Wicked Lady?

 So much has been written and broadcast about the Tudors that Henry VIII’s courtiers seem stars in their own right.  We know their acts and allegiances, their loves and lies, their foibles and (often terrible) fates. Yet one lesser-known figure often lurks near the centre of court machinations while remaining beyond the spotlight.  She is Jane Rochford, the focus of Philippa Gregory’s latest novel ‘The Boleyn Traitor’.

True Crimes

Hallie Rubenhold is an unfortunate historian.  Every book she starts researching seems to take her in unexpected directions, and her latest study of the story of a murder is no exception.

Ghost of a Good Idea

 As autumn approaches, it's time to turn to thoughts of darker days and spooky nights. To get me in the mood for the dying of the year, I picked up 'Ghosts of the British Museum: A True Story of Colonial Loot and Restless Objects' by Noah Angell.

The Age of Possibility

I'm not entirely sure why '18: A History of Britain in 18 Young Lives' by Alice Loxton caught my eye, but it did. Perhaps it was just very thorough marketing - it did seem to be everywhere when it first came out! More likely, it simply sounded like it could be interesting, which, to be fair, is a pretty good reason for reading anything.

'Utterly Brilliant' by Timmy Mallett

For people of a certain age, Timmy Mallett on the telly was a fixture of childhood.  During the 1980s and early '90s, he hosted the Wide Awake Club on Saturday mornings and Wacaday during school holidays, bouncing around the studio in his fluorescent-coloured clothes and wacky spectacles, cheerfully striking everyone from pop princess Kylie to prime minister Margaret Thatcher over the head with Mallett's (foam) Mallet and delivering unashamedly dodgy puns and funny sketches.  Seeing his name on the book 'Utterly Brilliant: My Life's Journey' conjured up all sorts of memories, and I was intrigued enough to want to know what he'd been up to since last brightening our screens.

'The Woman Novelist and Other Stories' by Diana Gardner

I love a short story and admire anyone who can craft a successful one.  Thanks to publishers like Persephone Books and the British Library, it's becoming ever easier to find and enjoy works that would otherwise be lost to history.  Persephone has published quite a few short story collections, and I have recently finished 'The Woman Novelist and Other Stories' by Diana Gardner.

'Dickens and Christmas' by Lucinda Hawksley

Merry Christmas!  The decs are up, the gifts are wrapped and I have a mug of cocoa, so it must be time for a read!  Normally, I'd be diving into the absolute perfection that is 'A Christmas Carol' around about now, but this year, for a change, I decided to uncover the story of the author's relationship with Christmas by reading 'Dickens and Christmas' by Lucinda Hawksley.

'Downton Shabby' by Hopwood DePree

Ever dreamed of discovering that you're descended from aristocracy and that there's a family mansion out there somewhere?  The thought may have crossed your mind wandering around a stately home; tea in the library, croquet on the lawn, games in the billiard room...  Sounds irresistible, doesn't it?  Then you might enjoy my latest read, 'Downton Shabby: One American's Ultimate DIY Adventure Restoring His Family's English Castle' by the magnificently named Hopwood DePree.

Chain Reaction: Hereford Cathedral's Chained Library

Hereford might be a lovely city.  I have absolutely no idea.  When I visited recently, it was largely obscured by rolling clouds of fog, roaming the streets and disorienting unwary visitors like me.  Perhaps it was part of a plot by Worcester and Gloucester to stop people finding Hereford Cathedral.  If so, I'm glad to say it failed and I eventually made it to the home of the unique chained library.

'Carry On Regardless' by Caroline Frost

Few film series are so loved yet controversial as the Carry Ons.  Once a staple of weekend TV, I spent many an afternoon watching them as a child.  Some I loved, some... not so much.  But it wasn't until I read 'Carry On Regardless' by Caroline Front that I began to understand why.

'I, Mona Lisa' by Natasha Solomons

Like many people, I'm a sucker for a story with a great concept.  When Natasha Solomons visited my area recently to talk about 'I, Mona Lisa', I looked up the book and was immediately intrigued.  

Money, Money, Money

Reading the back of 'Keep the Aspidistra Flying' by George Orwell sent a bit of a chill down my spine.  Like many people who enjoy writing, I've daydreamed about what it would be like to throw in the towel and try to make it as a full-time wordsmith of fiction.  Here was that same idle thought made 90 years ago and turned into a novel by one of our greatest 20th century writers.  And it didn't sound like it turned out well.  With trepidation, I open the book and began to read...

Wilde by the Sea

I was walking along Cromer seafront recently and tripped over Oscar Wilde.  Literally.  

Inlaid into one of many stone hoops looping across the surface of the promenade like a time-travel special effect from 1960s TV, in gold lettering that shone even on a murky winter's day, the great wit declared:

"I find Cromer excellent for writing, golf better still."

Hmm.  Not his most thrilling bon mot, but the experience did remind me of an excursion to another British coastal town a few years ago in search of the site of one of his better known creations.  

The Wolf in Winter

'War of the Wolf' by Bernard Cornwell

After a break of - ahem - one or two years, I recently returned to an old favourite, the Uhtred of Bebbanburg books by Bernard Cornwell.  In times as changeable and traumatic as this, the entertaining company of this Dark Ages warlord was irresistible.  Also, the thirteenth and last book in the series was published last year, and I'd only read books one to ten, so I had a little bit of catching up to do...

Bromin' in the Gloamin

'Clanlands: Whisky, Warfare, and a Scottish Adventure like No Other' by Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish, with Charlotte Reather

Everyone has their favourite box set, and, if nothing else, lockdowns I, II, and III have given us plenty of opportunity to drink our fill of our favourite shows.  One of mine is the time-travel romance 'Outlander', and I've just finished 'Clanlands: Whisky, Warfare, and a Scottish Adventure like No Other' by two of the show's stars, Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish.

Celebrity Express

'Dead Famous: An Unexpected History of Celebrity from Bronze Age to Silver Screen' by Greg Jenner (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 2020)

A few years ago, I visited Bamburgh*, Northumberland, home of the RNLI Grace Darling Museum.  It's a small museum with an inspirational story to tell - that of a young lighthouse keeper's daughter who took part in the perilous rescue of nine wrecked passengers during a horrific storm in 1838.  Her bravery captured the Victorian imagination, and Darling became an unwilling celebrity.  One of the most interesting things I learned during the visit was that, when she died just four years later, donations flooded in from an adoring public for a magnificent Gothic memorial featuring her stone likeness.  Not only is the ostentatious tomb at odds with both Darling's modesty and the charming coastal setting, it is also empty.  Tellingly, she was actually buried alongside her beloved family elsewhere in the churchyard rather than beneath the heroic image her fans thrust upon her.  Stories like Darling's and the strange interaction between public image and personal life are just one of the many contradictory features explored in Greg Jenner's new book, 'Dead Famous: An Unexpected History of Celebrity from Bronze Age to Silver Screen'.

'Dead Famous' is a densely packed gallop through the development of 'Celebrity'.  We may all think we know what it is, but Jenner has dug deeper and separated it from similar categories like 'renown', 'fame' and 'infamy'.  He's found that the right combination of personal charisma, popular recognition and interest, media coverage and rampant profiteering puts even the most unlikely and reluctant people (and animals) on track to become 'celebrities'.  Although the process was made much easier when mass media developed in the 1700s, the concept is much older.  Jenner reaches back as far as Ancient Greece and Rome, where proto-celebrities appeared in the form of popular gladiators, but provides many examples down the ages, some names more familiar than others.  From royal courtesans to romantic writers, petulant actors to glamorous movie stars, notorious criminals to exotic animals, each offers a fascinating insight into one of the most debated but elusive concepts of the modern age.

Eleanor's Army

'The Revolt' by Clara Dupont-Monod (Quercus, 2020)

As long term readers know, I love historical fiction.  I'm also a sucker for a beautiful book, so when Quercus Books tweeted the gorgeous Chris Wormell cover for 'The Revolt' by Clara Dupont-Monod, I couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy.

'The Revolt' is a story of medieval rule-breaker Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, told largely by her favourite son, Richard, the eventual King Richard the Lionheart.  A woman aware of her status and worth as Duchess of Aquitaine and heir of Poitiers, she expects to rule beside her husband, not be owned by him.  After her disappointing first marriage is annulled, she believes she's found a better match in Henry Plantagenet, later King Henry II of England.  Unfortunately, he has other ideas, and by the time their children are grown, he has taken control of her dominions, subjugating her people and ransacking the land.  Eleanor, her sons and ex-husband King Louis of France band together to revolt against the hated ruler, but can they defeat the warrior king?  And if they fail, what punishment will be devised for this bold and beautiful queen?

Reaching New Heights

'Ring the Hill' by Tom Cox (Unbound, 2019)

One of my absolute favourite books last year was the audio version of '21st Century Yokel' by Tom Cox, so when I heard he was writing a follow up on the themes of walking, landscape and hills, I couldn't wait.

In 'Ring the Hill', Cox explores the lumps and bumps of the landscape, from tors and mumps, to cliffs and knolls.  Starting with the iconic Glastonbury Tor in Somerset, his exploration of these landmarks leads to musings on wildlife, history, language and folklore, as well as an insight into the background to his collection of folk-horror stories 'Help the Witch'.  There's even a bit of social commentary and the odd ghost story thrown in.  As with its thematically-linked predecessor, this book is a wander through countryside and culture, wide-ranging, all-embracing and rarely dull.

A Walk in the Dark

'Help the Witch' by Tom Cox (Unbound, 2018)

As some of you may remember, I really enjoyed Tom Cox's '21st Century Yokel' about this time last year.  His next adventure was in short fiction, so, as a short story fan, I couldn't wait to try his folk horror collection 'Help the Witch'.

'Help the Witch' is a collection of ten tense tales which put the nature back into the supernatural.  A village's dark past haunts a new resident in the story 'Help the Witch', while a covertly sinister waterway permeates 'The Pool'.  Spirits walk in unlikely places in 'Speed Awareness' and 'Just Good Friends' and morality tales are modernised and subverted for comic effect in 'Folk Tales for the Twenty-Third Century'.  This is a collection that draws readers' attentions to the murky shadows that are inevitably cast even on bright, sunny days in the countryside.  You can't have one without the other, after all.  You may not notice them as you picnic and play, but they're always there.  And they may be out to get you...

They Were Only Prostitutes, Weren't They?

'The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper' by Hallie Rubenhold (Doubleday, 2019)

Ask anyone about the 'Jack the Ripper' murder victims, and most people will tell you that they were prostitutes.  It's everywhere, from the BBC to Wikipedia.  Even Hallie Rubenhold, an author noted for books on the history of women and sex, expected to use the infamous crimes as a gateway into the story of Victorian prostitution.  There was just one problem.  Her research showed little evidence that three of the five victims were sex workers.  Thus the world lost an account of the historical sex trade, but gained an unexpected book about women, history and prejudice - 'The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper'.