Book Review: A Secret Alchemy by Emma Darwin

A Secret Alchemy focuses on the turbulent Wars of the Roses, specifically two members of the same family: Elizabeth Woodville, at first a woman embarking on her first marriage then later Queen alongside Edward IV, and Anthony, her brother, who is walking to his death. In modern England, Una Pryor has travelled over from Australia to sort out the last remnants of her British life and a combination of her past and her fascination with the Woodvilles leads her on a pilgrimage of her own which could unlock the mystery of the Princes in the Tower.

Inevitably, a novel with this scope is difficult to summarise. It can also be difficult to get into because of the switching viewpoints and the many plot strands. However, once you're acquainted with the characters it becomes much easier and I certainly didn't want to put it down. There are necessary time jumps in the narrative of Elizabeth as she progresses through her extraordinary life from supporter of the House of Lancaster to Queen of the Yorkist King. Some of her scenes are distinctly memorable, particularly some of her final ones. Darwin effectively brings Elizabeth to life, partly through her descriptions and partly through the use of Una in the present day.

Flashbacks are utilised well in this novel, both for Una and Anthony. They speed up the latter's sections which could be in danger of sounds repetitive as he undertakes the journey to his death. Importantly, though, the flashbacks always link in - there is always a trigger. In Anthony's case they gradually reveal vital bits of history while in Una's they usually offer emotional responses to the surprises she's encountering on her visit in England.

I enjoyed this book immensely once I got into the swing of it, although I have to say that my interest was hooked primarily by Elizabeth and Anthony themselves. The whole novel hangs together very well and Darwin manages to recreate a world that is both distant and familiar. I particularly enjoyed the mini-history lessons scattered throughout Una's sections which always had a point. Overall, I'd definitely recommend this one to fans of history and historical fiction.

My New Project

I don't how many of you are aware of Valancourt Books. They are an American publisher who specialise in reprinting rare classics in cheap, scholarly editions. Some of the novels they have brought back into paperback include works by Arthur Conan Doyle, J.S. Le Fanu and Frances Trollope. Their full list of authors covered can be found here.

Anyway, to the point. I suggested that they may want to look at Edmund Yates (the subject of my thesis, as regular visitors to this blog will know) and, miraculously, they asked me if I'd be interested in editing the novel I suggested (Black Sheep) and providing the introduction etc. Of course, I said yes. I'm not an idiot.

So it's going to be a fair bit of work but I'm looking forward to seeing a paperback copy of Black Sheep on my shelf somewhere in the future. The fact that it will have my name attached is a glorious side-effect. Yates doesn't deserve to be quite as forgotten as he has been and I think I'm right in saying that Black Sheep is his best novel. A mixture of murder, manipulation and love - a pure sensation novel and all the better for it.

You can take a look at their forthcoming titles page and I'm there!

Blogging NaNoWriMo 2012: I'm In

I may have finally lost my marbles. After abandoning my project after just a week in 2010 due to workload pressures, I took part again in 2011 even though my workload had increased. If I thought my workload was heavy last year then I was delusional. Things are even worse this time around. Amongst other things, I'm drowning in the current chapter of my thesis, I'm rewriting one novel in segments for my agent, I'm writing regularly for 2020UK and I have a new project in the pipeline (more on that next week). I really don't have time for NaNo - so why am I doing it?

Well, if there's one thing this year has taught me it's that I find it very difficult to finish a first draft without the added incentive of the NaNo deadline. I'm working on something which is around 36k at the moment and every time I try and get back into it I can't. Not because I don't want to write it but because there isn't the deadline in my head which lies that I have to finish it by a specific date or I lose. It's not that I can't set my own deadlines, it's just that when other things are pressing externally (like the PhD and the novel rewrite) they take precedence over arbitrary deadlines. I can't fool my mind into thinking something's important when it isn't. However, I have managed to fool myself into thinking NaNo is important.

It gives me a first draft. No matter that the 2011 completed draft hasn't been worked on since - I still know what needs to change about it and I'm waiting for a window in my schedule. I think it's important to get as many first drafts down as I can. If the last two years have taught me anything it's that I can't predict how much more hectic things are going to get so I need to squeeze as much in while I can.

So I'm in, despite the fact that I'm away for a few days after the 5th November and despite the fact I'll miss my usual first day spurt due to a 'Careers in Academia' session. I promise to heed the advice of friends who think I'm close to collapse and give up if necessary. I promise to listen specifically to Claire because she has a sixth sense about when I'm close to pitching myself off a cliff. I have an idea (more on that next week) and I'm raring to go. I just hope the end of November doesn't come around as quickly as it did last year.

Book Review: The Somnambulist by Essie Fox

It's a mark of how long this one has been sitting on my bookshelf that I have the hardback edition. I actually wish it was still sitting on there so I could delay the pleasure of reading it a little longer. This is the kind of book where I wanted to drink in every word and description and I heartily recommend it.

The Somnambulist focuses on Phoebe Turner, a seventeen year-old who lives with her religious mother, Maud, and her ex-actress aunt, Cissy. When tragedy strikes she finds herself taking up a job as companion to the wife of businessman Nathaniel Samuels but the relocation to his country estate stirs up secrets and creates further problems.

Perhaps the most striking aspect of this novel is the submersion in Victorian society. The descriptions of Wilton's Music Hall are particularly entrancing, as are the vivid descriptions of the docks. In fact, every setting comes alive on the page. That's not to say the characters don't, although I would say that some of the most vivid characters are supporting ones. I particularly like Isaac, the senile old Jew, who we hear of several times. There is something about the description of both him and his shop which is reminiscent of Dickens at his best in Bleak House.

There are many twists and turns in this novel, some of which I anticipated and some of which were complete surprises. Fox utilises both types well, offering the reader involvement in the discovery of the secrets but still managing to surprise them more than once. She also manages to demonstrate her immersion in Victorian society without hitting the reader over the head with the research. What this creates is an atmospheric and surprising novel which stayed with me days after I'd finished it.

Classic Film Review: Lifeboat (1944)

With a story by John Steinbeck and direction by Alfred Hitchcock, Lifeboat certainly boasted the cream of creative talent. The film tells the story of a group of survivors stranded in a lifeboat after their ship is torpedoed by the Germans. Both written and set during WWII it holds some typically standard views but is no less involving for that. The main tension within the film comes from the German sailor they pull on board. They need his help but is he trying to get in their way or get them out of the Atlantic alive?

The beauty of this film lies with the direction. Only Hitchcock could have made every scene, every angle of a lifeboat feel fresh and new. It sounds like a boring film with only the one setting but you quickly forget you're watching a single boat due to the ingenious angles and use of all available space. It never becomes boring and, because of the confined space, tension is rife.

There are a few notable characters. Connie Porter (Tallulah Bankhead) is the first character we encounter, floating in the lifeboat on her own making a film of the man swimming towards her. When John Kovac (John Hodiak) boards he's unimpressed by her grandeur and, throughout the film, she loses her camera, typewriter, mink coat and beloved diamond bracelet. Also pulled aboard are Gus Smith (William Bendix), Alice MacKenzie (Mary Anderson), Charles 'Ritt' Rittenhouse (Henry Hull), Mrs Higgins (Heather Angel) and her baby, Stanley 'Sparks' Garrett (Hume Cronyn) and George 'Joe' Spencer' (Canada Lee), along with their German associate, Willy (Walter Slezak). All have their own little arcs and some of them are more likeable than others.

Some of the early tension comes via Mrs Higgins. It's clear when she's pulled aboard that her baby isn't at all well and the scenes which follow that are traumatic. Equally as harrowing is the realisation that Gus has developed gangrene in his injured leg and that the only way to ensure he at least gets a chance at life is amputation. Gus is by far one of the most likeable characters, a man completely in love but worried that he'll lose her if he's at all injured. All of the characters contribute to the plot but, for me, it was Gus who held it together and what happens to him is horrific.

I won't reveal the various ups and downs (quite literally) of the lifeboat but I will say that this is a film which surprised me. Tallulah Bankhead was a better leading lady than I could have imagined and, while her chemistry with John Hodiak wasn't sizzling, it wasn't completely out of the realm of possibility. My favourite performance in this though was probably Hume Cronyn as Sparks. Along with Gus, Sparks provides some of the heart for the film and he's a likeable man you really want to survive.

Television Review: Parade's End

I was told before I started watching this that if I persevered past the first episode then I'd enjoy it. That advice was sound, though I can't help thinking that isn't the way to draw viewers to a five part series. While I understand the need to frame the story correctly, I think much of what was covered in the first fragmented episode could have been inserted elsewhere in the form of flashbacks (which we got anyway) so that the first episode didn't become a mess of confusing images. It set up back-story, yes, but at the expense of front-story.

To briefly surmise: Christopher Tietjens (Benedict Cumberbatch) married Sylvia (Rebecca Hall) when he discovered she was pregnant, despite not being certain that the baby was his. That act sums up his whole demeanour - he is a noble man, often misrepresented and a product of the past on a collision course with the future. Although he falls in love with Valentine Wallop (Adelaide Clemens) he clings on to the remnants of his marriage even while Sylvia indulges in affairs and stays with him only to make him suffer. She is a thoroughly despicable character with few - if any - redeeming features. It's a mark of how well Rebecca Hall portrays her that I detest the character and not the actress.

WWI is an integral aspect of this story. Tietjens shuns protection in order to go into the trenches, struggling with memory loss and shell shock after his first return from the trenches. We see more when he goes back, experiencing the destruction and pointlessness through Tietjens eyes. There are a few bitter comic moments as orders are given and rescinded and the establishment proves itself to be the incompetent force that history depicts. These are grim moments of humour but in an adaptation as heavy as this I'll take whatever I can get.

I don't mean to say that it wasn't a good adaptation of a good original story by Ford Madox Ford. It is very forceful in places, dramatic in others and emotional when the cap fits. It has an excellent supporting cast including Roger Allam as General Campion, Rupert Everett as Mark Tietjens and Miranda Richardson as Mrs Wannop. There is also a spectacular performance from Rufus Sewell as Reverend Duchemin, a mad vicar who perturbs both other characters and the audience.

There is a lot crammed into five hours: war, suffrage, marriage, infidelity, deceit and misunderstandings. As a consequence, it is very heavy and requires attention. That said, if you make it past the first episode then there are some exquisite scenes to enjoy. The period detail is wonderful and it is beautifully shot and presented. There are a few particular scenes which stick in my head. The first is when Christopher and Valentine get lost in the fog and spend the night looking for the way home. It's beautifully set-up and executed and sets the tone for their romance. Secondly, there is a quiet little scene when Christopher is showing his son, Michael, the well at the family estate. It's a touching little moment, although I can't really explain why.

All in all, I'd recommend persevering with this, though don't expect an easy ride.

A Favourite Song - Elaine Paige

I have many songs I would call 'favourites'. There's my iTunes playlist called 'Musical Favs Etc' which has 762 songs on it. I could apparently get through 1.7 days listening to nothing but my 'favourites'. Nevertheless, some songs are just downright beautiful and I have to listen to the lyrics over and over again. I'm thinking of 'Vincent' by Don McLean and 'Waterloo Sunset' by The Kinks, both of which make the hairs of the back of my neck stand up. But there's another one obsessing me at the moment. I've been entranced by it since Sarah Kennedy played it on her old Radio 2 morning show (happy days, I miss Sarah) then I remember Elaine Paige herself being encouraged to play it on her own Radio 2 show. For a major West End star, Elaine is notoriously reluctant to play her own songs but I could happily listen to this one on a loop - as I did last night.

The set-up: 'Like An Image Passing By' uses the tune of ABBA's 'My Love, My Life' (itself a gorgeous song about losing love) and was used in the English version of a musical for children based on ABBA songs. I don't much care about the context of the song - it works perfectly well alone. This is a song of failure and loss but Elaine Paige puts so much emotion into it that it damn near breaks my heart every time.

I know it is too late,
From this moment time and tide will not wait.
Yet I was master of my fate,
Being the ruling queen,
I never wanted a change of scene.

Like an image passing by, I see my life,
In the twinkling of an eye, my lonely life,
And at this my darkest hour, fading like a flower,
Beauty is bound to die.

From the present to the past, I see my life,
Catching up with me at last, my empty life.
Now the hourglass is turning, 
And in my eyes are burning,
Tears I should have cried long ago,
Now I'll cry forever.

Now, it's my turn to sleep,
Oh, how true that beauty's only skin deep.
I was wrong, thinking I could keep,
Everything in my hand,
Knowing my castle was built on sand.

Like an image passing by, I see my life,
In the twinkling of an eye, my lonely life,
And at this my darkest hour, fading like a flower,
Beauty is bound to die.

From the present to the past, I see my life,
Catching up with me at last, my empty life.
Now the hourglass is turning, 
And in my eyes are burning,
Tears I should have cried long ago,
Now I'll cry forever.

Now I'll cry forever.