Customer Reviews (5)

Duncton's End
This is amazing, it will have you in tears at the end. Beautifully written and a fantastic end to the novels.

The most life changing book I have ever read!
The Six Duncton books changed my life. William Horwood is the most amazing writer I have ever come across. These books have made me laugh, and cry in floods of tears. I've felt the pain and happiness of each and every mole in these books. I have just read the fifth book and am about to start the six. How someone can claim that this defiles the Christian religion is Rubbish, it is the Gospel occording to St Mole, thats all. It even has a "Stone Mole," a Jesus figure equivilant, who died for his beliefs. I am not a Christian, but a very open minded Wiccan, but this book taught me to look on the religion in a differnt light, with a sense of understanding and respect for what they went through. I know many Christians who have read these books and they all agree that these are some of the most amazing and beautiful books they have ever read. A guarrenteed great read.

Nice fantasy, BUT...
I read the first 4 books in William Horwood's Duncton series... He's a very captivating writer, his plots are extremely good, BUT I have a major problem with the way in which he shoots down the Bible and places his ownmole religion in its place - a mere twisted derivation of the Gospel. If hehad to drag religion into it, couldn't he at least have invented his owninstead of degrading Christ? Because of this I didn't finish the rest ofhis books. Christians beware - it may be an excellent read, BUT his ratherinexcusable blasphemy would likely put you off too.

Dis bukk wull help a mowle tu fynd de Silence ob de Steyn!
O beez a mowle ob de Steyn, an O beez cuzin ob Laurel.O beez Birch ob Cuddesdon, dorter ob Brimmel sunn ob Loosestrife an Whillan.An dis bukk as inspyrd O.O beez prowd ob beezen Privet's great grandorter. Thnkyuawl.An Steyn reine in thine herte!

Diss bukk dooz efawm O abowt de Steyn.
O beez a mowle ob de Steyn an O seek ets Silence an Lite. Privet beez an ispyrashun tu awl followas. O miselfe am de grate grandorta ob Privet, mi mother wuz Rose, dorta ob Whillan an Loosestrife. Et as enspoired O an O'scusin Birch tu ryt anubba trilogee. Et beez gudd tu knoe dat dee Steyn beezawlwais yurr faw us, O fales et ez a suppawten frend. O wurrshipps at deBeechenhil Steyn lots, ebba since O wuz a yungsta. O av visited sevrulSteyns an O finks dat two foots are trying to cut awl mowles awai frum dereSteyns, bi fencin dem en wid narsey barbwya. witch beez dainjrus. O luvsdiss bukk. ... Read more

Product Description
The twelve days of Christmas are fast approaching and Mole is planning to enjoy every one of them with his River Bank friends.So when the normally cheerful Toad despairs at the arrival of Mrs. Ffleshe, a quite impossibly rude houseguest who every year sets out to protect Toad from overindulgence, Mole must do something about it.But the plan he hatches with Ratty, Badger, and Otter to rescue Toad goes horribly wrong.With the prospect of spending Christmas in jail and a trial for capital offences soon to follow, Mole will have to work hard if he is to salvage something of the Christmas spirit for his friends.

The Willows at Christmas is the crowning achievement of William Horwood's masterly cycle of sequels to Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows.The new story is set just after the original, but before Horwood's critically acclaimed The Willows in Winter, which so brilliantly brought the much-loved River Bankers back to life.It will give pleasure to the countless readers around the world who have reveled in each new work, and capture the loyalty and imagination of many new readers.Merry Christmas! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Outstanding, Mr. Horwood!
If you just can never get enough of the original Wind in the Willows, Horwood does a more-than-passable job of fleshing out the story.He is at his best, however, in the characters of Toad and Mole.Love these books!

'tis the season to believe...
This Christmas, just last week, I read this final installment in the continuing series of books by William Horwood. I've read his other three, and of course, Grahame's endearing and unforgettable template. This one, The Willows At Christmas leaves me wishing that there were more of the stories to read.

I am old.
But these stories refresh me, and rekindle the youngster in me.

All that Mole wants is a nice peaceful Christmas (don't we all?)... to have a little party on Twelfth Night, and sip his famous "sloe and blackberry" with his newly acquired friends Toad, Badger, Ratty and Otter. Along with this, a reunion with his long-lost sister would be nice also. He begins to try to arrange a get together at Mole End, but soon finds that a guest at Toad Hall is throwing the countryside into a state of fear and downright Yuletide attrition! Horwood introduces us to the villainous Mrs. Ffleshe... the veritable Cruella DeVille of the Riverbank! She has taken over Toad Hall and the once proud Toad is reduced to humiliating servitude until (no real surprise) even WORSE things happen to him!
Yep. Only THIS time Mole is also caught in the same trap, and Christmas joy of any kind now seems to be definitely beyond reach!
Every available resource and ingenuity must be called upon if Mole and Toad are to be rescued, and Christmas restored to its proper place of peace and joyful togetherness.
The Willows At Christmas is a great story about the power of friendship and loyalty, justice and forgiveness, and the beauty of reunion.
Horwood once again proves that he is worthy of carrying on in the tradition of the one and only Kenneth Grahame. A lofty task.
Is it only a book for kids?
Yes, but no matter what AGE they find themselves to be! ... Read more

Product Description
Word count: 2100. ... Read more

Product Description
This dark and exciting historical novel marks the collaborative debut of two remarkable talents, the novelist William Horwood and historian Helen Rappaport.

When young, inexperienced but very ambitious female reporter Emily Strauss bluffs her way into newspaper magnate Joseph Pulitzer’s office, she comes away with a treacherous assignment: to find out what happened to Anna Zemeckis, one of many women who have disappeared during the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. With the support of a young man who is just venturing into the burgeoning trade of news photography, Emily soon finds herself in a race against time to save Anna’s life and to bring her story back to New York before Pulitzer’s tough deadline expires.

19th century Chicago is a place of dangerous contrasts. Most obviously there is all the glitz and razzmatazz of the Fair itself and the spectacular wealth and influence of a new middle-class elite. But Emily must also come face-to-face with the rival ethnic groups, the sinister underworld of pornography and prostitution, as well as the ruthless meatpacking giants of the Union Stock Yard who control the lives and destinies of so many of Chicago’s immigrant poor.


From the Trade Paperback edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Interesting, but I would recommend reading other books about Chicago first.
I found Dark Hearts of Chicago at a used book store. When I read the overview on the back of the book (a cub reporter is trying to dig into why so many young women have been disappearing during the 1893 World's Fair), I thought, "This sounds a little like The Devil in the White City". However, I was intrigued by the first few pages, plus it was cheap, so I decided to go for it. Turns out it wasn't really like The Devilin the White City, in part because it wasn't written as well, but also because despite the description, Dark Hearts didn't really focus on the World's Fair. It was more focused on the general attitude and culture of the city at the turn of the century.

Dark Hearts of Chicago tries to get at how crazy Chicago was at the beginning of the 20th century. The city was growing, in large part because of the flow of immigrants, massive industries, like meat packing, were changing the way the city operated, and the gap between the poor and the wealthy was extreme. This book touches on all these topics, as well as the idea of women getting into the work force, the development of the pornography industry in the U.S., and the public and medical view of mental illness. An ambitious book to say the least.

After finishing the book, I realized that it doesn't quite do all of these topics justice. It's a long book - over 600 pages - so the authors had the space, but it just wasn't done that well. It's not a bad book, it's just not great. Part of my problem with the book is that is just didn't feel true to the time period - I could tell that the authors were bringing and 21st century perspective and voice to a 19th century story. Two examples of this were:

The dialogue - It just didn't ring true to the setting, which I found distracting. For example, the main female character, a reporter named Emily Strauss, addresses two men as "You guys". I just don't think women were saying that in the 1890s.
Emily's role in exposing the pornography trade. I had a hard time believing that a woman in 1893 would ever be shown pornographic images, even if it was in the name of her work as a reporter. The male characters she was working with really only made a half-hearted attempt at keeping her from seeing pretty graphic images and she quickly got involved in trying to expose the powerful men who were driving the development of the burgeoning pornography industry without any real resistance. I just wasn't buying it.
Maybe I'm generalizing the time period too much, but I found the authors difficulty in capturing the voice and culture of the time period made the whole book a little weak. That said, I finished it and found the story somewhat compelling. I've read a number of books (fiction and non-fiction) about Chicago and Dark Hearts brings up some aspects of the city that I hadn't read about before, but there are other Chicago books I enjoyed more.

good mystery, well told, historical era interesting, simple beautiful language - a gem
I bought this book because of William Horwood. Books like the Stonor Eagles, or the Skallagrigg, are utterly special experiences and I will look for him regularly to see whether he will lead me into new places, either of emotion or of adventure, with a new tale.

This is totally different from any work I have read from him, but excellent.

The setting is very real, Chicago in 1893 is well told, I can imagine it from the short and vivid descriptions. I hate too much telling of places and smells and flowers and shapes, but the way it is handled here is very well done, short and yet I could really feel where we were.

The short chapters are simply told, very stark, nearly just facts, and still, the tension mounts, the various strands flow together, the resolution develops step by step. Soon, I could not stop reading because the mystery that was being unveiled, the small and big cogs coming together was so gripping.

The persons were well drawn, I could get involved with them emotionally, although there is a bit of distance, somehow, as if I were also a journalist following a story. There is no comparison with the deeply emotional tales Horwood has written before, where faith and feelings and inner callings were so very important.

The partially horrific settings (madhouse, slums) are not overdone, I was frightened at moments that there might be too much horror, but it was always just enough for the story, no violence for violence's sake, and no obsession with the sick minds of some of the characters. Again, just enough to be vivid and to make the story very very clear, also in its darkness.

Finally, the telling from the women's point of view was a bonus. Not only did the women seem real for the time (no 21st century heroines put by chance in a long skirt), but to see the limitations and the courage and strength of them, and the first steps towards equality that were taken then, it was a true bonus. Never overwhelmed the story, but gave an extra dimension I enjoyed a lot.

I will read anything by these two authors again.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes a good mystery, who likes a well done realistic historical setting, and who still wants to be very well entertained.
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