The Burning Land by Emma Drummond

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Second Boer War, South Africa

The focus of this novel is on the Second Boer War, and I’ll give you a very brief rundown as I understand it. The Boers (Dutch) originally settled in South Africa to farm and practice their religion in peace. Upon the discovery of gold and diamonds, the British began arriving in greater numbers to the point of becoming the majority of the population – but without a say in the government, and you know they’re not going to tolerate that! Of course there’s more to it than that, but that’s what Wik is for, read all about it here. Now on to the book review…

 

“All my life I have been dealt the lash of guilt. Do you want to punish me more… is that it?”

   Alex Russell is a young man with a chain around his neck, the tragic death of his brother when they were children – everyone believe Miles drowned trying to spare Alex’s life, and his father never lets him forget it. Not able to live up to the perfection that was Miles, Alex can do no right and finally flunks out of college and after a few drunken escapades his father has had enough. He finds himself entering the military and proposing marriage to the woman his father has chosen for him, whether he likes it or not – and he most definitely doesn’t like it. Judith wants to marry Alex, but he misunderstands her quick acceptance of the pre-arranged proposal and assumes she’s in it for the money.

When Alex’s unit is sent to South Africa to help in the escalating situation with the Boers, Judith jumps at the chance to follow when her aunt arranges a trip to investigate her financial interests in the mines. Once there, things don’t go quite according to Hoyle, as Alex has met Hetta, a young Boer girl, and he is head over heels in love. Is their love strong enough to survive the enmity between the Brits and the Boers?

Let’s just say the old adage war is hell most definitely applies to this story – there are plenty of ups and downs, surprise twists as well as a tear shed here and there. I really liked watching Alex mature from a tortured young man with all that emotional baggage, to the soldier who could face anything, including the horrors of Spion Kop. You can go to the Wik article if you want to see pictures, but I warn you they are very disturbing. Guerilla warfare is not pretty.

“…but all around him the trench was being filled with dead men, emptied by living ones who were soon dead themselves. There was no order to retreat, so once a soldier reached the trench he was there until an office-or an angel-released him.”

I know by now I probably sound like a broken record, but Drummond really crafts a great tale and keeps you on pins and needles until the very end. Her knowledge of all things British Military as well as their highly structured (and snobbish) society is spot on as always, as is her dialogue. This was one period I’d always heard about, but never quite understood and this book is definitely a good place to start and *get your feet wet*.

FTC, interlibrary loan.

Scarlet Shadows by Emma Drummond

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Crimea, Elizabeth Darrell, emma drummond

“What did we want with Sepastopol, by the way?”

  Victoria Castledon captures the heart of wealthy aristocrat Charles Stanford, and despite her slight reluctance, good British manners don’t allow one to turn down such a good offer. While staying at the Stanford’s huge country estate, Charles’ foster-brother Hugo Esterly arrives to recuperate from an accident and he and Victoria find something else growing from their friendship, but honor comes first and he must let her go to marry Charles. Charles is a pompous ass and makes a less than stellar husband, but Victoria tries to make the best of it, until a tragic accident shatters everyone’s lives and irrevocably destroys the relationship between the two brothers.

 

Charles and Hugo are both officers in the Hussars, and their troop leaves with the others when war is declared in the Crimea, and Victoria accompanies her husband with the other military wives. The troops soon find that chasing off those pesky Russians isn’t going to be quite the easy task they expected, and the British are ill-prepared for a long siege in a bitter winter, nor do they have the medical staff and equipment to deal with the thousands of wounded.

 

For those not familiar with the Crimean War I would say this is an excellent starter point to get yourself grounded on the period and puts the reader right into the heart of the ill-fated Charge of the Light Brigade, 

“They were being ordered to make the supreme but senseless sacrifice for their country. He and six hundred and seventy-two other men were being ordered to commit suicide.” 

 

You will also see firsthand the horrific conditions of the wounded prisoners at the infamous hospital at Scutari, 

“Beside a rickety wooden table was a basket full of limbs, some with uniform sleeves still upon them, or the worn remains of a boot. They stuck out at angles, just as they had been thrown…” 

*shudders* As for the soldiers lucky enough not to be wounded?

“Those who are not wounded have fever, those who are not fever-ridden are starving; those who are not starving are dying of frostbite.”

Yes, war is hell isn’t it? A darn near unputdownable read, and Drummond really has a good feel for the period, the military life and their unique social caste system. Her characters act and talk appropriate to the period and while Victoria might be in need of rescue by Hugo on occasion the situations don’t come across as the contrived heroine in constant peril one is so used to coming across in today’s romances.

You will loathe Charles (what a cad) and root for Victoria and Hugo (what a man), but despite the lurid red cover and jacket description there really is no sex to speak of in this one, so don’t let the bodice-ripper image scare you off. From the brief bio I’ve seen of Drummond (who also writes as Elizabeth Darrell),  she has a strong military background, both as a child and through her husband. Highly recommended. 

Band of Angels by Julia Gregson

Tags

crimean war, florence nightingale

Catherine Carreg, unhappy with her life in Wales, dreams of running away to London and convinces long time friend Deio Jones to help her do it – dressed as a man and on a cattle drive to boot. Once in London without many options avilable, she takes employment at Florence Nightingale’s home for sick governesses and when Miss Nightingale decides to go and aid the wounded in the Crimean war,  Catherine signs up to follow her. Catherine and her fellow nurses are in for quite a shock at the brutal conditions in the Scutari hospital, and that includes what the nurses must endure as well – although Miss Nightingale does seem to live a wee bit more comfortably than her nurses.

Meantime Deio gets it into his head to take his horses to the Crimea where healthy horseflesh is in great demand and through one circumstance and another ends up with a commission in the now rag-tag and poorly prepared British army. Now that he realizes he loves Catherine will he find her in time? Or will he just give up and go to sleep in the bitter Russian winter like the other soldiers? Can Catherine escape the clutches of the lecherous, evil Doctor Cavendish? 

"Nightingale receiving the Wounded at Scutari", a portrait by Jerry Barrett

That definitely sounds like an interesting read with plenty of story potential, but this book just didn’t quite gel for this reader. Catherine and Deio really didn’t sizzle off the pages, and it takes much too long for the story to move to Turkey – I found myself skimming more than I should. That said, the scenes in the hospital and the suffering endured by all due to poor management, extreme graft and stupid government officials will rip your heart out at the injustice of it all – and don’t be snacking on much in the latter third of the book either (unless you want to lose it). In the end, it is a good book just not a great one. 3/5 stars.

Note, this book was previously published under the title The Water Horse, so if you own that one you don’t need to own this one as well.

FTC, I’m sure you’re dying to know my book source – Library.

The Cornish Heiress ~ Roberta Gellis

Gellis is at her “explainatory” worst in this one. More on the above statement later. This book, the second in Gellis’ English Heiress trilogy continues the story of the St. Eyre family begun in The English Heiress as Roger’s son Phillip (who speaks French like a native) is sent by the English government to ascertain the size and condition of Napoleon’s Navy. Phillip plans to sneak into France aboard the ship belonging to Roger’s long time friend Pierre who is a smuggler by trade. Whilst waiting his boat in Cornwall, Phillip meets up with smuggler “Red Meg” who is in reality Meg Devoran – well born heiress forced into smuggling to pay her drunkard father’s debts. One thing leads to another and love blooms amidst spies, danger and the constant misunderstandings between the two – neither of the two realize the other is “well born” and thus have no hopes of marrying each other. **yawn**

Frankly, I found this one to be a serious bore of a book and only finished it by skimming quite a bit. Phillip’s trip into France as a spy was a serious sleep inducer, as were the constant misunderstandings between the two over each other’s misperceived social standings – it became quite mind numbing after a while as Gellis explained it over and over and over again. What with that and the antics of some of the most inadequate bad guys I’ve come across in a long time, all I can say is that I am now most grateful this book is over and I can move on to something else. Recommended for die-hard Gellis fans only.

Kent Heiress ~ Roberta Gellis

Don’t let the cover scare you, its a lot better than you’d think.  Although if I were planning on taking it on a plane or a bus I’d get one of those special covers so no one would think the worst

The Kent Heiress is actually the last in a trilogy Gellis wrote starting with The Terror of the French Revolution and ending in this one set during the Napoleonic wars, although this book does well enough as a stand-alone. Sabrina de Conyers is married to womanizing diplomat William, Lord Elvan and when the novel begins they are assigned to the Russian Court in Saint Petersburg as the conflicts between Russia and Napoleon are heating up. Disgusted with her husband’s numerous affairs, Sabrina meets up with childhood friend Perce Moreton, who realized his feelings too late (she was already married to William) and still carries the torch and sparks begin to fly (well of course).

As Sabrina fights to remove herself from an unhappy marriage, Perce risks life and limb as a British envoy of sorts to the Russian army. Sabrina returns to her family in England and attempts to annul her marriage, but Elvan convinces her to help him “keep up a good front” and travel with him to his new post in Portugal, where his wandering eye eventually leads him into an affair with deadly consequences and leaves Sabrina in a perilous pickle that only Perce can extricate her from…..

I know it all sounds like your basic cut and paste romance novel, but when you’re reading Gellis there’s always quite a bit more to the package. She loads her books with tons of historical details and political intrigues that raise the bar for a more rewarding read — although romance readers looking for a basic bodice ripper will likely be bored to death with the added history. All in a all very pleasant romp and I very much enjoyed the ups and downs of Sabrina and Perce — but they are quite a lusty couple and a couple of their scenes were just a tad bit…well…ahem…too detailed for my tastes – I wouldn’t recommend this for younger readers. I’m sorely torn between 3.5 and 4 stars, but it _is_ Gellis so I’m going for broke and giving her four. Now to backtrack and read the first two in the trilogy, The English Heiress and The Cornish Heiress.

The Shadow Of The Lynx by Victoria Holt

Thomas Tamasin spends his life chasing rainbows and leaves his daughter Nora firmly ensconced at school as he chases the biggest one of all and heads for the gold fields of Australia. He soon dies and leaves Nora in the care partner/employer Charles Herrick – also known as The Lynx for his dominating personality. Charles’s son Stirling arrives in England to escort Nora to Australia, but they make a curious stop at a country estate called The Whiteladies (named for the nunnery it had been at one time) and Stirling seems to have a strange interest in the estate and it’s inhabitants. Stranger still, when Nora arrives in Australia the Herrick home is a copy of Whiteladies.

Nora soon discovers that The Lynx has a mysterious past of his own, falsely accused of theft in England and deported to Australia as a criminal. As the Herrick family’s fortune increases it leads them ever closer to the obsession of Charles – enacting financial havoc on those he blames for his false conviction. Nora and Stirling return to England with Stirling bent on completing his father’s plans for revenge. They soon insert themselves into the lives of the residents of Whiteladies as Nora fights to stop Stirling before his lust for revenge destroys all their lives.

Whew, that’s more plot description than I care to give but there’s not much on the product page. I found this book a bit slow paced at times and a tad too predictable, especially the murder attempts on Minta. I also found the alternating POV’s between Sara and Minta in the latter part of the book quite distracting. A nice comfort read for a rainy day – it’s a good book, just not a great one.

The Desert Crop by Catherine Cookson

 Set in Northern England in the late 1800′s, widowed farmer Hector Stewart decides to marry Irishwoman Moira Conelly but here’s the rub – he thinks she’s coming into money and she thinks he’s much better off than he truly is. Nor does Moira realize at first she’s married a drunken, womanizing wastrel on the edge of running the farm into the ground. Nevertheless, Moira has a secret or two of her own and she does her best to make the best of it, which includes an ever growing brood of children.

Hector’s debts and drinking continue to drag down the family’s livelihood, until a fatal accident changes all their lives – but it forever binds Daniel to the land and Moira’s children. Will Daniel ever be able to break free and claim the woman he loves? Does Frances really love him or is she just looking for the best free ride life can hand her? Will Daniel ever wake up and smell the coffee and see the woman who has loved him for years? Inquiring minds want to know….

While this isn’t the fasted paced, page turning, action packed book you’re likely to come across I enjoyed it a great deal and definitely plan on seeking out more from the author – and at about 100 novels she should keep me very busy for quite some time. This is the kind of feel-good comfort book that’s perfect for snuggling up with on a rainy day or a wintry afternoon. 4/5 stars.

Lord of the Far Island by Victoria Holt

A good comfort book

Raised by a wealthy distant cousin after the death of her mother, Ellen Kellaway is forever reminded that she is the Poor Relation. Resigned to her eventual fate as a governess, she is suddenly taken by surprise when childhood friend Phillip Carrington declares his love and proposes a whirlwind marriage, much to the chagrin of Cousin Agatha who was counting on wealthy Phillip marrying her daughter Esmeralda. Curiously, Phillip’s family is thrilled with the match to a girl with nary a penny to her name. Fate takes a sudden turn before the marriage can happen, and out of the blue appears a distant relative from her father’s side of the family offering her a home on Far Island off the coast of Cornwall. Ellen loves the island and the Castle the Kellaways built hundreds of years ago (dungeons and all), and she soon finds herself falling in love with the island’s owner, Jag Kellaway.

In true Holt fashion, Ellen soon finds herself in the midst of a mystery and things begin to go bump in the night. What is it about her father that none of the villagers wish to talk about? Why did her mother pack up and leave him when Ellen was little more than a toddler? What about the drawings her mother left behind, including one of the room she’s been seeing in her dreams for years? Who is the mysterious girl Silva raised on the Island and presumed dead? Is Ellen just accident prone or is someone trying to do her in? If so, why?

While I enjoyed reading this and would recommend it to Holt fans, it just doesn’t quite come up to a four star read. Perhaps it’s because she took too long setting up Ellen’s background and romance with Phillip and then realized at the end she had to hurry up and wrap-things-up-before-the-book-gets-too-long. It is a good book and a perfect comfort book for cuddling up with on a rainy afternoon; it’s just not a great one.

My Cousin Rachel by Daphne DuMaurier

Did she or didn’t she?

That is the question that will keep readers on the edge of their seat until the final twist on the very last pages. Phillip Ashley was orphaned at a young age and raised in 19C Cornwall by his older cousin Ambrose. Health issues force Ambrose to spend time in warmer climates and he meets and marries a distant cousin Rachel, the widowed Countess Sangaletti. A cryptic note arrives from Ambrose hinting at being poisoned and Phillip heads to Florence to find Ambrose dead of a brain tumor (so the doctors say…..) and Rachel disappeared, with Rainaldi her close friend and “financial advisor” handling her affairs.

Phillip heads home and as rightful heir takes over running the family estate, but constantly broods on his hatred of Rachel and builds an image of her that is completely different when he comes face to face with her. Instead of the murdering she-devil he’s built up in his mind, Phillip doesn’t quite know what to make of this tiny, elegant and very enigmatic cousin of his. Rachel weaves herself into the lives of Phillip making herself indispensable to the household until Phillip finally finds himself in love with her and forgets his prior suspicions. Phillip realizes his majority at his 25th birthday and he presents Rachel with what Ambrose would have willed to her if he had lived long enough to sign a new will. At that point everything changes between Rachel and Phillip and ………

Well I’m not going to tell you, read it for yourself. This was a fabulous read that had me gripped from the very first page and kept me guessing until the very end (actually she still keeps you guessing but you have to read it for yourself to find out why). There’s a good reason Du Maurier is considered the master of romantic suspense. Highly highly recommended.

Shadow of the Moon by M.M. Kaye

Star crossed lovers, the British Raj & India, what more can you want in a book?

This was just an amazing book. Once the author set up her characters and story line things just cooked along — be prepared for the last 200 pages, because you will not surface for air until it’s done! We have Winter, a wealthy heiress born and orphaned in India and sent to England to be raised by mostly uncaring relatives(except for the great-grandfather). When her great-grandfather dies, she is sent at the age of 17 to join her fiancee under the care of Alex Randall, who unbeknownst to her is now a debauched, obese drunk. Alex does try to tell her, but she maintains her childhood image of her “hero” and will not listen, to her great regret.

Lots of trials and tribulations as our hero and heroine travel back to India, the meeting and marriage to Conway and the Sepoy rebellion, and vividly portrayed by an author who has a great knowledge and love of the country and it’s history. This is not only a story of two lovers, but one of stubborn, bigoted officials hiding their heads in the sand, treachery, intrigue and the brutal way in which the rebellion played out against the British, even shocking some of their own people. As with The Far Pavilions, it is shocking to see after 150 years not much of life and politics has changed in the Far East, nor should the Europeans (or Americans now for that matter) be interfering in their life, culture and religion.

Highly recommended for any lover of historical fiction, India, or just a darn good book. This would make an awesome mini series, the sequences from the attack on the British and Alex and Winter’s escape are just breathtaking. As a side note for those loooking for well written books for younger readers, this should be a good choice. Originally written in the 50′s, the love scenes are quite chaste. Just be prepared for some gory, though accurate, portrayal of the violence aginst the British (including women and children) during the rebellion.

If you enjoy this book, I would also recommend Zemindar. The same topic, the Sepoy rebellion, and beautifully written. The author’s prose was gorgeous, very reminiscent of Charlotte Bronte.