Darkling

There’s some lovely ruminative writing here, particularly the modern urban setting, although the rural scene of the main character’s 17C research and the ruined location of her main subject of research is cleverly woven. In the end the 17C narrative is just too dull and pious, until the drama of the English Civil War takes over, by which time it totally supplants the more interesting modern narrative: the synthesised image of the hawk blending the centuries together in Herefordshire, doesn’t quite hang together.

Excellent condition

This story is a mixture of historical fiction cleverly melded with a contemporary tale. The action flicks between the two time periods, often within chapters so towards the end of the book you're not sure who is talking. I thought this was well written, the plot moves smoothly forwards and I was totally gripped by the twists and turns of both heroine's life.I preferred Mia's character, she comes across as a bit lost since the death of her boyfriend 2 years previously, to help her through her grief she embarks on finishing the book John started before his death about Brilliana Harley. She's a researcher by trade and I found it very interesting how she goes about her work, days spent in libraries and travelling across the country to view parish records. All this is mixed with her complicated relationship with her father, who has never really gotten over Mia's mother dying 15 or so years ago. It's clear Mia and her father still love each other but both find it difficult to express themselves and break down some barriers.Brilliana is an interesting character, I would have preferred her to be more of a main character, but she's totally over-shadowed by Mia. Brilliana serves as a foil against which Mia's life seems so easy. I enjoyed the details of Brilliana's life, how she ended up defending her home against the Royalists and what it was like living through a civil war. Her gentrified life in the country contrasts sharply with 'The Crimson Ribbon' which I reviewed a few weeks ago, that tells of the civil war from the point of view of someone in London who is not well off.If you like historical fiction, beware this book only offers it in small doses. If you want a full history of Brilliana it's best to look elsewhere. However, if you enjoy contemporary tales which are a little more involved than 'Chick Lit' then this book is for you.

I abandoned Laura Beatty's debut novel "Pollard" but not without thinking that here was a fine writer, just not dealing here with a tempting plot for me (time is running out, I have to be very choosy what I read!). This book, however, has kept me entertained and away from the other books in the pile. Once more beautifully written, with wonderful descriptions of natural landscapes (the Herefordshire and Shropshire countryside from which I have just moved - I can vouch for the authenticity) and also of London. Beatty's sense of the history under our feet, the layers of lives that we walk upon, as it were, is acute. She takes a 'real' historical life - that of Brilliana Harley, and contrasts it with a presumably fictional present-day woman researching Brilliana's life. The Civil War, which she evokes very vividly, resonates just as powerfully in our time as differences of faith continue to breed anger and destruction, and Beatty uses it to meditate on the point of life and what makes it worth living. An excellent read.

Mia Morgan is researching the life of Lady Brilliana Harley, seventeenth century puritan and now known mostly for the letters she wrote to her husband, Sir Robert Harley. Mia is attempting to complete the research on Brilliana that her partner John was doing, before his sudden death from a coronary. This was two years ago, and Mia is still stuck in the bog of desperate bereavement, even though John’s friend, Bill Radic, who is writing the book, does his best to lift her out of her gloom. Mia’s life is made more complicated by the difficult relationship she has with her widowed and blind father. This contemporary narrative alternates with Brilliana’s life, and extracts from her letters to her family. While Sir Robert is engaged in national politics in London, Brilliana is left behind to manage the estate and raise a growing family at Brampton Bryan castle in Herefordshire – tasks which are made considerably more challenging when the country slips into Civil War. The Harley’s part of the country is Royalist and is thus violently opposed to the Harley’s Puritan redoubt. Parallels between the lives of Mia and Brilliana are made by the author. Even though there are profound differences between their lives, the similarities of the lot of the female in both societies are crisply delineated by Laura Beatty. This is an intelligent and well observed novel. Certainly not a story to race through, but linger and ponder on – although possibly just a little bloodless at times.