The Viking Hostage by Tracey Warr

The setting for this historical story is set in late 10^th century France and Wales.  It is the story of three women, Sigrid, Aina and Adalmode.  Sigrid is Norwegian and the story opens with her being sold as a Northchild slave at a market in Tallinn.  Aina is heiress to the French fortress of Segur.  It is Aina’s mother who buys Sigrid and she becomes Aina’s maid.  The girls grow up together and become confidantes.  Adalmode is the daughter of the Viscount of Limoges.  Her father has promised her hand in marriage to Guillaume, the young heir of the Duke of Aquitaine, but she has fallen in love with Audebert who is being held prisoner by her father.  Adalmode is close to her brother Guy and begs his assistance.  But Guy has problems of his own trying to win the heart of Aina to whom he is betrothed.  As the story unfolds the lives of these three women become inextricably linked.  I enjoyed the historical detail of the story and the political power struggles between the women and the men.  A genealogy of the characters that are based on real historical people together with dates of accession to titles are included.  I was surprised by how powerful the women of that time were.  I’m lucky to have heard Tracey talk about The Viking Hostage and the importance of setting in her writing at the Parisot Literary Festival and to attend some of her creative writing workshops.  I’m looking forward to reading Tracey’s next novel, Conquest – Daughter of the Last King, which is due to be released in September.

An Officer And A Spy by Robert Harris

A tantalizing historical thriller set in France in 1895.  It is about the trial of Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish officer in the French army, wrongly accused of passing secrets to the Germans. Dreyfus is found guilty and sent to Devil's Island for life.  It is narrated by Colonel Georges Picquart as he takes up his position to run the intelligence unit that identified Dreyfus and his crimes.   I found it interesting as it is not a period of French history I was familiar with.  The first half of the book sets the scene as Picquart slowly gets to grips with life in the intelligence unit and the politics involved.  He discovers that secrets are still being passed to the Germans and then other information comes to light that forces him to believe Dreyfus is innocent.  Now he just needs to convince his superiors, but the honour of the French army is at stake and the ranks close in against him.   For me the first half dragged a bit, but once I got past the halfway point I could not put the book down.  The amount of research that the author must have done is staggering, but at no point did it feel like a history lesson as the story is interwoven with vivid characters whose hopes and fears are believable.