|summary=Rose Tremain has made fans of her 1989 book ''Restoration'' wait for a long time before picking up the story of Sir Robert Merivel. Almost as much time has passed in Merivel's world with the book opening in 1683. Leaving a follow up so long can be fraught with danger. For those, like me, who loved ''Restoration'' at the time, the memory of its central character has grown in fondness over time while some of the detail has been inevitably lost to memory. Thankfully, this is one of those rare things in literature; a very good follow up.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0701185201</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Naomi Alderman
|title=The Liars' Gospel
|rating=5
|genre=Literary Fiction
|summary=In ''The Liars' Gospel'', Naomi Alderman gives the perspective of four people on the recent death of a Jewish man named Yehoshuah, who is more commonly known these days by the anglicized name of Jesus. These perspectives include Miryam (Mary), the teacher's mother, Iehuda of Qeriot (Judas Iscariot), a one time follower of the man, Caiaphas, the High Priest of the great Temple in Jerusalem and finally Bar-Avo, Barabbas, a rebel who is determined to bring down the occupying Roman presence. What makes this such a remarkable book is the sheer visceral nature of the story telling. Each story is vividly told, and Alderman evokes the time and place to such a level that you half expect to have developed a sun tan while reading the book.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>067091990X</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Jeanette Winterson
|title=The Daylight Gate
|rating=4.5
|genre=Fantasy
|summary=1610s Lancashire, and Alice Nutter is the best landowner you could wish for. Single, rich and connected, she takes no sides in the religious schisms James I has inherited, and takes no bull from those trying to oppress the poor, putting them up and feeding them when no-one else will. But those poor are seen as sinful by others - amoral, dirty in mind, body and spirit, and in league with the devil. And people are beginning to question Alice's attitudes, choice of company - and ageless beauty. This, then, is the based-on-truth story of how Alice Nutter got to be one of the accused in the Pendle Witch trials.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099561859</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Wendy Wallace
|title=The Painted Bridge
|rating=3.5
|genre=Historical Fiction
|summary=Young bride Anna Palmer places her trust in all the wrong people. One choice that backfires spectacularly is her impulsive marriage to the Reverend Vincent Palmer. Less than a year after their marriage he tells her that they are going to visit some of his friends at a place called Lake House. But Lake House is a privately run asylum 'for genteel women of a delicate nature'. Once there Anna discovers that she is not allowed to leave without Vincent's approval.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857209272</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Michael Boccacino
|title=Charlotte Markham and the House of Darkling
|rating=5
|genre=Fantasy
|summary=Widowed under tragic circumstances, Charlotte Markham needs an income and so she's employed by widower Henry Darrow as a governess for his sons James and Paul. Their home 'Everton' may seem a typical Victorian mansion but the town of Blackfield isn't your average English small town; the Darrow's Nanny Prum is found murdered in a particularly grisly manner. It's a mystery to the local police but Charlotte's friend Susannah has a clue if only they'd listen to her. Meanwhile the Darrow boys' nights are spent dreaming of a house in the woods where their mother still lives. Charlotte decides to treat this head on and takes them for a walk to show them there's no substance to it. However, in doing so they discover the nightmare that is The House of Darkling.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781164460</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Deborah Harkness
|title=Shadow of Night (All Souls Trilogy 2)
|rating=5
|genre=Historical Fiction
|summary=''Shadow of Night'' moves on from where [[A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness|A Discovery of Witches]] finishes. Matthew Claremont (vampire, intellectual and, even after centuries of life, still looking a pretty decent 37 years old) and Diana Bishop (historian and witch with a pedigree stretching back to the Salem witch trials) are married and have time-walked to 1591 to look for Ashmole 782, the ancient book that Diana let slip through her fingers in 2010. They also need to find Diana a tutor to help her control the powers that she's chosen to ignore for a lifetime. There aren't just supernatural items on the agenda though; Diana thought she knew all there was to know about her new spouse but there are secrets to be discovered, his connection to the historic 'School of the Night' being one of the less dangerous. Oh, and another thing, they discover that the 16th century isn't, perhaps, the best time to visit if you're a witch, especially if you need to advertise for a tutor. (I think we could have told them that if they'd asked!)
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0755384733</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Pauline Chandler
|title=Dark Thread
|rating=4
|genre=Teens
|summary=Kate is an artisan weaver, like her mother. But she is so full of grief and guilt that she can't even think about returning to her craft. Because Kate's mother died in a road accident and Kate thinks it was all her fault. And, all of a sudden, everything gets too much - the kindly-meant but oppressive sympathy - and Kate collapses. She wakes, still at the mill, but in a long-past time. Here, Kate must learn to weave the dark threads of her life into its overall picture. Until she does, she can't return home...
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1907869565</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=David Rain
|title=The Heat of the Sun
|rating=5
|genre=Literary Fiction
|summary=David Rain is far too young to be writing this exquisitely. That's all I'm going to say.
Oh, you need me to justify that comment?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857892037</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Sarah Quigley
|title=The Conductor
|rating=5
|genre=Historical Fiction
|summary=Composer Dmitri Shostakovich can block anything out whilst he's writing music: his wife Nina's voice, his children arguing, even the side effects of living in Stalinist Leningrad. However, life is about to become more than an annoying distraction from music as Germany declares war on Russia and gradually initiates what history will come to know as the Siege of Leningrad. Shostakovich then realises, just as gradually, that his music may serve a purpose to sustain his compatriots in the absence of sufficient food and hope. His Seventh Symphony becomes a protest against oppression, but he needs an orchestra to play it and the top musicians have been evacuated to save the country's cultural heritage. He therefore turns to Karl Eliasberg, the aspiring but third rate conductor of a cobbled together orchestra. Music can create miracles but, for Eliasberg and his musicians, being able to play it will be the biggest miracle of all.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>190880002X</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Umberto Eco
|title=The Prague Cemetery
|rating=3
|genre=Historical Fiction
|summary=If the popular press is to be believed, then those of us who write book reviews do so to show off our own (non-existent) talents as writers whilst trying to condemn the abilities of far greater worth.
Well, not quite.
I would not pretend to have a tiny iota-fragment of the talent that Umberto Eco has. Nor would I seek to decry his latest opus.
On the other hand, I am an ordinary reader – one moreover that enjoyed The Name of the Rose immensely – and I really struggled with ''The Prague Cemetery''. I didn't struggle to get through it. It is actually quite an easy read, if you just read the surface of it. I did struggle to see the point of it. It may well just be me. I put my hands up.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099555972</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Matt Rees
|title=A Name in Blood
|rating=4.5
|genre=Historical Fiction
|summary=Artist Michelangelo Merisi is best known by a location: Caravaggio, his home town. He grew up acquainted with the ugly side of life and death, having witnessed the plague-ridden deaths of his father and grandfather on the same day. However he was also born with the ability to create beauty in his art. He's able to make a living adorning the churches and fine houses of Rome, but Caravaggio walks a fine line. On one side is the wildness and carousing he needs to feel alive and on the other is the need to placate the powers that be. When those powers happen to be a pope who's a Borgia and a patron who's a Borgia's nephew, then the line is very fine indeed. Add complications like a beautiful woman and a life-long commitment to preserving the well being of a headstrong noble, leading him to the knights of Malta, and a life of difficulty becomes one of impossibility. Then something else happens... Caravaggio completely vanishes from history, taking the intrigue up to a whole new level.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848879199</amazonuk>
}}
