A couple of book recommendations for those of you who love a beautiful love story that’s complemented by gorgeous prose and sensuous descriptions of nature – my favourite type of novel! The first is The Mysteries of Glass by Sue Gee, which is about a young Victorian curate who falls in love with the wife of the vicar he’s been assigned to. Oh, how I love this novel! The two main characters’ yearning for each other is beautiful and palpable. Sue Gee’s writing is among the most lyrical I’ve ever come across, and I don’t know how her work isn’t more well known. I also loved her novel The Hours of the Night, about an unconventional mother and poet daughter living deep in the English countryside, whose lives are transformed when a new neighbour moves in. It’s not so much of a love story (or rather it’s an unconventional one), but still very much worth reading, just for the sheer loveliness of the world she creates.

Another book I highly recommend is Katherine by Anya Seton (which I mention in my Goodreads author profile), the story of Katherine Swynford and John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, set in 14th century England. The two of them are the ancestors of most of the British royal family. I’ve heard the book described as the original Cinderella story, which I think is very apt. Published in 1954 it’s one of the most marvellous love stories I’ve ever read. The depth of Anya Seton’s historical research is an incredible thing to behold, and she sweeps you into a world so beautifully and realistically-constructed that you feel as if you’re actually living in the 1300s. Another novel of Seton’s, Green Darkness, involves ideas about reincarnation, which partly inspired Beyond The Moon.

Okay so that was more than two books, but they’re all really worth checking out.

And by the way the e-book of Beyond The Moon is currently discounted on Amazon at $1.99, down from $4.99 for a limited time.

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading!

Catherine