Great for English Novel Fans 1800-1900
597230
If you've read everything by Austen, lots of Trollope and Dickens, you'll enjoy this survey of 19th century English society.  I found much in this book that filled in the missing pieces of my understanding of the unwritten rules of this era.
The book is divided into two parts:  the first has more lengthy explanations of various aspects of Victorian society--marriage, the military, class, money, law, parliament, etc.  Diagrams of class rank and period illustrations are helpful.  Quotes from some of the most famous novels of the time are used to illustrate the explanations.  There are brief histories of the monarchs interspersed throughout, as well as some medieval history that explains how many of the customs came to be.  The second half is a dictionary of commom terms you'll come across in novels from the period.
While the editing of this book leaves a little to be desired, it is an enjoyable read and a decent reference.  Serious anglophiles will find it very basic, but the avid novel reader who's history is only "so-so" will find it invaluable.
3333605
Will Thomas puts together a winner in "To Kingdom Come", a mystery/detective novel set in the late 1800's in Victorian England.  The narrator of the story, Thomas Llewelyn, is a young Welshman apprenticed to Cyrus Barker, a "private enquiry agent" (a private detective) in London.  In broad outline, the story focuses on the efforts of Barker and Llewelyn to stop a group of Irish terrorists from blowing up half of London in order to win independence for their homeland.  Barker and Llewelyn, posing as experts in creating "infernal devices", infiltrate the group and the fun starts from there.  I'm not going to go into too much more detail, because I don't want to ruin the story.

Instead, I'll tell you why you should buy this book.  First, some authors just "get it", and Thomas is one of those people.  This is a tightly written story, with very little wasted effort.  Thomas doles out details only in measured amounts, which keeps the reader interested and wanting more.  For example, Llewelyn knows general facts about his employer Barker, but only learns specific details as the reader does, by seeing Barker in action.  Thus, Thomas adroitly has the reader guessing as to what will happen next or, more appropriately, "how in the heck are they going to get out of THIS jam?"  Although Llewelyn wants to trust his mentor, he has the uneasy feeling (as do we) that Barker would sacrifice the young man if it meant reaching the objective.  This creates great tension in the story.

Second, the background detail provided by Thomas sets a convincing scene and mood.  Some authors think that they can create a period piece by simply setting modern-day characters with modern-day sensibilities in a different era.  That doesn't work.  As Thomas shows, period pieces work by having the characters act, talk and think as characters would at the time.  For example, Victorian England was a very class-oriented era.  Although we don't know that Barker was a "gentleman born", he acts like a gentleman in the story, even to the point of refusing to eat with someone who Barker finds unsavory.  Further, Baker will not tolerate Llewelyn acting in any less a manner.  Although not as complete, Thomas's vision on London reminded me of Caleb Carr's 1800's New York in "The Alienist".

Finally, "To Kingdom Come" is just a good read.  A great opening scene, lots of action, interesting characters, seductive beauties and literally a bang-up ending.  While some might wish to compare Barker and Llewelyn to Sherlock Holmes (and Barker's name would seem to be a tip of the hat to Holmes' 221B Baker Street address), there is more mystery and fallability to Baker than there was to Holmes, Holmes' morphine addiction notwithstanding.  Baker is a dangerous man with a mysterious past and even more mysterious present habits, such as the locked rooms in his office and the identity of the woman he disappears to see from time to time.  But he is much more expressive in emotion than Holmes, and, thus, more "complete" a character, at least to this point.  But by not shotgunning everything out about Barker in this or in his first book with these characters ("Some Danger Involved"), Thomas has left himself wide open for many more adventures with Baker and Llewelyn.  Enjoy!
1867134
I received this book as part of the GoodReads FirstReads program and it was one that I was fairly giddy to have won.  As a fan of historical fiction generally and "Upstairs Downstairs" specifically I was more than ready to enjoy this one.

On the good side the book gives us a wonderfully open portrayal of the behavior of the landed class at the time.  No secret is too dark, no behavior too perverse to be placed on display.  We're introduced to some of the notable personages of the time and the scene is littered with tidbits of historical amusement from the Boer Wars to steam powered autos.  Weldon also treats us to a myriad of period vernacular that causes us Midwestern types to scramble for our dictionaries.  If nothing else it's worth reading just for the language.  Organizationally the book's short (almost tiny) chapters are each date-headed and titled helping the reader keep track of a sometimes tangled chronology.  This is the sort of book you can take in small bites if you need to and come back without losing much of the thread of the narrative.

On the other side, there's just not quite as much story as one would expect from a period piece.  Readers who anticipate a Classical level of detail from this novel are bound to be disappointed.  It is a novel very much boiled down to its nucleus, a traveling sideshow rather than a museum piece.  Additionally, while our author uses some amusing bits of language they do at times seem forced and inconsistently timed.  Her characters whip out a colorful phrase about every 20 pages and then revert to current standard English until it is once again time to find an appropriate period idiom to insert.  As the current vernacular so aptly puts it, "go big or go home"; if your characters drawl along in Cockney rhyming slang in chapter 1 then they'd best do so for the duration lest purists like me complain about it in online reviews.

To summarize, Weldon's novel is a cute period piece but it's a period piece written for the masses.  Bibliophiles who have come to this novel as a modern break from perusing Austen would be advised to understand that this is a novel written for an audience less accustomed to the complexities of Classical literature.  Readers are also advised to take a page of notes on the dramatis personae as they are introduced.  Personally I had some difficulty sorting out the rather homogeneous nomenclature of the various characters involved.
4605713
This is the second book of a relatively new series of period-piece British mystery novels.  It is well written and entertaining.  The books story is placed in the first decade of the 19th century in England.  It is centered around the work of the somewhat enigmatic police detective Stephen Lavender and his jovial side-kick, Constable Ned Woods.  They are based in London, but not infrequently they are sent into the English hinterlands to solve particularly difficult crime mysteries.  The author has done an excellent job of researching the time and place settings for her story, and she writes in an often captivating style which is sprinkled with now archaic English words, which were in common usage 200 years ago.  With more lucidity and realism than most, the author does not gloss over the unpleasantness and challenges of both urban and rural life in pre and nascent industrial societies of our forebearers. For example, she refers to the smells and health risks associated with large amounts of animal feces in urban streets and markets when most transport was horse drawn, and the pollution of the Thames River.  The writing employs a pace and complexity which can hold the readers attention.  My personal quibble is that I have a more difficult time understanding the personality of her lead character, Stephen Lavender, than the leads of most other authors in this genre, or maybe I just don't like his personality.
2607215
My grandmother passed the Williamsburg novels on to me when I was 16. I devoured all of them that summer. I always wanted to read them again, and yesterday on a whim I decided to do just that. It has been 16 years since I last read the series, and I'm enjoying Dawn's Early Light with a new appreciation.

Thanks to the Internet, I now know more about the author. Elswyth Thane (1900-1981, American) was a romance writer in her time. She wrote several books, but the Williamsburg series are her most popular.

I'd say while these novels have a healthy dose of history -- historical characters like Jefferson and Washington interact with our fictional characters in "Dawn's" -- they are first and foremost romance novels. Therefore, female readers might enjoy them more, which seems to be the case from the comments posted here!
1260279
I am a passionate George Eliot fan. I really enjoy Victorian era literature, and George Eliot is one of my favourite Victorian writers, so much so that I did my thesis for my Honours degree on three of her novels - Mill on the Floss, Daniel Deronda and Middlemarch. I found Scenes of Clerical Life to be quite different to these novels - a set of three nouvellas loosely linked rather than the complex plots of her big novels. I enjoyed the strong sense Eliot conveyed of some of the pettiness and power struggles that dominate a small village, and the many ways curates are used as pawns by various villagers. I remember being told by one of my lectures at University that one of the characteristics of Victorian Literature is that it focuses on the individual and his/her role within society, whereas modern literature tends to be solipsistic and driven by the individual desires of the central character. That is certainly the case with this book. I particularly enjoyed the first story where Eliot's marvellous descriptive powers painted a strong, clear picture of the setting and village life. It made me realise how challenging life is for clergy who are not wealthy and have the right connections.
Those not used to Victorian writing may find the pace a bit slow and some of the physical descriptions long-winded, but once you get used to that style and persevere, the rewards are considerable. George Eliot uses metaphor and imagery so effectively. A delightful little gem.
1938428
Oh my. What a delightful, stimulating read for students of English Victorian literature. It makes good reading even where GKC is wrongheaded, especially in relegating women novelists to the second rank. Effective at placing writers in the context of the social and political issues of the day. Good introduction to GKC's unique paradox-ridden style.
3050752
This book is the second in a series about Jane Eyre after her marriage to Edward Rochester.  The premise is based on the idea that when Jane first wrote her autobiography, it was intended to be a multi-volume work.  Her handwritten manuscript was discovered in a stack of papers, and is only now being published.  This is a great light summer read, with well drawn characters and an excellent sense of place and history in the early 1800's of England.  I enjoyed the original Jane Eyre many years ago and was hesitant that this series might diminish the original novel.  However, I found it extremely entertaining and would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed both the original by Bronte as well as historical fiction/mystery.
207073
This book was written in the 1800's so a lot of the language is "old-fashioned". I found it to read almost like Homer's Illiad. I high-lighted several quotes that I found interesting and someday maybe worth reciting. This book is worth it just for it's portrayal of Indians, Frenchmen and The English.
2593821
Beautifully written novel that evokes another time and place, in this case Russia in 1888, when Anton Chekhov becomes friends with a young woman. But this story also has a contemporary connection to a London publisher who wants to find out if Chekhov was the author of a long lost novel. The diary of the young woman from the 19th century may hold the key and the narrative goes back and forth between the two time periods. The writing is elegant, the characters are not mere placeholders but real people. He reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is that the storyline is overused in my opinion, as there have been so many books written in the last decade about lost objects, including literary works, where a modern day individual had to solve the mystery. My other quibble with the book, which is a minor one, is the absence of quotation marks around conversations, which seems to be a new fad. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in Russia and Russian literature.
3516915
Reading Robinson Crusoe is akin to visiting England in the early 18th Century. A reminder that while much has changed, much has not changed. A lot of fun.
1358730
I have a confession to make:  I've never read Jane Eyre.  However, after enjoying The Death of a Dowager, I want to read the classic Charlotte Bronte novel and author Joanna Campbell Slan has accomplished her goal of The Jane Eyre Chronicles series - to introduce more readers to the delightful world of Jane Eyre.

I read The Death of a Dowager (book 2 in the series) without benefit of first reading The Death of a Schoolgirl (book 1) and had little difficulty in acclimating myself.  At first, the number of characters was a bit overwhelming, but the primary and secondary characters were quickly sorted out.

I usually prefer novels with contemporary settings, but from the first chapter, I connected with Jane, Edward, Lucy and their world.  Being relatively new to the `cozy mystery' genre, I've searched for a series with an interesting plot beyond the facts surrounding the obligatory murder.  The Jane Eyre Chronicles fits the bill, immersing readers in the life and times of 1800's England.

I highly recommend The Death of a Dowager and plan to read The Death of a Schoolgirl while waiting for the third book in this interesting series.

The above opinions are my own; thanks to the author for providing a complimentary copy of the novel.
3217951
I find the hierarchy of the English to be fascinating, especially in the Victorian age.  It was great that Alex and Greyland became very attracted to each other and in love.  I found the family jealousy over titles very life threatening, but also exciting when it all worked out well.  I look forward to reading more of your work.
2946740
Great collection of Bronte sisters' work at a good price. Nice hardcover, with dust sleeve. Big prints. Love it.
  If you are a Bronte sisters fan, definitely get this book. The novel I like the most of course is "Jane Eyre". I read some of the dialogues between Jane and Rochester several times, and every time I read, I got something new out of it. I love Gothic romance, and the Byronic hero of the English literature.
3502037
I enjoy period fiction from 1800-1850 England and I enjoy courtesan stories. This is one of the best that I have read.
3834843
The writing style is a little more modern than I was expecting for a 19th century novel.
Some old constructs, but usually intelligible.  Centred in London England, it helps if you know the city a little.
e.g references to Newgate Street are references to the prison that was there.
It is quite interesting to note the living conditions and everyday concerns of the people of that time.
As always, Dickens fills his books with an array of weird (eccentric) characters.
2982465
For Christmas, I ordered an mp3 player (Library of Classics) that was pre-loaded with 100 works of classic literature in an audio format.  Each work is in the public domain and is read by amateurs, so the quality of the presentation is hit or miss.  This was the third novel I've completed (the first two being A Tale of Two Cities and Around the World in 80 Days) and like the first two, the reader did not detract from the experience, and was in fact quite good.

Robinson Crusoe was written in the 17th century by Daniel DeFoe and is one of the oldest novels written in the English language.  Despite this, it is not difficult to read (or listen to) in the least.  While there are a few affectations and instances of unfamiliar "period" language and references, I never found this to be a problem.

The story is well known; an English mariner becomes shipwrecked and stranded on a desert island for many years, ultimately joined by his man Friday (a local native).  The novel however, begins far sooner and spends some time detailing Crusoe's early life and adventures.  A good 75% of the story, however, takes place on the island, located off the coast of South America near the mouth of the Orinoco River.

Luckily, Crusoe is not completely without provisions or means of survival and the "eight and twenty" years he spends on the island are filled with his ingenuity and seemingly never ending industry in making his abode not only livable but comfortably so.

This is very much a period piece with religion playing a not insignificant role, though not overbearingly so.  It is, more than anything, quite entertaining and even enlightening.  I must confess being somewhat pleasantly surprised that such an old work played so well in current times.