Book Reviews / D Reviews18th-century / accountant / Dark / Japan / Literary fiction / midwife / Netherlands / POC / shipping / unrequited-love8 Comments
Trigger warning: Dear David Mitchell, Your literary novel, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet, caught my attention because of its setting, the environs of Nagasaki in 1799-1800. I heard of the book through great word-of-mouth from people whose opinions I generally trust so I was excited to read it. ... more >
A- Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended Readscats / England / Historical / medieval / midwife / orphan / YA / YA classic7 Comments
The girl known only as Brat has no family, no home, and no future until she meets Jane the Midwife and becomes her apprentice. As she helps the sharp-tempered Jane deliver babies, Brat—who renames herself Alyce—gains knowledge, confidence, and the courage to want something from life: “A full belly, a ... more >
B- Reviews / Book Reviews18th-century / American historical / France / Historical / inspirational / inspirational romance / louisiana / midwifeComments Off on REVIEW: The Mark of the King by Jocelyn Green
Sweeping Historical Fiction Set at the Edge of the Continent After being imprisoned and branded for the death of her client, twenty-five-year-old midwife Julianne Chevalier trades her life sentence for exile to the fledgling 1720s French colony of Louisiana, where she hopes to be reunited with her brother, serving there ... more >
Book Reviews / D Reviews16th-century / European-Historical / Historical / Jewish-faith / midwife4 Comments
The Imperial Harem, Constantinople, 1578. Hannah and Isaac Levi, Venetians in exile, have overcome unfathomable obstacles to begin life anew in the Ottoman Empire. He works in the growing silk trade, and she, the best midwife in the capital, tends to the hundreds of women in Sultan Murat III’s lively ... more >
Book Reviews / C Reviews17th-century / England / Historical / midwife / mystery / Stuart-England / Yorkshire1 Comments
“It is 1644, and Parliament’s armies have risen against the King and laid siege to the city of York. Even as the city suffers at the rebels’ hands, midwife Bridget Hodgson becomes embroiled in a different sort of rebellion. One of Bridget’s friends, Esther Cooper, has been convicted of murdering ... more >
B+ Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended ReadsHistorical Romances / Jewish-faith / midwife / Venice7 Comments
Dear Ms. Rich, I have a love/hate relationship with historical novels. When they work, they can be wondrous – taking me to foreign lands, to different eras, into the rich and complex lives of the characters. Bad ones can seem endless and are worse if I get the feeling that ... more >