The Pale Horseman by Bernard Cornwell.

Cornwell continues Uhtred’s story in the 2nd of the Saxon stories series and follows the battle of Cynuit. Brave, yet flawed, Uhtred continues to make rash decisions and incites King Alfred’s anger.

The complexity of the psychological development in Cornwell’s novel is startling. Uhtred is at war with himself almost as much as he is at war with Danes.

Uhtred is a stranger in Wessex, a pagan amongst Christians, who knows he will never be fully accepted, “I was an outsider. I spoke a different English. The men of Wessex were tied by family and I came from the strange North.”

Alfred, the only English king that would be known at ‘the great’, also has his own set of flaws. He often makes a hasty peace with the Danes rather than fighting them. He does not know how to rouse his men to battle and risks alienating those who would help him.

Even though he distrusts Uhtred for being a pagan, he realizes his importance and appoints him defender of his family after Cippanhamm falls: “Here and now I appoint you as the defender of my family.”

Against incredible odds, Alfred and the Saxons, who are marooned in a swamp, work together to build a fort and succeed in destroying Svein of the White Horse’s ships. The Danes, however, still control the area and outnumber the Saxon forces. To succeed, the Saxons will have to unite in a way they have never done before.

Iseult, yet another complex and intriguing created by Cornwell, predicts that Alfred will succeed. She claims there will be a “fight by a hill” and that the Saxons will defeat the Danes.

She alludes to the battle of Ethandum where the Saxons face two Danish armies, Svein and Guthrum. In this version of events, the Saxon army becomes dispirited until Uhtred bravely fights Svein outside of the shield wall. His actions turn the tide of the battle, resulting in the recovery of Alfred’s kingdom, Wessex.

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell

Just as there may be an under painting hiding under a painting, nothing is as it seems in this novel. Everything is a trick of the eye. The singers that sing so well are actually eunuchs. The assistant that is supposed to be mute actually speaks a Neapolitan dialect. Alfonso is not a doting husband who treasures his new wife.

The Duchess realizes something is amiss when she hears him describe her as “my first Duchess.” This is the first moment that ascertains that she is disposable.

She always knew that she would be married to aggrandize her father’s rule:

“[H]ad it not been Alfonso it would have been someone else–a prince, another duke, a nobleman from Germany or France, a second cousin from Spain. Her father would have found her an advantageous match because that is, after all, what she has been brought up for.”

She expected him to command and she knew she would have to produce a male heir. She also knew that he surrounded himself with devious, heartless people like Leonello. What Lucrezia did not foresee was that the Duke of Ferarra is capable of killing those who would thwart his power.

The Duke wants a male heir so badly that he has Lucrezia follow a cruel regimen. Consequently, Lucrezia looks completely diffferent from the woman il Bastianino painted for the Duke, his marriage portrait of them.

When she fails to produce a son, the Duke takes her to his fortezza, a hunting lodge. The opening pages of the novel take us to this horrifying moment when Lucrezia knows she is in grave danger followed by a series of flashbacks.

O’Farrell constructs an illuminating portrait of Renaissance Italy in which women were traded among influential families. The Duchess is this story is so intuitive that recognizes the Duke’s machinations. Like a good thriller, this suspenseful story ends in a surprising way.

The Plum Tree by Ellen Marie Wiseman

World War II-era fiction is popular right now but what makes this debut different portrays an ordinary German family. The incidents were inspired by the author’s own family. Wiseman’s mother’s family lived in Germany during the war. 

The story is centered around Christine and her desire to protect her family and her boyfriend who is Jewish.

The Plum Tree is about longing, loyalty, and incredible bravery of the people who fought injustice. 

For a time, resistance was simply leaving hard-boiled eggs in places where the Jewish prisoners could find them. 

Eventually, Christine hides Isaac in the family attic. Once he is discovered, though, both are sent to Dachau.

She receives one of the better jobs and works for one of the better captors. Even so, her stay in Dachau nearly kills her. 

Wiseman explains in an afterward which historical details were altered to fit the story.