Slipping into holiday mood

Hello everybody - I'm back! 

I've sort-of been away. 

First I went to The Netherlands in the 1630s...

There I got caught up in the tale of Cornelis Sandvoort, a wealthy merchant and his young wife, Sophia; their maid, Maria; the artist Jan van Loos, his hapless servant and his young apprentice; and Willem, the entrepreneurial fish seller who loves Maria. 


I dashed through narrow Amsterdam streets in the wake of characters hell-bent on lovers' trysts, or seeking their fortune through dealing in tulip bulbs. But did the course of true love run smoothly?  I won't spoil the end for you, but I will say that this was a quick read, in short chapters, and I enjoyed it.

 Then I went somewhere not so far away - Kent in 1940...

As the Battle of Britain raged in the skies above, I watched Elizabeth, the naive nineteen year old grand-daughter of the owner of a grand house requisitioned by the RAF, blossom into Liz, darling of a group of fighter pilots.  I read of first love, rural life in the 1940s, friendship and tragedy...I loved this one.

And yesterday it was Northern Ireland in the 1890s and 1960s...

This was a tragic tale of a small girl's life cut short and of two of the women close to her.

The circumstances and secrets surrounding the death were slowly revealed as you came to know more about the lives of the two women, through the prison diary of one woman and the reminiscences of the other.  I was absorbed by this book, but found aspects of it a little irksome. 

Where next?

Should I revisit Guernsey during the war time occupation...

Take that trip to 14th century Cornwall, recommended to me by Elaine...

Or journey to 17th century Venice?

Decision, decisions!




(But first of all, there seems to be a pile of ironing almost as tall as me, tapping me on the shoulder for attention...)