Lesley Pearse is a prolific writer of stories about young heroines in trouble. Many have names that would be familiar to readers of 1920s and 30s fiction, such as Dulcie, Daisy, Rosie, Belle and so on. The heroine of this story is Eva, who was born illegitimate and raised by her mother and step-father in a a comfortably-off family. The story begins in 1991.
Eva's mother commits suicide and Eva is determined to find out why. She realises that her mother wasn't who Eva thought she was. Unfortunately her investigations open a Pandora's box of troubles for her and her 2 younger half-siblings. What follows is a series of disasters that would fell the strongest of people . There are several men involved in Eva's journey of discovery; most of them are stereotypes - either complete a******s or gentle and kindly.
Eva has no financial worries - her mother's legacy takes care of that - and she travels between London, Cheltenham and Scotland adding to her store of knowledge, with the help of her mother's diaries. The fact that the diaries contain only initials instead of names, and no dates, makes Eva's job less than straightforward.
Eventually the whole truth emerges, but only after much soul baring and tragedy. Eva emerges stronger and ready to start a new life with her true love.
Being new to Lesley Pearce's books, I read the back page and thought I was in for a mild thriller/amateur detective story. Unfortunately this one turned out to be just a cut above a Mills and Boon, but without the bodice-ripping. Too many stereotyped characters for my liking. Still, many will love this, and other Lesley Pearce, books so have a go if you like your books to be less than challenging.
'Forgive Me' is published by Penguin Books, ISBN978-0-241-96149-0
Thursday, 5 June 2014
Mrs Lincoln by Janis Cooke Newman
Mary Todd Lincoln was a complex woman and, like many women in history, has been virtually ignored by writers and students of her turbulent period in American history. She was born on 13 December 1818 in Lexington, Kentucky, to a wealthy family. She married politician and lawyer Abraham Lincoln on 4 November 1842.
This novel tells her story in the first person narrative, so we hear her voice telling us how she met Abraham Lincoln, what she did to win him and how theirs was a love match. They had 4 sons, 3 of whom died and, when Abraham was assassinated at Ford's Theatre, she sank into a deep depression. She was committed to an asylum by her eldest and surviving son, Robert, from where it took her several months to win her freedom.
Janis Cooke Newman creates a sympathetic character of great strength and resourcefulness. She weaves fact with fiction to produce a believable, almost biographical, tale of triumph and tragedy, seasoned with details of ordinary domestic life in the midst of the great events of the American civil war
Her writing breathes life into the simplistic portrait of Mary - that of a spendthrift, mentally disturbed woman who breaches many of the restrictive rules that governed women's lives at this time. The writing is generous in style, perceptive and detailed in its descriptions but, even at its most emotional moments, never descends into mawkishness.
My only criticism is that, at 562 pages, I found the book just a tad overlong. This might just be a personal preference, however. As a sort-of-writer myself, I frequently look at a piece of fiction and work out how the story could be improved. It's easy to be critical when it's someone else's work!
In spite of this I recommend this book, especially to those who enjoy a well researched and well written piece of historical fiction.
Mrs Lincoln is published by Myrmidon, ISBN 978-1-905802-10-4 (hardback), 978-1-905802-11-1 (Export Trade Paperback)
This novel tells her story in the first person narrative, so we hear her voice telling us how she met Abraham Lincoln, what she did to win him and how theirs was a love match. They had 4 sons, 3 of whom died and, when Abraham was assassinated at Ford's Theatre, she sank into a deep depression. She was committed to an asylum by her eldest and surviving son, Robert, from where it took her several months to win her freedom.
Janis Cooke Newman creates a sympathetic character of great strength and resourcefulness. She weaves fact with fiction to produce a believable, almost biographical, tale of triumph and tragedy, seasoned with details of ordinary domestic life in the midst of the great events of the American civil war
Her writing breathes life into the simplistic portrait of Mary - that of a spendthrift, mentally disturbed woman who breaches many of the restrictive rules that governed women's lives at this time. The writing is generous in style, perceptive and detailed in its descriptions but, even at its most emotional moments, never descends into mawkishness.
My only criticism is that, at 562 pages, I found the book just a tad overlong. This might just be a personal preference, however. As a sort-of-writer myself, I frequently look at a piece of fiction and work out how the story could be improved. It's easy to be critical when it's someone else's work!
In spite of this I recommend this book, especially to those who enjoy a well researched and well written piece of historical fiction.
Mrs Lincoln is published by Myrmidon, ISBN 978-1-905802-10-4 (hardback), 978-1-905802-11-1 (Export Trade Paperback)
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