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A Brief History of Montmaray
A Brief History of Montmaray | Michelle Cooper
7 posts | 14 read | 22 to read
Theres a fine line between gossip and history, when one is talking about kings.Sophie Fitzosborne lives in a crumbling castle in the tiny island kingdom of Montmaray with her eccentric and impoverished royal family. When she receives a journal for her sixteenth birthday, Sophie decides to chronicle day-to-day life on the island. But this is 1936, and the news that trickles in from the mainland reveals a world on the brink of war. The politics of Europe seem far away from their remote islanduntil two German officers land a boat on Montmaray. And then suddenly politics become very personal indeed.A Brief History of Montmaray is a heart-stopping tale of loyalty, love, and loss, and of fighting to hold on to home when the world is exploding all around you.Once in a while, a special book will cross our paths and make us grateful for life and the ability to read. Im talking about A Brief History of Montmaray by Michelle Cooper. Im calling her Australias next stroke of literary brilliance.ViewpointFrom the Hardcover edition.
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humouress

The journal of 16 yo HRH Sophia (though her cousin Veronica is writing ‘A Brief History‘). Montmaray is a fictional rocky island in Bay of Biscay (off the French coast) with rough weather & only 9 people 4 of whom are royal. Set in 1936 she tells of their -unusual- everyday lives but it‘s very readable. Montmaray used to be important in treaties & whaling but lost a lot of men in WW1; now the castle is decrepit and they barely have enough to eat

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monalyisha
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Pickpick

“A Brief History” is what you‘d get if “I Capture the Castle” & “The Gentleman‘s Guide to Vice & Virtue” had a baby. 😍 “Aristocratic poverty, eccentric family members, & a scribbling heroine” (The Source), as well as pirates, queer love, & smashed gender roles. And ghosts (...kinda)! It‘s not as good as either of those books but those books are AMAZING, so that‘s not a critique, really. It‘s still wonderful. I can‘t wait to read the next one!

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monalyisha
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Oh, how I wish I knew this old Cornish prayer as a little girl! I know I would have loved uttering it as a protection spell as I stared at my glow-in-the-dark rosary beads strung from a peg on the wall, convinced of their power & terrified of their luminescence at the same time. 💖

monalyisha Art credit: “The Destruction of Leviathan” by Gustave Dore (edited) 6y
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monalyisha
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“But even though I‘m fond of many bits of the Bible - the Garden of Eden, baby Moses in the bulrushes, the Nativity - I find it hard to believe that a real God is behind them. Isn‘t it enough that they‘re beautiful stories? Besides, religious people can be so unpleasant.”

monalyisha Pictured: my favorite scene from the Bible. 6y
BookMaven407 Agreed. I've often asked "you truly believe Jonah was in a ??" ??‍♀️??‍♀️ 6y
Quasifesto Hebrew mythology. 6y
readordierachel Yes to all of this 6y
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review
Kristin.C.07
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Lots of fun. Great for fans of fiction set during the Interwar Period. Quiet and humorous at first, but then exciting and serious during the second half. Written in the style of the time, but with the ability to comment on issues that would have been harder to discuss openly then.