The Bitter Trade by Piers Alexander

I was drawn to this book by the cover and having read the synopis expected a book about the importation of coffee in the seventeenth century.

Instead the book was about a young man, called Calumny living with his family in rural England during the terbulance of the seventeenth century, the removal of James II and the installation of William of Orange.

Calumny has a hatred for his father, He can not understand why they live in the middle of nowhere, why he can not read and why he not allowed to learn a trade that will enable him to leave his family home and become his own person.

Very little is known of his father's background, but before long a visitor from his father's past arrives and with them a set of decisions to be made and Calumny has to find a way to undestand and deal with the secrets of his father.

Overall, I was a little disappointed there was not more details of coffee trading, but overall this was a good storyline. There was a little disjoinedness between the historical facts, but nonetheless this was an enjoyable read and this is a book I would recommend and I am looking forward to the sequel.

To whet your appetite here is an excerpt from the book

"In 1688, torn by rebellions, England lives under the threat of a Dutch invasion. Redheaded Calumny Spinks is the lowliest man in an Essex backwater: half-French and still unapprenticed at seventeen, yet he dreams of wealth and title.

When his father’s violent past resurfaces, Calumny’s desperation leads him to flee to London and become a coffee racketeer. He has just three months to pay off a blackmailer and save his father’s life – but his ambition and talent for mimicry pull him into a conspiracy against the King himself. Cal’s journey takes him from the tough life of Huguenot silk weavers to the vicious intrigues at Court. As the illicit trader Benjamin de Corvis and his controlling daughter Emilia pull him into their plots, and his lover Violet Fintry is threatened by impending war, Cal is forced to choose between his conscience and his dream of becoming Mister Calumny Spinks."

This is a debut novel from Piers Alexander and you can read al little about him as well as following via various social media channels.

Piers Alexander is an author and serial entrepreneur. After a successful career as CEO of media and events companies he became a Co-Founder and Chairman of three start-up businesses. In 2013 he was awarded the PEN Factor Prize for The Bitter Trade. He is currently working on the sequel, Scatterwood, set in Jamaica in 1692.

For more information visit Piers Alexander’s website. You can also find him on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

The Bitter Trade has been on a book tour for the last month and today marks the end of the tour. You can read the reviews from other readers by clicking the relevant links below:

Monday, October 13

Review at Back Porchervations

Spotlight at Literary Chanteuse

Tuesday, October 14

Spotlight & Giveaway at Passages to the Past

Wednesday, October 15

Interview at Back Porchervations

Guest Post at Historical Tapestry

Thursday, October 16

Spotlight & Giveaway at Peeking Between the Pages

Monday, October 20

Review at Flashlight Commentary

Tuesday, October 21

Review at Oh, For the Hook of a Book!

Wednesday, October 22

Interview at Oh, For the Hook of a Book!

Thursday, October 23

Guest Post at Historical Fiction Connection

Tuesday, October 28

Spotlight at What Is That Book About

Wednesday, October 29

Spotlight at Unshelfish

Thursday, October 30

Review at Broken Teepee

Saturday, November 1

Review at With Her Nose Stuck in a Book

Monday, November 3

Review at Book by Book

Review & Interview at Dab of Darkness

Tuesday, November 4

Review at Just One More Chapter

Spotlight at CelticLady’s Reviews

Wednesday, November 5

Review at Turning the Pages

Guest Post at Just One More Chapter

Thursday, November 6

Spotlight at Let Them Read Books

Monday, November 10

Review at A Book Geek

Tuesday, November 11

Review at Book Nerd

Wednesday, November 12

Spotlight at Layered Pages

Friday, November 14

Review at Anglers Rest

Review & Giveaway at Booklover Book Reviews

The book tour was hosted by Amy at Historical Fiction Book Tours and this review will also appear at Historical Tapestry next week.

Favourite Historical Fiction set in the United Kingdom

When, over at Historical Tapestry we first discussed the concept of a series of posts about our favourite historical fictional writing centred in our home country I wondered and debated on whether to feature the United Kingdom or simply England. I could not decide and then set about simply jotting down some favourite titles and authors and it is those first notes that is the basis for this post.

First up is the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. The UK version of the first book was published as Cross Stitch. The series is fascinating and incorporates a variety of genres in addition to historical fiction. They span the the post war years in Scotland and then one of the central characters suddenly finds herself in the 18th Century Scotland and latterly America.

I started reading the series in about 2005 and was not sure it was my cup of tea, but I really enjoyed the first book and since then I have read the rest of the series and the secondary mini series which is about another of the central characters. The books are very well researched and whilst they include a degree of fantasy they are full of historical facts. I am now impatiently awaiting the publication of the latest book in the series, due to be published in January 2013.

Another series is by the very well known author Cynthia Harrod Eagles. The Morland Series caught my eye about 10 years ago. Since then I have read the first two and because I am slightly obsessive I am striving to locate the complete series before I start to read them in order. I did read recently that the publisher was planning to cease publication beyond book number 34 which is a huge shame and I do hope that decision is not final. Sadly I could not locate the author's website, but did manage to find a full listing of the books in the series HERE.

I recently was introduced to the fascinating series by Philippa Gregory as my local book group are currently reading The White Queen which is the first in the Cousin's War Series. Having been drawn in by this book, I explored the author's website and was delighted to see a whole list of further reading to explore, other books to read, chapters to download and even an iPhone app. I also note, somewhat excitedly that The White Queen is to be made into a BBC Drama, to be broadcast in the UK in 2013.



A book which I read a few years ago was The Suspicions of Mr Whicher. This was based upon a true event which happened in the Wiltshire in 1860. What I loved about this book was the fact that I could actually trace the events through historical documentation which appeals to my genealogical mind. The book was made into a mini series about a year ago and was broadcast here in the UK. You can read an extract and a bit more about the book HERE.

Currently in my rather large supply of library books I have a real door stop of a book - New York by Edward Rutherford. As I moved it this morning it reminded me that in this rather loose series based upon locations, the author has written three books set in England, the first is Sarum which is essentially set at Stonehenge and Salisbury.

The second is The Forest which is a spin off to Sarum and is set in the New Forest.

The third book is London. A fictional attempt to follow the history of the capital from early times to more current events, essentially 2,000 years of history.










I hope you would agree that these are some great books. I can think of a few more, but perhaps you would like to share your favourite historical fiction set within the United Kingdom.

Historic Tapestry

I am excited to announce that I am to become part of a regular and established group blog called Historical Tapestry with four other people -

Ana of Aneca's World

Kailana of The Written World

Marg of The Intrepid Reader

Nannette of Confessions of a Recovering English Major

Why not nip over to Historical Tapestry and read my introductory post