Tag: historical fiction

#BookReview Wrecker by Noel O’Reilly

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About the Book

Shipwrecks are part of life in the remote village of Porthmorvoren, Cornwall. And as the sea washes the bodies of the drowned onto the beach, it also brings treasures: barrels of liquor, exotic fruit, the chance to lift a fine pair of boots from a corpse, maybe even a jewel or two.

When, after a fierce storm, Mary Blight rescues a man half-dead from the sea, she ignores the whispers of her neighbours and carries him home to nurse better. Gideon Stone is a Methodist minister from Newlyn, a married man. Touched by Mary’s sacrifice and horrified by the superstitions and pagan beliefs the villagers cling to, Gideon sets out to bring light and salvation to Porthmorvoren by building a chapel on the hill.

But the village has many secrets and not everyone wants to be saved. As Mary and Gideon find themselves increasingly drawn together, jealousy, rumour and suspicion is rife. Gideon has demons of his own to face, and soon Mary’s enemies are plotting against her…

Format: Hardback (384 pages) Publisher: HQ
Publication date: 12th July 2018 Genre: Historical Fiction

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My Review

I’ve had Wrecker, Noel O’Reilly’s debut novel, on my bookshelf for quite a few years but I was prompted to pick it up – and include it on my 20 Books of Summer reading challenge list – after I read the author’s latest novel, The Darlings of the Asylum.

Set in a small Cornish fishing village, Wrecker‘s protagonist is the headstrong, independent-minded and sharp-tongued Mary Blight. I loved the pithy, sarcastic dialogue the author creates for her and the way her inner thoughts show us the things she’d like to say but can’t. Mary dreams of a life beyond her current hand-to-mouth existence caring for her sick mother and younger sister. Unlike most of the other villagers she can read and write. She doesn’t much care what other people think about her, although she discovers that this can make you enemies and mean you find yourself alone and vulnerable.

The residents of Porthmorvoren have become used to supplementing the meagre income they earn from fishing or working for the local squire by salvaging goods from ships that run aground on the treacherous coast. Pillaging crates of goods, even the odd trinket is one thing but committing an atrocity such as the one visited on a drowned woman is quite another. I enjoyed the occasional inclusion of sensationalist newspaper reports concerning the individual dubbed the ‘Porthmorvoren cannibal’.

Gideon Stone, rescued from the sea by Mary (an event cleverly echoed in the final scene), at first seems the upright, pious and devout minister he professes to be, fuelled by a desire to rid the villagers of their superstitious ways. Mary is attracted to him, not just as a man, but because he seems to offer a way out of her humdrum life. The fact he is married is a mere obstacle to be overcome. Unfortunately Gideon’s favouring of Mary, notably her appointment to the role of Sunday School teacher, only serves to increase the enmity towards her.

I confess I never really warmed to Gideon, especially as we discover more about his past. Mary begins to wonder too. ‘What was I to make of Gideon Stone? Wheat and chaff seemed all mixed up in him. On the one hand, he was a soaring spirit who risked life and limb to save the souls of his fellow men. But in the shadows of his past lurked another man, a frail sinner, lost in drink and unable to master his base urges.’

The author populates the book with colourful characters, including the puritanical Aunt Madgie, Pentecost, a giant of a man and regular visitor to the ‘kiddlywink’ (local pub), and Gideon’s simpering wife with her affected airs and graces, and laughable play-acting.

Wrecker is an engaging story told in a spirited style with a memorable female protagonist.

In three words: Atmospheric, lively, dramatic

Try something similar: The Mermaid’s Call by Katherine Stansfield

About the Author

Noel O’Reilly was a student on the New Writing South Advanced writing course. He has worked as a journalist and editor at the international business media company RBI, and is now a freelance writer. His first novel is Wrecker and The Darlings of the Asylum is his second. He lives in Sheffield. (Photo: Author website)

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#BookReview The Ghost Ship by Kate Mosse @MantleBooks

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About the Book

The Barbary Coast, 1621. A mysterious vessel floats silently on the water. It is known only as the Ghost Ship. For months, its captain – Louise Reydon-Joubert – and her courageous crew has hunted pirates to liberate those enslaved during the course of their merciless raids.

But now the Ghost Ship is under attack – its hull splintered, its sails tattered and burnt, and the crew at risk of capture. But the bravest among them are not who they seem. Louise is fleeing a miscarriage of justice; her lover, Gilles Barenton, is at risk of being exposed – she is forced to masquerade as her brother. The stakes could not be higher: if arrested, they will be hanged for their crimes.

Can they survive the journey and escape their fate?

Format: Hardback (496 pages) Publisher: Mantle
Publication date: 6th July 2023 Genre: Historical Fiction

Find The Ghost Ship (The Burning Chambers, #3) on Goodreads

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My Review

In The Ghost Ship the publishers promise us ‘piracy, romance, revenge’ and the book certainly delivers on all three. The Ghost Ship is the third book in the series following the fortunes – and misfortunes – of various generations of the Joubert family. I’ve read both the previous books in the series – The Burning Chambers and The City of Tears – as well as plenty more of Kate Mosse’s other books so I know she is a consummate storyteller and once again she doesn’t disappoint.

Although some characters make a return appearance, such as Marguerite ‘Minou’ Reydon-Joubert and her husband Piet, and the storyline involving a disputed inheritance and a desire for revenge continues from the earlier books, I would say The Ghost Ship is the easiest book in the series to read as a standalone because it moves quickly from historical saga to maritime adventure – and love story. For new readers, the author includes some recaps of events in earlier books and a helpful list of principal characters.

Historical detail has always been a strong point of Kate Mosse’s books so much so that you can easily imagine yourself walking the streets of Amsterdam or the quayside of La Rochelle, or later in the book, the Canary Islands. And, in this book, you can add to that what it would be like to be onboard a trading ship, one that at any moment might come under attack from corsairs.

Louise Reydon-Joubert makes a spirited protagonist, determined not to let her gender prevent her achieving her ambition to become captain of her own ship, an ambition she has harboured (if you’ll pardon the pun) ever since her first experience aboard a ship as a young girl. In this, Cornelia van Raay, the companion of Louise’s great-aunt, provides an example of a woman making her way in a man’s world, and one in an unconvential relationship. However, several things – and individuals – stand in Louise’s way and even when one of those is unexpectedly removed it doesn’t mean the end of her troubles, but in fact just the beginning.

An encounter with a corsair galley propelled by slaves chained to its oars sets Louise on a path that sees her and the crew of the Old Moon embark on a new and very dangerous mission. Horrified by the idea of a trade in human lives, she sets out to disrupt the corsairs’ activities. ‘She was determined to become not a pirate herself, but the scourge of pirates – a ‘she-captain’, the huntress and hellion of the high seas.’ Unfortunately, pirates are not the only opposition she faces because legitimate merchants are also starting to scent the possibility of profit from transporting human cargo rather than grain or other goods. And although Louise proves her worth to her crew there are people who simply cannot accept a woman as captain of a ship. (Cue the famous line from a Monty Python sketch, “Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!”)

Louise’s companion in her endeavours is Gilles Barenton who has his own reasons for wanting to escape his past. Their paths become entwined in the most dramatic way, triggering long buried memories of bloody events in Louise’s own childhood.

Kate Mosse doesn’t write short books but, despite its length, The Ghost Ship is a thrilling page-turner with a story that will sweep you along and some brilliant action scenes. (My one grumble is that I think the blurb gives too much of the story away.) As is her way, the author leaves us with a tantalising introduction to the next book in the series, set in Cape Town.

I received a digital review copy courtesy of Pan Macmillan via NetGalley.

In three words: Dramatic, immersive, compelling

Try something similar: Fled by Meg Keneally

About the Author

Kate Mosse is an award-winning novelist, playwright, essayist and non-fiction writer. The author of ten novels and short-story collections, her books have been translated into thirty-eight languages and published in more than forty countries. Fiction includes the multimillion-selling Languedoc Trilogy, the Joubert Family Chronicles (the number one bestseller The Burning Chambers, The City of Tears, and The Ghost Ship), and number one bestselling Gothic fiction. Her highly-acclaimed non-fiction includes An Extra Pair of Hands and Warrior Queens & Quiet Revolutionaries: How Women (Also) Built the World.

The Founder Director of the Women’s Prize for Fiction, she is the Founder of the global #WomanInHistory campaign and has her own monthly YouTube book show, Mosse on a Monday. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, Kate is a Visiting Professor of Contemporary Fiction and Creative Writing at the University of Chichester and President of the Festival of Chichester.

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