Tag archives for 17th Century
Of Blood Exhausted by Jemahl Evans [Book Review]
Of Blood Exhausted by Jemahl Evans My rating: 6 of 5 stars Of Blood Exhausted is the third in the Blandford Candy series that started with The Last Roundhead. (The second was This Deceitful Light.) If anything Jemahl Evans is improving with practice, there's a real feel for the period in the language used, the descriptions and the characters, several of whom are based on real people. There are footnotes throughout to add context to the historical events, either to corroborate the source or correct errors from Candy's recollection of events. Of Blood Exhausted As with the previous two in the series Of Blood Exhausted cuts between the aged Sir Blandford Candy narrating from 1720 and the imminent South Seas Bubble which his nephew is involved with, and the winter of 1644-5 culminating in the battle of Naseby. Candy is…
Steel & Lace edited by Francine Howarth [Book Review]
Steel & Lace - Anthology of 17th-18th century stories. by Francine Howarth My rating: 5 of 5 stars I occasionally stray into genres that aren't my preferred ones, usually to widen my reading experience and learn a little more about writing different sort of stories. Historical romance is one of the areas that I have entirely avoided, until now. I've had a prejudice against it, worrying that there will be a pinkwash over the history from the rose-tinted spectacles of damsel heroine lusting after her bare chested highlander. There was none of that in Steel & Lace, all the history was spot on, although there was just a little bit of lust. Steel & Lace I picked up Steel & Lace on kindle because it was free and I had previously read one of the authors historical fiction and really…
This Deceitful Light by Jemahl Evans [Book Review]
This Deceitful Light by Jemahl Evans My rating: 5 of 5 stars This Deceitful Light is the sequel to The Last Roundhead and was well worth the wait. Reading it was like being back in the 17th Century. More than just history though, there's a strong mystery to it which drives the first half of the book. There's also a strong sense of underlying treachery which I'm sure drives the title of This Deceitful Light. The whole volume is held together with the background and context to Candy fighting his only duel, with Sir John Hurry, who we first met in the Last Roundhead. This Deceitful Light English: Battle of Marston Moor, 1644 by John Barker (Photo credit: Wikipedia) This Deceitful Light carries on the story of Sir Blandford Candy, his warts and all autobiography set down in his twilight…
Scripting Living History Events for Re-enactors – in Five Steps
It has been quite a while since I was last involved in scripting living history for an event. It has also been a while since I attended one, but I spent this weekend at the ECWS living history site at Newport Pagnell. The ECWS living history has come on a long way over the last few years. There is an excellent small town feel to it with a load of talented people showing a wide range of skills and aspects of 17th century life. This is how it should be. The next stage in the evolution is scripting living history cameos so that there is a hook for the public to learn more. About a decade ago the Fairfax Battalia, now sadly gone, saw this and ran a series of living history events. I was lucky enough to be able to script some…
Bolsover Castle Under Siege
English: Bolsover Castle, 17th century Model of Bolsover Castle, as it may have looked in the late 1600's. License on Flickr (2011-02-18): (Photo credit: Wikipedia) I spent the weekend laying siege to Bolsover Castle as part of the 17th century Army of Parliament. It was a lot of fun, and quite a busy couple of days. The best bit though was definitely seeing lots of old friends again. Bolsover Castle event Shortly after the battle of Marston Moor in July 1644 Bolsover Castle was attacked by the Army of Parliament under Major General Crawford. We were re-enacting that over the weekend. With a mixed group of the Fairfax Battalia and the Sealed Knot we put on a creditable show. There were three regiments present (about a company's worth of soldiers in each). The Earl of Newcastle's regiment from the…