Tag: historical fiction

Book Review – Remember, Remember by Elle Machray

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About the Book

Book cover of Remember, Remember by Elle Machray

1770. Delphine lives in the shadows of London: a secret, vibrant world of smugglers, courtesans and small rebellions. Four years ago, she escaped enslavement at great personal cost. Now, she must help her brother Vincent do the same.

While Britain’s highest court fails to administer justice for Vincent, little rebellions are no longer enough. What’s needed is a big, explosive plot – one that will strike at the heart of the transatlantic slave trade. But can one Black woman, one fuse and one match bring down an Empire?

Format: eARC (336 pages) Publisher: HarperNorth
Publication date: 29th February 2024 Genre: Historical Fiction

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My Review

Remember, Remember begins as a campaign for justice, moves – after a pivotal event – to a quest for vengeance and, latterly, to a daring plan to bring about radical social change.

Vincent’s trial, which forms the first section of the book and is inspired by an actual case, exposes the conflict between the right to personal liberty and the financial interests of those who have profited from slavery and the products of slavery. But if you’re rich and powerful, perhaps you can ignore the findings of a court and impose your own form of justice, with even Parliament unable to uphold an individual’s democratic rights.

Contemporary resonances are not difficult to find; the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement being the obvious ones. At the same, the reader is immersed in the world of 18th century London from gentleman’s clubs to brothels, from wide streets to stinking alleys. Although the book possesses many of the hallmarks of a period adventure story – a secret conspiracy, underground tunnels, deception, betrayal and perilous escapes – its cast of characters is distinctively diverse in terms of race and sexuality.

The cruelty of slave owners towards those they view as their ‘property’ is epitomised by Lord Harvey. Ruthless, implacable and sadistic, I felt the author managed – just – to keep him from being a pantomime villain. I found some of the scenes towards the end of the book in which his true nature is revealed difficult to read.

Initially focused on achieving justice for Vincent, Delphine gradually has her eyes opened to the many other injustices in society, things that are also in desperate need of change. But when peaceful protest brings no results or is suppressed, what other options do you have? The radical solution at which Delphine eventually arrives brings a moral dilemma; essentially, do the ends ever justify the means? Personally, I found her decision problematic and its result just a little too convenient. Having said that, Remember, Remember is a bold and inventive debut novel.

I received a digital review copy courtesy of HarperNorth via NetGalley.

In three words: Imaginative, thought-provoking, immersive
Try something similar: Babel by R. F. Kuang

About the Author

Elle Machray grew up in Birmingham to Welsh–Caribbean and Scottish parents, and is now based in Edinburgh. After graduating from the HarperCollins Author Academy in spring 2021, their debut novel Remember, Remember was longlisted for the Mslexia Novel Prize, judged by Hilary Mantel. In the fleeting moments between writing and working, you can find Elle on social media talking about neurodivergence, books and a never-ending quest to relax. (Photo: X profile)

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Book Review – His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet @SarabandBooks

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About the Book

Book cover of His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet

The year is 1869. A brutal triple murder in a remote community in the Scottish Highlands leads to the arrest of a young man by the name of Roderick Macrae.

A memoir written by the accused makes it clear that he is guilty, but it falls to the country’s finest legal and psychiatric minds to uncover what drove him to commit such merciless acts of violence.

Was he mad? Only the persuasive powers of his advocate stand between Macrae and the gallows.

Format: Paperback (282 pages) Publisher: Saraband
Publication date: 5th November 2015 Genre: Historical Fiction

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My Review

His Bloody Project was the book chosen for February’s Radio 4 Bookclub, although it had been on my wishlist ever since it was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2016. I was fortunate enough to attend the recording of the programme at BBC Broadcasting House and listen to author, Graeme Macrae Burnet, talk about the book with its host, James Naughtie, and answer questions from the audience of fellow readers. If you’re in the UK, you can listen to the programme on BBC Sounds.

The book is made up of a series of documents including medical reports, witness statements and a court transcript. They give a remarkable feeling of authenticity, so much so that you could be forgiven for believing you’re reading about an actual crime, not a fictional one. It’s something that seems particularly relevant in an era of ‘fake news’. In fact, a few real historical figures appear in the book although, like me, you might well assume – until you read the Historical Notes – these are fictional too.

The central document, which constitutes the majority of the book, is the memoir of Roderick Macrae, the young man accused of the murder – a murder he admits to carrying out – written from his jail cell as he awaits trial. He describes his life growing up on a croft in a state of poverty and the increasing malevolence shown towards his family, especially his father, by the local Constable Lachlan Mackenzie, one of the three individuals murdered by Roddy. Roddy is unusually articulate and educated, something which marks him out in the small community of Culduie. He’s also withdrawn, something of a loner and quite sensitive which makes his subsequent actions all the more surprising.

But can we believe everything Roddy describes in his memoir? Small details that emerge from other documents, but which are omitted from his account, suggest perhaps we can’t. He doesn’t dispute he committed the murders, the brutal nature of which he describes in a chillingly dispassionate way, but what was his motive? Was it revenge for the suffering inflicted on his family or an act of insanity? What’s brilliant about the book is that the author lets us, the reader, come to our own conclusions.

The story also touches on topics such as inequality of power. A scene which illustrates this is when Roddy’s father, John, is told by Lachlan Mackenzie that he can no longer collect seaweed to fertilise his crops because it belongs to the laird. This is just one example of the personal malevolence directed at him by Lachlan Mackenzie. John Macrae is a piteable figure, subjected to just about every misfortune you can think of, including the threat of eviction from the land he cultivates. His inarticulacy and poor grasp of English means he is unable to stand up for himself, especially when he appears as a witness at Roddy’s trial. The one person who believes in Roddy’s innocence, albeit on grounds of insanity, is his advocate, Mr Sinclair. Are his efforts on Roddy’s behalf in vain? You’ll have to read the book to find out.

His Bloody Project will immerse you in the life of Culduie and its inhabitants whilst demanding your close attention to the evidence presented to you. It’s a fascinating experience and one I very much enjoyed.

In three words: Ingenious, compelling, authentic
Try something similar: The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins

About the Author

Author Graeme Macrae Burnet

Graeme Macrae Burnet was born in Kilmarnock in 1967. He studied English Literature at Glasgow University before spending some years teaching in France, the Czech Republic and Portugal. He then took an M.Litt in International Security Studies at St Andrews University and fell into a series of jobs in television. These days he lives in Glasgow.

He has been writing since he was a teenager. His first book, The Disappearance of Adèle Bedeau (2014), is a literary crime novel set in a small town in France. His second novel, His Bloody Project (2015), revolves around the murder of a village birleyman in nineteenth century Wester Ross. He likes Georges Simenon, the films of Michael Haneke and black pudding. (Photo/bio: Goodreads author page)

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