Author: whatcathyreadnext

Maiden’s Chance: A Meonbridge Chronicles Novella by Carolyn Hughes

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FortunesWheelLast year, I was lucky enough to win a signed copy of Fortune’s Wheel by Carolyn Hughes in a giveaway organised by Brook Cottage Books.

Set in June 1349, Fortune’s Wheel is the story of the Hampshire village of Meonbridge.  Following the worst plague in England’s history (what we now refer to as the ‘Black Death’ but what at the time would have been called the ‘Great Mortality’), half of the population of the village has been wiped out, including Alice atte Wode’s husband and eldest son. However, only days before the plague arrived, Alice’s daughter Agnes mysteriously disappeared.  The mystery surrounding Agnes’ disappearance forms one of the storylines in the book alongside the struggle of the remaining inhabitants of Meonbridge to rebuild their lives.

I really enjoyed Fortune’s Wheel.  You can read my review here along with links to purchase the book and to the book description on Goodreads.   I was thrilled to learn that Carolyn Hughes was working on a second book in the series, A Woman’s Lot, due to be published in early 2018.  Keen not to miss out on news, I signed up for Carolyn’s newsletter.  Imagine my delight when I received, as a thank you for signing up, a free short story, Maiden’s Chance.

My Review

Set between Spring 1347 and Spring 1348, Maiden’s Chance features a number of characters from Fortune’s Wheel, including Agnes and Alice.  It’s set just before the terrible events of the ‘Great Mortality’ which arrived on the shores of England in the summer of 1348.

Like Fortune’s Wheel there are fascinating details about daily life in the village which is a sort of medieval Ambridge (for fans of The Archers!).  For example, in Maiden’s Chance, we get to witness the Christmas festivities at the Manor House with the villagers feasting on ‘beef brewet and almond frumenty, rabbit pies and roasted meats…cakes and pastries’ and pouring themselves ‘cup after cup of Sir Richard’s rich red wine the like of which they’d not taste again until next Christmas.’   Also the Midsummer Eve’s revels, which make poignant reading knowing the momentous events that are about to befall the village, events of which the villagers are blissfully unaware.

I really liked learning about the earlier experiences of some of the people who feature in Fortune’s Wheel and the additional insight into their characters.  For example, the conflicted feelings of Johanna, the daughter of the Lord of the Manor, about the regard of her handsome brother, Philip, for the beautiful Agnes.  These feelings will set in motion a chain of events whose full effects will only play out fully in Fortune’s Wheel, testing the bonds of friendship and risking dishonour and worse.

One of the things I enjoyed about Fortune’s Wheel was the predominance of female characters.  However, the experience of Agnes in Maiden’s Chance reminds the reader of the limited expectations for a woman living at that time.  Agnes’ dream of learning a craft is given short shrift by her father. “Before long you’ll be wed, and fully occupied with your husband and your croft, and mebbe a babe or two.”  Although supportive of her ambition, even her mother has to concede, “Your path in life’s quite clear, Agnes…as was my own.”  As her mother points out, the permission of the Lord of the Manor would be needed even for Agnes to leave the village.

If you like the sound of Maiden’s Chance, why not sign up for Carolyn’s newsletter.  If you’ve already read and enjoyed Fortune’s Wheel it will tide you over until you the next instalment in the Meonbridge Chronicles is published.  If you haven’t read Fortune’s Wheel, it would be the ideal introduction to the village and its inhabitants.

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Carolyn HughesAbout the Author

Carolyn Hughes was born in London, but has lived most of her life in Hampshire. After a first degree in Classics and English, she started her working life as a computer programmer, in those days a very new profession. It was fun for a few years, but she left to become a school careers officer in Dorset.  But it was when she discovered technical authoring that she knew she had found her vocation. She spent the next few decades writing and editing all sorts of material, some fascinating, some dull, for a wide variety of clients, including an international hotel group, medical instrument manufacturers and the Government.

She has written creatively for most of her adult life, but it was not until her children grew up and flew the nest, several years ago, that creative writing and, especially, writing historical fiction, took centre stage in her life.  She has a Masters in Creative Writing from Portsmouth University and a PhD from the University of Southampton.

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WWW Wednesdays – 21st March ‘18

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WWWWednesdays

Hosted by Taking on a World of Words, this meme is all about the three Ws:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

Why not join in too?  Leave a comment with your link at Taking on a World of Words and then go blog hopping!

Currently reading

Dear Mrs BirdDear Mrs. Bird by A. J. Pearce (eARC, NetGalley)

London, 1940. Emmeline Lake and her best friend Bunty are trying to stay cheerful despite the Luftwaffe making life thoroughly annoying for everyone. Emmy dreams of becoming a Lady War Correspondent and when she spots a job advertisement in the newspaper she seizes her chance – but after a rather unfortunate misunderstanding, she finds herself typing letters for the formidable Henrietta Bird, the renowned agony aunt of Woman’s Friend magazine.

Mrs Bird is very clear: letters containing any form of Unpleasantness must go straight into the bin. Emmy finds herself dismissing problems from lovelorn, grief-stricken and morally conflicted readers in favour of those who fear their ankles are unsightly or have trouble untangling lengths of wool. But soon the thought of desperate women going unanswered becomes too much to bear and Emmy decides the only thing for it is to secretly write back…

From a Low and Quiet SeaFrom A Low and Quiet Sea by Donal Ryan (ebook, review copy courtesy of Doubleday/Transworld)

Farouk’s country has been torn apart by war. Lampy’s heart has been laid waste by Chloe. John’s past torments him as he nears his end.

The refugee. The dreamer. The penitent. From war-torn Syria to small-town Ireland, three men, scarred by all they have loved and lost, are searching for some version of home. Each is drawn towards a powerful reckoning, one that will bring them together in the most unexpected of ways.

Recently finished (click on title for review)

The Summer Will ComeThe Summer Will Come by Soulla Christodoulou (eARC, courtesy of Rachel’s Random Resources)

Set in 1950s Cyprus, EOKA, British rule, the fight for Enosis and two Cypriot families, living in different villages on the island, are coping with the unpredictability of this fractious time.  Circumstances over a five-year period push both families to emigrate to London where, as immigrants, they struggle to settle, face new challenges, trauma and cope with missing traditions and culture.  Both families’ lives cross paths in London and it seems that happier beginnings could be theirs.  But at what cost?

A story of passion for a country in turmoil, family love, loyalty and treachery and how, sometimes, starting over isn’t always as imagined.

The House of Mirth2House of Mirth by Edith Wharton (ebook)

Lily Bart, beautiful, witty and sophisticated, is accepted by ‘old money’ and courted by the growing tribe of nouveaux riches. But as she nears thirty, her foothold becomes precarious; a poor girl with expensive tastes, she needs a husband to preserve her social standing and to maintain her in the luxury she has come to expect. Whilst many have sought her, something – fastidiousness or integrity- prevents her from making a ‘suitable’ match. (Review to follow 23rd March)

CharlemagneCharlemagne by in60Learning (ebook)

Charlemagne’s name means “Charles the Great,” a title he earned after an impressive life filled with military conquests. After the fall of the Roman Empire, invaders came from all sides, and Charlemagne fought out of loyalty to his people and the Catholic Church. While he led many campaigns that helped to reunite Europe during the “Migratory Period,” Charlemagne primarily aimed just to claim land where he and his people – the Franks – could live in peace. His life inspired countless tales, including the legends that he was twenty feet tall, that he slept under the guard of 100 armed knights, and that he rose from the dead to aid in the Crusades. While these fantastical tales are false, the truth is equally fantastic: by the end of his life, Charlemagne had been king of the Franks, king of the Lombards, and the first emperor of the newly formed Holy Roman Empire.   (Review to follow 6th April)

What Cathy (will) Read Next

JohnBuchanThrillersMr. Standfast by John Buchan (hardcover)

It is 1917 and Richard Hannay is brought out of the battlefield to perform the desperate task of tracking down and destroying a network of German spies.  Hannay’s opponent is Moxon Ivery, the bland master of disguise, who seeks to outwit Hannay as he and his agents are pursued through England, Scotland, France and Switzerland.

For its pace and suspense, its changes of scene, and thrilling descriptions of the last great battles against the Germans, Mr Standfast offers everything that has made its author so enduringly popular.

Drift Stumble Fall 1Drift Stumble Fall by M. Jonathan Lee (ARC, courtesy of Hideaway Fall)

Richard feels trapped in his hectic life of commitment and responsibility. From the daily mayhem of having young children, an exhausted wife and pushy in-laws who frequently outstay their welcome, Richard’s existence fills him with panic and resentment. The only place he can escape the dark cloud descending upon him is the bathroom, where he hides for hours on end, door locked, wondering how on earth he can escape.

Often staring out of his window, Richard enviously observes the tranquil life of Bill, his neighbour living in the bungalow across the road. From the outside, Bills world appears filled with comfort and peace. Yet underneath the apparent domestic bliss of both lives are lies, secrets, imperfections, sadness and suffering far greater than either could have imagined. Beneath the surface, a family tragedy has left Bill frozen in time and unable to move on. As he waits for a daughter who may never return, Bill watches Richards bustling family life and yearns for the joy it brings. As the two men watch each other from afar, it soon becomes apparent that other peoples lives are not always what they seem.

TightropeTightrope by Simon Mawer (hardcover)

As Allied forces close in on Berlin in spring 1945, a solitary figure emerges from the wreckage that is Germany. It is Marian Sutro, whose existence was last known to her British controllers in autumn 1943 in Paris. One of a handful of surviving agents of the Special Operations Executive, she has withstood arrest, interrogation, incarceration, and the horrors of Ravensbrück concentration camp, but at what cost? Returned to an England she barely knows and a post-war world she doesn’t understand, Marian searches for something on which to ground the rest of her life. Family and friends surround her, but she is haunted by her experiences and by the guilt of knowing that her contribution to the war effort helped lead to the monstrosities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. When the mysterious Major Fawley, the man who hijacked her wartime mission to Paris, emerges from the shadows to draw her into the ambiguities and uncertainties of the Cold War, she sees a way to make amends for the past and at the same time to find the identity that has never been hers.