BOOK REVIEW: Maurice by E.M. Forster

I read Howards End by E. M. Forster many years ago, and always planned to read more of his work. Finally, finally, I took out Maurice from the library. This is a quietly moving, beautiful, psychological novel that completely drew me in.

Maurice Hall is, in all outward respects, a “normal” character, almost too simple a protagonist for fiction. He goes to a local boys’ school, graduates to Cambridge University, and finally, as a young man, takes over his deceased father’s place in business. To others, he seems a regular fellow, a middle class snob, self-absorbed and disinterested in the things that consume most of his peers: work, politics, religion, gossip. But it is what is going on internally that makes him a richly portrayed, unforgettable protagonist.

Maurice is gay. In his young life, he is simply confused. At Cambridge, he’s even more confused, often angry, and sometimes has bright flashes of joy. He meets a fellow Cambridge student, Clive Durham, who is a step above him on the social scale. They have some deep conversations of the college-kid type. And they fall in love. It is a romantic but platonic love, although Maurice yearns for more.

They experience a few years of joyful, extreme friendship, until abruptly, Clive falls out of love. Maurice has to work through grief and come to grips with the fact that he is a lover of men and can’t change that about himself. In Edwardian England, this is regarded as perverse and criminal, and makes navigating the social world a sometimes dangerous challenge.

I don’t want to give away any more of the plot, because while the beauty of this novel is in Forster’s exquisite prose, Maurice’s journey is what makes it so compelling. Highly recommended.

BOOK REVIEW: Earl Crush by Alexandra Vasti

 I received this book for free from Netgalley. That did not influence this review.

Alexandra Vasti, author of Ne’er Duke Well, has a new book out today in the Belvoir series, Earl Crush. This is an entertaining romp of a Regency Romance, a fine follow-up to the first.

Lydia Hope-Wallace is intelligent, beautiful, and passionate about social justice. Unfortunately, she suffers from an almost crippling social anxiety. This leaves her unable to attract a husband in the usual way. So she focuses her attention on the cause of equality for all. Men and women. She writes inflammatory pamphlets that are published and distributed by her friend Selena (who readers will have met in book 1, the owner of Belvoir library and publishers.) She signs the pamphlets only as “H.”

One of her readers has written back to her, repeatedly, through her publisher. They discovered a true meeting of the minds. This reader signed his letters as Lord Strathrannoch, an impoverished Scottish earl. Lydia, the possessor of a substantial dowry, decides to go to Scotland and propose. Unfortunately, when she arrives, the earl has no idea who she is. He didn’t write the letters. That was his brother, assuming his identity.

Arthur Baird, the Fifth Earl of Strathrannoch, is a gentle giant of a man. He’s very conscientious, caring for his tenants, but a recluse. He hasn’t been looking for a wife. Arthur is also an inventor. And one of his inventions was recently stolen by the same brother who has been writing to Lydia and using his name.

The two join forces to track down this brother. During their adventures, they find themselves lusting after one another increasingly. However, Lydia can’t forget that Arthur rejected her when she first proposed marriage. And Arthur can’t forget that Lydia proposed to him thinking that he was his brother. The steaminess of the novel soon ratchets up to high, especially after they have to pretend to be man and wife.

Readers know they’ll end up together, but there are plenty of surprises along the way. The novel stands alone, but book one will introduce you to Belvoir and to Lydia’s female friends, and they are not to be missed!

BOOK REVIEW: Ana Maria and The Fox by Liana de la Rosa

Ana Maria and The Fox by Liana de la Rosa is an adventurous Victorian Romance, the first in the series, A Luna Sisters Novel. It’s a slow-burn, but ends high-steam.

Set in 1863, Ana Maria and her two sisters are Mexican heiresses, sent to London for safety when France occupies Mexico, forcing her parents into hiding. Ana Maria’s father is a high official in the resisting Mexican government. Because of her father’s status, Ana Maria has spent her life being a perfect daughter, and suffers because of the impossibility of pleasing him. 

The novel turns the trope of the American “dollar princess” on its head.

In London, under the protection of their uncle, the three wealthy sisters are encouraged to disobey their father’s instruction to keep a low profile. Their uncle is an ambassador, and he sees the beautiful, vibrant sisters as perfect representatives for their country. Hoping they will win British sympathy for the Mexican cause, he gives them license to burst onto the scene and captivate the ton. Which they do.

One of the first people captivated by Ana Maria is Gideon Fox, an MP. Gideon is the grandson of an enslaved woman. His all-consuming goal is to win Britain over to complete abolition of slavery throughout their empire, throughout the world. He devotes all his time and passion to this cause. 

At first, Ana Maria and Gideon resist their strong attraction, each thinking that a romance will hurt the other’s cause and their own. (Plus, Ana is engaged to wed a man of her father’s choice back home.) However, their paths keep crossing and their interest in each other grows. At a house party in the countryside, a villainous nobleman with completely opposing political goals enters the scene—and Ana Maria and Gideon have to join forces for the protection of the Luna sisters. This is where things get steamy.

This is an interesting romance that incorporates diversity and more than the usual amount of history into more typical romance tropes. Readers will root not only for Ana Maria but for all three of the sisters. We can already see where Isabel and Gabriela’s romantic interests are likely to lie in books two and three, with heroes as interesting as Gideon.

ANNOUNCEMENT: MY NEW READER/WRITER NEWSLETTER

 

I'm launching a newsletter to share reviews of my favorite books, talk about my writing progress (or lack thereof), host some giveaways, and hopefully interview other authors. The sign-up button is at the top of my sidebar. I'd love for you to sign up -- and share the link!

HISTORICAL FICTION READING CHALLENGE 2025

It's a new year! Which means it's time for a new historical fiction challenge, hosted by The Intrepid Reader and Baker. The sign-up is here for anyone who wants to join in!

I didn't make my goal last year.  I aimed for 50+ and read 42. I haven't looked at my own stats, but my gut feeling is that I was reading more nonfiction, mostly for research for my own historical novels. And I was writing, writing, writing...

So, this year, I'm shooting for the Ancient History level of 25+ books and hoping to exceed it. Links will be posted below.

1. Ana Maria and the Fox by Liana de la Rosa

2. Remember When by Mary Balogh

3. To Carve Identity by Susan Steggall

4. Mrs. Lowe-Porter by Jo Salas

5. Earl Crush by Alexandra Vasti

6. Maurice by E. M. Forster

7. Akmaral by Judith Lindbergh

8. High Wages by Dorothy Whipple

9. The Greek Treasure by Irving Stone

10. Fagin the Thief by Allison Epstein

11. Boy by Nicole Galland

12. The Matrimonial Advertisement by Mimi Matthews

13. White Mulberry by Rosa Kwon Easton

14. Evidence of Evil by Mary Lancaster

15. The Charmer Without a Cause by Katherine Grant

16. My Name is Emilia del Valle by Isabel Allende

17. The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin by Alison Goodman

18. Rules for Ruin by Mimi Matthews

19. Ghost in the Garden by Mary Lancaster

20. This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerld

21. Nothing Proved by Janet Wertman

22. Winter's End by Barbara Pronin

23. Eliza and the Duke by Harper St. George

24. Look Before You Leap by Virginia Heath

25. A Tarnished Canvas by Anna Lee Huber

26. Measure of Devotion by Nell Joslin

27. The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder

28. There Will Be Bodies by Lindsey Davis

29. Asylum Piece by Anna Kavan

30. Word of the Wicked by Mary Lancaster

31. Seeds of the Pomegranate by Suzanne Uttaro Samuels

32. Purely Academic by Stringfellow Barr

33. To Chase the Glowing Hours by Kathleen Kilpatrick

34. A Lady's Guide to Scandal by Sophie Irwin

35. The Briar Club by Kate Quinn

36. Crooked Cross by Sally Carson

37. The Man in the Stone Cottage by Stephanie Cowell

38. The Hanging of Ruben Ashford by Lauren Small

39. Vengeance in Venice by Mary Lancaster

40. Miss Morton and the Missing Heir by Catherine Lloyd

41. The Hidden City by Charles Finch

42. While You Were Spying by Shana Galen

43. And Then There Was the One by Martha Waters

44. The Resettlement of Vesta Blonik by Denise Smith Cline

45. Saving Vincent: A Novel of Jo Van Gogh by Joan Fernandez

46. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck

47. The September Society by Charles Finch

48. I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys

49. The Marriage Method by Mimi Matthews

50. Canticle by Janet Rich Edwards

51. Ines by Catherine Mathis

52. Flight of the Wild Swan by Melissa Pritchard

53. Sparrow by James Hynes

BOOK REVIEW: The Wide Wide Sea by Hampton Sides

My history/historical fiction book club is meeting this weekend. Our book is The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook by Hampton Sides. I wasn’t particularly excited by the choice, never having had an interest in Cook’s explorations, but I was encouraged by the great reviews.

And the great reviews are valid. This is a very readable account of Cook’s last voyage, drawing on diaries, published accounts, and oral histories passed down through generations. Cook was lionized in his own time, and is often vilified in ours, because of the short and long-term consequences of his voyages. This book is a balanced account that brings out Cook’s impressive skills and unusual methods, while not shying away from the devastating impact of first contact and colonialism. The author also muses over Cook’s seeming change in personality in this, his final voyage, and how that might have contributed to his violent end. 

In addition, the book tells the story of Mai, a Tahitian man who had been brought to England, immersed in the British culture, and then taken home. His story is tragically symbolic of the psychological confusion resulting from trying to live in or meld the cultures of two very different worlds.

For me, one of the more rewarding aspects of the book is the geography lesson underpinning the narrative. My knowledge of geography is pretty pathetic, but in following the map of Cook’s voyage, I had to picture the route (the map helps), and I finished the book with a more comprehensive image of the globe.

Whether you are interested in Captain Cook or not, this is a compelling book. Highly recommended.

BOOK REVIEW: Remember When by Mary Balogh

I received this book for free from Netgalley. That did not influence this review.

Remember When by Mary Balogh is the latest novel in The Ravenswood series. This warm, lovely Regency Romance is told in the signature Balogh style.

Clarissa Ware is the Dowager Countess of Stratton (met before in books 1-3). She has been a dutiful loving mother and had been a supportive wife up until her husband’s demise a few years earlier. She loved her husband despite his faults—which included serial infidelity. Now, at fifty, with her children grown, and for the most part, married off or otherwise settled, she wants time alone to rediscover herself. Who is she, besides a widow and mother?

She returns alone to Ravenwood, the estate where she was once the countess, a title that now belongs to her beloved daughter-in-law. She intends to enjoy her solitude. But one thing she is determined to do is to visit her old and once very dear friend, Matthew Taylor. They were children together and the most devoted of friends. They were both the offspring of respectable gentry, though Clarissa’s connections and expectations were somewhat better than Matthew’s, particularly since he was a second son. When she was 17, and Matthew 18, as the first sparks of possible romance were appearing between them, Clarissa had an offer of marriage from the Earl of Stratton. Excited by the possibilities and awed by the earl, she said yes. 

Matthew Taylor was a difficult child, understood only by Clarissa. When she wed the earl, he lost not just a woman he had begun to love, but also his only true friend. In quick fashion, he married another, but she died in childbirth. Matthew took himself away from the village and wandered (readers will discover where and why) for a decade, before returning to the village near Ravenswood to make his living as a carpenter and artist in wood.

Clarissa and Matthew renew their friendship. And despite their advanced ages (50! 51!) they discover their feelings go beyond platonic friendship. The problem is, now as it always was, Clarissa is socially above him. And much more so now. Moreover, they both value the lives they are leading, and aren’t sure what they are willing to risk.

The love story develops at a slow but steady pace, although it gets rather repetitive at times. There are no villains in this story, and in fact, little conflict, as everyone involved truly just wants what is best for the pair. It’s a soothing and angst free tale. The two deserve their happily ever after.