Gill Paul did an excellent job of showing the impact of such shocking events on a young man with everything to live for. But of all the individual stories explored in the novel it was mum of four Annie whose story got to me the most – you’ll have to read the book to find out why but make sure you have a tissue handy when you do.

Despite the sad events that the book is based around, Women and Children First isn’t a depressing read. There are numerous strands to the stories of the survivors which include a lot of drama without the sinking; infidelity, a secret pregnancy and mysterious passenger who doesn’t seem to come out in public. It was interesting to see the impact of the sinking on the story lines that had been established and I enjoyed the way that the author placed the characters and events into historical context.

Women and Children First is packed with wonderful historical detail and I loved the descriptions of New York society and the fabled ’400′ and the contrast with English upper class society embodied by the First Class residents of the ship. I found the stories of Reg, Annie and the other less privileged passengers equally interesting and the book became evem more poignant when I read that Gill Paul took inspiration for her characters from people that were actually on the Titanic; Reg being inspired by a photograph of a handsome first class steward that she found during her research. The book ends with a section of facts and photographs of the Titanic which illustrates further how closely Gill Paul has stuck to the accepted truths about the sinking of the Titanic. Highly recommended!

5/5

Women and Children First is released in paperback and ebook on 29th March and I’d like to thank Gill and her publisher, Avon (Harper Collins) for sending me a review copy.

Please stop by on Thursday when I’ll be interviewing Gill to celebrate the launch of Women and Children First.

You can find out more about Gill Paul and her work on her website at: http://www.gillpaul.com/

It’s 1956 and Samuel Lake, a handsome preacher, is voted out of his ministry by yet another congregation, disappointed by his relentless pleas for them to live more charitable lives. Out of options and out of pocket, Samuel and his family are forced to move in with their Arkansas in-laws, the rambunctious Moses clan.

At first they thrive in the unruly sea of relatives – Willa, Samuel’s wife, runs the bar for Grandma Calla, while the boys, Noble and Bienville, run riot through the surrounding countryside. But when Swan, their formidable but loveable 11-year-old tomboy, crosses the path of neighbour Ras Ballenger, things take a turn for the worse.

Ras Ballenger, horse trainer, is a man who rules both his family and his animals through terror. Used to instant obedience, he is insulted when Swan leaps to his son’s defence, an act that sets a whole chain of unexpected and terrible events into motion…

I read the hardback of The Homecoming of Samuel Lake in August last year just before my little boy was born and it was one of my books of the year for 2011. I’ve been meaning to find time to review it ever since so with the paperback version (with this lovely cover) being released today, I thought it the perfect moment to tell you more about this wonderful book.

The Homecoming of Samuel Lake is a captivating story of family, love, faith and hope which I found shockingly heartbreaking and upliftingly heartwarming at the same time, with events and particularly characters that have stayed with me long after I reached the final page. Beautifully written, The Homecoming of Samuel Lake tells the story of the Lake and Moses families set in Arkansas in 1956. As Samuel becomes a preacher without a pulpit he and his family return to his wife’s family home to live with Calla Moses and the rest of the clan and the novel follows them as they all try to adjust to their new lives.

The Homecoming of Samuel Lake has some of the best character names I’ve ever encountered; with protagonists including Swan Lake, Blade Ballinger and Toy Moses (Swan’s 6ft 4 army hero uncle) the characters were bound to stick in my mind but it is the depth and feeling that Jenny Wingfield has captured in all of her characters that makes them absolutely believable and unforgettable. I thought Swan was amazing; despite only being eleven years old, she is a force to be reckoned with and as her thoughts and actions spill onto the page I couldn’t help but love her. Swan is often the ringleader; a fearless and adventurous tomboy but also compassionate and loving so when she finds a young boy hiding out in the middle of the night who follows her home she cannot help but take him under her wing.

There are many threads to the story; Samuel’s struggle to find fulfillment as a preacher and to come to terms with his new role in life being a key plot line but for me it was the story of Swan and Blade’s developing friendship and the repercussions of that friendship that made the novel outstanding. Blade’s father, Ras’s actions throughout the novel make for hard reading and there are some truly shocking episodes at his hands but despite the sickening nature of his behaviour throughout the book, I found The Homecoming of Samuel Lake a very uplifting read with a strong message about hope and standing strong in the face of adversity.

Jenny Wingfield has a wonderful way with words and I loved the way the story was written. The novel gave me a very strong sense of time and place and I could clearly visualise the Deep South rural 1950′s setting with the family shop run on trust and ‘Never Closes’ bar. The story builds to a shocking series of events which tie all of the characters and strands together and concludes by looking at the aftermath for all involved. A truly memorable read and I can’t wait to see what Jenny Wingfield produces next.

5/5

I’d like to thank the publisher, Harper Collins, for sending me a review copy of this book.

Today I’m welcoming Roberta Rich to One More Page as part of the blog tour for the UK release of her debut novel, The Midwife of Venice.

Your debut historical fiction novel, The Midwife of Venice had its UK release on 16^th February, please could you tell us a little about it?

Hannah Levi, a Jewish midwife in the Venetian ghetto in the 16^th century, has gained renown for her skill in coaxing reluctant babies out of their mother’s bellies using her “birthing spoons”, a rudimentary form of forceps. One night a Christian nobleman, Conte Paolo di Padovani, appears at Hannah’s door with an dangerous  request. He implores Hannah to help his dying wife and save their unborn child. But a Papal edict has made it a crime, punishable by death, for Jews to render medical treatment to Christians. Hannah refuses. The Conte offers her a huge sum of money, enough to enable her to sail to Malta to ransom her beloved husband, Isaac who has been captured at sea and is a slave of  the Knights of St. John.

Against the Rabbi’s advice, Hannah goes with the Conte and delivers the infant, Matteo, a child who captures her heart.  As she prepares to depart for Malta to rescue Isaac, she discovers that the baby’s uncles are plotting to murder the baby in order to seize the family fortune.  In the absence of the Conte and his wife who are in Ferrara on urgent family matters, there is no one but Hannah to save Matteo. She enlists her sister, Jessica who is a courtesan and living as a Christian outside the ghetto. An outbreak of the plague traps them in Venice and makes them easy prey for the baby’s murderous uncles.

I really enjoyed the vivid descriptions of sixteenth century Venice in the novel; what drew you to the city as a setting?

There are many cities I love but  Venice is my favourite because everyone is always lost. It is impossible to navigate the city. Even Venetians wander helplessly searching for their apartments or their favourite restaurant or friends they were supposed to meet at a café somewhere for a glass of  prosecco.

Ian McEwen described this feeling of being hopelessly and utterly lost  perfectly in The Comfort of Strangers, a very sinister book which haunts me years after I read it.

During the time period I am interested in― the 16^th century―there were gangs of young boys with pine torches to lead you to your destination. I have a dreadful sense of direction so the fact that everyone is always lost in Venice makes me feel better about myself.

Next on the list of wonderful cities would be Istanbul. My characters, Hannah and Isaac are, in sequel,  running a silk workshop in Constantinople. I must say, after three visits to Istanbul for research, I am enraptured by the city for its architecture, sense of design and colour, tasty food, and relentless carpet salesmen.

Yours is the first historical novel I’ve read with a detailed focus on midwifery; what drew you to the topic and how did you go about your research?

In 2007 my husband and I were on a walking tour of Venice, which began at the Rialto Bridge and ended in the Jewish ghetto. As I stood in the lovely square studying the tall, knife shaped building, I wondered about the lives of the thousands of people who had lived there over the 300 or so years of the ghetto’s history. I wondered in particular about the lives of the women and tried to imagine birthing children in such dark, confined, cramped living quarters. When we visited the ghetto museum I noticed a pair of lovely silver spoons and their position in the display case made me think of forceps. This is an interesting topic for me as my daughter was born with the aid of forceps. I started doing research and read about the Chamberlen family a medical family in the London who invented forceps but kept it a family secret for two hundred years.

I came across an early textbook of midwifery, a rather gruesome book written in the 1600’s  (not recommended for those of child bearing age) called Justine, Court Midwife. Justine Siegemund’s obstetrical manual was one of the first to be written by a woman. Siegemund was midwife to many members of the Hapsburg family.

I am also fortunate to have a friend, Rhoda Friedricks, who is a professor of Early Modern history. Rhoda set me straight on number of things, including the plausibility of the ‘birthing spoons’ that Hannah invested. I actually thought of the idea of birthing spoons before I had the idea for Hannah’s character.

Hannah (the midwife of the title) is a great character and I admired her bravery. Please could you describe her in five words?

Nice Jewish girl. Lacks impulse control. (Sorry, that’s 6)

If you could visit any historical time and place, when and where would you go?

That would depend, of course, on my social class. We always assume when thinking about this question that we would be upper class and lead lives of  privilege and wealth. If I was a wealthy Venetian woman, I would live in a Palladian villa, on the River Brenta, near Venice, and ride horses, cultivate a vineyard and have lots of children and lots of servants to look after them. If I was poor, I would live in present day Sweden.

The love story between Hannah and her husband Isaac is a wonderful and gripping element to the novel as they take risks and fight to be together; who are your favourite literary hero and heroine?

Catherine and Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights captured my imagination when I first read it in high school.  The wildness, the passion, the dreadful pull and pull of their tortured lives is inspiring.

What do you like to read when you’re not writing and researching?

My reading has changed since I started writing full time. I used to be a ‘drive-by reader’, pick up a book, read a chapter, finish it if I enjoyed it, or toss it aside if I didn’t. I read everything- thrillers, mysteries, historical, literary.

I am now more purposeful in my reading. I read anything I can get my hands on dealing with Venice and Constantinople in the 16^th century. I wade through academic books which are often useful, not for the kind of ‘day to day’ details I need to make my settings and characters come alive, but good for a general overview, and a sense of the period in general. It helps me avoid the kind of cringe inducing mistakes I occasionally come across in other historical novels. Recently, I read a novel set in 15^th century Rome that referred to Italy as a ‘country’. Italy was the new kid on the block in terms of unification―a collection of warring city states― and only became what we would think of as a country since the 19^th century. Of course, I read a lot of historical novels. I admire Sandra Gulland, Fred Vargas and Mary Novik. I read with fear and trepidation. What if the book I just picked up is better written, smarter, wittier than anything I could have written? Guess what? Sometimes they are.

At the moment, I am reading a book I found in a hotel where I had breakfast last week in Manzanillo, Mexico― The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy. I am speechless with admirable for the economy of dialogue and complete lack of internal dialogue. McCarthy is a writer who isn’t afraid to trust his reader.

And finally … what can readers look forward to next from Roberta Rich?

I have been working like a maddened badger on the sequel. I still don’t have a title, or rather I have a title but it is so bad- i.e. obscure and difficult to remember, that I won’t tell you what it is. The first draft is complete and awaits my editor’s suggestions. There will be lots of revisions before it is complete and sees the light of day. Complete is a strange word to use in this context. Is a manuscript ever complete? Or are they like children?

Thank you Roberta!

You can find out more about Roberta and The Midwife of Venice on her website at: http://robertarich.com/

Please check out the other stops on The Midwife of Venice blog tour too!

When Nina Revskaya puts her remarkable jewelry collection up for auction, the former Bolshoi Ballet star finds herself overwhelmed by memories of her homeland, and of the events that changed her life half a century earlier.

It was in Russia that she discovered the magic of dance and fell in love, and where, faced with Stalinist aggression, a terrible discovery incited a deadly act of betrayal—and an ingenious escape to the West.

Nina has kept her secrets for half a lifetime. But now Drew Brooks, an inquisitive associate at a Boston auction house, and Grigori Solodin, a professor who believes Nina’s jewels hold the key to unlocking his past, begin to unravel her story—setting in motion a series of revelations that will have life-altering consequences for them all.

A number of things attracted me to this book before I’d even read a page; firstly, the ballet element – a world which has always seemed mysterious and glamorous to me. Secondly, the historical backdrop of Stalinist Russia which would seem to present a complete contrast to the beauty of ballet and finally, the saga/mystery element because I love stories that follow a character through time.

Daphne Kalotay definitely delivers on all three areas and I found Russian Winter an involving read that I didn’t want to put down once I’d started. The descriptions of Nina’s time at the famed Bolshoi Ballet were fascinating and detailed and Kalotay has certainly done her research; the entire novel is a complex and detailed depiction of life as a ballerina and how it was to live in Russia in the immediate post-war era. The element of mystery is nicely done and kept me guessing almost until the end of the novel with a couple of very good twists.

The story is told through the eyes of three key characters all narrated in the third person. The majority of the tale is Nina’s personal history told in flashback in parallel to the story of the sale of her jewellery collection in present day Boston. In the present, Drew Brooks, who works at the auction house and is responsible for putting together the catalogue for the jewel sale, begins to dig into Nina’s past and the history of the items for sale. The third key character, Grigori Solodin is also working in the present to unravel a personal mystery with a link to Nina and her jewels. Of the three, I found Nina’s story the most interesting and gripping but I liked the movement between the past and the present and the pace provided by Drew and Grigori which kept the mystery element moving, raising a number of questions as the novel progresses.

Although I found Nina’s story most interesting, I found it difficult to warm to her as a character for a large part of the novel. In the present she is suffering from ill health and wishes to forget her past which makes her quite a harsh and distant figure and her ambition and dedication as a ballerina, whilst admirable also give her a ‘separate’ air as her past is recounted. But this isn’t just Nina’s story and as the book progressed, I began to see how and why she became the person she is now and I felt more sympathetic to her. There are a number of complex sub-plots involving Nina’s friends and colleagues at the Bolshoi and her husband, all of which combine with Drew and Grigori’s uncovering of snippets of information in the present to create an historical saga with depth which builds to some shocking revelations at the end.

I did feel that the ending was a little abrupt – it tied up the story nicely but I’m one of those readers who always wants to know what happened next and the ending left me wondering about the characters and what happened following the final revelations. Overall though, I found Russian Winter a very enjoyable read and would recommend it as a sophisticated read for historical fiction fans.

4/5

I’d like to thank the publisher Arrow for sending me a review copy of this book.

You can find out more about Daphne Kalotay and Russian Winter on her website at: http://www.daphnekalotay.com/

This review is part of the Russian Winter blog tour organised by TLC Book Tours. Please check out the other stops on the tour to see other reviews and an interview with Daphne:

Wednesday, February 8th: Reading With Tea
Thursday, February 9th: Fleur Fisher in her world
Tuesday, February 14th: DizzyC’s Little Book Blog
Wednesday, February 15th: Pining for the West
Thursday, February 16th: Chuck’s Miscellany
Tuesday, February 21th: I hug my books
Wednesday, February 22th: The Sweet Bookshelf
Thursday, February 23rd: A Book Sanctuary

At midnight, the dogs, cats, and rats rule Venice. The Ponte di Ghetto Nuovo, the bridge that leads to the ghetto, trembles under the weight of sacks of rotting vegetables, rancid fat, and vermin. Seeping refuse on the streets renders the pavement slick and the walking treacherous.

It was on such a night that the men came for Hannah.

Hannah Levi is famed throughout Venice for her skills as a midwife but, as a Jew, the law forbids her from attending a Christian woman.

However, when the Conte appears at her door in the dead of night,Hannah’s compassion is sorely tested. And with the handsome reward he is offering, she could ransom back her husband, currently imprisoned on the island of Malta.

But if she fails in her endeavours to save mother and child, will she be able to save herself, let alone her husband?

Roberta Rich’s debut is a fast paced and dramatic historical novel with a touching underlying love story and gripping plot. There are two strands to the story which run in parallel; the first and more predominant is Hannah’s story, based largely in Venice; the second is that of Hannah’s husband Isaac who is being held to ransom in Malta. The two stories interrupt each other every two or three chapters, often leaving the other part of the story on a cliffhanger which makes The Midwife of Venice a real page turner!

Rich has clearly done her research and conjures up the sights, sounds and smells of sixteenth century Venice in excellent detail. I was drawn to this book because of its unusual subject matter – I haven’t come across another historical novel which has midwifery as a key theme and as with the detail of the setting, Rich’s descriptions of child birth are very vivid and despite their drama come across as all too believable and realistic (warning to pregnant readers – you might want to save this one for after you’ve given birth!)

Hannah is an interesting and complex character whose strengths and beliefs are tested to their limits during the course of the novel. The story launches straight into the action as Hannah is summoned in the middle of the night to attend the wife of a wealthy Conte who is suffering a difficult labour. Hannah is a Jew; the Conte and his wife are Christians. Hannah is forbidden by law to assist with the birth but to accept the the Conte’s plea would mean that she’d be able to free husband. This is just the first of the challenges thrown at both Hannah and Isaac during the novel and as the story plays out they both have their love and faith tested to the full. I found myself caught up in Hannah’s dilemmas and enjoyed reading as her character developed, admiring the strength she showed throughout. I found Isaac’s part of the story less engaging but interesting as he attempts to win his freedom.

The Midwife of Venice is far more action packed than its title suggests with subplots that involve murder, plague and blackmail leading to some dramatic scenes and a number of creative escapes on Hannah’s behalf. Underneath the drama there is a strong theme of love and faith and I found the story of young Matteo, the child who Hannah helps bring into the world at the start of the novel, very touching.

An entertaining and original debut, I found The Midwife of Venice a quick and enjoyable read. I’m pleased to see that Rich is already working on a sequel and I look forward to reading more of Hannah’s adventures in the future.

4/5

The Midwife of Venice is released today and I’d like to thank Hannah at Ebury Publishing for sending me a review copy.

You can find out more about Roberta Rich and her writing at: http://robertarich.com/

I’ll be interviewing Roberta next week as part of her blog tour so please stop by to find out more about her debut!

Clarissa is almost seventeen when the spell of her childhood is broken. It is 1914, the beginning of a blissful, golden summer – and the end of an era. Deyning Park is in its heyday, the large country house filled with the laughter and excitement of privileged youth preparing for a weekend party. When Clarissa meets Tom Cuthbert, home from university and staying with his mother, the housekeeper, she is dazzled. Tom is handsome and enigmatic; he is also an outsider. Ambitious, clever, his sights set on a career in law, Tom is an acute observer, and a man who knows what he wants. For now, that is Clarissa.

As Tom and Clarissa’s friendship deepens, the wider landscape of political life around them is changing, and another story unfolds: they are not the only people in love. Soon the world – and all that they know – is rocked by a war that changes their lives for ever.

The first thing that struck me about this book was the vivid descriptions; Judith Kinghorn succeeded in immediately transporting me to another time and place with her depiction of Deyning, the Granville family and their friends in the summer of 1914. The story is told from Clarissa’s point of view; The Last Summer is her coming of age story. As readers we follow her as she develops from sixteen year old ingenue to grown woman and as her world changes more than she could ever have imagined.

I loved Clarissa as a character from the start with her enthusiasm, optimism and hope for her future. Despite her cosseted life, she came across as fun and not afraid to take a risk and as the story progressed I admired her strength of character and determination. She tells the story in the past tense from a future point so not only do we hear of events first hand but she is able to give her own perspective on her actions, thoughts and feelings and the reminiscent style suited the story perfectly.

Clarissa meets Tom and the attraction is immediate. I’ll willingly admit to being a little in love with the handsome Tom Cuthbert myself as I was reading. But Tom is not of Clarissa’s class and therefore their relationship cannot be. I found it fascinating to see the impact of the war on the traditional class distinctions and in particular on Tom and Clarissa’s lives. I don’t want to give out any spoilers but to say that the course of their love doesn’t run smoothly would be a major understatement. Kinghorn has created a sweeping story of love and loss which kept me guessing to the very end.

Judith Kinghorn has beautifully captured the thoughts and feelings of a particular group in a lost generation. From an historical perspective, Kinghorn has clearly done her research which is illustrated in the small details that capture the war and post-war periods, making The Last Summer entirely believable and often shocking. This is a very visual novel and I could easily see it translating to television or film. There is also an intriguing element of mystery as the story is punctuated with extracts from letters that hint at another love story.

Told in four parts, I thought the pace of this novel was excellent and I was surprised a number of times by the swiftness of the twists and turns to the plot which covers a period of sixteen years in total. I liked the fact that the story didn’t end with the war and homecoming and goes on to examine the consequences and lives of the survivors.

Despite the themes of loss, grief and change, The Last Summer is above all a wonderful and heartbreaking love story. As you can probably tell, I was completely caught up in Clarissa’s life and thoroughly enjoyed Judith Kinghorn’s debut. Highly recommended!

5/5

The Last Summer is out now in hardback and as an ebook and will be released in paperback on 26th April. I’d like to thank Helena at Headline for sending me a review copy.

You can find out more about Judith and her writing at: http://judithkinghorn.blogspot.com/