Review: The Seven Sisters

The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The perfect book to read over a long weekend - compelling but also non-taxing.

However, I did struggle with the subplot story of Izabela and Laurent. Rich girl constrained by the rules of society meets bohemian artist isn't exactly a new concept when it comes to romantic fiction, but there were one or two twists and turns that keeps it (sort of) interesting. Plus without this subplot, Maia's story would just be your average tale of repressed woman learns to live life to the full etc.

This is actually the first in what I am presuming is seven books - each one charting the story of how one of the adopted sisters finds out her origins. There are actually only six sisters but there's blatant foreshadowing about the "missing" seventh sister (which relates to The Seven Sisters mythology I think) - so, I'd be very surprised if there wasn't a seventh book about her once she is found.

Not sure if I will read the others in the series (the fourth one has just been published), but I'd definitely consider them the next time I'm in need of an easy read.

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Review: Dr James Barry: A Woman Ahead of Her Time

Dr James Barry: A Woman Ahead of Her Time by Michael du Preez
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"Dr James Barry: A woman ahead of her time" is the astonishing true story of Margaret Anne Bulkley - a woman who, for most of her life, pretended to be a man and worked as an army surgeon. That she managed to "get away" with her disguise for so long would have been an impressive feat by itself but she also did this while working her ways through the ranks to become one of the highest ranked medical officers in the British army.

The tragic part is that she was probably extremely lonely - she daren't get too close to anyone for fear of them discovering her secret. Plus, she doesn't come across as the easiest of people; her temper frequently being the cause of many falling outs and career set backs.

Perhaps, Barry could be seen as a transgendered man but that's impossible to know. Had Margaret had the same opportunities to be a doctor as "James" had, then you could ascribe "his" decision to live as a man as an indication that "he" saw "himself" as a man. But, her choices as "Margret" were to be a governess or get married - so deciding to be "James" could well have been she simply wanted a better life for herself. Particularly as there were indications she missed being able to live as a woman.


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