THE PAYING GUESTS by Sarah Waters

This book was very well plotted and executed. It was recommended to me by our book store's sales assistant. She said she loved all the books written by Sarah Waters. What I didn't know is that this author is known for novels set in Victorian society and featuring lesbian protagonists. She has won the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction. The story was incredibly clever and the characters very believable. Despite my aversion to lesbian sexual encounters I appreciated the authenticity of the period the book was set in and the dynamics of a lesbian relationship within it. Set in early 1920's, following the Great War, a mother and daughter left without male support in middle class England find themselves obliged to rent spare rooms in their house to keep them financially viable. The rooms are rented to a young married couple who transform Wray's lives forever. A love affair blossoms between Frances Wray and the married Lilian Barber which not only leads them to the dangerous and uncertain future but also to crime. What starts off as a view into hardships of a genteel family slipping into demise ends with suspense and reflection on complexities of a lesbian relationship in a society that offers no recognition of such liaisons. Sarah Waters is an excellent writer who has found her niche in the literary world and for that I admire her.

NIGHTINGALE by Fiona McIntosh

If you like popular romantic fiction, you will like this book which will take you from Gallipoli to England to Turkey and to Australia. Fiona's depiction of Gallipoli and the horrors of the Great War from the perspective of an English nurse was mindfully realistic and evocative. It inspired me to watch "Gallipoli" again, the movie which I had seen in the early 80's. Even though the movie was a visual depiction of the same event, it did not match the book in the portrayal of Gallipoli's devastating carnage. I guess this is so because the book was written from the perspective of the medical profession who fought to save shattered lives and bodies. Amidst the  horror of this war, a romance is born for Claire Nightingale, an English nurse and Jamie Wren, an Australian Light Horseman. Even though this story is fictional, it stands as a tribute to many real life romances which no doubt sprang up during the madness of warfare. As the reverence for life ignites the romantic notion between a wounded soldier and his nurse, this book intends to prove that love can defy most dire circumstances and endure across years of separation and uncertainty. The love component of this book, however, went beyond reality for me and I found the ending laced with over-abundance of sugar and spice. The most enjoyable part of the book was getting to know the 'enemy' beyond the ANZAC trenches of Gallipoli and learning about Turkish culture. In the end, we are all just people, with same hopes and desires going through this strange experience called life.

REMARKABLE CREATURES by Tracy Chevalier

Another beautiful book from the brilliant mind of Tracy Chevalier. The story takes us to Lyme Regis in England and centers on two women whose fossil discoveries challenged the religious and geological thinking of early 1800's. Daring to tread into a man's world where they received small recognition for their accomplishments, they fall into the category of women pioneers who despite their lack of education, are now being recognised for their strength, courage and brilliance. This is a true story of Mary Anning and Elizabeth Philpot who were fossil hunters and whose alliance stands as a monument of the power of friendship. Tracy Chevalier has a remarkable ability to transport the reader to a different time and period through her detailed and careful use of language and evocative image making the reader appreciative of her  thorough research of the subject at hand. I wept when I read the ending of this story but more so when reading the postscript, for I was once again reminded that the characters were real women who once lived and walked upon the shores of Lyme.

THE LAST RUNAWAY by Tracy Chevalier

Tracy Chevalier is a literary genius. If you want to read a book rich with historical content and moral values, this is the book for you. The book explores a 19th century American movement called the Underground Railroad through which 30,000 Negros managed to escape slavery assisted by white abolitionists, freed slaves and many members of the Quaker community. The Last Runaway is set in 1850 and follows a sheltered Quaker girl immigrating from England to America with her sister who is to be married to an English man living in Ohio. Within days of landing in America, and before reaching Ohio, her sister Grace dies of yellow fever leaving Honor alone in a new country that she needs to make her home. Honor joins the Quaker community called Friends in Ohio and marries Jack, a dairy farmer. Her strong Quaker instincts lead Honor to become involved in the rife runaway movement assisting slaves to escape to Canada where freedom awaits them. Tracy Chevalier achieves the optimum balance of realism and sentiment in this heart warming and enlightening book which is extremely hard to put down. Read The Last Runaway, you will be glad you did.