The Scribe of Siena
by Melodie Winawer
Time Travel, Love Story, Art Mystery (4/25/2017)
As a great fan of historical novels, time travel, and mysteries involving art, I was thrilled to find a book that includes all of these. The solution to the mystery which involves the Black Death and the manner in which she solves it is as unique as the love story which moves from the 21st century back to medieval Siena. The mode of time travel is particularly interesting and her descriptions of the people she meets and works with in her "adopted" century brings them to life. I would recommend this to anyone who likes a good historical mystery combined with a love story that literally transcends the centuries.
Juliet's Nurse
by Lois Leveen
A new point of view on an ageless story (8/4/2014)
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, its historical placement and the fleshing out of characters that only briefly appear in Shakespeare's tale. This is the story of the nurse and her incredible attachment and relationship with the child – Juliet – for whom she serves as wet-nurse and ultimately her confidant.
Told entirely from the nurse's perspective, 14th century Verona springs to life – the plague, the violence on the streets, and the incredible divide between rich and poor which is eloquently portrayed by the contrasts of the nurse's life pre-Juliet and her life in the wealthy Cappelletti family. The first half presents Juliet's childhood – the second half provides the path which leads to Shakespeare's ultimate ending – all through the loving eyes of the wet-nurse.
This is definitely a book that would provide great discussions in a book club. Great read.
The Quick
by Lauren Owen
The Quick by Lauren Owen (4/22/2014)
Set near the end of the Victorian era, this novel is a love story, a Gothic tale, a detailed historical novel, a memoir via a diary and a maze because it changes directions so often that you never really know where you are going or where you will come out – all of this adds to the overall mystic of the story.
Siblings Charlotte and James Norbury grew up on an aging estate in the English countryside. With a deceased mother and a virtually absent father, they were raised mostly by servants and a distant relative, and left to their own devices. As the estate and their family's financial position declined, they were free to pursue their own lives which, after Oxford, ultimately leads James to London where he decides to pursue poetry as a career. He shares rooms with Christopher Paige, a wealthy young aristocrat who, unlike James, is quite at home in society. James lives vicariously through his adventures and Christopher's life style inspires James' writing and leads him to reluctantly experience society life. When James finds love in an unexpected place, and it inspires him to begin writing a play, he participates in a life changing event that completely alters his life and leads to his disappearance. Charlotte, in her search for her brother in London, experiences the unexplained, including the mysterious Aegolius Club, one of the darkest secrets of Victorian London, and meets one of the eeriest and strangest cast of characters in literature. The surprise ending and the true nature of the book are both elements that the readers need to experience on their own.
This book is not for the squeamish or for those who are not fans of Gothic tales.
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