A review by lian_tanner
The Harper's Quine by Pat McIntosh

5.0

What a delight it is to find a historical novel where the characters are not just modern people with a few 'thees' and 'thous' thrown in. I loved so much about this book, but the thing I loved most was the town and the people, and how convincingly they were drawn. It's the sort of novel you can immerse yourself in, trusting an author who has clearly done more than her fair share of homework, and now wields that knowledge with great skill and love. McIntosh doesn't show off her knowledge - there no great clumsy chunks of exposition, just a totally convincing world that we are privileged to glimpse for the length of the book. This has to be the next best thing to a time machine.

On top of that, I loved Gil and Alys, their immediate sympathy and their growing friendship. And there are ten more books!!!!