A Little Trickerie by Rosanna Pike
There isn’t much I love more than finding a writer whose style and playful use of language takes me by surprise! I knew from the first page I was going to love this.
Set in Tudor England, A Little Trickerie follows the life of vagabond Tibb, who finds herself orphaned and alone wandering the fields and coastlines of England. Then she meets Ivo, and the two of them form an unshakeable friendship as they begin to share a life together catching crabs, swimming the sea, and gazing at the night skies. I won’t say too much more about the plot but Tibb soon finds herself a family of her own making with a cast of characters that will protect each other at all costs.
Based on the life of Elizabeth, the “Holymaid of Leominster” who managed to fool people into believing she was an angel, this novel takes some surprising turns, and is all the better for it.
Complete with Tibb’s potty mouth, and a warmth and humour that shines through the grime of Tudor England, this was surprisingly uplifting and a total joy to read! – Emma
Material World by Ed Conway
If you’re anything like me, your career and your daily interactions center around abstracts: services, knowledge exchange, creativity, the production of intangible items; you are a citizen of the ethereal world. Join Ed Conway on a guided tour of the miraculous ‘Material World’ that the ethereal world sits uneasily upon.
Traveling the globe from the deepest mine in Europe to Taiwan’s spotless and human-less silicon chip factories, Conway uncovers a world usually ignored by history, culture, and the conventional wisdom of modern economics. Prepare to meet some of the world’s most powerful companies you’ve never heard of, get a breath-taking insight into the complexity of trade and production that goes into the most ubiquitous objects, and see the world afresh. Taking as his companions the six materials the modern world depends most deeply upon-sand, salt, iron, copper, oil and lithium – Conway returns the discovery, exploitation and manipulation of materials to their rightful place in the history of civilization. Then he considers their place in the future of civilization, and the hard truths we must reconcile if we are to achieve the next great energy transition.
This is the perfect read for anybody who has previously enjoyed geopolitics books like Tim Marshall’s Prisoners of Geography or revisionist history books like Peter Frankopan’s The Silk Roads, anybody interested in business and economics, or anybody who just enjoys expanding their world view. And you don’t have to take my word on how essential a read this is: Material World is on the longlist for the Wainwright Prize for Writing on Global Conservation, was shortlisted for the Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award, was The Times Science Book of The Year, a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week, and picked as a Book of the Year by The Financial Times and The Economist. – Sam.
Berlin Duet by S. W. Perry
When Jewish American photographer, Anna, marries the charismatic Austrian , Ivo Wolff, she is unprepared for him joining the Nazi party and moving the family to Berlin. He is not the man she thought he was and there is danger everywhere. As the shadow of impending war looms over 1930’s Europe, she finds herself pulled into the orbit of Harry Taverner, an English spy. In a time of intense German propaganda, how can her photographs help disseminate the truth? Is it possible to help Harry and still protect her family?
Spanning WW11 and the Cold War, a dual timeline emerges – it is 1989, the Berlin Wall is coming down and Harry is finally willing to tell his daughter the secrets of his life and love. A spy story and a love story in one, for fans of William Boyd and Sebastian Faulks. – Sue.