Wild Mary - A Life of Mary Wesley - Patrick Marnham

The author Mary Wesley achieved fame with her novel 'The Camomile Lawn' - however it wasn't published until she was 70.

This biography describes her totally amazing life. Born into a well off military family (distantly related to the Duke of Wellington) before the First World War she was told by her mother that she was unwanted and if she'd had to have another child she only wanted a boy. Mary wasn't given any education to speak of and saw very little of either of her parents. In the 1920s she did all those things expected of an upper class girl, and to escape her mother she married totally unsuitably, and into the peerage (albeit a recently purchased title). At the outbreak of the war she joined MI5 and led a totally promiscuous life, eventually having three sons by three different men. She ended up falling in love with a married man, and although she was able to divorce her own husband her lover's wife turned into a bitter stalker who waged a bizarre campaign to destroy her husband and prevent him from divorcing and marrying Mary. The history of this divorce alone might have constituted several novels. Eric, the man Mary finally managed to marry was unstable and a failed writer. The pair were poverty stricken and it was only when Eric died that Mary's writing was accepted for publication.

Many of the characters in Mary's own life turned up (amended?) in her books. Patrick Marnham describes this eccentric character with sympathy but manages to reveal her many failings. I don't think she can really be described as a very nice person, but this book is entertaining and explains many of the things about her novels - which I enjoy. Rating 8/10

Case Histories - Kate Atkinson

I was extremely glad that a friend recommended this book to me. It came as a total

(and pleasant) surprise. The opening chapters (or case histories) outline three seemingly unconnected crimes perpetrated over three decades. All are mysteries and reveal apparently violent deaths. Then a private detective (Jackson Brodie) is revealed. He is asked to investigate each crime independently of each other. Gradually the characters - relatives of the three people who have died - begin to interweave into each others lives. Jackson also has a history that also parallels the lives of these characters and the victims lives. There are so many twists and turns, surprises and shocks abound. Kate Atkinson is a good writer, she develops her characters clearly and they become people. She doesn't overload us with unecessary details, and isn't overconcerned with demonstrating how well researched her books are, so although this is set in Cambridge we don't get a tourist guide. Ms Atkinson is also clever enough to make sure that we really want to know what the destinies of the characters might be - but she leaves it to our imaginations to fillin in the blanks. Rating: a worthy 8/10

The Goldsmith's Daughter - Kate Sedley

If you want a light novel set in late medieval times then Kate Sedley produces a regular conveyor belt of books starring Roger the Chapman as a sleuth solving a variety of murders and mysteries. He's usually based in Bristol and its' surroundings, and lives in the

later Lancastrian/Yorkist period of English history. Ms Sedley is obviously a believer in the alternative view of Richard III. Roger Chapman is employed (as in this book) from time to time by Richard (as Duke of Gloucester in Edward IV's reign) who is not the deformed evil demon of Shakespeare. Instead he is a true prince amongst men with great ambitions for his nation, and a happy family man. As a Chapman Roger can wander from place to place selling his wares and coming across those in need of his talents as a solver of crime. On this occasion an encounter with a carter newly returned to Bristol brings news of the marriage of Edward IV's young son and the trial of Richard and Edward's brother the Duke of Clarence for treason. Roger and his wife travel to London to witness these two events and Richard of Gloucester asks the Chapman to solve a murder mystery. Kate Sedley is good at drawing you into the life and times of people at this time, and you can almost smell the London of the C15th. The solution to the mystery is a bit predictable though, but it carries you neatly to the end without too much disappointment. Rating: 7/10

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The Good Husband of Zebra Drive - Alexander McCall Smith

The eighth book in the 'No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency' series. I always enjoy this series of Alexander McCall Smith novels - but I probably need a few weeks (or months) between reading each one. I prefer the later series he created about the inhabitants of Scotland Street, but the series (of which this is one) about life in Botswana and the family and friends of Mme Ramotswe is gentle, easy, educational reading. One of the purposes of reading is to take you into an unknown world and reveal the habits and lives of people - and this book does that. As fans of the No1 Ladies' Detective Agency will know each book is a collection of episodes (or cases) which presents a moral dilemma as well as a truth to be revealed, so this isn't really crime fiction. Often the 'solution' is predictable - and one in this volume is really disappointingly familiar - almost an urban myth. However, there really isn't much to criticise here - it is well written, the characters are well drawn, there is nothing to offend, and deserves a rating of 8/10.