This is the perfect companion to SPQR. This book is about how the role of the Emperor and the concept of the Roman Empire developed and what it took to maintain it. Mary Beard has a way of writing that is enviable for any writer but especially history. Her work is neither dry nor formulaic ; in fact it is often wryly humorous and always insightful. ~ Reviewed by Maeve Noonan
This is a well done telling of the evil doings and machinations that lead up to the plot of the "Scottish Play" (Macbeth) .The protagonist, Gruoch, Lady Macbeth is a true Gaelic Princess. Isabelle Schuler is very creative in blending known history and poetic license yet staying true to Shakespeare's play.The result is a great swashbuckling good story. ~ Reviewed by Maeve Noonan
This novel is full of surprises. It is a Brazilian literary metaphysical adventure story of twin sisters and their lives. A fantastical mystery ensues when the girls ( as small children) find a "jaguar" knife hidden under their grandmother's bed. This book is somewhere between Kurt Vonnegut and Gabriel Garcia Marquez- I loved it. ~ Reviewed by Maeve Noonan
This is simply a gorgeous book, Amy Jeffs has combined her expertise of British Mythology, History, Art History and Folklore and created a tome of marvelous narratives of British legends. Each story is individually illustrated with her own beautiful linocuts and the author's own interpretations. I love this book! ~ Reviewed by Maeve Noonan
Beautifully written, sometimes harrowing novel of a frontier city in Spain during the last years of the Roman Empire in the West. Sparrow is a slave- child in a brothel raised by the "Wolves", the women who work upstairs in the brothel and the cook. Vividly, Sparrow witnesses the changes of an Empire decaying from within the confines of the brothel and its gardens. The beauty of the writing reminded me of Madeline Miller's Song of Achilles. ~ Reviewed by Maeve Noonan