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 …
Category: Religion
Homo Deus
A Brief History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari WARNING! - This book contains spoilers - spoilers of liberal humanism, and possibly of the whole human experience. 'People are usually afraid of change because they fear the unknown. But the single greatest constant of history is that everything changes.' Harari's earlier book Sapiens challenged us …
Brief Candle in the Dark
A Life in Science by Richard Dawkins Brief Candle in the Dark is the second volume of Dawkins's autobiography; the first part, An Appetite for Wonder I reviewed here. Rather than being a chronological account of his life, this volume is set out by subject and is all the more interesting and enjoyable because of …
The Taming of the Queen
by Philippa Gregory ' "....He is a madman, Kateryn, he has been mad for years. ....And you will be his next victim.' " This is the stark warning delivered to Kateryn Parr by Thomas Seymour in Philippa Gregory's brilliant novel reconstruction of the marriage of Henry VIII and his sixth wife. Set in the 1540s, …
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 …
In the Land of the Pharaohs
The Egyptian by Mika Waltari 'A woman who combines malice with intelligence and beauty is dangerous indeed - more dangerous still when she can add to this the power of a royal consort.' The Egyptian is a classic historical novel by Finnish writer Waltari and set in the Egypt of the 14th century BCE. The …
Christianity's Hidden Goddess?
Mary Magdalene by Lynn Picknett 'On the feast day of SAINT *** Mary Magdalene . . . in the year 1209 something utterly horrific and bewildering, yet at the same time somewhat magnificent, took place at Béziers . . . France. [E]very last inhabitant of the town went willingly to their deaths at the hands …
Bookheathen Scribblings 