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The Infants of the Brush story takes place during the industrial revolution in England. It is set in a period of history where children of lower classes were expected to contribute to working society covering all industries. This book focuses on the plight of chimney sweeps. Most chimney sweeps…
Servitude
Infants of the Brush: A Chimney Sweep’s Story is a polished, skilfully written book, which is illuminating, riveting and profoundly heart-breaking. A.M. Watson recreates the atmospheric world of 1720s London in a similar style as Charles Dickens. The similarity is reinforced regarding children that eked out a living under harsh…
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Exigency
The Monastery Murders is the second masterful book in the Barling and Stanton series, from E.M. Powell. It is a novel full of rich characters, a scintillating murderous plot and a backdrop truly immersed in medieval, 12th century England.
Fairmore Abbey is a monastery of the Cistercian Order located in a…
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Incorrigible
The King’s Justice is an intriguing and perplexing historical murder mystery based in England during King Henry II’s reign in 1176. Henry II is responsible for much of the current legal system in the UK, and introduced travelling Royal Justices to cover 6 geographical circuits in England, each circuit with…
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Peril
Karen Maitland’s fourth book is a divergence from historical England to give us a perspective of Lisbon and Iceland in the 16th century. May 23, 1536, marks the day that the Inquisition was formally introduced into Portugal and was intended to root out heresy within the Church. It was…
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Retribution
Every time I read a new Karen Maitland book I have this fear that the spell is going to be broken – well not this time. For me, Karen is the master of the medieval thriller with a twist of supernatural menace. England in the 12th century sits on…
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Endeavour
The City of Thieves is an intriguing book that not only takes into account a period in the Second World War, that has its own defining history, but it is the relationship that develops between 2 men under these unique circumstances. It is an exhilarating but fearful story where…
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Duplicity
Matthew Shardlake returns as the London lawyer reluctantly linked with Thomas Cromwell during Henry VIII’s reign. In 1540 King Henry is about to seek an annulment from Anne of Cleves, a wife he claimed he couldn’t consummate his marriage with because of her bad appearance. This was a marriage…
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Dissolution
Dissolution is the first book from CJ Sansom in the Matthew Shardlake series, set during the reign of King Henry VIII and his Chief Minister, Thomas Cromwell. The Catholic Church in 1536 is being eradicated in Britain and the Dissolution of the monasteries has begun – by 1540 no monasteries…
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