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There are currently 38 member reviews
for Tides of War
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Portia A. (Mount Laurel, NJ)
A superb book
Stella Tillyard has written one of the best books I've read in a long time. An historic novel can sometimes bog down, this one never did. Her plotting moves through several characters lives and through war and peace but my interest never flagged. The mix of real and fictional characters made the story even more interesting. This book is an excellent read.
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Carmen S. (Elkins, Arkansas)
Great book
Although I don't usually read books about war, I love a good historical book. This one fits the bill. Great story. Good characters that hold your attention.
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Mary O. (Boston, MA)
Daunting!
I love historical novels where I can embrace the world at that particular time and place. Tides of War is beautifully written and I enjoyed it from the first page on. The characters are well developed especially the strong female characters. You are totally drawn into the brutality of the bestiality and brutality of war and the lives of the soldiers at the front. I highly recommend it as an engrossing and entertaining novel
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Patricia S. (Chicago, IL)
Tides of War
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The blurb suggests that it is the story of a soldier and his young wife during the Napoleonic wars, but it is really about a lot of different people, each affected differently by the war. I appreciated the fact that several of the characters remained in England, so that there was the homefront point of view as well. Since there were so many characters, the book moved between them in short sections, not really long enough to be called chapters, which may put off some readers as the action jumps around quite a bit. But I found these bits fascinating, especially the sections with Nathan Rothschild and Kitty Wellington, the Duke of Wellington's wife. The inside glimpses of the financial world (very similar to today's) were fascinating and I learned quite a bit about Wellington through his wife. I didn't even know he had a wife during his military period! Although it seems they did not get along well--part of the explanation of England's stock exchange came through the sections of Kitty's investments with the Rothschilds in order to provide herself an independent living. While I enjoyed to variety of viewpoints, it did make the story a bit disjointed and I didn't really feel that I knew the supposed main characters, Harriet and James. This is not a book with a single story line, so readers who want to get lost in one character or story may not enjoy it, but the variety of experiences and details will engage others.
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Lynne B. (S. Lake Tahoe, CA)
Historical Fiction at Its Best
Though an avid reader of historical fiction, I have not read much that takes place during this time period of 1812-15 in England and Spain. This novel truly brought the time period to life with careful attention to detail and historical research. The characters were vividly believable and drew you into the emotional side of the historical period. I truly learned a great deal about this time period through an enjoyable read. Due to the amount of detail I would suggest that the reader be a history fan. Some readers looking for a shallow romance with historical background will be disappointed. I will be looking forward to more novels by Stella Tillyard.
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Steve B. (Spring, TX)
Historical Novel
This historical novel, framed in the time period of the Peninsular War (1812 - 1815), deals with the military action in Spain and the civilians left behind in England. There is more attention paid to the romance and dalliances of those left behind than to the military action. I would have preferred more history and less romance.
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Mary J. (Scottsdale, AZ)
Tides of Characters
Stella Tillyard has a wonderful grasp of history but there are far too many characters in this novel. It is slow going through the first 100 or so pages. It finally picks up and I couldn't put it down. Well worth the effort a great read.
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