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Showing posts with label history. Show all posts
Showing posts with label history. Show all posts
16 February 2015
Title
| Not in the Hand of Boys |
Author
| Julian Moss |
Publisher
| Camilian Publishing |
Publication Date
|
October 2014
|
Pages
| 786 |
Genre
| History |
Synopsis
With dreams of becoming a success in the financial world, twenty-year-old Dai Bowen leaves his small Welsh village to seek a career as a banker in London. When World War I breaks out and the banks are forced to close, Dai enlists in the army, hoping that the war will be over before he is ever called on to fight. However, Dai soon finds himself marching to the treacherous front lines in Belgium and battling the Germans in brutal trench warfare. Back in Wales, Dai’s girlfriend, Gwyneth Hughes, envisions a future of marriage and children when he returns. When calamity forces her to flee the village, she embarks on a rocky journey that leads her to England, where she finds work in a munitions factory. Although the couple exchange letters during their separation, both Dai and Gwyneth harbor deep secrets as they try to navigate the harsh uncertainties of wartime. Woven into the story is the life of twenty-five-year-old Adolf Hitler. Serving as a dispatch runner in the Bavarian Army, the novel explores the future dictator’s budding political ideology, murky service record, and uneasy relationship with his fellow soldiers. What Passing Bells details the horrors of trench warfare and hand-to-hand combat, illustrating how the ripples of conflict touch the lives of families, lovers, and brothers-in-arms. It is a story of innocence lost but insight gained, leaving readers to question the role fate plays in shaping our lives, and to rethink how we define our enemies and ourselves.
My Review
You will definitely need to take your time with this book, but it will be so worth it.
Let me tell you from the beginning that I am not usually one to read books on wars, neither fictional nor factual. Maybe because I'm a pacifist at heart? And I was brought up in (East)Germany where they usually don't really talk about the World Wars. Maybe because we feel that often, as a nation, we get reduced to stories about the world wars only.
Saying all this, I was content to give this book a go. And right from the first page, I was hooked and wanted to know what's happening with Dai and all his friends and foes. Dai is a very likeable young man.Big dreams as a young man, he leaves his small home village for the big city. The reality of the real world very soon bites him (and who can't relate to that!). And that was before the World War I even started. I just loved his girl Gwyneth, she was probably my favourite character. A strong women in many senses. She was not on the front line, but had to fight her own battles.
One thing I really liked is that I learned a lot through this book. Not the obvious facts about WW1. But, for example, I didn't know that young and fit men had white feathers thrown at them in the street if they hadn't enlisted yet to fight for their country (the signs of a coward). And than there is the trench warfare. I know that there are many books on the trenches and what's happened. I felt the author manages to give us a true account without even using the strongest descriptive words and endless adjectives. Just the normal days for the boys in the trenches are described, and that is enough for us, he doesn't need overtly emotional language. The whole senselessness of this war and the killings becomes clear during the Christmas truce, and the following day the soldiers who had shaken hands and exchanged food were ordered to kill each other. The common man does not want to kill his fellow man,but is forced to act. And this applies on both sides.
Highly recommended if you don't usually read books on the subject. I have given the book to my 16 year old daughter to read and she finds it very interesting and has talked about it in school history lessons.
Any criticism? This is nit-picking: as a German speaker, I think some of the German translations could have been better - there are some words which have a double meaning and the wrong translated word was used. I said it - it is nit-picking and would only be noticed by a German-speaker.
I have received this book from the author in return for an honest review.
24 January 2015
Title
| Lieb Vaterland mags ruhig sein |
Author
| Johannes Mario Simmel |
Publisher
| Droemersche Verlag |
Publication Date
|
1965
|
Pages
| 699 |
Genre
| history, novel |
Blurb:
Translated from German by Peggy Farooqi
This epic novel tells the story of a man with a somewhat shady past who gets sucked into the dark worlds of the secret services both from East and West Germany shortly after the erection of the German wall in 1964. We get to see the colourful sides of Berlin, and on both sides of the wall and get to know the people who plan, finance and build the escape tunnels from East to West.
My review:
This book has only been published in German and as far as I am know, not been translated into English. As it is a rather big book, I have not attempted the translation myself (I sometimes do this for my own purposes only, as, of course, I don't have the permission from the publisher to distribute a translation). So all my English only readers will not get the chance to read this book, but I would still like to publish a review on it to log all the books I read. And, I believe there are some other Simmel books which have been translated and it is well worth picking them up! Most are long and epic works, but very detailed.
Here, the story starts with a rather large lady being stuck in a hole. Except... this is the entrance hole to a tunnel. A tunnel which has been dug illegally and under threat of being shot dead which leads from East to West Berlin and allows people to flee into the West. Bruno Knolle, in his 40's, has just come out of jail in East Berlin and also comes through the same tunnel, escaping into the West. But not all is like it seems with Bruno. His 'escape' into the West is orchestrated and he has orders what to do. But Bruno is just a simple man dreaming from having his own pub and being with his girl, Nellie. But he gets sucked into the dark world of secret services on both sides.
We meet many different characters, and even the most minor characters (who may be just mentioned once for a couple of pages) are beautifully drawn and we feel that we know all about them. Often, characters in his books interconnect later on and we 'meet' them again. Simmel also always has a message in his books - mainly that we are all humans living on this earth. Here specifically I find he shows the idiocy and ridiculousness of the devision of Berlin. Of course it was dead serious, but having the benefit of hindsight now it just sound so silly how the secret services worked against each other - often even with double agents who swap sides several times. I also find it simply incredible that this book was published in 1965 and while we know that history has long moved on, the writing is flawless and current.
Simmel's books are not a small feast, but you will find yourself lost in it quickly and before you know it, you have read over 700 pages.
Here, the story starts with a rather large lady being stuck in a hole. Except... this is the entrance hole to a tunnel. A tunnel which has been dug illegally and under threat of being shot dead which leads from East to West Berlin and allows people to flee into the West. Bruno Knolle, in his 40's, has just come out of jail in East Berlin and also comes through the same tunnel, escaping into the West. But not all is like it seems with Bruno. His 'escape' into the West is orchestrated and he has orders what to do. But Bruno is just a simple man dreaming from having his own pub and being with his girl, Nellie. But he gets sucked into the dark world of secret services on both sides.
We meet many different characters, and even the most minor characters (who may be just mentioned once for a couple of pages) are beautifully drawn and we feel that we know all about them. Often, characters in his books interconnect later on and we 'meet' them again. Simmel also always has a message in his books - mainly that we are all humans living on this earth. Here specifically I find he shows the idiocy and ridiculousness of the devision of Berlin. Of course it was dead serious, but having the benefit of hindsight now it just sound so silly how the secret services worked against each other - often even with double agents who swap sides several times. I also find it simply incredible that this book was published in 1965 and while we know that history has long moved on, the writing is flawless and current.
Simmel's books are not a small feast, but you will find yourself lost in it quickly and before you know it, you have read over 700 pages.
About the author:
14 December 2014
Title
| Silver Kings and Sons of Bitches |
Author
| Michael McGranahan |
Publisher
| Michael McGranahan |
Publication Date
|
June 2014
|
Pages
| 394 |
Genre
| history, novel |
Blurb:
Based on the true story of a man who sacrificed everything for a city - San Francisco - and his dream that it would one day be the most beautiful city in the world...and all for the love of a woman.
The year is 1854 and William Ralston’s fiancée has just died. She, the granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt, was to help Ralston transform the squalid Gold Rush town into a beautiful, modern city; now, alone, he will take up the quest in her memory. When the Comstock Lode is discovered, the dream seems suddenly plausible: Ralston, a banker, will funnel the wealth of the silver mines into his fledgling city - build magnificent theaters, hotels, museums, and finance businesses.
Jessalyn Ohhlson (Jessie) is a prostitute with a startling characteristic: she bears an uncanny resemblance to Ralston's deceased fiancée. Ralston, entranced, finds her irresistible. Finnian Gillespie, an Irish street fighter, has seen Jessie, and he too is smitten. Soon the star-crossed lovers will be swept up in Ralston’s grand scheme, and with dire consequences, while the true identity of Jessie remains a mystery to both men.
Prussian immigrant Adolph Sutro wants to help Ralston; he proposes to build a four-mile auxiliary tunnel beneath the Comstock. Ralston, however, sees Sutro, and his tunnel, as a threat. Thus begins a decade-long battle, a battle that Ralston, the most powerful banker in California, should easily win. Except that Sutro proves to be very resourceful and incredibly stubborn. The battle rages from California to Washington D.C., and even Europe, while the fate of San Francisco, and innocent lives, awaits the outcome.
The year is 1854 and William Ralston’s fiancée has just died. She, the granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt, was to help Ralston transform the squalid Gold Rush town into a beautiful, modern city; now, alone, he will take up the quest in her memory. When the Comstock Lode is discovered, the dream seems suddenly plausible: Ralston, a banker, will funnel the wealth of the silver mines into his fledgling city - build magnificent theaters, hotels, museums, and finance businesses.
Jessalyn Ohhlson (Jessie) is a prostitute with a startling characteristic: she bears an uncanny resemblance to Ralston's deceased fiancée. Ralston, entranced, finds her irresistible. Finnian Gillespie, an Irish street fighter, has seen Jessie, and he too is smitten. Soon the star-crossed lovers will be swept up in Ralston’s grand scheme, and with dire consequences, while the true identity of Jessie remains a mystery to both men.
Prussian immigrant Adolph Sutro wants to help Ralston; he proposes to build a four-mile auxiliary tunnel beneath the Comstock. Ralston, however, sees Sutro, and his tunnel, as a threat. Thus begins a decade-long battle, a battle that Ralston, the most powerful banker in California, should easily win. Except that Sutro proves to be very resourceful and incredibly stubborn. The battle rages from California to Washington D.C., and even Europe, while the fate of San Francisco, and innocent lives, awaits the outcome.
My review:
I like a book is that it teaches me something without having to read an academic book and is very entertaining at the same time. McGranahan has taken real events and people from history and told us their story. He keeping pretty much close to the original stories (I've looked it up as I became interested in the subject whilst reading) and has interwoven it with fictional characters whose story would have been typical of the time and place.
What I liked here is that the author introduces us to a time in history which is not very well known and not extensively covered (at least not to my knowledge). The time is mid 1800's and the place is San Francisco and the side of the Cromstock Lodge Silver Mines in Nevada. The gold and silver rush - what a fascinating time in history that must have been. There was money to be made, there were the banks who had to hold all the deposits, the engineers who planned and build the mines and of course the common people who worked in the mines and made the new towns which sprang up. This is what this book is all about.
The book is essentially the story of several characters, and all of them are beautifully drawn and very distinct. Firstly, there is banker William Ralston. I didn't actually take to him too much, though I can understand the pressures he was under. But he was just a tiny bit to sly for me to really feel for him. Than there is Finn Gillespie, Irish street fighter and later helping with the mine. Both his and banker Ralston's life are intertwined with Jess who has a few secrets of her own. My favourite character was Prussian engineer Adolph Sutro with his heavy German accent (I could actually 'hear' him talking). Gutsy and enterprising, he didn't give up in his dream to build a tunnel to reach the mines. I think we need more people like this today. Don't forget to read the appendix which tells us a bit about the characters and their real-life counterparts.
Anything I didn't like? I think I would have chosen a different title...
Anything I didn't like? I think I would have chosen a different title...
The story flows easily and never stalls. I'm glad I picked this book up, a very entertaining and educating read.
About the author:
Michael McGranahan was born in San Diego and earned degrees in the earth sciences from San Diego State and Stanford Universities. He now divides his time between Modesto and Santa Cruz, California. Silver Kings & Sons of Bitches is his first novel.
22 June 2014
Title
| The House of Kingsley Merrick |
Author
| Deborah Hill |
Publisher
| North Road Publishing Corporation (2nd Ed) |
Publication Date
|
16 July 2013
|
Pages
| 325 |
Genre
| Historical Romance |
Blurb:
As a boy, Kingsley Merrick is taunted by his social betters at the Academy. As a young man, he is ostracized by the establishment of Waterford, seeking retribution for the humiliations he has endured. Part of his plan includes marriage to his cousin.
Julia Merrick is imprisoned by her middle-class upbringing, and looks to Brahmin Boston for relief. Gradually insinuating herself into Beacon Hill society, her dream founders on the shoals of snobbery, and her virgin purity is besmirched by an alluring scion of wealth -- just as her family is threatened with financial ruin in the panic of 1857. Julia can save them all by marrying Kingsley, on his way home from Australia, but at what a price! There will be no escape from what she now knows about men, and she also knows the marital relation will break her spirit.
As indeed it does, until she brings her husband to heel with a scheme that will free her to create an elite, Brahmin-like society right there in Waterford and at the same time keep him out of her bedroom.
And so it is that Kingsley Merrick turns to Angelina Bradley....
My review
This is book 2 in the Kingsland Series - My review of Book 1 This is the House is here.
I read book 2 straight after book 1, so the books in this series quickly became a family saga to me and it was great to continue the book and the family story. However, in my opinion, book 2 can be read completely independently. It is stand-alone and while people from book 1 are being referred to, it doesn't build on the stories discussed in book 1.
Molly is already deceased at the beginning of book 2 (and I did miss her, there is no reference to her at all other than her portrait which still hangs in the house) and Elijah is a grandfather in his final years.
The story continues with 2 of Molly and Elijah's grandchildren - their son 'Lije's daughter Julia and and their son Sonny's illegitimate son Kingsley. Julia grows up with her family in Boston in middle-class surroundings, but gets to know the upper class and strives to reach the comforts of a rich husband. That doesn't go to plan and she quickly finds out that it is not that easy to escape her middle class roots when she gets dumped by a potential richer suitor who was obviously taken by her, but his family could never agree to this match. On the other hand, Kingsley had always been looked down by 'Lije and his family - his father being an alcoholic and him being illegitimate. But he is clever and he makes his fortune in Australia and is a rich man when he returns. 'Lije and his family are now on the brink of financial ruin, and welcome Kingsley very much and urge Julia to win him as a potential suitor. Well, it works and Kingsley and Julia do marry. But Julia is not a happy woman after an unpleasant experience with a rich lothario from her Boston days and she cannot stand the physical side of the relationship with her husband. 2 girls are born to the marriage, Caroline and August. But than Kingsley is thrown into the arms of Angelina Bradley, the wife of his archenemy who gives him everything he misses in the relationship with his wife.
The story than continues with Augusta who grows up and now comes into marriageable age. And she has to make a decision: Rescue her family from financial ruin and marry a rich man who will look after her and all her family or go with her heart and marry the poor farmer who happens to be the son of Angelina Bradley. Is there a middle way or will Augusta have to make the ultimate sacrifice? I felt quite emotional when I realised the choice Augusta will have to make.
I absolutely adored Augusta. She is down to earth but still understands her obligations to her family. Not easy, but more understandable when looking at the historical period. As we all know since Jane Austen, a good marriage was the biggest aim for girls and not just a choice effecting their own happiness, but the whole family.
The book covers a period in New England / Boston from 1838 to 1872 and while historic events are explained at the beginning of some chapters and have been researched well, they are certainly not the main part of this book and only serve as a back-drop. I did find myself skipping some parts of it and I did not make a difference to my understanding of the story.
Received from the author in return for an honest review.
5 June 2014
Title
| The Reader |
Author
| Bernard Schlink |
Publisher
| Diogenes |
Publication Date
|
1995 (in Germany)
|
Pages
| 206 |
Genre
| Novel |
Blurb:
Originally published in Switzerland and gracefully translated into English by Carol Brown Janeway, The Reader is a brief tale about sex, love, reading and shame in post-war Germany. Michael Berg is 15 when he begins a long, obsessive affair with Hanna, an enigmatic older woman. He never learns very much about her and when she disappears one day, he expects never to see her again. But, to his horror, he does. Hanna is a defendant in a trial related to Germany's Nazi past and it soon becomes clear that she is guilty of an unspeakable crime. As Michael follows the trial, he struggles with an overwhelming question: what should his generation do with its knowledge of the Holocaust? "We should not believe we can comprehend the incomprehensible, we may not compare the incomparable... Should we only fall silent in revulsion, shame, and guilt? To what purpose?"
My reviewMichael Berg is the narrator of this book. He tells his story in the form of flashbacks and it all starts when he is 15 years old. He becomes very ill with yellow fever and when he is ill in the street, a woman helps him to clean him up. Michael is drawn to her and discovers she is a 36 year old tram driver. Recovered from Yellow fever, Michael goes to her to thank her and when he sees her undressing, he becomes aroused and runs off. But he visits her again, and the two start an affair. Hannah asks Michael to read for her. One day, Hannah has vanished after seeing him in a local swimming pool with his peers.
He will see again, seven years later. Michael is now a law student and attends a criminal trial of former Nazi war criminals. To his horror, he discovers that Hannah is one of the defendants, a former guard in a concentration camp. He will discover more secrets about Hannah.
The book received a lot of acclaim. I have to say while I loved the 1st part of the book, I did start to struggle with it in the 2nd part (the trial). Somehow, I was expecting more to happen with those two? I can't even say what, it is clear that a reconciliation between those two was obviously completely out of question by this stage and Michael is now interested only in the criminal case against Hannah to answer some fundamental questions about guilt and Holocaust. In the 3rd part, however, it becomes clear that Michael is still deeply effected by everything which has happened between Hannah and him and at the trail. He seeks reconciliation but can't change whats happened. He wants to be there for Hannah whilst in prison and after her release, but we can guess that there is never going to be a happy end.
The two main characters - Michael and Hannah, are extremely well drawn. While the author is very careful not the make the character of Hannah 'nasty' with all the cliches, she is still not a very likeable character and even when she is with Michael, I just feel she is somewhat cold and calculating. At the same time, there were times when I felt sorry for her. Michael is young and excitable and than grows up to be a sensible young man who questions life and learns to make decisions.
A book which will make you think, just don't expect romance in the traditional sense.
I read the German original of this book which I purchased via a book club.
About the author:
Bernhard Schlink was born in Germany in 1944. A professor of law at the University of Berlin and a practising judge, he is the author of the major international best-selling novel The Reader as well as several prize-winning crime novels. He lives in Bonn and Berlin.
29 May 2014
Title
| The Bone Garden |
Author
| Tess Gerritsen |
Publisher
| Bantam Press |
Publication Date
|
2007
|
Pages
| 524 |
Genre
| Thriller |
Blurb:
A gruesome secret is about to be unearthed…
When a human skull is dug up in a garden near Boston, Dr Maura Isles is called in to investigate. She quickly discovers that the skeleton - that of a young woman - has been buried for over hundred years.
But who was the young woman? And how did she die?
It is the 1830s, and an impoverished medical student, Norris Marshall, is forced to produce corpses in order to further his studies in human anatomy.
It's a gruesome livelihood that will bring him into contact with a terrifying serial killer who slips from ballrooms to graveyards and into autopsy suites.
And who is far, far closer that Norris could ever imagine.
My review:
Crime and medical thriller with a great historic twist - another solid read from the never-disappointing Tess Gerritsen.
The story of this book plays out in two different times with an interlinking plot.
In the present day, divorced teacher Julie finds a skeleton whilst doing some gardening in her new house in Massachusetts. Tests quickly discover that the skeleton is more than 150 years old, and belonged to a young woman who was most likely murdered. Curiosity raided, Julie starts to make enquiries and discovers a murder series in Boston from 1830.
The story than takes us back to 1830 and to Irish immigrant Rose Connolly who witnesses her sister's death in hospital from puerperal fever after childbirth. Rose takes baby Margaret who survives and vows to look after her. But it becomes clear that people are interested in Margaret and want to take her away from Rose, so she starts to hide in the poor areas and underworld of the city. At the same time, we get introduced to Norris Marshall who studies medicine at Boston Medical College. As a poor student he finances his studies by digging up bodies from graves and selling them for medical research. The other students,mostly from rich families, look down at him. Than murders start to happen, and Norris always seems to be near when the murders happens. The college is under pressure to suspend him. He will cross paths with Rose who can give him an alibi and they will come together to discover a secret which will link back to Julie and the skeleton in present day Massachusetts.
This book was a true page turner for me. What will remain in my memory is the dreadful medical conditions at that time (many medications were yet to be discovered and hygiene standards of course nowhere near as to what we know). The hospital and all those women who gave birth deteriorating and dying from childbed fever - something which, as we now know, was mainly caused by poor hygiene standards during delivery and would be easily treatable now, but caused many maternal deaths at that time. Gerritsen describes the smell of death and the devastation in the hospital vividly and I felt myself shudder at the thought. (We easily forget that it is not that long time ago and what difference the good medical care makes to our lives!)
The other thing which will stay in my mind is the business with the dead bodies, the body stealing which was apparently not exactly uncommon, as it was very difficult for medical colleges to get the bodies to do their training / investigations - medical science as we know it was only starting up.
Rose is a very likeable character and I started to feel for her straight away. Norris is a bit of a different story and in fact, I was not quite sure about him right until the end (without wanting to give too much away) - this is of course how Gerritsen manages to create the tension for us.
You will love this book if you love a good mystery and are interested in the history of medicine.
About the author:
17 March 2014
Title
| Stasiland |
Author
| Anna Funder |
Publisher
| Granta Books |
First Published
|
September 2011
|
Pages
| 288 |
Genre
| History, East Germany, Non-Fiction |
Stories from behind the Berlin Wall
Usually I would keep anything to do with political opinions out of my blog, but his book is kind of very personal to me. I presume it is more a historical account rather than a political argumentation in any event. So anything regarding the former East Germany would catch my interest. I grew up in East Germany and was in Berlin on 09 November 1989, the night the fall came down. You know what I did in Berlin in that historic night? I was asleep. Yes, no joke! I quite simply worked in a job where I had to start every day at 4am, so I was in bed the night before by 8pm. But that's a different story all together which, I was told often, I should write down one day, but I'm not an author :)
The author Anna Funder is Australian and was working in Berlin in the early 1990's. This is obviously the time just after the wall had come down and the two sides were just 'getting together' - like a couple who had only briefly been together as teenagers an now pensioners, they have to learn to live together again. Not an easy task. Funder became interested in East Germans and particularly wanted to find out whether individuals resisted the regime or whether any attempts would have been treated with severe punishment right from the outset. Also, what was it really like to work for the Stasi, the East German Secret Service. It is said that as much as 1 in 10 in the population of East Germany was an informant for the Stasi - an astonishing number, if you imagine just the people the average person works with.
Funder placed adverts in local newspapers to get people to talk to her and wrote their stories down. And this is where this book stands out for me as it covers 'the unknown little person' rather than the big political big-wigs. There are no political arguments in her book, but just simple stories of how people lived and survived in the regime, how they got recruited for the Stasi, how it was to work for the Secret Service, spying on your family and co-workers.
On the negative side, I have to say that as a former East German, it always seems to be a bit sad that our life in that country always gets reduced to the Stasi and living with being spied on. I suppose that is in the nature of a book about the Stasi and in same way as a book from Weight Watchers would reduce your life to weight loss.
Overall, one of the few books about the Stasi which looks at common people, thus making it a great read for anyone interested in the topic and want to look a bit deeper than a history book.
8 February 2014
Title
|
As Meat Loves Salt
|
Author
| Maria McCann |
Publisher
| Forth Estate (Kindle Edition) |
Publication Date
|
28 April 2011
|
Pages
| 586 |
Genre
| history, gay romance, erotica |
This was Maria McCann's first published book, and I was introduced to it via a book club at my Uni at the time. Up to than, I had been quite a 'commercial book reader'. By that I mean that I would usually read the top 10 or books which were heavily publicised. I'm happy to report that that has now changes and I'm so glad that now I've been introduced to and enjoyed so many brilliant books / authors who are not so well known.
Back to McCann's debut novel. I would describe as a cross between historical fiction and gay romance/love story. The story is set during the time of the English Civil War (1642-1651), and Oliver Cromwell's Army. The main protagonist is Jacob Cullen, manservant and recently married, he joins the New Model Army of Oliver Cromwell. Already within the first chapter, Jacob shows he is no stranger to violence (having killed someone when angry), he rapes his wife whom he drags with her, leaving her in the woods. He survives the battlefield and meets idealist 'thinker' Christopher Ferris in Cromwell's army. The two desert and flee to Ferris' London home, miles away from Jacob's poor upbringing and not just by distance. Passion starts to build up between the two so different man but Jacob is controlling and consumed with jealousy and when Ferris wants to set up a commune, Jacob is not happy and would rather continue their life in London. Ferris does not give in this time and will go through with building up the commune. A love-hate relationship in the turmoils of a very unstable and war-torn England.
I think it is very rare for an author to create a violent and controlling character and we still feel for Jacob. Ferris, on the other hand, is very genteel. I think we would also need to keep in mind that this is the 17th Century and what was acceptable than may not be now in respect of violence. Also, homosexuality was a crime punishable with hanging. I wanted so much that things turn out fine for them, though deep down I probably knew their love is doomed. The character studies of the two man were my favourite part of the book, also how McCann manages to describe the building passion tension between the two. If you are not normally reading gay romance, than this is not a problem. It is certainly one, but by no means the only element of this book, and the scenes are described beautifully - less is more here, the book doesn't need details descriptions of sex scenes.
It is also clear that a huge amount of research must have gone into the book. Apart from the historical details, I could feel the pains of the battlefields and probably learned more about the English Civil War than any non-fiction history book could give me. This book stayed with me a long time after finishing the last page, and it's one to go on my 'will-re-read-one-day' list.
Anything I didn't like about the book: the cover. I'm sorry, I didn't get the picture of the lady at all in connection with the book, intact, the only connection seems to be the clothes she wears which go with the time period? Maybe it is to signal historic fiction?
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