A Blog Must Have Three Different Names

            The Roundheads and Cavaliers quartet by Stella Riley   I am very fond of this series, which I read when they first came out in the early 90s. They are excellent historical novels set during the mid-17 th Century covering the Civil War and its immediate aftermath. Although they contain romance, it would be wrong to characterise them as mere romances, because the Civil War is shown accurately in all its brutality and pain. They are an excellent read that bear rereading from time to time. Last year Alex Wyndham recorded the first, the Black Madonna , for Audible. Previously he has recorded Ms Riley’s other books, The Marigold Chain and the Rockliffe books with elegance and panache. It is so satisfying when the reader’s voice matches the book perfectly. There are no jarring notes at all. He has just finished recording Garland of Straw , the second in the series. Of the four it is probably the easiest to read as a stand-alone book. ...

            Kit by Marina Fiorato aka The Double Life of Mistress Kit Kavanagh This is the story of Kit Kavanagh, born in Dublin in the late 17 th Century. Married young, she and her husband run a tavern in the city. One day her husband doesn’t come home. Kit is distraught. She searches for him and discovers that he has been drinking with soldiers and has taken the Queen’s shilling. Kit wants him back, so leaving the tavern in the hands of her aunt, she pursues him, enlisting in Marlborough’s army. The book follows her adventures as a soldier and a spy as Marlborough chases the French round Europe. It is very exciting. But what makes it stand above other books of its type? For a start, to my astonishment, the bones of the story are true. If you are interested you can research her story in Daniel Defoe’s book, Mother Ross: The Life and Adventures of Mrs Christian Davies, Commonly Called Mother Ross, on Campaign with the Duke of Marlborough . It ...