Tag: Historical Ficiton

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

Posted February 27, 2015 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Book of the Month, Historical Fiction / 8 Comments

Title: The Paying Guests (Goodreads)
Author: Sarah Waters
Published: Hachette, 2014
Pages: 576
Genres: Historical Fiction
My Copy: ARC from Publisher

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository, Kindle (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

The Paying Guests is something a little different for Sarah Waters; set in 1922 London, it is a period of history I don’t expect from this author. The novel tells the story an impoverished widow and her spinster daughter who are struggling to keep their large Camberwell villa after the loss of her husband and sons due to the war. They take in a modern young couple, Lilian and Leonard Barber to help make ends meet. True to Sarah Waters form, The Paying Guest is full of tension and mystery, but there was something missing.

Granted I have only read Tipping the Velvet (I really should read Fingersmith) but what I know and expect from Waters is something set in the 1800’s. Needless to say this was an enjoyable novel, exploring the differences in classes and the effects of World War I on the people in London. This period of time is an interesting one; the results of the war and the modernisation of London make for an interesting backdrop.

What I think Sarah Waters does best is create incredibly complex characters and The Paying Guests in no exception. Told from the point of view of Frances Wray, all the characters within the novel slowly take form, as secrets and new facts are revealed about them. This is an effective way to build a character and allows them to grow with small reveals that are both expected and unexpected.

The main focus of this novel is the blossoming romance between Frances and Lilian, this is expected from Waters and where she really excels. The idea of forbidden love is a heavy theme, not just because a lesbian relationship would be taboo but also the fact that Lilian was stuck in a marriage she wasn’t happy with. This allows the reader to explore the concepts of love and relationships in interesting ways; should we be encouraging the relationship between Frances and Lilian when one is married?

As I said earlier, I still think there was something missing in this novel. There is a gothic element that runs through The Paying Guests which starts off well, with all the secrets that slowly began to be revealed. However this stopped working for me when the plot became too predictable. I’m not opposed to a predictable plot; the focus on the character development was effective enough. The problem was the whole gothic aspect became clunky and the basic plot didn’t allow this theme to really go anywhere and just left me wanting more.

Comparing this novel with Tipping the Velvet is probably a little unfair; this is a completely different type of book. Having read one great Sarah Waters book, I expected a little more. I like the way Sarah Waters writes characters and captures a time period; I would have liked to see her do more with a gothic theme. Somehow The Paying Guests was on track to being another great novel by Waters but for me, it fell a little short. Maybe someone new to Sarah Waters would enjoy this one more, as it gives a little tamer introduction to what this author does best. Having said that, I’m still excited to read everything written by Waters; she is a great author.

Guest Review: Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures

Posted November 14, 2013 by jus_de_fruit in Guest Posts, Historical Fiction / 2 Comments

Title: Laura Lamont's Life in Pictures (Goodreads)
Author: Emma Straub
Published: Pan Macmillan, 2012
Pages: 256
Genres: Historical Fiction
My Copy: Paperback

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository, Kindle (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

I haven’t found much time to read in recent times. This book has been with me for a while, but I’ve now finished reading it. I never felt like this book was a compulsive page-turner, but it was something enjoyable and familiar that I could easily pick up and return to in the rare times of quiet that I can spend reading.

I don’t feel this book ever had any form of climax; as the title suggests, this book is about life. Laura Lamont, originally Elsa Emerson, grows up in Wisconsin, but eventually finds her way to Hollywood and becomes an actress, wins an Oscar, falls in love, has some children. It could be the story of any woman, although most of us probably lack an Oscar. Beyond the backdrop of Hollywood, this story is pretty ordinary. I found it easily to relate to Laura at different stages in her life.

I think this story is really about the roles we play in our lives. Daughter, Sister, Friend, Lover, Wife, Mother, Grandmother. Life constantly changes us. I think that the acting aspects may have just highlighted these changes more. Laura becomes quite famous, and struggles when she starts to disappear from the public eye. We are constantly changing, becoming different versions of ourselves, to fit the life that happens around us. Sometimes we yearn for the past, other times we look to the future, and there are even moments of contentment where we are happy just where we are in this moment.

I imagine this book would make a great holiday read, or like me, something that is easy to return to when other things are overtaking your life.

This is a guest post by Mary; not only is she my wonderful wife, she is also my editor and helps moderate the Literary Exploration group on Goodreads. Big thanks to her for this post and everything she does to help me with this blog.

The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton

Posted February 3, 2013 by jus_de_fruit in Crime, Guest Posts, Historical Fiction / 0 Comments

Title: The Secret Keeper (Goodreads)
Author: Kate Morton
Published: Allen & Unwin, 2012
Pages: 592
Genres: Crime, Historical Fiction
My Copy: ARC from Publisher

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

There are two categories of good books. The ones that introduce you to worlds that absorb you and you never want to leave and you find yourself slowing down towards the end, so you never have to finish the book. The other is the sort of book that compels you through the pages as fast as possible so you can discover the answer to the question that has been left burning inside you throughout that journey. The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton falls into the latter of those categories.

I started this book at a time when I wasn’t really feeling the need to read anything. Tired and exhausted after work, it felt like too much energy to even pick up a book. I did eventually, and very quickly I was captured by the mystery in this book.

Like A Lady’s Cyclist Guide to Kashgar, this is a book that covers more than one generation and the stories that link them together. Once again, I am left pondering the lives of my parents and grandparents and how the decisions they made may be influencing me now without me even realizing it. I wonder about the adventures of my own mum before she became a mother, because as her child it’s difficult to imagine her even existing without me as her daughter.

The Secret Keeper tells the story of Laurel Nicolson, who at 16 witnesses her mother commit a violent crime, which is barely spoken of again. As her mother approaches the end of her life fifty year later, suffering with dementia, Laurel realizes this is her last chance to find out the truth of that moment. The story flips between Laurel’s own investigations as well the story as lived by her mother during the war in the 1940s. Slowly, the characters fall into place, the connections become clear and a beautiful story is weaved.

I did predict how it would end before it got there, but I was still filled with uncertainty as to whether I was correct. The story could have taken any number of turns and I raced through the pages to find what the truth of the situation actually was. Kate Morton has done an amazing job with this story and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys mystery, romance and historical fiction.