Catherine Meyrick's Blog, page 21
January 10, 2022
The Girl from Portofino by Siobhan Daiko
Today I’m delighted to be sharing an excerpt from Siobhan Daiko’s newly released novel The Girl from Portofino as part of a blog tour hosted by The Coffee Pot Book Club. The Girl from Portofino is part of Girls of the Italian Resistance: A collection of standalone novels set in Italy during World War 2.
Gina’s legs were burning as she carried her heavy rucksack up the steep mule path. It was a humid night, the moon barely showing through thick cloud cover. Perfect conditions for a bat...
January 7, 2022
2021 – A Year of Reading
Having read 50 books in 2020, I started this year with the intention of reaching my long term goal of reading a book a week. I even signed up for the GoodReads Challenge nominating 52 books as my goal. I reached 42 books but that includes several Kindle items that are essentially short stories. I have given up on the idea of numerical goals whether it be a book a week or a reading challenge as I found that it was affecting the way I was reading and selecting books. Reading should be a pleasu...
January 1, 2022
My Reading – December 2021
Hell Ship: The True Story of the Plague Ship Triconderoga, One of the Most Calamitous Voyages in Australia’s History by Michael Veitch
There is only one known image of my great-great-grandfather, Dr James William Henry Veitch.
The Imitator by Rebecca Starford
Evelyn spotted Stephen across the busy road.
A Royal Affair by Alison Montclair
‘Men find me intimidating,’ boomed Miss Hardiman.
Black Kettle and Full Moon by Geoffrey Blainey
The moon above Australia was believed to show a lustre unk...
December 31, 2021
Happy New Year
The clock has ticked over and it is now officially 2022 all along latitude 144° 58′ 0.01″ East.
With 2020 and 2021 behind us, I’m hoping for a pleasantly boring and uneventful year, no ‘interesting times’ at all.
Wishing everyone the very best for 2022 – hoping the year is a happy, healthy and productive one for you all and that any surprises are delightful.
December 24, 2021
A Christmas Stocking
Christmas stockings and ‘stocking fillers‘ are now a traditional part of Christmas. A quick consultation with those two noisy colleagues Drs Google and Wikipedia will tell you that this tradition had its origin in the story of St Nicholas, initially secretly, providing three bags of gold as dowries for the three daughters of a poor man. However. The venerable Professor OED says that the term ‘Christmas stocking‘ meaning ‘a long sock or similar item hung up, especially by children, on Christmas E...
December 17, 2021
Take the Head of a Black Sheep – Tudor Medicine at Home
Most people in the Tudor period lived in the countryside and unlike us, with our local GPs and ready access to Dr Google, they did not have doctors or apothecaries nearby, even if they could afford them. The bulk of everyday medical care took place within the home with the main practitioners the women of the household. They, in most cases, would have learnt their skills in making of herbal remedies, medicines and treatments from other women: mothers, grandmothers, aunts or other female family me...
December 9, 2021
My Reading – November 2021
The Right Sort of Man by Alison Montclair
Tillie climbed the stairs from the Bond Street Station out to Davies Street, blinking in the afternoon light.
The Brightest Star in the Sky by Marian Keyes
June the first, a bright summer’s evening, a Monday. I’ve been flying over the streets and houses of Dublin and now, finally, I’m here.
Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married by Marian Keyes
When Meredia reminded me that the four of us from the office were due to visit a fortune-teller the following ...
December 5, 2021
Christmas at Hembry Castle by Meredith Allard
Today I’m pleased to be presenting Meredith Allard and her novella Christmas at Hembry Castle as part of a blog tour hosted by The Coffee Pot Book Club.
You are cordially invited to Christmas at Hembry Castle.
An unlikely earl struggles with his new place. A young couple’s love is tested. What is a meddling ghost to do?
In the tradition of A Christmas Carol, travel back to Victorian England and enjoy a lighthearted, festive holiday celebration.
Christmas at Hembry Castle...
November 29, 2021
The Castilian Pomegranate by Anna Belfrage
Today I’m delighted to be sharing an excerpt from Anna Belfrage’s newly released novel The Castilian Pomegranate as part of a blog tour hosted by The Coffee Pot Book Club. The Castilian Pomegranate, set in the complex political world of medieval Spain, is the second book in The Castilian Saga.
In which Noor meets her uncle, King Sancho of Castile, for the first time.
Queen Maria and her ladies were in the gardens with their children when a page came running, breathlessly informing...
Lies That Blind by E.S. Alexander
Today I’m delighted to be sharing an excerpt from E.S. Alexander’s newly released novel Lies That Blind as part of a blog tour hosted by The Coffee Pot Book Club. Lies That Blind is a novel of late 18th century Penang.
Jim Lloyd, has just arrived on the island of Penang to begin work for his new employer, Captain Francis Light, the island’s superintendent.
George Town, Penang. Wednesday, 7th January 1789.
Captain Light announced that we had arrived at my lodgings, and that he wo...
