… and news! I have been inveigled into Lady Beaufeatherstone’s ballroom with promises of parrots and lobster patties. (Stiles is tremendously jealous that Lady B has a real parrot rather than a stuffed one.) You can now find me at the Ballroom Blog every fourth Monday and for select Saturday salons. In honor of the…

If you like historical adventure series, you’ll probably like…. — Bernard Cornwell’s Richard Sharpe series, starting with Sharpe’s Rifles, in which our hero rises from the ranks to fight Napoleon on a number of fronts, capturing Imperial Eagles and thwarting French baddies (not to mention that he’s played by Sean Bean in the mini-series); —…

Last week’s debate about whether one could include Elizabeth Peters as a Mary Stewart read-alike got me thinking about another favorite subgenre of mine: the humorous mystery novel. If you like mysteries with rollicking, laugh out loud humor, you’ll probably like: — Most Elizabeth Peters novels, with special attention to her early stand-alones, like The…

I’ve spent many years looking for Mary Stewart read-alikes and was lucky enough to have been given one by my college roommate this past week. So… if you like Mary Stewart, you’ll probably like…. — Caroline Llewellyn’s The Lady of the Labyrinth (this is the college roommate used-bookstore-find), told in the first person and set…

In honour of Augustus’s underground activities, if you like Napoleonic era spies, you’ll probably like…. — Joanna Bourne’s The Spymaster’s Lady, which does a wonderful job showing us the perspective of a French agent; — Tracy Grant’s Charles & Melanie books, Beneath a Silent Moon and Secrets of a Lady, and her more recent Suzanne…

As part of the countdown to The Garden Intrigue (we’re practically there!), this is going to be a special, Bonaparte-themed If You Like. The Garden Intrigue is set largely at Josephine Bonaparte’s country house, Malmaison. (You can see my pictures of Malmaison by scrolling down a bit here.) Various Bonapartes play an active role in…

If you like Downton Abbey, you’ll probably like…. — Eva Ibbotsen’s A Countess Below Stairs, about a Russian noblewoman who becomes a downstairs maid in an English manor house; — Barbara Taylor Bradford’s A Woman of Substance, about a woman who rises from maid in an Edwardian house to mistress of a financial empire; —…

If you like stories based on fairy tales, you’ll probably like…. — Robin McKinley’s fairy tale remakes, in particular her Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast, one of my favorite books of all time. She revisited Beauty and the Beast in a later book, Rose Daughter, as well as tackling…

Last week’s post about biographies got me thinking about one of the favorite subgenres of my teen years: the faux diary or memoir, in which a writer impersonates a historical character, purporting to share their innermost thoughts. It provides an intimate take on well-known historical events. My hands-down favorite of this sub-genre? Anne-Marie Selinko’s Désirée…