It’s Halloween and what better time to review two ghostly books written by Jennifer C. Wilson. I recently discovered this wonderful author and it gives me great pleasure to make her work the subject of my first book review.
The Kindred Spirits series begins with Kindred Spirits: Tower of London. Here we find a story being told by the ghosts who inhabit the Tower of London. The main characters are King Richard III and Anne Boleyn. Despite the years between their living lives, in death they have become good friends. They have a wonderful supporting cast that includes George Plantagenet – First Duke of Clarence, Edward Plantagenet – Seventeenth Earl of Warwick, George Boleyn – Anne’s brother and Jane Grey.
The ghosts have established a very pleasant life for themselves in the Tower and take great delight in mingling with, and haunting, the living who visit in their droves on a daily basis although King Richard continues to be distraught by the loss of his two young nephews – Edward and Richard – and, having made the journey to London after his death, spends most nights scouring the Tower looking for their ghosts. Anne Boleyn, and the other ghosts, feel his pain and come up with a plan which they hope will alleviate his mental suffering.
I feel the author has been very clever in the manner in which she brings these characters together and how the dynamics work between them in this after-life. Her portrayal of these famous historical figures is interesting and their thoughts and opinions are refreshingly outside of the norm fed to us in books and by historians.
The second book in the series is set in Edinburgh along its famous Royal Mile. Here we find a new gathering of ghosts where Mary, Queen of Scots, takes up the leading role. Her supporting cast includes her faithful secretary David Rizzio, Janet Douglas – Lady Glamis, King James V – her father, Greyfriars Bobby and, the bane of her life, Henry Stuart – Lord Darnley.
The story begins with Mary’s arrival back in the Scottish capital further to a trip to London where she delighted in annoying the ghost of Queen Elizabeth I at Westminster Abbey. Her closest friend is Janet Douglas – Lady Glamis who was executed by Mary’s father James V.
Mary’s authority is absolute and it doesn’t take long for to her to become involved in the various disputes that come with centuries of ghosts all having to rub along together. However, while she proves masterful in solving everyone else’s problems, her own, in the shape of Lord Darnley, is not so easy to deal with and causes our Queen quite a headache.
Once again, we have a captivating story of ghosts across the centuries mingling and mixing together as they haunt the capital and give the tourists more than a few spooks. The manner in which the story is woven makes it an easy, but thoroughly enjoyable, read. It is particularly poignant to read of the relationship between Mary and James V – the father she never met in real life.
Both books are available on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jennifer-Wilson/e/B018UBP1ZO/
About the Author
Jennifer is a marine biologist by training, who spent much of her childhood stalking Mary, Queen of Scots (initially accidentally, but then with intention). She completed her BSc and MSc at the University of Hull, and has worked as a marine environmental consulting since graduating. Enrolling on an adult education workshop on her return to the north-east reignited Jennifer’s pastime of creative writing, and she has been filling notebooks ever since. In 2014, Jennifer won the Story Tyne short story competition, and also continues to develop her poetic voice, reading at a number of events, and with several pieces available online. She is also part of The Next Page, running workshops and other literary events in North Tyneside. Jennifer’s debut novel, Kindred Spirits: Tower of London, was released by Crooked Cat Books in October 2015, with Kindred Spirits: Royal Mile following in June 2017. Her timeslip historical romance, ‘The Last Plantagenet?’ is also available now.
Jennifer can be found:
Online at her website – https://jennifercwilsonwriter.wordpress.com
On Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/jennifercwilsonwriter
On Twitter – @inkjunkie1984
Thank you Kilthe for this blog post, books I would probably not consider but hearing your thoughts on them I am now intrigued.