Completed Challenges

Reading challenges from previous years that I have now completed are listed below.

Completed in 2023

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2023

Books read:

Note: As last year, I am recording some additional statistics here (setting, source etc) to help with my end-of-year round up posts. NG = NetGalley. OC = Own Copy. NA = New (to me) Author

1. The Giant, O’Brien by Hilary Mantel – 1998, Ireland/England, 18th century, OC
2. A Marriage of Fortune by Anne O’Brien – 2023, England, 15th century, NG
3. My Father’s House by Joseph O’Connor – 2023, Vatican/Italy, 20th century (WWII), NG
4. For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy on My Little Pain by Victoria MacKenzie – 2023, England, 15th century, NG, NA
5. The Whispering Muse by Laura Purcell – 2023, England, 19th century, NG
6. Weyward by Emilia Hart – 2023, England, 20th/17th century, NG, NA
7. Lady MacBethad by Isabelle Schuler – 2023, Scotland, 11th century, NG, NA
8. The Shadows of London by Andrew Taylor – 2023, England, 17th century, NG
9. The Lodger by Helen Scarlett – 2023, England, 20th century, NG, NA
10. These Days by Lucy Caldwell – 2022, Northern Ireland, 20th century (WWII), OC, NA
11. The Secrets of Hartwood Hall by Katie Lumsden – 2023, England, 19th century, NG, NA
12. The Spanish Bride by Georgette Heyer – 1940, Spain/France, 19th century, OC
13. Rivers of Treason by KJ Maitland – 2023, England, 17th century, NG
14. Prize Women by Caroline Lea – 2023, Canada, 20th century, NG
15. Homecoming by Kate Morton – 2023, Australia, 20th century, NG
16. The Ghost Theatre by Mat Osman – 2023, England, 16th century, NG, NA
17. Music in the Dark by Sally Magnusson – 2023, Scotland, 19th century, NG
18. Farewell, the Tranquil Mind by RF Delderfield – 1950, France, 18th century, OC
19. The Stolen Crown by Carol McGrath – 2023, England, 12th century, NG
20. The Sun Walks Down by Fiona McFarlane – 2022, Australia, 19th century, OC, NA
21. Savage Beasts by Rani Selvarajah – 2023, India, 18th century, NG, NA
22. The Last Lifeboat by Hazel Gaynor – 2023, England/Atlantic, 20th century, NG
23. Voices of the Dead by Ambrose Parry – 2023, Scotland, 19th century, NG
24. The Square of Sevens by Laura Shepherd-Robinson – 2023, England, 18th century, NG
25. The Other Side of Mrs Wood by Lucy Barker – 2023, England, 19th century, NA, NG
26. The Housekeepers by Alex Hay – 2023, England, 20th century, NA, NG
27. The Graces by Siobhan MacGowan – 2023, Ireland, 20th century, NG
28. The Witching Tide by Margaret Meyer – 2023, England, 17th century, NG, NA
29. Disobedient by Elizabeth Fremantle – 2023, Italy, 17th century, NG
30. Death Comes as the End by Agatha Christie – 1944, Ancient Egypt, OC
31. The Orchid Hour by Nancy Bilyeau – 2023, USA, 20th century (1920s), NG
32. Fair Rosaline by Natasha Solomons – 2023, Italy, 14th century, NG
33. The House with the Golden Door by Elodie Harper – 2022, Italy, Ancient Rome, OC
34. Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik – 2006, China, 19th century, OC
35. Learned by Heart by Emma Donoghue – 2023, England, 19th century, NG
36. A Song for Summer by Eva Ibbotson – 1997, Austria, 20th century (WWII), OC
37. A Lady’s Guide to Scandal by Sophie Irwin – 2023, England, 19th century (Regency), NG
38. The Ionian Mission by Patrick O’Brian – 1981, Mediterranean/Ionian Islands, 19th century, OC
39. Henry VIII: The Heart and the Crown by Alison Weir – 2023, England, 16th century, NG
40. Night Train to Marrakech by Dinah Jefferies – 2023, Morocco, 20th century (1960s), NG
41. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken – 1962, England, 19th century, OC
42. The Nonesuch by Georgette Heyer – 1962, England, 19th century (Regency), OC
43. Once a Monster by Robert Dinsdale – 2023, England, 19th century, NG, NA
44. Scarlet Town by Leonora Nattrass – 2023, England, 18th century, NG
45. The Wayward Sisters by Kate Hodges – 2023, Scotland, 18th century, NG, NA
46. The Water Child by Mathew West – 2023, Portugal, 18th century, NG
47. The Black Feathers by Rebecca Netley – 2023, England, 19th century, NG, NA
48. The Murder Wheel by Tom Mead – 2023, England, 20th century, NG
49. The Black Crescent by Jane Johnson – 2023, Morocco, 20th century, NG
50. Restless Dolly Maunder by Kate Grenville – 2023, Australia, 19th/20th century, NG, NA
51. The Witch’s Daughter by Imogen Edwards-Jones – 2023, Russia, 20th century, NG

Read Christie 2023

Hosted by the official Agatha Christie website

Planned reads:

JANUARY – Jealousy
Cards on the Table

FEBRUARY – Blunt object
Hickory Dickory Dock

MARCH – Anger
Didn’t complete

APRIL – Poison
Murder is Easy

MAY – Betrayal
Unfinished Portrait

JUNE – Gunshot
Didn’t complete

JULY – Love and lust
Didn’t complete

AUGUST – Fall from a height
Death Comes as the End

SEPTEMBER – Hatred
Appointment with Death

OCTOBER – Stabbing
Didn’t complete

NOVEMBER – Greed
Endless Night

DECEMBER – Strangulation
Didn’t complete

Completed in 2022

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2022

Hosted by The Intrepid Reader.

Books read:

1. The Key in the Lock by Beth Underdown (2022) – PH, England (Cornwall), 19th/20th century, Gothic
2. A Terrible Kindness by Jo Browing Wroe (2022) – PH, Wales, 20th century (1960s), NA
3. The Silver Wolf by JC Harvey (2022) – NG, Germany, France, 17th century, NA
4. I, Mona Lisa by Natasha Solomons (2022) – NG, Italy, France, 16th century, magical realism
5. The Leviathan by Rosie Andrews (2022) – NG, England (Norfolk), 17th century, NA, magical realism
6. The Rebel Daughter by Miranda Malins (2022) – NG, England, 17th century
7. The Queen’s Lady by Joanna Hickson (2022) – NG, England, 16th century (Tudors)
8. The House of Footsteps by Mathew West (2022) – PH, England, NA, 20th century (1920s), Gothic
9. The Clockwork Girl by Anna Mazzola (2022) – NG, France, 18th century
10. The Reindeer Hunters by Lars Mytting (2022) – NG, Norway, 20th century, Translation
11. Go Tell the Bees That I am Gone by Diana Gabaldon (2021) – OC, America, 18th century
12. The Sunken Road by Ciarán McMenamin (2021) – OC, Ireland, 20th century (WWI/1920s), NA
13. Booth by Karen Joy Fowler (2022) – NG, America, 19th century, NA
14. Mrs England by Stacey Halls (2021) – OC, England, 20th century (Edwardian), Gothic
15. Traitor in the Ice by KJ Maitland (2022) – NG, England, 17th century, mystery
16. The Stone Rose by Carol McGrath (2022) – NG, England, 14th century
17. The Toll-Gate by Georgette Heyer (1954) – OC, England, 19th century (Regency)
18. The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff (1954) – OC, England/Scotland, Ancient Rome
19. Theatre of Marvels by Lianne Dillsworth (2022) – NG, England, 19th century, NA
20. The Vanished Days by Susanna Kearsley (2022) – NG, Scotland, 18th century
21. The Fugitive Colours by Nancy Bilyeau (2022) – NG, England, 18th century
22. The Dance Tree by Kiran Millwood Hargrave (2022) – NG, France, 16th century
23. A Lady’s Guide to Fortune-Hunting by Sophie Irwin (2022) – NG, England, 19th century (Regency), NA
24. In Place of Fear by Catriona McPherson (2022) – NG, Scotland, 20th century (1940s), NA, mystery
25. Winchelsea by Alex Preston (2022) – Library, England, 18th century, NA
26. Fortune by Amanda Smyth (2021) – OC, Trinidad, 20th century (1920s), NA
27. The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley by Sean Lusk (2022) – NG, England, Turkey, 18th century, NA, magical realism
28. The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn (2022) – NG, Russia, US, 20th century (WWII)
29. Privilege by Guinevere Glasfurd (2022) – NG, France, 18th century
30. The Colour Storm by Damian Dibben (2022) – NG, Italy, 16th century
31. Godmersham Park by Gill Hornby (2022) – NG, England, 19th century
32. The Trial of Lotta Rae by Siobhan MacGowan (2022) – Pigeonhole, England, 20th century, NA
33. Joan by Katherine J. Chen (2022) – NG, France, 15th century, NA
34. Death and the Conjuror by Tom Mead (2022) – NG, England, 20th century (1930s), NA, mystery
35. Elizabeth of York: The Last White Rose by Alison Weir (2022) – NG, England, 15th/16th century
36. That Bonesetter Woman by Frances Quinn (2022) – NG, England, 18th century, NA
37. The Fortune Men by Nadifa Mohamed (2021) – OC, Wales, 20th century (1950s)
38. The Bewitching by Jill Dawson (2022) – NG, England, 16th century, NA
39. The Night Ship by Jess Kidd (2022) – NG, Australia, 17th century/20th century (1980s)
40. The Magician by Colm Tóibín (2021) – OC, Germany/US, 20th century
41. The Flight Portfolio by Julie Orringer (2019) – NG, France, 20th century (WWII)
42. Haven by Emma Donoghue (2022) – NG, Ireland, 7th century
43. The Blood Flower by Alex Reeve (2022) – NG, England, 19th century, mystery
44. The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel (2020) – OC, England, 16th century
45. The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper (2021) – OC, Italy, Ancient Rome, NA
46. The Rose of Sebastopol by Katharine McMahon (2007) – OC, England/Russia/Ukraine, 19th century, NA
47. Act of Oblivion by Robert Harris (2022) – NG, England/America, 17th century
48. Hawker and the King’s Jewel by Ethan Bale (2022) – RC, England/Flanders/Italy, 15th century, NA
49. All the Broken Places by John Boyne (2022) – NG, England/Poland/Australia, 20th century (WWII)
50. The Bookseller of Inverness by SG MacLean (2022) – NG, Scotland, 18th century, NA
51. The Hidden Palace by Dinah Jefferies (2022) – NG, Malta/England, 20th century (WWII)
52. In the Shadow of Queens by Alison Weir (2021) – NG, England, 16th century
53. The Romantic by William Boyd (2022) – NG, Europe/Africa/America/Asia, 19th century, NA
54. The Drums of War by Michael Ward (2022) – RC, England, 17th century, mystery
55. Ashes in the Snow by Oriana Ramunno (2022) – NG, Poland, 20th century (WWII), translation, NA
56. Blue Water by Leonora Nattrass (2022) – NG, At sea, 18th century, mystery
57. Cup of Gold by John Steinbeck (1929) – OC, Wales/Caribbean, 17th century
58. The Winter Garden by Nicola Cornick (2022) – NG, England, 16th/17th century, dual timeline
59. Blue Postcards by Douglas Bruton (2021) – OC, France, 20th century (1950s), NA
60. The Secret of Matterdale Hall by Marianne Ratcliffe (2022) – RC, England, 19th century, NA, Gothic
61. The Ladies of Missalonghi by Colleen McCullough (1987) – OC, Australia, 20th century
62. Nights of Plague by Orhan Pamuk (2022) – NG, fictional island, 20th century, NA, Translation
63. The Darlings of the Asylum by Noel O’Reilly (2022) – NG, England, 19th century, NA
64. Shadows and Strongholds by Elizabeth Chadwick (2022) – OC, England, 12th century

I am recording some additional statistics here this year, to help with my end-of-year summary posts.
Key: PH – Pigeonhole, NG – NetGalley, RC – Review copy, OC – Own copy, NA – New author

RIP (Readers Imbibing Peril) XVII

Books read:

1. The Twist of a Knife by Anthony Horowitz
2. The Hatter’s Ghosts by Georges Simenon
3. The Butterfly Picnic by Joan Aiken
4. Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things by Lafcadio Hearn
5. Blue Water by Leonora Nattrass
6. Fool Errant by Patricia Wentworth
7. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

Completed in 2021

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2021

Hosted by The Intrepid Reader.

Books read:

1. The Land Beyond the Sea by Sharon Penman (2020) – 12th century, Middle East
2. The Queen’s Rival by Anne O’Brien (2020) – 15th century, England
3. Islands of Mercy by Rose Tremain (2020) – 19th century, England/Borneo
4. Rags of Time by Michael Ward (2020) – 17th century, England
5. The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson (2019) – 15th century, Spain
6. The Soul Thief by Cecelia Holland (2002) – 10th century, Ireland, England, Denmark
7. Ashes by Christopher de Vinck (2020) – 20th century (WWII), Belgium
8. The Cottingley Secret by Hazel Gaynor (2017) – 20th century, England
9. The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles (2021) – 20th century (WWII), France, US
10. Daughters of Night by Laura Shepherd-Robinson (2021) – 18th century, England
11. A Net for Small Fishes by Lucy Jago (2021) – 17th century, England
12. The Lost Diary of Venice by Margaux DeRoux (2020) – 16th century, Italy
13. The Rose Code by Kate Quinn (2021) – 20th century (WWII), England
14. The Prophet by Martine Bailey (2021) – 18th century, England
15. The Puritan Princess by Miranda Malins (2020) – 17th century, England
16. The Drowned City by KJ Maitland (2021) – 17th century, England
17. Imperfect Alchemist by Naomi Miller (2020) – 16th century, England
18. The Damask Rose by Carol McGrath (2021) – 13th century, England
19. John Saturnall’s Feast by Lawrence Norfolk (2012) – 17th century, England
20. The Hardie Inheritance by Anne Melville (1990) – 20th century (WWII), England
21. The Metal Heart by Caroline Lea (2021) – 20th century (WWII), Scotland
22. The Royal Secret by Andrew Taylor (2021) – 17th century, England
23. The Horseman by Tim Pears (2017) – 20th century, England
24. The Rich Earth by Pamela Oldfield (1980) – 15th century, England
25. Circus of Wonders by Elizabeth Macneal (2021) – 19th century, England
26. The Missing Sister by Lucinda Riley (2021) – 20th century, Ireland
27. China by Edward Rutherfurd (2021) – 19th century, China
28. Still Life by Sarah Winman (2021) – 20th century, Italy
29. The Wrecking Storm by Michael Ward (2021) – 17th century, England
30. The Protector by S.J. Deas (2015) – 17th century, England
31. The Last Daughter by Nicola Cornick (2021) – 15th century, England
32. Red Adam’s Lady by Grace Ingram (1973) – 12th century, England
33. I Will Repay by Baroness Orczy (1906) – 18th century, France
34. Cecily by Annie Garthwaite (2021) – 15th century, England
35. St Martin’s Summer by Rafael Sabatini (1909) – 17th century, France
36. The Country of Others by Leïla Slimani (2021) – 20th century, Morocco
37. Rose Nicolson by Andrew Greig (2021) – 16th century, Scotland
38. The Infernal Riddle of Thomas Peach (2021) – 18th century, England
39. A Corruption of Blood by Ambrose Parry (2021) – 19th century, Scotland
40. The Women of Troy by Pat Barker (2021) – Ancient Greece
41. Katharine Parr, the Sixth Wife (2021) – 16th century, England
42. Daughters of War by Dinah Jefferies (2021) – 20th century (WWII), France
43. The Mummy Case by Elizabeth Peters (1985) – 19th century, Egypt
44. A Marriage of Lions by Elizabeth Chadwick (2021) – 13th century, England
45. Castle Barebane by Joan Aiken (1976) – 19th century, Scotland
46. Black Drop by Leonora Nattrass (2021) – 18th century, England
47. The Royal Game by Anne O’Brien (2021) – 15th century, England
48. The Swift and the Harrier by Minette Walters (2021) – 17th century, England
49. Lily by Rose Tremain (2021) – 19th century, England
50. Fallen by Lia Mills (2014) – 20th century, Ireland
51. The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton (2012) – 20th century (WWII), England, Australia
52. The Ambassador’s Daughter by Pam Jenoff (2013) – 20th century (WWI), France
53. The Girl in the Photograph by Kate Riordan (2015) – 19th/20th century, England
54. None But Elizabeth by Rhoda Edwards (1982) – 16th century, England
55. A Princely Knave by Philip Lindsay (1956) – 15th century, England
56. Miss Austen by Gill Hornby (2020) – 19th century, England

Read Christie 2021

Hosted by www.agathachristie.com

JANUARY – A story set in a grand house…
The Body in the Library

FEBRUARY – A story featuring love
Sad Cypress

MARCH – A story featuring a society figure
Sparkling Cyanide

APRIL – A story set before WWII
Murder in Mesopotamia

MAY – A story featuring tea
A Pocket Full of Rye

JUNE – A story featuring a garden
Nemesis

JULY – A story starring a vicar
The Murder at the Vicarage

AUGUST – A story set by the seaside
Evil Under the Sun

SEPTEMBER – A story featuring a school
Crooked House

OCTOBER – A story set on a mode of transport
Death on the Nile

NOVEMBER – A story set after WWII
They Do It with Mirrors

DECEMBER – A story set during bad weather
The Sittaford Mystery

RIP XVI

September 1 – October 31

1. Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu
2. The Mummy Case by Elizabeth Peters
3. Crooked House by Agatha Christie
4. The Grey King by Susan Cooper
5. Death of a Tin God by George Bellairs
6. Castle Barebane by Joan Aiken
7. Black Drop by Leonora Nattrass
8. Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie

Completed in 2020

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2020

Hosted by Passages to the Past.

Books read:

1. Dreamland by Nancy Bilyeau
2. A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende
3. The Foundling by Stacey Halls
4. The Year Without Summer by Guinevere Glasfurd
5. The Almanack by Martine Bailey
6. Blood Queen by Joanna Courtney
7. The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
8. The Great Matter Monologues by Thomas Crockett
9. Becoming Belle by Nuala O’Connor
10. Requiem for a Knave by Laura Carlin
11. A Thousand Moons by Sebastian Barry
12. In a Dark Wood Wandering by Hella S Haasse
13. The Animals at Lockwood Manor by Jane Healey
14. Lady of the Highway by Deborah Swift
15. The Missing Sister by Dinah Jefferies
16. Killing Beauties by Pete Langman
17. The Lost Boys of London by Mary Lawrence
18. The Familiars by Stacey Halls
19. The Ninth Child by Sally Magnusson
20. The Irish Princess by Elizabeth Chadwick
21. Tsarina by Ellen Alpsten
22. Mrs Whistler by Matthew Plampin
23. The Silken Rose by Carol McGrath
24. The Last Protector by Andrew Taylor
25. Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
26. A Vision of Light by Judith Merkle Riley
27. When We Fall by Carolyn Kirby
28. The Silver Collar by Antonia Hodgson
29. Katheryn Howard, the Tainted Queen by Alison Weir
30. The Honey and the Sting by EC Fremantle
31. The Surgeon’s Mate by Patrick O’Brian
32. The Intoxicating Mr Lavelle by Neil Blackmore
33. The Forgotten Sister by Nicola Cornick
34. V2 by Robert Harris
35. The Minion by Rafael Sabatini
36. The Lady of the Ravens by Joanna Hickson
37. Royal Flush by Margaret Irwin
38. The Black Arrow by Robert Louis Stevenson
39. The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton
40. The Tenth Gift by Jane Johnson
41. Still She Wished for Company by Margaret Irwin
42. The Butcher of Berner Street by Alex Reeve
43. Shadowplay by Joseph O’Connor
44. The Bell in the Lake by Lars Mytting
45. The Tuscan Contessa by Dinah Jefferies
46. The Woman in the Painting by Kerry Postle
47. The Running Wolf by Helen Steadman

Read Christie 2020

Hosted by www.agathachristie.com

JANUARY – A book that changed Christie’s life…
Murder on the Orient Express

FEBRUARY – A story Christie loved…
A Murder is Announced

MARCH – A Christie story adapted for stage…
The Hollow

APRIL – A story Christie disguised…
Sleeping Murder

Completed in 2019

R.I.P. XIV Event

Hosted here.

Books read:

1. Death on a Quiet Day by Michael Innes
2. The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
3. The Anarchists’ Club by Alex Reeve
4. The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
5. It Walks by Night by John Dickson Carr
6. Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie
7. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2019

Hosted by Passages to the Past.

Books read:

1. Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield
2. The House on Half Moon Street by Alex Reeve
3. The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco (re-read)
4. Blood & Sugar by Laura Shepherd-Robinson
5. Bodies of Light by Sarah Moss
6. Elizabeth, Captive Princess by Margaret Irwin
7. The She-Wolf by Maurice Druon
8. A King Under Siege by Mercedes Rochelle
9. Beauvallet by Georgette Heyer
10. The Western Wind by Samantha Harvey
11. The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins
12. The Mark of the Horse Lord by Rosemary Sutcliff
13. Casanova and the Faceless Woman by Olivier Barde-Cabucon
14. The Mark of the Horse Lord by Rosemary Sutcliff
15. Cashelmara by Susan Howatch
16. The Alchemist of Lost Souls by Mary Lawrence
17. Sprig Muslin by Georgette Heyer
18. Things in Jars by Jess Kidd
19. The Scottish Chiefs by Jane Porter
20. After the Party by Cressida Connolly
21. The Adventurers by Jane Aiken Hodge
22. The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See
23. The Woman in the Lake by Nicola Cornick
24. The Glass Woman by Caroline Lea
25. The House of Hardie by Anne Melville
26. The Devil’s Slave by Tracy Borman
27. Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver
28. The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter by Hazel Gaynor
29. The Butcher’s Daughter by Victoria Glendinning
30. The Way to the Lantern by Audrey Erskine Lindop
31. The Canary Keeper by Clare Carson
32. A Tapestry of Treason by Anne O’Brien
33. The Anarchists’ Club by Alex Reeve
35. The King’s Evil by Andrew Taylor
36. The Daughter of Hardie by Anne Melville
37. The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal
38. To Calais, in Ordinary Time by James Meek
39. The Silver Pigs by Lindsey Davis
40. Those Who Are Loved by Victoria Hislop
41. Bone China by Laura Purcell
42. The Boy with Blue Trousers by Carol Jones
43. The Outrageous Fortune of Abel Morgan by Cynthia Jefferies
44. The Conviction of Cora Burns by Carolyn Kirby
45. The Drowned Court by Tracey Warr
46. The Art of Dying by Ambrose Parry
47. A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier
48. Love Without End by Melvyn Bragg
49. Anna of Kleve, Queen of Secrets by Alison Weir
50. Dark Queen Rising by Paul Doherty
51. The Bastille Spy by CS Quinn
52. Call Upon the Water by Stella Tillyard

Completed in 2018

R.I.P. XIII

Hosted at: Readers Imbibing Peril
My sign-up post

The aim: To read at least 4 books in September and October from the following categories – Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Dark Fantasy, Gothic, Horror and Supernatural.

Books read for this challenge:

1. Thunder on the Right by Mary Stewart
2. Cruel as the Grave by Sharon Penman
3. Harriet by Elizabeth Jenkins
4. The Ghost Tree by Barbara Erskine
5. Bleeding Heart Square by Andrew Taylor
6. The Craftsman by Sharon Bolton
7. Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew’d by Alan Bradley
8. Dark Summer in Bordeaux by Allan Massie
9. Jezebel’s Daughter by Wilkie Collins
10. Hallowe’en Party by Agatha Christie

2018 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

Hosted at: Passages to the Past
My sign-up post

The aim: To read 50+ historical fiction novels in 2018 between 1st January and 31st December.

Books read for the challenge:

1. Traitor by David Hingley
2. The Pearl Sister by Lucinda Riley
3. The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar
4. A Falling Star by Pamela Belle
5. Court of Lions by Jane Johnson
6. The Wicked Cometh by Laura Carlin
7. The Coffin Path by Katherine Clements
8. Marry in Haste by Jane Aiken Hodge
9. The Sealwoman’s Gift by Sally Magnusson
10. The Savage Brood by Martha Rofheart
11. The Snow Globe by Judith Kinghorn
12. Penmarric by Susan Howatch
13. Ill Will by Michael Stewart
14. Dear Mrs Bird by AJ Pearce
15. With All My Heart by Margaret Campbell Barnes
16. Destiny’s Lady by Maureen Peters
17. The Queen’s Caprice by Marjorie Bowen
18. The Sapphire Widow by Dinah Jefferies
19. The Fire Court by Andrew Taylor
20. The Pharmacist’s Wife by Vanessa Tait
21. A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters
22. Gentian Hill by Elizabeth Goudge
23. The Scarlet Lion by Elizabeth Chadwick
24. Mothering Sunday by Graham Swift
25. Friday’s Child by Georgette Heyer
26. Church of Marvels by Leslie Parry
27. Jane Seymour: The Haunted Queen by Alison Weir
28. The Winter Prince by Cheryl Sawyer
29. Tomorrow by Damian Dibben
30. Sugar Money by Jane Harris
31. Templar Silks by Elizabeth Chadwick
32. The English Girl by Katherine Webb
33. The Cursed Wife by Pamela Hartshorne
34. The Corinthian by Georgette Heyer
35. House of Gold by Natasha Solomons
36. The Illumination of Ursula Flight by Anna-Marie Crowhurst
37. The Poison Bed by E.C. Fremantle
38. The Last Pier by Roma Tearne
39. Queen of the North by Anne O’Brien
40. Smile of the Wolf by Tim Leach
41. The Story Keeper by Anna Mazzola
42. My Beautiful Imperial by Rhiannon Lewis
43. The King’s Witch by Tracy Borman
44. Dark Quartet by Lynne Reid Banks
45. The Lady Agnes Mystery Vol. 1 by Andrea Japp
46. Warwyck’s Wife by Rosalind Laker
47. Claudine’s Daughter by Rosalind Laker
48. Lamentation by CJ Sansom
49. The Way of All Flesh by Ambrose Parry
50. That Lady by Kate O’Brien
51. By Sword and Storm by Margaret Skea
52. Faro’s Daughter by Georgette Heyer
53. The Tudor Crown by Joanna Hickson
54. Court of Wolves by Robyn Young
55. The Bull from the Sea by Mary Renault
56. Cruel as the Grave by Sharon Penman
57. The Words in My Hand by Guinevere Glasfurd
58. Now We Shall Be Entirely Free by Andrew Miller
59. The Ghost Tree by Barbara Erskine
60. Bleeding Heart Square by Andrew Taylor
61. First Night by Jane Aiken Hodge
62. The Abbess of Whitby by Jill Dalladay
63. Dark Summer in Bordeaux by Allan Massie
64. Young Bess by Margaret Irwin
65. The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton
66. The Magick of Master Lilly by Tobsha Learner
67. Tapestry of War by Jane MacKenzie
68. The Turn of Midnight by Minette Walters
69. The Witches of St Petersburg by Imogen Edwards-Jones
70. The Blue by Nancy Bilyeau
71. House of Glass by Susan Fletcher
72. The Poppy Field by Deborah Carr
73. The Death Maze by Ariana Franklin
74. Before the Rains by Dinah Jefferies
75. Bardelys the Magificent by Rafael Sabatini
76. An Infamous Army by Georgette Heyer
77. Savage Magic by Lloyd Shepherd
78. Blackberry and Wild Rose by Sonia Velton
79. Spirit of the Highway by Deborah Swift
80. Zennor in Darkness by Helen Dunmore

What’s in a Name? 2018

Hosted at: The Worm Hole
My sign-up post

The aim: To read a book which fits each of the six categories below.

– The word ‘the’ used twice
– A fruit or vegetable
– A shape
– A title that begins with Z
– A nationality
– A season

Books read for the challenge:

1. The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden
2. The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende
3. The Winter Prince by Cheryl Sawyer
4. Bleeding Heart Square by Andrew Taylor
5. Zennor in Darkness by Helen Dunmore
6. Blackberry and Wild Rose by Sonia Velton

Completed in 2017

2017 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

Hosted at: Passages to the Past
My sign-up post

The aim: To read 50+ historical fiction novels in 2017 between 1st January and 31st December.

Books read for the challenge:

1. The Red Sphinx by Alexandre Dumas
2. The Phantom Tree by Nicola Cornick
3. His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet
4. First of the Tudors by Joanna Hickson
5. The Echo of Twilight by Judith Kinghorn
6. The Unseeing by Anna Mazzola
7. The Merry Mistress by Philip Lindsay
8. Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne du Maurier
9. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
10. The Good People by Hannah Kent
11. Fatal Rivalry by Mercedes Rochelle
12. The Witchfinder’s Sister by Beth Underdown
13. At the Edge of the Orchard by Tracy Chevalier
14. Golden Hill by Francis Spufford
15. The Confessions of Young Nero by Margaret George
16. The Muse by Jessie Burton
17. Under the Hog by Patrick Carleton
18. Wintercombe by Pamela Belle
19. Herald of Joy by Pamela Belle
20. The Coroner’s Daughter by Andrew Hughes
21. The Fourteenth Letter by Claire Evans
22. The Hurlyburly’s Husband by Jean Teulé
23. The King’s Favourite by Marjorie Bowen
24. To Sleep No More by Deryn Lake
25. Desolation Island by Patrick O’Brian
26. Towers in the Mist by Elizabeth Goudge
27. The Wild Air by Rebecca Mascull
28. Circle of Pearls by Rosalind Laker
29. Midnight Blue by Simone van der Vlugt
30. The Gustav Sonata by Rose Tremain
31. The Shadow Queen by Anne O’Brien
32. The Valentine House by Emma Henderson
33. The Tea Planter’s Wife by Dinah Jefferies
34. The Empress of Hearts by E. Barrington
35. The Vatican Princess by CW Gortner
36. House of Names by Colm Tóibín
37. Song of the Sea Maid by Rebecca Mascull
38. I, Claudius by Robert Graves
39. The Wonder by Emma Donoghue
40. Prague Nights by Benjamin Black
41. The Serpent Sword by Matthew Harffy
42. The Silk Merchant’s Daughter by Dinah Jefferies
43. The Last Son’s Secret by Rafel Nadal Farreras
44. Mata Hari by Michelle Moran
45. The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
46. Six Tudor Queens: Anne Boleyn, a King’s Obsession by Alison Weir
47. Soot by Andrew Martin
48. The Winter Isles by Antonia Senior
49. House of Shadows by Nicola Cornick
50. The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry
51. For the Winner by Emily Hauser
52. Beneath a Burning Sky by Jenny Ashcroft
53. Eugenie by Marjorie Bowen
54. A Week in Paris by Rachel Hore
55. Widdershins by Helen Steadman
56. To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey
57. Fortune’s Wheel by Rhoda Edwards
58. Some Touch of Pity by Rhoda Edwards
59. Shadow of the Moon by M.M. Kaye
60. By Gaslight by Steven Price
61. The Tudor Heritage by Lynda M. Andrews
62. Elizabeth the Witch’s Daughter by Lynda M. Andrews
63. Crimson and Bone by Marina Fiorato
64. Leopard at the Door by Jennifer McVeigh
65. The Fortune of War by Patrick O’Brian
66. Red Sky at Noon by Simon Sebag Montefiore
67. Death in Bordeaux by Allan Massie
68. The Outcasts of Time by Ian Mortimer
69. Blood and Sand by Rosemary Sutcliff
70. Snowdrift and Other Stories by Georgette Heyer
71. Heartstone by CJ Sansom
72. The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley
73. The Crow Garden by Alison Littlewood
74. The Autumn Throne by Elizabeth Chadwick
75. The Last Hours by Minette Walters
76. Salt Creek by Lucy Treloar
77. Fools and Mortals by Bernard Cornwell
78. The Queen’s Mary by Sarah Gristwood
79. Mr Rochester by Sarah Shoemaker
80. The Stolen Marriage by Diane Chamberlain
81. Conquest: Daughter of the Last King by Tracey Warr
82. Voice of the Falconer by David Blixt

R.I.P XII Challenge

Hosted at: Estella’s Revenge and My Capricious Life
My sign-up post

The aim: To read at least 4 books in the genres of Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Gothic, Horror and/or Dark Fantasy between 1st September and 31st October 2017.

Books read for the challenge:

1. Hamlet, Revenge! by Michael Innes
2. As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust by Alan Bradley
3. Death in Bordeaux by Allan Massie
4. The Man of Dangerous Secrets by Maxwell March
5. Heartstone by CJ Sansom
6. Verdict of Twelve by Raymond Postgate

~
Completed in 2016

2016 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

Hosted at: Passages to the Past
My sign-up post

The aim: To read 50+ historical fiction novels in 2016 between 1st January and 31st December.

Books read for the challenge:

1. The Queen’s Choice by Anne O’Brien
2. Lorna Doone by R.D. Blackmore
3. For the Most Beautiful by Emily Hauser
4. The Viper of Milan by Marjorie Bowen
5. Here Comes the King by Philip Lindsay
6. The Poisoned Crown by Maurice Druon
7. Renegade by Robyn Young
8. The Lion and the Cross by Joan Lesley Hamilton
9. Some Luck by Jane Smiley
10. The Red Lily Crown by Elizabeth Loupas
11. The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson
12. Kingdom by Robyn Young
13. The Ashes of London by Andrew Taylor
14. Arctic Summer by Damon Galgut
15. God and the Wedding Dress by Marjorie Bowen
16. Shadow on the Highway by Deborah Swift
17. A Place Called Winter by Patrick Gale
18. The White Witch by Elizabeth Goudge
19. Dictator by Robert Harris
20. Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye
21. Fire by C.C. Humphreys
22. The People’s Queen by Vanora Bennett
23. The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters
24. The Royal Succession by Maurice Druon
25. The Sun King Conspiracy by Yves Jego and Denis Lepee
26. Mary Anne by Daphne du Maurier
27. The Sons of Godwine by Mercedes Rochelle
28. The Confession of Richard Plantagenet by Dora Greenwell McChesney
29. Troy Chimneys by Margaret Kennedy
30. The Queenmaker by Maureen Peters
31. The Virgin Queen by Maureen Peters
32. Gilded Splendour by Rosalind Laker
33. Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset
34. Katherine of Aragon, the True Queen by Alison Weir
35. The Mauritius Command by Patrick O’Brian
36. The Rider of the White Horse by Rosemary Sutcliff
37. Mrs Engels by Gavin McCrea
38. Sons of the Blood by Robyn Young
39. Prince of Foxes by Samuel Shellabarger
40. The Revelations of Carey Ravine by Debra Daley
41. The Poisoners by Marjorie Bowen
42. Succession by Livi Michael
43. The Little Chronicle of Magdalena Bach by Esther Meynell
44. The Devil and King John by Philip Lindsay
45. Rupert, by the Grace of God by Dora Greenwell McChesney
46. Cornet Strong of Ireton’s Horse by Dora Greenwell McChesney
47. Louise de la Valliere by Alexandre Dumas
48. The Jewelled Snuff Box by Alice Chetwynd Ley
49. A Death at Fountains Abbey by Antonia Hodgson
50. Sovereign by CJ Sansom
51. Elizabeth the Beloved by Maureen Peters
52. Restoration by Rose Tremain
53. Regency Buck by Georgette Heyer
54. Black Sheep by Georgette Heyer
55. Orphans of the Carnival by Carol Birch
56. Rebellion by Livi Michael
57. Burning Sappho by Martha Rofheart
58. Revelation by CJ Sansom
59. Lady on the Coin by Margaret Campbell Barnes
60. The Shogun’s Queen by Lesley Downer
61. Charity Girl by Georgette Heyer
62. Watch the Lady by Elizabeth Fremantle
63. The Strangler Vine by MJ Carter
64. Days Without End by Sebastian Barry
65. The Plague Charmer by Karen Maitland
66. Redgauntlet by Sir Walter Scott
67. The Absolutist by John Boyne
68. Merivel by Rose Tremain
69. The Girl in the Glass Tower by Elizabeth Fremantle
70. The Black Moth by Georgette Heyer
71. Alathea by Pamela Belle
72. Accession by Livi Michael
73. Night’s Dark Secrets by Marjorie Bowen
74. The Man in the Iron Mask by Alexandre Dumas
75. Forget Me Not by Marjorie Bowen
76. Jane Shore by Mary Bennett

R.I.P XI Challenge

Hosted at: Stainless Steel Droppings
My sign-up post

The aim: To read at least 4 books in the genres of Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Gothic, Horror and/or Dark Fantasy between 1st September and 31st October 2016.

Books read for the challenge:

1. A Shilling for Candles by Josephine Tey
2. Airs Above the Ground by Mary Stewart
3. The Hawley Book of the Dead by Chrysler Szarlan
4. The Labours of Hercules by Agatha Christie
5. Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
6. The Moving Toyshop by Edmund Crispin
7. The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches by Alan Bradley

Completed in 2015

2015 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

Hosted at: Passages to the Past
My sign-up post

The aim: To read 50+ historical fiction novels in 2015 between 1st January and 31st December

Books read for the challenge:

1. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
2. Fair Helen by Andrew Greig
3. The King’s Curse by Philippa Gregory
4. Pure by Andrew Miller
5. Bellarion by Rafael Sabatini
6. Red Rose, White Rose by Joanna Hickson
7. The Glassblower of Murano by Marina Fiorato
8. The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber
9. Mary of Carisbrooke by Margaret Campbell Barnes
10. The Quiet Gentleman by Georgette Heyer
11. The Silent Boy by Andrew Taylor
12. The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant
13. The Vanishing Witch by Karen Maitland
14. The Royalist by S.J. Deas
15. The Widow’s Confession by Sophia Tobin
16. HMS Surprise by Patrick O’Brian
17. Ross Poldark by Winston Graham
18. Temeraire by Naomi Novik
19. Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh
20. Romola by George Eliot
21. City of God by Cecelia Holland
22. The Tapestry by Nancy Bilyeau
23. Jakob’s Colours by Lindsay Hawdon
24. The Goddess and the Thief by Essie Fox
25. River of Smoke by Amitav Ghosh
26. The Child from the Sea by Elizabeth Goudge
27. Edwin: High King of Britain by Edoardo Albert
28. Dark Fire by C.J. Sansom
29. The Chosen Queen by Joanna Courtney
30. The Morning Gift by Eva Ibbotson
31. The Fatal Flame by Lyndsay Faye
32. The Tutor by Andrea Chapin
33. Rebel Queen by Michelle Moran
34. If You Go Away by Adele Parks
35. The Invention of Fire by Bruce Holsinger
36. Godwine Kingmaker by Mercedes Rochelle
37. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
38. The Devil on her Tongue by Linda Holeman
39. The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
40. Dacre’s War by Rosemary Goring
41. The Lady of Misrule by Suzannah Dunn
42. Imperium by Robert Harris
43. The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Alexandre Dumas
44. Isabella by Colin Falconer
45. 1066: What Fates Impose by G.K. Holloway
46. The Last Confession of Thomas Hawkins by Antonia Hodgson
47. The Thief of Time by John Boyne
48. The Raven’s Head by Karen Maitland
49. Gildenford by Valerie Anand
50. Glorious Apollo by E. Barrington
51. Kit by Marina Fiorato
52. April Lady by Georgette Heyer
53. What Angels Fear by CS Harris
54. Nelly Dean by Alison Case
55. The Heart of Midlothian by Sir Walter Scott
56. Oswald: Return of the King by Edoardo Albert
57. A God in Every Stone by Kamila Shamsie
58. The Queen’s Man by Sharon Penman
59. The Glass-Blowers by Daphne du Maurier
60. The Last Queen by C.W Gortner
61. The Taming of the Queen by Philippa Gregory
62. Hammer for Princes by Cecelia Holland
63. Flood of Fire by Amitav Ghosh
64. The Silvered Heart by Katherine Clements
65. Lustrum by Robert Harris
66. Master of Shadows by Neil Oliver
67. Dickon by Marjorie Bowen
68. The Master of Ballantrae by Robert Louis Stevenson
69. Royal Mistress by Anne Easter Smith
70. The Sea-Hawk by Rafael Sabatini
71. The Golden Horn by Poul Anderson
72. The Winter Crown by Elizabeth Chadwick

R.I.P. X

Hosted at: The Estella Society

My sign-up post

The aim: To read at least four books in September or October from one or more of these categories – Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Dark Fantasy, Gothic, Horror, Supernatural

Books read for the challenge:

1. What Angels Fear by CS Harris
2. The Queen’s Man by Sharon Penman
3. Footsteps in the Dark by Georgette Heyer
4.

Once Upon a Time IX Challenge

Hosted at: Stainless Steel Droppings
My sign-up post

The aim: To read at least one book between 21st March and 21st June that fits one of the following categories: Fairy Tale, Folklore, Fantasy and Mythology.

Books read for the challenge:

1. Uprooted by Naomi Novik

Forgotten Histories Reading Challenge – March 2015

Hosted at: Curiouser and Curiouser
My sign-up post

The aim: To read books to fit the following categories from 2nd-29th March 2015.

Books read for the challenge:

Week 1 – Read an alternate history book
Temeraire by Naomi Novik

Week 2 – Read a book with a non-white protagonist

Week 3 – Read a book with an LGBT protagonist
City of God by Cecelia Holland

Week 4 – Read a book that is NOT set in Europe (including Britain) or North America

Completed in 2014

2014 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

Hosted by Historical Tapestry

My sign-up post

The goal: To read 25+ historical fiction novels between 1 January and 31 December 2014.

Books read:

1. A Burnable Book by Bruce Holsinger
2. One Night in Winter by Simon Sebag Montefiore
3. Falls the Shadow by Sharon Penman
4. Gretel and the Dark by Eliza Granville
5. The Secret Countess by Eva Ibbotson
6. After Flodden by Rosemary Goring
7. A Dangerous Inheritance by Alison Weir
8. Crippen by John Boyne
9. Girl on the Golden Coin by Marci Jefferson
10. The Convictions of John Delahunt by Andrew Hughes
11. The Crimson Ribbon by Katherine Clements
12. Frog Music by Emma Donoghue
13. Empress of the Night by Eva Stachniak
14. The Moon in the Water by Pamela Belle
15. The Convenient Marriage by Georgette Heyer
16. The Summer Queen by Elizabeth Chadwick
17. Kingmaker: Winter Pilgrims by Toby Clements
18. Songs of Willow Frost by Jamie Ford
19. The Fortune Hunter by Daisy Goodwin
20. The Gondola Maker by Laura Morelli
21. The May Bride by Suzannah Dunn
22. The Chains of Fate by Pamela Belle
23. Insurrection by Robyn Young
24. The Temporary Gentleman by Sebastian Barry
25. Beatrice and Benedick by Marina Fiorato
26. Love and Treasure by Ayelet Waldman
27. The Long Song by Andrea Levy
28. The Frost of Springtime by Rachel L. Demeter
29. The Lost Duchess by Jenny Barden
30. The Second Duchess by Elizabeth Loupas
31. Sisters of Treason by Elizabeth Fremantle
32. Roseblood by Paul Doherty
33. The Lost Souls of Angelkov by Linda Holeman
34. Ace, King, Knave by Maria McCann
35. Dark Aemilia by Sally O’Reilly
36. Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
37. Written in My Own Heart’s Blood by Diana Gabaldon
38. Plague by C.C. Humphreys
39. Secrecy by Rupert Thomson
40. Dissolution by C.J. Sansom
41. Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness
42. Hild by Nicola Griffith
43. The Devil in the Marshalsea by Antonia Hodgson
44. The True and Splendid History of the Harristown Sisters by Michelle Lovric
45. The Strangled Queen by Maurice Druon
46. The Marriage Game by Alison Weir
47. An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris
48. The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton
49. The Streets by Anthony Quinn
50. A Triple Knot by Emma Campion
51. Harvest by Jim Crace
52. The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sundaresan
53. Gutenberg’s Apprentice by Alix Christie
54. China Dolls by Lisa See
55. Hand of Fire by Judith Starkston
56. The Daughters of Mars by Thomas Keneally
57. Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth
58. Wolves in Winter by Lisa Hilton
59. The Misbegotten by Katherine Webb
60. Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
61. The White Princess by Philippa Gregory
62. The Brethren by Robert Merle
63. Vlad: The Last Confession by C.C. Humphreys
64. The King’s Sister by Anne O’Brien
65. The Lie by Helen Dunmore
66. Zemindar by Valerie Fitzgerald
67. The Boleyn King by Laura Andersen
68. Sanctuary by Robert Edric
69. The Girl Who Couldn’t Read by John Harding
70. Winter Siege by Ariana Franklin & Samantha Norman

What’s in a Name Challenge

Hosted by The Worm Hole

The goal: To read 5 books, one from each of the following categories.

A reference to time: The Midnight Rose by Lucinda Riley

A position of royalty: Empress of the Night by Eva Stachniak

A number written in letters: One Night in Winter by Simon Sebag Montefiore

A forename or names: Gretel and the Dark by Eliza Granville

A type or element of weather: Songs of Willow Frost by Jamie Ford

Bonus category – A school subject: The True and Splendid History of the Harristown Sisters by Michelle Lovric

Completed in 2013

2013 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

Hosted by Historical Tapestry

My sign-up post

The goal: To read 25+ historical fiction novels between 1 January and 31 December 2013.

Books read:

1. The Florentine Emerald by Agustin Bernaldo Palatchi
2. Gemini by Dorothy Dunnett
3. The Forgotten Queen by D.L. Bogdan
4. The King’s General by Daphne du Maurier
5. Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brian
6. The Iron King by Maurice Druon
7. The Chalice by Nancy Bilyeau
8. The Agincourt Bride by Joanna Hickson
9. The Master of Bruges by Terence Morgan
10. Shadow on the Crown by Patricia Bracewell
11. Lady of the English by Elizabeth Chadwick
12. The Poisoned Island by Lloyd Shepherd
13. The Scent of Death by Andrew Taylor
14. Queen’s Gambit by Elizabeth Fremantle
15. She Rises by Kate Worsley
16. The Forbidden Queen by Anne O’Brien
17. The Memory of Lost Senses by Judith Kinghorn
18. King Hereafter by Dorothy Dunnett
19. Paris by Edward Rutherfurd
20. Midnight in St Petersburg by Vanora Bennett
21. The Sacred River by Wendy Wallace
22. Elizabeth I by Margaret George
23. Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel
24. Post Captain by Patrick O’Brian
25. The Wild Girl by Kate Forsyth
26. Wars of the Roses: Stormbird by Conn Iggulden
27. Dragonwyck by Anya Seton
28. Colossus: The Four Emperors by David Blixt
29. Hungry Hill by Daphne du Maurier
30. The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley
31. The Nine Day Queen by Ella March Chase
32. The King Must Die by Mary Renault

R.I.P. VIII

Hosted by Stainless Steel Droppings

My sign-up post

The goal: To read at least 4 books between 1 September – 31 October 2013 that could be described as Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Dark Fantasy, Gothic, Horror or Supernatural.

Books read:

1. Midnight is a Lonely Place by Barbara Erskine
2. The Strange Fate of Kitty Easton by Elizabeth Speller
3. The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
4. Dragonwyck by Anya Seton
5. This House is Haunted by John Boyne
6. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
7. Bellman & Black by Diane Setterfield

Completed in 2012

War Through the Generations: WWI

1 January 2012 – 31 December 2012

Hosted by War Through the Generations

My sign-up post

For this challenge I have committed to reading 4-10 books with World War I as the primary or secondary theme.

Books read:
1. War Horse by Michael Morpurgo
2. The Last Summer by Judith Kinghorn
3. The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
4. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2012

1 January 2012 – 31 December 2012

Hosted by Historical Tapestry

My sign-up post

I’m planning to read 20 books in my favourite genre, historical fiction.

A Classics Challenge

1 January 2012 – 31 December 2012

Hosted by November’s Autumn

My sign-up post

Here are the seven classics I’ve read for this challenge:

1. The Professor by Charlotte Brontë
2. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
3. Three Men on the Bummel by Jerome K. Jerome
4. Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
5. Sylvia’s Lovers by Elizabeth Gaskell
6. Emma by Jane Austen
7. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

Victorian Challenge

1 January 2012 – 31 December 2012

Hosted by Laura’s Reviews

My sign-up post

I’m hoping to read at least one book a month for this challenge. There should be some overlaps with the Classics Challenge too.

1. The Professor by Charlotte Bronte
2. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
3. Three Men on the Bummel by Jerome K. Jerome
4. Sylvia’s Lovers by Elizabeth Gaskell
5. The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
6. The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope
7. A Long Fatal Love Chase by Louisa May Alcott
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

Completed in 2011

Victorian Literature Challenge 2011

1 January 2011 – 31 December 2011

Hosted by Words, Words, Words
My sign-up post

Books read for this challenge:
1. Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
2. Villette by Charlotte Bronte
3. The Moorland Cottage by Elizabeth Gaskell
4. Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome
5. A House of Pomegranates by Oscar Wilde
6. The Island of Doctor Moreau by H.G. Wells
7. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
8. The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens
9. Dr Thorne by Anthony Trollope
10. Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
11. Therese Raquin by Emile Zola
12. Framley Parsonage by Anthony Trollope
13. Uncle Silas by Sheridan Le Fanu
14. Under the Greenwood Tree by Thomas Hardy
15.

Gaskell Reading Challenge

1 January 2011 – 30 June 2011

Hosted by Gaskell Blog
My sign-up post

Books read for this challenge:
1. The Moorland Cottage by Elizabeth Gaskell
2. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

Historical Fiction Challenge

1 January 2011 – 31 December 2011

Hosted by Historical Tapestry
My sign-up post

Books read for this challenge:
1. Cleopatra’s Daughter by Michelle Moran
2. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
3. By Fire, By Water by Mitchell James Kaplan
4. The Postmistress by Sarah Blake
5. The Anatomy of Ghosts by Andrew Taylor
6. Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin
7. Far to Go by Alison Pick
8. The Creation of Eve by Lynn Cullen
9. Jamrach’s Menagerie by Carol Birch
10. Gillespie and I by Jane Harris
11. The Map of Time by Felix Palma
12. Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir
13. Cousin Kate by Georgette Heyer
14. The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer
15. Powder and Patch by Georgette Heyer
16. The Champion by Elizabeth Chadwick
17. The Sandalwood Tree by Elle Newmark
18. Devil Water by Anya Seton
19. The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory
20. The Greatest Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick

Completed in 2010

Rules: Read 8 books by British authors between January 1 2010 – December 31 2010

Books read for this challenge:

1. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
2. The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
3. Watership Down by Richard Adams
4. The Doctor’s Wife by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
5. The Warden by Anthony Trollope
6. I’ll Never Be Young Again by Daphne du Maurier
7. Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
8. The Talisman Ring by Georgette Heyer

Rules: Read 6 or more chunksters (450+ pages) or 3 books with 750+ pages from February 1 2010 – January 21 2011

Books read for this challenge:

1. The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye – 960 pages
2. Drood by Dan Simmons – 775 pages
3. In a Far Country by Linda Holeman – 640 pages
4. Wild Swans by Jung Chang – 650 pages
5. Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy – 464 pages
6. The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox – 608 pages

Rules: Read 6 classics between April 1 – October 31 2010

Books read for this challenge:

1. The Doctor’s Wife by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
2. The Warden by Anthony Trollope
3. Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
4. Basil by Wilkie Collins
5. Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte
6. The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas

Rules: Read a minimum of 2 books by women writers written or published between 1700 and 1900.

Books read for this challenge:

1. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
2. The Doctor’s Wife by Mary Elizabeth Braddon

1930s Challenge

1. I’ll Never Be Young Again by Daphne du Maurier

On this page I will keep track of my progress in the reading challenges I’m currently participating in.

Women Unbound Reading Challenge

Books read for this challenge:

1. Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain (nonfiction)
2. The Moonlit Cage by Linda Holeman (fiction)
3. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte (fiction)
4. Wild Swans by Jung Chang (nonfiction)
5. Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte (fiction)
6. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See (fiction)
7. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (nonfiction)
8. The Victorian Chaise-Longue by Marghanita Laski (fiction)

Year of the Historical

Books read for this challenge:

1. The White Queen by Philippa Gregory
2. The Divine Sacrifice by Tony Hays
3. The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye
4. Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin
5. In a Far Country by Linda Holeman
6. O, Juliet by Robin Maxwell
7. The Unburied by Charles Palliser
8. The Talisman Ring by Georgette Heyer
9. The Book of Fires by Jane Borodale
10. The Masqueraders by Georgette Heyer
11. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
12. The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory

New Authors

Books read for this challenge:

1. Dimitri Verhulst
2. CS Richardson
3. Tony Hays
4. Betsy Connor Bowen
5. Anne Bronte
6. Willy Vlautin
7. Melanie Benjamin
8. Tamara Allen
9. Dan Simmons
10. Horace Walpole
11. Robin Maxwell
12. Michael T. Darkow
13. Anthony Trollope
14. Jung Chang
15. Thomas Hardy
16. Georgette Heyer
17. Michael Cox
18. Winifred Watson
19. Jane Borodale
20. Sarah Waters
21. Seth Hunter
22. Frank Baker
23. Marjane Satrapi
24. Barbara Euphan Todd
25. Mollie Panter-Downes
26. Lisa See
27. Willa Cather
28. Catherine Ryan Hyde
29. Steven Galloway
30. Sue Gee
31. Gayle Forman
32. Rosy Thornton
33. Julie Buxbaum
34. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
35. Curtis Sittenfeld
36. William Beckford
37. Alan Bradley
38. Matthew Lewis
39. Kazuo Ishiguro
40. Marghanita Laski
41. Bram Stoker
42. Kate Morton
43. Anna Dean
44. Belinda Bauer
45. Alan Bennett
46. Maria McCann
47. Sharon Penman
48. Tracy Chevalier
49. Elizabeth Speller
50. Sebastian Barry

All About The Brontes

Books read for this challenge:

1. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
2. Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte

A to Z Challenge

Books read for this challenge: (FAILED CHALLENGE)

A – Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin
B – Basil by Wilkie Collins
C – The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
D – The Divine Sacrifice by Tony Hays
E – The End of the Alphabet by CS Richardson
F – The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye
G – The Glass of Time by Michael Cox
H – Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
I – In a Far Country by Linda Holeman
J
K
L – Lean on Pete by Willy Vlautin
M – Madame Verona Comes Down the Hill by Dimitri Verhulst
N – Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
O – O, Juliet by Robin Maxwell
P – Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Q
R – The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory
S – Spring Bear by Betsy Connor Bowen
T – The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
U – The Unburied by Charles Palliser
V – Vathek by William Beckford
W – The White Queen by Philippa Gregory
X
Y
Z

2010 Flashback Reading Challenge

Books read for this challenge: (FAILED CHALLENGE)

1. The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye
2. Watership Down by Richard Adams

What’s In A Name? 3 Challenge

Books read for this challenge: (FAILED CHALLENGE)

1. [Book with a Title in the title] The White Queen by Philippa Gregory
2. [Book with a Plant in the title] The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas
3. [Book with a Music Term in the title] The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
4. [Book with a Food in the title] The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

Books read for this challenge:

1. The White Queen by Philippa Gregory
2. The Divine Sacrifice by Tony Hays
3. The Far Pavilions by M. M. Kaye
4. Whistling in the Dark by Tamara Allen
5. Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin
6. Drood by Dan Simmons
7. In a Far Country by Linda Holeman
8. O, Juliet by Robin Maxwell
9. The Unburied by Charles Palliser
10. The Talisman Ring by Georgette Heyer
11. The Book of Fires by Jane Borodale
12. The Masqueraders by Georgette Heyer
13. The Time of Terror by Seth Hunter
14. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
15. The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory
16. The Glass of Time by Michael Cox
17. The Saffron Gate by Linda Holeman
18. The Wilding by Maria McCann
19. The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Penman
20. Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier

Our Mutual Read: A Victorian Reading Challenge

Books read for this challenge:

1. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
2. Drood by Dan Simmons (Neo-Victorian)
3. The Doctor’s Wife by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
4. The Warden by Anthony Trollope
5. The Unburied by Charles Palliser (Neo-Victorian)
6. Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
7. The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox (Neo-Victorian)
8. Basil by Wilkie Collins
9. Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte
10. A House to Let by Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, Elizabeth Gaskell & Adelaide Anne Procter
11. A Rogue’s Life by Wilkie Collins
12. A Pair of Blue Eyes by Thomas Hardy

Gothic Novel Challenge

Books read for this challenge:

1. The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
2. The Unburied by Charles Palliser
3. Vathek by William Beckford
4. The Monk by Matthew Lewis
5. Dracula by Bram Stoker

Daphne du Maurier Challenge

Books read for this challenge:

1. I’ll Never Be Young Again
2. My Cousin Rachel
3. The Scapegoat

RIP V Challenge

Books read for this challenge:

1. Vathek by William Beckford
2. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
3. The Monk by Matthew Lewis
4. The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
5. The Victorian Chaise-Longue by Marghanita Laski
6. Dracula by Bram Stoker
7. A Moment of Silence by Anna Dean
8. The Haunted Hotel & Other Stories by Wilkie Collins

Short stories – 1. The Vampyre by John Polidori

Completed in 2009