Review: Brethren (The Villeins Trilogy Book 1) by Jeremiah Pearson
Brethren is the first book in Jeremiah Pearson’s Villeins Trilogy, a Christian/historical fiction series about a sect of Anabaptists in 16th Century Europe. Based in the Holy Roman Empire just prior to the Protestant/Catholic wars of religion and amidst the Ottoman/Hapsburg conflicts, this is a fascinating look at the lives of pacifist protestants during the bloodiest religious wars in history.
First, it must be said, the historical accuracy of this novel is astounding. Many historical fiction writers take great liberties with facts in the name of fiction. To his great credit, Pearson does so sparingly enough as to be […]
In the Fullness of Time by Katherine P. Stillerman is an inspiring work of historical fiction, and the sequel to Stillerman’s eloquent first novel, Hattie’s Place. In the first novel, Hattie tries to make her way through early 1900s South Carolina, dealing with sexism, and especially children’s rights, or lack thereof in the early century. In this novel, the concentration is again on rights: specifically, the suffrage movement, and the right to vote.
Elephant Walk (The Brigandshaw Chronicles Book 2) by Peter Rimmer is a rich and entertaining work of historical fiction set in England and Africa. Beginning at the onset of World War I (whereas Book 1 was set in the tail end of the nineteenth century), Elephant Walk finds Harry Brigandshaw settled in the Dorset countryside after graduating Oxford when he receives a telegram, which brings him back to Africa. When his brother is killed in the war, Harry enlists and finds success in the service, but also great danger for himself and his family.
The year is 1887, and Sebastian Brigandshaw is stolen away from his lover, Emily, and forced across the sea in order to allow his older brother to take Emily’s hand instead. Cast into the wild and unknown colonies of Africa, Sebastian becomes one of the white hunters destined to see the bloodiest faces of man as the British face off against the Boers in their second war. Sebastian lusts for home, but must endure if he wants to survive in Echoes from the Past by Peter Rimmer.
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