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Posts tagged with ‘England’

PRETTY JANE AND THE VIPER OF KIDBROOKE LANE by Paul Thomas Murphy

May 6, 2016

A NOTORIOUS VICTORIAN MURDER case, fascinatingly presented, offers insights into the era’s preoccupations. A MINUS

PRETTY JANE AND THE VIPER OF KIDBROOKE LANE: A TRUE STORY OF VICTORIAN LAW AND DISORDER: THE FIRST UNSOLVED MURDER OF THE VICTORIAN AGE
Pegasus Books
2016

Grade: A MINUS

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A KING’S RANSOM by Sharon Kay Penman

April 19, 2014

A RICH TAPESTRY OF HISTORY comes alive in this vividly told saga of Richard the Lionhearted’s last years. B PLUS

A KING’S RANSOM
A Marian Wood Book/Putnam
2014

Grade: B PLUS

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SHADOW ON THE CROWN, by Patricia Bracewell

June 2, 2013

THE MEDIEVAL ENGLISH COURT of Aethelred and Emma, vividly depicted in all its wicked intrigue. Tudors? Pfft!

Grade: B PLUS

SHADOW ON THE CROWN
Viking
2013

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THE PINECONE, by Jenny Uglow

February 13, 2013

ENGAGING BIOGRAPHY OF architect, artist, antiquarian Sarah Losh, whose 1840s church in Wreay still delights.

Grade: B PLUS

THE PINECONE: THE STORY OF SARAH LOSH, FORGOTTEN ROMANTIC HEROINE---ANTIQUARIAN, ARCHITECT, AND VISIONARY
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
2013

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THE BRONTES, by Juliet Barker

November 19, 2012

IMPRESSIVE NEW BIOGRAPHY of the Brontës reveals much about father and brother as well as the famous sisters.

Grade: B PLUS

THE BRONTES: WILD GENIUS ON THE MOORS: THE STORY OF A LITERARY FAMILY
Pegasus Books
2012

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THE UNFAITHFUL QUEEN, by Carolly Erickson

November 8, 2012

BACK TO THE TUDORS with Carolly Erickson for a lively novel about Catherine Howard, the 5th Mrs. Henry VIII.

Grade: SOLID B

THE UNFAITHFUL QUEEN: A NOVEL OF HENRY VIII'S FIFTH WIFE
St. Martin's
2012

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ABDICATION, by Juliet Nicolson

November 4, 2012

GRANDLY SPRAWLING HISTORICAL novel follows the abdication of Edward VIII from both “upstairs” and “downstairs”.

Grade: SOLID B

ABDICATION
Atria
2012

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THE PERFECT GENTLEMAN, by Imran Ahmad

October 9, 2012

ENGAGING MEMOIR DETAILS an Englishman’s quest to reconcile the UK’s status symbols with his Pakistani heritage.

Grade: SOLID B

THE PERFECT GENTLEMAN: A MUSLIM BOY MEETS THE WEST
Grand Central
2012

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GYPSY BOY, by Mikey Walsh

August 15, 2012

GRITTY, CANDID MEMOIR of a childhood in England’s Romany Gypsy community, facing prejudice, violence, abuse.

Grade: SOLID B

GYPSY BOY: MY LIFE IN THE SECRET WORLD OF THE ROMANY GYPSIES
St. Martin's Press
2012

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MRS. ROBINSON’S DISGRACE, by Kate Summerscale

July 31, 2012

ENGAGING, IMPECCABLY RESEARCHED account of a high-profile divorce trial that scandalized Victorian England.

Grade: SOLID B

MRS. ROBINSON'S DISGRACE: THE PRIVATE DIARY OF A VICTORIAN LADY
Bloomsbury USA
2012

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