The Making of a Marchioness

The Making of a Marchioness by Frances Hodgson Burnett is the story of Emily Fox-Seton, a young woman from a lesser branch of a wealthy family who was plunged into penury when her mother died. Emily works for others, her sweetly innocent nature and willingness to help others a commodity among the rich and selfish. She is resourceful, living within her means, keeping herself stylish and making the most of life. It’s a delight of a book.

The Mirror and the Light

It is nine years since I wolfed down the first two books in Hilary Mantel’s trilogy about Thomas Cromwell. I read those two books in quick succession, coming to them late thanks to the television dramatisation of 2015. It is four years since The Mirror and the Light was published and it has been languishing on my e-reader all that time. I decided that I wanted something familiar to read, so finally picked it up.

Reading Mantel’s prose is like slipping on a comfortable pair of shoes. I had loved her writing style in Wolf Hall and the way it took me into Cromwell’s mind, and The Mirror and the Light did the same. It opens in the aftermath of Anne Boleyn’s execution, with Henry VIII already betrothed to her replacement, Jane Seymour, and Cromwell steering the ship of state through the wake of the scandal, drawing on his network to keep tabs on those jockeying for position, both in favour of the king and against. He is rewarded by the king for ridding him of his unwanted second wife, elevated to a Lord, holder of the Privy Seal.