Dreamland by Nancy Bilyeau

Dreamland. Nancy Bilyeau. Endeavour Media Ltd. January 2020. pb, 386 pp.; ISBN: 9781911445968

In 1911 Peggy Batternberg spends a summer at Coney Island, one of the world’s favorite playgrounds, a method her famous, rich family is using to curb her lower class desires and dreams.  Up to that summer she was allowed to work in a bookstore, a job she loved because it opened up her world to famous books, art and people who have global perspectives and style.  She was to marry but her almost fiancé turned out to be out of Peggy’s taste.  Later she will be proven correct in her estimation.  Her family’s Jewish heritage is problematic at times but doesn’t stop them from flaunting their wealth and gaining what they want, including what is shameful.

At Coney Island, she breaks away from her family one late afternoon and meets a young, talented artist whose taste in art moves Peggy to tears.  Soon she realizes that she loves this Serbian artist, Stefan.  The author is adept at catching every tantalizing look, smell, taste and touch to do with Coney Island, including the famous exhibit called “Dreamland.”  However, the law is not so admiring of immigrant artists and have investigated Stefan, believing he is an anarchist come to America to bring violence and trouble. He therefore is considered worthy of watching especially in light of the death of two young women right on the beach. 

During this time, Peggy will discover some real culprits who are guilty of criminal acts.  The ending of this book may not satisfy everyone but reflects a reality where the world characterized and judged those in different classes; the reader becomes exposed to more like the true reality in and around Peggy Batternberg’s family and neighborhood.

Coney Island was famous for Nathan’s hot dogs, freak shows, ice cream, lemonade and cotton candy  In every “fun” spot are some shadows, however, and Nancy Bilyeau is to be commendable to show the famous, loved spot in all of its shapes, shades, illusions and realities.  Great historical fiction and a great read!!!

The Blue: A Novel by Nancy Bilyeau

The Blue: A Novel. Nancy Bilyeau. Endeavor Quill.  December 2018. $3.99; pb, 430 pp.; ISBN: 9781911445626.

Genevieve Planche is the granddaughter of French Huguenots, an artist who is reduced to painting on porcelain cups although her skills pertain to being able to paint in oils, the latter talent closed to females in 1758 England.  The author’s own familial background is connected to the Huguenot background of this artist.  She adores the work of the famous artist, William Hogarth, and Joshua Reynolds.  She lives in Spitalfields, a modest area outside of the West End of famous artists and wealthy patrons. Despite being associated in the recent past with the criminal Dennis Arsenault, Genevieve makes up a story to meet William Hogarth.  Imagine her surprise when she is accosted by two men, one her ex-lover and one, Sir Gabriel Courtenay. The latter she met at a dinner earlier and then in Hogarth’s home.  His interest in her seems awkward but determined.  Their earlier conversation was about the history of different types of porcelain, including the famous Sevres porcelain.  The contact immediately becomes dangerous! 

Two items dominate this complex, ever-changing plot.  One is the past French massacre of Genevieve’s fellow Huguenots at what is known as St. Bartholomew Massacre and the other is the exploratory search for a brand new color of blue.  The reader is at first unsure whether this is blue as we know it, a type of Prussian blue or some other shade of blue. Either way, the machinations spun by Courtenay make Genevieve realize it’s a secret that results in plenty of injured and dead people who get too close to this affair.

Thomas Sturbridge is the brilliant scientist who is said to rival the talent of Isaac Newton.  Before she meets him, she is invited, through her grandfather’s artistic influence, to paint porcelain at Derby Porcelain Works.  It is quite unclear who is a trustworthy part of this exploration into the new color being sought.  Even Thomas, with whom Genevieve falls in love, is partially secretive and purely passionate about his scientific experiments.  Genevieve is threatened, beaten at one point and imprisoned because of their love.  She is the only one who can get Thomas to continue his work and yet he seems to know something that he has not revealed to Genevieve. 

Words cannot convey the passion, talents, criminal intent and plans to make this discovery real.  The characters move between England and France, who by the way are also currently at war, at a breakneck pace.  One is never sure of who is sincere and who is a criminal.  The conclusion is mind-blowing in its surprises.  Royalty is more involved in this plot than earlier realized.  The author has obviously researched her subject with precision and depth and knows how to hold the reader’s fascination with plot and character manipulations.  More than that, the author also has a deep, passionate love for the world of porcelain and art, as well as the Huguenot people. 

This is magnificent historical fiction that’s a must read and a great gift for those who love the genres of historical fiction and mysteries! Congratulations, Nancy Bilyeau, for a book that will be read, re-read and talked about for some time to come!

The Chalice: A Novel by Nancy Bilyeau

The Chalice: A Novel. Nancy Bilyeau. Touchstone. March 2013. 485 pp. hbk. ISBN #: 9781476708652.

Joanna Stafford, former novice, has escaped the Tower of London while so many others have gone on to torture, beheading, and burning at the stake, all at the hands of King Henry VIII.  The year is 1538 and Joanna is trying to adjust to the life of a common woman, a difficult task given her noble background, all of which readers may have encountered in the prequel to this novel, The Crown: A Novel.   Having heard two prophecies about her role in the supposed downfall of the King, she wants no more knowledge as death has stalked everyone who is connected to her.  

As the King is destroying more monasteries and carrying out the Reformation through Thomas Cromwell, Joanna now learns that others are conniving to have European leaders attack England in order to restore the Catholic faith Henry has so thoroughly worked at stamping out.  Meanwhile, two men love Joanna and the course of these potential romances is a lovely and frightening one indeed.  For Joanna is not trusted and spies watch her every move, while others are using everything in their power to get her to agree to hear the third and final prophecy.  This is the story of temptation in so many ways, with Joanna experiencing physical desire at the same time she knows horror of what the future could bring.

For now Joanna is developing her talent as a seamstress, designing tapestries that awe all who see them.  Suddenly, her quiet life is shattered and after many fruitless arguments, she agrees to finish the task that seems to be divinely inspired.  She will travel to Belgium, be held prisoner when she once again refuses to cooperate with the powers that totally oppose the King, and then meet a famous seer who has just been accused of being a converso by the notorious Inquisition.  Finally, a revelation will clarify what she has struggled with for years upon years and she will embrace her task with faith.  Will she succeed?  How will England fare with so much division rife throughout the country and other nations?

Nancy Bilyeau is a very talented writer who has spun a brilliant work of historical fiction, as well as a tense plot replete with complex, dynamic characters.  Obviously well-researched, The Chalice immediately draws the reader into the story, urging support and opposition at all the right places, crafting complexity to several riddles within the account, and inserting just enough levity and love to balance out the "humanity" of all the characters.  For motivations and outcomes do not always exist as pure and simple as one would want but follow the complexity of the times in which this story takes place.

The Chalice: A Novel is finely crafted historical fiction.  It, as well as its prequel, deserves the status of "classic historical fiction." Congratulations, Nancy Bilyeau on an amazing, enjoyable and noteworthy series!

The Crown by Nancy Bilyeau

The Crown. Nancy Bilyeau. Touchstone. September 2012. 448 pages. ISBN #: 9781451626865.

Henry VIII and his supporters are busy eliminating opponents, those who opposed his annulment to the first Queen and those who maintain the "old ways" of the Catholic Church, including priests, monks, friars, professed nuns, and novices.  Henry wants his Protestant Church (that name is used here, though it was really called Church of England by its adherents) to thrive, and the coffers of the monasteries will add to his dwindling wealth.  This is the story of those who oppose Henry but out of different motives.  For Joanna Stafford, the death of her cousin marks the beginning of a long journey of suffering, confusion, shocks, betrayals, and more; however, it's a journey that will deepen her faith and yet free her from its restrictive boundaries.

The protagonists are the nuns in her Dominican home, Dartford Priory, two Dominican friars, Brother Richard and Brother Edmund, various porters and servants, and Bishop Gardiner. The latter has freed her from the notorious Tower, where she has been imprisoned for attending her cousin's execution and as a member of the rebellious Stafford family.  Gardiner holds her father hostage and will free him if she finds the secret crown that once belong to a medieval King, Athelstan.  The Crown is said to hold a secret that may be a blessing to some, a curse to others, a mystery supposedly applying to those with pure or impure motives who wish to possess it.  Is it the curse or coincidence that all who have possessed it have died very soon after briefly owning it?

This is a thriller containing constant surprises as the mystery of the hunt continues and vile acts of others comes to light. But there are unique qualities to Bilyeau's plot.  While some may think this is a proverbial stereotypical plot with like characters, nothing could be farther from the truth. For some want to protect the Church which is gradually being exterminated by King Henry VIII, others want to turn the tides of political power with the inherent sacred power of this crown, and others turn to violence because of events that snap the mind in a frightening, life-threatening instant! Most, however, have mixed motives that only get sorted out as the story progresses!

Who will each character ultimately serve?  Joanna Stafford is a feisty woman who exhibits incredible intelligence, a penchant for leadership and confrontation when necessary, but also a vulnerable woman acting outside of the confines of roles allowed for women at that time (outside of the seducers in Henry's court, that is) and knowing she yearns for more - and more as the mystery approaches an unexpected end.  After what she has endured, how could she settle for a marriage planned by someone else, with a a shadow of existence under the shameful "Stafford" reputation? She can't and so the future remains an open question, and somehow the reader knows disappointment will not loom in the follow-up to this super story.  And what of the other relics that are held and then hidden by the Benedictine monks? 

The Crown is outstanding historical fiction, a ripping thriller, in short A GEM!!!!