Tag Archives: Britain

Here be Dragons

Posted on September 8, 2015 by smellincoffee

Here be Dragons © 1985 Sharon Penman 700 pages               Here Be Dragons takes readers to the Welsh Marches in 13th century England. King John, remembered for losing England’s ancestral holdings in France and being gelded by his own barons … Continue reading →

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American Colonies

Posted on June 13, 2015 by smellincoffee

American Colonies: The Settling of North America© 2001 Alan Taylor526 pages           American Colonies is a sweeping history of the New World,  one that attempts to convey the full American experience, beginning with the arrival of … Continue reading →

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The English People on the Eve of Colonization

Posted on June 8, 2015 by smellincoffee

The English People on the Eve of Colonization© 1954 Wallace Notestein302 pages    If there was ever an exemplar for not judging a book by its cover, The English People on the Eve of Colonization is it. The binding is … Continue reading →

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The Wars of the Roses

Posted on May 25, 2015 by smellincoffee

The Wars of the Roses© 1996 Alison Weir496 pages The wars of the roses sounds like a gardening contest run amok, but no genteel horticulturists were involved.  The strange appellation refers to a series of dynastic crises in 15th century … Continue reading →

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The Fall of Saxon England

Posted on May 7, 2015 by smellincoffee

The Fall of Saxon England© 1975 Richard Humble242 pages History never rests. In the middle of the first millennium, the great tide of the Roman Empire began at last to recede. Its legions stationed in distant reaches of the realm, … Continue reading →

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Faith and Treason

Posted on May 2, 2015 by smellincoffee

Faith and Treason: The Story of the Gunpowder Plot© 1997 Antonia Frasier384 pages        Remember, remember, the Fifth of November, the gunpowder treason and plot….or, as contemporaries called it, the Powder Plot.   Its scale, for the 16th … Continue reading →

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Bachelors Anonymous

Posted on April 29, 2015 by smellincoffee

Bachelors Anonymous© 1973 P.G. Wodehouse191 pages “It is never agreeable for a man who is engaged to one girl and has just proposed to another to find himself in the company of both of them.” Ivor Llewellyn and his lawyer … Continue reading →

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In a Dark Wood

Posted on April 29, 2015 by smellincoffee

In a Dark Wood © 1998 Michael Cadnum 256 pages In a Dark Wood tells the story of Robin Hood, the merry thief of Sherwood Forrest, from the perspective of the sheriff whose peace he breaks. Sir Geoffrey of Nottinghamshire … Continue reading →

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Boudica

Posted on April 22, 2015 by smellincoffee

Boudica: The Life and Legend of Britain’s Warrior Queen© 2006 Vanessa Collingridge390 pages To the Roman mind, the isles of Britain lay in the shadows between the light of civilized Empire and the dark depths of the unknown Oceanus which … Continue reading →

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The Other Queen

Posted on April 18, 2015 by smellincoffee

The Other Queen © 2008 Philippa Gregory 448 pages  Bess of Hardwick has survived three husbands, but her fourth may be too much. Sure, he’s the Lord High Steward, whose family came over on the Norman Mayflower,  but the man’s … Continue reading →

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