The Merryland books and other medieval 'obscene' materials have been digitised for archive

From Times of India:

Many libraries and such institutions have kept some material from public viewing because their content were considered obscene or too sexual. However many institutions agreed to have these collections digitised for the Archives of Sexuality & Gender, Part III: Sex and Sexuality, Sixteenth to Twentieth Centuries.

Archives of Sexuality & Gender is a series of old documents pertaining to gender and sexuality which have been collected for further study. According to their website, this "collection brings together approximately 1.5 million pages of primary sources on social, political, health, and legal issues impacting LGBTQ communities around the world. The first part was on LGBTQ history and culture Since 1940; the second part provided insight into underrepresented and often excluded communities; and third part includes materials from 1600-1940 and focuses on "fertility and sexual practice; prostitution, religion and sexuality; the medical and legal construction of sexualities and the rise of sexology." according to their press release. The newly digtised material was published in it's third section.

read more here @ Times of India

SAVAGE FRONTIER: The Pyrenees in History by Matthew Carr

From Geographical:

Second to none in grandeur and great historic episodes, the Pyrenees have nevertheless been relegated to runner-up status behind the Alps and Himalaya. In comparison, little is known or told about the colourful characters and historic events that over the centuries have formed part of the history of this mountain range. Matthew Carr has rectified this injustice in a fascinating narrative revealing the past and present of the Pyrenees, which have seen the passage of great figures, from Charlemagne to Napoleon.

The Pyrenees extend almost 300 miles from the Bay of Biscay to the Mediterranean, separating the Iberian Peninsula from the European mainland. The mountains pass between Spain and France, are high and often difficult, but they were crossed by invading armies as well as innumerable medieval (and contemporary) pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela. On his travels through these mountains, it struck Carr that there had not been a book in English that looked at the mountains’ history and culture as a distinctive subject in their own right.

Carr traces the path of anarchist guerrillas, refugees, crusaders, witches and inquisitors. But this is not a quarrying of romanticism, for the author also exposes the mountains’ unpleasant face: the featureless high-rise ski buildings of Vielha and ski chalets and holiday apartments that blight the picturesque valleys of the Catalan and Aragonese Pyrenees. That aside, the book stands as a celebration of the Pyrenees as a gateway for invasion in wartime and, in times of peace, a haven and inspiration for luminaries such as Victor Hugo and George Sand.

Virgin Whore - Emma Maggie Solberg

From Bowdoin Books:

In Virgin Whore, Emma Maggie Solberg uncovers a surprisingly prevalent theme in late English medieval literature and culture: the celebration of the Virgin Mary’s sexuality. Although history is narrated as a progressive loss of innocence, the Madonna has grown purer with each passing century. Looking to a period before the idea of her purity and virginity had ossified, Solberg uncovers depictions and interpretations of Mary, discernible in jokes and insults, icons and rituals, prayers and revelations, allegories and typologies—and in late medieval vernacular biblical drama.

More unmistakable than any cultural artifact from late medieval England, these biblical plays do not exclusively interpret Mary and her virginity as fragile. In a collection of plays known as the N-Town manuscript, Mary is represented not only as virgin and mother but as virgin and promiscuous adulteress, dallying with the Trinity, the archangel Gabriel, and mortals in kaleidoscopic erotic combinations. Mary’s “virginity” signifies invulnerability rather than fragility, redemption rather than renunciation, and merciful license rather than ascetic discipline. Taking the ancient slander that Mary conceived Jesus in sin as cause for joyful laughter, the N-Town plays make a virtue of those accusations: through bawdy yet divine comedy, she redeems and exalts the crime.

By revealing the presence of this promiscuous Virgin in early English drama and late medieval literature and culture—in dirty jokes told by Boccaccio and Chaucer, Malory’s Arthurian romances, and the double entendres of the allegorical Mystic Hunt of the Unicorn—Solberg provides a new understanding of Marian traditions.

Review: Twisted Fate by Frank Harrrelson

Synopsis: Twisted Fate tells the saga of families in France caught up in the Protestant Reformation begun in the sixteenth century by Martin Luther in Germany and John Calvin in Switzerland. The Reformation caused great conflict between the Catholic Church in France and the Huguenots, who desired religious toleration from the church and from the government. The reader gets involved in the lives of these families filled with political intrigue, murder, suspense, persecution, survival, and ultimately enduring love.

I am going to be reviewing this twice over as I stopped reading this part way through then came back to it.

Review 1: January 22nd 2019:

To say I was finding this challenging would be misleading - though I have come to a complete stop - such a promising start .. such an interesting topic to tackle ... thinking maybe this could have been tightened up a little or serialised earlier ... on the backburner for now.

Review 2: February 3rd, 2019:

History is my forte - I love it, and have a huge personal library covering off a number of topics, including French History. So whilst the struggles of the Huguenots attracted me to this work, the final "presentation" detracted form my reading pleasure.

Whilst this is essentially a (fictional) history of the beginnings of the author's family and the events that led to their arrival in America, it is also a history of the Huguenot town of La Rochelle. And this is where the conflict begins (no pun intended) - it is part historical fiction and part factual history, with the author attempting to give us the reader, as much information as possible on this period in French history. And, personally, this does not work for me. 

I will preface this second review with a sentence from the synopsis:

The reader gets involved in the lives of these families filled with political intrigue, murder, suspense, persecution, survival, and ultimately enduring love.

The lives of the characters (of which there are so many you don't know who to focus on) are drawn out, day by day to the point of tedium, and often scenes are repetitive as characters re-tell what has happened to them to other characters - in detail - after we, the readers, have already read all of this - in detail. The historical facts are detailed, at times, whole chapters dedicated to bringing us up to speed on our French History - it felt like a school lesson. Did I mention the detail? Thus for me, it got to the point that I just had to set this aside, unfinished. 

But my curiosity finally got the better of me, and I ploughed on - I wanted to find out how this story ended and just which of the characters made it to America and in what circumstances (hint: its in the final chapters).

I think, with hindsight, the author should have stuck with either a fictional account OR a factual account; and the editor / publisher should have stepped in here. For an historical novel, it is heavily annotated. Just reading a note I had written down " reads like a genealogy lesson" - and maybe a family tree might have been a more welcome addition or even a list of characters. No, on second thoughts, this should have been a "family history" type book rather than a fictional / factual account, with the historical facts then interspersed, which would have made much more sense.

This, for me, became a case where reading became a chore rather than a pleasure.

Further Reading:

City on the Ocean Sea: La Rochelle, 1530-1650 : Urban Society, Religion, and Politics on the French Atlantic Frontier by Kevin C Robbins

Protestant exiles from France in the reign of Louis XIV; or, the Huguenot refugees & their descendants in Great Britain & Ireland by David C Agnew (3 Vols) - read online HERE

Review: The Tragic Daughters of Charles I by Sarah-Beth Watkins

The period of the English Civil War has not historically been an area of reading interest to me; however, a number of fiction and non-fiction books have crossed my path over the last couple of years and my interest has been piqued. I will preface that statement by saying I was not at all unfamiliar with the historical aspects and the main players.

In short, for those who are unfamiliar with this period, the English Civil War, fought between 1642-1651, saw King Charles I battle Parliament for control of the English government. The war began as a result of a conflict over the power of the monarchy and the rights of Parliament. During the early phases of the war, the Parliamentarians expected to retain Charles as king, but with expanded powers for Parliament. Though the Royalists won early victories, the Parliamentarians ultimately triumphed. As the conflict progressed, Charles was executed and a republic formed. Known as the  Commonwealth of England, this state later became the Protectorate under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell. Though Charles II was invited to take the throne in 1660, Parliament's victory established the precedent that the monarch could not rule without the consent of Parliament and placed the nation on the path towards a formal parliamentary monarchy.

It is against this backdrop that Sarah-Beth Watkins, rather than focusing on the more famous sons, introduces us to Charles I's three eldest surviving daughters - Mary (1631 - 1660), Elizabeth (1635 - 1650), and Henrietta Anne (1644 - 1670). There were two other daughters, Anne (1637 - 1640), though she did not survive childhood (toddlerhood), and baby Catherine (b&d. 1639).

Watkins presents the lives of these young women in accordance with the chronology of Charles I. We are treated to a family history before we start with the elder of the daughters, Mary Stuart, and then each successive daughter, their lives intertwining, not only with each other, but also with their brothers and mother.

Five eldest children of Charles I: Mary, James, Charles, Elizabeth (holding baby Anne)

Watkins tells the story of a separated family - Charles I off fighting or in custody; the children either fled abroad or in the hands of the Parliamentarians; their marriages; their tragic deaths. Each chapter is allocated a time frame from which to place the girls - for example, under the heading of 1634 - 1637, we look at the Queen's last pregnancy; the Queen's flight to France; the escape and smuggling of the baby Henrietta Anne to France to join her mother. These women lived short lives.

Poor Elizabeth who from age six until her death at age 14, was a prisoner of the English Parliament during the English Civil War. Unlike her other siblings, she and her younger brother Henry, were the only ones to see their father before his execution - she left a tragic account of this last meeting. Only after Elizabeth's death would Henry himself be released from his imprisonment.  Elizabeth herself would never know freedom.

Her hands in prayer enfolded, her Bible open spread, 

Her pale cheek on her pillow, the Stuart Rose lay dead. 

Thus nursed in tears and early pangs of sorrow's bitter rod, 

The daughter of the Martyr King went to the martyrs' God.

(Lays of the English Cavaliers by John Jeremiah Daniell, 1866)

Mary Stuart, the eldest daughter, was a fascinating woman. Married off early to William Prince of Orange, she spent most of life in Holland, fighting for her brother Charles' cause and providing what refuge and support she could. Yet ".... Mary had done so much for her brother ... but Charles was still unhappy with her ..." - he comes off as rather a rather ungrateful sod. Not only fighting for his cause but also acting as regent for her infant son!

Lastly, there is Henrietta Anne. Smuggled out of England and into France as a baby, she would grow to find herself at odds with the rest of her siblings, especially over the issue of religion. From this point onwards (about the halfway mark in the book) the focus is on Henrietta Anne. Her short yet eventful life was marked by scandal, political intrigues, an unhappy marriage (she said of her husband "... his hatred is unreasonable ..."), illness and pregnancies.  In fact, Henriette Anne could quite easily have had her own book so remarkable was her life!

" ...Stuart princesses lived complicated lives in turbulent times ... all of them suffered from great unhappiness as well as moments of joy ... their lives ended way too soon .."

This could quite easily have been applied to any number of women of this and earlier time periods. Women were expected to marry and provide heirs; princesses were expected to support their family's interests abroad as well as their husbands  - many times, these interests were conflicting; their efforts to procreate often ended their lives all too soon.

I have not in the past actively sought out books on any of the offspring of Charles I, though Watkins' book does collate the biographical information of the surviving daughters into one.  Whilst I would have preferred each daughter to have her own dedicated chapter or chapters, combining them does cut down on the repetition of information, and the use of time markers as chapter headings does given us an idea of where they are placed in the chronology of both their father Charles I and their brother Charles II's reigns.

What I enjoyed, and what readers will enjoy, are the final chapters which sums up the genealogical legacy of Mary and Henriette Anne.

Further reading:

Epistolary Power: the Correspondence of the Dutch and Frisian Stadtholders’ Wives, 1605–1725 (Mary Stuart has over 300 letters on file here that you can read either in their original format or translated).
Descedants of Charles I of England
Royal Renegades: The Children of Charles I by Linda Porter

Review: Viking Warlord - A Saga of Thorkell the Great by David Mullaly

Some stories are meant to be both savoured and devoured - this is one of them.

The late Anglo-Saxon period of English history which saw the rise of the - for want of a better word - Danish invasions, was a period I was fascinated in, with my own library containing a number of tomes on the subject matter.     Like David, I too was fascinated by Thorkell the Tall (the Great, the High), being inclined as I am to the more obscure historical characters, and those with a less than pristine reputation - the supporting cast.  To put him in context, he is the Danish William Marshall.  Indeed, this is another example of where the facts are far more interesting.

The tale takes place in both the 10th and 11th centuries, when England was under the rule of Aethelred II (also known as the Unready) and paying what is known as the Danegeld to keep the maruading Danish host, first under Harold Bluetooth and then his son Sweyn Forkbeard, at bay.  From Skane (part of the then Danish empire), came Thorkell, who proved himself as a warrior in such a way that he became one of the leaders of the Danes on their raids.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (hereafter ASC) records the arrival at Sandwich 1st  August 1009 of an "immense hostile host", one manuscript specifying "to which we gave the name of Thurkil´s host", which invaded Kent, the Isle of Wight, Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire, before returning to Kent to take up "winter-quarters on the Thames" and the following year invading East Anglia and other parts of England, culminating in the kidnap and murder of Ælfheah Archbishop of Canterbury.

Florence of Worcester records that "Danicus comes Turkillus" invaded England with a fleet, dated to 1009 from the context, and that other fleets led by "duces Hemingus et Eglafus" landed in August at "Tenedland" [Thanet] after which the invaders joined forces to devastate Kent, the Isle of Wight, Sussex and Southampton, and establish themselves in the Thames valley for the winter.

William of Malmesbury says that "Turkill the Dane, who had been the chief cause of the archbishop´s murder, had settled in England and held the East Angles under subjection" and that he "sent messengers to Suane [Sweyn Forkbeard] king of Denmark inviting him to come to England".

As the contemporary chronicles record, Thorkell spent three years successfully raiding with his brother Hemming, until they were eventually "bought off" for the considerable amount of £48,000 (1012). In the end, this army were hired as mercenaries by Aethelred II to protect him from an impending invasion. Joining him in the defence of London was another character - Olaf Haraldsson (later St Olaf of Norway). Many of these larger than life characters that wander across the pages were in fact real.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records the invasion of England led by Sweyn King of Denmark in 1013, stating that the invaders "went east to London" where "the citizens would not submit…because King Æthelred was inside and Thurkil with him".

When Sweyn invades, Aethelred is forced to flee to Normandy; but Sweyn's victory is shortlived as he dies "... a death with no honour ..." Following this period we see Thorkell rejoin the retinue of Cnut. How and why this occurred is open to speculation but having been Cnut's foster father and also a valuable warrior, Cnut may have been content (for the moment) to welcome Thorkell back into the fold.  How and why aside, Thorkell defected back to join Cnut's invasion fleet in August 1015 and fought with the Danes at Ashington [Assandun] in October 1016.

William of Malmesbury records that Cnut King of England divided the kingdom into four parts "he himself took the West Saxons, Edric [Streona] the Mercians, Turkill the East Angles, Iric [Erik Haakonsson] the Northumbrians". Simeon of Durham records that King Cnut granted East Anglia to "earl Turkill" in 1017 whilst the ASC (1017) records that when dividing the kingdom, "East Anglia for Thurkyll".

It is only after Cnut takes power that his true character is revealled - his cruelty grows - "... gaining a kingdom can change a man .  And he wasn't finished ..." - it was not just with the family of his predecessor that Cnut turned his attentions but to his own supporters " ...for it is dangerous for a leader to owe someone more than he can give ...." (we now know where Henry VIII took his playbook from). As the body count rises, Thorkell's comrade Eric Haakonsson is reflective " .... conflicting loyalties can bleed us dry ...".

It is probable that the king appointed Thorkell regent of England in 1019, during his absence in Denmark, he was afterall, the most prominent of Cnut's magnates and his name featured prominently on charters of the period; however, there was an obvious falling out as William of Malmesbury wries that "in process of time…Turkill and Iric were driven out of the kingdom and sought their native land" - the ASC (1021) "This year, King Knute, at Martinmas, outlawed Earl Thurkyll.." Florence of Worcester records that King Canute expelled "Turkillum…comitem cum uxore sua Edgitha" from England 11th November, dated to 1021.  

All we really know is that Eadric was executed within a year of Cnut's accession (According to the Encomium Emmae, Cnut ordered Eric to "pay this man what we owe him" and he chopped off his head with his axe); Thorkell was outlawed and returns to Skane (c.1021), and that Erik fades from the pages, presumed dead, though his lands don't pass to his successor till 1033. According to the Norse sources Erik died of a hemorrhage after having a medieval medicine either just before or just after a pilgrimage to Rome (no sources mention exile). Could it be a purging of the old guard, could Cnut have perceived Thorkell as a real threat - a rival - for power in England, and as such removed him.

The ASC  adds in a later passage that the Thorkell and Cnut entered a pact of reconciliation (1023) under which Thorkell would govern Denmark, keeping each other's sons as hostages: ".. He committed Denmark and his son to the care of Thurkyll ...".  Thorkell remained regent for about three years, being replaced by Ulf, Knud's brother-in-law.  So what happens next after c. 1025 / 1026 - we can only presume he returned to Skane; however there is this interesting passage in the ASC for the year 1039:  "... The Welsh slew Edwin, brother of Leofric, and Thurkil and Elfget, and many good men with them..." - if this were the case, Thorkell would have been in his 60s - if this is our Thorkell at all ..... and the question remains, what was he doing in the Mercian army attacking Rhyd y Groes (near Welshpool).

What David has done is gathered together a plethora of resources from which to craft a compelling and invigorating story of Thorkell in the skaldic tradition. In Scandinavia a skald was " ... a composer and reciter of poems honouring heroes and their deeds .." Their oft-times lengthy verses commemorated kings and others, and celebrated their many deeds of daring-do; and over time, their position at court become more prominent as they became the oral recorders of their own history.

And so Thorkell's story unravels in front of a renown skald, Eyolf (composor the Bandadrápa - the deeds of Eiríkr Hákonarson), whom he has summoned to appear before him so that he might recount his story and have it re-told far and wide - for Thorkell is now an aged warrior, battle-hardened, who has witnessed (and done) much. He now fears that if his story is not told, he will be forgotten by all but his own kin.

As the chapters progress, Thorkell's story is spun and teased out before a captive audience - his family, neighbours, and we the reader. As always, each night's telling is left with the proverbial cliff-hanger, a dispersal of wisdom, or running commentary (a bit akin to today's modern television serials). David neatly wraps up Thorkell's story so that we are given a possible outcome to his final years.

What I found most refreshing was that unlike some historical novels, this one was not loaded up with local vernacular and colloquisms and period dialect used by numerous authors of historical fiction to add authenticity, but which so often encumbers and destroys a story unnecessarily. I get that characters come from different areas, but I want to spend my time enjoying a novel not trying work out what they are saying. Thankfully not an issue here - the structure flowed seamlessly.

As Thorkell himself says: " ... most of our lives are what happens between one fight and the next ..."

I am looking forward to reading Eadric and the Wolves - the story of Eadric of Mercia, who features in Thorkell's story.

Seen as a villain by many during his lifetime and after, he is surrounded by people who casually employ treachery, and institutions that consistently act in bad faith. In this thoroughly researched novel, David Mullaly tells a story that challenges the traditional narrative about Eadric.  Appearances can be profoundly deceiving. Loyalty in the defense of evil is no virtue, and what may look like betrayal could be the only good option for a brave leader.

Notes:

There was no standardised spelling of names and places names; scribes tended to write phonetically, and hence there names recorded in the various chronicles of the times can look completely different (ie: Knud Kvud, Cnut, Canute).

There was more than one copy of the Anglo Saxon Chronicle - and once copied and dispersed, each was independently updated (hence some inconsistencies with dates / names / events).

Further reading:
The Saga of the Jomsvikings trans Lee M. Hollander
An Onslaught of Spears: The Danish Conquest of England by Jeffrey James
The Saga of the Jomsvikings trans NF Blake

King Olaf Trygvason's Saga - part of Heimskringla: The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway by Snorri Sturlason
Lost Tales of Mercia by Jayden Woods
Boots & Books: The Saga of Jomsvikings
Anglo Saxon Chronicle
The Chronicle of Florence of Worcester
William of Malmesbury's Chronicle of the Kings of England

The New Book That Will Change How We Understand The Crusades

From Forbes:

Jay Rubenstein is a MacArthur Fellow (2007) and currently Riggsby Director of the Marco Institute for Medieval and Renaissance Studies and the Alvin and Sally Beaman Professor of History at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His new book, Nebuchadnezzar's Dream: The Crusades, Apocalyptic Prophecy, and the End of History, argues that the Crusades really need to be understood from within, that medievals themselves began seriously thinking about what this all meant in the wake of the capture of Jerusalem in 1099 CE. This shocked their system and so sought meaning in what was most familiar to them, the Christian Bible - more specifically still the dream of the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 2.

read more here @ Forbes which features an interview with article author, Matthew Gabriele

Reviews: Bodies of Art Mysteries by Ritter Ames

Enter the world of the shady art transactions and the recovery of lost, looted, stolen or misappropriated treasures. Agents work with some of the world’s finest art historians and provenance researchers to investigate the history of an object to support, or refute a claim. The work involves the repatriation of artwork and antiquities on behalf of governments and private citizens, and can take the agent across continents, whilst recovered works can total in the millions of dollars. Often, recovery agencies may find themselves in (sometimes, deadly) competition .....

Counterfeit Conspiracies

Laurel Beacham, premier art recovery specialist with a penchant for lycra, narrates our story:

As the foundation's leading art recover expert my life was pretty much a series of different hotel rooms every week. Tonight's event was one of a series of smaller jobs directing me to the person who held an art object I needed to return to the person or institution that had true ownership.

After a successful mission, Laurel trades her "catwoman" outfit for something a little more classier; however, this next mission finds Laurel in less than ideal circumstances when her efforts to recover a priceless icon go pear-shaped. 

There was no mistaking him. Propped on the john was the man from the photo who I was supposed to meet. Half of his handlebar moustache was jaggedly slashed and discarded on the floor, while blood from a gash at his throat spilled down his round belly and onto the cushioned turquoise seat.

And then there is the permeating question of Jack Hawkes, a shadowy figure that keeps popping up:

I tried to figure which camp he fit into, but got nada. With so many players in the art game, it was hard to keep everyone straight, both above and below ground. But a new American would have stayed in my memory, especially a tall male one with a deep Southern accent. Was it simple egoism, or did he work for someone plotting against me? My money lay on the latter. 

This is a fast paced game of cat and mouse, with plenty of plot twists and red herrings to keep the reader suitably intrigued. Think James Bond crossed with Lara Croft.

Marked Masters

Laurel, now head of the London branch of the Beacham Foundation, and Jack Hawkes return for another adventure, involving yet another art theft:

If I couldn't bring back the painting, perhaps this book could be used as an alternate method to stop the blackmail. 

This starts where book one finishes and sets up book three nicely. Who is who, and what are their true motives, will keep you guessing till the end. 

Abstract Aliases

Abstract clues lead to new questions. New leads turn to “dead” ends. A heist plot ties to forgeries. Adversaries resurface twisting an already complicated case. And art recovery expert Laurel Beacham must not only outwit criminals, but keep her wits around Jack Hawkes’s cheeky ego.

Fatal Forgeries

When art recovery expert Laurel Beacham’s personal and professional worlds collide, she learns no good theft goes unpunished. Incomplete intel and a missing source compel her to make a huge mistake, and she’s left with a divided team. Every retrieved masterpiece has a price—and the cost of forgeries can be deadly. This time Laurel could lose not only her best lead, but also her most trusted ally. 

Bronzed Betrayals

A masterpiece swapped for a forgery, a murder victim left behind, and a relentless game of hide and seek keeps Laurel Beacham and Jack Hawkes on the run. They are racing to find answers despite roadblocks at every turn. 

Review: Dr Pimms, Intermillennial Sleuth Series by LJM owen

Canberra author LJM Owen says that after an itinerant childhood, 

She attended university in Canberra, then went on to work in several public service departments before landing a job as a librarian with the National Library of Australia. It was in the map room at the library Owen imagined the Dr Elizabeth Pimms character.

Owen discusses her books and her heroine, Dr Elizabeth Pimms in the Canberra Times:

The hero of Owen's Intermillennial Sleuth novels is Dr Elizabeth Pimms, a skilled archaeologist, knowledgeable Egyptologist and reluctant librarian at Canberra's fictional Mahony Griffin Library. Elizabeth's best friend describes her as curious, intellectual, tenacious and secretive.

From the age of four Elizabeth dedicated herself to the discovery of lost civilisations and ancient treasures. Young and a touch naïve, Elizabeth is aided in her investigations by the machinations of her phrenic library - and a growing sense that something is awry in the world.

Asked to reference the Dr Pimms series, Owen suggests it is a hybrid of Bones, the US TV crime procedural based on Kathy Reichs' Temperance Brennan novels, and the rural potboiler Midsomer Murders. 

"My PhD involved comparing the genetics of past human populations through the examination of dental remains. This expertise fed directly into my first novel, Olmec Obituary. The forensic science in all three Dr Pimms novels is based on firsthand experience or significant research."

Brief synopsis of the series so far:

Part one of the planned nine-book series is Olmec Obituary ...... is set in Canberra where Dr Elizabeth Pimms works while she unpicks the cause of mysterious deaths in ancient civilisations, and more contemporary crimes. The second book, Mayan Mendacity, sees Dr Pimms exploring the ancient world of Mayan politics, scribes and female rulers. Part three, Egyptian Enigma sees Dr Pimms on the hunt for the identity of a cache of mummies hidden in a Golden Tomb. There are female pharaohs, ancient grave robbers, modern cannibals, loads of skeletons, cats and cups of tea, she says.

So to my thoughts on each of the books in turn.

The Olmec Obituary

This is where it all begins - Elizabeth is forced to return home from an archaeological dig in Egypt due to a family crisis - and to say she's not happy about that would be an understatement. Here is where we get more of a sense of the character of Elizabeth - indulged, spoilt, emotional, petulant, sulky. Forced to take a job in a library (courtesy of family connections) does not help - she really wants to be out in the field. Then ... a chance to return to archaeology when the skeletal remains form a newly discovered Olmec burial are brought to Canberra. 

I liked the narrative between modern day Elizabeth and the Olmec Kingdom. I admit to knowing next to nothing about Olmec Civilization - and for readers like myself, here is a brief synopsis:

The mysterious Olmec civilization, located in ancient Mexico, prospered in Pre-Classical (Formative) Mesoamerica from c. 1200 BCE to c. 400 BCE and is generally considered the forerunner of all subsequent Mesoamerican cultures including the Maya and Aztecs. 

But one thing really stood out for me - I found it curious that Elizabeth, a self confessed Egyptologist, should be requested to work on Mesoamerican remains. I guess I naively assumed that most archaeologists would have a specialty field - and thus someone with more than a passing interest (and more qualified) would have been brought in. Anyway, Elizabeth soon comes into conflict with those around her.

Mayan Mendacity

The sub-setting for this mystery is the Mayan Empire during what is called the "classical period" 250-950 CE. This period was the height of the Maya civilization in which they perfected mathematics, astronomy, architecture and the visual arts and also refined and perfected the calendar. In Mayan belief, however, one did not die and go to a `heaven’ or a `hell’ but, rather, embarked on a journey toward Tamoanchan. This journey began in the dark and treacherous underworld of Xibalba and if one could navigate through Xibalba, then one could then find the way to ascend through the nine levels of the underworld, and the thirteen levels of the higher world, to paradise. The only ways in which a soul could by-pass Xibalba and travel instantly to Tamoanchan were through death in childbirth, as a sacrificial victim, in warfare, on the ball court, or by suicide.

Elizabeth is approached to do some research on the newly discovered skeletal remains from a newly discovered Mayan site in Guatemala by her boyfriend Luke, whom she has seen (in person) for nearly two years. Hang on a minute - what's he doing in Guatemala when he was supposed to be in Mexico, and why is he interviewing for jobs in America and not here closer to home? But that's not the only mystery that will confront Elizabeth - long hidden family secrets are about to be revealed (publicly).

I still find Elizabeth annoying with her constant need for approval and validation for everything she does; other than that, I am enjoying the mysteries.

Egyptian Enigma

On holiday in Cairo with New York chum Henry, Elizabeth is robbed of the journal she has been keeping of their visit - what possible value could it be to anyone?

Then we head back to Egypt of the 19th Dynasty, during the reign of Seti II and his Queen Twosret (Tausret), whose story is of one woman's struggle too hold the throne of Egypt. Her short reign ended in a civil war, which is documented in the Elephantine stela of her successor Setnakhte, founder of the Twentieth dynasty. It is not known if she was overthrown by Setnakhte or whether she died peacefully in her own reign. Joyce Tyldesley's "Chronicle of the Queens of Egypt" notes "A mummy found in KV35 and known as Unknown Woman D has been identified by some scholars as possibly belonging to Twosret, but there is no other evidence for this other than the correct Nineteenth Dynasty period of mummification."

This then would appear to be the back drop of Egyptian Enigma, the curious remains of an Egyptian Prince of the Golden Tomb, which finds Elizabeth and her group of friends doing their own investigations in an attempt to solve the mystery, whilst preparing her papers on her Olmec and Mayan investigations.

Mongolian Mayhem is believed to be the next book in the series - I would be very interested to see how the next six books pan out, and if Elizabeth manages to grow up!