Review: Hamnet

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A BookBrowse copy sent for reading and discussion. A fictional imagining of Shakespeare's early life and marriage in Stratford-Upon-Avon. The focus, however, is not really upon him but rather the family in which he was raised and the young local woman who becomes his wife. Indeed, he is never mentioned by name and once married doesn't appear very often in the narrative. He is an absentee father, living, writing and acting in London as his wife and three children reside in a small home alongside his parent's home. The marriage is loving and warm despite the lengthy seperation between the spouses, until the plague hits them and their young son, Hamnet succumbs at a young age.
The impact of the loss on them and their families is devastating but seems to give rise to one of the most famous plays in English literature.

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Review: A Perilous Perspective

A Perilous Perspective by Anna Lee Huber
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My first Lady Darby Mystery but not my last. While in the Scottish Highlands to attend a cousin's wedding Mr and Mrs Gage find themselves in the awkward position of having to tell their host that part of his cherished collection of Masterpieces are forgeries. As if that is not enough close upon their revelation a lady's maid dies mysteriously of a poisoning while in the long gallery where the collection is on display--at the foot of one of the forgeries most important to the host and his former betrothed, who now is a spinster living on the estate adjoining his. Even more of a mystery is the fact that the maid is part of this woman's household and should not be anywhere within his home.

A complex case to be sure, filled with questions not easily answered, especially when the Lord of the manor is less than forthcoming when they are posed to him!

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