Tag: historical fiction

#BlogTour #BookReview A Woman Made of Snow by Elisabeth Gifford @RandomTTours

whatcathyreadnext3 Comments

A Woman Made of Snow BT Poster

Welcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for A Woman Made of Snow by Elisabeth Gifford. My thanks to Anne at Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part in the tour and to Corvus for my digital review copy.

A Woman Made of SnowAbout the Book

A gorgeous, haunting and captivating novel of a century-long family mystery in the wilds of Scotland, and one woman’s hunt for the truth.

Scotland, 1949: Caroline Gillan and her new husband Alasdair have moved back to Kelly Castle, his dilapidated family estate in the middle of nowhere. Stuck caring for their tiny baby, and trying to find her way with an opinionated mother-in-law, Caroline feels adrift, alone and unwelcome.

But when she is tasked with sorting out the family archives, Caroline discovers a century-old mystery that sparks her back to life. There is one Gillan bride who is completely unknown – no photos exist, no records have been kept – the only thing that is certain is that she had a legitimate child. Alasdair’s grandmother.

As Caroline uncovers a strange story that stretches as far as the Arctic circle, her desire to find the truth turns obsessive. And when a body is found in the grounds of the castle, her hunt becomes more than just a case of curiosity. What happened all those years ago? Who was the bride? And who is the body…?

Format: Hardcover (304 pages)         Publisher: Corvus
Publication date:  7th October 2021 Genre: Historical Fiction

Find A Woman Made of Snow on Goodreads

Purchase links
Bookshop.org
Disclosure: If you buy a book via the above link, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops

Hive | Amazon UK
Links provided for convenience only, not as part of an affiliate programme

My Review

I’ve become a great fan of Elisabeth Gifford’s books having read and enjoyed The Sea House, The Lost Lights of St Kilda and my absolute favourite, The Good Doctor of Warsaw. I’m pleased to say A Woman Made of Snow incorporates all the elements I’ve enjoyed in previous books: fascinating period settings, atmospheric locations, a combination of mystery and love story, and a cast of well-crafted characters. I mean, what more do you want from a work of historical fiction?

The book moves back and forth in time between 1949 and a century earlier focusing on the inhabitants of Kelly Castle through the years. Caroline (Caro) is trying to balance the demands of motherhood with her desire for independence.  She finds living at Kelly Castle difficult to get used to whereas for Alasdair, away for much of the day at work, it seems so easy to adapt to its routines. ‘A map of Alasdair would have clear lines, useful for going places. A map of herself, Caro realized, would be full of shaded liminal areas, still in the process of becoming, coastlines up for discussion.’ Caro is also trying to navigate the tricky relationship with her mother-in-law, Martha, who seems to find fault in much that Caro does, whether that’s the names she calls things – ‘mirror’ rather than ‘looking glass’ – or the way she looks after her daughter.

Charlotte, Caro’s counterpart in the earlier timeline, is facing a similar conflict between the expectations of society and a desire for personal freedom: to go where she wants to, dress how she wants, to eschew marriage. Despite being financially independent, she still finds the world a place dominated by men and where double standards apply when it comes to men’s and women’s behaviour. ‘It was a bitter truth to learn, that men may wade through all kinds of muddy waters and come out smelling if not sweet, then at least acceptable. Not so for a woman.’  Charlotte’s affection for a member of the Gillan family, destined to remain unrequited, nevertheless inspires a loyalty and sense of duty that will remain unacknowledged for years.

For me, the standout sections of the book were those set in the Arctic aboard a whaling ship. These positively oozed atmosphere, capturing both the beauty of the scenery and its inherent dangers – the intense cold, the risk of frostbite or of ships becoming icebound or even crushed in the shifting ice. It also introduced me to a way of life I had limited knowledge of before, about which I’ll say no more so as not to spoil your enjoyment of the story.

As well as being an intriguing mystery and a touching love story, what I enjoyed about the book was the way it explored more serious issues such as gender and social inequality, and racial prejudice. The latter is demonstrated in the most dramatic way by an act so despicable it left me reeling.

Those who enjoy the mystery element of a story will be gripped by the gradual accumulation of clues about the identity of the body found in the grounds of Kelly Castle. Mirroring the research that goes into writing a work of historical fiction this involves perusing diaries, letters and photographs. Prepare to be surprised when the answer is finally revealed, and to find yourself a little tearful at the end of the book.

A Woman of Snow is another thoroughly absorbing and satisfying read from the pen of Elisabeth Gifford.

In three words: Emotional, intriguing, atmospheric

Try something similar: The Secret by Katharine Johnson

Follow this blog via Bloglovin

Elisabeth Gifford Author PicAbout the Author

Elisabeth Gifford grew up in a vicarage in the industrial Midlands. She studied French literature and world religions at Leeds University. She has a Diploma in Creative Writing from Oxford OUDCE and an MA in Creative Writing from Royal Holloway. She is married with three children, and lives in Kingston upon Thames. A Woman Made of Snow is her fifth novel.

Connect with Elisabeth
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Woman Made Graphic

#BookReview Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers

whatcathyreadnext4 Comments

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

Find Small Pleasures on Goodreads

Purchase links
Bookshop.org
Disclosure: If you buy a book via the above link, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops

Hive | Amazon UK
Links provided for convenience only, not as part of an affiliate programme

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

Follow this blog via Bloglovin

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)

Connect with Clare
Goodreads | Twitter |