The Red Tent – Anita Diamant Sunday, Nov 16 2008 

5 stars and books and historical fiction , Humaira 12:31 pm

If you want to know a woman, ask her about her mother.

This is the premise of the story told by Dinah, the only daughter of Jacob. She is revered by her four mothers Leah, Rachel, Billhah and Zilpah. It is the tale of her mothers and their love for her father Jacob. A story of four sisters who must share a husband and all that it entails. Of births, deaths, laughter and the joy of being a woman.

It is also the story of Dinah who tells us of her childhood and the events that led to the murder of her husband and the aftermath of that event.

Quite frankly this is my favourite book and one I can read over and over again because it tells of historical people and what their lives mus have been like in simple prose. It tells of how women coped with childbirth in ancient times, how they cooked and how they lived.

It is a story to make you think and to make you love Dinah and her mothers despite all their flaws.

A fantastic read and a must read for any woman.

5 out of 5 stars.

The Red Tent

 

Innocent Traitor – Alison Weir Monday, Oct 6 2008 

5 stars and books and fiction and historical fiction , , Humaira 2:33 pm

Innocent Traitor tells the story of Lady Jane Grey who was Queen for 9 days and the extraordinary events that led her to her death.

My only experience of Jane’s story was from watching the film Lady Jane which starred Helena Bonham Carter. But this book delves deeper and goes right back to Jane’s birth and is sufficiently different from the cinematic Jane.

In this book, Jane is an unwanted daughter born around the same time as her cousin Edward who later becomes King. Jane’s parents quickly realise they can use her for political gain, by marrying her to Edward when he is of age. But in the meantime, they treat her cruelly and the only one who cares for her is her nurse, Mrs Ellen.

Jane’s life is shown to be tough and the only solace she finds is in learning and her faith as a Protestant. And later when she is married to Guildford Dudley, it turns even more miserable as Guildford is a cruel husband.

I found myself reading her story with sadness because i knew how it would end, but i liked the multiple points of view of Jane, her mother, father, husband, father in law and even the executioner. It made the story richer and showed us what might have been going through their heads at this time in political history.

Overall, a fantastic but sad story that was very well written.

5 out of 5 stars.

Innocent Traitor