The Tenth Gift
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Product Description
Review
'Written with charm and gusto Johnson revivifies the guilty pleasure of historical romance' --Independent
Barbara Erskine
'I really couldn't put it down. Exciting and romantic (oh so romantic!) and there is so much suspense. The descriptions are fabulous'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
'There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they have never happened before, like larks that have been singing the same five notes for thousands of years.' Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
'There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they have never happened before, like larks that have been singing the same five notes for thousands of years.' Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
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I was particularly interested to read this book knowing that the author had an ancestor who was reputed to have been kidnapped from a church in Penzance in 1625 and taken by pirates to Morocco. The author decided to go to Morocco to investigate further and ended up discovering and marrying her own Barbary pirate.
Which makes this book at least semi-autobiographical. For me that's a big plus.
Catherine Anne Tregenna (Cat) has been promised in marriage to her cousin Rob. Although ahe loves him as a cousin, the thought of being married to him does not appeal. Just when this seemed to be her lot she is whisked away by Barbary pirates with 59 other members of the church congregation on a Sunday morning.
Back in the present day, Julia Lovat is given an antique book of embroidery designs as a parting gift from her married lover. Written over the instructions is the tale of Cat's abduction and her subsequent arrival in Morocco. Julia decides to travel to Morocco herself to investigate the story and finds a facinating country, so different from her own.
Although a little bit stilted at times, I enjoyed the book. The characters were fun but the coincidenecs on which events hinged stretched belief a bit at times.
9 out of 10, a good read.
Which makes this book at least semi-autobiographical. For me that's a big plus.
Catherine Anne Tregenna (Cat) has been promised in marriage to her cousin Rob. Although ahe loves him as a cousin, the thought of being married to him does not appeal. Just when this seemed to be her lot she is whisked away by Barbary pirates with 59 other members of the church congregation on a Sunday morning.
Back in the present day, Julia Lovat is given an antique book of embroidery designs as a parting gift from her married lover. Written over the instructions is the tale of Cat's abduction and her subsequent arrival in Morocco. Julia decides to travel to Morocco herself to investigate the story and finds a facinating country, so different from her own.
Although a little bit stilted at times, I enjoyed the book. The characters were fun but the coincidenecs on which events hinged stretched belief a bit at times.
9 out of 10, a good read.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
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Started a bit slow, but then it shares this feature with some of the Barbara Erskine books. It is very easy to be drawn into this story, and the pace, when it does pick up, ensures that it is difficult to put down.
The most fascinating part of the book is how something so small as a little book can be the start of such a complex tale.
I would class this as a good holiday read.
The most fascinating part of the book is how something so small as a little book can be the start of such a complex tale.
I would class this as a good holiday read.
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
This book is a rip-roaring read crammed with history, romance, ghosts, love, heartbreak, white slavery, pirate raids and religion. It's a fictional account of a pirate raid led off of the Cornish coastline in the 1600s, but based on historical facts that have been meticulously researched. Johnson has a marvellous descriptive style of writing that makes the reader feel the fear and uncertainty of the 60 villagers as they are captured and stolen off to sea, heading to places they'd never even dreamed about. She sweeps you along with her story and vividly describes every step of the captives' journey. Their tale is told via the diary kept by Catherine Anne Tregenna, who recorded all of her thoughts in a small book of embroidery designs, squeezing her writing in amongst the patterns. Hundreds of years later this book lands up in the hands of Julia Lovat, and this seamlessly joins the two women's tales together. Julia sets off to discover if Catherine ever made it home to Cornwall and along the way embarks on her own adventures. My only criticism is that I felt the supernatural side of this story could have been developed further, but on the whole I found this to be a gripping read and will definitely look out for more by this author.
At the back of the book there is a list of further recommended reading for anyone who wants to know more about the topics covered in this tale.
The author Jane Johnson's own story is an intriguing one too, and I hope she writes the tale of her adventures one day.
At the back of the book there is a list of further recommended reading for anyone who wants to know more about the topics covered in this tale.
The author Jane Johnson's own story is an intriguing one too, and I hope she writes the tale of her adventures one day.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Enjoyable read all the way through ...
In 2008, having come back from a Moroccan tour and digging back in to another edit round of my first novel, I made an odd find in a charity shop - the uncorrected proof of a book... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Ashen Venema
From The Aussie Zombie
The Tenth Gift was such a different premise to my current reading that I admit I found it difficult to get my head into a non-zombie, non-post-apocalyptic state of mind, and it has... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Kat from The Aussie Zombie
enjoyed the book
Story well written, pleasant and different, though a little 'fairy-tale'-like in its content, the events felt somewhat lacking in reality, but gives colour to a little known... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Frances
If you like anything by Sabatini, you'll love this!
I bought this book on the strength of the fact that it was loosely based on the true story of a pirate raid on Cornwall in the 1620s. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Ben Kane
Disappointed - I wanted to love this book but it's dull as...
Like a previous reviewer I really wanted to like this book. In fact I wanted to love it.
The premise sounded just my sort of thing (exotic, mystery, bit of romance, good... Read more
The premise sounded just my sort of thing (exotic, mystery, bit of romance, good... Read more
Published 18 months ago by DaisyBelle
Good historical fiction
I had already read White Gold by Giles Milton, a non-fiction book, so I knew about pirate corsairs from Morocco taking white slaves from Cornwall by force back to north Africa. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Boof
Check the Title
Beware - "Crossed Bones" to the same book as "The Tenth Gift". My wife read and enjoyed the latter, then bought the former thinking it was a different book!
Published on 10 Jan 2010 by D. W. Benson
A Worthwhile and Interesting Read!
Jane Johnson was inspired to write this novel due to family legend which told of a young Cornish woman who was taken away from her home and country, by Berber pirates, and then... Read more
Published on 17 Nov 2009 by H. Pierce
THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING...
This is an excellent, well-written debut novel. It is about two stories that eventually intertwine and come together as one. Read more
Published on 30 July 2009 by Lawyeraau
A must read!
This is an absolutely fantatic book, especially if you're a fan of Phillipa Gregory or Kate Mosse. The book has two main characters, Julia of modern times who is coming to the end... Read more
Published on 26 July 2009 by Mrs. J. L. Beal
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