Of Ye Olde Tymes And Men In Tights

There's nothing like losing yourself in a good historical romp.  One with sword fights and men in tights acting all manly and swoony.

Or maybe that's just me.

Either way there's something about getting lost in the past, whether through a book or a TV show that is immensely addictive.   Even better with the TV shows you get even more swoonish appeal with the likes of  Jeremy Irons, Tom Hiddleston and Henry Cavill to name just a few.

And if you want to know more about some of these real-life people and the times they lived in there is also a ton of non-fiction for you to wade into.  True stories of scandals and mysteries and love affairs and deaths that will make you realise that the past was definitely not an era of the staid and strait laced.

It almost seems fitting then that there are 2 events coming up in Auckland that celebrate this - The Pop-Up Globe Theatre which will be showcasing a series of Shakespearean productions and The James Plays, which is screening as part of the Auckland Festival.  So why not check them out.

After all you can never have too much of a man with a sword...

Sneak Peak: Poldark:Or Brooding Men In Tight Breeches

Tall, dark and brooding .  It's a thing.  A very valid thing.

And if it's your kind of thing then the new version of Poldark is just what you've been waiting for.

There are men in tight breeches giving manly stares and women, who act all damoselling (it's a word, at least in my world it is) and wear dresses where breathing is most likely a problem.  There's also love lost and love found and treachery and hard times and of course the beautiful Cornish scenery which is swoon worthy all on its on.

And then there is Aidan Turner, he of Being Human and Hobbit fame, who is most definitely swoon worthy if tall, dark and brooding is your thing.  Throw in a couple of shirtless scenes (and yes there are some) and I'm sold.

And if you find that waiting week by week is just a bit too long to go for your fix then you'll be very pleased to know that there is a whole series of books about the Poldark family and their friends starting with Ross Poldark by Winston Graham.  And even better there is the original series, Poldark,which we have at the library on DVD.

Swoony feels all round.

Review: Lost Voices by Christopher Koch [Jan]

Set in Tasmania this book has three parts, telling the stories of Hugh Dixon, a school boy in the 50’s; his great great grandfather Martin’s adventures with a notorious bushranger in the 1800’s; and a return to Hugh as he makes a life in the 70s.

The first part is rather slow, telling us about Hugh’s best friend, his desire to be an artist, and his meeting with his great uncle Walter, an acclaimed lawyer, in order to get a favour for his father.  Walter creates a bond with Hugh, encouraging him to follow his dream of being an artist and acting as a mentor, introducing him to literature and new ideas.  This lays the ground work for the next chapter in Hugh’s life and introduces Martin, a relative Walter has long admired.

Martin longs to be a writer, rebelling against his father’s wish he be a gentleman farmer.  The setting is Tasmania in the 1800s, when it served as a penal colony for British convicts.  Liam Dalton escapes his prison sentence and returns to the gang of his fellow bushranger, the legendary Luke Wilson.  On his way there, he meets Martin who persuades him to take him to Luke and see if he’ll let him write down his life story for a newspaper.  Martin stays for a while in the utopian paradise Luke Wilson has created before the actions of an evil person force him out.
Jumping forward in time, Hugh’s story resumes.  Having left school, he works as a photo retoucher for a newspaper.  He reconnects with his childhood best friend and they are on their way to achieving their dreams of being artists. Then an evil person appears to shatter those dreams.  Hugh asks another favour of Walter, to help his best friend.

After a slow start, the plot heats up and more action occurs.  I’m glad I didn’t give up reading as this is a good book.  The contrast of good and evils is shown, and interesting questions are raised, such as can there ever be a utopia?  A thought provoking book, much different from my usual reads!


Title: Lost Voices
Author: Christopher Koch
Published: HarperCollins, 2012
Reviewer: Jan

Review: The Day She Cradled Me by Sacha De Bazin [Jan]

Minnie Dean was the only woman hanged in New Zealand, in the mid1890s.  A baby farmer who bought babies given up by their families before placing them with adoptive parents for a fee, she was accused of murdering children in her care and disposing of their bodies.

This book is based on facts gathered from trial transcripts, records, newspaper reports, etc, but tells the from Minnie’s point of view. In her version the babies and children accidently died and she panicked and buried the bodies in the garden.  This is plausible as the infant mortality rate was high in the 1890s and she was viewed with enough suspicion by the authorities that she would be in serious trouble.  Society in 1890 was male focused and anyone different was frowned upon.  By today’s standards there was reasonable doubt but things were different then.

This book is thought-provoking and very well written, showing another side to the story.  I knew of the crime growing up and always thought Minnie Dean was an evil monster who went around smothering babies and got what she deserved.  Now I think this is another David Bain case and you’ll never be sure of her guilt.  This is a good read though the historical facts are a bit dry and slow going.  I’m not sure how interesting the case will be to international readers but it does show how life was back then for pioneers.

Title: The Day She Cradled Me
Author: Sacha De Bazin
Published: Black Swan, 2012
Reviewer: Jan

Time travel on a budget

I've often dreamed of travelling back in time and meeting some of my favourite historical characters. As well as having the pleasure of conversing with the most interesting people in history (Elizabeth I, Jane Austen and Voltaire, to name a few), you'd come across as awfully clever. "The New World? Why yes, I've been there twice...Not a patch on the Antipodes, you know."

However, lacking the money to pay for a trip on the Virgin time and space shuttle, I do the next best thing - read stuff about history.

For me, this often comes down to historical crime fiction, but of course there are other genres out there. If you have an interest in history, this list of new and forthcoming novels might just tickle your fancy.

The Copper Sign - Katia Fox

England 1161: Ellen, a blacksmith’s daughter, wants to become a swordsmith, but for a girl this is unimaginable. She disguises herself as a boy and runs away to accompany a famous swordsmith to Normandy, where the sons of the greatest barons are trained to be knights. As "Alan", she learns the trade and becomes familiar with court life. When she falls in love with Guillaume, a young nobleman, she can’t divulge her secret for fear it will endanger her dream of fame and recognition. Across countries and time, Ellen struggles to achieve her dream and find her place, always in fear that Thibault, an evil knight who tracks her every move, waits around the corner.



Under the Cherry Blossom - Maya Healy

Hana and Kimi are delighted when their heroic uncle, Hidehira, arrives at their palace, along with his dashing army of Samurai soldiers. He is their father's right hand man, who helps him govern the land on behalf of the Shogun. So when Hidehira and his army slaughter their father and elder brothers, it is a harrowing betrayal. As the palace burns around them, Hana and Kimi have to fight for their very survival. Now the whole country is searching for them - and anyone who helps them will be put to death. The girls must disguise themselves and find somewhere to hide, while working to avenge the brutal wrongs done to their family...Book one of four.



The Stockholm Octavo - Karen Engelmann

18th-century Stockholm. Emil Larsson is a drinker, card player and contented bachelor until he is told that his position at the Office of Excise and Customs depends on his settling down and finding a wife. Mrs Sparrow, proprietor of an exclusive gaming house and fortune teller, offers to lay an Octavo for him - a form of cartomancy which can divine his future if he can find the eight individuals who can help him realise his vision. But quickly matters spiral out of Emil's control. No longer just a game of the heart, collecting his Eight is now crucial to pulling his country back from the brink of rebellion and chaos.



Death's Door - James R. Benn

When Lieutenant Billy Boyle's girlfriend, British spy Diana Seaton, is captured in the Vatican, he insists on being assigned to a local murder investigation. An American monsignor has been murdered at the foot of Death's Door, one of the five entrances to Saint Peter's Basilica. The fact that the Vatican is neutral territory in German-occupied Rome is only one of the obstacles Billy must overcome, including how to get in. He must navigate Vatican politics and personalities - pro-Allied, pro-Nazi, and steadfastly neutral - to learn the truth about the murdered monsignor. And just a short walk from the Vatican is the Regina Coeli prison, where Diana is being held...


The King's Spy - Andrew Swanston

Summer, 1643. England is consumed by civil war. Quiet bookseller Thomas lives in a rural village with his widowed sister and her two daughters. Until a stranger knocks on Thomas's door one night and informs him that the king's cryptographer has died. Aware of Thomas' background as a mathematician and expert in codes and ciphers, the king has summoned him to his court in Oxford. It is only once Thomas arrives, however, that he learns that his predecessor was murdered. Murder follows murder. And when a vital message encrypted with a notoriously unbreakable cipher is intercepted, he must decipher it to reveal the king's betrayer and prevent the violent death that defeat will surely bring.


Nine for the Devil - Mary Reed

The year is 548 and Empress Theodora is dead of disease. Or so everyone in Constantinople, capital of the Roman Empire, believes. Everyone except Emperor Justinian, who orders John, his Lord Chamberlain, to find her murderer or suffer the consequences.









The Crown - Nancy Bilyeau

When Joanna Stafford, a young novice, learns her cousin is about to be executed for rebelling against Henry VIII, she runs away from Dartford Priory. But when she and her father are arrested and sent to the Tower of London, she finds herself a pawn in a deadly power struggle. Those closest to the throne are locked in a fight against those desperate to save England's monasteries. Joanna and a troubled young friar, Brother Edmund, are sent to find a hidden relic believed to possess a mystical power that has slain three Englishmen of royal blood in the last 300 years. One that traces all the way back to Golgotha and the Passion. Joanna must determine how far she is willing to go to protect her life and her country.


The Red Sea - William Napier

1571. For hundreds of years the Ottoman Empire has ruled the seas. But the seas are only a gateway to the lands they covet beyond. The armies of the Turk are picking off colonies and small islands, and if the Mediterranean falls, then finally perhaps the balance of power between crescent and cross will tip...Now, as the sun rises on one October day, history will be written in blood. Countries all over western Europe have sent ships and men. Caught up in it are Hodge and Ingoldsby - two young English adventurers who have survived the siege of Malta and are already living on borrowed time. Now, it seems the debt must be repaid.



The Mirrored World - Debra Dean

Born to a noble Russian family, Xenia falls in love with and marries Andrei, a soldier and singer in the Empress's choir. But then a tragic vision comes true, and a shattered Xenia descends into grief. Turning away from family and friends, she begins giving all her money and possessions to the poor. Then she mysteriously vanishes. Years later, dressed in the tatters of her husband's uniform and answering only to his name, Xenia is discovered tending the paupers of St Petersburg. Revered as a soothsayer and healer, she is feared by the new Empress, Catherine. In this tale, Dean reimagines the intriguing life of Xenia of St Petersburg, a patron saint of her city and one of Russia's most mysterious and beloved holy figures.

Shadows on the Nile - Kate Furnivall

1932, London. 27-year-old Jessica Kenton's stable life is torn apart when her younger brother, Timothy, vanishes. Vowing to find him, she follows Timothy's trail to the lush and exotic lands of Egypt, but she doesn't expect the danger she is confronted with. There are powerful people who do not want her brother found, and not everything is as it seems. There is also a love waiting that will tilt her world on its axis. By the author of The Russian Concubine.






And if none of that is quite enough, you may have to try this:

Build Your Own Time Machine - Brian Clegg

Brian Clegg provides an understanding of what time is and how it can be manipulated. He explores the remarkable possibilities of real time travel that emerge from quantum entanglement, superluminal speeds, neutron star cylinders and wormholes in space. With the fascinating paradoxes of time travel echoing in our minds will we realize that travel into the future might never be possible? Or will we realize there is no limit on what can be achieved, and take on this ultimate challenge? Only time will tell.