Title: The Illumination of Ursula Flight Writer: Anna-Marie Crowhurst Publishing House: Allen & Unwin Date of Publication: May 3rd 2018 Rating: 5 stars ‘’On the fifteenth day of December in the year of our Lord 1664, a great light bloomed in the dark sky and crept slowly and silently across the blackness: a comet. The…
Tag: 17th century
The Mercies
Title: The Mercies Writer: Kiran Millwood Hargrave Publishing House: Picador Date of Publication: February 6th 2020 Rating: 4 stars ”The storm comes in like a finger snap. That’s how they’ll speak in the months and years after, when it stops being only an ache behind their eyes and crushing at the base of their throats….
The Glass Woman
Title: The Glass Woman Writer: Caroline Lea Publishing House: Michael Joseph (Penguin Books) Date of Publication: February 7th 2019 Rating: 3 stars ”But the knowledge of the body stayed, like the blood-spattered scenes at the end of the Sagas: those age-old, heat-filled stories, which are told to children from birth and fill every Icelander with an understanding of violence.” Ιceland,…
By Night Under the Stone Bridge
Title: By Night Under the Stone Bridge (original title: Nachts unter der steinernen Brücke. Ein Roman aus dem alten Prag) Writer: Leo Perutz (translated by Eric Mosbacher) Publishing House: Arcade Publishing Date of Publication: April 1st 1990 (first published 1953) Rating: 5 stars “They say a deaf man heard a dumb man talking about a blind man who saw a…
The Poison Bed
Title: The Poison Bed Writer: Elizabeth Fremantle Publishing House: Penguin UK Date of Publication: June 14th 2018 Rating: 4 stars ‘’Whether we fall by ambition, blood, or lust Like diamonds, we are cut with our own dust.’’ The Duchess of Malfi, John Webster May I just say that this is one of the most intriguing front covers I’ve ever seen?…
A Column of Fire
Title: A Column of Fire Writer: Ken Follett Publishing House: Viking Date of Publication: September 12th 2017 Rating: 4 stars ‘’People should hear Bible stories from their parish priest. If they start reading for themselves, they’re sure to get the wrong idea.’’ Some things never change… 1558, Kingsbridge. Europe is once again in disarray, torn by trivial religious differences. The…
The Daughters of Salem: How We Sent Our Children to their Deaths
Title: The Daughters of Salem: How We Sent Our Children to their Deaths Writer: Thomas Gilbert Publishing House: Europe Comics Date of Publication: January 23rd 2019 Rating: 1 star Last year, my partner persuaded me to start appreciating the graphic novel. You see, Stephen King’s The Dark Tower saga is his Bible, so the graphic novels of the series…
The Familiars
Title: The Familiars Writer: Stacey Halls Publishing House: MIRA Date of Publication: February 19th 2019 (first published February 7th 2019) Rating: 5 stars ‘’Justice means fairness. Luck of prejudice.’’ I’ve always loved Pendle Hill and the stories of the women who were accused of witchcraft during one of the darkest moments in the history of Europe. The fascinating legends found…
A Light of Her Own
Title: A Light of Her Own Writer: Carrie Callaghan Publishing House: Amberjack Publishing Date of Publication: November 13th 2018 Rating: 1 star Holland, during the 17th century. Judith and Maria are two women who are struggling to find their footing in a society that closes all doors to the ones who don’t fit in the religious images cultivated by an…
The Opinionated Reader 
You must be logged in to post a comment.