Tag: historical fiction

Throwback Thursday: The Du Lac Devil by Mary Anne Yarde

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ThrowbackThursday

Throwback Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Renee at It’s Book Talk.  It’s designed as an opportunity to share old favourites as well as books that we’ve finally got around to reading that were published over a year ago.  If you decide to take part, please link back to It’s Book Talk.

Today I’m revisiting a book I reviewed in March 2017 – The Du Lac Devil by Mary Anne Yarde.  Published in December 2016, The Du Lac Devil is the second book in the author’s The Du Lac Chronicles series.  The first book in the series, The Du Lac Chronicles, was published in February 2016 and the third instalment, The Du Lac Princess, in October 2017.

DuLacDevilAbout the Book

War is coming to Saxon Briton.  As one kingdom after another falls to the savage might of the High King, Cerdic of Wessex, only one family dares to stand up to him — The Du Lacs.  Budic and Alden Du Lac are barely speaking to each other, and Merton is a mercenary, fighting for the highest bidder. If Wessex hears of the brothers’ discord, then all is lost.  Fate brings Merton du Lac back to the ancestral lands of his forefathers, and he finds his country on the brink of civil war. But there is worse to come, for his father’s old enemy has infiltrated the court of Benwick. Now, more than ever, the Du Lac must come together to save the kingdom and themselves.  Can old rivalries and resentments be overcome in time to stop a war?

Format: ebook (393 pp.)                 Publisher:
Published: 6th December 2016      Genre: Historical Fantasy, Historical Romance

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

Find The Du Lac Devil on Goodreads

My Review

I haven’t read the first book in the series so I’ll confess I did find it a little difficult at first to work out who everyone was, who was related to whom and how and what the different political factions were.  So I would probably recommend readers to start with the first book in the series (The Du Lac Chronicles) to get more of the back story of the characters.

Having said that, I enjoyed the book and thought the author did a great job of blending her imaginary world with the limited historical fact and the more extensive fable surrounding King Arthur, Lancelot, etc.    There was no attempt at period language, which I think is probably wise as this is often unsuccessful, although there were a couple of occasions when some very modern sounding phrases jarred, such as ‘Come on, sunshine, time to wake up’ and ‘This could all go pear-shaped at any minute’.

The book focuses on Merton, the youngest of the sons of Lancelot du Lac, who has built up a fearsome reputation as a mercenary.  His rumoured ‘devilish’ actions are actually the key to his success as a mercenary but of course there is usually more than one side to a person’s character.    The plot is fast-paced and full of twists and turns.  There are secret alliances, plots and counter-plots, intrigues and acts of violence driven by ambition, revenge, love and betrayal.   At times, it became a little taxing to keep up with all the changes of alliances and revelations.  Into the heady mix is woven romance as Merton finds himself the object of more than one woman’s affection.  Can the ‘Du Lac Devil’ be tamed?

The author has created a thoroughly entertaining story – a blend of historical fiction, fantasy and romance, with plenty of loose ends left for future books.   I received a review copy courtesy of Xpresso Book Tours and the author in return for an honest review.

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MaryAnneYardeAbout the Author

Mary Anne Yarde is an award winning author of the international bestselling series, The Du Lac Chronicles. Born in Bath, England, Yarde grew up in the southwest of England, surrounded and influenced by centuries of history and mythology. Glastonbury – the fabled Isle of Avalon – was a mere fifteen-minute drive from her home, and tales of King Arthur and his knights were part of her childhood.  At nineteen, Yarde married her childhood sweetheart and began a Bachelor of Arts in history at Cardiff University, only to have her studies interrupted by the arrival of her first child. She would later return to higher education, studying equine science at Warwickshire College. Horses and history remain two of her major passions.  Yarde keeps busy raising four children and helping run a successful family business. She has many skills but has never mastered cooking–so if you ever drop by, she (and her family) would appreciate some tasty treats or a meal out!

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Book Review: The Illumination of Ursula Flight by Anna-Marie Crowhurst

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The Illumination of Ursula FlightAbout the Book

Born on the night of an ill-auguring comet just before Charles II’s Restoration, Ursula Flight has a difficult future written in the stars.

Against the custom of the age she begins an education with her father, who fosters in her a love of reading, writing and astrology.

Following a surprise meeting with an actress, Ursula yearns for the theatre and thus begins her quest to become a playwright despite scoundrels, bounders, bad luck and heartbreak.

Format: ebook, hardcover (416 pp.)    Publisher: Allen and Unwin UK
Published: 3rd May 2018                        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 The Illumination of Ursula Flight on Goodreads

My Review

Ursula gives us the story of her life in her own inimitable fashion starting with her birth as a comet crosses the sky and her childhood encounter with an actress that sparks her interest in the theatre.  Having an unusually enlightened father, Ursula learns Latin, Greek and other languages, studies astronomy and reads every book and play she can lay her hands on.  Soon she’s trying her own hand at writing plays, depicting scenes of love, comedy, mischief and a little wishful thinking that are acted out with her young friends.

Unfortunately for Ursula, all the fun and games come to an end when she is promised in marriage to Lord Tyringham.  As well as being an unfortunate match, Ursula misses her friends and family and finds herself bored with the responsibilities of being a wife.  Things come to a head when Ursula discovers secrets about her husband that the alert reader may have suspected for some time.

Although I found the whole book entertaining, I’ll admit it really picked up for me in the last third when the location changes and Ursula finally gets a chance to take her future into her own hands.  Unfortunately, this is not before she has learned through bitter experience that men are not always to be trusted!

The story is told in the distinctive voice the author has created for Ursula and interspersed with excerpts from Ursula’s plays, diary entries and personal notes that reveal her innermost thoughts.   I really enjoyed the humour in the plays and some of her lists are extremely funny.  For example, her ‘Discourse on Matrimony & Wiving for New Brides’ by  ‘A Married Woman Who Knoweth’ in which the most useful piece of advice is probably: ‘If all other courses fail you, and you are brought down by worries or woe or other encumbrances suffered by the dutiful wife and feel fit to burst with ill feeling and frustration and love-lack, steal yourself out of doors away from prying eyes and running as fast as and as furious as you can, scream every oath you know in English, and other languages.’  Yep, I reckon that still works.   There’s also the particularly saucy list she comes up with later in the book.  (Those who have read the book will immediately recognise the bit I’m talking about.)  The quirky chapter headings (such as ‘In which we dine en famille and I am perturbed’) also give a sense of the period in which the book is set.

The Illumination of Ursula Flight is great fun and deserves all the curtain calls and cries of ‘Author, Author’ it will no doubt receive.

I received an advance review copy courtesy of publishers, Allen and Unwin, and NetGalley in return for an honest and unbiased review.

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In three words: Lively, inventive, funny

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Anna-Marie CrowhurstAbout the Author

Anna-Marie Crowhurst has worked as a freelance journalist and columnist for more than 15 years, contributing to The Times, The Guardian, Time Out, Newsweek, Emerald Street and Stylist. In 2016 she studied for an MA in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University, where her debut novel The Illumination of Ursula Flight was born. She lives in London.

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