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20 April 2024

Book Review: The Dartington Bride, by Rosemary Griggs


Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

1571, and the beautiful, headstrong daughter of a French Count marries the son of the Vice Admiral of the Fleet of the West in Queen Elizabeth’s chapel at Greenwich. It sounds like a marriage made in heaven…

This second novel from Rosemary Griggs in her ‘Daughters of Devon’ series builds on her award-winning debut with the story of the life of Katherine Raleigh, 'A Woman of Noble Wit'.

As with her first book, Rosemary Griggs has drawn from well-researched historical events and the people of Devon, England. 

Lady Gabrielle Montgomery, known by her family as Roberda, flees the religious wars of France for Dartington Hall in Devon, where each day presents new challenges.

I particularly like the way Rosemary Griggs uses her experience as a guide at Dartington Hall to create an evocative and compelling first-person account from a woman's perspective. I enjoyed following Roberda's journey and the details of daily life in Elizabethan England.

'The Dartington Bride' is also a surprisingly topical exploration of the consequences of religious wars on innocent women, and the hardships faced by refugees. Highly recommended.

Tony Riches

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About the Author

Rosemary Griggs is a retired Whitehall Senior Civil Servant with a lifelong passion for history. An avid researcher, she is now a speaker on Devon’s history and leads heritage tours at Dartington Hall.  She also creates and wears sixteenth century clothing which she often uses to bring history to life for local museums and community groups.  Rosemary lives in Devon with husband David, and her first novel, a Woman of Noble Wit features many of the county’s well loved places.  Find out more on Rosemary’s website https://rosemarygriggs.co.uk/ and follow her on Facebook and Twitter @RAGriggsauthor

19 April 2024

Blog Tour Excerpt: Yellow Bird’s Song, by Heather Miller


Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

In 1849, mercurial Rollin Ridge leaves his family behind to avoid hanging after avenging his father and grandfather's assassinations. After his crime, Rollin runs west with his brothers to mine California gold, packing sin and grief in his saddlebags. Through letters home, he finds his justice only after unearthing how the father's sins have followed the son.

Excerpt: Sarah Northrup Ridge, Near New Echota, Cherokee Nation East, 1827

Orchards greeted us in neatly planted rows, dense with peaches and apples, creating a fragrance in the air like home. Servants’ quarters bordered the tree line of flat valley land surrounding Diamond Hill. Joe Vann’s large manor, a two-story brick home with expensive glass windows and large white columns, held verandas on the front and the rear of the house. There were corncribs, smokehouses, and outbuildings for weaving and cooking. Given the abundant number of horses and carriages, many attended. A surge rushed through me, nerves on fire, reminding me of the importance of the event, framed by the fear I’d make a mistake.
   Our carriage rolled through Vann land between a row of walnut trees bordering endless green pastures. Black and white cows, silent sentinels, gnawed grass and watched as we passed, undisturbed. As the horses pulled us the last distance, I saw an open door at the side of the house. From it, trails of servants carried trays and crockery from the exterior kitchen to the main house near white linen tablecloths and white-washed ladderback chairs in neat rows. Their movement reminded me of fire ants seeking sweets, and, in a line, returning to their self-constructed dirt abodes. Other servants turned a pig on an open fire, slaughtered for the occasion. The smell of salt and fat from the roasted meat mingled with the aromatic sweet apples hanging on the trees. The bees hummed louder amidst such plenty. 
   Most whites were surprised to know slavery existed among the Cherokee. John and I argued over the institution. The Ridges treated their servants like family. However, their will to choose their lives was the identical desire of John’s people, fighting for God-given liberty to govern themselves. While we still lived with his family, I could do little but speak to my husband and pursue change. But I knew a time would come when America and the Cherokee Nation must make the moral choice, no matter the economic difficulty such a choice might bring. 
   Once I stepped from the carriage, John held my gloved hand and said, “I’m instituting the wink law.” John’s top hat shaded half of his face, so I couldn’t see his eyes in the bright sunlight. I predicted his expression from his carefree tone. “Are you familiar, Mistress Ridge?” he asked.
   “I am not, Mister Ridge. However, I would hate to violate without intention.”
   “Ignorance of the law is no excuse. It is in the Constitution.”
   “I’m aware.” I grinned.
   “One wink means I have ten minutes to end my conversation and take you home.”
   “What does a whole blink mean?” I asked. 
   I surprised him with my question. “I don’t know. You have something in your eye?”
   “A whole blink means I’m proud of you and content to remain by your side, but thank you for saying so. You know I am worried about leaving Rollin and Clarinda with Honey. She can manage one, but if Rollin wails…”
   “Amendment duly noted, Mistress Ridge.” He rechecked his watch. “I’ll have you back to our children in hours.” His promise was sincere, just under the surface of his sarcasm.
I pulled him close so I could whisper. “Promise me you won’t leave me alone too often.” For a man so aware of time, he lost hours debating politics.
“Agreed. I hope we get to mingle with the many guests in the time we have. Some have traveled great distances and are new here.”
Major and Mother followed us into the sunlight. A row of white women adorned in a rainbow of pastels held fast to their matching parasols with white-gloved hands and whispered about the heat while their white-breeched, black-booted husbands stood in small circles gesturing about important matters. White pipe smoke hazed around their heads. 
Shirtless Cherokee separated themselves by sitting on their heels on the ground. Cherokee women walked through the guests with red and purple baskets in their arms and yellowed gourds slung from leather straps around their necks. Like John’s family, wealthy Cherokee slipped easily between these two groups. As for me, I did not know where I’d fit in this mix of classes and attitudes.

Heather Miller

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About the Author

Heather Miller is a veteran English teacher and college professor who has spent nearly thirty years teaching her students the author’s craft. Now, with empty nest time on her hands, she’s writing herself, transcribing lost voices in American’s history. Find out more from Heather's website: https://www.heathermillerauthor.com  and find her on Facebook and Twitter @HMHFR

18 April 2024

Blog Tour Spotlight: The Viola Factor, by Sheridan Brown


Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

"The Viola Factor" takes place at a time when the country faced division and growth after the American Civil War. Viola Knapp Ruffner (1812-1903) struggled with what was just and fair, becoming a little-known confidant for a young black scholar from Virginia. But Viola was much more than a teacher; she was a mother, wife, game-changer, and friend. 

With her mother's dying wish, a young woman alone, she left her New England roots. This is a story of trauma and love in the South while battling for justice and the rightful education of the enslaved and once enslaved. African American leader Booker T. Washington (1856-1915) called her his friend and model for life.

The Viola Factor is in many ways a journey of life done in baby steps, tentatively stumbling, until a galloping stride is achieved. Viola Knapp wears different shoes on different days. Heavy, mud-trekking boots to allow for aggressive steps, and daintier shoes for more rhythmic and assertive ones. She was a diligent daughter, an outspoken protector, and a progressive teacher.

Like many women in her situation, alone at seventeen, Viola must realize her own principles to fulfill her future goals. With every stride, Viola Knapp Ruffner marches around surprises, over potholes, and dodges folly after folly on her journey to be fulfilled. 

After ambling in one direction, plodding along in another, and wandering to find herself, a sudden halt pushes her forward until a factor of fate places her in the path of a newly freed slave with a desire to read and penchant to lead. After years of post-traumatic stress and mental uncoupling, she finds herself a woman who followed her mother's dying wish to fight for what is fair and just.

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About the Author

Sheridan Brown holds advanced degrees in school leadership and is a certified teacher, principal, and educational leader. The arts have always been a central force in her life, since performing in piano recitals, school band, plays, and singing in choirs. Sheridan was born in Tennessee and raised in small towns of southwest Virginia. She practiced her profession in Virginia, Massachusetts, and Florida. Upon retirement, she began volunteering, painting, writing, researching, and traveling with her husband, attorney John Crawford. She has one son, Tony Hume. She is GiGi to Aiden and Lucy. She has returned to the Blue Ridge to live and explore. You can find Sheridan on Facebook



17 April 2024

Book Review: The Cavalier's Oath (Lord's Legacy Book 6) by Eleanor Swift-Hook


Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

England, May 1643 With the country riven by civil war, word reaches Royalist headquarters in Oxford that the Parliamentarian commander Sir William Waller plans to capture the strategic city of Worcester. Sir Philip Lord, a mercenary commander with a mysterious past, is sent to help prepare Worcester to withstand a siege. With Lord is Gideon Lennox, a young lawyer, who has been helping Lord unravel the secretive conspiracy that has overshadowed his life.


The sixth and final book of the Lord's Legacy series is a masterclass in how to bring together the complex and unresolved strands of an entire series to a satisfying conclusion. 

My plan was to read one book a month, but I found I couldn't wait to find out what happened next  - and raced through this last book. I like the way Eleanor Swift-Hook has built an ensemble cast of characters, and reveals a little more backstory in each book.

These are men and women you can care about, with enough well-researched history to create a compelling world based on actual events.

This is a series I will return to with the benefit of knowing how the mysteries are solved. I thoroughly recommend reading the Lord's Legacy series in order, and am inspired to look deeper into the truth behind the often over simplified explanations of the English Civil War.

Tony Riches

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About the Author

Eleanor Swift-Hook enjoys the mysteries of history and fell in love with the early Stuart era at university when she re-enacted battles and living history events with the English Civil War Society. Since then, she has had an ongoing fascination with the social, military and political events that unfolded during the Thirty Years' War and the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. She lives in County Durham and loves writing stories woven into the historical backdrop of those dramatic times. You can find out more about the background of Lord's Legacy on her website www.eleanorswifthook.com and find her on Twitter @emswifthook

See Also:


14 April 2024

Historical Fiction Spotlight: Becoming the Twilight Empress: A Theodosian Women Novella, by Faith L. Justice

Available from Amazon US and Amazon UK

In a tumultuous time of violence, betrayal, and ruthless evil, can one charismatic young woman survive the bloodshed?

Ravenna, A.D. 408. Placidia is watching her family fall apart. When her emperor brother accuses their powerful foster father of treason, the naive imperial princess tries to reason with her sibling to no avail. And after her foster father is lured out of sanctuary and brutally executed, she flees the toxic court to avoid a forced marriage… but to dubious safety.

Braving increasing peril on her journey to Rome, Placidia barely survives impassable swamps, imperial assassins, and bands of barbarians. When the Goths besiege Rome and a starving populace threaten civil disorder, the daughter of Theodosius the Great must navigate fraught politics to become a vigilant leader… or face an early death.

Can she rise above an empire descending into chaos?

Becoming the Twilight Empress is the breathtaking prequel to the Theodosian Women biographical historical fiction series. If you like tenacious heroines, vivid settings, and nail-biting drama, then you’ll love Faith L. Justice’s captivating coming-of-age adventure.

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About the Author

Faith L. Justice writes award-winning historical novels, short stories, and articles in Brooklyn, New York where she lives with her family and the requisite gaggle of cats. Her work has appeared in Salon.com, Writer’s Digest, The Copperfield Review, and many more publications. She is Chair of the New York City chapter of the Historical Novel Society, and Associate Editor for Space and Time Magazine. She co-founded a writer’s workshop many more years ago than she likes to admit. For fun, she digs in the dirt—her garden and various archaeological sites. Find out more at Dawn's w
ebsite: https://faithljustice.com and find her on Facebook and Twitter @faithljustice

6 April 2024

Book Review: The Alchemist's Plot (Lord's Legacy Book 5) by Eleanor Swift-Hook


Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

England, March 1643:  While the civil war between King Charles and his Parliament continues to tear the nation apart, erstwhile lawyer, Gideon Lennox, returns to England as part of a royal escort and in the employ of Sir Philip Lord, a mercenary commander with a mysterious past.


The fifth book of the Lord's Legacy series takes us to the mysterious London house of prominent Elizabethan alchemist, Dr John Dee. Gideon Lennox takes centre stage, and we finally learn a little more about the members of the enigmatic 'Covenant'.

As a fan of the series I enjoyed the linking back to previous events, although I feel readers should start with book one to fully appreciate the author's nuanced style.

I particularly liked the well-researched details, such as the arrival of Queen Henrietta Maria in England, and the way the story of the Dutch and Flemish tapestry makers is woven into the plot.

The Alchemist's Plot is an entertaining read, with overtones of 'Tomb Raider', and Eleanor Swift-Hook's engaging writing keeps the pages turning. The cliffhanger ending means I have already started on the final book in the series, The Cavalier's Oath

Tony Riches

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About the Author

Eleanor Swift-Hook enjoys the mysteries of history and fell in love with the early Stuart era at university when she re-enacted battles and living history events with the English Civil War Society. Since then, she has had an ongoing fascination with the social, military and political events that unfolded during the Thirty Years' War and the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. She lives in County Durham and loves writing stories woven into the historical backdrop of those dramatic times. You can find out more about the background of Lord's Legacy on her website www.eleanorswifthook.com and find her on Twitter @emswifthook

See Also:

3 April 2024

Book review: Jane Austen's Men, by Helen Amy


Available for pre-order from 

I'd been looking forward to this new book by Helen Amy, having previously been impressed by her anthology of Austen letters and family recollections, the Jane Austen Files.

This comprehensive study of all the men in Jane Austen's life is divided into two sections. The first two thirds focus on short biographies of each of the actual men she knew, starting with her father and brothers. The final third is an interesting review of the fictional men from her novels.

I particularly liked Jane's youngest brother, Charles. He encouraged her writing and she sent a copy of Emma to his ship, the Phoenix,  and he replied with a. note which said he had already read it three times during the voyage.

Packed with information and fascinating details which were new to me, this book will appeal to anyone interested in how Jane Austen's writing was influenced by those around her.  Highly recommended.

Tony Riches 

Disclosure: A review copy was kindly provided by the publishers, Amberley Books

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About the Author

After leaving university with a BA in English Literature and history Helen Amy worked for a number of years in the Court Service before becoming a full time mother of three. Her interest in the life and works of Jane Austen developed from the research she did for her MA dissertation which was about the lives of women in late Georgian England. You can find Helen on Facebook