What do you think?
Rate this book
Old Bones
'Old Bones' is a historical romance within a tale of political struggle, and celebrates the determination, organisation and victory of the communities that united to prevent Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists marching through the East End of London.
Kindle Edition
First published June 18, 2011
9 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 11, 2015
This fine book is an excellent melding of the historically fascinating with a gripping, consistently absorbing, fictional story of minorities – immigrant Jews and Irish people – in the East End of London in the 1930s. Ian Roberts has clearly got considerable in-depth knowledge of the witches’ brew of conflicting ideologies of the period, fascist versus communist, and the events that led up to the ‘Battle of Cable Street’ in 1936.
But this is in no way a dry academic account of those tumultuous times. The author fleshes out his testament with a cavalcade of believable characters, giving you a real sense of what it must have been like to live then, particularly as an ‘outsider’. The mobsters are drawn very credibly and realistically and the romantic element is rendered with great delicacy and, ultimately, poignancy.
Congratulations to Mr Roberts on a tour de force which I thoroughly recommend if your taste is for high-quality historical fiction grounded very firmly in solid fact.
But this is in no way a dry academic account of those tumultuous times. The author fleshes out his testament with a cavalcade of believable characters, giving you a real sense of what it must have been like to live then, particularly as an ‘outsider’. The mobsters are drawn very credibly and realistically and the romantic element is rendered with great delicacy and, ultimately, poignancy.
Congratulations to Mr Roberts on a tour de force which I thoroughly recommend if your taste is for high-quality historical fiction grounded very firmly in solid fact.
April 25, 2014
The author, Ian Roberts, gave me a copy of this novel in exchange for my review.
“Old Bones” is smart fiction. Roberts' true strength shines in the narrative of the novel and is perhaps one of the few cases where I can’t imagine the author showing us events as effective as telling us. On top of its educational aspect, Roberts presents his readers with social and moral conundrums of the day in the unlikely pairing of the Jewish and Catholic families.
On Page 43 of the novel, Yaakov Burim says that “(Jews should know that) History is a long game.” The simple wisdom of that statement and the way it played out in the story of “Old Bones” stunned this reader. Roberts’ story runs the gamut of life events and emotion. The characters experience love and loss, happiness and pain, forgiveness and vengeance. Roberts’ characters are fully fitting for their time while there are progressive thinkers among them letting the reader know that there is hope in their long game. There are a number of plot points and characters that could be discussed. “Old Bones” is a long novel with a lot of history and a number of characters. The setting and feel of the time are beautifully portrayed. The romance of the novel is courtly and appropriate. The feel is of a full picture of an important time in English history.
The novel is written with the pen of the historian and the heart of the storyteller. Readers who are not interested in history may enjoy the pathos of this novel. Readers may note that this review is overwhelmingly positive and that is because I have no criticism of this work. In thinking back over this masterful work, there is literally nothing negative to say. If you like historically based novels, buy “Old Bones” today.
“Old Bones” is smart fiction. Roberts' true strength shines in the narrative of the novel and is perhaps one of the few cases where I can’t imagine the author showing us events as effective as telling us. On top of its educational aspect, Roberts presents his readers with social and moral conundrums of the day in the unlikely pairing of the Jewish and Catholic families.
On Page 43 of the novel, Yaakov Burim says that “(Jews should know that) History is a long game.” The simple wisdom of that statement and the way it played out in the story of “Old Bones” stunned this reader. Roberts’ story runs the gamut of life events and emotion. The characters experience love and loss, happiness and pain, forgiveness and vengeance. Roberts’ characters are fully fitting for their time while there are progressive thinkers among them letting the reader know that there is hope in their long game. There are a number of plot points and characters that could be discussed. “Old Bones” is a long novel with a lot of history and a number of characters. The setting and feel of the time are beautifully portrayed. The romance of the novel is courtly and appropriate. The feel is of a full picture of an important time in English history.
The novel is written with the pen of the historian and the heart of the storyteller. Readers who are not interested in history may enjoy the pathos of this novel. Readers may note that this review is overwhelmingly positive and that is because I have no criticism of this work. In thinking back over this masterful work, there is literally nothing negative to say. If you like historically based novels, buy “Old Bones” today.
April 26, 2015
This historical fiction is set in the early 19th century recounting the rise of Oswald Moseley's fascist movement as the backdrop to the story of the minorities who inhabited East London at the time. Ian Roberts is well versed on the history and is a consummate storyteller who brings characters from different walks of life together in this enthralling read.
As much as I enjoyed reading Old Bones, I think it could have been even better with a proofread and decent editing, which would have done this marvellous piece of work more justice.
As much as I enjoyed reading Old Bones, I think it could have been even better with a proofread and decent editing, which would have done this marvellous piece of work more justice.
June 8, 2015
It taught me much about history from another point of view and that in many ways, love and politics remain the same. People desire love or power to rule their domain. What it made me miss were some of the old romantic traditions - the courtship. Today the young lack patience for this much needed bond of friendship before becoming lovers. I could feel the passion, a need for change today in this story. Well worth every word.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews