Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More


Age of Decadence by Simon HefferAge of Decadence by Simon Heffer

Thanks to Jen Rivera of Pegasus Books, I am giving away one print copy of ‘Age of Decadence’ by Simon Heffer.

Description Age of Decadence by Simon Heffer

The folk-memory of Britain in the years before the Great War is of a powerful, contented, orderly and thriving country. She commanded a vast empire. She bestrode international commerce. Her citizens were living longer, profiting from civil liberties their grandparents only dreamt of, and enjoying an expanding range of comforts and pastimes. The mood of pride and self-confidence is familiar from Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance marches, newsreels of George V’s coronation and the London’s great Edwardian palaces.

Yet things were very different below the surface. In The Age of Decadence Simon Heffer exposes the contradictions of late-Victorian and Edwardian Britain. He explains how, despite the nation’s massive power, a mismanaged war against the Boers in South Africa created profound doubts about her imperial destiny. He shows how attempts to secure vital social reforms prompted the twentieth century’s gravest constitutional crisis and coincided with the worst industrial unrest in British history. He describes how politicians who conceded the vote to millions more men disregarded women so utterly that female suffragists’ public protest bordered on terrorism. He depicts a ruling class that fell prey to degeneracy and scandal. He analyses a national psyche that embraced the motor-car, the sensationalist press and the science fiction of H. G. Wells, but also the Arts and Crafts of William Morris and the nostalgia of A. E. Housman. And he concludes with the crisis that in the summer of 1914 threatened the existence of the United Kingdom – a looming civil war in Ireland.
He lights up the era through vivid pen-portraits of the great men and women of the day – including Gladstone, Parnell, Asquith and Churchill, but also Mrs Pankhurst, Beatrice Webb, Baden-Powell, Wilde and Shaw – creating a richly detailed panorama of a great power that, through both accident and arrogance, was forced to face potentially fatal challenges.

Praise Age of Decadence by Simon Heffer

“A riveting account of the pre-First World War years. A gloriously rich history. Balanced and judicious. The Age of Decadence is an enormously impressive and enjoyable read.” – The Sunday Times (London)

“An impressively well-constructed book. Heffer weaves his wonderfully diverse strands of inquiry into a devastating critique of prewar It’s also disturbingly relevant to the world in which we live.” – The Times (London)

“Simon Heffer writes with admirable sensitivity about both music and literature. He does a brilliant job of exposing the rot beneath the glittering surface of late Victorian and Edwardian Britain.” – The Economist

About Simon HefferAge of Decadence by Simon Heffer

Simon Heffer has a PhD in modern history from Cambridge. He has published numerous history books in Britain, but The Age of Decadence is his first book to be published in the US. In a thirty-year career on Fleet Street, he has held senior editorial positions at The Daily Telegraph and at The Spectator, and he is now a columnist for The Sunday Telegraph. He lives in London.

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Giveaway Age of Decadence by Simon Heffer


This giveaway is open to the U.S. only and ends on April 23, 2021 midnight pacific time.  Entries are accepted via Rafflecopter only.

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A Promise Given by Michelle CoxA Promise Given (A Henrietta and Inspector Howard Series Book 3)

Description A Promise Given by Michelle Cox


Anxious to be married, Henrietta and Clive push forward with their wedding plans despite their family differences, made worse now by Oldrich Exley’s attempts to control the Von Harmons. When the long-awaited wedding day arrives, there is more unfolding than just Clive and Henrietta’s vows of love. Stanley and Elsie’s relationship is sorely tested by the presence of the dashing Lieutenant Harrison Barnes-Smith and by Henrietta’s friend Rose—a situation that grows increasingly dark and confused as time goes on.

As Clive and Henrietta begin their honeymoon at Castle Linley, the Howards’ ancestral estate in England, they encounter a whole new host of characters, including the eccentric Lord and Lady Linley and Clive’s mysterious cousin, Wallace. When a man is murdered in the village on the night of a house party at the Castle, Wallace comes under suspicion—and Clive and Henrietta are reluctantly drawn into the case, despite Clive’s anxiety at involving his new bride and Henrietta’s distracting news from home.

Delicately attempting to work together for the first time, Clive and Henrietta set out to prove Wallace’s innocence, uncovering as they do so some rather shocking truths that will shake the Linley name and estate forever.

My Thoughts A Promise Given by Michelle Cox


Henrietta and Clive can barely contain their passion for each other but it being the 1930’s they will not consummate their love until they are married.  So, they decide to move up their wedding. The wedding planning has problems complicated by Clive’s mother who won’t shorten the guest list and will spare no expense.  Further complicating not only the wedding but Henrietta’s family is her newly found grandfather, Oldrich Exley. It turns out that Henrietta’s mother kept a huge secret from her children.  She comes from wealth but was disowned when she married Henrietta’s father.

After the wedding, Henrietta and Clive ship off the England for their honeymoon.  They stay AT Linley Castle where Clive’s father grew up.  Once again the become wrapped up in a mystery. Henrietta also fears for her sister, Elsie after receive an alarming letter from her. Then as they get ready to leave Castle Linley for the rest of their honeymoon, the couple are called back home for an emergency.

It took me a bit of time to warm up to the new characters in book 3 but they were well written as all of Michelle Cox’s characters are. I loved how she wove in the landscape of Castle Linley and the surrounding English countryside.  It seemed to be a character of its own. The mystery wasn’t quite as riveting in the past books but that is because I was able to guess at least part of Wallace’s secret.  Wallace is Clive’s cousin. However, I still enjoyed it and give it 4 stars.

About Michelle CoxA Promise Given by Michelle Cox

Michelle Cox is the author of the multiple award-winning Henrietta and Inspector Howard series as well as Novel Notes of Local Lore, a weekly blog dedicated to Chicago’s forgotten residents. She suspects she may have once lived in the 1930s and, having yet to discover a handy time machine lying around, has resorted to writing about the era as a way of getting herself back there. (Her books have been praised by Kirkus, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and many others, so she might be on to something.)

Unbeknownst to most, Cox hoards board games she doesn’t have time to play and is, not surprisingly, addicted to period dramas and big band music. Also, marmalade.

Website: http://michellecoxauthor.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michellecoxauthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/michellecox33
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michellecoxwrites/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-cox-ab8700193/
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/michelle-cox
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/michelle-cox-610476432

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Anne of Cleves: Henry VIII's Unwanted Wife by Sarah-Beth WatkinsAnne of Cleves: Henry VIII’s Unwanted Wife by Sarah-Beth Watkins

Thanks to the author, Sarah-Beth Watkins, I am giving away one print copy of ‘Anne of Cleves: Henry VIII’s Unwanted Wife’ by Sarah-Beth Watkins.

Description Anne of Cleves: Henry VIII’s Unwanted Wife by Sarah-Beth Watkins


Anne of Cleves left her homeland in 1539 to marry the king of England. She was never brought up to be a queen yet out of many possible choices; she was the bride Henry VIII chose as his fourth wife. Yet from their first meeting the king decided he liked her not and sought an immediate divorce.

After just six months their marriage was annulled, leaving Anne one of the wealthiest women in England. This is the story of Anne’s marriage to Henry, how the daughter of Cleves survived him and her life afterwards.

About Sarah-Beth WatkinsAnne of Cleves: Henry VIII's Unwanted Wife by Sarah-Beth Watkins


Sarah-Beth Watkins grew up in Richmond, Surrey and began soaking up history from an early age. Her love of writing has seen her articles
published in various publications over the past twenty years.

Her history works are Ireland’s Suffragettes, Lady Katherine Knollys: The Unacknowledged Daughter of King Henry VIII, The Tudor Brandons, Catherine of Braganza, Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scots: The Life of King Henry VIII’s Sister and the forthcoming Anne of Cleves: Henry VIII’s Unwanted Wife.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SarahBWatkins

Buy Anne of Cleves: Henry VIII’s Unwanted Wife by Sarah-Beth Watkins


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Giveaway Anne of Cleves: Henry VIII’s Unwanted Wife by Sarah-Beth Watkins


This giveaway is open to UK and the U.S. only for print and worldwide for ebook and ends on November 16, 2018 midnight pacific time.  Entries are accepted via Rafflecopter only.

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