Monsieur Le Commandant by Romain Slocombe

Gallic Books kindly offered to send me a review copy of Monsieur Le Commandant - the cover got me straight away. A beautiful graphic font, not too busy, and a French stamp mingled with a Nazi eagle in the corner - something that becomes more and more poignant and chilling as you make your way… Continue reading Monsieur Le Commandant by Romain Slocombe

Kipling and Trix by Mary Hamer (2012)

The premise for this novel is simple - that the story of Rudyard Kipling's sister Trix is fascinating. Who even knew he had a sister, the blurb exclaims. Author Mary Hamer wrote a blog post for me about why she chose to write about Trix (read it here) and I loved the idea of exploring… Continue reading Kipling and Trix by Mary Hamer (2012)

Light Falling on Bamboo by Lawrence Scott

This book is beautiful. Firstly, the cover is very attractive and engaging; and the hardback inside the slip cover is bright yellow, a colour that makes us think of the sun and the sand in Trinidad, where the novel is set. Secondly, the language and descriptions in Light Falling on Bamboo are really lovely. From… Continue reading Light Falling on Bamboo by Lawrence Scott

The Pleasures of Men by Kate Williams

Another great book by a graduate of and now lecturer at Royal Holloway (where I went). Must be something in the water... I'd been eyeing this book for a while on Amazon and GoodReads, and finally bought a copy in Waterstones. As a huge fan of Sarah Waters and a good unreliable narrator, this is just… Continue reading The Pleasures of Men by Kate Williams

Tides of War by Stella Tillyard (2011)

Stella Tillyard is primarily an historian; it is therefore unsurprising that Tides of War, her debut foray into fiction, encapsulates every aspect of the Peninsula War of 1812 – 1815 from the social impact in England to the daily life of the soldiers fighting in Spain. The novel’s title is extremely fitting, though at first… Continue reading Tides of War by Stella Tillyard (2011)