From My Bookshelf....by Lynn Willoughby

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The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield
This book was a recommendation and thank you for that.
Margaret Lea is hired by the enigmatic writer Vida Winter, to write her biography. As Vida disinters the life she meant to bury for good, we are mesmerized by the gothic strangeness of the Angelfield family.
Readers, biographers, reporters have all been after Winter for the conclusion - the thirteenth tale, of her famous mysteries. These were outlandish life histories of herself - all of them inventions, that have brought her fame and fortune. However, there is a tragic secret lurking in her past - the basis of this novel.
The chapters switch between the past and present of the two main characters. Vida Winter's history is written at first in the third person past tense, but when Winter suddenly uses "I" we begin to understand her secrets. Death is a common theme, as are depression, identity, loss, isolation and the mythologies of many cultures regarding twins.
There are comedic moments - "he could not find it in himself to confide the household's difficulty to a member of a profession (lawyers) that made its living from having its nose in other people's private affairs."
This is a good read, an "enchanting Gothic for the 21st century" - Library Journal
Mr Shakespeare's Bastard - Richard B. Wright
Aerlene has known about her father all her life, is obsessed with reading his plays and would dearly love to visit a playhouse and see one performed. But as she and her mother are dependent upon her Puritan uncle and aunt, seeing a play seems highly unlikely.
Shakespeare's life is poorly documented in history, yet evidence suggests a shotgun wedding at a young age, family tragedy, years of early penury and whispers that he sired at least one illegitimate child. This makes Wright's book very readable.
Aside from the Bard himself, I really liked the scenes describing old London in the late 1500s. I suspect these facts and scenarios are very real - including the smells, the public drunkenness and debauchery, the thievery, the lives of those who were apprenticed. Shakespeare himself muses about what life would be like in Bedlam hospital while listening to the moans, screams and those baying at the moon.
Matched with this are the descriptions of the wealthy on their way to a play or concert, which seemed to go on at all hours of the day and night. Navigating the streets themselves with names like Cheapside, Threadneedle, Silver Street and dodging beggars and pickpockets at the same time was very entertaining.
Like 'Clara Callan' this novel moves along at a smart pace and as an incidental benefit, we get to see how Shakespeare's work was viewed during his life. The overall theme is "family" and it is always amazing to me that a male writer can craft such believable female characters as Aerlene and her mother.

•  Clara Callan
•  October
•  Adultery

…..and others

Who Knew?
The gathering of samphire is mentioned in this novel and I was completely unfamiliar with it, I found that it is a succulent wild green plant that grow on the cliffs in Great Britain. To collect it from these cliffs is extremely dangerous. "Half way down, Hangs one that gathers samphire; dreadful trade!" - William Shakespeare.