THE PLOT: Burial Rites by Hannah Kent is about a woman sentenced to death in 1800’s Iceland. Agnes Magnusdottir has grown up as a maidservant in numerous farms in a northern, rural valley. A bastard child, she is abandoned by … Continue reading Review: Burial Rites
THE PLOT: The Winter Crown is the second novel in a trilogy about Eleanor of Aquitaine. It follows Eleanor’s second marriage to Henry II and starts when she is crowned Queen of England in 1154. For most of the novel … Continue reading Review: The Winter Crown
THE PLOT: The Summer Queen is an in-depth novel about the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine. Starting with her betrothal to Prince Louis of France in 1137, it follows her move to the French court and rule as Queen. A … Continue reading Review: The Summer Queen
THE PLOT: The Red Lily Crown is about Chiara Nerini – an orphan in Florence in 1574. Living in poverty since her father’s death, and with her grandmother and two younger sisters to feed, she goes to the court of … Continue reading Review: The Red Lily Crown
THE PLOT: On Christmas Eve in 1617, a storm ravaged the Norwegian Island of Vardø. Most of the men drowned while fishing at sea, leaving a community of women behind. This novel is inspired by those real-life events, focusing on … Continue reading Review: The Mercies
THE PLOT: Tidelands is set in 1648 during the English Civil War. The protagonist is a poor fisherwife, Alinor Reekie, who has been abandoned by her husband. Alinor lives on an impoverished island off the Sussex Coast and supports her … Continue reading Review: Tidelands
