Review | Frenchman's Creek by Daphne du Maurier

Frenchman's Creek

by Daphne du Maurier

My Rating: 

The Restoration Court knows Lady Dona St Columb to be ripe for any folly, any outrage that will relieve the tedium of her days. But there is another, secret Dona who longs for a life of honest love - and sweetness, even if it is spiced with danger. Dona flees London for remote Navron, looking for peace of mind in its solitary woods and hidden creeks. She finds there the passion her spirit craves - in the love of a daring pirate hunted across Cornwall, a Frenchman who, like Dona, would gamble his life for a moment's joy.

In 2014 I finally ticked Daphne du Maurier off the list of authors I desperately needed to read when Frenchman's Creek helped me to recover from a post-MA reading slump. I hadn't realised at the time just how desperately I needed a fun adventure story, and how badly I needed the comfort of historical fiction, one of my favourite genres.

I'd wanted to read Frenchman's Creek for a while; when it comes to historical fiction I love stories set during the 16th and 17th centuries, and a setting like Cornwall, where a lot of du Maurier's stories take place, added that extra bit of something to this premise. There's something mystical about Cornwall that makes any story just a little more enchanting than it was before.

During the reign of Charles II, Lady Dona St Columb, adventurous, flirtacious and bored, takes her children and their maid to her husband's estate in Navron. Fed up and somewhat ashamed of both her life and her husband, Dona spends some blissful days with her children in the comforting isolation of her husband's estate. That is until she stumbles across a French pirate who has been plundering the Cornish coast.

Frenchman's Creek isn't just a piece of historical romance, it's a fun, absorbing adventure story that sucks you in from start to finish. Initially I worried that Dona was going to irritate me, but she quickly grew on me, and I loved the chemistry between her and Jean-Benoit.

As is to be expected, du Maurier's writing style was lovely throughout. She had a wonderful talent for both writing beautifully and writing in such a way that her novels aren't an effort to read. Her stories are so easy to fall into, and I can't wait to read more of her historical fiction.

Basically I loved this book, and whether you're completely new to Daphne du Maurier's work or you've read her stories before I recommend giving Frenchman's Creek a try!

Stories & Songs #3

Today it's my birthday so I'm here with another installment of one of my personal favourite posts, Stories & Songs! You can find the previous posts here and here, and all of the songs mentioned can be found in this playlist!

Frenchman's Creek

by Daphne du Maurier

"Legendary Lovers"

Katy Perry

Take me down to the river

Underneath the blood-orange sun

Say my name like a scripture

Keep my heart beating like a drum

Legendary lovers, we could be legendary

La la la la la

Legendary lovers, we should be legendary

La la la la la

Go down in history

Go down together,

Into infinity,

Forever

Your Cleopatra

Your blushing Juliet

Anything for your love

Scarlet

by Marissa Meyer

"Cosmic Love"

Florence + the Machine

And in the dark, I can hear your heartbeat

I tried to find the sound

But then it stopped, and I was in the darkness,

So darkness I became

The stars, the moon, they have all been blown out

You left me in the dark

No dawn, no day, I'm always in this twilight

In the shadow of your heart

I took the stars from my eyes, and then I made a map

And knew that somehow I could find my way back

Then I heard your heart beating, you were in the darkness too

So I stayed in the darkness with you

Carmilla

by J. Sheridan Le Fanu

"Sinéad"

Within Temptation

I've gotta try

It's not over yet

No signals of love

Have you left

My heart is bleeding just for you

Bleeds only for you

And it hurts to know the truth

Are you looking saviours

Chasing a dream

Love turned to hate

Now I'm crossing the border

See then I fade

But I'm not afraid

Oh Sinéad,

For the first time

Life is gonna turn around

I'm telling you

You will like it, I know

Oh Sinéad,

It's the first time

Only you can set it free

Oh Sinéad

Come break away with me

Blackout

by Mira Grant

"Read All About It, Pt. III"

Emeli Sandé

At night we're waking up the neighbours

While we sing away the blues

Making sure that we're remembered, yeah

Cause we all matter too

If the truth has been forbidden

Then we're breaking all the rules

So come on, come on

Come on, come on

Let's get the TV and the radio

To play our tune again

It's 'bout time we got some airplay of our version of events

There's no need to be afraid

I will sing with you my friend

Come on, come on

I wanna sing, I wanna shout

I wanna scream 'til the words dry out

So put it in all of the papers,

I'm not afraid

They can read all about it

Read all about it, oh

Corrag

by Susan Fletcher

"Wild Child"

Enya

Ever close your eyes

Ever stop and listen

Ever feel alive

And you've nothing missing

You don't need a reason

Let the day go on and on

Let the rain fall down

Everywhere around you

Give into it now

Let the day surround you

You don't need a reason

Let the rain go on and on

What a day

What a day to take to

What a way

What a way

To make it through

What a day

What a day to take to

A wild child

Reading Wrap-Up + Mini Book Haul | July 2014

Once again, stressing about university and the future meant I barely did any reading in July, but I really enjoyed both of the books I did read and really that's all that matters!

The Penelopiad

by Margaret Atwood

My Rating: 

Now that all the others have run out of air, it's my turn to do a little story-making.

In Homer's account in The Odyssey, Penelope--wife of Odysseus and cousin of the beautiful Helen of Troy--is portrayed as the quintessential faithful wife, her story a salutary lesson through the ages. Left alone for twenty years when Odysseus goes off to fight in the Trojan War after the abduction of Helen, Penelope manages, in the face of scandalous rumors, to maintain the kingdom of Ithaca, bring up her wayward son, and keep over a hundred suitors at bay, simultaneously. When Odysseus finally comes home after enduring hardships, overcoming monsters, and sleeping with goddesses, he kills her suitors and--curiously--twelve of her maids.

In a splendid contemporary twist to the ancient story, Margaret Atwood has chosen to give the telling of it to Penelope and to her twelve hanged maids, asking: "What led to the hanging of the maids, and what was Penelope really up to?" In Atwood's dazzling, playful retelling, the story becomes as wise and compassionate as it is haunting, and as wildly entertaining as it is disturbing. With wit and verve, drawing on the story-telling and poetic talent for which she herself is renowned, she gives Penelope new life and reality--and sets out to provide an answer to an ancient mystery.

I'm ashamed to say that before last month I had never read any of Margaret Atwood's fiction. Yes, that really does mean I've never read The Handmaid's Tale. As both an avid reader and a feminist, I'm appalled with myself. 

I stumbled across this little hardback edition of The Penelopiad for just £1 in a charity shop in South Wales and I just had to have it. I love Greek mythology, and the idea of reading Penelope's side of the story really interested me - that poor woman really does put up with a lot of crap in The Odyssey!

Considering I was in a bit of a slump despite being in the middle of several great books - books I'm still in the middle of! - my friend Laura and I decided to read The Penelopiad together, and we both enjoyed it. I loved what Atwood did with the original tale, the little ways in which she tweaked it, and the voice she gave Penelope was just exquisite. Now I'm very eager to read more of her fiction!

The Undressed

by Jemma L. King

My Rating: 

The Undressed is a poetry collection inspired by a cache of antique nude photographs of women. King studied the photographs ranging from the 1840s to the 1930s and attempted to return voices to these mostly anonymous women lost to history.

Meet Olive, the silent movie star, Karolina, 'The Folding Girl of Kotka', and Mary, the prostitute who hopes the judge she's due to stand before will turn out to be a client...

The second book I read in July I read on the very last day of the month and it has to be one of the best books I've read this year; this is especially unusual for me considering, I'm ashamed to admit, I very rarely read poetry collections for pleasure. Reading poetry is something I need to do more of, because there are some amazing poets out there.

This collection is just gorgeous. Each poem is like its own little story - something I love in a poetry collection - and each voice sounds different from the others. I definitely recommend this collection, whether you frequently read poetry or not!

Last weekend I went to a market stall with my parents where second hand books were being sold: 3 for £5. Naturally, I couldn't leave empty-handed and I ended up coming away with a miniature historical fiction haul.

Nowadays I tend to buy most of my books second hand - I don't care if books look a little worn, in fact I think it gives them character! - and all three of the books I picked up are ones I've been after for a while now, including another of Margaret Atwood's novels!

I picked up copies of Karen Maitland's The Gallows Curse, Daphne du Maurier's Frenchman's Creek, and Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace. I mentioned Daphne du Maurier in a post at the beginning of last month as one of the authors I'm most ashamed to admit I have yet to read. I have a copy of Rebecca, but I've been wanting to read Frenchman's Creek for a long time now so I'm hoping to start it soon!

What did you read in July?

J.