Customer Reviews

A Time For Treason: An Historical Novel

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I happened onto this book by chance. My wife and I were in Bermuda in late May into June this year, a place we have traveled to for decades. We found ourselves in Hamilton one day and in the window of The Bermuda Bookstore was a window full of this book with the information that the author would be there for a signing in a few days. We are members of Coral Beach and Tennis Club on the island and the name of the author rang a distant bell. On checking the house list on our return that day, we discovered that Anne Newton Walther was indeed among us. We soon discovered that good friends of hers were there also. Eric and Debbie Pennison, who are among the people to whom whe dedicates this book gave her a very lovely party to which they invited the entire club membership and as a result of that we came away with one of the books. I have now completed reading the book. I have found it informative as to the era it depicts which is the time of the American Revolution and the effect it had on this tiny outpost of Great Britain. She has chosen as her vehicle to tell the story a young Frenchwoman who is essentially a French spy who is won over to the American cause. In all honesty, the story moves predictably and I found it most interesting from the history of what was happening on Bermuda and the history of the island. I have read and enjoyed historical novels, and I do not envy the author's first foray into this type of genre. She does it creditably and holds ones interest. It is not a "page turner" nor do I believe she intended it to be. This is a first novel for Ms. Walther and I suspect that she might be able to turn her talents to a more contemporary Bermuda story, if she so desired.As I indicated in the title of this story, if you are a fan of this island, this book is worth reading and I consider myself fortunate that I have not only read the book, but met the author. She is a lovely lady.

A Time for Treason takes one back to when your Country came before affairs of the heart. A terrific page turner made all the better by imagining the past treachery whilst sitting on the beach in Bermuda.

This books fails as both a romance novel and historical fiction. This author claims to have degrees in psychology and history. I cringed at her depiction of 18th Century life. In her attempt to portray the times, she fails completely. Many others have tried this genre and at the least have gotten the social basics correct about the times. Had this book presented itself as a harlequin romance, I may have understood from the beginning not to expect more, but the author presents this book as historical fiction. It is not even good soap opera.

This is a great, fun, historical fiction work. As said by others, it may not provide doctoral-level historical information, but it provides an exciting and beautiful backdrop to a fast-paced story. To expect otherwise is a bit unfair. She is not distributing a textbook. In addition to it being a fun read, it makes the reader want to visit the rolling hills and tidewater areas of Virginia, and the paradise that is Bermuda.

I enjoyed this book, pareticularly as there was a family connection to one of the main characters. Well researched,

If you are looking for an escape this is the book for you.

It is labeled a historical fiction because it includes both fantasy and reality. Do not be dissuaded by those who express disdain about the historical depth of this work. I think those opinions are inappropriately harsh considering Walther does not claim this book to be non-fiction. Books are a form of entertainmment as well as study.

On the reader's journey, she or he will come across beautiful Virginia countryside,breathtaking water views and skies off the island of Bermuda,unforgettable characters and will also learn some fascinating bits of history during the period of the American Revolution. Walther writes an absorbing, beautiful and powerful story which lingers long after the last page is turned. This is a story of love, fierce loyalty, espionage and patriotism.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book precisely because I was looking for a blissful escape and a journey and not a history lesson. It seems we all take ourselves a bit too seriously nowadays.

Indulge yourself, live a little!

OK....if what you're looking for is a Harlequin romance novel loosely set in 1776 this is your book. I've read the other reviews and was astounded that there were so many who considered this a "history lesson." Look elsewhere, I assure you.

I'm not generally negative, but Ms. Walther at best captures some of the geography of Virginia, ar worst very little about life in the eighteenth century. Her description of plantations systems is limited, and her affected slave accents are patronizing (as are the child-like, eager-to-please personas she creates).

And those of the main characters aren't much better. When will authors stop writing books that emphasize the leading man's super-possessive ego as a positive attribute and the leading women's fabulous beauty as her defining feature? Even as a romance novel, putting aside the pretense of historicity, it's limited. Heavens, Eugenie is crushed to Bridger's chest so many times she must have been covered with bruises and I'm too old to have sexual desire described as "his hardness" or "his urgent need."

I know why I received this as a Christmas gift. I study British Caribbean trade into North America during the late eighteenth and early ninteenth century. My dissertation is based on understanding the economic, social, and cultural relationships between these regions of the British empire. And believe me, this ain't it.

For those who raise horses in Virginia or vacation in Bermuda, Walther's world may sound familiar, to anyone studying history it most certainly will not.

Sorry.

Anne Walthers has produced a novel of excitement and authenticity with a fascinating history lesson about the American Revolution. Anne Walthers has produced a novel of excitement and authenticity which provides the reader with a fascinating history lesson along the way. The story line of Eugenie Devereux, a French spy in Virginia, helping the Americans in their struggle to prepare for the American revolution, brings out some little known, but important facts of the times.

Eugenie, is one of the most complex and alluring heroines to ever have appeared in the pages of a novel. A unique series of events of the time, told in a compelling way.

This book, I hate to say, is painfully bad. Too many overwrought metaphors, convoluted descriptions, and basically convoluted story line. I couldn't even finish it-I would much rather read my seventh grade son's creative writing assignments.

A Time for Treason achieves just what historical fiction should - transportation to another place, another time, another frame of mind. By sampling from a variety of experiences - some of them very daily and ordinary - Walther weaves an intimate tapestry of life during the revolution. We also learn about how Bermuda and her people aided the cause. And we see it all through the beautiful (and foreign) eyes of Eugenie, an elegant and egalitarian Frenchwoman. She is ostensibly visiting colonial Virginia to acquire horses for her stable, but Eugenie's additional purpose is to provide information to her homeland (England's enemy) and to aide in the American Revolution.

We can hear the horses, taste the food, see the colors, and feel the electricity in the air during this tumultuous time in American history. Slaves and servants are dealt with in a way that feels honest without making any awkward efforts toward 20th century political correctness. Even the more earthy bits between man and woman are included, though they are presented in the discrete envelope of a dream.

For those of us who grew up with a black and white version of the American revolution "Treason" is required reading. Common hindsight has categorized opinion and behavior of the day into neat little boxes that did not exist during the revolution. Alliances and allegiances were not as clearly defined as less subtle, less sensitive versions of history might have us believe.

"Treason" is a great escape and a fun read.