Tag: historical fiction

Book Review: Blackberry and Wild Rose by Sonia Velton

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Blackberry & Wild RoseAbout the Book

When Esther Thorel, the wife of a Huguenot silk-weaver, rescues Sara Kemp from a brothel she thinks she is doing God’s will. Sara is not convinced being a maid is better than being a whore, but the chance to escape her grasping ‘madam’ is too good to refuse.

Inside the Thorels’ tall house in Spitalfields, where the strange cadence of the looms fills the attic, the two women forge an uneasy relationship. The physical intimacies of washing and dressing belie the reality: Sara despises her mistress’s blindness to the hypocrisy of her household, while Esther is too wrapped up in her own secrets to see Sara as anything more than another charitable cause.

It is silk that has Esther so distracted. For years she has painted her own designs, dreaming that one day her husband will weave them into reality. When he laughs at her ambition, she unwittingly sets in motion events that will change the fate of the whole Thorel household and set the scene for a devastating day of reckoning between her and Sara.

The price of a piece of silk may prove more than either is able to pay.

Format: Hardcover, ebook (416 pp.)    Publisher: Quercus Books
Published: 10th January 2019      Genre: Historical Fiction

Pre-order/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 Blackberry and Wild Rose on Goodreads

My Review

Tricked into prostitution as an innocent newcomer to London, Sara Kemp’s rescue by Esther Thorel from the clutches of the awful Mrs. Swann offers her the possibility of gaining control over her life.  However, Sara soon finds that it seems she may have swapped one form of dependence for another, constantly at the beck and call of her new mistress.   Furthermore, the possibility that the shameful details of her previous life may be revealed is a constant fear, especially since not everyone in the Thorel household welcomes her arrival.

Esther’s desire and determination to use her artistic talent to  produce designs for silk is a search for her own form of emancipation, an escape from what she describes at one point as ‘her gilded cage’.  It also becomes an act of defiance in response to her husband Elias’s hypocrisy and deceit – ‘He was not the man I had thought he was and I no longer took his word for granted’ – and his dismissal of her role as nothing more than social status symbol, bed-mate or organiser of their household.  ‘There was no mistress of silk in this house, only a master.’

The stories of Esther and Sara are revealed to the reader in alternating points of view.  Alongside learning their stories, I also enjoyed discovering fascinating detail about the silk weaving process and its place in the Huguenot community of the time.  In an early example of the affects of globalisation, it was interesting to witness how the pressures on the industry as a result of imports from abroad and competition from cheaper material create unrest between the journeymen silk weavers and those who control the Guild system and the silk weavers’ livelihoods.

At the end of the book, Esther and Sara both find themselves facing difficult personal and moral choices that may affect others, some with tragic consequences.  Might their experiences leave both women stronger and open up the possibility of them forging different, more fulfilling paths in the future?

Blackberry and Wild Rose is an impressive, assured debut that will be a treat for fans of historical fiction that feature skilfully crafted female characters and an interesting historical setting.  I received an advance review copy courtesy of publishers, Quercus, and NetGalley.

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In three words: Well-crafted, richly textured, engaging

Try something similar…The Blue by Nancy Bilyeau or A Light of Her Own by Carrie Callaghan (follow links from titles to read my reviews)

sonia veltonAbout the Author

Sonia Velton has been a solicitor in Hong Kong, a Robert Schuman Scholar in Luxembourg and spent eight years being a full-time Mum of three in Dubai. She now lives in Kent. Her first novel, Blackberry and Wild Rose, tells the story of a fictional household of master silk weavers living in eighteenth century Spitalfields. The protagonist is loosely inspired by Anna Maria Garthwaite who was the foremost silk designer of the mid-eighteenth century and the title takes its name from an actual silk design. The novel was shortlisted as a work in progress for the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize 2015 and longlisted for the Myslexia Novel Competition. (Photo credit: Goodreads author page)

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Book Review: Zoo Station (John Russell #1) by David Downing

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Zoo StationAbout the Book

By 1939, Anglo-American journalist John Russell has spent fifteen years in Berlin, where his German-born son lives. He writes human-interest pieces for British and American papers, avoiding the investigative journalism that could get him deported. But as war approaches, he faces the prospect of having to leave his son and his long-time girlfriend, Effi.

Then, an acquaintance from his communist days approaches him to do some work for the Soviets. Russell is reluctant but ultimately unable to resist. He becomes involved in other dangerous activities, helping a Jewish family and an idealistic American reporter. When the British and the Nazis notice his involvement with the Soviets, Russell is dragged into the world of warring intelligence services. (Audiobook narrated by Simon Prebble)

Format: Audiobook    Publisher: Audible
Published: 7th December 2009 [2007] Genre: Historical Fiction, Thriller

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 Zoo Station on Goodreads

My Review

Opening in pre-World War 2 Berlin, the book sees journalist, John Russell, witness firsthand increasing anti-Jewish sentiment and signs of the persecution and brutality to come.  There is a particularly powerful scene at the beginning of the book which illustrates this.  At the same time, in a chilling juxtaposition, the German people continue going about their daily activities: enjoying coffee and cake in pavement cafes, shopping, visiting the theatre or enjoying the latest Marx Brothers film at the cinema.  I enjoyed the believable detail about the streets, squares and public spaces of Berlin.  The Zoo Station of the title acts variously as clandestine meeting point, location for train spotting, a point of arrival and departure, and the scene of a suspicious death.

Russell becomes embroiled in the fate of a Jewish family and with a fellow journalist who is on the scent of a story about Nazi plans for an atrocity greater than anything witnessed so far (which is saying something).  Russell soon discovers that asking questions can be a dangerous business and faces a conflict between his journalistic instincts and integrity, and concern for his own safety and those close to him.

Russell’s early optimism that his work for the Soviets ‘would make him safer and richer’ turns out to be misplaced as he finds himself drawn in deeper than he intended. Suddenly, his life ‘seemed to be breaking up in slow motion’.  However, tired of being used and exhibiting a rebellious streak, he decides to find out if he’s still brave enough or quick-witted enough to turn the tables on those who are trying to manipulate him.  As he reflects, ‘A life concerned only with survival was a thin life.’  Has he, though, been seduced by his own cleverness? In the breathless final chapter, with Europe on the brink of war, the author ratchets up the tension as the reader nervously witnesses Russell run his greatest risk yet.

I really liked the touching relationship between John Russell and his German-born son, Peter, as they bond through activities such as attending football matches to cheer on their team or visiting the zoo.  Nevertheless, the malign influence of Nazism is never far away, even between father and son.  Effi, Russell’s girlfriend, plays a supportive if minor role in the book.  However, her fame as an actress does prove a fortunate and timely distraction at one point in the story.

Zoo Station is a taut, compelling espionage story with an authentic sense of the period and setting.  I’ll definitely be looking out for further books in the series.  In a first for me,  I listened to the audiobook version which is ten hours long.  There are twelve chapters of between 45 minutes and an hour listening time.  Simon Prebble makes an excellent narrator with his clear diction, measured pace, rich vocal tones and ability to create distinctive voices for the various characters (including the female ones).

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In three words: Atmospheric, tense, gripping

Try something similar…March Violets (Bernie Gunther #1) by Philip Kerr

David DowningAbout the Author

David Downing grew up in suburban London. He is the author of six books in the John Russell espionage series, set in WWII Berlin: Zoo Station, Silesian Station, Stettin Station, Potsdam Station, Lehrter Station, and Masaryk Station and the nonfiction work, Sealing Their Fate: The Twenty-Two Days That Decided World War II.

He lives with his wife in Guildford, England.  (Photo credit: Goodreads author page)

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About the Narrator

British-born Simon Prebble has played in everything from soaps to Shakespeare on stage and television, but it is as a veteran narrator of over four hundred audiobooks that he has made his mark since coming to the United States in 1990. Simon is one of AudioFile magazine’s Golden Voices, has received over twenty Earphones Awards, five Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Awards, and he has been a finalist fourteen times for an Audie Award. He was Publishers Weekly’s 2006 Narrator of the Year, and Booklist’s 2010 Voice of Choice.

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