The Mercian Chronicles: King Offa and the birth of the Anglo Saxon State AD 630-918

Max Adams, an archaeologist and historian, has written a detailed study of medieval history based on the limited files of information available about almost 300 years of the history of Mercia, a kingdom in England. Archaeological items, including remains of buildings, coins and items discovered in digs, contribute information in the telling of the story of this period of British history.

The period of British history after the Romans left the country is often referred to as The Dark Ages, not because nothing happened during this period of time but because little remains of documents and records that once existed. But some documents from the period or accounts written later do remain and the author in this book, The Mercian Chronicles, endeavours to make available the information that has been discovered which he then analyses to endeavour to discover what may be the true story. 

Some chapters largely provide a record of the limited information available while other chapters take the reader through the story of life at that time. During this period England consisted of a number of separate kingdoms, Mercia being a powerful one. In the book we learn of the relationship of Mercia with some of its neighbours and also with leaders across the English Channel. The relationship between leaders of the church and rulers of the kingdom are also explored. There is also the threat of the Viking invasion that is about to arrive in Britain and France.

Especially towards the end of the book there is information about the growing importance of Wessex and its rulers such as Alfred the Great and his family and the move towards the eventual establishment of one England in the future. There was also interaction with Charlemagne, the leader of the Franks as well as being Holy Roman Emperor. This all goes to show that parts of England were not as isolated from Europe as some believe and that there were definitely trade relations with other countries as well as general concern about the possible Viking threat.

Throughout the book there are a series of chronologies listing significant dates and events plus a list of main source materials. A series of photos and maps occur throughout the text. A detailed bibliography and index can be found at the back of the book. 

The Mercian Chronicles by  Max Adams is a must read book for those interested in this period of British history. He is also the author of Alfred's Britain: war and peace in the Viking Age. 

The Stationery Shop of Tehran

The Stationery Shop of Tehran by Marjan Kamali is the story of the love between two young people who first met in a stationery shop in Tehran. Roya and Bahman meet in the shop on Tuesday afternoons and discuss poetry and the political unrest occurring around them in 1953. Bahman was involved in a political group supporting the elected prime minister, Mohammad Mosaddegh, who was eventually defeated in a coup staged by supporters of the Shah in August. The coup had the support of Britain and America who had interests in Iran's oil supplies.

Political unrest is not the only challenge encountered by Roya and Bahman in forming a relationship. Bahman's mother wanted her son to marry a woman from a family of high social status and did all she could to block her son's relationship with Roya. When Roya receives a letter from Bahman breaking  off their relationship she is devastated. Several months later she learns that he is married.

When Roya and her sister, Zari, move to the USA to study, Roya meets Walter who she marries. But she never forgets Bahman. In 2013 Roya learns that Bahman is in a nursing home in a nearby suburb and she is determined to discover why Bahman really left her.

Set against a background of Iranian politics, Marjan Kamali has written a novel about love and loss and the need to discover the real truth of how and why events occur.

The Lion Women of Tehran is another book by Marjan Kamali. 

Shellybanks

Kate Delaney is on holiday in Europe with Liam when she receives a message from her Aunt Dolores stating that her partner, Kevin, had died. Kate and Liam immediately travel to Dublin to help her aunt. One day, when with other family members, they go for a walk along Shellybanks beach to the Poolbeg Lighthouse, the walk revives memories of the past for Delores and she decides it is time to reveal her story to her niece.

Dolores reveals the horrific mistreatment that she and other girls received when they attended a supposed cookery school run by a group within the Catholic Church. She also reveals that she had a baby which was stolen from her and given to another family. That baby would now be thirty-five and Dolores wants to meet her.

Dolores and Kate take the story to the garda and an historical case investigation is undertaken. Kate, who is a journalist, also assists in part of the investigation. Obstacles presented by people involved in past events continually obstruct the revealing of the truth but, as more women tell their story, the mistreatment of young girls by organisations associated with the church is revealed. Just as she has lost all hope, eventually Dolores meets her daughter.

Many books have been written about past actions and power of the Catholic Church, particularly in Ireland but also in other countries, and Shellybanks by Louise Milligan can be added to the collection. Shellybanks is a novel about young women working for no pay and being treated as slaves. It deals with continued abuse by those in positions of power as well as forced adoption of babies. The crimes in the book are revealed but it is unlikely justice will occur. These events are hopefully now in the past but it is important that people are aware of these past actions of some church authorities which are part of Ireland's history.

Shellybanks in Dervla McTiernan's Book Club that isn't a Book Club for July 2026.

Ireland: when the Church is the state - Catholics for Choice 

Shellybanks Beach - Trip Advisor 

The Great South Wall Walk - Wild Irish Walks

Cold River

We first met Senior Constable Sally White, a police officer at Edenville, a small town in the Victorian High Country, in the novel, The Creeper, by Margaret Hickey. She had recently returned to work when the police were alerted that a young hiker was missing. Search parties were immediately arranged with little success. 

Then one morning Sally finds a woman waiting for her to open the police station. She is there with enquiries about her daughter, Astrid, who had disappeared when skiing in the mountains two years earlier. Were the police still looking for her daughter? Sally adds this cold case to her list of investigations. Could they be connected.

In Cold River, Margaret Hickey provides the reader with another fast paced tension driven crime novel with a range of dubious characters living in a sometimes dangerous environment. As Sally tries to find what happened to the missing people she uncovers a secret in part of the local community where money is made from chop chop, the illegal growing and selling of tobacco with links to crime gangs. Sally also discovers information that will impact not only the local community but also the police force. She has two choices - to keep the secret or release the information to authorities. The impact of the decision is left to the imagination of the reader.

For readers living in Victoria the setting for the book will bring back memories of the police search  for fugitive, Dezi Freeman, last year. 

Villa Coco

Set in Italy, Villa Coco by Andrew Sean Greer is the story of a young American who recently completed a course in archives and records management and takes on the job of recording a collection of objects and papers kept in a villa. At least that is what he thinks his project is. Instead he finds himself assisting a ninety-two year old lady in a variety of tasks in her house and garden. She also tells him to learn Italian.

During the novel the reader meets an array of family members and friends of the Baronessa and gradually learns stories about her life and the reasons for her sometimes bizarre decisions made from time to time.  The young man becomes the assistant to the Baonessa in a villa in need of repair and encounters a parade of often eccentric characters. He is eventually allowed to start working on the task he is employed to undertake but this work is continually interrupted with the need to work in the garden, help with the olive harvest and assist a neighbour make wine.

The story builds slowly and is revealed through descriptions of the house and the neighbouring environment as well as the observations of the Baronessa and her relationships, past and present. The young man learns that his employer has a mission she is determined to accomplish and he will learn of his proposed involvement all in good time. Meanwhile the young man begins to learn more about himself and to evaluate the path that his life may take.

Villa Coco is a novel to just relax and enjoy reading, allowing the story to reveal itself at its own pace. It is a story of love and compassion often told with a quiet humour as the Baronessa is determined to complete her planned task.

Murder at Thornwood Park

Set in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, historian, Rose McHugh, receives information that the museum that she manages has been provided access to historical records relating to Thornwood Park after the death of the estate's owner. Reading through some of the documents retrieved from the house, Rose discovers information suggesting the possible disappearance of young women who visited the house in the early 1940s. 

Rose and her friends, including Jazzy and George plus her sister Kim, endeavour to uncover what really happened at the property. As a historian she is particularly interested in the history of the hall and the family that lived there, especially in the early years of the Second World War when members of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force training centre were housed in the district. The tension builds when  it is obvious that someone is determined to stop Rose and her friends investigating Thornwood Park's past.

Murder at Thornwood Park by Joan Sauers is the third crime novel featuring the investigations of Rose McHugh. The first two titles in the series are Echo Lake and Whisky Valley.

Henry Goes Bush

Henry Goes Bush by Wayne Marshall is a mad romp into the unknown, into unpredictable alternative worlds which look the same - almost. The novel is initially based on events that occurred in the life of Australian author and poet, Henry Lawson, in 1892 when he was sent to the outback city of Bourke by his editor to explore the outback and more importantly learn to control his alcohol intake. Then the author's imagination takes over inventing an almost wild west series of events that begin when Henry decides to explore a mysterious tunnel hidden in a back yard.

Like Alice in Alice in Wonderland Henry slides down the tunnel to discover that he has arrived not only in another version of Bourke but also another version of the people who live in the real world. He soon discovers that whenever there is an earthquake the entrance to the tunnel moves so consequently, during the novel, he encounters many aspects of the town and its people.

Henry Lawson was an alcoholic and the experiences in the book may reference Henry's mental state at the time. Who knows. Meanwhile the reader needs to just suspend belief and enjoy the adventure.

More about the real Henry Lawson:

Henry Lawson - Australian Dictionary of Biography

Henry Lawson: poet of the people -  State Library of New South Wales

Portrait of Australian poet Henry Lawson - National Archives of Australia 

About Henry Lawson - Henry Lawson Festival 

About Henry Lawson - Henry Lawson Society  

Henry Lawson - This is Australia

The Poet of Australia - National Library of Australia 

Book Reviews

Henry Goes Bush - Readings 

Henry Goes Bush - ANZ LitLovers 

Excerpt from Henry Lawson: a stranger on the Darling by Robyn Lee Burrows