Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Marlene of Reading Reality. It is all about sharing the books that you have recently added to your bookshelves. These books can be physical books, ebooks and of course audiobooks.
Hello!
I hope everyone is having a good weekend so far. Now, I know I said that 2024 was the year I buy hardly any books and instead read through the books that I own. Well so far that hasn’t gone exactly according to plan. In my defence these books were bought in my new independent local bookshop which I hadn’t visited yet and wanted to support. February will be a better month for not buying books but my new local bookshop does have a loyalty card scheme so all hope on that front might now be lost.
Anyway, to the books!
365 Poems for Life – I love these poetry books compiled by Allie Esiri and I now own several of them so when I saw this new one I knew I had to have it and so far it does not disappoint.
A Death in Diamonds by S. J. Bennett – I have read the first book in this series and my husband has read the second book but not the first so between us we are going well with the series. Hopefully, I will read more of this series this year.
The Shadow King by Harry Sidebottom – This is a new author for me but I loved the sound of the book so I bought it and hope to read it soon.
My chosen poem today is by someone I have never come across before. Elinor Wylie (1885-1928) was an American poet and novelist popular in the 1920’s and 1930’s.
Velvet Shoes
Let us walk in the white snow In a soundless space; With footsteps quiet and slow, At a tranquil pace, Under veils of white lace.
I shall go shod in silk, And you in wool, White as a white cow's milk, More beautiful Than the breast of a gull.
We shall walk through the still town In a windless peace; We shall step upon white down, Upon silver fleece, Upon softer than these.
We shall walk in velvet shoes; Wherever we go Silence will fall like dews On white silence below. We shall walk in the snow.
Two women competing for a man’s heart. Two queens fighting to the death for dominance. The untold story of Mary Queen of Scots.
Fleeing rebels in Scotland on Queen Elizabeth’s false promise of sanctuary, Mary Queen of Scots finds herself imprisoned as the “guest” of George Talbot Earl of Shrewsbury and his indomitable wife, Bess of Hardwick. Soon the newly married couple’s home becomes the centre of intrigue and rebellion against Elizabeth, and their loyalty to each other and to their sovereign comes into question. If Mary succeeds in seducing the earl into her own web of treason, or if the great spymaster William Cecil links them to the growing conspiracy to free Mary from her illegal imprisonment, they will all face the headsman. Using new research and her passion for historical accuracy, Gregory places the doomed queen into a completely new tale of suspense, passion, and political intrigue.
Review
I have always been a massive fan of Philippa Gregory’s books although I will be honest I find them a bit more gossipy if that is the correct word than say an historical fiction book by Alison Weir. I started this book before Christmas but because of how busy I was and one thing and another I took a break from reading it and then picked it back up last week.
I will be honest this book was a hard slog for me and I mean a hard slog. I just could not gel with the format. The book is told from the perspectives of Mary Queen of Scots, Bess of Hardwick and George Talbot Earl of Shrewsbury. Each chapter is told from one of their opinions but the chapters are extremely short and so I could never seem to get fully into each chapter.
We will never know what these three characters were truly like as all that is left is historical evidence but I found Gregory’s interpretation an interesting one, especially of Bess. One of my favourite houses to visit is Hardwick and I admire Bess. She was a powerful woman who in this day and age would have been a successful business woman who people would hopefully respect and admire. However, in Tudor times Bess is hampered by being a woman, by marrying George she signs over everything she owns to him and this leaves her in constant danger of losing it all. However, Gregory portrays her as money obsessed and almost a bean counter but I really don’t think that is what she was like. She was a strong woman who wanted her independence and the right to be a successful land and property owner without being judged by the men in the world. I couldn’t help but feel devastated for her as events unfurled.
George was exactly as I always imagined him whether that is a fair assessment or not I can’t say but Gregory in my opinion got him down perfectly. I’ve read so many differing opinions of Mary Queen of Scots and I can see the side Gregory decided to portray but I must admit she was annoying. I’ve never come across a character who kept contradicting herself so much.
Overall, this book was like ploughing through treacle and not like Gregory’s other books I have read. I just did not like the format and could never seem to get into the book. I give this book 3 out of 5 Dragons.
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About the author
Philippa Gregory is one of the world’s foremost historical novelists. She wrote her first ever novel, Wideacre, when she was completing her PhD in eighteenth-century literature and it sold worldwide, heralding a new era for historical fiction.
Her flair for blending history and imagination developed into a signature style and Philippa went on to write many bestselling novels, including The Other Boleyn Girl and The White Queen.
Now a recognised authority on women’s history, Philippa graduated from the University of Sussex and received a PhD from the University of Edinburgh, where she is a Regent and was made Alumna of the Year in 2009. She holds honorary degrees from Teesside University and the University of Sussex. She is a fellow of the Universities of Sussex and Cardiff and an honorary research fellow at Birkbeck University of London.
Philippa is a member of the Society of Authors and in 2016, was presented with the Outstanding Contribution to Historical Fiction Award by the Historical Writers’ Association. In 2018, she was awarded an Honorary Platinum Award by Nielsen for achieving significant lifetime sales across her entire book output.
I hope everyone has had a good week so far. I’m getting really annoyed by my lack of reading so I’m hoping over the next few days I can get some quality sit down and read time.
My chosen quote this week is by the French philosopher, author, dramatist, journalist and political activist Albert Camus (1913-1960).
“You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.”
I have decided to take part in the Historical Reading Challenge hosted by Marg at The Intrepid Reader. I love reading historical fiction so I thought this would be a perfect challenge for me.
Each month a new post is created by Marg where we can post our links for the books we read and review in that month.
Any sub-genre of historical fiction is accepted (Historical Romance, Historical Mystery, Historical Fantasy, Young Adult, History/Non-Fiction, etc.)
There are different reading levels to work towards:
20th Century Reader – 2 books Victorian Reader – 5 books Renaissance Reader – 10 books Medieval – 15 books Ancient History – 25 books Prehistoric – 50+ books
I think I will aim for Ancient History but hopefully I might get higher than that.
I would love to hear if any of my fellow book bloggers are taking part in this challenge. Please drop me a comment with what level you are aiming for in 2024.
Goodreads Monday is now hosted by Budget Tales Book Club. All you have to do is show off a book from your TBR that you’re looking forward to reading.
Hello!
I hope everyone has had a good start to the week. I had an unexpected day where quite a few of my students were off sick so it meant a shorter day for me. My chosen book today is one I got this month but I’m really hoping I get around to reading in February.
Their names still echo down the ages: The Great Pyramid at Giza. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The Temple of Artemis. The statue of Zeus at Olympia. The mausoleum of Halikarnassos. The Colossus at Rhodes. The Lighthouse of Alexandria. The Seven Wonders of the World were staggeringly audacious impositions on our planet. They were also brilliant adventures of the mind, test cases of the reaches of human imagination. Now only the pyramid remains, yet the scale and majesty of these seven wonders still enthral us today.
In a thrilling, colourful narrative enriched with the latest archaeological discoveries, bestselling historian Bettany Hughes walks through the landscapes of both ancient and modern time; on a journey whose purpose is to ask why we wonder, why we create, why we choose to remember the wonder of others. She explores traces of the Wonders themselves, and the traces they have left in history. A majestic work of historical storytelling, The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World reinforces the exciting, and nourishing, notion that humans can make the impossible happen.
Please drop me a link with your Goodreads Monday and I will head over for a visit.
It is time for another Classics Club Spin event! I’m really hoping to make a dent in my Classics Club list this year as I haven’t done very well so far.
I’m looking forward to seeing what my next read will be. The end of the spin period is the 3rd March so that is my deadline to get the chosen book read by.
Here is my list:
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte
Villette by Charlotte Bronte
Shirley by Charlotte Bronte
The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Middlemarch by George Eliot
Cecilia by Frances Burney
Evelina by Frances Burney
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
Love in Excess by Eliza Haywood
The Runaway by Elizabeth Anna Hart
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
Candide by Volatire
The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Bleak House by Charles Dickens
Have you read any of the books off my list? I will be honest some of mine are rereads but you can never read Jane Austen too many times!
I’ve been at school today but I have managed some lovely reading which has been very nice. I have also been rather busy with my Etsy business. The TBR Tickets are proving very popular!
My chosen today is by the Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894).
Winter-Time
Late lies the wintry sun a-bed, A frosty, fiery sleepy-head; Blinks but an hour or two; and then, A blood-red orange, sets again.
Before the stars have left the skies, At mourning in the dark I rise; And shivering in my nakedness, By the cold candle, bathe and dress.
Close by the jolly fire I sit To warm my frozen bones a bit; Or with a reindeer-sled, explore The colder countries round the door.
When to go out, my nurse doth wrap Me in my comforter and cap; The cold wind burns my face, and blows Its frosty pepper up my nose.
Black are my steps on silver sod; Thick blows my frosty breath abroad; And tree and house, and hill and lake, Are frosted like a wedding-cake.
Cicero one of the great epics of political and historical fiction, The Cicero Trilogy charts the career of the Roman statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero from his mid-twenties as an ambitious young lawyer to his dramatic death more than thirty years later, pursued by an assassination squad on a cliff-top path.The extraordinary life that unfolds between these two episodes is recounted by Cicero’s private secretary, the law cases and the speeches that made his master’s name; the elections and conspiracies he fought; the rivals who contended for power around him – Pompey, Crassus, Cato, Clodius, Catalina, and, most menacingly, Caesar; and, at the heart of it all, the complex personality of Cicero himself – brilliant, cunning, duplicitous, anxious, brave, and always intensely humane.More than ten years in the writing, and now published in a single volume for the first time, The Cicero Trilogy brings the world of the Roman republic vividly to life. Here is its grandeur, ambition and corruption; and here is its tumultuous collapse into dictatorship and anarchy – a story of the fragility of democratic institutions that holds a warning for our own time.
Review
This was a long read for me, a very long read and I will be honest I did have some breaks from it but the time and effort were definitely worth it. I think I would have preferred to have read the book as the original three separate books rather than one epic book as at times it felt like I was treading water and not making any progress with the book.
This book is so much more than just the life of Cicero, it is the story of Rome and how it went from being run by the Republic to having an emperor. The story is told by Tiro who is Cicero’s slave and serves primarily as his secretary but he is also Cicero’s friend. Tiro does not hold anything back when telling us about the life of Cicero and we see all of Cicero’s highs and lows.
The first book of the trilogy tells us about Cicero’s rise to political power and becoming Consul of Rome. This book also starts to give us a glimpse of how vain Cicero can be at times. The middle book is dominated by Cicero’s consulship and the Catiline conspiracy in 63BC which shows Cicero desperately fighting to remain as consul. The third book takes a turn for the worse where Cicero finds himself in exile and fighting to save the Republic.
Through this trilogy we see so many great names from history that we know so well, Caesar, Crassus, Pompey and Cato to name a few. However, it is not all a political book. Harris also shows a private side to Cicero and his family life.
The thing I love about this book is just how incredibly well researched it is. Yes, it is historical fiction but the history facts are bang on. This is an epic trilogy and I can understand why it took quite a few years for Harris to finish the trilogy but it was worth it. I loved this book and it was definitely one of my top reads for 2023. I give this book 5 out of 5 Dragons.
(All purchases made using one of the above affiliate links gives a small percentage of money to myself with no extra cost to yourself. All proceeds go towards the upkeep of this blog. Thank you ever so much, your support is gratefully received.)
About the author
Robert Harris is the author of nine best-selling novels: Fatherland, Enigma, Archangel, Pompeii, Imperium, The Ghost Writer, Conspirata, The Fear Index, and An Officer and a Spy. Several of his books have been adapted to film, most recently The Ghost Writer, directed by Roman Polanski. His work has been translated into thirty-seven languages. He lives in the village of Kintbury, England, with his wife, Gill Hornby.
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