Review
Books in Brief
The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes by Nick Rennison (No Exit Press)
It is rare, these days, to read a crime short story of any quality, but the original detective par excellence, Sherlock Holmes, existed almost entirely in that form. We tend to forget this, used as we are to the filmed versions of these classics.
In this volume, Nick Rennison has collected a number of stories from Conan Doyle’s contemporaries and in so doing has created a book which will delight fans of crime fiction. There are well known names here, like G.K. Chesterton and Arnold Bennett, but most of these writers have been lost to the vagaries of fashion and it is a pleasure to rediscover them. I challenge anyone not to want more of Miss Lois Clayton or Cecil Thorold, the Millionaire Detective. A dip into the puzzles of the past, when detective stories did not have to extend over 500 tortuous pages to justify their existence.
MC
4/5
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Divided Loyalties by Dennis Hamley (Walker books)
The much anticipated sequel to Ellen's People. This is superior teen fiction from a master of the history for children genre. War has once again come to Europe. Ellen, now married to a German and with a family of her own, must once again face terror and prejudice as World War II rages. Ellen is married to Matthias with three children angry, rebellious Walter, clever Paul and quiet, talented Anna. When war is declared on Germany, the three children all play their roles: Walter joins the RAF, Paul works for British Intelligence and, as the painful and lengthy war draws to a close, Anna meets a young Polish musician. Their German cousin, Helmut, is also fighting for the opposition. When her husband is sent to an internment camp, Ellen must fight to keep her life together. In the face of separation and tragedy, can she succeed in uniting her divided family?
SL
5/5
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Pirates and Privateers by Tom Bowling (Pocket Essentials)
Subtitled 'Rum, sodomy and the lash: Exploding the myths and misconceptions of pirates in popular culture', this does pretty much what it says on the tin.
From Stevenson's Treasure Island to Pirates of the Caribbean, the romantic image of pirates in Western popular culture has long been with us. But pirates are not all as charming as Johnny Depp. Thracians and Tyrennians, Cilicians and Illyrians terrorised traders in the Mediterranean of the ancient world. Pirates were and are outlaws who move quickly. This is a lively history of piracy, from ancient times through the Renaissance "privateers" with their Letters of Marque (an early form of state-sponsored terrorism) to the flourishing threat of contemporary pirates.
SL
4/5
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