by Mary Gibson
3 *
I thought this was going to be a bookshoppy type book but was more of a family sage, in this case and East End family.
Kate lives with her aunt and family after her mother died and her father disappeared to make his fortune. She is treated cruelly and lives with the dream that her father will one day return and take her away from all this.
Conditions in the smelting works where she gets her first job are vividly described but it's when she takes on an extra job cleaning a bookshop that her life begins to change.
Fans of family sagas may well give this book four stars; I'm giving it ***. Perfectly readable just not to my taste particularly.
by Sara Collins
4*
His novel begins in the Old Bailey court rooms in 1826. Frannie Langton, a Mulatto slave, is on trial for the murder of her employer and his wife. The book tells us Frannie's story in her own words.
It took me a while to get into it. It begins on the plantation in Jamaica and I found it difficult to follow exactly what was happening. Frannie is taught to read and write and helps her master, John Langton, with his scientific research on what difference colour makes to a person's intelligence. Then her master takes her to London and gives her to his old friend/rival, George Benham.
The rest of the story is largely taken up with Frannie's developing relationship with her mistress, Margueritte, and finally, the court room trial. Now it is totally gripping. Will she be found guilty of murder?
****
2 comments:
Frannie Langton sounds good! I'm not usually too big on family sagas though.
Debra, I seem to picking up lots of lesbian love stories at the moment. Frannie Langton is very good.
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