Posie Graeme-Evans

I read The Innocent a number of years ago and I always meant to continue this trilogy before now, but I only found the time recently. The Exiled picks up in the city of Brugge, where Anne, exiled after her adventures at the court of Yorkist King Edward IV, which included an affair with the king and the birth of an illegitimate child, has settled and begun to earn a living as a merchant. She must wrestle with the prejudice and envy of her fellow merchant, who do not care to trade with a show more woman, much less a successful one. But Anne must also contend with politics, as her former royal lover engages to marry his sister to the Duke of Burgundy, enveloping Anne in a complex game of love, intrigue, and schemes with very powerful people. A fun read, if somewhat liberal with the history of the time. show less

Wild Wood is a dual narrative that draws you in from the very beginning and I was entranced by the hulking presence and history of Hundredfield; located on the Scottish borderlands. Jesse is the key to the past and her narrative in the 1980s is read alongside that of Bayard, a male character in the 1300s. I'll readily admit that I didn't want to leave Bayard's chapters at all, and each time I had to leave for one of Jesse's chapters I cried out nooooo in my head. I wanted to stay with this show more battle-hardened warrior and was desperate to find out what was going to happen to him, his brother Maugris and strange, mute wife.

My interest in Jesse's part of the tale steadily crept up on me and I couldn't wait for the story to meet in the middle so to speak. I love to read novels by authors who believe that the past bleeds into the present, and Posie definitely belongs to this category; as does fellow Australian author Kate Morton, and recently discovered author Kate Riordan.

By the time I finished reading Wild Wood, I felt as though I'd wandered some of the rooms of Hundredfield but was hungry for more. I particularly wanted to know more about the character of Hawise.

Luckily for me, I was fortunate enough to interview Australian author Posie Graeme-Evans and put all of these questions - and more - to her, click here to read it: http://www.carpelibrum.net/2015/03/wild-wood-blog-tour-review-and.html show less

This took me a few chapter to get into but when I did, I was swept up into Victorian England. Just to clarify, it isn't a pretty sight. Poverty is something to be truly feared, as the women of this time period well know.

I hesitate to call it a story because it trivializes what the author has accomplished. She has created the life of Ellen Gowan during an oppressive time period for women. She intricately weaves aspects into the book to create a believable protagonist who faces the show more difficulties of class and money within and without society.

The book consists of 3 parts; Ellen's latency including her 13th birthday where tragedy strikes, up to age 15. Part II is Ellen's coming of age. Again, not pretty. More death and sorrow, marriage, pregnancy, destitution, lasting friendship, and survival. Part III is Ellen's success story intertwined with the continuation of earlier stories from Parts I and II.

What is striking about this book, besides the fact that the author brings a character to life, is the way the story unfolds and shows the reader the real challenges of Victorian England when one is not affluent or cleverly dishonest. This book is Pride and Prejudice if the Bennetts had no money or estate and Mr. Darcy never arrived. Yet for all the grit, this is not a sad tale. Ellen is not a victim even though her circumstances merit the title. She is also not a heroine who unrealistically rises above it all. She is a woman who finds herself despite circumstances beyond her control. She is a woman who discovers lasting friendship from other women who suffer differently than herself. She is a woman who creates happiness. show less

I had high hopes for this one - medieval Scotland! I haven't found a lot of authors who write historical fiction set in the middle ages that doesn't revolve around royalty. This is my second book by Ms. Graeme-Evans (the first was also set in medieval Scotland), and as much as I loved her t.v. series McLeod's Daughters, her books just haven't done much for me. A hundred pages in and I don't really care about any of the characters - they just bug me! When I'm not looking forward to picking up show more the book again, that's when it's time to put it up! show less