Labyrinth by Kate Mosse A Review History attributes those chilling words of the title to Arnaud Amaury, the papal legate who led the massacre at Beziers in 1209 CE. Whilst the records tell that the French Crusader army spared no one, the real targets of Catholic hatred were the Cathars, a pacifist and gnostic …
Category: Historical Fiction
Tigers, Dragons and Whales
Jamrach’s Menagerie by Carol Birch Long-listed for the 2011 Man Booker Prize, Jamrach's Menagerie is an absorbing story, a sort of cross between The Life of Pi and The Ancient Mariner. [at any rate it has a tiger and a cursed ship.] Jaffy Brown is eight years old. He runs away from Bermondsey with …
Bookheathen Interview – M.M. Holaday
I'm pleased to welcome to by blog M.M. Holaday, author of The Open Road, to be published this week by Five Star, a division of Cengage Learning. M.M.Holaday (Nan to her friends) is a former reference and rare book librarian, and The Open Road is her debut work of fiction. The Open Road is a …
The Tiger Mountain
[Here is the final extract from my 2004 historical romance, The Tiger and the Cauldron. The others are here: Nadia's Dream The Parting In The Stables . You can find the whole story as an e-book on Amazon Worldwide.] *** Hassan was unable to sleep and, though it was hardly necessary, offered to keep …
In The Stables
[This is the third extract from my historical romance, The Tiger and the Cauldron, available now as an e-book on Amazon worldwide.] Terror gripped Doquz. Melik and Jahan held her so tightly she could hardly move. They dragged her to the stables, kicked the door open and threw her down roughly, forcing the breath from …
The Parting
[continuing yesterday's extract from my historical romance The Tiger and the Cauldron] ***** “So soon, Hassan?” Hassan faced his mother across the room. Her eyes were pleading. He felt his small sister tugging at his tunic, trying to lead him off for yet another game in the garden. Her brother too had transferred his allegiance …
Nadia's Dream
Since I haven't posted any extracts from my own fiction for a while, I decided today it was time I did so again. This chapter is a taster (hopefully) from my story The Tiger and the Cauldron, set in the late 13th century in Italy and the Mongol Empire: Nadia supposed at first it was …
On The Wild Side
Having recently spent a few days on the open roads of the Wild West *, I thought I might stay on it for a few days more and recall two classic novels set during the pioneering days in North America. This is an edited version of an article entitled A Dog's Life which I posted …
Best Westerns
The Open Road by M.M. Holaday [I am grateful to the author for sending me an advance reading copy of her novel, to be published at the beginning of April] ‘ “It’s so big out there, it’s like the ocean. The sky is huge and the land goes on forever. You’ve got to see it …
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 …
