Author: Karen Brooks
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publication Date: 1st October 2014
Pages: 532
Book Source: Harlequin Mira & NetGalley
Synopsis: It had been Mother's secret and mine, one passed down through the de
Winter women for generations. I would ensure it was kept that way, until I was
ready to pass it on.
When
Anneke Sheldrake is forced to find a way to support her family after her father
is lost at sea, she turns to the business by which her mother’s family once
prospered: brewing ale.
Armed with
her Dutch mother’s recipes and a belief that anything would be better than the
life her vindictive cousin has offered her, she makes a deal with her father’s
aristocratic employer: Anneke has six months to succeed or not only will she
lose the house but her family as well.
Through
her enterprise and determination, she inadvertently earns herself a deadly
enemy. Threatened and held in contempt by those she once called friends, Anneke
nonetheless thrives. But on the tail of success, tragedy follows and those
closest to her pay the greatest price for her daring.
Ashamed, grieving, and bearing a terrible secret, Anneke flees to
London, determined to forge her own destiny. Will she be able to escape her
past, and those whose only desire is to see her fail?
My Thoughts:
Fascinating, horrifying, evocative; Karen
Brooks' meticulous research and eloquent writing took me to medieval England in
the 1400's ... from the fictional town of Elmham Lenn to Southwark,
London and Gloucester and the world of ale-making.
Anneke Sheldrake is such an interesting character, what she endures while establishing herself as a brewster, plagued by prejudice, sabotage and tragedy made for harrowing reading. I found the entire brewing process surprisingly fascinating ... ale, hops, beer, the ale crones, ale-conners, taxes, laws, fines, bizarre punishments and corruption.
And what a wonderful cast of characters ...
Betje, Adam, Captain Stoyan, Leander, Alyson; their fierce loyalty and
unwavering friendship providing a beautiful sense of family and a lightness to
balance out this story. I fell in love with them, especially Alyson, the feisty
owner of the Swanne bathhouse, that woman had a heart of gold.
To keep it spoiler free I won't mention the
antagonist by name, I'll just say it's been a while since I've hated a
character with such passion. ...would the evil bastard ever die?? Maybe it was
simply a case of 50 pages too many ...
The author's historical notes were a great bonus, I didn't pick up that Alyson was Geoffrey Chaucer's Wife of Bath and this is Karen Brooks' take on her life beyond The Canterbury Tales.
All up The Brewer's Tale was a page turner, rich with historical detail and characters to love and hate.
Connect with Karen Brooks
Now I wonder about the evil bastard
ReplyDeleteI killed him off in my head more than once haha
DeleteOhhhhhhhhh I wanna know who the bastard is now! :)
ReplyDeleteread it Julie, read it ;)
DeleteSounds very interesting, I am not sure it is for me, but I do admire a woman like Anneke and I would be hoping she would come out succeeding.
ReplyDeleteAnneke sure had a tough battle, just reading about being female in the 1400's gives me the horrors ... but it's not all doom and gloom :)
DeleteGreat review! Sounds good!
ReplyDeleteThanks Sheila, it was a great read, my first by Karen Brooks actually.
DeleteThis sounds like a wonderful read Teddyree, I'm going to have to give it a try :)
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy (for want of a better word) it Kimberly, I'll keep an eye out for your review :)
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