Tag Archives: Sarah Dunant

Sarah Dunant, “Blood and Beauty”

Posted on March 8, 2014 by carolwallace

Actually the full title is Blood and Beauty: The Borgias; A Novel. And there’s so much punctuation in that title that I didn’t dare continue the sentence lest we all be terminally confused. Granted, the titles are not the strongest … Continue reading →

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Sarah Dunant, “Under My Skin”

Posted on May 12, 2011 by carolwallace

Just a month ago I finished Sarah Dunant’s Birth Marks. I thought I had damned it with faint praise, but looking back, I find I was rather enthusiastic. Maybe Under My Skin is not quite as good or maybe the … Continue reading →

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Ariana Franklin, “Mistress of the Art of Death”

Posted on April 29, 2011 by carolwallace

Here they come. From down the road we can hear harnesses jingling and see dust rising into the warm spring sky. Pilgrims returning after Easter in Canterbury. Tokens of the mitered, martyred Saint Thomas are pinned to cloaks and hats … Continue reading →

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Sarah Dunant, “Birth Marks”

Posted on April 13, 2011 by carolwallace

I wonder why so many writers choose to begin with murder mysteries. Could it be that so many of us read them so faithfully? Another possibility is that there are simply so many murder mysteries published that the odds of … Continue reading →

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Sarah Dunant, “In the Company of the Courtesan”

Posted on December 14, 2010 by carolwallace

I don’t think I’d be brave enough to write a novel in which the last 50 pages subverted the previous 325. Just think how careful you’d have to be, laying it all out beforehand, from major plot points to dialogue … Continue reading →

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Sarah Dunant, “The Birth of Venus”

Posted on December 1, 2010 by carolwallace

I was not initially thrilled by The Birth of Venus. I really loved Sarah Dunant’s Sacred Hearts but authors are not always consistent — its complexity could have been a fluke. So when I read the prologue of The Birth … Continue reading →

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Sarah Dunant, “Sacred Hearts”

Posted on October 7, 2010 by carolwallace

I owe this book to one of you, my readers. Who? I believe it was a discussion of “nun books” that prompted this recommendation, and I am deeply, deeply grateful, because Sacred Hearts ticks a lot of boxes for me. … Continue reading →

Posted in best seller, historical fiction | Tagged | 8 Comments