Welcome to our reviews for this month from Kemps. It is a busy time of year for us with plenty of new stock and new titles arriving every day as we move towards Christmas.

You will see we have featured a book by the noted Historian and historical fiction writer Alison Weir who will be coming to Malton in November to talk about her upcoming book In The Shadow Of Queens – life in the Tudor court. This will be one of our first real live events as a bookshop so we really hope you will support us and book soon. Further details from The Milton Rooms or via our website.

Live events are certainly back and alongside our Cooking The Books collaboration with The Cooks Place – a book club with food and our own monthly book group launching this month, we also have GBBO Winner 2019 David Atherton cooking with kids at The Cooks Place and then signing copies of his new book My First Green Cook Book: Vegetarian Recipes for Young Cooks at our bookshop on October 23.

November is also the month when we welcome Robin Ince to the Milton Rooms to talk about his new book The Importance of Being Interested – Adventures in Scientific Curiosity which we will review next month. Robin is well known to Radio 4 Listeners and fans of Brian Cox. He is a comedian and writer who co-presents The Infinite Monkey Cage with Brian Cox so it promises to be a lively evening. Again, you can find more information via our website or The Milton Rooms.

We can only review so many books each month and we are trying to keep our selections varied and interesting but we thought it might also be useful to know what our current best selling titles are each month. This month will probably come as no surprise with two blockbusters hitting the shelves everywhere and Christmas coming.

1. The Man Who Died Twice - Richard Osman

2. And Away - Bob Mortimer

3. The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse - Charlie Mackesey

4. Yorkshire Passport (Blue Edition) - Adrian Braddy

5. The Miseducation of Evie Epworth - Matson Taylor

6. The Gruffalo and Friends Advent Calendar - Julia Donaldson

Six Tudor Queens: Katharine Parr, The Sixth Wife : Six Tudor Queens by Alison Weir

Alison Weir is an acclaimed British historian and author. She writes from a historical perspective revolving around the biographies of British royalty. Weir's writing is skilful in its sensitivity towards the real implications of the historical situation her characters are caught within and this perceptive portrayal of Henry VIII’s last wife really adds a human dimension to the events we read on the pages of history books.

Twice widowed and now in love with Sir Thomas Seymour, Katherine Parr catches the eye of Henry VIII and he takes her for his sixth wife. Her life from now on is one of internal conflict as she knows that she must keep many of her thoughts and beliefs from the king in order to navigate the often dangerous world of the court.

Katherine Parr finally gets to marry her love after the death of Henry VIII but sadly this is no great love story as Sir Thomas sees Katherine as simply another pawn in his strategy to marry her step-daughter, the 13 year old Elizabeth. Tragically, for Katherine, she once again becomes entangled with a man that leads her down the path of power struggles, scandalous behaviour and broken hearts.This is yet another fascinating novel by Alison Weir whose talent for storytelling invigorates her detailed historical research. Her portrayal of characters give them a dimension that is relatable and she provides a great understanding of the time, place and political context in which they lived. Perhaps most notably, she makes space for a female perspective which can often be forgotten in historical records concerned with ruling power.

Published by Headline HB £20 ISBN 9781472227829

The Gruesome Guide to York part of The Horrible Histories series by Terry Deary

The Horrible Histories Gruesome Guide to York uses all the features that have become familiar to Horrible Histories readers. It is presented in a comic book style with longer paragraphs in between giving the book a visual texture that is immediately interesting to anyone who picks it up. Deary speaks directly to his readers and his colloquial delivery is full of the kind of slightly subversive humour that gets kids giggling. The book is packed full of historical information about York and its past inhabitants from the Rotten Romans to a rather shocking schoolteacher whose reign of terror at Bedern Hall in the Victorian era may get even the strongest of stomachs churning.

The key thing is that dry historical facts never overshadow human interest and it is precisely because of this that Deary’s histories stick in the mind. For example, young readers of this book are bound to remember exactly why St. Peter’s School doesn’t burn a dummy of Guy Fawkes on their bonfire on 5th November. As with all Horrible Histories, this book is not for the very young or the squeamish and the focus upon the more gruesome side of the past may leave some parents a little confused as to why this series is just so popular. However, this is not a book for the whys and wherefores of parents and teachers, it is for the whats and the whos of curious children.

Published by Scholastic PB £6.99 ISBN 9781407182261

Another Twist in the Tale – Catherine Brunton

You didn’t realise Oliver Twist had a twin sister? Neither did I until I read this imaginative and lively sequel to Charles Dickens’ well-loved novel, Oliver Twist. Arriving in the world moments before Oliver, Twill Twist needs to be just as resilient as the brother she didn’t know she had. Twill is found on a rubbish heap by the kindly but poor kitchen maid, Baggage Jones who works hard to keep her beloved adopted daughter from the greedy clutches of Madame Manzoni, the owner of a notorious gambling den. She grows up surrounded by the beautiful Manzoni butterflies – girls trained to trick men out of their money which is swiftly put into the purse of Manzoni. However, when Baggage can protect her no more, Twill is forced to run away and fight for herself on the grimy and dangerous streets of Victorian London. Here, she falls in with an all-girl gang who take her into their family and train her into the life of a street pickpocket. This is where the two worlds of Oliver Twist and Twill Twist collide.

Catherine Brunton has the Dickensian knack of writing a page-turner and her language retains a Victorian lilt while it is also updated for a modern reader.

The story is pacy and delivers enough punches along the way to keep even the most action hungry reader interested. In writing this novel, Brunton has not shied away from the ambitious task of giving young readers an entertaining and thoughtful new way into one of English Literature’s canonical writers.

Published by Nosy Crow PB £7.99 ISBN 9781788005999

The Farther Corner by Harry Pearson

Twenty-five years after Pearson’s first love letter to the North-East and its footballing heritage, he returns home to document just what has altered since its football heydays of the 1990s. Pearson masterfully brings together the near miss that north eastern football encountered in the late 90s – the larger clubs in the region never quite converted their promise to giant status – and his own sense of loss to produce a sensitive meditation on ‘the joy, the love and the loneliness’ involved in both life and football.

Pearson structures the book around 23 non-league games. His observation of the ups and downs of everything and everyone involved with the grassroots game is authoritative, democratic and, perhaps most importantly, full of the wry humour needed to get the hardiest of fans though a football season.

The Farther Corner is part commentary on the state of northern league football today, part documentary of the faithful fans and all manner of this league’s larger than life characters. This is a book written by a fan of football for fans of football and, unlike all those drizzly match days, the Farther Corner will not disappoint.

Published by Simon & Schuster Ltd PB £9.99 ISBN 9781471180910