Tag: historical fiction

#BookReview Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers

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Small PleasuresAbout the Book

1957, south-east suburbs of London. Jean Swinney is a feature writer on a local paper, disappointed in love and – on the brink of forty – living a limited existence with her truculent mother: a small life from which there is no likelihood of escape.

When a young Swiss woman, Gretchen Tilbury, contacts the paper to claim that her daughter is the result of a virgin birth, it is down to Jean to discover whether she is a miracle or a fraud. But the more Jean investigates, the more her life becomes strangely (and not unpleasantly) intertwined with that of the Tilburys: Gretchen is now a friend, and her quirky and charming daughter Margaret a sort of surrogate child. And Jean doesn’t mean to fall in love with Gretchen’s husband, Howard, but Howard surprises her with his dry wit, his intelligence and his kindness – and when she does fall, she falls hard.

But he is married, and to her friend – who is also the subject of the story she is researching for the newspaper, a story that increasingly seems to be causing dark ripples across all their lives. And yet Jean cannot bring herself to discard the chance of finally having a taste of happiness…

But there will be a price to pay, and it will be unbearable.

Format: Hardcover (352 pages) Publisher: Wiedenfeld & Nicolson
Publication date: 9th July 2020 Genre: Historical Fiction

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My Review

Longlisted for the Womens Prize for Fiction 2021, I’m pretty sure Small Pleasures is going to be one of my favourite books this year. For that I have to thank the team at Waterstones in Reading for selecting it for their first post-lockdown book club and making me pluck it from my bookshelves.

From their first meeting, Jean senses something in Gretchen’s husband Howard that makes her feel she can unburden herself to him despite the relatively short time she has known him. ‘She was aware that Howard was hardly an appropriate confidante, but he was so sensible and safe and unlikely to do anything at all except sympathize, that she couldn’t restrain herself.’  I loved the way their relationship progresses in small, tentative steps: a glance or touch of the hand, a compliment, a hitherto unspoken secret, a gift that is the product of ‘careful and loving workmanship’.

Clare Chambers shows such insight into the loving relationship that develops between Jean and Howard. Yes, there is passion but there are also ‘the small acts of domestic intimacy – sharing a bath, preparing a meal side by side at the stove, putting clean sheets on the bed..’ Can’t you just imagine how Jean, who has often felt lonely and the highlight of whose evenings has frequently been listening to the Light Programme on the radio with her mother, could savour such moments.

I also enjoyed the relationship that developed between Jean and Gretchen’s daughter, Margaret. Jean enjoys taking on the role of ‘unofficial aunt’ and taking Margaret on outings. Jean is constantly surprised by Margaret’s ‘charming and unexpected comments – at once innocent and profound’, even if such comments include complex words that would not usually be in the vocabulary of a young girl, and which she claims are whispered to her by angels.

Jean’s relationship with Howard gives her a glimpse of a different future, one she could never have imagined or thought she deserved. This is brought home by a holiday Jean and her mother take. In the hotel they are staying at, Jean sees another mother and daughter and the mother’s obvious complete dependence on her daughter gives Jean an uncomfortable insight into what perhaps awaits her. Despite this, Jean suffers a constant sense of guilt about her relationship with Howard, what it might do to Gretchen, and more importantly Margaret, and how this can be combined with meeting her mother’s needs. This leads Jean to make an act of great sacrifice, one which will involve giving up everything she has come to hold dear.

For me the playing out of the relationship between Jean and Howard was so completely enthralling, I almost forgot about the event that brought them together, Gretchen’s claim that Margaret is the result of a virgin birth. Whether you believe it is a possibility or are sceptical from the start, the process of trying to establish the truth will keep you enthralled and amazed at what was scientifically possible even back in the 1950s. In the end, it is Jean’s journalistic instincts and tenacity that leads to uncovering the truth.

Readers for whom, like me, the opening page of Small Pleasures remained at the back of their mind whilst reading the book, will have experienced a growing sense of unease as the months go by and a particular date draws near. I’m not ashamed to admit that the ending of the book – and a bunch of roses – reduced me to tears but I like to think the opportunity for miracles survives even in the darkest places.

There was so much I loved about Small Pleasures that I’m not going to say much more other than to encourage you to read it for yourself. However, I will share my favourite line from the book: ‘I love him, she thought with a kind of wonderment. I never intended to, but now I do’.

In three words: Tender, intimate, heart-breaking

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Clare ChambersAbout the Author

Clare Chamber’s first job after reading English Literature at Hertford College, Oxford, was working for Diana Athill at Andre Deutsch. Clare’s first novel Uncertain Terms was published by Diana at André Deutsch in 1992 and she is the author of five other novels. Small Pleasures, her first work of fiction in ten years, became a word-of-mouth hit on publication and was selected for BBC 2’s ‘Between the Covers’ book club. (Bio/photo credit: Publisher author page)

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#EventReview Kate Mosse at Henley Literary Festival 2021

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This review is based on notes I took during the event and my own recollections. Any errors in recording views expressed during the discussion are my own.

An eager audience gathered in the Baillie Gifford Marquee at Phyllis Court (and online) on Sunday 3rd October to hear Kate Mosse talk to Cindy Burrowes about The City of Tears, the second book in the ‘Burning Chambers’ quartet which follows the fortunes of a cast of characters from 1562 to 1862.

Cindy’s first question was how Kate goes about research for her books. Kate said all her stories start with a place – such as Carcassone in The Burning Chambers – and her research is self-directed. This enables her to follow whatever path takes her interest and often leads to unexpected discoveries along the way, such as finding out that she has Huguenot ancestry herself. Asked if she would describe herself as an historian, Kate said ‘historical detective’ might be more appropriate.  When researching a period, she asks herself, if I’d lived then who would I have been? Kate feels historical fiction is about trying to inhabit the past and visiting the places in which her novels are set is a vital part of the research process – ‘foot research’ as she describes it – absorbing the detail, the atmosphere, walking the streets, taking photographs.

Cindy observed that Kate’s books, although big have the pace of thrillers. Kate agreed, saying ‘I like things to happen!’ She said, as a child, her father would read her old-fashioned adventure stories such as She or King Solomon’s Mines.  For the benefit of those who’ve not yet read The City of Tears, Kate explained that it’s set at a turning point in the history of the wars between Protestant and Catholics and centres on two Queens who are trying to bring the warring factions together through a marriage between their son and daughter.

Cindy wondered if, when choosing a setting for her books, Kate picks places she’d like to know more about. Kate said it’s more that she feels there are places waiting for her to tell their story.  Kate said the third book in the series is not yet written but will be set in the Canaries. In the meantime she has been writing non-fiction including a book (to be published in October 2022) featuring women who have vanished from history. One of these is her own great-grandmother, Lily Watson, who she discovered was a well-known novelist at the end of the 19th century but whose most successful novel has been out of print ever since. Others include Josephine Cochrane who invented the dishwasher, and Mary Seacole who, although a ‘superstar’ in her day, died in poverty.  Kate feels passionately that if women are not allowed to read and write their history is overlooked.

Kate revealed she will often rise before dawn and write for several hours. She likes the liminal moments between night and day, of being, to quote Walter de le Mare’s poem The Listeners, ‘the one man left awake’. In addition, since Kate is also a carer, she never knows when she will be able to get back to her desk although she reckons she has become pretty good at mixing writing with other household tasks.

Referring to Kate’s recent book, An Extra Pair of Hands: A Story of Caring, Ageing and Everyday Acts of Love, which was published in June, Cindy asked if writing this had been a cathartic experience. Kate said not exactly because she had already dealt with most of it anyway but what was different was the sections about becoming a carer for her 90-year-old mother-in-law whom Kate describes as ‘a legend’.

Cindy asked about how the Women’s Prize for Fiction, which Kate founded, came about.  Kate said it was prompted by the 1991 Booker Prize list having no women authors on it – and the fact that nobody noticed. She felt sure if it had been an all female list it would have provoked a different reaction. Kate believed there was a big disconnect between what was valued, what was written and what was read – the majority of the latter being women. The Women’s Prize has now become one of the most important prizes for selling books and for putting books in the hands of people who wouldn’t otherwise have known about them. Kate said every year she feels immensely proud of the prize and the incredible books it brings to public attention.

An inspirational and entertaining speaker, I hope Kate Mosse will make many more return visits to Henley Literary Festival. A date for your diary – next year’s Henley Literary Festival will take place between 1st and 9th October 2022.

The City of TearsAbout the Book – The City of Tears

August 1572: Minou Joubert and her family are in Paris for a Royal Wedding, an alliance between the Catholic Crown and the Huguenot King of Navarre intended to bring peace to France after a decade of religious wars. So too is their oldest enemy, Vidal, still in pursuit of a relic that will change the course of history. But within days of the marriage, thousands will lie dead in the streets and Minou’s beloved family will be scattered to the four winds…

A gripping, breathtaking novel of revenge, persecution and loss, the action sweeps from Paris and Chartres to the city of tears itself, Amsterdam.

Kate MosseAbout the Author

Kate Mosse is an international bestselling novelist, playwright and nonfiction author with sales of more than eight million copies in 38 languages. Renowned for bringing unheard and under-heard histories to life, she is a champion of women’s creativity. She is the Founder Director of the Women’s Prize for Fiction, sits on the Executive Committee of Women of the World and is a Visiting Professor of Contemporary Fiction and Creative Writing at the University of Chichester.  She lives in West Sussex with her husband and mother-in-law. (Photo credit: Twitter profile)

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