The Tudor Prophecy

Finished April 25

The Tudor Prophecy by Julie Strong

This historical novel takes place in 1541 in the latter part of the reign of King Henry VIII. Hester Vaughan and her younger brother Dickie have lived in England with her maternal uncle Sir Hugh Grantmire and his family, consisting of his wife and daughter. The daughter, Lady Alice, is close in age to Hester and they are close friends. Hester's father is Welsh and still lives at his property there. His grief at the death of Hester's mother precipitated this move. 

Hester has teenage dreams of healing King Henry from his leg tumours and being chosen as his next wife, but her attempt to make this happen results in disaster. At the same time, Sir Hugh has finally come to the point where his refusal to make an oath to King Henry's new church means that his life and lands are in jeopardy. 

When Hester is summoned to join her father in Wales, she goes, but unwillingly. She has strange dreams that she struggles to understand. In Wales, she finds her father in his dying days, and struggles to hold off the strange and disturbing fates that her uncle there plans for her. A young bard and her Welsh maid are the only ones she can trust. 

Meanwhile Lady Alice, her mother, Dickie, and his minder John struggle to make ends meet in their reduced circumstances. Dickie, who is developmentally delayed and has seizures, is unpredictable and loyal to his family, which sometimes puts them in dangerous situations. 

When Hester's path crosses that of the young Elizabeth, Kind Henry's daughter, she realizes that she has been led to show her that her father's way is a cruel one and she can make different choices. 

I was really engaged with this novel and while I was sometimes frustrated with Hester's choices, I see how they all led in a certain direction. Hester grew through the course of the novel, as did Lady Alice as she adjusted to her new reality. As the book neared its end, the final scene leads me to believe there will be a sequel to this book, which I look forward to. 

The main parts of history were adhered to, with the real historical figures being where they were at the time. But the introduction of Wales and the Welsh people was interesting as it showed how religion disrupted the lives of the people in ways that I hadn't thought about. 

Band of Angels

Finished September 28
Band of Angels by Julia Gregson

This novel begins in Wales in the mid-1850s where Catherine Carreg was allowed to grow up freely, running around with the young son of the local drover Deio, riding horses and spending lots of time outdoors. But now she is growing up and her parents are restricting her to more ladylike activities, something she finds hard to adjust to. When a medical tragedy hits her family and Catherine is the only one on hand, she realizes how helpless she is and determines to overcome this lack of knowledge.
With the help of young Deio, Catherine makes it to London and gets accepted into training with Florence Nightingale. When the opportunity arises to volunteer to nurse in the Crimea, Catherine is eager to test her skills and help in any way she can.
Deio, a master at training horses, is also drawn to the Crimea, but has no idea of the reality of the conditions there and is in over his head.
Both young people can not forget each other despite their drives to prove themselves in the world, and they reconnect under horrific conditions.
Gregson did a lot of research for this book despite little historical material being available. The conditions of the hospitals and the lack of acceptance of the nurses is shown graphically. Gregson gives us a glimpse of the politics behind this first nursing endeavour, and disease, malnutrition, and lack of resources that were the reality.

Heartbreak Hotel

Finished March 18
Heartbreak Hotel by Deborah Moggach

This amusing novel is in the same style as her previous novel These Foolish Things (read before I started blogging), later made into the popular movie The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Here we have aging actor Russell "Buffy" Buffery, who is unhappy with the direction his London neighbourhood seems to be going on, taking a chance on the impulse to move to Wales. Why Wales? Well, an old friend of his has died and left him her bed and breakfast house in Knockton, and he decides to try running it himself. He comes up with the idea to  add on a variety of courses to appeal to city folk, as package deals.
Buffy is a fascinating old charmer, who has had three wives (one now dead) and 5 children (by four different women, only two of them his wives). He has decent relationships with all his kids and his stepdaughter, and they all make appearances of some sort here.
Along the way we meet a variety of people all either looking for some sort of change in their life, or who have had change thrust upon them. As various courses attract them to Knockton, they find different sorts of change than they had been looking for, but mostly very satisfactory ones. From postmen to writers, makeup artists to bankers, we meet an interesting group of characters.
A humourous, upbeat novel that will have you laughing out loud, touched, and definitely entertained.