The Siege Winter

I was very sad to learn when I picked up this book at the library that one of the authors, Ariana Franklin, is dead. I thoroughly enjoyed her Mistress of the Art of Death series, and will be sorry not to be able to read more of them. But her daughter Samantha Norman finishes this novel of 12th century England that Ariana began, and between the two of them they wrote one heck of a novel.

Told by an Abbot on his deathbed at the end of the 12th century, this is the tale of the civil war in the 1140s between King Stephen and the Empress Mathilda, rivals for the throne. But more importantly it's the story of two very strong females: Emma, the 11-year-old girl who in order to save her family, sacrifices herself to an evil monk and his band of mercenaries; and Maud, the 15-year-old chatelaine of an important castle that both Stephen and Mathilda would lay claim to.

Maud and Emma (now called Penda) eventually come to be together, but not before Penda has taken up with the honorable mercenary Gwil, who teaches her to use a bow with deadly precision, and not before Maud has found herself married to the nasty Sir John, who holds her castle for King Stephen. Then something happens to Sir John, and Empress Mathilda comes along, and well, that's where the siege in the title comes into play.

This is a wonderful historical novel, and I couldn't put it down. I highly recommend it.

The Siege Winter

Lord John and the Private Matter

If you are an Outlander fan, then you will probably like this novel. Lord John is Lord John Grey of the Outlander series, and this novel started as a short story but apparently developed into a normal-sized novel of fewer than 400 pages (those of you who read Diana Gabaldon know that for her, that IS a short story).

The action of this story takes place during the time after Culloden, after Claire has gone back to the present-day. Jamie Fraser is only mentioned in Lord John's mind, he is not a part of the story. This story is really a mystery, one that Lord John must solve. When he learns something troubling about the gentleman who is engaged to his cousin, he sets out to figure out how to broach the subject with said gentleman, but along the way gets involved with investigating the death of a member of his military unit. When the clues seem to point to the death being murder - and being somehow connected to the gentleman engaged to his cousin - Lord John finds himself running all over the seedy underside of London society.

This was a very enjoyable novel, and I'm not usually a big fan of murder mysteries. But Lord John is a very engaging character, and I enjoy Gabaldon's style of writing. I highly recommend it even to non-Outlander fans.

Lord John and the Private Matter

The American Heiress

I really, really enjoyed this book! Daisy Goodwin has created an intriguing story around a very interesting group of characters in a beautifully written novel. If you're a Downton Abbey fan, this book is a must read.

Cora Cash (how great a name is that?) is a late-19th-century American heiress - very beautiful and very nouveau riche - whose mother has decided that only an English noblemen is worthy of her daughter's hand in marriage. When Cora manages to snare a desirable but impoverished Duke, in a (seemingly) love match no less, it's the coup of the year. But then Cora discovers that English society is not as upright and honorable as it appears to be, and that her husband's affections may lie elsewhere.

Okay, so the story sounds a little Jane Austen-y, and little Bronte-esque, but that's what makes it so appealing. Goodwin has managed to bring a modern sensibility to an old world style. And she tells the story from an upstairs/downstairs perspective, where we see that sometimes the servants are snobbier than their employers, and sometimes a lady's maid is a better person than a peer. There's also the juxtaposition of American forthrightness - openness, eye contact, handshakes - with British subterfuge.

This is just a delicious story, and a thoroughly enjoyable read.

The American Heiress