Set along the Scots/English border during the late sixteenth century, this story is loaded with action. Sir Robert Carey is a cousin of Queen Elizabeth and the new Deputy Warden of the West March, a very rough part of England where family feuds are important and Carey is an outsider with no land and few men to rally for support in a battle. His one asset locally is his sister, Philadelphia, who is married to the influential Lord Scrope. Carey also gets much needed help from Sergeant Henry Dodd. The sergeant has a knack for showing up just in time. Together they make a formidable duo. Carey has birth, influence and the Queen's favor. Dodd has a good solid tower, land at lease and kin who will follow him.

In late 1775, sensing that the time for emancipation and liberty was at hand, a slave named Titus quietly slipped away from his master in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Richard Corliss, the slaveholder, offered three pounds reward for the capture and return of Titus. Titus did return, but as Colonel Tye, and he fought gallantly in the Battle of Monmouth, near Freehold. A year later, Colonel Tye did something even more extraordinary. Once again he returned to Monmouth County as leader of an integrated guerilla unit. Tye's intimate knowledge of Monmouth County swamps, rivers and woods served him well, as he and his group plundered the farms and estates of wealthy slaveholders, escaping to a hide out on Sandy Hook. These depredations continued for a year until Tye received a bullet wound and died of lockjaw. Tye would be an honored figure in American history but for one problem: This was the Revolutionary War, not the Civil War, and Tye was fighting on the British side. As far as he was concerned, Tye was fighting for the right side. On November 7, 1778, the Earl of Dunmore, Governor of Virginia, promised freedom to all slaves "willing to serve His Majesty's forces to end the present rebellion." If you had been a slave, which side would you have chosen? An embryonic nation apparently committed to slavery and largely governed by slaveholders, or a powerful maritime empire that promised you your freedom? This wonderful story about a courageous man, which I had never heard before, comes from an eye-opening book by Graham Russell Hodges, "Slavery and Freedom in the Rural North: African Americans in Monmouth County, 1665-1865," from Madison House Publishers in cooperation with the Friends of the Monmouth County Park System. Hodges lets the facts speak for themselves. From census figures, newspaper accounts, county and church records, business ledgers, wills, and reward postings for the capture of escaped slaves, we are reminded that New Jersey was a rural state that had much in common with the upper South - Lincoln never carried New Jersey. We did not have large plantations, but slaveholding was common and acceptable enough to make us closer to tidewater Maryland and Virginia than to New England in many of our attitudes. Slavery received an early start in New Jersey and rooted strongly enough to end slowly, grudgingly and later than any other Northeastern states. Vestiges of servitude lingered on into the Twentieth Century, with many African Americans economically bound to the same white families that had once owned them as property. Hodges gives particular attention to the role played by organized religion in the justification and maintenance of slavery, as well as in its gradual demise. The second part of Hodges' book deals with New Jersey's emancipation period, which saw a declining slave population and the growing strength of Monmouth County's free black community up to the Civil War. Local tax rolls reveal an increasing number of mostly poor, yet free, African Americans, a few of whom managed to acquire considerable farm acreage. Tables throughout the book show the distribution of free and slave populations by town and by year. Poet William Carlos Williams advises that we will find what is universal by examining what is found locally. By taking a magnifying glass to the 200 year history of slavery in a single New Jersey county, Graham Russell Hodges brings to light the degradation, violence, hypocrisy, and moral ambiguities of a terrible institution as it was experienced in this state, by people we would have known or even could have been. Its pages are filled with surnames still listed in our telephone books. It is a powerful book. Bob Rixon, WFMU-FM, Jersey City, NJ

This series by Patricia Finney features Robert Carey, the youngest son of Lord Hundson who in turn is the bastard son of Henry VII and Mary Boleyn, Ann's sister. Carey has landed a position as the Queen's representative at one of the border forts between England and Scotland, at a particularly crucial time, when Elizabeth's heir, James, is king of Scotland, and his succession to the English throne will unify the two countries. Carey's main motive in accepting the position was to get away from creditors in England. And in the first of the series, Carey, began to establish himself as a kind of monarch in his own right in that most politically crucial of geographies. Now less than a year and three books' worth of adventures later, Carey must return home to London at the summons of his father, who is now the Queen's Lord Chamberlain. Carey has to deal with creditors who are stalking him, his father's girlfriend (and once his,) Mistress Bassano, her devoted swain and family servant, the rather unimpressive Will Shakespeare, and the fact that his gullible elder brother Edmund has disappeared in what turns out to be plague infested London, and Hundson's chief enemy, Thomas Heneage, probably has something to do with it. Meanwhile a bunch of counterfeit coins are turning up, and the penalty for counterfeiting is death. And Carey's Scottish man, Seargent Dodd is amusing everyone with his bumpkin ways and accent, while being extremely frustrated by their decadent city ways and lack of recognition for his family rank. It's fun stuff with great characterization and just about the best period resurrection I've ever experienced. But then that's true of all of Finney's work, and here, slick London kind of made me miss the crass and vulgar North.

This book shows evidence of an amazing amount of research into the daily life of Elizabethan London. Perhaps this is, as one reviewer suggests, how Patricia Finney has fun in between her longer Elizabeth I mysteries, but all I can say is she does a lot of hard work too!

Sir Robert Carey was widely though of as the Queen's nephew (the illegitimate grandson of Henry VIII) and Chisholm makes the most of this fact in her mystery, using her hero's physical resemblance to the Queen and his father, Lord Hundson's, temperamental resemblance to Henry VIII to build a complicated tale of revenge, ambition, and murder. A score of minor--but also real!--characters thread through the story: Mistress Bassano (a member of a real family of Jewish musicians at the court), Robert Greene, Christopher Marlowe, and even the balding Will Shakespeare appear.

So many historical mysteries are more about evoking a powerful setting than telling a complicated tale of skulduggery, but with this book you get to have both. The setting and characterization are nearly perfect, and the central mystery pivoting around the consequences surrounding an alchemical experiment gone wrong is not only perfect for the period but darned confusing as well! I highly recommend this book, and the other books in the series. But, read A Famine of Horses (the first in the series) first or you will find yourself a bit lost for the first half.

This is the kind of book that makes life worth living.

Written in a spare yet vivid style, with outstanding dialogue, Plague of Angels features well-known characters from the first three books of Chisholm's series. But, due to a letter from Carey's father, they've had to ride south to London. Readers be encouraged: this is no Renaissance Faire.

Characterization is particularly strong in this volume because it's from the point of view of Sergeant Dodd, the tough, morose, thoroughly engaging Borderer. His viewpoints on London, the aristocracy, and Carey are not only humorous but have a certain ring of truth. I'd always liked Dodd, but in the course of this book he became one of my favorite historical fiction characters of all time. Carey, seen through Dodd's eyes, retains his notable charm and savoir-faire. And Chisholm does something nearly impossible: writes about real historical characters and does it well. Yes, Shakespeare is in this book, and yes, it works.

The plot is an exciting one, of course. Some of the twists aren't quite as well developed as they could be, but between the plague, the Fleet Prison, and our hero facing torture by the bad guys, it's hard to care.

I was particularly impressed here with Chisholm's presentation of Renaissance mentalities. The pure terror evoked by the plague, in an age when diseases were unstoppable and more or less uncurable, is very well described. It's also worth mentioning that, although her protagonists are male, Chisholm does well with female characters, making them realistic products of their time but still strong, interesting individuals.

Molly Pitcher lived around the time of the Revolutionary War and she wanted to do the things the boys and men in her family did. She was smart but she couldn't go to school because she was a girl. She was brave and did things to help her family. She gave water to the soldiers and they called her Molly Pitcher because they wanted her to bring them the pitcher of water. When she was an adult she foughtbesude her husband in the war and took over firing the canon when he couldn't. She won an award from General George Washington and was made an honorary soldier. This book gives good examples of what life was like when people had to pay taxes to England and it shows how the war started.

When I was younger, I enjoyed read the books in the Childhood of Great Americans Series, and this was one of my favorites. It tells about Molly Pitcher's (no, that is not her real name)childhood and continues to briefly describe her life when she grew up. This book portrays history to young children in an interesting, as well as informative, way. If you like this book, then you will definently like the book Abigail Adams, of this same series.

The setting is the Northern border of England. Our hero is Robert Carey, the son of Lord Hundson, Queen Elizabeth's Lord Chamberlain and her first cousin through their mothers', Mary and Ann Boleyn. Hundson is also, however, in this novel, historically he may not have been, the bastard son of Henry VIII. So Robert Carey, new deputy warden, more like sheriff really, of one the two main border keeps, is the grandson of the late great Tudor king himself. Unfortunately, Carey's noble bloodlines and his courtier experience is not going to matter a jot to the rough hewn Scottish and English clans around the border. Their main interests are feuding, cattle and horse "reiving," an old word for rustling, and occasionally killing each other. Carey's brother-in-law, Lord Scrope has just become Warden of the March after the death of his father. Unfortunately for everyone Lord Scrope is not exactly brilliant, even if his wife, Carey's sister, Lady Philadelphia, is plenty smart. Meanwhile, the dead body of Sweetmilk Graham, favorite son of one of the leading clan chiefs, Jock of Peartree, has just been discovered on an old battlefield. Jock thinks he knows who did it and wants to pursue a vendetta against Carey's new local man, Seargent Dodd, while Carey isn't so sure, and would like to introduce the concept of Justice to the lawless frontier. Not that anyone on the lawless frontier cares. Carey is willing to go to great lengths and place himself in the middle of a mysterious anti-royal plot to prove his mettle, solve the mystery of Sweetmilk's murder, bring the murderer to Justice, and incidentally find out why all the horses south of the border have suddenly disappeared. But his love, Lady Elizabeth Widdrington, is the real reason he's turned up in these parts. And she's very concerned about his predilection for adventure, a little bit less concerned about her husband. It's an entertaining story, with fun yet believable characters, and even the hero makes human sometimes stupid and serious mistakes. The dialect reads beautifully, though I was occasionally confused as to where exactly the different "Marches" or border forts were.

Here is a very enjoyable book, set on the 16th-century Scottish border and written in a stark, clear style. Readers of Barbara Hambly's work may well appreciate this.

Chisholm's differences from the standard run of historical mystery authors start with her (?) writing style, which is spare, and reminds me of that of Cecelia Holland. It is also not devoid of humor, and the dialogue crackles along.

The setting is wonderful: very different from the norm, but extremely lawless and full of potential pitfalls for the characters. As a nonspecialist in the Renaissance, I didn't find any particular historical errors, though some readers may be confused by the references to the two separate courts, the Scottish one of which was headed by the man who would soon become James I of England. The women are perhaps a little independent for the time period, but it seems plausible enough given the setting.

Characters here stand out. I particularly liked the lugubrious Sergeant Dodd and his fiery wife, but Robert Carey, perhaps the only man on the Border with a concept of impartial justice, is also appealing. Assorted hard cases and Border ruffians fill out an entertaining cast. Chisholm's names for characters are wonderful.

The plot is an exciting one, involving murder, horse theft, kingnapping schemes, and assorted brawls. Though the larger themes have a certain implausibility about them, and some of the elements could be better described, there's little real cause for complaint.

This is entertainment at its best. This book features authentic history and period detail cloaked in a rollicking story about wonderful characters. It is funny, touching and full of adventure. You'll love the hero (based on a real person), and the rest of the cast of characters are equally entertaining.

The writing throughout is excellent, with sparkling dialogue and just enough period descritpion that you'll swear you are actually there in Carlisle in 1592.

It is billed as a mystery, which is a little of a misnomer. There is a dead body and a search for the killer, but that is just one element among many. This book is hard to characterize; maybe "period adventure" fits it best. But even at its most exciting, it remains light-hearted.

Highly recommended.

Geoffrey of Monmouth's chronicle of the Britons (mostly in England) reads a bit like Herodotus though on a lesser scale. As the author himself admits, his prose is brutally plain and of a "homely style," and only a few vivid scenes come to mind when recalling two thousand years of British history (mostly consisting of public speeches, warriors' last stands and Merlin's prophecies). This might have been a great flaw for a work that is more literature than history, but the subject matter is intriguing enough for one interested in British civilizations to enjoy the book. Despite his appearance on the front cover illustration, King Arthur does not figure greatly in the History as one might have thought.

This edition includes a chronology of historical events reffered to in the History with approximate years and a list of contemporary British rulers as recalled by Geoffrey.

Geoffrey of Monmouth is the man who really started the "King Arthur Craze" of the 12th & 13th centuries. After writing "The History of the Kings of Britain" we have the explosion of works by Chretien de Troyes, Wolfram von Eschenbach, Marie de France, Gottfried von Strassburg, the Vulgate Cycle and all the rest, eventually culminating in the 15th century with Le Morte D'Arthur. No matter what oral tradition may have been in place before this time (the "little book" loaned to Geoffrey?), this is THE book that starts the true interest in The Matter of Britain.

While King Arthur is the centerpiece of the work, this book contains many tales, many of which were later reworked by other authors, most notably Llyr (Lear) and his three daughters.

This book is not a history in the modern sense. "History" derives from "historia", a story, a tale; such "historical" stories were meant, first and foremost, to be moral, didactic lessons on how to (or how NOT to) conduct one's life. Very little in this book could be construed by modern standards to be a "true history"; conversely, here are tales of nobility, gallantry, perfidy, excess, and the like. The characters are exemplars, not real people. The book, starting with the Fall of Troy, leads towards the glory of King Arthur and then falls away from this point, with the slow decline of the Britons in the face of the Anglo-Saxons.

This book is not an easy read by modern standards. On the other hand, it was a medieval "best seller", a book for which there are dozens of manuscripts to sort out (often with slight differences in the text). If you have a real interest in the Arthurian legends or in medieval literature in general, you owe it to yourself to read this volume. While the tales of the Mabinogian may be older, this is the spark-point that introduces Europe to King Arthur.

I highly recomend Geffory of Monmouth's "History of the Kings of Britain". This book explors the first rulers of Britain to the time when the Saxons took over the island. The book is a run through of the different people who tover the monarchy of Britain. The first person the reach Britain was Brutus the Trojan who was a decendant of the great Aeneas. For example King Lear called Leir and Cymbline were real. Shakesphere took them from ancient history and changed them around. This book explors the times when Britain was at wars with the Romans and the emperors such as Caesar and Vespasian came to the island. Other famous kings in the book are Cassivellaunus who was the king of Britian before it was taken over by the Romans. Other kings are Caedwalla who was the last king before the Saxons took over. Some parts in this book are farfetched , such as during the reigns of Vortigern and KIng Arthur. Also in the beginning the book states that Britain was inhabited by giants. There is also a section on the prophicies of Merlin the is complicated. We are still talking about a book thatv was published in 1136. No one can be sure of the true history, but Geffory of Monmouth gives a good outline of it. It is easy to find a book on the history of England beginning with the Normans, but This book is before that period and is a rare find. If you love history, especially on Britain, then this brilliant book is for you!

Yes, this is a romance, complete with endangered heroine, noble highway man, political intrigue, and unlikely last minute reprievals from doom. BUT the hero and narrator, John Ridd, is a farmer; big, strong, no brighter than he ought to be, benevolent, and practical. The fabulous valley of the Doones is firmly ensconced in the everyday Exmoor of 18th century England: the stock must be fed, the hay must be made, the farm-hands managed. In this world it's wonderfully right that the only farmer in Exmoor strong and determined enough to rescue his entire flock from the worst blizzard in years should also rescues lovely Lorna from the vicious Doone clan. Better yet, he also views both extraordinary feats as his simple duty, and describes their despatch more in terms of expedient (the mechanics of snow-shoes, the failure of the signals arranged between the parted lovers) than in flowery language of the heart. Lorna Doone is a paragon of 19th century Romances; Blackmore's writing displays, at their best, the literary qualities sought by his contemporaries: read this book for novel adventure, copiously detailed incident, moral improvement and wonder. You'll wish for an entire winter by the fire-place in order to savor it fully.

I was surprised that Lorna Doone by Richard Blackmore was a good as it turned out to be. It had a very compelling story and good characters even if the novel seemed a bit wordy at times. Lorna Doone is also the single best example of a romantic novel. It may not be among the very best of this category (like The Scarlet Letter, Moby Dick, or any of Jane Austen's novels), but it does fit every criteria. It had a major emphasis on feeling as the whole of the book is a love story between John Ridd and Lorna Doone. The book also has a lot of high adventure in it and an emphasis of nature (Blackmore was just about the only English forerunner of Thomas Hardy in novels in this respect). The novel was even about the common man.

The plot of the novel follows John Ridd. He is a respectable farmer who one day happens into the valley of the Doone's, a family/community of outlaws who had killed his father. There, he ends up falling in love with one of the Doone's own, Lorna. Then, John has to find a way to save his love and overcome their differences of birth.

Lorna Doone is a very interesting read. It may not be for everyone because it is long and does tend to dwell on some trivial things for a bit too long. The novel would be good for anyone who likes classics of romanticism. Lorna Doone can be a very worthwhile read.

Couldn't be perfect , because we the people ( the human race ) aren't ( still ) perfect . That's why you've got to see this book by the human's race eyes . If you haven't ever feel great emotions : just read this book. I hope you get to read LORNA DOONE someday . No matter your age . You don't have to be in your teens to read it .

Sir Robert Carey is the perfect swashbuckler - with empty pockets and enough craft to be more than cardboard. Even years at Elizabeth's court have not prepared him for the treachery and double dealing on the English/Scottish Borders. A marvellous chase after stolen guns and more involvement with his strait laced, married love season a plot filled with the sights, sounds and smells of the 16th Century. Let down a little by the poor binding of this edition, as pages fall out after a couple of readings.

I have now read all three of P.F. Chisholm's novels chronicling the adventures of Sir Robert Carey, "the Elizabethan detective" and I await with the next installment with anticipation. Based on a real historical figure in the 16th century, Sir Robert Cary is part Cary Grant, part Harrison Ford, a charming courtier who, despite being a cousin of Queen Elizabeth, has trouble staying out of debt and on the right side of the law. All three books in the series are highly readable and recommended for fans of historical fiction, as well as anyone interested in the Anglo-Scottish border "troubles" of the 16th century.

The Monmouth rebellion of 1685 has a curious place in English history. The Duke of Monmouth, bastard son of King Charles II, lead a confused life of early privation and then royal favor. One could consider him a classic example of late Boroque dysfunctional child and adult! His status as heir to the crown was always an open ended question, an issue further complicated by Charles II's constant changing moods on the matter. Over time Monmouth grew in expereince and matured as something of a soldier, fighting in the confused wars of the 1670s in the Low Countries in the service of the French against the Dutch. His popularity grew in direct contrast to his rival and relation, James II. When Charles died in 1685, James ascended to the English crown. Monmouth, exiled in the low countries after losing favor with his late father was easily enough enticed by disparate elements to attmept a rebellion against the new king. Religion was an importnat factor here as Monmouth was noted for his staunch Protestanism, just as James was an ardent Catholic.

The Monmouth rebellion got off to a quick and bumpy start in the marshlands of Sommerset where various discontented elements of local society were willing to support the Protestant Duke. This support proved fleeting however, as the greater gentry never came out to support him. With time running out, James II managed to put together an effective response. Monmouth was counting on the Royal army diserting the king. There was some reason to be hopeful in this regard, as Monmouth had served as Capitan-General of the Royal army until recently. James was fortunate to have staunch support by such men as John Churchill, Ogolthorpe and Percy Kirke.

With popular support never reaching beyond 5,000 or so in Sommerset and adjoining counties, Monmouth knew that he must win quickly if at all. He gambled on surprising the Royal army at Sedgemoor with a night attack. Unfortunately Monmouth's men were not up to to the task of mounting an effective night assault, and despite the Duke's solid plan, the attack fell apart in the morning light. Sedgemoor became a late 17th century firefight with matchlock muskets popping away ineffectively at each other. The superior discipline of the Royal army under the firm hand of Churchill would ensure defeat of the rebels when the final push of pike took place later in the morning. The Royalist cavalry would further rout and destroy the rebels as they fled the field. The disparity in casuclaties tells the sad story. Nearly 1,300 rebels for less than 300 King's men. Monmouth would see his own end at the Tower in London where exicution awaited. Yet, Segdemoor might have been Monmouth's victory if circumstances and luck had turned a little differently for him.

This book combines social, biographical and military history. Parts are a bit dry at times, but the portrayal of Monmouth's character and the description of the 1685 rebellion are certainly worthwhile. This late 17th century battle holds fascination as a transitional moment in warfare as the matchlock and pike eventually gave way to the plug-bayonet and flintlock musket. Those interested in the period should find this book interesting.

Having hailed from this part of New Jersey, I was very interested in learning of its history and development. The book was very informative, but I wish it had contained even more information, particularly about Fort Monmouth. All-in-all, I felt it was very well done.