by Ben Elton A Review 'Thus, as the months went by, a strong bond formed between the youngsters, a bond separate to their school friends and their individual lives. They were the Saturday Club. . . . Paulus, Otto, Dagmar and Silke were a true gang of four.' Ben Elton is better known (in the …
Category: European History
Return to Kingsbridge
A Column of Fire by Ken Follett A Review 'The fire continued to burn, and the dead body of Philibert turned into a blackened ruin ...... I did not know how men could do such things, and I did not understand why God would let them.' It's nearly twenty years since Ken Follett surprised many …
The Great Escape
Katharina: Deliverance by Margaret Skea (a review) [The publisher kindly provided me with an advanced reading copy of Margaret Skea's new historical novel, due to be published on October 18th.] 'It is very shameful that children, especially defenceless young girls, are pushed into the nunneries. Shame on the unmerciful parents who treat their own so …
Zafon's Barcelona (3)
The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafon trans. by Lucia Graves 'Cast against the light from the street, the silhouette resembled a tree trunk lashed by the wind. The visitor ....took one step forward, limping visibly. He had the cold eyes of a bird of prey, patient and calculating.' The Prisoner of Heaven is …
Zafon's Barcelona
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon translated by Lucia Graves I wrote reviews of Zafon's Barcelona trilogy a few years ago now. However, since the Shadow of the Wind and the other two are among the best novels of the last 50 years and some of my all-time favourites, I thought I'd …
Speeches That Changed The World
Like yesterday's post, this one is going to be a bit different from my usual book reviews. I picked up this book for a very much reduced price at a book sale. Introduced by historian Simon Sebag Montefiori, it contains speeches by diverse prominent figures from the past, from Jesus Christ and Mahommed to Adolf …
'Et tu, Brute?'
Emperor by Conn Iggulden The supposed last words (or nearly last words) of Julius Caesar are best known from the play by William Shakespeare. Whether he said anything of the sort - or anything at all - when he was fatally stabbed, remains in doubt. But, of course, Shakespeare was writing drama, not history. Latin …
Goodreads and Me (2)
Books I Didn't Review: In the Shadow of the Sword by Tom Holland My recollection is that I read this book around three years ago. I had to skim through it again to refresh my memory. In the Shadow of the Sword is a serious work of history, Tom Holland being one of the most …
French Soap
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas 'If Dumas were alive today,' writes Keith Wren in his introduction to my current edition of The Three Musketeers, 'he would certainly not be bidding for the Nobel Prize for Literature but writing scripts for The Bill or Brookside.' Dr Wren's remark, written around 1993, may not strike many …
Another Tale of Love and Death
Continuing the German theme of a day or two ago, I decided to feature another work that I like - literally a tale of love and death, or to give it its proper title, The Song of the Love and Death of Standard Bearer Christoph Rilke - Die Weise von Liebe und Tod des Cornets …
Bookheathen Scribblings 