Ranging from 1819 to 2006, this is an eclectic and not always successful mix of a wide range of topics: the Peterloo uprisings, military history, the earliest developments in photography, single parent families, and the problems and substance abuse and irresponsible sex that still concern us today.

The narrative changes from early 19th to late 20th Century within the space of a chapter as we follow the story of Waterloo hero Major Fairchild in 1819, and of 15-year-old Anna, who is wise beyond her years, in 1976. Although well-written, it is a book to be borrowed rather than bought. ( )

(#13 in the 2008 book challenge)

I'm not quite sure what to make of this one. It was this great, fabulous language used to tell a fairly good story ... but with a lot of sex added that felt goofy and extraneous. I KNOW I've become a little bit of a prude in my old age, but I manage my time as best I can to get as much reading as possible in, and repetitive sex scenes aren't high on my list. I think this book would be extremely popular for 6th graders who like to fold the corners down on the naughty parts and pass it around before homeroom. It's one of those novels with two settings -- anchored to the same English manor house, one love story takes place in Regency times when a returned veteran meets an independently-minded woman, and the other is in the 1970s when a teenage girl comes to stay with a distant relative at a recently closed boarding school. As best as I can figure, the 70s were selected as the second time period so that there could be a lot of unfortunate hippy-esque sex. But I have to return to the fact that the writing was lyrical and focused and all-around stellar, especially in the way that the same narrative voice takes on a slightly different tone for each time period, and the plot points that happen occur outside of bedrooms are engrossing. Another great theme is built up around images -- our feisty Regency woman is an artist who is fascinated by the early development of daguerreotypes, and our 1970s teen discovers a love for photography. The two time periods are linked with a nice Gothic touch -- the characters catch fleeting glimpses of each other in dreams or at a distance. It's purely a device to transition from one setting to the other, and doesn't have much concrete effect on the plot.

Grade: C+, but I would continue to watch for more from this author and see if there is any improvement in the Free Love area.
Recommended: Not harmful if you picked it up at the library or something like that, especially if you enjoy Regency settings, but no need to seek it out.

I was very disappointed with this book. The two stories (one modern day and one historical) were not intertwined at all, they were hardly even related! Also I didn't find either story that gripping. I wasn't interested enough to decipher the old-fashioned language in the historical story so in the end I just skipped those parts!

Intertwined stories centered on an old English estate explore the nature of love and conflicts with society's restrictions about it. ( )