History from a Woman's Perspective- A Book Blog

Author: L.M. Montgomery Narrator: Colleen Winton Length: 10 hours 7 minutes Publisher: Post Hypnotic Press Series: Anne of Green Gables, Book One Genre: Classics        Anne, a young orphan from the fictional community of Bolingbroke, Nova Scotia (based upon the real community of New London), is sent to Prince Edward Island after a childhood spent in strangers' homes and orphanages. Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, siblings in their 50s and 60s, had decided to adopt a boy from the orphanage to help Matthew run their farm. They live at Green Gables, their Avonlea farmhouse on Prince Edward Island. Through a misunderstanding, the orphanage sends Anne Shirley. Anne is described as bright and quick, eager to please, talkative, and extremely imaginative. She has a pale face with freckles and usually braids her red hair. When asked her name, Anne tells Marilla to call her Cordelia, which Marilla refuses; Anne then insists that if she is to be called Anne, it

Remember, Remember (A Sherlock Holmes and Lucy James Mystery) Author: Anna Elliott and Charles Veley Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery Publisher: Wilton Press Release Date: 2017 Pages: 357 Source: This book was given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: The game's afoot in this fast-paced Victorian mystery!      A lovely young American actress has a major problem.      It's a cold morning in 1897 when she awakens outside the British Museum, lying face down on the concrete pavement . She has no memories. She does not even know who she is, although she has a vague recollection of the name Sherlock Holmes. She thinks she may have just killed someone, and she knows someone wants to kill her. As she searches for clues to her true identity, she will learn that she is not the only target. Unless she can defeat her evil adversaries, the people most dear to her will die.       My Review: A young woman awakens one morning lying outside of the Brit

Lilli de Jong by Janet Benton Publication Date: May 16, 2017 Nan A. Talese Hardcover & eBook; 352 Pages Genre: Fiction/Historical/Literary READ AN EXCERPT . Source: This book was given to me by Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: A young woman finds the most powerful love of her life when she gives birth at an institution for unwed mothers in 1883 Philadelphia. She is told she must give up her daughter to avoid lifelong poverty and shame. But she chooses to keep her.      Pregnant, left behind by her lover, and banished from her Quaker home and teaching position, Lilli de Jong enters a home for wronged women to deliver her child. She is stunned at how much her infant needs her and at how quickly their bond overtakes her heart. Mothers in her position face disabling prejudice, which is why most give up their newborns. But Lilli can’t accept such an outcome. Instead, she braves moral condemnati

The Library of Light and Shadow (Daughters of La Lune #3) Author: M. J. Rose Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Paranormal Publisher: Atria Release Date: July 18, 2017 Pages: 368 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.  Synopsis: In this riveting and richly drawn novel from “one of the master storytellers of historical fiction” ( New York Times bestselling author Beatriz Williams), a talented young artist flees New York for the South of France after one of her scandalous drawings reveals a dark secret—and triggers a terrible tragedy.      In the wake of a dark and brutal World War, the glitz and glamour of 1925 Manhattan shine like a beacon for the high society set, desperate to keep their gaze firmly fixed to the future. But Delphine Duplessi sees more than most. At a time in her career when she could easily be unknown and penniless, like so many of her classmates from L’École des Beaux Arts, in America she has gained notoriety for her stunning “shadow

Messenger of Truth (Maisie Dobbs #4) Author: Jacqueline Winspear Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. Release Date: 2010 Pages: 337 Source: My State Public Library  Synopsis: Maisie Dobbs investigates the mysterious death of a controversial artist—and World War I veteran—in the fourth entry in the bestselling series. London, 1931. The night before an exhibition of his artwork opens at a famed Mayfair gallery, the controversial artist Nick Bassington-Hope falls to his death. The police rule it an accident, but Nick's twin sister, Georgina, a wartime journalist and a infamous figure in her own right, isn't convinced. When the authorities refuse to consider her theory that Nick was murdered, Georgina seeks out a fellow graduate from Girton College, Maisie Dobbs, psychologist and investigator, for help. Nick was a veteran of World War I, and before long the case leads Maisie to the desolate beaches of Dungeness in Kent, and into the sinister u

Pardonable Lies (Maisie Dobbs #3) Author: Jacqueline Winspear Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery  Publisher: Picador Release Date: 2006 Pages: 384 Source: My State Public Library  Synopsis: London 1930, psychologist investigator Maisie Dobbs must prove Sir Cedric's aviator son Ralph Lawton died when shot down in 1917. In former battlefields of France, she re-unites with Priscilla Evernden, one of whose three brothers lost in the War is somehow connected. The case tests Maisie's spiritual strength and her regard for mentor Maurice Blanche.      My Review: Maisie Dobbs is hired by Sir Cedric to find evidence that his son, Ralph Lawton, has been killed in the war. The case leads her to France, where her best friend Priscilla also asks her to find her brother’s lost grave. As Maisie journeys to France, she finds that the two cases are connected. As she delves deeper into the mysteries surrounding these two lost soldiers, Maisie begins to question her mentor, Maurice, wit

A Twisted Vengeance by Candace Robb Publication Date: May 9, 2017 Pegasus Books Hardcover; 400 Pages Series: Kate Clifford Mysteries, Book Two Genre: Historical/Mystery/Thriller      As the fourteenth century comes to a close, York seethes on the brink of civil war―and young widow Kate Clifford, struggling to keep her businesses afloat, realizes that her mother is harboring a dangerous secret…      1399. York is preparing for civil war, teeming with knights and their armed retainers summoned for the city’s defense. Henry of Lancaster is rumored to have landed on the northeast coast of England, not so far from York, intent on reclaiming his inheritance―an inheritance which his cousin, King Richard, has declared forfeit.      With the city unsettled and rife with rumors, Eleanor Clifford’s abrupt return to York upon the mysterious death of her husband in Strasbourg is met with suspicion in the city. Her daughter Kate is determined to keep her dist

The Service of the Dead by Candace Robb Paperback Publication Date: May 9, 2017 Pegasus Books Paperback; 256 Pages Series: Kate Clifford Mysteries, Book One Genre: Historical/Mystery/Thriller Expertly recreating the social and political upheavals of late medieval Europe, Candace Robb introduces a new series starring Kate Clifford, a woman forged on the warring northern marches of fourteenth century England. Political unrest permeates York at the cusp of the fifteenth century, as warring factions take sides on who should be the rightful king–Richard II or his estranged, powerful cousin in exile, Henry Bolingbroke. Independent minded twenty-year-old Kate Clifford is struggling to dig out from beneath the debt left by her late husband. Determined to find a way to be secure in her own wealth and establish her independence in a male dominated society, Kate turns one of her properties near the minster into a guest house and sets up a business. In a danc