> HISTORICAL FICTION TARA HENLEY
The Sea Gate By Jane Johnson Simon & Schuster, 416 pages, $24.99
Jane Johnson is a British historian, publisher and prolific novelist, and the U.K. editor for the likes of George R.R. Martin and Dean Koontz. At the age of 44, while climbing the corporate ladder at a major publishing house in
London, she took a research trip to Morocco, where she met a Berber tribesman in a remote mountain village who changed her life. After six months — and, as she has written, “a curiously old-fashioned courtship conducted by phone” — she married Abdel Bakrim in a Muslim ceremony, followed by a traditional Berber wedding, and moved to North Africa. Now wed 15 years, the couple splits their time between Cornwall in the UK and Morocco, where Bakrim owns a restaurant. Their real-life love story has shaped much of Johnson’s writing, including this new novel, “The Sea Gate.” The story follows Rebecca, a Londoner at loose ends after her mother dies, who escapes to Cornwall to aid an elderly relative, the audacious but incapacitated Olivia. While there, Rebecca uncovers a lifetime of secrets, and, in the process, forges a new, more satisfying life for herself. A gem of a novel.
Dark Tides By Philippa Gregory Atria Books, 464 pages, $37
A new novel from Philippa Gregory — author of blockbuster books like “The
Other Boleyn Girl” and “The White Queen,” which was made into a BBC television series — is always a major publishing event. This new outing, a follow-up to “Tidelands,” and part of the Fairmile series, is no exception, with anticipation at a premium. Kicking off in 1670, 21 years after the end of “Tidelands,” it’s set in Restoration London, across the pond in the new world, in the village of Hadley in New England, and in Venice, Italy. The sweeping novel explores the complexity of female power. All, of course, in Gregory’s characteristically gorgeous prose.
The Forgotten Sister By Nicola Cornick Graydon House, 368 pages, $22.99
Historian Nicola Cornick is an international bestselling author — and with good reason. Her latest Tudor outing, “The Forgotten Sister,” is captivating from start to finish. Here, the British writer — who works for the National Trust as a guide at the 17th-century Oxfordshire hunting lodge, Ashdown
House — revisits the mystery of Amy Robsart, wife of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, a favoured courtier of Queen Elizabeth I (and the subject of a famed 1821 Walter Scott novel, “Kenilworth”). Amy Robsart died in 1560, after falling down a flight of stairs at Cumnor Place, located in what’s now Oxfordshire. Many suspected foul play. Indeed, the ensuing scandal prevented Robert Dudley from ever marrying the Queen. In this riveting novel based on Robsart’s tragic life and death, Cornick weaves together Amy’s haunting story with a present-day narrative, focusing on a young English celebrity, also named Elizabeth, who’s forced to flee the public eye after the wife of her male best friend, the womanizing D-lister Dudley, dies after falling down the stairs of a country manor. Strong storytelling, a lively plot and fascinating historical details make this a must read.
Daughter of Black Lake By Cathy Marie Buchanan HarperCollins, 320 pages, $34.99
Toronto author Cathy Marie Buchanan, the New York Times bestselling author of “Painted Girls,” is back with an enchanting tale about long- ago times. Eight years in the making, “Daughter of Black Lake” is set in the first century A.D., highly unusual territory for historical fiction, a genre that increasingly focuses on the Second World War. The story centres around a healer, Devout, and her daughter, Hobble, as their bog-dwelling tribe faces conflict and uncertainty. Deeply researched, and written in poetic prose, this is a compelling glimpse into an ancient Pagan world.
Toronto.