Deborah Swift's Blog, page 7
April 24, 2024
Try before you Trust by Connie Briones #Elizabethan #FemalePoet #HistoricalFiction
Today I’m highlighting Try Before You Trust, a novel about the fascinating early Elizabethan poet Isabella Whitney.
Try Before You Trust: To All Gentlewomen and Other Maids in Loveby Constance Briones
What if Taylor Swift found herself penning songs about love in Elizabethan England when women were required to be chaste, obedient, and silent?
Isabella Whitney, an ambitious and daring eighteen-year-old maidservant turned poet, sets out to do just that. Having risked reputation and virtue by allowing her passions for her employer’s aristocratic nephew to get the better of her, Isabella Whitney enters the fray of the pamphlet wars, a scurrilous debate on the merits of women. She’s determined to make her mark by becoming the first woman to write a poem defending women in love, highlighting the deceptive practices of the men who woo them. Her journey to publication is fraught with challenges as she navigates through the male-dominated literary world and the harsh realities of life in sixteenth-century London for a single woman. Loosely based on the life of Elizabethan poet Isabella Whitney, this is a compelling tale of a young woman’s resilience and determination to challenge the status quo and leave her mark in a world that was not ready for her.
Constance Briones has a Master’s in Woman’s History, which informs her writing. She first learned about the subject of her debut historical fiction novel, the sixteenth-century English poet Isabella Whitney, while doing research for her thesis on literacy and women in Tudor England. Isabella Whitney’s gusty personality to defy the conventions of her day, both in her thinking and actions, impressed Constance enough to imagine that she would make a very engaging literary heroine.
As a writer, Constance is interested in highlighting the little-known stories of women in history. She is a contributing writer to Historical Times, an online magazine. When not writing, she lends her time as an educational docent for her town’s historical society. She contently lives in Connecticut with her husband and maine coon sibling cats, Thor and Percy.
The post Try before you Trust by Connie Briones #Elizabethan #FemalePoet #HistoricalFiction first appeared on Deborah Swift.
The Loose Thread by Liz Harris #WW2 #Review #Jersey
Anyone who enjoyed my book The Occupation will also enjoy this book by Liz Harris which gives a different and fascinating account of WW2 and how it affected the islanders of Jersey.
This is the first in a series of books about three sisters, and Rose, the first in the series is easy to warm to, as she makes the transition from urban life in England to a farm on the island of Jersey in the Channel Islands with her new husband Tom. Working on a farm before the advent of mechanisation is not easy, and through the book we learn more about farming life – the planting and harvesting of the famous Jersey potatoes and the work involved in maintaining the herds of Jersey cows.
Rose’s main antagonist is her new sister-in-law Kathleen who sets out to deliberately make Rose’s life hell. This is bad enough, but then Jersey is invaded by Nazi forces, and her life in Jersey begins to change. Kathleen gets a new boyfriend, one of the attractive young German soldiers stationed on the island, and this gives rise to much antagonism from other islanders. Things are made worse when Rose and Kathleen, sworn enemies, are taken to a camp in Germany because they are not native to Jersey. This for me was the best part of the book as it was something I knew nothing about and found interesting to discover. The novel is impeccably researched, and all the detail of life in Jersey and in the women’s internment camp, is brought brilliantly to life.
This is a book suitable for anyone who likes a romance with plenty of history. There are no graphic depictions of war or atrocities, and yet Liz Harris seems to keep them simmering in the background to give a shifting sense of unease. Highly recommended for lovers of romantic historical fiction.
ABOUT THE BOOK
From award-winning author Liz Harris comes the first in the sweeping epic series Three Sisters, in which each book tells the story of one of the three Hammond girls.
The Loose Thread is Rose’s story.
Early in 1938, with the threat of WW2 little more than a shadow on the horizon, Rose Hammond marries Tom Benest, whom she hardly knows, and leaves London to go to live with Tom on his family’s farm in Jersey. There, she’s welcomed by his parents as she attempts to adjust to her new life, but meets with open hostility from Tom’s sister, Kathleen.
Less than two years later, the lives of the family are turned upside down when Jersey is cut loose from British protection. The Germans move in and seize control of the island, forcing the islanders into a perilous situation that will test their endurance and resourcefulness.
As the German Occupation tightens its grip on life on the island, Tom and Rose are torn apart in a situation of unimaginable heartbreak, which calls for the greatest of courage, and a powerful determination to survive.
A gripping, heart-breaking story of life in occupied Jersey during WWII from the author of Darjeeling Inheritance and The Road Back. Perfect for readers of Kristin Hannah, Fiona Valpy, Santa Montefiore and Kate Furnivall.
ABOUT LIZ HARRIS
After graduating in Law in the UK, Liz moved to California where she led a varied life – from cocktail waitressing on Sunset Strip to secretary to the CEO of a large Japanese trading company. Upon returning to England, she completed a degree in English and then taught for a number of years before developing her writing career. Her most recent novels, DARJEELING INHERITANCE, COCHIN FALL, HANOI SPRING and SIMLA MIST comprise THE COLONIALS. Each is a standalone set in a different location, with different characters, in different years.
Liz’s latest series is a trilogy, THREE SISTERS, each of which tells the story of one of the daughters of John Hammond, owner of several haberdashery stores. THE LOOSE THREAD, published in 2024, will be followed in September 2024 by THE SILKEN KNOT.
THE WOVEN LIE will be published early in 2025.
Liz now lives in Windsor, Berkshire. She’s a member of The Romantic Novelists’ Association, The Historical Novel Society, and The Society of Authors. She gives talks and workshops at literary festivals and conferences. Her hobbies are theatre, cinema, reading and cryptic crosswords.
Website – www.lizharrisauthor.com
Twitter – https://twitter.com/lizharrisauthor
The post The Loose Thread by Liz Harris #WW2 #Review #Jersey first appeared on Deborah Swift.
March 31, 2024
Dartington Hall – Guest Post by Rosemary Griggs #Devon #Tudor #History #CoffeePotBookClub
I am delighted to host Rosemary Griggs today to tell us all about Dartington Hall – a place I know well, as I was a student there in the 1970’s!
Dartington Hall by Rosemary Griggs
Dartington Hall, known for its mellow grey stone walls, stunning gardens, and age-old trees, exudes an atmosphere of peace and tranquillity. As I stroll through the grounds that surround the medieval buildings, I always feel a powerful connection to the people who have made this special place their home throughout the ages.
Dartington Hall
Since ancient times, people have settled in this favoured spot amongst rolling hills above a bend in the River Dart near Totnes in South Devon. As early as CE 833, a Royal Charter mentions the estate. After 1066, a long line of Norman lords held Dartington until King Richard II granted the property to his half-brother, John Holland. He built Dartington’s magnificent great hall and living quarters suitable for his lofty status, but did not have long to enjoy his country mansion. Holland met his end in 1400 after he supported Richard II in the Epiphany rising against Henry IV.
After that, the King restored the lands to the Hollands, who continued at Dartington until they backed the wrong side in the so called ‘Wars of the Roses’. A list of well-known figures then took the revenue from the estate, including Margaret Beaufort, Henry Courtenay, Katherine Howard, and Katherine Parr. However, none of them lived at Dartington.
Starting in 1559, a single family lived at Dartington for over four centuries. As time passed, their finances dwindled, and Dartington eventually fell into a state of disrepair. In 1925 Dorothy and Leonard Elmhirst bought Dartington and made it the hub of a pioneering social, educational, and cultural initiative. It is now a historic visitor destination, an events venue, and a thriving community of businesses and colleges.
With such a rich history, Dartington holds a wealth of untold stories. Amongst all the remarkable people who have lived there, the Elizabethans have captured my imagination. They inspired me to write The Dartington Bride. Sir Arthur Champernowne, an intriguing character who deserves wider recognition, is a key figure in the narrative I have crafted to tell his daughter-in-law’s story.
Left: Sir Arthur Champernowne as he appears on monument in the lonely tower, all that remains of Old St Mary’s church that once stood so close to the hall ‘one could lean from the window and touch the church wall with an umbrella’ according to a nineteenth century Champernowne lady.
Sir Arthur received a knighthood for his role in suppressing the Western Rebellion in 1549 and served as an MP and Sheriff of Devon. He married Mary Norreys, the widow of his cousin Sir George Carew, who perished on the Mary Rose. Mary was a lady-in-waiting for Anne of Cleves and likely also fulfilled that role for other queens of King Henry. Arthur and Mary had seven children — six sons and one daughter named Elizabeth. She later married Edward Seymour of Berry Pomeroy.
Sir Arthur was a staunch Protestant. Under Mary Tudor, he flirted with conspiracy and almost came to grief. Mary detained him in the Tower of London for a few weeks while investigating his alleged involvement in the Wyatt rebellion. Upon release, the queen gave him permission to visit France for a few months. Instead of remaining in exile alongside the other protestants who fled from Queen Mary’s catholic rule, he came back. In 1559, with his wife, Mary, he gained Dartington through a property exchange with Polsloe Priory. They embarked on works to upgrade the old-fashioned buildings.
Elizabeth Tudor’s childhood governess, Katherine Astley, was one of Sir Arthur’s sisters. When she became Queen, Elizabeth made Mrs Astley First Lady of the Privy Chamber. Having a relative in such an influential post put Sir Arthur in a powerful position. The queen appointed him Vice-Admiral of the Fleet of the West. The records also show Sir Arthur was a participant in the coronation joust.
Gabriel de Lorges, Count of Montgomery, became famous for killing King Henri II of France in a tragic jousting accident in 1559. He fled France, travelling to the Channel Islands and Venice before making his way to England, There he met Sir Arthur as well as Robert Dudley and other prominent individuals. When he returned to France he converted to Protestantism, and became a Huguenot military leader.
Gawen, Sir Arthur’s eldest son, acted as an informant for Lord Burghley and Sir Francis Walsingham, making many trips to France. Following lengthy negotiations, in 1571, Gawen married Gabriel’s daughter, Lady Gabrielle Roberda Montgomery, known in the family as Roberda. Immediately after the wedding, Gawen left his new wife in Devon while he returned to France.
A few months later, Roberda’s father escaped the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in Paris against all odds. Since Huguenots were still being persecuted in France, Sir Arthur offered the whole family refuge at Dartington. He became one of the first to welcome refugees to Elizabethan England. Amidst fears that Gabriel was being pursued by an assassin, records show that Sir Arthur placed an armed guard Dartington, ordering any Frenchman approaching the place to be apprehended. Gawen and Sir Arthur continued to support Gabriel when he returned to France to carry on the fight for freedom of worship for the Huguenots.
The Dartington Bride follows Roberda from her childhood in France, a country riven by war, to her new home in Devon. She arrives full of hope and determined to help others left destitute by war. But she will face resentment and suspicion.
Find out more : https://www.dartington.org/ and https://rosemarygriggs.co.uk/.
The Dartington Bride
1571, and the beautiful, headstrong daughter of a French Count marries the son of the Vice Admiral of the Fleet of the West in Queen Elizabeth’s chapel at Greenwich. It sounds like a marriage made in heaven…
Roberda’s father, the Count of Montgomery, is a prominent Huguenot leader in the French Wars of Religion. When her formidable mother follows him into battle, she takes all her children with her.
After a traumatic childhood in war-torn France, Roberda arrives in England full of hope for her wedding. But her ambitious bridegroom, Gawen, has little interest in taking a wife.
Received with suspicion by the servants at her new home, Dartington Hall in Devon, Roberda works hard to prove herself as mistress of the household and to be a good wife. But there are some who will never accept her as a true daughter of Devon.
After the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, Gawen’s father welcomes Roberda’s family to Dartington as refugees. Compassionate Roberda is determined to help other French women left destitute by the wars. But her husband does not approve. Their differences will set them on an extraordinary path…
BUY THE BOOKAbout Rosemary Griggs
Author and speaker Rosemary Griggs has been researching Devon’s sixteenth-century history for years. She has discovered a cast of fascinating characters and an intriguing network of families whose influence stretched far beyond the West Country and loves telling the stories of the forgotten women of history – the women beyond the royal court; wives, sisters, daughters and mothers who played their part during those tumultuous Tudor years: the Daughters of Devon.Her novel A Woman of Noble Wit tells the story of Katherine Champernowne, Sir Walter Raleigh’s mother, and features many of the county’s well-loved places.Rosemary creates and wears sixteenth-century clothing, a passion which complements her love for bringing the past to life through a unique blend of theatre, history and re-enactment. Her appearances and talks for museums and community groups all over the West Country draw on her extensive research into sixteenth-century Devon, Tudor life and Tudor dress, particularly Elizabethan.Out of costume, Rosemary leads heritage tours of the gardens at Dartington Hall, a fourteenth-century manor house and now a visitor destination and charity supporting learning in arts, ecology and social justice.Connect with Rosemary:
Website • Facebook • Instagram • ThreadsAmazon Author Page • Twitter • GoodReads(All photos Rosemary’s own copyright, by kind permission of the Dartington Trust.)The post Dartington Hall – Guest Post by Rosemary Griggs #Devon #Tudor #History #CoffeePotBookClub first appeared on Deborah Swift.March 25, 2024
Find me in the Stars by Jules Larimore #CoffeePotBookClub Read an Excerpt
EXCERPT FROM FIND ME IN THE STARS
Chapter 4
Flee Like the Mist from the Tempest’s Might – Jehan
26 September 1697 ~ Early Evening
Chomérac, France
Immediately after sunset, Jehan and his companions moved out again in their usual order, this time on foot, following Massip along the tracks of a rutted farm road toward a river crossing near Le Pouzin. The soft melodies of a nightingale gave Jehan a moment to ponder all that had been revealed while at the farm. It was most impressive, what he had learned.
An entire network of people and places existed throughout the realm that were available to aid refugees from the King’s persecutions. Massip explained that funding for it came from the far reaches of the globe—from those who held compassion for the oppressed of any creed, or from those who wanted to strengthen the position of the Protestant faith. Mostly English and Dutch nobility competing for philanthropic pursuits.
All was quiet along the road until they arrived at the signpost for Le Pouzin. But as they turned onto the main road, hoofbeats and rattling clamored in the distance. They looked at each other in a quandary since they could not yet see who might be approaching from around the next bend in the road. Likely a quartet of horses pulling a carriage or coach, by the sound of it.
Daniel Isnard ran up to Massip and grasped his arm. “What do we do?”
“Nothing. Just keep walking but form groups. As though you are friends heading to the tavern. ‘Tis best you show no reaction.”
Jehan could feel his throat tighten and ran a hand through his hair. Moyse hesitated and swayed, appearing as though he were about to lose his balance, so Jehan gave him his arm. Stéphane lent a hand with Moyse, and Syeira and Manfri fell back to walk alongside them.
The noise grew louder until lantern lights emerged from around the bend, creating an aura of light around the three hatmakers and Massip as they led the way ahead.
Jehan inhaled deeply, trying to maintain an impassive expression, but Moyse’s trembling was unsettling. Within moments, a grand carriage rushed by them, horses at a full canter.
“Don’t turn around,” said Stéphane.
The blood pulsed through Jehan’s temples as they waited for the hoofbeats to fade into the night.
Once it was quiet again, Stéphane spoke out. “Whoever it is, they must find themselves too important, and this band of peasants too undignified, to bother with us. By the looks of that fanciful carriage, they surely don’t need any blood money.”
Jehan chuckled to himself at the good fortune in that. Allowing himself to find some humor eased the tension, and the pulsing that hammered through his head gradually ceased.
Massip veered off the main road down a moonlit path, and they all scurried to keep up. Soon they were deep in silvery reeds where a chorus of croaking frogs surrounded them, and the musky breath of marshland filled Jehan’s nostrils with the smell of fish and algae and wet earth.
In an abrupt movement, Massip stopped in a small clearing, then pulled a coil of rope from a satchel. “You may not desire your boots to get wet,” he said as tied the rope around his waist, “but keep them on. The marshes are home to the Vipère snake.”
Anne gasped and leaned her head around the others as if searching for Stéphane.
Syeira put a hand on Anne’s shoulder and said, “They are likely to slither away when they hear us.”
“Scared of us, they are,” added Manfri, animated hands and face aiding his limited grasp of the French language.
Tiny moonshadows formed across Syeira’s nose as she wrinkled it. “And the silly things don’t even know how to strike with their mouth open. The greatest danger they pose is their dreadful scent.”
As Massip began tying each of them to the rope, forming a long chain, he continued his instructions. “Ladies. ‘Twill be best if you bring your skirts up between your legs and tie them.”
Anne’s face pinched together, a gruesome look in the dim light, the shadows magnifying her dissatisfaction.
“Do not give me that look, Mademoiselle Broussard,” Massip grumbled as he cinched the rope about her waist with an abrupt tug. “If your skirts are caught in the current or snagged on a rock, it will pull us all under. Now . . . for those of you who do not have satchels with back straps, place them on your heads to keep them dry as we cross. And keep silent as we move out.”
Moyse clutched at Jehan’s arm and muttered. “You should go on without me.”
“Moyse,” Jehan said softly, looking deep into the old man’s eyes. The rising moon reflected there would give them light to see, but it also increased the risk of being spotted. He knew he had to give Moyse some courage, some hope. “As long as we take our time, it will be fine. As we cross, let us keep our minds on the warm hearth and splendid companionship we shall find in the company of my Uncle Barjon’s community.”
Moyse nodded again and again and again as though the motion would help him convince himself.
More about the book: “Larimore’s ability to engulf a reader into a tale… is brilliantly done.” 5-star Highly Recommended Award of Excellence ~ Historical Fiction Company Separated by miles, connected by the stars, two healers forge their destinies in a quest for a brighter tomorrow. Inspired by a true story, this refugee’s tale of sacrifice, separation, and abiding love unfolds in the Cévennes Mountains of Languedoc, France, 1697. A sweeping adventure during the time of Louis XIV’s oppressive rule and persecutions, this compelling narrative follows the intertwined destinies of two remarkable protagonists, Amelia Auvrey, a mystic holy-woman healer, and Jehan BonDurant, an apothecary from a noble Huguenot family, in a riveting tale of enduring love, faith, and the search for light in the darkest of times.Amelia and Jehan are fierce champions of tolerance and compassion in their cherished Cévenole homeland, a region plagued by renewed persecution of Huguenots. The escalated danger forces their paths to diverge, each embarking on their own dangerous journey toward survival and freedom. The Knights Hospitaller provide protection and refuge for Amelia and her ailing sage-femme grandmother, even as they come under suspicion of practicing witchcraft. And, to avoid entanglement in a brewing rebellion, Jehan joins a troupe of refugees who flee to the Swiss Cantons seeking sanctuary—a journey that challenges his faith and perseverance. Jehan arrives to find things are not as he expected; the Swiss have their own form of intolerance, and soon immigrants are no longer welcome. The utopian Eden he seeks remains elusive until he learns of a resettlement project in the New World.During their time apart, Amelia and Jehan rely on a network of booksellers to smuggle secret letters to each other—until the letters mysteriously cease, casting doubt on their future together. Jehan is unclear if Amelia will commit to joining him, or if she will hold fast to her vow of celibacy and remain in the Cévennes. Seemingly ill-fated from the start, their love is tested to its limits as they are forced to navigate a world where uncertainty and fear threaten to eclipse their unwavering bond.BUY THE BOOKAbout Jules Larimore
Jules Larimore is the author of emotive, literary-leaning historical fiction with a dose of magic, myth, and romance to bring to life hopeful human stories and inspire positive change. She is a member of France’s Splendid Centuries authors’ collaborative, a board member of the Historical Novel Society of Southern California, and lives primarily in Ojai with time spent around the U.S. and Europe gathering a rich repository of historical research in a continued search for authenticity.Author Links:Website • Twitter • Facebook • Instagram • ThreadsAmazon Author Page • Pinterest • LinkedIn • BookBub • GoodreadsThe post Find me in the Stars by Jules Larimore #CoffeePotBookClub Read an Excerpt first appeared on Deborah Swift.
Spotlight on #NewRelease Riddle of the Gods by Eric Schumacher #Norway
Congratulations to Eric Schumacher, – his new book Riddle of the Gods is out today!
TITLE: Riddle of the Gods
RELEASE DATE: March 25, 2024
SALES LINK: https://mybook.to/Riddleofthegods
ABOUT THE BOOK
Riddle of the Gods is the riveting fourth novel in the best-selling series chronicling the life and adventures of one of Norway’s most controversial kings, Olaf Tryggvason.
It is AD 976. Olaf Tryggvason, the renegade prince of Norway, has lost his beloved wife to a tragedy that turns the lords of the land he rules against him. With his family gone and his future uncertain, Olaf leaves his realm and embarks on a decades-long quest to discover his course in life. Though his journey brings him power and wealth, it is not until he encounters the strange man in the streets of Dublin that his path to fame unfolds. And in that moment, he is forced to make a choice as the gods look on – a choice that could, at worst, destroy him and at best, ensure his name lives on forever.
EARLY REVIEWS:
“If you want to experience the Viking Age as it really must have felt, then read this book. I know of few novelists who can transport you there with greater skill and accuracy than Eric Schumacher. A gripping, intelligent novel of the Viking world.” – Theodore Brun, historical fiction author
“Full of rousing battles and journeys over land and sea, Riddle of the Gods sees the protagonists strained and broken in ways not encountered in the earlier volumes.” – Rowdy Geirsson, Viking author
“A truly well-written book which has the reader gripped and yearning for more.” – Stacy Townend, historical fiction author
“Lots of twists that will keep you turning pages until the end.” – Mercedes Rochelle, historical fiction author
ABOUT ERIC
Eric was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, and has had a lifelong love affair with writing, history and Dark Age Europe. As a 20-year veteran of PR, marketing and copywriting, Eric has told the story of numerous companies, products and individuals. His first novel, God’s Hammer, tells the true story of King Hakon Haraldsson’s bitter fight against his ruthless brother Erik Bloodaxe for the High Seat of the Viking North. Eric currently resides in Santa Barbara,
Contact Eric – website Twitter @DarkAgeScribe
BUY RIDDLE OF THE GODS https://mybook.to/Riddleofthegods
March 14, 2024
A Matter of Time by Judith Arnopp #CoffeePotBookClub #Tudor #Review
About the Book:With youth now far behind him, King Henry VIII has only produced one infant son and two bastard daughters. More sons are essential to secure the Tudor line and with his third wife, Jane Seymour dead, Henry hunts for a suitable replacement.After the break from Rome, trouble is brewing with France and Scotland. Thomas Cromwell arranges a diplomatic marriage with the sister of the Duke of Cleves but when it comes to women, Henry is fastidious, and the new bride does not please him. The increasingly unpredictable king sets his sights instead upon Katherine Howard and instructs Cromwell to free him from the match with Cleves.Failure to rid the king of his unloved wife could cost Cromwell his head.Henry, now ailing and ageing, is invigorated by his flighty new bride but despite the favours he heaps upon her, he cannot win Katherine’s heart. A little over a year later, broken by her infidelity, she becomes the second of his wives to die on the scaffold, leaving Henry friendless and alone.But his stout heart will not surrender and leaving his sixth wife, Katheryn Parr, installed as regent over England, Henry embarks on a final war to win back territories lost to the French more than a century before. Hungry for glory, the king is determined that the name Henry VIII will shine brighter and longer than that of his hero, Henry V.Told from the king’s perspective, A Matter of Time: Henry VIII: the Dying of the Light shines a torch into the heart and mind of England’s most tyrannical king.Buy the book: Universal LinkAbout Judith Arnopp
A lifelong history enthusiast and avid reader, Judith holds a BA in English/Creative writing and an MA in Medieval Studies. She lives on the coast of West Wales where she writes both fiction and non-fiction. She is best known for her novels set in the Medieval and Tudor period, focusing on the perspective of historical women but recently she has been writing from the perspective of Henry VIII himself.Judith is also a founder member of a re-enactment group called The Fyne Companye of Cambria which is when she began to experiment with sewing historical garments. She now makes clothes and accessories both for the group and others. She is not a professionally trained sewer but through trial, error and determination has learned how to make authentic looking, if not strictly historically accurate clothing. Her non-fiction book, How to Dress like a Tudor was published by Pen and Sword in 2023.Contact JudithWebsite • Blog • Twitter • Facebook • Instagram • Bluesky • ThreadsAmazon Author Page • BookBub • LinkedIn • Pinterest • Goodreads
The post A Matter of Time by Judith Arnopp #CoffeePotBookClub #Tudor #Review first appeared on Deborah Swift.
February 15, 2024
I’m on tour for The Shadow Network #CoffeePotBookClub #HistoricalFiction #WW2
Virtual Book Tour
I’m on tour for the next moth visiting various blogs courtesy of the Coffee Pot Book Club!
You can find all the links here on their site:
https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2023/12/blog-tour-the-shadow-network-by-deborah-swift.html
On the tour you’ll find me talking about these historical aspects of The Shadow Network
As well as my general research into life during WW2. I’m also doing a few interviews about my writing process so I do hope you’ll be curious enough to follow the tour. Thank you to all the readers, writers and bloggers who have hosted my posts.
The post I’m on tour for The Shadow Network #CoffeePotBookClub #HistoricalFiction #WW2 first appeared on Deborah Swift.
January 16, 2024
Weaving Mama’s Dress through The Low Road – a blog post by Katharine Quarmby #CoffeePotBookClub
Weaving Mama’s dress through The Low Road – a writer’s process
Katharine Quarmby
“The good wife had given me a grey dress, in a soft cotton, and I had hand sewn our favourite flowers around the hem, cornflowers for me, and poppies for George.”
This dress, given to the “dear mama” of the main character in The Low Road, Hannah, is woven throughout the novel. It was to have been the dress that her mother had worn to marry her father, George, but before they can wed he dies in an awful industrial accident and so, instead, it is wrapped and kept, and becomes a memory of past happiness.
It is really Hannah’s only belonging when her mother dies and she is left an orphan, in terrible circumstances. At that point, early on in the first part of the novel, Hannah has lost pretty much everything – her home on a farm where she had grown up with her mother in rural Norfolk, her only living relative to speak of, and her family’s reputation.
The local doctor and his wife, the White family, take pity on her and give her a new home in the local town of Harleston. Hannah takes one last look on the room she shared with her mother on the farm and decides to take the “the dress Mama had sewn for the wedding day that had never happened. I folded it carefully, and put it in the bundle.” She leaves her hoop, a precious toy, for she knows she has to grow up now.
Hannah’s life in rural Norfolk lasts for just four more years before she commits a very minor crime and the townsfolk decide she should leave after the kindly Mrs White dies in childbirth. After a night in the parish lock-up, she is to be sent to London with the housekeeper of an attorney in Harleston.
“Mrs Thurlow had made a space between herself and a large man, whose girth lapped me as I sat down. I shrank away from him. She passed me a small bundle. “I packed up your room for you, child. Everything is there.” Then, lowering her voice, “Your mama’s items too, her dress.” I felt the tears prickling, looked down at the bag and hugged it close”.
Mrs Thurlow takes Annie to an orphanage in London, the Refuge for the Destitute, where she is admitted as what was then called being an ‘object’. At last Hannah has security and can put the traumatic past behind her and another girl, Maria, becomes a friend. But she clings her mama’s dress and when she meets another so-called object, Annie, also convicted of stealing, they take to pilfering small objects from the Refuge’s laundry, where they are put to work, as they become closer and Maria, jealous of their friendship, withdraws. They dream of a life together.
“I loosened three floorboards below my hammock, and put together what I remembered Mama had called her trousseau. Stored against a future. With Annie. I hid the thought underneath, next to Mama’s dress, folded in paper so that each time I added an item there was a crackle.”
But Hannah and Annie’s closeness is put under threat when Hannah is sent into service. Annie is bereft, even when Hannah promises that she will come back, and they sneak upstairs together before she goes, to go through the few items they have together, hidden underneath floorboards. “so few things we have to call our own…Underneath everything is mam’s dress. I unfold it, run my finger over the flowers she had sewn, hold the fine fabric to my face. Her scent has drited away but for a moment I close my eyes and she feels nearby. I wish I could summon up her voice but it is faint now.”
Hannah does come back, as she promises, but then their life takes a turn for the worse, for Annie is to be sent into service, with the abusive family that Hannah has just left. In desperation the girls steal laundry and try to sell it, but before they can do so and leave the Refuge forever, they are arrested, sent to Newgate Prison and then convicted to transportation in the Old Bailey. Their relationship becomes frayed, and almost destroyed, by everything that they end up going through, including time in the Female Penitentiary and then on prison hulks. Even though they are pardoned, they are effectively separated by the time that they are both eventually transported, on different ships, not knowing if they will ever meet again.
Before Hannah is transported, she has a visit to her prison ship by the matron of the Penitentiary, who tries to help her and even visits the Refuge. There, her old friend Maria, takes the matron aside and gives her a small package – Hannah’s only heirloom, her mother’s dress. Mrs Martin hands it over to her, before she sails: “a package, tied up in paper and string…I knew it straight away and then I wept again.”
Hannah arrives in Sydney Cove, once called Botany Bay, in 1829. She ends up being one of the lucky ones – assigned to a decent couple, Frank and Eleanor, who is ailing. She knows that she will be safe on the farm they own, and Frank makes sure that she is set free from assignment once his wife dies, and eventually they fall in love and are to be married.
“Some days before we are to be wed, I unwrap my mama’s dress and wash it…the flowers she has embroidered are as bright as ever…and when I slip it on I find it fits me almost perfectly, outlines the curves I have, inherited from her….I am nearly the age that my mama was when she died. I will go on past her and leave her behind me, younger than I am.”
It tears after the simple wedding service, and yet Hannah finds this doesn’t matter to her anymore.
“It doesn’t matter. I have carried the dress with me across years and thousands of miles and I married him in it.”
This could have been a simple, happy ending, but Hannah could not but help look for her old friend, Annie, who she and Frank find in desperate circumstances, in a prison near Sydney. It takes months before she has started to heal from the traumas she has gone through, and there is more pain to come for Hannah as well. She has a son, called Frankie, and his birth brings back memories of everything that her dear mama had suffered.
But, towards the end, the two of them become friends again, and when it is time for Frankie’s christening, Annie offers to mend Hannah’s wedding dress, and turn it into a garment for the baby.
“She has cut the good fabric clear from the rot, and sewn a gown for the baby….saved my mama’s stitching, where she can, and woven vines around her cornflowers.”
Hannah’s story throughout The Low Road is one of pain, but also of love; it celebrates the resilience of women and their dogged ability to keep going, and to treasure the things and people that are important. The dress is one of the ways in which I explored love, loss, the fraying of bonds and the importance of repairing and mending things that were once broken.
ABOUT THE LOW ROAD
Katharine Quarmby has written non-fiction, short stories and books for children and her debut novel, The Low Road, is published by Unbound in 2023. Her non-fiction works include Scapegoat: Why We Are Failing Disabled People (Portobello Books, 2011) and No Place to Call Home: Inside the Real Lives of Gypsies and Travellers (Oneworld, 2013). She has also written picture books and shorter e-books.She is an investigative journalist and editor, with particular interests in disability, the environment, race and ethnicity, and the care system. Her reporting has appeared in outlets including the Guardian, The Economist, The Atlantic, The Times of London, the Telegraph, New Statesman and The Spectator. Katharine lives in London.Katharine also works as an editor for investigative journalism outlets, including Investigative Reporting Denmark and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.Contact Katharine
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December 18, 2023
Beautiful Ghost by Milana Marsenich #CoffeePotBookClub #20thCentury #HistoricalFiction
About Beautiful Ghost
During the fall of 1918, the influenza pandemic crosses the nation and reaches the mining town of Butte, Montana.
Marika Jovich, who wants to go to school to become a physician, works menial tasks for Dr. Fletcher. She feels useless as she tries to save friends and neighbors from the ravages of the flu. In the midst of the pandemic, she watches the town shut down, young and old perish, and her medical dreams all but evaporate.
Kaly Monroe used to be a half-good woman of the night. She left that life to raise her daughter, Annie, and live and work with her long-lost mother, Tara McClane. Kaly waits for her husband, Tommy, to return from the war. Word from the east is that soldiers are dying of influenza and she prays that Tommy is not one of them.
When an out-of-town woman named Amelia suddenly dies in Dr. Fletcher’s office, both women try to learn more about the mysterious woman and the circumstances regarding her death. Is she another casualty of the pandemic, or the victim of manmade foul play? Who is this stranger, and is her demise a portent of the fate that awaits the residents of Butte?
Praise for Beautiful Ghost:
“Marsenich doesn’t just describe the place and times, she conjures it up like time travel.” ~ Amazon Review by Ellen Leahy Howell
READ A SNIPPET
The Wolf DogThe wolf dog wanders through the town where mining fumes singe the air, and tin shacks, thrown together in desperation, sit next to French mansions and yards flagged with cobblestone. He rambles past the Cabbage Patch, where bootleggers and criminals live in downtrodden shanties and the king of the Patch rules the poor with an iron club. The dog walks through Dublin Gulch, a rough bit of Butte, inhabited by stubborn Irish people and sour-faced old women, who rarely shop for fine china or cast-iron pots at the town’s one department store. He continues his journey through Chinatown, past the opium dens, and down to the train depot on East Front Street.
He sits on the platform, under a center overhang, out of the rain, and watches the passengers disembark. Soot covers every surface of the depot, and, as the sky darkens, the wolf dog feels something coming. Something rising up out of the ground, on the wind, or perhaps in a blanket. Or maybe, a young woman carries it in her lap as the train roars across the country from the east to Montana. This tiny thing is barely a whisper. But it’s there, wanting to live and live strong. It floats among the people hugging and kissing in the depot’s large waiting room. It lights on jackets of men smoking, and hovers in the perfumed air where women tend to private matters.
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About the AuthorAward winning author, Milana Marsenich lives in Northwest Montana near Flathead Lake at the base of the beautiful Mission Mountains. She enjoys quick access to the mountains and has spent many hours hiking the wilderness trails with friends and dogs. For the past 20 years she has worked as a mental health therapist in a variety
of settings. As a natural listener and a therapist, she has witnessed amazing generosity and courage in others. She first witnessed this in her hometown of Butte, Montana, a mining town with a rich history and the setting for Copper Sky, her first novel.Copper Sky was chosen as a Spur Award finalist for Best Western Historical Novel in 2018. Her second novel, The Swan Keeper, was a Willa Award finalist in 2019. Her short story, Wild Dogs, won the Laura Award for short fiction in 2020.She has an M.Ed. in Mental Health Counseling from Montana State University and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Montana. She has previously published in Montana Quarterly, Big Sky Journal, The Polishing Stone, The Moronic Ox, BookGlow, and Feminist Studies.She has three published novels, Copper Sky, The Swan Keeper, and Beautiful Ghost, and one popular history book, Idaho Madams. Her upcoming novel, Shed Girl: A Juliet French Novel, will be released January 2024.Find MilanaWebsite • Twitter • Facebook • Instagram • PinterestAmazon Author Page • BookBub • GoodreadsThe post Beautiful Ghost by Milana Marsenich #CoffeePotBookClub #20thCentury #HistoricalFiction first appeared on Deborah Swift.
December 17, 2023
Twelfth Cake House by Heidi Eljarbo #Historical #Romance #CoffeePotBookClub
Even a clever matchmaker may need a push in the right direction if she’s to find true love. When she’s asked to find a match for herself, it proves to be the most difficult task she’s ever undertaken.
Mid-December 1796.
Sixty-year-old spinster Miss Jemima Thurgood has three weeks to finish the preparations for her annual Twelfth Night party. In her position as a matchmaker, for over forty years she has assumed a grave responsibility. Luckily, she’s a shrewd observer of people, and many happy reunions have come about due to her exceptional talent for nudging kindred hearts in the right direction.
Every year, Jemima invites twelve carefully selected men and women to her festivity, and each guest is assigned a dinner partner. The days before the merrymaking are constantly disrupted by one unforeseen event after another. Jemima must work hard to be ready in time, and more importantly, to provide the kind of celebration her chosen guests deserve.
But this year, what Jemima doesn’t know is that her life is about to take a sudden change of course—one she could not have predicted or planned for. As the days pass, several gentlemen indicate they are interested in becoming better acquainted with her, but only a very special man can charm a matchmaker.
A sweet romance novella set during a witty and enchanting Georgian-Era Christmas, Twelfth Cake House is a story about traditions, goodwill, and finding hope and the courage to change and take a chance on finding true love.
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About Heidi Eljarbo
Heidi Eljarbo is the award-winning author of dual-timeline historical fiction with heartwarming clean romance, wit, and adventurous mystery.
Heidi grew up in a home filled with books and artwork and never imagined she would do anything other than write and paint. She studied art, languages, and history, danced on the BYU Ballroom Dance Team, and still sings in choirs.
After living in Canada, six US states, Japan, Switzerland, and Austria, Heidi now calls Norway home. She and her husband have a total of nine children, and fifteen grandchildren—so far—in addition to a bouncy Wheaten Terrier.
Their favorite retreat is a mountain cabin, where they hike in the summertime and ski the vast, white terrain during winter.
Heidi’s favorites are family, God’s beautiful nature, and the word whimsical.
Author Links:
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The post Twelfth Cake House by Heidi Eljarbo #Historical #Romance #CoffeePotBookClub first appeared on Deborah Swift.
