The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

My rating: ok not really my thing
ISBN-10: 0099554798
ISBN-13: 978-0099554790
ASIN: B005AKFXZW

Summary:
The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. The black sign, painted in white letters that hangs upon the gates, reads: Opens at Nightfall Closes at Dawn As the sun disappears beyond the horizon, all over the tents small lights begin to flicker, as though the entirety of the circus is covered in particularly bright fireflies. When the tents are all aglow, sparkling against the night sky, the sign appears. Le Cirque des Rêves The Circus of Dreams. Now the circus is open. Now you may enter.

I am not really sure what happened with this book as for me I just didn't get into it like most other people seemed too. I should have liked this book as it ticks a lot of boxes for me but this just fell flat for me.

While I enjoyed the world it was set in and enjoyed reading about the circus and the intricate duel the game turned into I just felt it was too slow and sometimes too detailed.

It actually became a way for me at night to put myself to sleep. I would literally read 2 pages then get seriously sleepy.

Not an awful book and I am sure people who like reading more epic fantasy type novels or dramas would like this, but for me it just didn't engage me the way I had hoped.

The Last Queen of India by Michelle Moran

Rating 4 out of 5
File Size: 515 KB
Print Length: 368 pages
Publisher: Quercus (2 April 2015)
Language: English
ASIN: B00B83PODQ

Synopsis:

1857, India. At nineteen years old, Sita is the shining star of Queen Lakshmi of India's imperial guard, having pledged herself to a life of celibacy in the name of protecting the young ruler. When Sita agrees to train Lakshmi in the art of military combat, a close friendship develops between the two women. But trouble soon threatens - Lakshmi's court is dangerously divided and rumours are rife that the country is at risk. Meanwhile, in London, advisors to Queen Victoria are looking to extend the power of the Commonwealth, and India is coveted as the next jewel in the imperial crown. In the ensuing battle, will the bond between Lakshmi and Sita be broken for ever?

Michelle Moran is by far my favourite historical fiction author at the moment. She has a knack for writing about women in history whose stories are not well known to Western cultures. Madame Tussaud and Napoleons second wife Marie-Louise being prime examples. Her books are always very well researched with only slight deviations to the actual time line of events.

This book tells the story of India's Queen Lakshimi of Jhansi from the point of view of her guard Sita. While the focus is on Sita and her life it surrounds the Queen and we get great insight into the Queens life and events during her last year's of reign and the rebellion that she helped lead.

First Sita is a wonderful character. I just adored her and I'm pretty sure it's not just because she is a reader and had some wonderful lines about reading. She is intelligent, caring, practical, athletic and dedicated. It was easy to connect with her and follow her story.

The Queen herself was fascinating and her story sad and inspiring at the same time. Sad knowing that all her efforts to resolve the situation peacefully with England were for nothing. England wanted it's India jewel and it was going to get it. Inspiring because she still tried and tried again, never giving up the hope that she could save her people and Kingdom.

It was really difficult to read the struggles that women faced in India then, and I know in some areas, still do today. Sita's upbringing is particularly horrible, made worse by her awful Grandmother. But I understand better the hurdles the women in India have had to overcome to get the level of freedom many currently have. 

It was also difficult to read about the truly horrific acts of cruelty displayed by both the British army and the rebels. Slaughtering so many innocents because they could, and justifying it by saying "they did it first". Then the cultural insensitivity displayed by the British at the time is also awful (such as opening a butchers next to a Hindu temple).

This was a wonderfully written book with Moran bringing to life on the pages the world Sita lived in, while highlighting Indian culture (both good and bad), and bringing to life an important historical figure.

Hands down this is probably my second all time favourite Moran book and highly recommend it.





Previously reviewed Michelle Moran books

• Madame Tussaud
• The Second Empress
• Nefertiti
• The Heretic Queen

The Second Empress: A Novel of Napoleon's Court by Michelle Moran

Rating: 4 out of 5
Title: The Second Empress: A Novel of Napoleon's Court
Author: Michelle Moran
Series: No
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Crown (August 14, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0307953033
ISBN-13: 978-0307953032
ASIN: B0074VPJFE

 Synopsis
After the bloody French Revolution, Emperor Napoleon’s power is absolute. When Marie-Louise, the eighteen year old daughter of the King of Austria, is told that the Emperor has demanded her hand in marriage, her father presents her with a terrible choice: marry the cruel, capricious Napoleon, leaving the man she loves and her home forever, or say no, and plunge her country into war. Marie-Louise knows what she must do, and she travels to France, determined to be a good wife despite Napoleon’s reputation. But lavish parties greet her in Paris, and at the extravagant French court, she finds many rivals for her husband’s affection, including Napoleon’s first wife, Joséphine, and his sister Pauline, the only woman as ambitious as the emperor himself. Beloved by some and infamous to many, Pauline is fiercely loyal to her brother. She is also convinced that Napoleon is destined to become the modern Pharaoh of Egypt. Indeed, her greatest hope is to rule alongside him as his queen—a brother-sister marriage just as the ancient Egyptian royals practiced. Determined to see this dream come to pass, Pauline embarks on a campaign to undermine the new empress and convince Napoleon to divorce Marie-Louise. As Pauline's insightful Haitian servant, Paul, watches these two women clash, he is torn between his love for Pauline and his sympathy for Marie-Louise. But there are greater concerns than Pauline's jealousy plaguing the court of France. While Napoleon becomes increasingly desperate for an heir, the empire's peace looks increasingly unstable. When war once again sweeps the continent and bloodshed threatens Marie-Louise’s family in Austria, the second Empress is forced to make choices that will determine her place in history—and change the course of her life.

Initial Thoughts
I must confess to not knowing anything about Napoleon other then he had a wife called Josephine, he conquered most of Europe, the battle of Waterloo, the British hated his guts (and vice versa), and he was exiled - twice. So I was most surprised to learn he had a second wife and this was who Michelle Moran's latest book was based on. This book covers the four years Marie-Louise is with Napoleon.

Liked

Michelle Moran always does really good research on her books and it shows through her writing. I almost felt like you are part of Napoleons court. The detail written into the book is astounding, from the clothes, to the people, to the places it is vivid and feels realistic. It probably helps most people have a vague idea of what places like Versailles, The Louvre etc all look like. 

As with most historical fiction Michelle Moran did change some aspects of historical fact to fit in with her story. Also Moran obviously made some conclusions for herself based on her research. She states on her website the biggest conclusion she made was Marie's attitude towards Napoleon. Some argue that there is evidence in Marie's letters that she loved Napoleon I agree with Michelle's assertion that of course Marie was going to say those things in letters knowing full well her husband's spies were reading them. Also I have seen arguments that state she was reluctant to leave her husband and France. However I suspect that she would not have liked her son being striped of his right to the throne being a Royal herself (I could imagine for a person born of Royal blood in those days having your title stripped would have been about as bad as being killed, maybe worse). But those are just my theories not based on any real evidence.

The Characters

I'll be honest I wasn't to fussed about Marie-Louise. I think the other characters over shadowed her a lot. Even the man servant Paul was more interesting.

I actually really enjoyed reading Pauline's perspective the most. Even though she is supposed to be the baddy. She is such a vain, selfish, ambitious and conniving creature. Yet, for me, she was the most interesting to read. I felt sympathy for her as her life had not been easy and her relationship with Napoleon was just weird and disastrous. They clearly had a love/hate (and possibly lover?) relationship that was so destructive to them both. If I had known her in real life I would dislike her intensely. But as a character to read she was delightful in her selfishness, depravity and excess. 

Disliked

I think telling the story from three different perspectives all in Napoleons court detracted from the story a little and it was hard for me to really connect to Marie-Louise. The story is told from Marie-Louise's perspective, Princess Pauline Borghese (Bonpoarte), and Pauline's Chamberlin Paul. 

Conclusion

This didn't click for me the way that her book Madame Tussaude: A Novel of the French Revolution  did (interesting note Josephine makes an appearance in this book), but I still greatly enjoyed this book and Michelle Moran has a wonderfully easy way of writing where you don't feel like you are being force fed her views on a person from history(indeed I felt she made the villains seem sympathetic at times).; or information dump on you as the reader. Which means you as the reader can just enjoy this story.

I would whole heartedly recommend this book to read if you love historical fiction as it gives you a fascinating peek into the life of someone history has largely forgotten about even though her contribution to French history was quite interesting.

Extras

This was the first book I searched for images and created a pinterest board for. This has images of the main characters and the places mentioned in the book. For me this really brought the story to life. If you would like to see the images please click on this link for my pinterest board of Images Relating To Fiction Books.