It doesn’t come out until September, but I’m already excited!  I love French Revolution fiction and am not averse to time-travel as long as it’s not too silly.  Here’s the book description:

Revolution

by Jennifer Donnelly

September 28, 2010

book description:

“BROOKLYN: Andi Alpers is on the edge. She’s angry at her father for leaving, angry at her mother for not being able to cope, and heartbroken by the loss of her younger brother, Truman. Rage and grief are destroying her. And she’s about to be expelled from Brooklyn Heights’ most prestigious private school when her father intervenes. Now Andi must accompany him to Paris for winter break.

PARIS: Alexandrine Paradis lived over two centuries ago. She dreamed of making her mark on the Paris stage, but a fateful encounter with a doomed prince of France cast her in a tragic role she didn’t want—and couldn’t escape.

Two girls, two centuries apart. One never knowing the other. But when Andi finds Alexandrine’s diary, she recognizes something in her words and is moved to the point of obsession. There’s comfort and distraction for Andi in the journal’s antique pages—until, on a midnight journey through the catacombs of Paris, Alexandrine’s words transcend paper and time, and the past becomes suddenly, terrifyingly present.

Jennifer Donnelly, author of the award-winning novel A Northern Light, artfully weaves two girls’ stories into one unforgettable account of life, loss, and enduring love. Revolution spans centuries and vividly depicts the eternal struggles of the human heart.”

I had 2 of this author’s other books, but the flood got them

This past week I read The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom (read my review) and am a good way through The Bastard King by Jean Plaidy, my second for the Jean Plaidy 2010 Challenge and a read related to the era I am researching (late Anglo-Saxon England).

Amy from Passages to the Past made this lovely button for the Historical Fiction Round Table’s February read, The Secret of the Glass by Donna Russo Morin.

The schedule for this event is going up soon and we have a beautiful Murano Venetian glass heart pendant as one of our giveaways!

I have so many books lined up to read between now and May!  Here’s the list:

The Lute Player by Norah Lofts
Secrets of the Tudor Court by D.L. Bogdan
The Stolen Crown by Susan Higginbotham
By Fire, By Water by Mitchell James Kaplan
The Confessions of Catherine de. Medici by C.W. Gortner
The Queen’s Pawn by Christy English
The Scarlet Lion by Elizabeth Chadwick
Claude and Camille by Stephanie Cowell
Watermark by Vanitha Sankaran

The above books need to be read plus Plaidy, Heyer and some non-fiction I’m trying to squeeze in! I’m actually doing great to be on book # 8 for 2010, as I have little time between family & work to actually sit down and read, and I am a very precise reader… I do not skip words or speed-read. I have to soak in everything to feel I have completed a book.

I hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday!

The Kitchen House

by Kathleen Grissom

This is one of the few books I’ve read where the first half of the book was utterly fantastic, but the ending was so off from what I imagined that I’m left with a slight feeling of disappointment. While I realize the author had let events fall as they did to keep the story going, it just seems there were opportunities to go a different direction. The ending was scanty and abrupt, with no real resolution, and for this I took away a star. Yes, this would have been a 5 star read for me had I not been so devastated at the final outcome (much like my feelings for Forever Amber).

As I said before, the beginning of this book, and well into the middle, pulls you in and won’t let go. Lavinia is orphaned at age 7 on a ship from Ireland. As her parents had died on board without paying their passage, Lavinia and her brother became indentured servants to the Captain, who owned a tobacco plantation in Virginia. He sold her brother and deposited her at the kitchen house, which was run by Belle, a slave, though she was of mixed parentage.

Lavinia became a part of the family among the slaves, and each of them had such a personality that the reader becomes quickly attached (much as Lavinia did). She is eventually transitioned into the big house, as it was improper for a white servant to work with the outdoor slaves. The mistress of Tall Oaks, Miss Martha, comes to find her companionship indispensible and decides to educate her. When Miss Martha has to go to a special hospital in Williamsburg, Lavinia goes along and ends up a guest in the home of Miss Martha’s sister, and furthers her education. Marshall, the Captain and Miss Martha’s son and the heir to Tall Oaks, suddenly becomes interested in her (among other suitors) but his behavior is so strange that the reader knows it’s a bad idea and sort of a beginning of the end. This is the point where, while I still found the book so engrossing that it was hard to put down, I was heartsick all the way to the end.

Reading the book description beforehand, I knew that Lavinia would end up marrying Marshall and would become the mistress of Tall Oaks, but even that didn’t prepare me for the complete change in her character. I had hoped she’d take charge and be the upstanding, admirable person she had always been, but instead she sort of let herself go and accepted her twisted fate. As I read page after page of heart wrenching devastation on the plantation of Tall Oaks, I never lost my faith that someone would eradicate the evildoers and all would be well. Without giving away the ending (because I hate reading spoilers in book reviews) I will just say that things finally came to a peaceful end, but not in the way I had hoped and imagined.

Because the endearing characters ingratiate themselves in your heart, I am not all sorry for reading this book, though my review may sound a bit negative. I think it is because I love the characters so much that I was unsatisfied with the ending. I most definitely recommend this book, and think it likely others will come away with a better feeling for the ending than I.

This author came to my attention recently because, of course, my eye caught the beautiful cover of A Beggar at the Gate. Alas, it was the middle book of a trilogy and so I have not added it to my collection just yet. I’m going to keep my eye out for A Singular Hostage, however, and thought I’d share my find:

A Singular Hostage

“In a land of exotic splendor, a young Englishwoman finds herself guardian of an orphan child believed by a dying maharajah to be endowed with magical gifts. It is a role that will take her on a perilous journey into a kingdom’s walled city to protect a child she doesn’t know from a culture she doesn’t understand…

The year is 1838. Mariana Givens, a spirited young woman of twenty, has been sent to India to find a suitable husband. Traveling as a translator, she joins the entourage of Lord Auckland, the British Governor-General, as he journeys across India with an army ten thousand strong to meet the fabled Ranjit Singh, Maharajah of the Punjab.

Eager young officers compete for Mariana’s favor, but it is with India that she falls in love: the baggage elephants tramping through country vast and wild; the scent of exotic foods at remote campsites; the enigmatic tutor who is her guide to native languages and ways. Lord Auckland must forge an alliance with Ranjit Singh that will deliver Afghanistan into British control, but as he negotiates his crucial treaty, Mariana is drawn into a perilous conspiracy surrounding the one-eyed Maharajah’s baby hostage—a child of mystical repute named Saboor.”

A Beggar at the Gate

“Set in nineteenth-century British India, Thalassa Ali’s dazzling debut, A Singular Hostage, introduced us to Mariana Givens, the Englishwoman who risked everything to save a young Indian orphan from certain death. Now Ali returns to that exotic kingdom beyond the northwestern frontier, where Mariana will come face-to-face with a different destiny.

Two years have passed since Mariana left the walled city of Lahore. But she’s unable to forget its haunting scent of roses or her ill-fated marriage to a native-born husband that has scandalized Calcutta society and made her an outcast among the English. Worse still, she bears the knowledge that she will be forced to give up Saboor—the boy believed to be endowed with magical gifts whose life she risked her own to save.

Now Mariana must revisit Lahore to return Saboor to his family and request a divorce from Hassan Ali Khan. But how can she say good-bye to the enigmatic man whose love defied two cultures—or the child she’s loved as her own? As political and civil strife threaten to erupt in violence, she seeks answers in a world no Englishwoman has ever seen. And she’s driven ever closer to a secret so powerful that it will change her life—and the lives of those she loves—forever.”

Companions of Paradise

“In A Singular Hostage and A Beggar at the Gate, Thalassa Ali introduced us to the lush, intriguing world of nineteenth-century British India—and to Mariana Givens, a brave, beautiful Englishwoman. Now, as vengeful Afghan tribesmen close in, Mariana must face the repercussions of her marriage to a Punjabi Muslim, and choose between the people she calls her own—and the life that owns her heart.

Mariana Givens aches to return to the rose-scented city of Lahore, home of Hassan Ali Khan, the Muslim stranger she has come to love, his mystical family, and his prescient little son. But her own reckless behavior has sent her into exile at the British cantonment near Kabul, on the eve of the First Afghan War. There, she embarks on a dangerous double life, pretending to be a proper young Victorian lady while secretly traveling Kabul’s violent, fascinating streets to visit the Sufi seer who possesses the answers she needs.

But the mystic’s help comes with a price, and her family wants her to marry a British officer. As Afghanistan descends into violence and her hopes of rescue fade, Mariana must make a fateful decision: can she abandon her old life and allow herself to be drawn toward her destiny—whatever it may be?”

Here’s the giveaway you’ve all been waiting for! You have 7 other chances by visiting each member of the Historical Fiction Round Table (links on the sidebar), though Here’s the giveaway you’ve all been waiting for! You have 7 other chances by visiting each member of the Historical Fiction Round Table (links on the sidebar), though we may have different dates for ending the giveaways… so go right away!

This week has been really fun and I’m quite sad that I have no more Robin Maxwell novels left to read! It’s been about 5 years since I read The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn and To the Tower Born, so perhaps a re-read is in order!

Good luck in my giveaway, and please sign up for the others: 8 book set of Robin Maxwell’s novels (included 2 signed ones from the author herself), Love Birds soap set, jigsaw puzzle and illustrated Romeo and Juliet book (scroll down)!

Thank you Robin Maxwell, the HFBRT ladies and all of you who visited and commented over the past week!

O, Juliet

by Robin Maxwell

“Before Juliet Capelletti lie two futures: a traditionally loveless marriage to her father’s business partner, or the fulfillment of her poetic dreams, inpired by the great Dante. Unlike her beloved friend Lucrezia, who looks forward to her arranged marriage into the Medici dynasty, Juliet has a wild, romantic imagination that takes flight in the privacy of her bedchamber and on her garden balcony.

Her life and destiny are forever changed when Juliet meets Romeo Monticecco, a soulful young man seeking peace between their warring families. A dreamer himself, Romeo is unstoppable, once he determines to capture the heart of the remarkable woman foretold in his stars.”

Giveaway info: 1 new paperback copy. Open to everyone! Ends February 14, 2010!

Here is my final Romeo & Juliet giveaway, however, come back tomorrow for a chance to win a copy of Robin Maxwell’s beautifully written novel O, JULIET!

This is an illustrated version of Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare. Not only are there printed images on the inside covers, but throughout the book. I’m also including a bookmark (printed in England) with a quote from Shakespeare’s Richard II and an image of Anne Hathaway’s cottage. This giveaway is open to all and ends February 14, 2010!

My next giveaway is for a beautiful jigsaw puzzle titled Romeo and Juliet – The Balcony. This giveaway is open to everyone and ends February 14, 2010. Good Luck!

Hello, I hope you’re having fun reading our reviews and O, Juliet related posts! Today you can find Heather’s book review at The Maiden’s Court, “Tragic Romance in Literature” by Marie at The Burton Review and “Romeo and Juliet in Fashion Photography” by Allie at Hist-Fic Chick.

My first Romeo and Juliet inspired giveaway is a set of French Milled Soap depicting love birds:

This giveaway is open to everyone and ends February 14, 2010. Good luck!

O, Juliet

by Robin Maxwell

Juliet Capelletti is the only child left to her parents when the plague takes her older brothers. To sweeten a deal between himself, a silk merchant, and a prosperous wool merchant (a loathsome, vile creature), Juliet’s father betroths the two, without, of course, her willing consent. Enter Romeo, and the fun begins!

The main attraction between Romeo and Juliet is their passionate fondness of the writer and poet Dante and his works, particularly La Vita Nuova, a collection of poetry inspired by his lost love Beatrice. This inclusion in the story is a master stroke, as it gives them a common interest that binds them together which no amount of physical attraction could have made.  It seems they were simply made for each other, yet not in an overly silly way that you may expect from a romance.  They are each determined and intellectual individuals who form an unbreakable bond under nearly impossible circumstances.

Unlike the original story, which is set in Verona, Florence is home to Romeo and Juliet.  Her family’s merchant background, along with the friendship of Lorenzo de’ Medici and the theme of Dante’s banishment from Florence, give ample reason for this slight deviation from the original legend.  It works out well, for Verona is the home of Romeo’s uncles and his sanctuary in times of need.

I absolutely loved this book!  In an age where the Tudors reign in historical fiction, this is like a breath of fresh air for the genre as a whole.  Robin Maxwell is an author who can spin an excellent story without an over abundance of romance or drama, and her characters are so likable.  Even so, the villains aren’t too nasty, which makes for a perfect balance.  I officially declare her my favorite living author (no one can display Jean Plaidy in my heart)!

Signora da Vinci

by Robin Maxwell

First of all, I have to say it – this is my favorite Robin Maxwell novel!  Yes, even more than O, Juliet I’m afraid!  I’m so glad to have saved this one for last, and though I was on a tight schedule to get it read, I savored it for 2 more days than I had to. I planned to get it read by December 31^st, so that it would be on my 2009 list, but I couldn’t rush it. I read it slowly and deliberately and finished it up on January 2^nd.

Back in 2002, when I worked for Borders, the company was preparing a huge campaign to promote The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown and asked employees to read the book for this purpose. And so I was one of the few people who read it before it became immensely popular; and I genuinely loved the book. I am always intrigued by religious conspiracies, especially those involving Catholics and Protestants before, during and after the Reformation. I knew much about Leonardo da Vinci because after reading The Da Vinci Code I poured over art books and biographies, trying to learn as much as I could about this fascinating Renaissance man.

Now, back to the book at hand: Signora da Vinci…

Caterina is an alchemist’s daughter.  Though her father is respected in their small town of Vinci as an apothecary, he is secretly teaching his motherless child to read ancient texts and the art of alchemy, which are viewed as heretical by the Church of Rome. Once Leonardo comes along, his affluent father deems it necessary that he be raised as the bastard son of an important gentleman, which does give him the connections he needs to enter the world of artists in Florence.

Lost and hopelessly depressed without her brilliant son in her life, Caterina adopts a new identity in order to be near him as he grows into a man.  I don’t want to give more details away, as I really enjoyed all of the little surprises in this novel. Lorenzo de Medici is a prominent figure, as his grandfather is in O, Juliet and it was nice to have that little connection between the two novels. If you haven’t read Mademoiselle Boleyn, you will also be pleasantly surprised to find Leonardo da Vinci featured as a sort of father figure to her in the French court, where he spent his last years (carrying around a certain portrait, the Mona Lisa).

The characters in this book are very likeable, with the exception of the antagonists, who are not so evil as to be unbelievable. I’ve always found Robin Maxwell’s writing to be balanced in this respect and she gives a panoramic view of the setting and political and religious agendas. In other words, her stories do not revolve solely around the main character, but offer a look at life in general. I can’t give her too much praise, as her books are some of the best historical fiction available today!