by Mary Sharratt by Mary Sharratt Near the turn of the 19th century, Alma Schindler yearns to make her mark as a composer. Female composers are unknown at the time, though new possibilities for women are opening up. She marries Gustav Mahler, who insists she give up her music as a condition of t...
FYI, this is the cover of my Kindle book: Wow. I haven't read this in years. I bought this a long time ago (October 2011) probably as a Halloween read. I never posted a review for it on Goodreads or here, but I think I did post one way back on my Amazon reviewer days. It was nice to re-read thi...
Most people may have heard of the names Gustav Mahler and Gustav Klimt, but the names Alma Mahler and Alma Maria Schindler probably mean nothing to you. Admittedly they didn’t to me either. However, with Mary Sharratt’s newest novel, I’m glad to have finally had the chance to learn something about o...
Mary Sharratt has done it again. She has a unique talent for taking historical characters and creating fabulous stories about them. She did it with DAUGHTERS OF THE WITCHING HILL if you recall, I raved and raved about this book. Now she does it with Illuminations. A fantastic story, about an insp...
Skillfully weaving historical fact with psychological insight and vivid imagination, Illuminations brings to life one of the most extraordinary women of the Middle Ages: Hildegard von Bingen, Benedictine abbess, visionary, and polymath. Offered to the Church at the age of eight, Hildegard was expect...
I never thought that I would enjoy a story about an 11th C. nun as much I did, especially given that her story was not all butterflies and daisies. Much of her life was spent in a secluded monastery, and the conditions were very harsh and challenging. It wasn't pleasant to read about, but the way Sh...
Another excellent book about the people accused of witchcraft on Pendle Hill in 1612. This time the story is told by Demdike and her granddaughter, Alizon. I found this interpretation to be as heartbreaking as Mist Over Pendle was entertaining. It describes a family's slow slide to absolute ruin as,...
Another book I just loved from the first line. While I was predisposed to love this novel since I adore all things Hildegard, Sharratt's articulation of the woman behind the legend is what made me unable to put this book down. (That, and the reality of what religious monastic life meant for Hildeg...
An absolutely fantastic book about the inspirational Hildegard of Bingen. Although a fiction book, Illuminations is steeped in truth about the real life of Hildegard.Illuminations imagines how Hildegard's life really was, starting at the age of eight, when she was given to the church as a handmaiden...
This is the first of this anthology series that I've read, but it was a very refreshing and entertaining look at the world of imaginative fiction. I'm definitely going to keep my eye out for the other instalments.After reading a collection of short stories and poems like this, you realise how horrib...
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