Matthew Pearl’s debut novel, The Dante Club, was a huge bestseller and proof that literary doesn’t have to mean boring. This gem is perhaps less well known, but the storyline is just as fascinating. The premise is that as the copyright loophole which allowed for pirating the works of foreign writers residing in other nationsContinue reading “The Last Bookaneer by Matthew Pearl”
Author Archives: Robin Henry
Finding the Gap and using Outliers as models when writing Historical Fiction
This is part 2 of a series about writing compelling characters in Historical Fiction. You can find the first part here. According to James C. Scott’s Domination and the Arts of Resistance, part of the difficulty in dealing with the history of a subordinate group is that there is a public transcript of events andContinue reading “Finding the Gap and using Outliers as models when writing Historical Fiction”
Throwback Thursday: Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty (2013)
What happens when a woman makes one spectacularly bad choice? In Yvonne Carmichael’s case it leads to several other spectacularly bad choices and she ends up accused and on trial at the Old Bailey. I have read several other reviews of this book and many people seem to think Yvonne is unbalanced or unbelievable, butContinue reading “Throwback Thursday: Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty (2013)”
Thrillers: Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell and The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz
Both of these thrillers are worth reading–even if they aren’t totally surprising, they do contain plenty of suspense, some misdirection, and the writing is just so good. Invisible Girl is a tale told from multiple points of view which features a central mystery about a series of sexual assaults and how all the characters areContinue reading “Thrillers: Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell and The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz”
Flash Fanfiction inspired by Austen’s Persuasion
Historical Accuracy, political correctness, and authenticity…
Write Historical fiction that is authentic rather than pedantically accurate.
Agent Sonya by Ben MacIntyre
Ben MacIntyre has written several books about World War II and Cold War spies. They are all excellent and Agent Sonya does not disappoint. MacIntyre has a talent for finding intriguing stories about real people in extraordinary situations. Sonya, real name Ursula Kuczynski, worked for the Soviets beginning in the 1920s in China and continuingContinue reading “Agent Sonya by Ben MacIntyre”
Throwback Thursday: His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet
A look back at a great novel from 2016…
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
I am afraid I will have to join the minority who did not like this one. The Washington Post reviewer calls it “plodding” and I would have to agree. One reviewer on Goodreads says it seems like the author read The Grapes of Wrath and decided it needed an update. I would have to agreeContinue reading “The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah”
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
There are very few books that live up to the hype and this one does. The Thursday Murder Club delivers on so many levels–it’s a cozy, it’s an ensemble piece with multiple points of view, it’s hilarious, it’s a warning against underestimating the elderly. It is hard to believe that this is Osman’s debut novel,Continue reading “The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman”
