Scotland is barely saved from England's grasping Tudor monarchs as Tranter (The Riven Realm, 1985, etc.), a popular chronicler of Scottish history, tells the engaging story of John Maxwell, the young Warden of the Borderlands who routed the English, advised his monarch, and married for love. Two hundred years after the Scots defeat the English at Bannockburn, Scotland faces another invasion as Henry VIII sends an army north. The Scots, led by their king's favorite, Oliver Sinclair, are humiliatingly defeated in 1542 at Solway Moss, and James V dies shortly thereafter—to be succeeded by his infant daughter Mary, whose French mother will act as regent. This war, as well as the turbulent years that follow, is seen through the eyes of John Maxwell, whose father is the hereditary Warden of the West March. Young John fights with distinction at Solway, where his wise counsel and canny leadership are instantly recognized. He later marries Agnes Herries, the spirited daughter of another Warden, and is soon embroiled in matters of statecraft and war as Scotland struggles to keep its independence. In England, meanwhile, Henry VIII dies, but his successors—son Edward, daughter ``Bloody'' Mary, and Protestant Elizabeth—also covet Scotland. In set pieces that range from spectacular battles and royal festivities to unruly meetings of the Scottish parliament, John deftly leads his bands of dalesmen and moss-troopers to victory; meets with the English to settle border disputes; and is asked by the now adult Mary, Queen of Scots, to talk secretly with the plotting English and convey the message to Queen Elizabeth that she will choose her own husband. A natural survivor, John dies in 1594, ``the longest holder of the office on record.'' Tranter's modest hero, a ``Braveheart'' of his time, offers a detailed, accessible take on life north of the border as armies and ideas clash, and monarchs and courtiers plot.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-340-65994-7
Page Count: 374
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton/Trafalgar
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1997
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
APPRECIATIONS
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