In The Mirror A Peacock Danced by Justine Bothwick

A girl born and brought up in India and it is now 1938 where India is at the crossroads of an independence struggle. The British are not wanted and Florence has to go home. She who has only known the warmth and color of the tropics is expected to conform to a rigorous insular life with her aunt and make a life for herself. Her father seems unconcerned about her, just feels she has let him down by not shining at whatever he expected her to do. Florence's is clever with a bent for mathematics and engines - things which are not considered feminine enough and despite her long stint of work with machines and in a supervisory capacity in a factory is not taken much notice of when she does apply to follow a line of studies. Florence's story told between the time lines of Agra 1938 and Portsmouth 1953 could not be more of a contrast and she struggles to lift her head above water and to make something of herself and her life. Subjugated by a husband who is a bully, with no family support of any kind she and her son Robert have to find a way to survive. The story is very descriptive in both countries - and shows how difficult it was for Britishers who had lived in the East for so long to try to adapt to a country which they were strangers to and to a lifestyle they were not familiar with. Heartbreak, derogatory attitudes faced by Florence would have broken many women but Florence strives to survive knowing that a better future could be got. The story was very rich in both emotion (sad, tense and happy) as well as very evocative of places where it took place. Sent by Agora Books for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.

The Gilded Cage on the Bosphorus by Ayse Osmanoglu

I've just binge watched Magnificient Century so it was very apt that I got this book. Set in the twilight years of the Ottoman Empire where their sheer power from the time of Suleyman has been greatly diminished, we are dealing with the family of Murad V whose thrown was seized by his brother, but fortunately unlike before, he was not murdered, he was just exiled to the beautiful Ciragan Palace for a period of twenty eight years and he eventually died there. The story of Murad, his son and his grand son and the story starts with the blessings of his first great grandson. What the future holds for this little prince is shaky and unknown. Murad has lived in the shadows for so long, and the whole family along with him. None of his children or grand children, his wives consorts sisters have known the outside world but they have not rebelled against these strict rules. When Murad dies, the ties seem to loosen a little and the family has access to their extended family at last. Added to this is the Sultan's sisters indiscretion and the far reaching implications of the love affa The story of the day to day life of an exiled family, living in luxury nevertheless and trying to accept their fate in the best possible manner is this book. It was very good reading - both from a historical point of view, as well as a family saga. It marked the end of a dynasty and the beginning of constituitional reform in Turkey. The research and detail is meticulous and immensely educative as well as interesting. Written by a family member who is a history graduate as well, the story epitomises all that is good for history buffs. Sent by BooksGoSocial for an unbiased review, courtesyof Netgalley.

Silence in the Library by Katherine Schellman (Lily Adler series)

Lily is not the average Regency type lady. Now widowed, just coming out of mourning she has been unexpectedly, unpleasantly surprised by the visit of her father without any notice. Her father and Lily do not get on at all. Lily feels that she will never compare or come up to the expectations of a son and her father frowns on every aspect of Lily's life - from her clothes to her company, to the way the house is run and just about everything. Lily loves her home, and the peace and contentment that is there and all this is disrupted by her father. On a visit to see a newly married woman (at the behest of her father) who disapproves that someone married again after the death of his spouse Lily is once again thrown headlong into another murder investigation. Finding Sir Charles dead was bad enough but having to declare it was murder, and to be the person who found the murder weapon was hard. Especially in Regency society who preferred to sweep everything under the carpet, find some innocent bystander or workman to bear the brunt of the crime and whoever actually did it to literally escape with murder. Sadly for the Wyatt family who have many secrets to hide, Lily and her side kick Captain Jack, along with Mr. Page the Bow Street runner who was in charge of the case are not willing to compromise on their principles. Mr. Page is an unusual Detective. He is not open to bribery or to look the other way where the aristocracy is concerned and the investigation plods on. Plenty of diversions, another hapless victim found murdered, another son discovered, then another illegitimate daughter discovered and the net closes in. This was vintage detective genre - one I like very much. Set in Regency England with a bit of history thrown in, just a smidgeon of romance to keep us going till the next book appears this was a good entertaining read. Sent by Crooked Lane Books for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.

Death at Hungerford Stairs by J C Briggs (Charles Dickens mystery No 2)

London 1849 and surprisingly there seems to be two different cities in one. One is where the rich, the famous live. Bright, sparkly, with all mod cons and a very comfortable lifestyle and then you get the slums and the alleys of dirt, death, every vice possible and more. It is an eye opener and it is on this that Charles Dickens and Inspector Jones concentrate on. Young boys start to go missing - three of them so far and a tiny puncture near their heart shows that the murderer knows what he is doing. The boys are those working in the slums so the suspect could be anybody but when Dickens and Jones get on to the case they start connecting the dots with the toffs, with a milliner who works for the aristocracy and then another picture is shown but to get a conviction with solid evidence is proving to be more elusive. Written with meticulous attention to detail the detective series is one of its kind. Vintage detection procedure, set against a squalid background with very little resources available to the detectives this is a must read for lovers of history, for those that like the detective genre and for those who would like to know a bit more about Charles Dickens himself. Highly recommended. Download from Amazon. Thank you.

Loch Down Abbey by Beth Cowan Erskine

The 1930s and set in a town in Scotland, the story surrounds the inhabitants of the local aristocracy and they are a callous, strange lot. A disease is striking Scotland and people are falling down like ninepins but all they are concerned with is of the inconvenience of looking after the children after Nanny has so inconsiderably fallen down dead and now staff are falling sick. The possibility of even considering making their own beds, reducing the number of trips that maids have to take to bring and take tea trays and the horror of reducing the number of cakes at tea from six to three are some of the major problems faced by this family. The head housekeeper is the only sane being in the lot and when the Lord of this manor is found dead, she is the only one concerned enough to do some private sleuthing because something does smell rotten. No one else is bothered. Since no one is allowed in or out of the house due to the illness sweeping the village it is apparent that the suspected murderer is one of their own. Unravelling the mystery with no help from the family and still having to run the house with no apparent shortcomings is a herculean task. The true color of the relations come to the fore with the death of the Lord especially when his will is read and the skeletons come out of the cupboard. The family is facing bankruptcy and the sale of the manor is the only way out, something that most of them cannot get their heads around and their hearts to accept. Tongue in cheek British humour at its best, the bunch of characters are so varied that the mix of them is what is best in the story. Sent by Hodder & Stoughton for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.

The Bookseller of Florence by Ross King

Vespaciano was a trail blazer. From his studio he produced a prolific number of books all detailing intricate work of miniaturists as well as the best scribes possible to detail a voluminous number of books sought by people who appreciated art, literature, education of the mind in every form. This was in 1422. In the midst of it all in 1480 came the massive shift in the book world. From painstaking scripts hand written to the printing of books. This made books accessible to a wider populace but it also (like anything new) created a rebellion of sorts in the book world. This was a detailed and well thought out book. At the same time it will not appeal to all. The voluminous amount of detail which made up the history of this story is great. It is history, literature, art and so much more. There are a lot of characters one has to keep track but my interest never waned. It also takes time to read and consume. The book was detailed and intense. Sent by Grove Atlantic for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.

A Lasting Spring by Jean Stubbs

Described as a war time saga this was so much more. A family story both pre and during the War and the pressures that were faced by each of the Fawley family members as they try to come to grips with a new world opening at their feet. New attitudes, new developments, different roles for women and men and the difficulties in adapting to them. Dorothy has just entered into a second marriage with Gilbert also a widower. Both have young children and it is the first thing that was different - they got on famously! In Michael Evelyn a shy girl found the companion and brother she needed and he proved to be her strength throughout. Dorothy her step mother was not unkind, but did not really understand the girl and her father Gilbert had his own set ways of looking at the world. The story progresses with the start of WWII and the complications of as first Michael the son goes off to join the Airforce, Gilbert joins the civilian force in charge of protection and Dorothy, a born organiser finds a niche for herself (something that she has solely missed all these years of being a wife and mother). Evelyn continues with her studies at the Music Academy finding love and heart break on the way The difficulties of loss, bereavement which is so hard on the whole family and still the need to just go on is well written in this story. War settings always have losses and each story is handled so well. Very descriptive of the area in which the Fawleys lived, it brings this small village to life. The changes wrought in those who go to fight and return. They are never the same people. But then neither are those who stayed behind to support and prop the family amidst such hard circumstances. The book was sent by Sapere Books for an honest review, courtesy of Netgalley.