Tag: historical fiction

Book Review: The Road to Grantchester by James Runcie

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The Road to GrantchesterAbout the Book

It is 1938, and eighteen-year-old Sidney Chambers is dancing the quickstep with Amanda Kendall at her brother Robert’s birthday party at the Caledonia Club. No one can believe, on this golden evening, that there could ever be another war.

Returning to London from the war seven years later, Sidney has gained a Military Cross, and lost his best friend on the battlefields of Italy. The carefree youth that he and his friends were promised has been blown apart, just like the rest of the world – and Sidney, carrying a terrible, secret guilt, must decide what to do with the rest of his life. But Sidney has heard a call: constant, though quiet, and growing ever more persistent. To the incredulity of his family and the derision of his friends – the irrepressible actor Freddie, and the beautiful, spiky Amanda – Sidney must now negotiate his path to God: the course of which, much like true love, never runs smooth.

Format: Hardcover, ebook, (336 pp.)    Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 21st March 2019           Genre: Historical Fiction

Purchase Links*
Amazon.co.uk  ǀ  Amazon.com  ǀ Hive.co.uk (supporting UK bookshops)
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

Find The Road to Grantchester on Goodreads

My Review

Structured in four parts – War, Peace, Faith and Love – The Road to Grantchester allows the author to explore and illuminate the back story of the Sidney Chambers readers will meet in the first book of the series, Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death.  Although I’d heard of The Grantchester Mysteries TV series,  I’d never actually watched any of the episodes (which having read The Road to Grantchester I’m now rather regretting).  Neither had I read any of the books on which the series is based but thankfully this prequel makes that unnecessary (although it’s now pretty likely I will read them in future). However, readers familiar with the books and/or the TV series will still find lots to enjoy about The Road to Grantchester, such as the first sight of characters who will appear in later books or spotting references to future events that I will have missed.

In the first part of the book, Sidney is exposed to the harsh realities of war as he is caught up in the brutal Battle of Monte Cassino.  Described in gritty and authentic detail, this part of the book will particularly appeal to fans of historical fiction set in World War 2. The death of his best friend, and the circumstances of that event, have a profound effect on Sidney and leave him struggling with his faith and with feelings of guilt.  Only the wise advice of army chaplain, Rev Nev, and Catherine, a nurse, persuade Sidney that, having survived the war against all expectations, he has a duty to use ‘the reward of peace’ wisely.

Back in London, Sidney still struggles to believe that he has a right to happiness or that he deserves the accolade of hero.  Gradually, the conviction grows that his vocation lies in the Church although this decision brings unexpected reactions from family and friends.  His father greets the news with surprise and bewilderment and Amanda, the sister of his best friend, Robert, regards it as a personal betrayal.  Only Sidney’s friend, Freddie responds with any degree of positivity.  As it transpires, Freddie will soon be grateful for Sidney’s support (and Sidney’s nascent deductive instincts) when Freddie is involved in a tragic event.

As Sidney commences his theological training, the reader gets lots of factual information about the process of ordination.  Assigned to the position of curate in war-damaged Coventry, Sidney gains experience of the pastoral duties of a priest, encountering social and moral issues in the manner of  Call the Midwife…but without the need to deliver babies.

The final section of the book explores the slightly spiky, quirky relationship between Sidney and Amanda.  Only readers of the later books or viewers of the series may know why Sidney puts up with Amanda’s at times hurtful, dismissive or downright accusatory comments but to me it just proved he clearly has the patience of a saint!  However, in a neat role reversal, she does finally become the recipient of his confession about the thing that has weighed on his conscience since the death of his best friend.

A spiritual element runs throughout the book.  Sidney’s sincere belief in God is conveyed clearly but the author manages to keep it just the right side of being ‘preachy’.  Rather than the reader feeling like they are on the receiving end of a sermon, it comes across as an authentic insight into Sidney’s character, values and principles.

The Road to Grantchester is the perfect example of a prequel to my mind.  For fans of the series, it provides more background on a character they have grown to love and an insight into the life experiences that have formed him.  For readers coming new to the series, it’s a useful sampler and, I suspect, the enticement they need to add the other books in the series to their wishlist.  I know I have.   It’s a terrific read and one which works equally well as a character study of a young man affected by his wartime experiences or as an introduction to a historical crime series.

I received an advance review copy courtesy of publishers, Bloomsbury, and NetGalley.

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James RuncieAbout the Author

James Runcie is a writer, director and literary curator. He is the author of ‘The Grantchester Mysteries’, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and Commissioning Editor, Arts at BBC Radio 4.

(Photo credit: Goodreads author page)

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Blog Tour/Book Review: The Saxon Wolves by Penny Ingham

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The Saxon Wolves

I’m delighted to be hosting the first stop on the blog tour for The Saxon Wolves by Penny Ingham along with my tour buddies, Karen at Hair Past A Freckle and Zoè at Zooloo’s Book Diary.  You can read my review below.

The Saxon WolvesAbout the Book

Britain 455AD. The Roman Empire has fallen. As the daughter of a king and a priestess of the sacred grove, Anya’s life in Germania is one of wealth and privilege – until she dares to speak out against the high priest’s barbaric human sacrifices. Her punishment is exile.

Forced to leave her homeland, she sails to Britannia, to an island that is sliding into chaos and war, as rival kingdoms vie for power. Alone and far from home, Anya must learn to survive amidst the bloodshed, treachery and intrigue of fifth century Britain.

Can she find a place to belong – a home, a hearth, a welcome?

Format: Paperback, ebook (410 pp.)    Publisher: Nerthus Publishing
Published: 27th August 2016         Genre: Historical Fiction

Purchase Links*
Amazon.co.uk  ǀ  Amazon.com
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

Find The Saxon Wolves on Goodreads

My Review

The dramatic prologue in which a young woman is washed up on a beach, the sole survivor of a shipwreck, is the setting for what will prove to be a pivotal moment in the lives of two of the book’s characters.  The author then takes the reader back in time a few months to learn how the young woman arrived at this point.  It’s a tale of exile, forced betrothal to a violent tyrant, kidnap, perilous sea voyages and the aforementioned shipwreck.

The book is clearly a result of extensive research.  Through detailed descriptions of food, dress, buildings and domestic customs, the author conveys what it might have been like to live in a noble household.  Equally, when the action moves to 5th century Britannia, the reader gets a real sense of the anarchy and chaos of post-Roman Britain with tribal warlords vying for control of territory in the most ruthless fashion and the population living in constant fear of invasion or raiders.

Although some of the characters are fictional, others such as Hengist and Horsa (the Saxon wolves of the title) and Vortigern are not.  It has to be said that amongst the cast of characters there are a lot of unpleasant individuals who will stop at nothing to achieve power, even at the expense of family members.    In contrast, there is Silvanus, son of the king of Dumnonia.  Respect for his father, the ailing Etar, and awareness of his responsibilities to keep his people safe when he inherits the throne come into conflict with his personal feelings.  In a likeable display of humility for one in his position, Silvanus doesn’t assume he has all the qualities necessary to make a good king.

This is a period when a woman’s role is confined to child-bearing, domestic duties and providing pleasure to men unless, of course, their social status makes them a useful pawn in political alliances.  Anya’s position as a priestess and an outsider, earns her suspicion from some but her skills at healing endear her to others.     The author introduces a mystical element to the story through an ancient prophecy, Anya’s visions and the suggestion that fate will take a hand in her and Silvanus’s story.  The end of the book sees Anya attempting to take control of her future in an effort to find ‘a place to belong beneath the heavens’, paving the way for the next book in the series, The Saxon Plague.

The Saxon Wolves is an exciting story of family rivalry, treachery, betrayal, love and duty set against the backdrop of a turbulent period in Britain’s history, vividly brought to life by the author.

I received a review copy courtesy of the author and Rachel’s Random Resources.

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Penny InghamAbout the Author

Penny’s father, a journalist, instilled her with a love of history from an early age. Family holidays invariably included an invigorating walk up an Iron Age hill-fort whilst listening to his stirring stories of the Roman attack and the valiant defence by the Britons. Consequently, Penny has a degree in Classics and a passion for history and archaeology. She has enjoyed a varied career, including BBC production assistant, theatre PR and journalism, but her ambition was always to write historical fiction.

Her first novel, The King’s Daughter, was awarded Editor’s Choice by the Historical Novel Society. Penny has worked on many archaeological excavations, and these ‘digs’ and their evocative finds often provide the inspiration for her books. Penny’s research also takes her to the many spectacular historical sites featured in this novel, including Hadrian’s Wall and Tintagel.

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