Comprehensive Review of A Truly Tumultuous Period After living in England for 6 years and developing a consuming interest in British history from the CComprehensive Review of A Truly Tumultuous Period After living in England for 6 years and developing a consuming interest in British history from the Celts and Romans to Angles, Saxons, Danes, and Normans, and spanning the Plantagenet, Tudor, and Stuart dynasties, I've learned that the further you dig, the more you discover and want to understand. It's a never-ending process, so you have to keep some kind of focus or you'll be forever going down different rabbit holes on Wikipedia, from one page and link to the next.
So I won't attempt a proper review of this book. Suffice to say I was inspired to specifically seek out something on this period after stopping in the Nottinghamshire cathedral town of Southwell, and having dinner at The Saracen's Head, a coaching inn dating back to the 14th century, that had pictures of Charles I featured prominently, with this explanation:
"The unfortunate King Charles I entertained the Scottish Commissioners for dinner at the Saracens Head the night before surrendering to the Commissioners at Newark Castle. Charles believed he had secured sanctuary from Cromwell and the Parliamentarians. The Scottish Commissioners betrayed the King and handed him over to the Parliamentarians for a substantial fee."...more
This was an unexpected addition to my reading list. I had just real all the Oxford Time Travel series, and even though I had very mixed feelings aboutThis was an unexpected addition to my reading list. I had just real all the Oxford Time Travel series, and even though I had very mixed feelings about those books, I noticed this novella was on sale on Audible and decided to give it a try. I’m so glad I did, as this turned out to be my favourite book by her, which is pretty unusual based on what most other GR reviewers say. 

Bellwether already scored points for me by not being bloated beyond reason. It was succinct, extremely funny, had a unique story about researchers studying the phenomenon of fads and chaos theory while working for a corporation dominated by absurd management “improvement� initiatives, and a gentle love story. For some reason every part of the story worked really well for me, without any of the plot irritations of the much longer Oxford Time Travel novels.

It was easy for me to sympathize with the researchers and their struggles to maintain funding for their obscure research topics, and even moreso, Willis absolutely nailed the utter absurdity of corporate management, skewering it with precision, and producing comic gold. Having worked in a corporate environment for two decades but never having bought into the mentality at all, I found these parts of the novel laugh-out-loud funny as they rang so true.

Then there was the most hilarious character ever, Flip the Admin Assistant from Hell, utterly lazy, unreliable, constantly complaining, and yet rude and contemptuous of everyone else with absolutely no grounds for it. Her relationship with the protagonist was just as funny, especially the way she was portrayed in the audiobook by Kate Reading. I can still hear her whiny, sarcastic, and jaded voice in my head, brilliant character, and far more important than it first appears....more
My Favourite Willis Book - Short, Hilarious, and not even SF
This was an unexpected addition to my reading list. I had just real all the Oxford Time TrMy Favourite Willis Book - Short, Hilarious, and not even SF
This was an unexpected addition to my reading list. I had just real all the Oxford Time Travel series, and even though I had very mixed feelings about those books, I noticed this novella was on sale on Audible and decided to give it a try. I’m so glad I did, as this turned out to be my favourite book by her, which is pretty unusual based on what most other GR reviewers say. 
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Bellwether already scored points for me by not being bloated beyond reason. It was succinct, extremely funny, had a unique story about researchers studying the phenomenon of fads and chaos theory while working for a corporation dominated by absurd management “improvement� initiatives, and a gentle love story. For some reason every part of the story worked really well for me, without any of the plot irritations of the much longer Oxford Time Travel novels.
�
It was easy for me to sympathize with the researchers and their struggles to maintain funding for their obscure research topics, and even moreso, Willis absolutely nailed the utter absurdity of corporate management, skewering it with precision, and producing comic gold. Having worked in a corporate environment for two decades but never having bought into the mentality at all, I found these parts of the novel laugh-out-loud funny as they rang so true.
�
Then there was the most hilarious character ever, Flip the Admin Assistant from Hell, utterly lazy, unreliable, constantly complaining, and yet rude and contemptuous of everyone else with absolutely no grounds for it. Her relationship with the protagonist was just as funny, especially the way she was portrayed in the audiobook by Kate Reading. I can still hear her whiny, sarcastic, and jaded voice in my head, brilliant character, and far more important than she first appears....more
Curiosity and Genius Personified What more can I say that hasn’t already been said far more eloquently and insightfully by others over the centuries. LCuriosity and Genius Personified What more can I say that hasn’t already been said far more eloquently and insightfully by others over the centuries. Leonardo was a one-of-a-kind genius in so many fields that he defied all categories, and his personal character was just as complicated and fascinating. The best way to approach him was by listening to this excellent biography on audiobook, and watching Leonardo (2021), and 8-part Italian production in English starring Aidan Turner. He really captures to complex and insatiably curious character of Leonardo, and the storyline and period mesh very well with The Medici to give you a bigger picture.
My interest was initially piqued when I got drawn into the history of the Roman Republic and Empire, it was a natural progression to want to understand the later history of the Italian Renaissance, along with all the warring city-states and complicated power struggles of them with the Papal States, European Powers, and Eastern Orthodox Church. It’s just such a convoluted and fascinating mess, and yet despite all the power struggles and brutality and violence, it also gave birth to this incredible flowering of intellectual creativity that eschewed the narrow and dogmatic Medieval Christian mentality, and produced such artistic geniuses as Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli, and the stunning architecture, much inspired by classical Greek and Roman culture. ...more
Meticulously Detailed by Deeply Biased Revisionist Biography How can anyone properly and fairly review a massive history of Isabella & Ferdinand of CasMeticulously Detailed by Deeply Biased Revisionist Biography How can anyone properly and fairly review a massive history of Isabella & Ferdinand of Castile and Aragon of Spain, an avalanche of details on the dynastic and political scheming of the Spanish, Papal, English, French, Portuguese, Ottoman, and Italian powers; the origins of the Spanish Inquisition; Isabella’s sponsorship of Christopher Columbus� exploration and conquest of the New World; the war and expulsion of the Moorish kingdom of Granada after 700-800 years of Muslim rule; the forced conversions and expulsion of the Jews of Spain?
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Just reading through the polarized reviews of this book, it is either an excellent, well-researched, and accessible alternate take on the rare women in power in Medieval Europe, or a wildly biased apologia of Isabella’s role in the Inquisition and New World conquest, a devout and dedicated Catholic fighting valiantly against the encroaching and evil Ottoman Turkish Empire.
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Well, like all things in life, the truth (if there can ever be such a thing, especially when talking about historical figures in a tumultuous and incredibly complex period of history) lurks in all these views, and is defined through the lens of each readers� perspective, biases, knowledge, background, and beliefs.


There’s no question Isabella was a remarkable ruler and woman in a time and society where power was almost entirely held by male hierarchies. It’s also undeniable that Kirstin Downey is a huge proponent of Isabella and wants to present her in the best light possible, and provide more justification for why her role in the Inquisition and New World conquest has been distorted by historians due to their bias against powerful women. 

There is an obvious agenda at play like any revisionist view of history that fits into the cultural trend toward female empowerment that extends to our view of history that has been shaped by men all these centuries. So it’s a valid exercise to undertake, but in this case the level of bias to defend Isabella’s less-palatable actions and intolerant Catholic views does cross the line from historical research into conjecture and personal opinion, as Downey is a journalist and not historian by profession.
Suffice to say Queen Isabella remains a very divisive figure, and while I learned a wealth of information about her from this very engaging and detailed book, I really am not sure how much of it I can trust as fairly depicted facts and events, and how much was overwhelmed by the author’s personal views. You could say that about any historical author really, but this book seemed to be more overtly biased than many other histories I’ve read. The only way to balance that would be to read another 5-6 books covering the same territory, but there’s a limit to what you can absorb in a single lifetime. That’s what makes history so fascinating and frustrating at the same time.�...more
A Compelling Revisionist Take on the "Serpent Queen" 
I discovered this book thanks to the recent Starz network drama series The Serpent Queen (2022), A Compelling Revisionist Take on the "Serpent Queen" 
I discovered this book thanks to the recent Starz network drama series The Serpent Queen (2022), played admirably by Samantha Morton. Catherine de Medici is regularly reviled as a ruthless, scheming woman who seized and maintained power through any means, including poisonings and witchcraft used against her own family and allies. However, this is a revisionist biography that points out, and rightly so, that the historical accounts of that period were mostly written by her rivals and enemies, and there is also the obvious element of resentment by powerful men at the time of the affront of a woman of those times daring to try and rule when their normal role was largely to have male children to ensure the succession of various dynasties, and not to have independent thoughts or (god forbid) actually be involved in the politics of the royalty and nobility.
What we learn from this alternative take is that Catherine faced some very difficult circumstances very early on in her initially privileged life as a Medici as the political winds of fate blew against her family, and she spent time raised as a hostage by her enemies. She was then forced into a dynastic marriage aimed to unite the Florentine and French powers, and her only way to survive was to get pregnant and produce a male heir, while having to endure the humiliation of her husband’s open love affair with his mistress Diane de Poitiers, who he treated as his personal confidant and partner, while keeping her pregnant with ten successive children. 
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Catherine then has to face a seemingly endless series of crises between rival factions within France, conflicts with the Spanish crown, and then most damaging is the massive rift in society that emerges with the Protestant Reformation and Hugenot rebellions against oppressive Catholic rule. She is forced to take sides against the Huguenots to preserve stability, but at great costs of lives and the loss of her own children to intrigue and illness and war. Throughout all the adversities, so remains determined, cool-headed (on the surface), and ruthless, when many other male leaders are vain, foolish, and hot-headed. This if anything makes her even more hated by her rivals and enemies, and certainly would explain why they would excoriate her later in the historical annals, and blame her for the infamous Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.


The book does pummel the reader with names and details that are quite overwhelming, so I ended up letting much of them just slide past me and try to just focus on the overall flow of events, as it’s impossible to really follow and remember each person’s allegiances, position, and motivations. 

The drama has apparently been green-lighted for a second season, which should cover the latter half of this book, and that is a very exciting prospect that I look forward to....more
A Hefty Thematic Approach to the Middle Ages Across Many Continents and Centuries
This is an ambitious attempt at a coherent, thematically-based overviA Hefty Thematic Approach to the Middle Ages Across Many Continents and Centuries
This is an ambitious attempt at a coherent, thematically-based overview of the Middles Ages in the British Isles, the kingdoms of Northern/Southern Europe, Arabian, Persian, and Turkish nations, and the Huns and Mongols, all in the engaging, entertaining, and understandable style that has made Dan Jones the Neil de Grass Tyson the of the history world, popularizing the incredibly tangled web of that period, looking at events not just through the deadly-dull litany of names, battles, successions, dynasties, alliances, and territories, but trying to draw out coherent themes such as the environmental, political, religious, scientific, and cultural elements that permeate all human history. 
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Is it all too much to digest? In my case I’ve been listening to history audiobooks covering most of the periods and regions and events that Dan Jones covers, so in a way it was a nice review and broader overview of what I had been learning about in discrete segments. He freely admits he has to breeze though hundreds of subjects that each are subject to whole fields of study, so has to summarize the most important themes and events without getting bogged down in the details, but still include loads of anecdotes on notable individuals and events to keep it relatable and interesting, and that is Dan Jones� forte. I was able to follow things and really put together the big picture, as much as that is possible.
However, if you are keen to know about individual empires or periods or leaders or religious movements, it’s probably better to pick books with a narrower focus. If you just enjoy the way Dan Jones can clarify the convoluted mess that is history, you’ll find this well worth a read/listen.�...more
Saga, Vol. 8: Unafraid to mix space adventure with difficult topics Originally posted at It’s been six months since I read Vol 7 of SSaga, Vol. 8: Unafraid to mix space adventure with difficult topics Originally posted at It’s been six months since I read Vol 7 of SAGA, and after moving to London last summer we recently popped into Forbidden Planet in Soho, and that store is an absolute treasure trove of SF comics, books, and other fan goodies. There are so many enticing comics on offer there, you could spend your entire salary in one wild shopping spree. When I saw Vol 8 of SAGA with Wild West cover art among the new releases, I knew I had to have it.
SAGA is my favorite comic series, because it is always pushing the envelope in terms of content, themes, gorgeously assured and sometimes shocking artwork, and characters so charming, honest and flawed that you can’t help but cheer for them. If you like intelligent, snarky, sometimes profane space opera with a vast cast of star-crossed lovers, bounty-hunters, humanoid robots, tabloid reporters, terrifying monsters, and oddball creatures all caught up in a galactic war between the technology-based Wings and magic-wielding Horns of Wreath and Landfall, this series is guaranteed to captivate.
In Vol 8, Marko, Alana, Hazel, Prince Robot, and Petrichor find themselves on a remote Wild West planet. The traumatic events on planet Phang are still lingering, and they are in desperate need of an emergency medical procedure (any more details would be a spoiler). Once again writer Vaughan is unafraid to tackle a sensitive subject with the opening panel. And while I thought this time the story sometimes felt like it was purely a vehicle for political debate and hurt the story’s momentum, I applaud his willingness to put his characters in contentious moral situations. It’s a trademark of the entire series, love it or hate it.
While Petrichor encounters some Wild West outlaws, Alana, Marko, and Hazel hitch a ride on a train and meet up a very unexpected new character that quickly bonds with Hazel. In fact, Alana has discovered some surprising new powers that may be connected to this. Finally Alana and Marko reach their destination and the doctor they’ve been seeking. The dialogue sounds like something from a TV talk show debate, but then that’s what Vaughan wants to talk about, so that’s what we get. I thought this part of Vol 8 dragged, as the characters debate the merits of their actions. Likewise, Petrichor and Prince Robot are another odd partnership and have many arguments over gender, war, and politics. I liked the story of Hazel and her new friend Kurti better. There were a number of poignant moments as they innocently discuss the world of adults, and this section will appeal to parents, siblings, and those aspiring to become one. Again, this part is very well-written and didn’t feel as forced as their earlier parts.
In the next chapter, we once again see what The Will has been up to, and he’s not in a good place. Seems that one of the many individuals he’s casually killed during his illustrious freelance bounty hunter career had a loved one who has tracked him down to exact revenge. This person has decided to really torture him by going through his old memories. We get to see some scenes from The Will’s childhood and early days as a bounty hunter with The Stalk. Artist Fiona Staples treats us to the ultra-violent action that the series generally features. I’m sometimes unsure if Vaughan & Staples show gruesome violence for the vicarious thrills, or as a technique to highlight that killing is not clean and anonymous like storm-troopers in Star Wars. Considering that his old sins are now catching up with The Will, I would hazard a guess its� the latter. Eventually, his tormentor unearths a very valuable secret from his memories, though it’s no secret to readers.
In the final chapter, we rejoin Upsher, the gay tabloid journalist, Ghus the little prairie-dog warrior with a sense of justice, and the innocent young son of Prince Robot, Squire. They have an adventure in the forest, seeking the fearsome Dread Naught, and Ghus and the young robot have some interesting discussions about what situations justify fighting and killing to protect yourself. Vol 8 ends on an upbeat note, quite the opposite of the dark final panels of Vol 7.
Now that the series has reached 48 episodes and eight volumes, it has settled down to a more thoughtful pace, and while I think it does lack the intensity of the first four volumes and over-indulges in overt political themes that didn’t really carry the story forward much, I think Vaughan feels that he’s earned the loyalty of readers enough to be able to explore such themes with less propulsive action and more discourse. Again, I really appreciate that SAGA is not about escapism, its about our messy world, war, injustice, intolerance, innocence and cruelty, and most importantly the decisions we must make each day to get to the next day. That’s what keeps the series relevant and fresh � it’s real and funny and heartbreaking, often in rapid succession. Give it a try if you haven’t yet.
Merged review:
Saga, Vol. 8: Unafraid to mix space adventure with difficult topics Originally posted at It’s been six months since I read Vol 7 of SAGA, and after moving to London last summer we recently popped into Forbidden Planet in Soho, and that store is an absolute treasure trove of SF comics, books, and other fan goodies. There are so many enticing comics on offer there, you could spend your entire salary in one wild shopping spree. When I saw Vol 8 of SAGA with Wild West cover art among the new releases, I knew I had to have it.
SAGA is my favorite comic series, because it is always pushing the envelope in terms of content, themes, gorgeously assured and sometimes shocking artwork, and characters so charming, honest and flawed that you can’t help but cheer for them. If you like intelligent, snarky, sometimes profane space opera with a vast cast of star-crossed lovers, bounty-hunters, humanoid robots, tabloid reporters, terrifying monsters, and oddball creatures all caught up in a galactic war between the technology-based Wings and magic-wielding Horns of Wreath and Landfall, this series is guaranteed to captivate.
In Vol 8, Marko, Alana, Hazel, Prince Robot, and Petrichor find themselves on a remote Wild West planet. The traumatic events on planet Phang are still lingering, and they are in desperate need of an emergency medical procedure (any more details would be a spoiler). Once again writer Vaughan is unafraid to tackle a sensitive subject with the opening panel. And while I thought this time the story sometimes felt like it was purely a vehicle for political debate and hurt the story’s momentum, I applaud his willingness to put his characters in contentious moral situations. It’s a trademark of the entire series, love it or hate it.
While Petrichor encounters some Wild West outlaws, Alana, Marko, and Hazel hitch a ride on a train and meet up a very unexpected new character that quickly bonds with Hazel. In fact, Alana has discovered some surprising new powers that may be connected to this. Finally Alana and Marko reach their destination and the doctor they’ve been seeking. The dialogue sounds like something from a TV talk show debate, but then that’s what Vaughan wants to talk about, so that’s what we get. I thought this part of Vol 8 dragged, as the characters debate the merits of their actions. Likewise, Petrichor and Prince Robot are another odd partnership and have many arguments over gender, war, and politics. I liked the story of Hazel and her new friend Kurti better. There were a number of poignant moments as they innocently discuss the world of adults, and this section will appeal to parents, siblings, and those aspiring to become one. Again, this part is very well-written and didn’t feel as forced as their earlier parts.
In the next chapter, we once again see what The Will has been up to, and he’s not in a good place. Seems that one of the many individuals he’s casually killed during his illustrious freelance bounty hunter career had a loved one who has tracked him down to exact revenge. This person has decided to really torture him by going through his old memories. We get to see some scenes from The Will’s childhood and early days as a bounty hunter with The Stalk. Artist Fiona Staples treats us to the ultra-violent action that the series generally features. I’m sometimes unsure if Vaughan & Staples show gruesome violence for the vicarious thrills, or as a technique to highlight that killing is not clean and anonymous like storm-troopers in Star Wars. Considering that his old sins are now catching up with The Will, I would hazard a guess its� the latter. Eventually, his tormentor unearths a very valuable secret from his memories, though it’s no secret to readers.
In the final chapter, we rejoin Upsher, the gay tabloid journalist, Ghus the little prairie-dog warrior with a sense of justice, and the innocent young son of Prince Robot, Squire. They have an adventure in the forest, seeking the fearsome Dread Naught, and Ghus and the young robot have some interesting discussions about what situations justify fighting and killing to protect yourself. Vol 8 ends on an upbeat note, quite the opposite of the dark final panels of Vol 7.
Now that the series has reached 48 episodes and eight volumes, it has settled down to a more thoughtful pace, and while I think it does lack the intensity of the first four volumes and over-indulges in overt political themes that didn’t really carry the story forward much, I think Vaughan feels that he’s earned the loyalty of readers enough to be able to explore such themes with less propulsive action and more discourse. Again, I really appreciate that SAGA is not about escapism, its about our messy world, war, injustice, intolerance, innocence and cruelty, and most importantly the decisions we must make each day to get to the next day. That’s what keeps the series relevant and fresh � it’s real and funny and heartbreaking, often in rapid succession. Give it a try if you haven’t yet....more
A Dense, Quirky Telling of 2,000 Years of London's Story This is quite an unusual and quirky and unforgettable book. It’s a long-form love poem to the A Dense, Quirky Telling of 2,000 Years of London's Story This is quite an unusual and quirky and unforgettable book. It’s a long-form love poem to the city over the past two millennia of its incredibly eventful and storied history. It does a great job of covering the city not chronologically like a bog-standard history book. Instead, it takes a loosely thematic approach, covering it from dozens of angles - the early native Britons era, then the Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, Normans, Middle Ages, Plantagenets/Tudors/Stuarts, then the Victorian and Imperial Age, Industrial Revolution, WWI, WWII Blitz, and then the Post-War years and Thatcher and up to around the turn of the century.


The book is far from even-handed and unbiased - Peter Ackroyd believes the city has a personality and spirit of its own, embedded in the millennia of history in the very mud, stones, brick, human detritus, and later concrete, steel, and glass. And each neighborhood of London has its own distinct identity, which reverberates and remains throughout different ages. It’s quite a fanciful concept, and while I wouldn’t deny it in a more conceptual sense, he actually seems to believe it in very literally. Apparently this theme runs through much of his other fiction and non-fiction works.
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What I found most interesting was reading the polarized reviews of this book by other GR readers. They fall mainly into two camps, which fall broadly into these polar opposite views:

�1) Ackroyd’s London is a brilliant and erudite book, brimming with amazing scholarship and chockablock with anecdotes, both entertaining and edifying. He is a genius and a national treasure.
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2) Ackroyd’s London in its later stages is clearly a middle-class English book promoting a xenophobic, Eurocentric view of Englands Imperial and Colonial legacy, glibly glossing over the exploitive nature of that time, and instead taking a cosy nostalgic view of England at its zenith of political and economic and cultural status, and offensive and insensitive as such.
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Well, like all things, I imagine the truth lies in-between, and moreover it depends on the perspective and views of the reader. The book is both really, so you will react to it accordingly, most likely. As an American expat who spent half his life in Japan, and only recently moved to the British Isles, I’ve been voraciously learning as much as I can about this complex and contentious legacy, trying to see the good and the bad, and putting things in their historical context but also understanding how the bad aspects of Imperial/Colonial rule most certainly are deserving of harsh criticism in this multicultural and multi-polar global era.
I think I can see both sides. I can say with certainty that I found the book very interesting to listen to, especially with its thematic, easily digested chapters that broke up a very long book. It never bored me, even though some of the florid writing did elicit some eye-rolling. It told me a lot about London I didn’t know, piqued my interest in the city even more, and provided much food for thought. In that sense, it was well worth the time I invested....more
The Most Famous Victorian Author, Then and Now After listening to 10 of Dicken’s best-known novels in abridged BBC Radio full-cast dramatizations, I fiThe Most Famous Victorian Author, Then and Now After listening to 10 of Dicken’s best-known novels in abridged BBC Radio full-cast dramatizations, I figured I was well prepared to enjoy a biography of his life, which is always a fascinating reveal of just how much author’s intertwine their own life experiences and personalities in various characters, along with the people they knew.
As Dickens has always been a famously keen observer of the humanity and Victorian society in particular, this was a perfect book to learn just how his own early experiences of child poverty in the workhouses where his father was thrown into the Marhsalsea Debtor’s Prison in Southwark when he was just a young boy. It colored his entire outlook on the hardships and cruelties of class society in Victorian England, and engendered a lifelong sympathy with the working and poor classes that he would champion throughout his life, even as he achieved success far beyond his humble beginnings and mingled increasingly with the upper classes.
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Dickens also shows what a driven and workaholic personality he had, writing constantly and late into the night, sometimes when the muse was upon him, and other times out of financial necessity and the unforgiving deadlines of his weekly installments for the literary journals he contributed to and later ran himself. He also continued to father children with his wife year after year, meaning more mouths to feed and then find places for in society as they grew up.
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As he got older, he also fell in love with a much younger actress and split with his wife, further complicating his life. He also discovered that his long-standing talent and passion for impersonations and reading his work was a commercial gold mine, and became one of the first media darlings of the era by doing dramatic readings from his works, including all the various accents and characters, to large and enthusiastic audiences.
Even as his health started to fail from the relentless pace of his readings and writing, he refused to give up or slow down, just another sign of his driven personality. He was a singular and towering figure in the Victorian literary canon, and also a hugely-influential public figure championing for social reforms for the poor and disadvantaged in a age of glaring gaps between rich and poor....more
Another Convoluted Dickens Victorian Melodrama This was my last Dicken’s novel in my admittedly cheeky BBC Radio full-cast dramatizations, which are vaAnother Convoluted Dickens Victorian Melodrama This was my last Dicken’s novel in my admittedly cheeky BBC Radio full-cast dramatizations, which are vastly easier to tackle at 5-8hrs of audiobook, vs the weeks of reading tiny print for 1,000 pages for some of his doorstoppers, keeping track of 30-40 characters and their dozens of subplots and interrelationships. That is simply too much for me, but it probably made sense for Victorian audiences looking forwarding to weekly installments in serial form. 

This book seemed to be even more convoluted than some of his stories, and though I went to the Wiki entry to try and untangle the full picture, I realized the radio version was just a tiny patch of the full tapestry. So I won’t attempt to discuss the plot at all - suffice to say that I did enjoy the characters and stories that were offered, it has all the classic Dickensian combination of social commentary, melodrama, satire, and his richly embellished writing style....more
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