The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline

 

This historical fiction starts off in nineteenth century London giving us a glimpse of the good and bad in society. Two of our main characters, Evangeline and Hazel,  are exiled to prison in Tasmania or as it's refered to in the book, Van Dieman's land.  

Evangeline is an educated woman employed as a governess in an affluent household.  She is an innocent and when the adult son takes a liking to her, she is easily seduced in believing it's true love.  He gifts her an expensive ruby ring before going away on a holiday, telling her to keep the gift a secret. As you can imagine, she is "caught" with the ring, accused of stealing and sent to prison. Can it get worse?  Yes. Yes it can. Evangeline finds she is pregnant while awaiting her court date.  Her sentence is transporation and she is sent to a prison in Tasmania.

On the ship she meets Hazel, a very young woman who knows a good deal about natural medicine and midwifery.  Hazel was accused to stealing a silver spoon and for that, she is also sentenced to transportation. They form a friendship and take care of one another. Hazel learns to read as Evangeline teaches her during their time together. Eventually she is able to assist the ship's doctor with other pregnant prisoners and minor ailments.

Our other main character is a nine year old aboriginal girl named Mathinna.  She lives with a group of extended fanily on Flinders island as the aboriginals were exiled there with promises of a better life. This is a heartbreaker of a story.  The Governor's wife fancies the looks of Mathinna and takes her from all she knows to "become civilized" in their household.  She is a toy, a pet, to the the woman who only cares about parading her about to friends to show Mathinna can dance and learn to speak French. It's despicable.

She doesn't fit in with the white culture and they've stripped her of her connections with her heritage. 

The fates of the young women in this book could be explored further and I wish the author had done so. While it wrapped up sufficiently, I would have rather the book were longer and more detail about the character's fates and conditions on Van Dieman's land. More of Mathinna in later life would have been good as well.

Sharing with Marg at The Intrepid Reader for the Historical Fiction Challenge.

Practical Houseplant Book

I will be the first to admit I'm not very good with houseplants.  I love books which feature characters who are experts at gardening or those with botanical gardens featured as a main setting. It would be lovely to have my mother's green thumb but it must have skipped my generation, however, I am determined to keep our gifted peace lily alive!

This book seemed to have some answers as it explains how to care for houseplants, over 200 profiles and project tips as well.  You find your plant profile and there is an explanation for care, how much light it needs to receive, the potting soil needed for transplant and more. 

The chapters feature succulents, ferns, carnivorous plants, bulbs, trailing plants and explain which ones can be caustic to handle and how much humidity each needs.  It's a well of info and perfect for those trying to learn about plants as well as a guide for those who are knowledgeable. 

Sharing with Shellyrae at Book'd Out for her Nonfiction  Challenge.

Genre/category: Hobbies

 

The Nonfiction Reader Challenge hosted by Shelleyrae at Book'd Out.  Check out the sign up post and info HERE. The challenge runs from January 1 through December 31, 2021. You can join in anytime!

The Kew Gardens Girls By Posy Lovell

 

This is  a book about friendships, forgiveness with a glimpse of the suffragette movement during the WW I time period.  There seem to be more novels written about the second world war than the first war. This was inspired by true events about women who worked in the historic Kew botanical gardens.  It was interesting to read more about this time period.  Of course having gardens play a big role in this story was one of the attractions for me. 

Women were not given the same considerations as their male counterparts when it came to the jobs in the gardens...or anything else for that matter.  A man who never held a shovel was immediatley "hired" for the Kew garden work but the women were questioned as to their abilites.  That had to be aggravating for those who grew up on farms and knew far more than the men in charge of the projects.

Our main characters are Louisa, Ivy, Bernie, Jim and Mac. Louisa has escaped a bad situation in Kent and made her way to London to start over.  She carved out a life for herself is so happy to have escaped a brutal marriage to a drunken wife beater.  Ivy is a suffragette and much younger than Louisa.  They work side by side in the gardens with a conscientious objector named Bernie. No one knows this about Bernie but when it's discovered he's labeled a "Conchie," reviled and driven away from his work.  There is much more to that story and it was very interesting to me.

I don't want to give spoilers but I can say this was an easy read, nothing violent and no bad language for those who are offended by those details. Reading about the friendships and support of one another during such a terrible time was inspiring. 

Publication date April 20, 2021 by Penguin Group Putman.  Genre: Historical Fiction.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced reader's copy of this book.  I was not compensated for the review, all opinions are mine.

Sharing with Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday and Marg at The Intrepid Reader for the 2021 Historical Fiction Challenge.

Madam by Phoebe Wynne

The book starts with Rose Christie receiving an amazing job offer to teach at the prestigious school Caldonbrae in Scotland. The students are all female with a mostly female staff.

She explains to her mother, who is thrilled, yet Rose is hesitant. I'm not keen on her mother from the start and the few times she appears in the story I have a mixture of pity and loathing.  Rose eventually excepts the position and wonders if the distance is enough to sever ties with her mother. You don’t know what’s between them at this point but you can tell Rose is anxious to escape.

There’s something slightly Gothic  with a sinister atmosphere about Caldonbrae.  You pick up on that as soon as Rose arrives at the school. She has no one to meet her, only written apologies from the headmaster and a promise to get together the next day. (This doesn't happen for weeks).

After settling in she is required to give a speech to the students and you see right away a similarity to a Hogwarts setting. The headmaster and other teachers sit behind her as she steps up to the lectern to address the girls. There are four separate Houses (think of Gryfindor, Slytherin, etc.) and the students are placed in different ones according to their value or status. All teachers are called Sir or Madam by the students.

One of Rose's first classes is a complete disaster with all of the girls challenging her with impertinent questions and telling her they don’t wish to be bothered to learn Latin or history. They state they’ve gotten rid of the other Latin teacher and by the end the teacher didn’t care. The smells like a lord of the flies story  but with female students which could be even scarier.  As you learn more about the students and the "curriculum" you'll be applalled. Could something like this go on in this day and age?  Too scary to think it could. Feminists will be apoplectic with this book.

Publication date May 18, 2021 by St. Martin's Press.  Genre: Literary Fiction and Women's Fiction.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced reader's copy of this book.  I was not compensated for the review, all opinions are mine.

Sharing with Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday.

Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman

 

I have read two novels by Catherine Steadman and I will say this one is her best work. I loved this book. As it turns out this is her first novel and here I am just getting around to reading it.  The suspense levels are perfect. Genre is psychological thriller. 

There have been times I have said to my husband, wouldn't it be cool to find a big suitcase of money abandoned in the woods?  He always said it would bring more trouble than it's worth.  This book has that message and it's full twists and turns.

The primary setting is London and Norfolk England. Erin a  documentary filmaker and her husband-to-be Mark is an investment banker. They are planning a lush wedding when Mark is suddenly fired from his well paying job. They start the cutback on expenses from everyday living to the wedding.  The honesymoon was paid for so they go off to Bora Bora for the last exciting fling and expenditure.  

While scuba diving they discover something in the water which is a real game changer.  This ordinary couple unwittingly fall into sinister situation and it's a real page turner.

The story begins with Erin telling us how hard it is to dig a grave.  In the movies the dirt flings up as if a dog is throwing soft dirt from a hole.  The reality is it's back breaking work and your muscles are sore as you prepare to hide your husband's body in a hole.  Wait!  She's burying her husband and this is in the start?  So is that a spoiler before you get into the book - nope!

As you get into the story you see the sequence of events and I can say, I never guessed how things would turn out. I liked this novel better than her latest.  Right now I am caught up on Catherine Steadman's books and I look forward to more in the future.

Sharing with Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday.

Reluctantly Home by Imogen Clark

What attracted me to this book was the rural Southwold county Suffolk setting and the discovery of an old diary - a mystery! Also, I am an easy mark for a attractive cover and I just love the looks of this one.

The beginning of the book is set in London and we do travel back there briefly during the story.  Phillipa Rose Appleby is from a rural area of England, growing up on a farm.  She aspired to have a grander life than a farmwife and achieved her goals by becomng a barrister, QC which means Queen's Counsel.  On the farm she was always known as Pip.  When she begins her life in London she switches to a posher name, Rose. 

One morning during her drive through London she has an accident.  She is on her way to court when a young boy darts out on traffic. Rose struck him with her car.  It's an accident and ruled so by the police, coroner and witnesses but  Rose can't forgive herself.  She is detroyed by guilt and panic attacks and returns home to Suffolk, hence the title of the book - Reluctantly Home.

Her parents are supportive but Pip, as she was always refered to at home, is impatient with her situation.  She longs to go back to her London life yet she is still consumed with guilt and worries about having another panic attack in court.  Stuck in a small town where life is decidedly slower and low key, she volunteers at a charity shop to keep her occupied.  Fortuitously she comes across a diary from 1983, donated by mistake, and lets herself escape her life by reading the diary of Evelyn Hardcastle.

Evelyn was an actress in London but her story is very interesting as laid out in the diary. Both Evelyn and Pip have one thing in common - they both felt stuck in Southwold and wanted their old lives back. Evelyn's story is engaging and resonates with Pip even though their reasons for being back home are different.  I will say the ending was not what I would have predicted but I'm satisfied.

The only other novel I have read by Ms. Clark is The Last Piece and I enjoyed it very much. I've now discovered she has several books published which I intend to add to my to-read list. As a matter of fact, I just purchased Postcards from a Stranger which was on sale for $1.99 (Kindle version/ Amazon).

Publication date for Reluctantly Home is April 29, 2021 by Amazon Publishing UK. Genre is Women's Fiction and General Fiction.

Much thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. I was not compensated for the review and all opinions expressed here are mine.

Sharing with Joy's Book blog for British Isles Friday.

The Disappearing Act by Catherine Steadman

 

British actress Mia Eliot has arives in sunny Los Angeles to put a humiliating breakup behind her and audition for a major role in a movie. Her agent lined up other readings for Mia as nothing is promised when auditioning. 

During an audition to read for a television show Mia meets Emily Bryant, an aspiring actress whom she feels an immediate connection. As they chat during a break, Emily's script reading comes up next and she realizes her meter will run out for her rental car. She offers to let Mia go ahead of her. Mia doesn't want to go ahead as she's still preparing.  Unbelievably,  Emily gives Mia her wallet and car keys so she can feed to parking meter. Who does that? Here is where the mystery and disappearance play in.

With the sudden disappearance of Emily intruding on Mia's  thoughts she knows she must banish them while auditioning for this role of a lifetime. The setting of the movie is years before cell phones and war so she closes her eyes and forces herself back to Edwardian England, Covent Garden and immerses herself in the part. I like the descriptions of the auditions.

Once Mia calls the police and reports Emily missing I would think that would be the end of it.  In real life it probably would be but in this story Mia goes the extra mile to find out what happened to Emily. Creepy things happen after this point such as items missing or moved in her apartment. There is a sinister element to this amateur investigation and things start to fall into place at the 80% mark.  The ending has a chilling scene as well.

If you are interested in more by Ms. Steadman check out Mr. Nobody on a previous post. In addition to authoring several novels she is also a successful actress appearing in The Tudors, Downton Abbey and Mansfield Park to name a few.

Much thanks to Netgalley for the advanced reader's copy of this book.  Publication date is June 8, 2021 by Random House Publishing -  Ballentine. Genre is Mystery, thriller, general fiction. Opinions and thoughts regarding this book are all mine; I was not compensated for this review.

I will be starting Something in the Water next.  That's the only other Catherine Steadman novel I have not read

Sharing with Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday.

Mr. Nobody by Catherine Steadman

Dr. Emma Lewis is a 30 year old neuropsychiatrist living in London. She is offered the case of a lifetime, one which could make her career.  A well respected doctor in her field offers her the case of Mr. Nobody.  The man was found on a beach, drenched to the skin and having no apparent memory of who he is or where he is from. Could this be an actual rare case of fugue?

If you recall, back in 2005 there was a similar real case called The Piano Man, the circumstances of his case very similar and probably (in my opinion) gave our author the inspiration for this story. True story you may read by clicking the hyperlink above.

By page 76 the plot dances around a previous incident with Emma and her family, one so bad her family needed to be relocated and given new identities. As a reader I think it would have been better to reveal what her horrific experience was much earlier in the book. You learn why at page 200+

Anyway, she decides, against her brother`s advice, to return to Norfolk as it is a  career changing case. Also weird was a government agency did an intense background check on her, knows her identity and why she left Norfolk 14 years ago.  Lots of mystery about the government agency and what happened to Emma and her family. She was required to sign a confidentiality contract before proceeding. Hmmm…..they must know or suspect something about this Mr. Nobody.

I ask, if they wanted HER in particular why not relocate the man with fugue to a London hospital where Emma Lewis is working and reduce risk of her former identity revealed near her childhood home? Logical question.

The psychological mystery does wrap up with a few twists that were nicely incorporated.  The mystery man knows so much about Emma already although they’d never met.You have to suspend disbelief on some scenes, I wont give spoilers, but it is a decent enough mystery to make me look for her other publications.  This one is her second book.

Coming up next is a review of her latest book The Disappearing Act.

Catherine Steadman is an actress based in North London, UK, and the author of Something in the Water. She has appeared in leading roles on British television as well as on stage in the West End. In 2016, she was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance in Oppenheimer. She is best known in the United States for her role as Mabel Lane Fox in Downton Abbey.

Sharing with Joy for British Isles Friday

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A Place Like Home by Rosamunde Pilcher

 

If you are a fan of Rosamund's Pilcher's previous novels and short stories you will love this collection. She is a breath of fresh air with the timeless stories and the lovely settings in Scotland, Northumberland and Cornwall.

Fifteen stories with a bit of romance, some with personal relationship conundrums and interspection.  My favorite books remain The Shell Seekers and Coming Home, I highly recommend those large books.  

Each short story is preceded by a sketch along with the title. The romance story lines are not long and complicated, rather the attractions and commitments happen quite quickly. There are stories of loneliness as well and Pilcher brings the emotions to life on the page. 

I recommend this book for a quick read and one that will take you armchair traveling to a different time period.  A gentler kinder depiction of a lifestyle in the British Isles long before a pandemic. 

Publication date is July 27, 2021 by St. Martin's Press. Genre general fiction; romance; women's fiction

Much thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. I was not compensated for the review and all opinions expressed here are mine.

Sharing with Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday.

The Vines by Shelley Nolden

The setting is North Brother Island in New York.  This place actually exists and you find some interesting information online about the medical facility there as well as info about Mary Mallon, aka Typhoid Mary.  The author incorporated Mary Mallon in as a character who is quarantined at the facility due to her perceived illness.  She interacts with our main character Cora. 

 

The story involves generations of doctors in the Gettler family and spans over a 100 year period. There is more of a horror element to the experimentation the doctors perform on Cora and through it all, Cora lives alone on this island for decades. Cora's blood has qualities which make her immune to disease. Medical ethics are certainly in question here.

The back and forth chapters in the different timeframes was confusing at first.  The book starts with Finn Gettler sneaking onto the island and seeing Cora.  He is well aware of his father and grandfather's medical research but he doesn't know of the heinous experiments performed on this woman. There are surprises about Finn's family and while I did finish the book, there were some times I almost made it a DNF and moved on.

If you are engaged with the story then you'll be pleased to know there will be a followup book.  I personally won't be looking to continue the storyline.  

Publication date is March 23, 2021 by Freiling Publishing. Genre: historical fiction; mystery; thriller

Much thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. I was not compensated for the review and all opinions expressed here are mine.

Sharing with Marg at The Intrepid Reader for the 2021 Historical Fiction Reading challenge. 

The Dilemma by B. A. Paris

 

This book could have  been 200 pages shorter. In my opinion, the entire sequence of events could’ve been summed up in a short story and you would not have been left wanting more. It's important to state the IMO straight away as I am definitely in the minority on this.  I see many 4 and 5 star reviews but I am going with a solid 2 and a half.

Livia  and Adam are a couple married  for 20+ years. Livia  seems like a self-absorbed woman with loads of low self esteem. She’s been planning her 40th birthday party ever since she felt robbed of a big wedding back when she became pregnant with her son. Her parents did not approve of having a child out of wedlock and cut her out of their lives. The big wedding her mother promised her suddenly disappeared and so she planned, back when she was newly married, to have her “ big day” on her 40th. That's a long time to nurse a grudge because she felt slighted by her parents.

The other storyline woven in concerns Livia and Adam's daughter Marnie. She is studying in Hong Kong. Unbeknownst to Livia she is secretly flying home to London so she can be at her mothers 40th birthday party. 

Adam knows his daughter is flying back and what flight she will be on and so, when he hears about a deadly crash on a flight she was supposed to be on, he is obviously concerned. But does he tell his wife? Oh noooo. He doesn’t want to ruin her party. No seriously. A birthday party with 100 people, catered and costing who knows how much money.  Adam has to be sure Marnie was actually on the flight because if she was, she did not survive.

The title Dilemma refers to Adam and Livia keeping a secret from one another.  After the party they each plan to tell the other the secrets they are holding.  For Adam, it's Marnie is missing and presumed dead. Livia's secret also involves her daughter but it's about an affair and more involving Marnie and someone they know. They don't talk to each other!  That's the big thing here.  Each one going over their worries alone and planning when to share with each other. Bah...

This author had been getting good reviews for her book Behind Closed Doors so I thought I would start with this one when the library got it in. Perhaps I will try Paris' other novel but I won't be rushing to the bookstore to grab it.

Sharing with Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday as the setting is England and B.A. Paris is a British author.