This novel is one of the Stuart saga noves, and concerns the reign of Queen Anne. Sister to the dead Mary II and Sister in law to William of Orange, Anne becomes Queen after his death. This novel wonderfully recreates the court of Queen Anne, and the gross ambitions of many who surrounded her. Ever since she had been a young girl, everywhere Anne went, there was also Sarah Churchill. Sarah Churchill (yes those Churchills) was scheming, bad tempered and very high handed. She often spoke to the Queen in way which seems hardly credible. Her loathing for the Queen she allowed almost everyone else to see, and yet she pretended great friendship to Anne, in order to further her own ambitions and those of her family. Sarah however (whom I first met in the novel The Haunted Sisters) hadn't reckoned on Abagail Hill however. Abagail Hill, is brought into court intially by Sarah Churchill as a servantto the Queen, a chambourmaid of sorts, her duties are quite menial, and yet she becomes a favourite of Anne's. Abagail has ambitions of her own, but none of Sarah's nastier ways. This is great escapism, a really good historical novel, that is fascinating for anyone intrested in the first Churchill family, and how Blenhim came to be built.

I had thought I would be finishing this tomorrow on the train to Uncon, I had promised myself an early night, tonight. I went up at 9.00 had a shower then made a cuppa and propped myself  up on cushions on my bed to read. Suddenly it was nearly 11.30 I was into the last few pages. (This means I'll start another book on the train wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee!)

A hallowed place it may be, but No 5 Caper Court in the Inner Temple is riddled with rumour and uncertainty. The head of chambers is dying; there is a move afoot to leave the Temple for Lincoln's Inn; and Leo Davies, the QC with the charmed and amoral life, is about to take one risk too many. Behind him lie a failed marriage, a string of lovers, and a habit of seductive cruelty which, until now, has left him unscathed. But at least two chickens are coming home to roost: Rachel, his ex-wife and a lawyer herself is ready to do anything necessary to protect her son from his father; and Sarah Colman, who arguably knows more of Leo's secrets than anyone, has come to be a pupil at Caper Court. Then there is Joshua, beautiful, uncommitted - and looking for a safe haven.

How funny  it is that books you have on mnt tbr for ages and ages and constantly overlook in favour of other books, turn out to be absolutely marvelous.

I bought this - probably in a charity shop - because I recognised the name of the author -I had not that long before read one of his novels. What I didn't realise then, was that Carlo Gebler is the son of Edna O'Brien.

This is a very well written memoir, honest, even - and this is surprising - becoming sympatetic toward a man who at best was cruel and difficult. Carlo Gebler paints a poignant picture of a childhood, where he and his brother were pulled between their warring parents - they elected eventually to live with their mother. Ernest Gebler seems to have been able to strike at the heart of the child Carlo's insecurities, his cruel barbs never forgotten, and heard so often, Carlo becomes able to predict them almost word for word. As his father ages, and falls victim to Alzhiemer's Carlo Greber begins to see him in a different way - while never forgetting the man he grew up with. It is only after Ernest's death that through painstaking research Carlo comes to a better understanding of his father.

A sack of letters lost in a train crash 19 years before has mysteriously reappeared, and the inhabitants of a little town in Pakistan are waiting to see what long-buried secrets will come to light. Could the letters have any bearing on Judge Anwar's murder?


This was Nadeem Aslam's first novel, but I first discovered him when I read (and later ringed) his second novel - Maps for Lost Lovers - which I thought was wonderful.  I thoroughly enjoyed this one too.

This beautifully written novel centres on the inhabitants of a small town and: the discovery of a sack of letters, missing for 19 years, the murder of Judge Anwar, and an affair between Muslim deputy Commissioner and a young christian woman. These different plot strands are subtely woven together, to create a community under pressure.  The small town political and religious tensions are really  well observed. Set against the backdrop of a monsoon season, this is an atmospheric novel, that doesn't have any shattering plot twists or very much to "say", it;s the story of a small isolated community in Pakistan,  but it is a really excellent novel nontheless.

It was 1994 when Xinran, a journalist and the internationally acclaimed author of The Good Women of China, received a telephone call asking her to travel four hours to meet a woman who had just crossed the border from Tibet into China.

Xinran made the trip and met the woman, called Shu Wen, who recounted the story of her thirty-year odyssey in the vast landscape of Tibet. In Sky Burial, Xinran has re-created Shu Wen’s journey, painting an extraordinary portrait of a woman and a land, each at the mercy of fate and politics. It is an unforgettable, ultimately uplifting tale of love, loss, loyalty, and survival.

This is an amazing story. As a young woman in the 1950's Shu Wen meets and falls in love with Kejun, whom she marries. After only a few weeks of marriage Kejun is posted to Tibet. When less than a 100 days later she recieves news of his death, Shu Wen can not bring herself to believe it. She decides to undergo what is then (and now) an unimaginable journey to try and locate her husband. Her journey takes her to a vast wilderness.  The distances, and the time it takes to get from one place to another are almost unbelievable. During her time in Tibet Shu Wen spends over ten years with a nomadic family, learning their ways, language, and becoming a part of their family.  All the time she never forgets Kejun, her love for him never fades.  Her story is an epic one, and an unforgetable one.  The people Shu Wen meets on her 30 year journey and the impact they have upon her make this less of a sad story than it might have been. 

Thanks to Kittiwake and Jazz-ee2 for arranging for this one to come my way.

From the back cover.

Betrayed by his friends and forsaken by the daughters he so loved JamesII made a perilous escpe to France.

Mary could not forgive him for the death of gallant Monmouth. All her love her love now centred on William her husband and the new King of England. Anne disliked Mary and hated William and coveted the Crown. Her ambitions were encouraged by the audacious Sarah Churchill who sought power as her soldier husband sought glory.

The memory of the "King across the water" was to haunt them all.

I absolutely loved this book. I do so enjoy a well written histroical novel. there is scheming and drama and tragedy. Anne is portrayed as a greedy, lazy rather silly woman, who just can't see Sarah Churchill for what she is. Mary is a more sympathetic character, she is married to the cold and controlling William of Orange, they are joint Sovereigns, she is strong and bright and yet she defers to him in all things. She loves him, but he has little interest in her. Sarah Churchill is a marvelous villainous character, and of course it is difficult to know if she was quite as bad as she is painted here - but her scheming and weedling make for a great read. I have the Sequel to this - The Queen's Favourites tbr - and look forward to reading it soon. This has been a fantastic bit of escapism on this quite stresstful and exhausting week at work - due to which I wasn't able to read it as fast as I would have usually - but I am glad I have had this one to look forward to each evening -it brightened the week for me.

This delightful novel describes the post-war summer of 1946 - and follows the growing-up of three young women in the months between leaving school and taking up their scholarships at university. Una Vane, whose widowed mother runs a hairdressing salon in her front room ('Maison Vane Glory - Where Permanent Waves are Permanent'), goes bicycling with Ray, the boy who delivers the fish and milk. Hetty Fallowes struggles to become independent of her possessive, loving, tactless mother. And Lieselotte Klein, who had arrived in 1939 on a train from Hamburg, uncovers tragedy in the past and magic in the present. Rooted in the north of England, THE FLIGHT OF THE MAIDENS is peopled with extraordinary characters, who are evoked with all the humour, compassion and eye for detail that mark Jane Gardam as one of Britain's most gifted and original novelists.

This was a lovely novel, I read it in a little over 24 hours and thoroughly enjoyed it. I was fascinated by the story of Lieselotte, a German Jew, who had come to yorkshire as a ten year old in 1939. All three girls however have a summer that in some way changes their lives. There are both poignat and hugely funny moments, and so much that rings true - after all we have all been 17. The writing is great, and the characterisation is brilliant - Hetty's mother is a truly awful - and at the same time wonderful character.