SKELETONS AT THE FEAST
Chris Bohjalian, Shaye Areheart, 2008, $25.00, hb, 363pp, 9780307934958 / Simon & Schuster, 2008, £12.99, hb, 384pp, 9781847373144
    Once in a while a novel comes along that crawls into your soul from the first page and won’t let go, even long after you’ve read the final word. Your perspective is changed; you’ve been transported to another place and time. Skeletons at the Feast is such a novel.
    It begins in Germany during the final months of World War II. The Third Reich is falling apart; the vengeful Russians are invading. The Emmerich family of good and loyal Germans has been living quietly on their estate, raising horses and believing in Hitler’s vision, unaware of his true purpose. They have even been allowed to “keep” a Scottish prisoner of war, Callum, to help around the farm; he and eighteen-year-old Anna, the daughter of the house, have begun a clandestine affair. When the war begins to turn and the family realizes that they must flee or face the terrible retribution of the advancing Russians, Anna, her mother, younger brother, and Callum are forced to leave everything behind. As they forge ahead on foot through bitter cold, they know nothing of the fate of Anna’s father and two older brothers, who are fighting the Allies far away. Along the way, they encounter Uri, an escaped Jew who has been masquerading as a German soldier. With Uri’s protection, they continue their journey; yet as they travel, they begin to realize the atrocities that the Germans have been committing and their own unwitting roles in this holocaust.
    The difficulties and even the small triumphs of this group as they trek onward to safety are described in breathtaking detail. With his gift for storytelling, Bohjalian has brought to light the plight of innocent Germans who paid the price for Hitler’s egomaniacal plans. Definitely a keeper, this book is very highly recommended. -- Tamela McCann

MY LORD AND SPYMASTER
Joanna Bourne, Berkley Sensation, 2008, $7.99/C$8.99, 336pp, pb, 97804425222461
In her quest to expose the spy known as Cinq and secure her father’s release from prison, Jessamyn Whitby relies on the cunning she developed growing up in a thieves’ den and the analytical skills gained by managing her father’s successful shipping business. Attacked by a murderous gang, she falls into the clutches of her prime suspect, merchant captain—and intelligence expert—Sebastian Kennett. Instantly enraptured, Sebastian quickly discovers that she’s the traitorous Whitby’s daughter. Placing her in a charitable relative’s household to recuperate from her injuries, he discovers Jess to be as independent, determined, and aggravating as she is tempting.
This exceptional historical romance offers not only a pair of well-matched lovers, but a darker and more complex view of Regency London than usually depicted. Dock workers, merchants and their warehouse personnel, the master thief to whom Jess is irrevocably tied, the clergyman who ministers to the downtrodden—are exceptionally well drawn. The characters live and breathe on the page, fluently speaking the vernacular of their time and place. A vibrant mix of betrayals, passions, and mysteries, this tale is not to be missed. Even readers who prefer the more typical ballrooms and fashionable frocks of the traditional courtship novel should be impressed by Bourne’s achievement.
-- Margaret Barr

A PLACE BEYOND COURAGE
Elizabeth Chadwick, Sphere, 2007, £18.99, hb, 302pp, 9781847740518
    John FitzGilbert is King’s Marshal to Henry I. His duties are many, including responsibility for the good administration of the court, organising journeys when the court is on the move, ensuring the well-being of everyone and everything around, from the smallest hunting hawk to the most important guest, and keeping records of money owed by and due to the king. All is well until Henry dies without naming his heir; the crown is taken by his nephew Stephen of Mortain, but hotly contested by his daughter Matilda, dowager empress of the Holy Roman Empire. So begins one of the most turbulent eras in history. To stay on top, John must have his wits about him and tread a very fine line.
    So runs Elizabeth Chadwick’s tale. As always, her facts are well researched, and her use of genuine people of the day intermingled with fictitious characters makes for a spellbinding story. I have enjoyed her books ever since I read Lords of the White Castle, and this one does not disappoint. She tells history as it was, but in an eminently readable form which can do nothing other than enthuse even the most jaded reader with the past.
    Most highly recommended. -- Marilyn Sherlock

JOHNNY ONE-EYE: A Tale of the American Revolution
Jerome Charyn, Norton, 2008, $25.95/C$25.95/£14.99, hb, 479pp, 9780393064971
Johnny One-Eye is a cleverly written and well-crafted glimpse of some of the leading British and American characters of the American Revolution through the eyes—excuse me, eye—of young John Stocking. Stocking earns his nickname as a result of a bayonet wound while with Benedict Arnold’s American forces in Québec in 1775. Our young hero returns to the “Holy Ground” area of New York City where he pursues Clara, one of the prostitutes working under the chief madam, Gertrude. Clara and Gertrude bring Johnny in contact with Sir William Howe and George Washington, two men who are not strangers to the temptations offered by the “Holy Ground.” Johnny has enormous difficulty in his relations with both Clara and Gertrude, and his problems are not aided by General Arnold, Alexander Hamilton, or his own emotions set in permanent turmoil in questions surrounding his illegitimate birth.
Jerome Charyn is an immensely talented writer, and his abilities with language and setting combine to produce a superb historical novel.
-- John R. Vallely

THE GARGOYLE
Andrew Davidson, Doubleday, 2008, $25.95, hb, 480 pp, 9780385524940 / Canongate, 2008, £16.99, hb, 502pp, 9781847671684
    If the first scene of this debut novel doesn’t grab you by the throat, then no opening scene ever will. In The Gargoyle, Andrew Davidson has penned a riveting, haunting, beautifully crafted, and starkly original novel.
    The Gargoyle’s nameless protagonist, a handsome drug-addicted pornographer, is burned in a car accident to the point of freakish disfigurement. Confined to a hospital, abandoned by his so-called friends, he suffers a long year of brutal—and baldly depicted—surgeries, treatments, and physical therapy. One day, a lovely visitor wanders out of the psych ward. Marianne is unafraid of his appearance, and claims to have known him in the 14^th century. When not hospitalized, she supports herself well by carving gargoyles—although she describes the process as ‘releasing a gargoyle from the stone,’ and giving it one of her hearts. She carries these hearts in her chest, she tells him, and she has only so many left: The last heart is for him. As the hero struggles with his growing enchantment with an apparent madwoman, Marianne plies him with gourmet meals. She regales him with old, exotic, romantic tales, and unfolds the story of how they both met in medieval Germany. Her unflinching affection lures the suicidal protagonist away from dark thoughts, as she coaxes his tormented spirit down a long, difficult road—literally, through hell—into resounding redemption.
    Andrew Davidson has written a book that is brutally realistic, yet otherworldly; impossibly romantic, yet without syrup, sentimentality, or sex. The past and the present are as tightly woven as the real and the imaginary, and striking images resonate throughout the story. The Gargoyle is simply the loveliest, most fully realized novel this reviewer has experienced in years.
-- Lisa Ann Verge

THE LIGHTSTEP
John Dickinson, David Fickling, 2008, £14.99, hb, 624pp, 9780385611732
    Once upon a time Michel Wery had been a firm supporter of the French Revolution, but the Terror, the atrocities and the new leadership have soured the dream. By 1797 this staunch republican has become a spy for the other side, awaiting his chance to strike back. Then he is approached by a great friend’s sister, Mria von Adelsheim, who wants him to investigate her brother’s death. A pact is made, and both tumble headfirst into a dangerous mission that will leave neither of them unscathed. Ultimately, Michel has to decide how much he is willing to sacrifice for the greater good – whatever that might be.
    The Lightstep is a great work of theatre and a true historical epic. Scheming politicians, lavish balls, obscure cults, love, lust and bloodshed pepper its pages in thrilling detail. John Dickinson writes with a light touch and an eye for detail. He has the ability to paint every scene and draw every character with just a few deft strokes. His historical details always have the ring of authenticity but never overload or weigh down the story.
    This is a gem of a novel, and I shall certainly be looking out for more works by the author. -- Sara Wilson

THE LITTLE BOOK
Selden Edwards, Dutton, 2008, $25.95/C$28.50, hb, 401pp, 9780525950615 / Abacus, Nov. 2008, £11.99, hb, 416pp, 9780349121710
    Ideally, you’d approach this novel as I did: with intense curiosity about its contents but little knowledge of the plot or characters. But since that makes for an unconvincing review, I’ll begin again, but very carefully. It’s best you discover its wonders and surprises for yourself.
    The Little Book opens as Wheeler Burden, a 47-year-old resident of San Francisco, inexplicably finds himself walking along the Ringstrasse, the street encircling the dazzling city of Vienna, in 1897. How he arrived there from the year 1988, he has no idea. Fortuitously, he finds the setting very familiar, thanks to the enthusiastic teachings of his beloved mentor—who saw late imperial Vienna as the cradle of modern intellectual thought. As you read the novel, you’ll understand why.
    Wheeler’s story loops back and forth in time as his mother, Flora, relates his uncanny adventures, based on the journal he kept while there. His story encompasses Freudian analysis, the philosophy of baseball, the history of rock and roll, modern feminism, the growing waves of anti-Semitic sentiment in 19^th-century Europe, the truth behind many Burden family legends, and much more. But this isn’t just a novel of ideas; it’s really more about people and the bonds that connect them. The distinct and wonderfully eccentric characters that Wheeler meets gradually unlock the reasons for his presence there and then.
    Selden Edwards is an imaginative and generous writer, and his debut is an impressive literary achievement, a poignant and unusual love story, and a delightful tribute to the vanished world of fin-de-siècle Vienna. There are few books that are both very cleverly put together and populated with characters you come to care about, but this is one of them. A feel-good novel in the best possible sense, it’s the type of book you want to beg all your friends to read.
-- Sarah Johnson

THE PAINTER FROM SHANGHAI (US) / THE PAINTER OF SHANGHAI (UK)
Jennifer Cody Epstein, Norton, 2008, $24.95/C$27.50, hb, 416pp, 9780393065282 / Penguin, 2008, 7.99, pb, 496pp, 9780141029337
At fourteen, the future Pan Yuliang is sold into prostitution by her opium-addicted uncle. Yuliang determines to run away, but disobedient “flowers” are beaten or murdered. Steeled to her fate as chattel to be bargained by men in early 1900s China, she rises to become the Top Girl. When a young customs inspector arrives to clean up corruption, Yuliang is offered to him as a bribe for a night. He refuses to bed her, but takes pity and buys her out of her debt. Pan Zanhua makes her his concubine, falls in love, and encourages her growing interest in art. Yuliang is offered a scholarship to attend art school and realizes her immense talent. Accepting a scholarship to Paris, she becomes involved with a young Chinese revolutionary. When her scholarship money is withdrawn because of governmental shifts, she struggles and starves for her art. On her return to China, Yuliang disdains Chinese traditional painting and follows the French post-impressionists. Her nude self-portraits fascinated Paris but scandalize the Chinese, who are undergoing dramatic changes as their imperial nation falls to the warlords, the Japanese, and eventually the Communists. Yuliang teaches art at the university, but her reputation as a former prostitute threatens her career and, to her despair, Zanhua’s position with the government.
This fictionalized account of Pan Yuliang’s life is told in sensuous prose that illustrates the determined spirit of a painter who refused to be subjugated by her gender or era. The history of China’s revolution, the world wars, along with the travesty of foot-binding—all seen through this brave young woman—make this a page-turner. A stunning debut novel. -- Diane Scott Lewis

Billy Boy

Jean Mary Flahive, Islandport Press, 2007, $15.95, pb, 293pp, 9781934031131
This is a fictionalized account inspired by the life of the true Billy Laird, the only American Civil War soldier from the state of Maine to be tried for desertion. Billy’s mind “just don't work the way most folks’ do”; he never learned to read or write and can't figure change. When his friend Harry, the only one in town who’s ever stood up for him, enlists to go fight the Confederacy, however, Billy goes against his father’s advice and joins as well. Billy manages all right with Harry’s help until his fear of gunfire is shifted to an artillery brigade to help care for the horses. Men in the new brigade are merciless to him for his simplicity, so he decides to follow the star his father pointed out to him to return north. He is not far from his posting when he comes across Elijah, a fleeing slave who is almost dead from his exertions. Together, they follow the underground north, one covering for the handicaps of the other.
This first novel is a glorious tour de force. Never have I read a more compelling and sympathetic portrayal from within the mind of the mentally challenged. The dialogue in particular is good, with just a few glitches to throw the reader out. Otherwise, I did not come up for breath as the story rolled along, every beat strong and right. Do not limit this moving tale to young adult readers, as the cover suggests. -- Ann Chamberlin

THE RED SCARF (US) / UNDER A BLOOD RED SKY (UK)
Kate Furnivall, Berkley, 2008, $15, pb, 496pp, 9780425221648 / Sphere, Nov. 2008, £6.99, 512pp, pb, 9780751540444
    The Red Scarf is an epic tale of survival and hope in Stalinist Russia. It is 1933, and Sofia and Anna have already been incarcerated in Davinsky Labor Camp in Siberia for several years. They have forged a strong friendship that helps them survive the grueling work, starvation, and suffering, but Anna grows more sick and frail every day. Sofia decides to risk her own life to save Anna’s. She makes a daring escape and crosses thousands of miles of Siberian wilderness in the hopes of finding Anna’s former love, Vasily, the only hope of saving her friend.
    In a remote village, where a gypsy family nurses her to health, she finds a man who she believes to be Anna’s love. He’s also everything she ever wanted. How strong is Sofia’s commitment to rescuing her friend when she is so tantalizingly close to freedom, family, and passion?
    Kate Furnivall has a gift for enveloping the reader in the bleak, paranoia-ridden world of Stalinist Russia while still leaving room for love and trust to blossom. The Red Scarf is a riveting narrative that is heavy on the heart. The plot, which smoothly flows between pre-revolutionary and Communist Russia, keeps readers entranced. In this poignant story rife with fear, yet imbued with hope, the major characters risk all for the slightest chance of freedom and happiness. Highly recommended. -- Andrea Connell

THE RED NECKLACE
Sally Gardner, Dial, 2008, $16.99, hb, 384pp, 9780803731004 / Orion, 2008, £6.99, pb, 384pp, 9781842556344
This book is a winner. Set during the French Revolution, the plot centers on a young Gypsy boy, Yann, who uses his mind-reading abilities and ventroquilism as a magician’s assistant. Their performance at the chateau of a decadent Marquis brings Yann into contact with the Marquis’ crippled and neglected daughter, Sidonie, and the Marquis’ mysterious, sinister friend, Count Kalliovski. Yann’s growing love for Sidonie and his efforts to help her fuel this intricate fantasy, taking the reader into the extreme excesses of French nobility and the resultant bloody excesses of the Revolution. The reader vividly experiences the extreme entitlement of the wealthy and the hopeless poverty of the peasantry, and, in the end, the fetid, squalid prisons of the time.
Gardner has woven a tense and believable fantasy into a setting of great danger and social turmoil. Kalliovski is surely one of the more evil characters to be found in young adult literature, and his mysterious relationship to both Yann and Sidonie and his menace to them are ever present and always threatening. His lecherous plans for Sidonie remain implicit until she is betrayed and imprisoned as the daughter of a nobleman, but even then the story doesn’t sink into sordidness. Suspenseful throughout, The Red Necklace builds to a thrilling climax. Young readers of historical fiction and fantasy should clamor for more. Highly recommended, ages 12 and up. -- Pamela Ortega

MUDBOUND
Hillary Jordan, Algonquin, 2008, $22.95, hb, 324pp, 9781565125698 / HarperCollins Canada, 2008, $18.95, pb, 336pp, 9781554681921 / Heinemann, 2008, £12.99, hb, 336pp, 9780434018871
    In 1946, Henry McAllen moves his city-bred wife Laura, their two girls and his crotchety father Pappy to the farm he purchased on the Mississippi Delta. Laura is shocked to find she must learn to live in a shack with only an outhouse and no running water. Henry names his farm Fair Fields, but the name Laura jokingly calls it, Mudbound, is the name that sticks. While Henry loves the land and making things grow, Laura tries her best not to hate it. When Henry’s troubled younger brother, Jamie, comes back from the war, Pappy sees him as another victim to torment, but Laura sees him as someone who understands her and considers her feelings.
    Hap and Florence Jackson are sharecroppers on Henry’s farm. Their son, Ronsel, returns from the war a decorated hero, but with troubles of his own. Jamie and Ronsel form a tenuous friendship which is regarded with hatred and suspicion by Pappy and some unruly members of this Jim Crow community.
    Hillary Jordan’s beautifully rendered debut novel received the Bellwether Prize for Fiction. This poignant tale of love and hate, violence and forgiveness in the Mississippi Delta country highlights the chaos and confusion of the times. Ms. Jordan narrates her story through the voices of her characters. Each character paints a portion of the picture, but it takes their blended voices to tell the whole. This outstanding, deeply moving story comes highly recommended. -- Nan Curnutt

THE REDEMPTION OF ALEXANDER SEATON
Shona MacLean, Quercus, 2008, £14.99, hb, 356pp, 9781847245052
On a stormy night in 1626 in the Scottish town of Banff, the local apothecary’s assistant collapses in the street. Next morning he is found dead in Alexander Seaton’s house. Murder is suspected and when one of Alexander’s few friends in the town is arrested, Alexander sets out to clear him. But Alexander has a past. Having studied to be a minister of the Kirk, he had been denounced at his ordination for dishonouring the girl he would have married. Disgraced, he lost his faith and ended up a reluctant, embittered schoolmaster. Now, in the course of his investigations, Alexander must deal with characters good and bad: selfless, wise, devious and unscrupulous. He must contend with inflamed prejudices that lead to a witch hunt and accusations of treacherous Catholic plotting. And he must confront his own demons.
This engrossing, atmospheric novel is not only a satisfying, skilfully constructed mystery with richly developed characters. It’s also the vivid evocation of a particular time and place by an author whose uncle was Alistair MacLean and who is herself a historian specialising in 16^th and 17^th century Scotland. She has used her gifts to the full to create a truly memorable and exciting read. -- Sarah Cuthbertson

Cézanne’s Quarry
Barbara Corrado Pope, Pegasus, 2008, $25.00, hb, 384pp, 9781933648835
    The city of Aix-en-Provence in southern France recently celebrated the centennial of the death of Paul Cézanne, an artist often called the father of modern art. In honor of this anniversary, Pope has written a literary murder mystery set in 1885, during the midyears of Cézanne’s career.
    The body of the beautiful and mysterious Solange Vernet has been found in the Bibemus quarry outside of Aix, a location where Cézanne frequently paints. The chief of police, Albert Franc, is convinced that the murderer is the victim’s lover, Darwinian scholar Charles Westbury. But the investigating magistrate, Bernard Martin, considers Cézanne a prime suspect. Martin’s suspicions deepen after he discovers a series of Cézanne’s early works, which depict the stabbing and strangulation of women who look eerily like the victim.
   An enjoyable read from start to finish, Cézanne’s Quarry is a masterpiece itself, deftly intermingling diverse subjects such as art, politics (of the Third Republic), love, the meaning of friendship, and the relationship between science and religion. Before her death, Vernet, along with Westbury, had sponsored a weekly salon where a select circle gathered to discuss the issues of the day. Westbury explains to Martin: “…you feel it necessary to reject not only the Church but any semblance of religious feeling… Solange and I were striving for middle ground where science and religion, and men and women, could truly meet.” As Martin continues his investigation, he becomes aware that he, himself, is an outsider, and he is filled with longing to find a place where he can belong. Unfortunately, the more he delves for answers—and the more secrets he uncovers—the more he doubts himself. This is a novel that I highly recommend. -- Nancy J. Attwell

THE AGE OF DREAMING
Nina Revoyr, Akashic, 2008, $15.95/C$19.50, pb, 327pp, 9781933354460
    Set in Hollywood of the 1960s, this novel is a surprisingly rich tale that tells the story of an aging star of the silent era, Jun Nakayama. He lives quietly in his home at the foot of the Hollywood Hills, his only friend a neighbor who lunches with him occasionally and has no idea of his romantic past as a heartthrob of the silent screen.
   But his tranquility is disrupted by the arrival of a young enthusiast, Nick Bellinger, who wants to write a piece about Nakayama to coincide with the opening of a silent movie theater, the beginning of renewed interest in the genre.
    Told entirely—and convincingly—in the polite, somewhat detached voice of the elderly Nakayama, Revoyr’s novel takes us back and forth between the late teens and early twenties when Hollywood was roaring and rather liberal, to Nakayama’s present day. It soon becomes clear that he is trying to hide something terrible about his past from this prying journalist, who turns out to have written a movie script that he wants Nakayama to star in. The something terrible centers around a beautiful ingénue and her overbearing stage mother, with tactfully revealed truths about those who found a livelihood in the movies.
    The drama is unpredictable and superbly paced, with an ending that satisfies without sentiment. Revoyr reveals the world of Hollywood in both eras—the golden age of silent movies and the ultra-commercialized sixties—in a new light through the eyes of a survivor with heart and honor. Highly recommended. -- Susanne Dunlap

REVELATION
C.J. Sansom, Macmillan, 2008, £17.99, hb, 550pp, 9781405092722 / Viking, Feb. 2009, $25.95, hb, 550pp, 9780670020515.
    Palm Sunday, 1543: Henry VIII, having only recently beheaded his fifth wife, is wooing a very reluctant Catherine Parr. Sergeant Matthew Shardlake, now a senior barrister in Lincoln’s Inn, has been given a case he does not want: to defend young Adam Kite, son of a master stonemason who has been put into the Bedlam for religious madness. Meanwhile, Archbishop Cranmer is troubled with a succession of killings in London which may involve the King’s new lady.
    Revelation is the fourth of C.J. Sansom’s excellent Shardlake series. It is perhaps overlong, but the author has a style that is elegantly enjoyable and makes the novel often impossible to put down. The descriptions of mid-16th century London and of Westminster just after the dissolution of the Abbey are atmospheric, capturing the disorderliness, ordure, smells and ripeness that must have been present then.
    Skilfully constructed, the book describes in specific detail the changes in Christian worship when people were questioning their beliefs. England was turning from Roman papism towards Luther and Calvin. The Bible, which had been printed for the first time in English, was banned to women and the working classes. Amid this melting pot of religious fervour, a killer stalks the streets. Using the seven dark prophecies from the Book of Revelation as his chosen method of slaughter, he marks a trail that can only lead to Armageddon. Matthew Shardlake is once again drawn into solving the mystery.
    This is the best kind of historical novel: a story that never falters, with interesting and compelling characters, and written with a masterful command of the period. -- Gwen Sly

THE KING’S FAVORITE: A Novel of Nell Gwyn and King Charles II
Susan Holloway Scott, New American Library, 2008, $14/C$15.50, pb, 448pp, 9780451224064
    The story of the Oxford-born barmaid turned prostitute turned orange seller turned renowned actress—and, ultimately, the mistress and closest companion to Charles II—is one of legend. Scott takes this well-worn story and breathes life and spirit into it.
    From a very early age, Nelly Gwyn has her heart and mind set on Charles. The fact that he is England’s monarch appears not to intimidate her, but then again, Nell is quite a rambunctious, clever and enticing creature, capturing the fancies of some in the king’s inner circle. Her earthy wisdom, saucy personality and hilarious wit—and outright determination and perseverance—attract everyone who comes in contact with her.
    Nell’s story is an amazing one, and it is a fascinating evolutionary tale in Scott’s talented hands. What could have been a pedestrian retelling of the same old story is transformed into a first person, eyewitness account of life in 17^th-century England and an insider’s look at the intrigues, passions and deceptions at Whitehall Palace.
    What is communicated most effectively is the deep, abiding connection between Nell and Charles. Clearly, Charles relies on Nell as his best friend to counsel him in all things, both personal and political, and he respects her opinion and sage advice—certainly not what you’d expect between England’s king and a “common street whore.”
    But then again, Scott does such a marvelous job of imbuing Nell with innate intelligence and a love of life that the reader just can’t help falling in love with her too. A joyous and highly recommended novel. -- Ilysa Magnus

THE HAWK
Peter Smalley, Century, 2008, £18.99, hb, 354 pp 978184602446
    Smalley has been hailed as the heir to those great writers of naval historical fiction, Patrick O'Brian and C.S. Forester. I agree. The Hawk is the second of his books I've read, fourth in the series, and another rip-roaring adventure.
    In 1790 Lieutenant James Hayter, despite the failure of the Rabhet expedition (as told in book three) is given his first command, the 10-gun cutter, The Hawk. His task is to prevent smugglers and spies from crossing the Channel. The only thing spoiling his enjoyment is the ‘beaching’ of his friend and old captain, William Rennie, or so Hayter thinks. Rennie is held responsible for the failure of the Rabhet expedition. Once spymaster Sir Robert Greer appears, readers know the problems are about to start. And they do. The seemingly simple task of capturing a renegade captain and his cutter turns into life-and-death drama, poor Rennie suffering most dishonourably.
    Smalley has a good ear for dialogue, a thorough understanding of the class system, and a delightful way of adding historical colour without hitting readers on the head with an information dump. He has created an 18^th-century world in a way that rings true for this reader. Smalley writes so well that each book stands alone and can be read without reading the others. I wouldn’t, though. Highly recommended, even for those who are not fans of naval fiction, just for the pleasure of reading a well-written historical novel. -- Patrika Salmon

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