Historical and Mystery novels
David
Troubadour
The Falconer's Knot
I can be found blogging about historical fiction with 27 other writers, like Celia Rees and Louisa Young, at The History Girls blog. There's a new post every day.
David
to be published by Bloomsbury, July 2011
This tells the story of the young man who modelled for the famous statue of Michelangelo’s David which you can see in the Accademia in Florence. Nothing is known about him or even if he did exist – Michelangelo might have just used his imagination. What an opportunity for a novelist!
Mary Hoffman captures all the energy and excitement of the Italian Renaissance as she brings Michelangelo’s David down from his pedestal to walk the streets of Florence as a flesh-and-blood stonemason. A thrilling story of dangerous rivalries in art, love and politics, with one of the world’s greatest masterpieces at its heart.
Ross King
Highly recommended for all teen fans of historical fiction. (read whole review)
Bookbag
For me it is Mary Hoffman's most accomplished novel to date. (read whole review)
Guardian
'David' is a wonderful historical novel which powerfully evokes another time and place. (read whole review)
The Awfully Big Blog Adventure
My Blog Tour for David began on 4th July and ran right through to 4th August. There is lots of extra information to be found in the posts.
I had a very successful visit to the 2011 Bologna Book Fair, where lots of people were interested in David. Afterwards I had a short trip to Florence where I showed the statue (the replica in Piazza della Signoria) the book about its subject.
Troubadour
The UK cover
The US cover
Shortlisted for the Costa Book Awards
Buy from Amazon.co.uk (hbk)
Buy from Amazon.co.uk (pbk)
Troubadour tells the story of Elinor a young girl in 13th century France who has a crush on Bertran, a troubadour who visits her family's castle. But he is not a suitable prospect, not because he is older than her but because of his secret religion. Bertran is a Cathar and after he witnesses a brutal murder of the Pope's legate he has to go on the run. The Pope launches the Albingensian Crusade and Elinor's life changes for ever.
Reviews for Troubadour
Hoffman has written an enthralling and well-paced tale whose conclusion is at once unexpected, poignant and satisfying.
Read whole review
The Guardian
(Linda Buckley-Archer, author of the Timequake Trilogy)
Well researched and rivetingly readable, this runaway bride makes the perfect read for the end of the summer holidays.
Read whole review
The Times (Amanda Craig)
I couldn’t help thinking while reading Troubadour that it might be
Mary Hoffman’s best book. So far.
Read whole review
Bookwitch (Ann Giles)
Hoffman relates the tale with a wealth of historical detail and frequently shifting points of view.
Read whole review
Write Away (Marie-Louise Jensen)
Mary Hoffman is to be congratulated for tackling this challenging period and bringing it to life for confident readers, teens and adults alike. Troubadour is a novel on an epic scale, juggling the Albigensian Crusade and its background, bloody battles and reprisals, aspects of courtly love, troubadours and Cathars, the feudal system along with Elinor's search for her place in the world. Elinor is a lively and engaging heroine, but Hoffman skilfully avoids making her an anachronistic, feisty miss, more suited to teen chicklit.
Bookbag
Troubadour by Mary Hoffman (Bloomsbury) is another book by someone who is careful with her historical research. Her story of Elinor, a young woman living at the time of the Cathars in the Languedoc, is full of vivid detail about religious disputes which descend into bloody and terrible war and also about the culture of those days. There’s a glossary at the back which is most helpful and in Elinor, her brave,resourceful and talented heroine, she’s given readers a fascinating insight into the world of women in the 13th century.
Adèle Geras
Here is a lovely five-star review of the French translation of Troubadour. It is in French, naturally, so I hope some of you can read it!
There is also an audiobook of Troubadour read by Jilly Bond from BBC books.
The Falconer's Knot
Published by Bloomsbury UK and Bloomsbury USA April 2007
Published in Germany by Bertelsmann, Holland by Unieboek, Denmark by Sesam,
France by Flammarion, Japan by Shogakukan, Poland by Dolnoslaskie and Sweden by
Alfabeta.
Shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize
Selected as one of 40 books on USBBY's list of Outstanding International Books for 2008. (USBBY is the United States Board on Books for Young People)
Nominated for the Malice Domestic Agatha Award for the best novel in the children's/young adult category.
French translation, Rouge Crime, won the Prix Polar Jeunesse 2009.
Buy from Amazon.co.uk (hbk)
Buy from Amazon.co.uk (pbk)
The Story
Silvano is sixteen, with the world at his feet. He is handsome, rich
and in love. But one summer's night in 1316, his beloved's husband is
found stabbed - and Silvano's dagger is found in the body. There is
nothing for it but for him to flee his native city of Perugia and
take sanctuary in a house of friars not far from Assisi.
Meanwhile, a beautiful young novice called Chiara has entered the neighbouring convent. She has no vocation to be a nun but has been dumped there by her brother because there is not enough money to give her a good dowry and find her a good husband.
Soon after Silvano's arrival there is another murder, this time at
the friary, and suspicion falls on him again. Life would be bleak if
it were not for his work with Brother Anselmo in the Colour Room,
grinding pigments for the artists at work on the great Basilica of
Saint Francis in Assisi. Chiara is doing similar work next door and
the two young people meet when they take colours to Simone Martini
who is painting a magnificent fresco-cycle on the life of Martin, the
knight who became a saint.
Silvano, Chiara, Anselmo and Simone combine forces to try and discover the true murderer, as more lives are lost and the friary becomes a place of fear.
Writing The Falconer's Knot
I loved writing this book! It took a lot of research - on painting
techniques, life in mediaeval Umbria, falconry, Saint Francis and the
lives of nuns and friars - but it was hugely enjoyable. I travelled
to Assisi, Gubbio and Perugia, where the story takes place (although
I invented Giardinetto, where the friary and convent are). And I as
many books and articles and consulted as many experts as I could find.
There are five murders in the book (more or less!) and at least three love stories. And of course there is Silvano's falcon, Celeste.
But what really drew me to the possibility of creating this mixture
of murder, history and romance, was the chance to write about my
favourite painter, Simone Martini. He lived in Siena but became so
famous in his time that he was invited to paint commissions not only
in Assisi but also in places as far afield as Avignon in France,
where the Pope was based in 1316. He was made a knight a year later.
And I have always loved the names for colours: azurite, terra verde, orpiment, realgar and the wonderful ultramarine - blue from beyond the sea.
So, researching and writing The Falconer's Knot was a real pleasure. I hope it will be one to read it too.
Reviews for The Falconer's Knot
Nobleman Silvano is accused of murder and given sanctuary in a friary. Lacking a dowry, beautiful Chiara is placed in a nearby convent by her brother. In this engaging medieval murder mystery, the two young people meet and learn a great deal about life and love.
School Library Journal - USBBY report
Mary Hoffman's medieval murder mystery has all the elements needed to weave a satisfying web of intrigue, tinged with religion and high art. This is a pacy and highly enjoyable read. Each character has his or her role to play and does so with gusto, from the plump and ambitious sheep farmer's widow to the formidable Minister General who turns up at the monastery to get to the bottom of the mortal sin being committed there. Hoffman handles the drama with admirable skill. … there is a freshness of perspective and intricacy of plot that lift the story above the obvious or crass.
A Story of Friars, Flirtation and Foul Play
Hoffman (the Stravaganza series) once again whisks readers off to Italy , this time in the 14th century, for this highly entertaining mystery-farce hybrid. Readers can pick up clues from the third-person narrative that alternates among the four main characters. ... As the solution surfaces, so do the true loves of the main characters. Even though many readers will guess where the plot is headed, the pleasure is in the journey.
Publishers Weekly
Hoffman set her acclaimed Stravaganza novels in an alternate world that resembled sixteenth-century Italy. In this suspenseful mystery, Hoffman leaves the alternate worlds behind and sets her story directly within the real-world history of fourteenth-century Umbria. ... The publisher has compared this novel to Umberto Eco's Name of the Rose , and there are certainly similarities between the books' Friary settings and central mysteries. Hoffman makes the story her own with an exciting tangle of murder suspects and romantic intrigues. The plot is crowded with characters and the intricate details about pigment preparation and fourteenth-century art and life will slow some readers and fascinate others. Hoffman creates utterly engaging characters and vivid settings, and she skillfully turns up the suspense, wrapping her varied plot threads into a satisfying whole. Readers will race through to the satisfying, fairy-tale conclusion, which includes some empowering twists for the female characters."
Booklist