Anglophilia: We Love the British!
Although Americans won independence from this country over 200 years ago, we still remain utterly fascinated by England! Join Anglophiles in a trip "across the pond" to revisit the history of Britain, starting with the earliest days of Roman invasion, continuing through the Saxons, up through the Tudors, and on to post-WWII England. Rule Britannia!
The Pict by Jack Dixon
The Pict tells the exciting and imaginative tale of how one enigmatic man united the scattered and reclusive Pictish tribes of ancient Scotland (Pictavia) into a loose but resilient confederation in a dramatically successful bid to stave off Roman conquest. The Pict explores the invasion's impact upon the culture and the future of this fiercely independent people, and upon the man who so effectively led them to war.
Jack Dixon’s lifelong fascination with history inspires him to write stories that bring historical characters to life. He lives in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.
Reviews:
"Jack Dixon's first novel is a straightforward tale of heroism in an ancient, barbaric culture." ~ iUniverse Book Reviews
Awards:
Honorable Mention for Fiction at the 2007 London Book Festival
Notable Book in the General Fiction Category of the 2008 Eric Hoffer Book Awards
To find out more about this book and the Picts, visit the author's website.
Paths of Exile by Carla Nayland
Carla Nayland writes historical fiction set in Britain in the period between the Roman occupation and the Norman Conquest (5th to 11th centuries AD), and fiction set in an invented world loosely based on medieval and Renaissance Britain. Nayland has a lifelong interest in history and archaeology and considered doing a degree in the subject in her spare time, until deciding it would be much more fun to explore it in historical fiction instead.
Reviews:
"The novel is rich in period detail, and the plot takes unexpected turns, leaving the reader wondering what will happen not just to Eadwine, but to the woman he's supposed to marry." ~ Michelle Moran, author of Nefertiti
"The premise of the story is quite interesting, there were some parts that had me chuckling, and there were a couple of plot twists that took me by surprise." ~ Hitting the Books.com
Paths of Exile and other fiction works by Carla Nayland are available for free download at the author's website.
An Involuntary King by Nan Hawthorne
His father dead at a usurper's hands, a young Saxon king must prove himself in spite of his own self-doubt. He struggles against monumental setbacks and treachery, while his beautiful queen, the love of his life, is relentlessly pursued by a darkly sensual mercenary.
Nan Hawthorne has a deep and abiding love for the Middle Ages. Hawthorne lives in the greater Seattle area with her husband of 27 years and is currently working on a series of paranormal mysteries set in 10th century Winchester.
Reviews:
"The characters gush with integrity, endearing themselves to the reader. The prose is vibrant and the battle scenes so authentic that I found myself drawn inextricably into the ever-developing, engaging story." ~ Historical Novels Online
"From the first page to the last, An Involuntary King is a stirring story of love in its many guises in which kings, queens, warriors, and roving minstrels all play a part; bloody battles and hard-won victories; and the real and heart-wrenching conflicts that arise between hope, loyalty, desire, duty, and honor. It is a book that once read will not be forgotten." ~ Brandy Purdy, author of Vengeance is Mine
Learn more about this novel or read an excerpt at the author's website.
The Traitor's Wife by Susan Higginbotham
Susan Higginbotham has worked as an editor and an attorney. She grew up in North Carolina and Virginia, and now lives in North Carolina with her family. The Traitor’s Wife won ForeWord Magazine’s 2005 Silver Award for historical fiction.
Reviews:
“The dialogue is excellent, the characters are well formed and vibrant…Higginbotham’s talents lie not only in her capacity for detailed genealogical research of the period, but also in her skill in bringing these historical figures to life with passion, a wonderful sense of humor, honor, and love.” ~ Historical Novels Online
"Conveys emotions and relationships quite poignantly . . . entertaining historical fiction." ~ Kirkus Discoveries
Awards:
2008 Gold Medalist in Military/Historical Fiction, IPPY Awards
2005 Silver Medal in Historical Fiction, Foreword Magazine
Learn more about this novel and other works by Higginbotham at the author's website.
The Confession of Piers Gaveston by
Brandy Purdy
The history books tell us that Piers Gaveston was many things: arrogant, ambitious, avaricious, flamboyant, extravagant, reckless, brave, and daring, indiscreet, handsome, witty, vivacious, vain, and peacock-proud, a soldier and champion jouster, the son of a condemned witch, who used witchcraft, his own wicked wiles, and forbidden sex to entice and enslave King Edward II, alienate him from his nobles and advisors, and keep him from the bed of his beautiful bride Isabelle. Edward’s infatuation with Gaveston, and the deluge of riches he showered on him, nearly plunged England into civil war. Now the object of that scandalous and legendary obsession tells his side of the story in The Confession of Piers Gaveston.
Brandy Purdy is the author of two historical novels: The Confession of Piers Gaveston and Vengeance Is Mine. She lives in Beaumont, Texas.
Reviews:
"Told from the standpoint of a fictional diary kept by the scandalous Gaveston, Ms. Purdy's tale of an intimate, illicit, illegal love affair between a king and his best friend smoothly unfolds the wrinkled pages of history." ~ POD Book Reviews and More
"It is a daring undertaking to humanize one of English history's most despised figures ..." ~ Historical Novels Online
Read more about this author and her two novels depicting notorious English characters at her website.
Dear Heart, How Like You This? by Wendy J. Dunn
May, 1536. The poet Sir Thomas Wyatt, released from imprisonment in the Tower of London, is in his father's custody. From almost the beginning of his life, Tom has loved his cousin Anne Boleyn, content to sit at her feet while she sang her love songs to another, if doing so gave him just a moment in her company. Now he is heartsick and despairing, having witnessed her juridical 'murder' by Henry VIII. Only wanting to escape from the recent memories now rending his heart, Tom recounts his story, a story which narrates too the tragic tale of Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII.
Wendy J. Dunn is an Australian writer obsessed by Tudor History. The author of the award-winning novel Dear Heart, How Like You This?, Wendy is currently working on a trilogy based on the life of Katherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII.
Reviews:
"Thomas Wyatt, cousin of Anne, is haunted by the shortened life of his true affection, and he carries his love for her beyond her death inscribing a brief portrait of a historical event and the times." ~ Writers Notes Magazine
"I had to keep telling myself that it is a work of fiction, but it didn't feel like fiction to me." ~ T. Wyatt, descendent of Sir Thomas Wyatt
Awards:
2003 Glyph Award for Best Adult Fiction
Marylebone by Janet Elaine Smith
Marylebone, the sequel to best-selling Dunnotar, flits back and forth between London and the Scottish highlands during the regency era. Handsome young James Keith, wanting to remain anonymous, visits "the clubs" in London, where he encounters Caroline Kent, who has just returned from Vienna after studying the piano. Caroline is immediately enraptured by the mysterious Scotsman, but he seems to disappear every time she gets close to finding him. She calls on their mutual friend, the Duke of Hamilton, to help her locate him. Keith, who is using the alias Robert Paterson, swears Hamilton to secrecy, as he is on a personal quest to locate the Scottish regalia, which was hidden by the Keith clan at Dunnottar Castle more than one hundred years earlier. Complete with two mysteries (who is the mysterious Scot and where is the regalia), throw in a famous person (Walter Scott), a secret which Caroline's father, the Earl of Kent, has kept buried almost as long, a surprise about the "mad King George" and you have the makings of a read that will delight you for a long time to come.
During her lifetime Janet Elaine Smith has been a missionary (who now writes romances), a wife (of one husband only), a mother (of three now-adult people, who refuse to be called "children"), a musician (of piano, organ and accordian), a Tupperware saleswoman (until the squirrels ate her sample kit), a teacher (of genealogy and creative writing), a translator (of Spanish, although she knows enough of a few other languages to get her in trouble), a social worker (in the strict sense of the word, not just being a "social creature"), a magazine writer (with over 2,000 published articles to her credit), a survivor (of the Great Flood of the Millennium in Grand Forks, ND in 1997), and that is just for starters.
Reviews:
"Romantic intrigue, engaging characters, historical accuracy ..." ~ Amazon Customer Review
"An edge-of-the-seat story that will keep you engrossed as the mystery of the whereabouts of the regalia is unraveled." ~ Reader to Reader.com
To learn more about The Keith Trilogy and other works by Janet
Elaine Smith, visit the
author's website.
Searching for Pemberley by Mary Simonsen
While visiting Montclair, an 18th Century Georgian country house located in the Peak District of Derbyshire, England, Maggie Joyce, a 22-year old American living in postwar London, is told that the former residents of the mansion were the inspiration for the characters in Jane Austen's masterpiece, Pride & Prejudice, and that Montclair is the novel's Pemberley. During her visit to the nearby village, Maggie meets Beth and Jack Crowell, both of whom have ties to Montclair, and who know if the legends associated with the house are true. While exploring the truth behind the romance of Darcy and Elizabeth, Maggie is drawn into the love story of the Crowells, who married in the midst of the horrors of World War I, as well as her own love story with Rob McAllister, an American who flew on bombing missions over Germany during World War II, and who has returned to England for his own deeply personal reasons. Searching for Pemberley is a story of lovers who bridge class differences in Regency England, but it is also speaks to love and loss in postwar England.
In writing this book, Mary Simonsen has combined her love of Jane Austen's novels with her other interests, specifically, the history of Regency England, The Great War and World War II. Through her main character, Maggie Joyce, she was also able to write about Minooka, Pennsylvania, a town in the Pocono Mountains, where her parents grew up during the Depression.
Reviews:
"[The author's] deeper understanding of Austen's characters, meticulous knowledge of World War II and Regency England histories make this book a resounding success." ~ Roundtable Reviews
"A well written and informative story. History, romance and even a little mystery all combined in one wonderful book. Five stars." ~ Best Seller World
"The most remarkable aspect of PR is Simonsen's ability to take multiple stories from completely different time periods and fuse them into a cohesive whole."~ Curled Up With a Good Book
Learn more about Pemberley Remembered and the history behind it at the author's website.
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