History from a Woman's Perspective- A Book Blog

Death of a Lady (Jane Austen Investigations #1) Author: Laura Martin Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery & Suspense Publisher: Sapere Books Publication Date: 2023 Pages: 290 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review  Synopsis: Can Jane use her observational skills to solve a horrific murder…? 1795, Hampshire, England Jane Austen and her family are delighted to be attending Lord Westworth’s ball. The event has been at the centre of village gossip after it was announced Westworth was holding a ball to celebrate the return of his brother, who went missing in India many years earlier and had been declared dead. At the ball an old friend, Emma Roscoe, bumps into Jane and tells her she saw something she shouldn’t have. She asks Jane to meet her at ten o’clock in the library to discuss it. Delayed by dancing with the charming Mr Tom Lefroy, Jane is late to meet to her friend. But when she arrives, she finds the body of Emma Roscoe lyi...

Harriet: A Jane Austen Variation  Author: Alice McVeigh Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Warleigh Hall Press Release Date: 2020 Pages: 320 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Emma, a privileged young heiress, decides to mentor Harriet Smith, a pretty boarding-school pupil, and to matchmake her as eligibly as she can… But how is she to guess that Harriet has a secret?        Meanwhile, the brilliant, penniless Jane Fairfax consents to a clandestine engagement with Frank Churchill – though not daring to confess, even to him, that she is being relentlessly pursued by her best friend’s husband.        Harriet sidelines Emma herself in favour of the ingenious Harriet and the fascinating Jane Fairfax. It is Emma – but an Emma with a surprisingly believable twist in its tail.         My Review: Harriet is a major supporting character in Jane Auste...

Susan: A Jane Austen Prequel Author: Alice McVeigh Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Warleigh Hall Press Release Date: 2021 Pages: 342 Source: Personal Collection  Synopsis: Susan is a Jane Austen Prequel (or Pride and Prejudice Variation) brilliantly capturing Austen's own Lady Susan as a young girl.        Familiar characters abound - Frank Churchill, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Mr Collins - but Susan - mischievous and manipulative - is the star. This is Austen that even Austen might have loved, with a touch of Georgette Heyer in the romantic sections. Fans of Bridgerton will also relish this classic regency romance, the first in a six-book series.        Sixteen-year-old Susan Smithson - pretty but poor, clever but capricious - has just been expelled from a school for young ladies in London.         At the mansion of the formidable Lady Catherine de Bourgh, she attracts ...

Queen of Exiles Author: Vanessa Riley Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: William Morrow Release Date: 2023 Pages: 447 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Acclaimed historical novelist Vanessa Riley is back with another novel based on the life of an extraordinary Black woman from history: Haiti’s Queen Marie-Louise Christophe, who escaped a coup in Haiti to set up her own royal court in Italy during the Regency era, where she became a popular member of royal European society.       The Queen of Exiles is Marie-Louise Christophe, wife and then widow of Henry I, who ruled over the newly liberated Kingdom of Hayti in the wake of the brutal Haitian Revolution.      In 1810 Louise is crowned queen as her husband begins his reign over the first and only free Black nation in the Western Hemisphere. But despite their newfound freedom, Haitians still struggle under mountains of debt to France and indiffe...

The Grand Sophy (Regency Romances # 10) Author: Georgette Heyer Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca Publication Date: 2009 Pages: 360 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: A reader favorite from the Queen of Regency Romance, The Grand Sophy is an utterly hilarious and completely endearing story of a charming young heroine and the outrageous lengths she goes to solve everyone else's problems, and the surprises in store for everyone!        When Sir Horace Stanton-Lacy is ordered to South America on diplomatic business, he parks his only daughter, Sophy, with his sister in Berkeley Square. Forward, bold, and out-spoken, Sophy sweeps in and immediately takes the ton by storm.         Upon her arrival, Sophy can see that her cousins are in a sad tangle: Ceclia is in love with a poet, Charles is engaged to a dour bluestocking, her uncle is of no use at all...

Arabella (Regency Romances #9) Author: Georgette Heyer Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca  Release Date: 2009 Pages: 322 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: If you love Bridgerton , you'll love Georgette Heyer.        A fiery debutante. An ill-tempered bachelor. A romance for the ages. Arabella, the daughter of an impoverished country parson, dreams of a new life in London. But her beauty and charm will only get her so far—and when Arabella embarks on her first London season armed with nothing but a benevolent godmother and her own notoriously short temper, she quickly runs afoul of Robert Beaumaris.      He's the most eligible bachelor of the day, with a personality as strong and combative as hers—and Arabella cannot abide him thinking of her as just another pretty girl after his wealth. So she allows herself to be provoked into a game of deception—one...

Murder at the Seven Dials (Bow Street Duchess Mystery Series Book #1) Author: Cara Devlin Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery & Suspense, Romance  Publisher: Cara Devlin  Release Date: 2023 Pages: 304 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.  Synopsis: The romantic historical mystery series readers are devouring begins with Murder at the Seven Dials ...      A murdered opera singer. A duke drenched in her blood. For Bow Street Officer Hugh Marsden, the brutal killing is a straightforward case. Ever since his own exile from polite society, Hugh’s distaste for the ton has grown. Now, an opportunity to take down a peer of the realm has practically fallen into his lap. The only thing standing in his way? Audrey Sinclair, the Duchess of Fournier.       Audrey is certain her husband is wrongly accused, and she’s determined to prove it to the arrogant Bow Street officer, even if she must e...