An entertaining but uneven historical tale.
In Hardy’s debut historical novel set in the Civil War era, a woman in a border state is torn between her moral beliefs and the brother-in-law she secretly loves.
Gabrielle Pryor would never have chosen to love Cayne Grantson, the scion of a wealthy family in her small, southern Illinois town. After all, he’s betrothed to another woman, and she’s a woman who doesn’t even know the name of her own father. Besides, Cayne and his family are so wedded to the Confederacy that he’s likely using his vast funds to help bankroll the Southern way. But Gabrielle is in love with him despite herself, and she’s so determined to have a name and family that she convinces Cayne’s brother, David, to marry her and leave his own true love behind. But is her newfound respectability enough for her? And what about her sympathy for the Northern cause? This novel has all the hallmarks of a rip-roaring Civil War tale: romance, adventure and betrayal. However, although Gabrielle has had a rough life, she’s also rather unlikable; readers may wonder what really drives her besides money and why men fall in love with her. Although Gabrielle says she’s against slavery and that she believes the Southern cause is wrong, her actions throughout the novel belie any deep conviction. The book creates an engaging, three-dimensional Civil War-era world, but it doesn’t adequately develop the characters that live in it. Overall, while the novel is a fun, diverting read, it misses its potential to tell a stronger, deeper story.
An entertaining but uneven historical tale.Pub Date: Sept. 24, 2012
ISBN: 978-1468068412
Page Count: 484
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Magda, who’s appeared in many of Owen’s adventures, is the rightful star of this tale of murder, betrayal, and superstition.
The year 1375 brings the plague and lesser killers back to York with a vengeance.
Owen Archer and his wife, apothecary Lucie Wilton, have returned from London, where they were on royal business, only to find York boiling with fear of the plague and the church inciting people to take action against healers, including their friend Magda. Magda’s bitter daughter, Asa, has suddenly appeared along with Einar, another relative, who seeks to learn and imitate Magda’s mystical powers. A new healer calling himself Bernard has come to York and is stirring resentment against Magda. Owen’s first concern, however, is investigating the death of Sam Toller, whose body was found in the river. Sam was employed by the merchant Guthlac Wolcott, who didn’t entirely trust his son to run their business and whose health is deteriorating under Bernard’s care. Both put the blame on Magda. Asa, whose past with Bernard she refuses to discuss, resents her mother’s talents, which she thinks she should have inherited. The arrival of the plague causes many to blame people like Magda; even midwives are under attack in a society that doesn’t value women. Magda goes about her business without fear, helping the poor and sick while under the protection of her mystical dragon, while Owen tries to make sense of the murder, a fire at Guthlac’s warehouse, and the puzzling relationship between Guthlac’s son and his father’s young wife.
Magda, who’s appeared in many of Owen’s adventures, is the rightful star of this tale of murder, betrayal, and superstition.Pub Date: Nov. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-78029-136-9
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Severn House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021
A precise portrait of sexual enslavement that tends more toward primer than immersive plot.
The experiences of a country girl sold into prostitution in 1903 lay bare the established system and financial exploitation of the Japanese pleasure industry.
Shinonome is known to be the classiest brothel in Kumamoto, on Kyushu Island, and also, as was customary, became the name of the highest-earning, most desirable courtesan among the 80 under its roof. Fifteen-year-old Aoi Ichi has just arrived from a rocky southern island, and she’s placed into Shinonome’s mentorship and service. In debt to the bordello both for the money paid to her father and for everything she wears and consumes on site (at inflated prices), Ichi must learn her trade—to attract and please customers—as thoroughly as possible in order to earn her freedom. Murata, an award-winning Japanese author whose books have never before been translated into English, traces Ichi’s education and training in clear, simple prose, laying out the big picture—practices, punishments, financial underpinnings—and the more quotidian details: depilation, feminine hygiene, etc. Slowly, Ichi is transformed from an ingénue into a skilled escort, though never entirely shedding her bold instincts. Literacy is another important skill, and Ichi attends the Female Industrial School, where Akae Tetsuko, an impoverished woman of good breeding, offers a wider intellectual perspective. Taking on her own clients, Ichi finds continuing support among her peer group. But the brothel is essentially a harsh prison, and some of the girls, including one who fell pregnant, take flight, threatening its discipline. Then Ichi’s father increases her debt burden, and with strikes taking place in Japanese industry and the police changing their policy on enforcing brothel rules, the girls rebel and go on strike themselves. A mass exodus follows, drawing the line under a tale based, unsurprisingly, on true events.
A precise portrait of sexual enslavement that tends more toward primer than immersive plot.Pub Date: Feb. 27, 2024
ISBN: 9781640095793
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Counterpoint
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
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