Champagne War by Australian writer Fiona McIntosh is an historical novel about a champagne vineyard in France and its feisty young owner, Sophie Delancre, whose new husband Charlie Nash has joined the army during the First World War. McIntosh tells you everything [and more] that you ever wanted to know about champagne production, while building a story of the trials and setbacks that Sophie goes through as she takes over the family vineyard and continues to produce the wine. A jealous uncle, notification of her husband’s probable death and problems with the vintage are all overcome by this resolute young woman who is definitely in charge. A happy ending too…which I won’t spoil by revealing. If you like France, historical novels and champagne, then pour yourself a glass one afternoon and enjoy this book.
The Cold Millions by American writer Jess Walter
This is a rough, tough ride through the violent early 1900s in the gold mining town of Spokane along the border with Canada. Walter mixes fictional and historical characters into a story about two young itinerant brothers who have to try and exist during depression times in 1909. They are lured into dangerous jobs, hop freight trains, swindled out of their wages and beaten up by corrupt police who are tasked to move ‘hobos’ on out of town. While a small elite get rich, the cold millions of poor people must find a way of existing. Walter weaves in the story of Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, a real-life union activist who runs rallies, writes for workers newspapers and tries to improve conditions for the waged poor. An interesting look into an America that one could almost see as a precursor of Trump’s America.
Meg Dillon