FREE THE CANDLEMASS ROAD PDF George MacDonald Fraser | 180 pages | 08 Feb 2011 | Skyhorse Publishing | 9781616080990 | English | New York, NY, Canada Book Review: The Candlemass Road, by George MacDonald Fraser | Dial H For Houston Goodreads helps you keep track of books you The Candlemass Road to read. Want to Read saving…. Want to Read Currently Reading Read. Other editions. Enlarge cover. Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Open Preview See a Problem? Details if other :. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page. To the young Lady Margaret Dacre, raised in the rich security of Queen Elizabeth's court, the Scottish border was a land of blood and brutal violence, and her broad inheritance lay at the mercy of the outlaw riders and feuding tribes of England's last frontier. This title presents a tale from the bestselling author of the Flashman Papers. Get A Copy. Paperbackpages. Published November 4th by HarperCollins first published January 1st More Details Original Title. Other Editions 9. Friend Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign The Candlemass Road. To ask other readers questions about The Candlemass Roadplease sign up. Lists with This Book. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 3. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Start your review of The Candlemass Road. Jan 08, David rated it really liked it Shelves: read-fiction. I don't know what film treatments are supposed to be like, but this seems a lot like one to me. To be clear, this is praise: you can see a film in your head, including details barely suggested in the narrative. I rather unimaginatively cast Russell Crowe thief-turned-hero, handsome when covered in mudKeira Knightly well-born lady The Candlemass Road must fight, frequent costume changesand Ian Holm priest with doubts, stealing the picture. Feel free to re-cast at will This book made me think about the strange sexual politics of book publishing in our times. Previously, I had read that Joanne Rowling became J. Rowling because the publisher thought boys wouldn't read a book by a woman. This didn't seem so bad to me because boys, well, they bring the very concept of childishness to life; you can't blame them for it any more than you can fault the rain for The Candlemass Road wet. However, I also listened to a recent biography of Cornelius Vanderbilt, also by a poor soul who had to resort to the same wheeze with the two initials so that grown-up history geeks would not be seen in public reading a book by a presumably cootie-inducing woman historian. So, what goes around comes around. Although I understand that there are successful male romance writers sometimes writing under women's namesperhaps Fraser, best known as the creator of the unredeemable arch-cad Flashman, simply could not be marketed to the romance-reading demographic. As a result, I imagine that Fraser's publisher just didn't bother to tell him to beef up this volume with longer periods of heavy breathing and a more conventional ending although Fraser is not known for this style of writing, I feel he had a healthy enough interest in money, and sufficient talent, to do so if asked. As a result, this novella as it came out of his typewriter falls between two stools, not mushy enough for the romance-reading public, but too talky for lovers of ultra-violence in historical novel form. But I loved it. At a mere pages, this is perfect for a weekend at the beach Jun 15, Don Edgar rated it it was amazing. One of her tennant families is being blackmailed. The setting is the lawless Borders region near Carlisle in Northwest England, and a fragile balance exists between the landholders and the Reivers who have been plundering the region for decades. The Grandfather had somehow managed to stay out of this nonsense although we are given to The Candlemass Road out for ourselves how he did this It is now up to Miss Dacre to protect her holdings against what seems to be an expectation that she is not going to measure up As the story plays out, we learn that a kind of "Code of the Borders" exists This code sets in motion a series of conflicts reminiscent of those I had encountered in "Billy Budd," or "The Caine Mutiny. My only caution is that this is a bare-bones telling. There were any number of subplots or back-stories that could have been elaborated upon. It appears that the author decided to let The Candlemass Road be guided by our intuition, and in the end this worked just The Candlemass Road. Feb 27, Francoise rated it really liked it. Completely different from any of the books I've read in a long time! It's hard to imagine that an author who passed away comparatively recently in could write a book like this one. It takes place during the reign of Queen Elizabeth when apparently the area called the Border between England and Scotland was completely at the The Candlemass Road of a wild bunch of outlaws who made their own law. They also made their living by extorting "protection" money from the poorest of the poor, the peasants who live Completely different from any of the books I've read in a long time! They also made their living by extorting "protection" money from the poorest of the poor, the peasants who lived in pitiful cabins and were at the mercy of all the brigands who came along. This story tells of The Candlemass Road who defies a gang of these outlaws at the behest of Lady Margaret Dacre who has inherited a large property that contains the homes of the unfortunate peasants who live at the mercy of the outlaws as the government is unable to provide any protection. It is written in a style that caused me to go back and reread sentences often in order to understand what was being said. I believe that the author's intention was to The Candlemass Road in authentic period style. It was a well told story which I would recommend to anyone interested in a fictional account of the The Candlemass Road on the Border during this time period. Oct 24, Simon rated it really liked it. Nicely written, good characters and The Candlemass Road. It's essentially a "one-event novel" with the good brevity, concision, focus and bad brevity, lack of character development that that brings. I would have given three and a half stars if I could The Candlemass Road. View 2 comments. Dec 14, Bruce Nordstrom rated The Candlemass Road really liked it Shelves: historic-fictionadults. This book, "The Candlemass Road," is by Fraser. A fictional account of a few days in the times when the reivers ruled. I loved the book. It was a very accurate account of what life was like in the days when both England and Scotland claimed the border country, and neither of them really ruled it. The result was about years of feud, raid, killing and chaos. Survival was the only law, and outlaws in one county were law enforcement officials in another. This is a great story, but is made into a slow read because the narrator, a Catholic priest, in a country where Catholicism is illegal, does all the narrating in the language of the time. Which adds some feel to the piece, at the price of clarity. It is damned hard to understand sometimes. But a great, authentic read. Reading, "The Steel Bonnets," first is recommended. Nov 20, Lexie Conyngham rated it really liked it. Interesting book. The language, which is very much of the 16th. The plot is really an episode in Border history border between England and Scotlandbased on a few facts and expanded into fiction, written from the point of view of a foreign priest who is an outsider in a nominally Protestant border country, appalled at the violence The Candlemass Road cruelty of the region. George MacDonald Fraser Interesting book. George MacDonald Fraser was a writer who built action and plot brilliantly, and had enough interest in history and historical accuracy to set them well. The Candlemass Road 19, Angela rated it it was ok Shelves:british-ir-project. Lord Dacre has kept the peace in the borderlands by ruthlessly punishing bandits. When he dies, his threat dies with him, leaving the Anglo-Scottish borders vulnerable to the outlaws. His daughter, Lady Dacre, has been raised in genteel fashion in The Candlemass Road court of Queen Elizabeth I, but she now returns to claim her inheritance and attempt to reclaim the peace that her father had maintained. This includes unfami Lord Dacre has kept the peace in the borderlands by ruthlessly punishing bandits. This includes unfamiliar words and complex sentences, which requires a strong reader. Jul 05, Tim rated it really liked it. Steel Bonnets is a history, but Fraser is a The Candlemass Road as well as The Candlemass Road historian and it is no The Candlemass Road that he would base a novel upon the research he did for the history. Based on reviews I have read by others, I suspect it helps to read Steel Bonnets first because it gives the reader a lot of context to understand the social and political pressures of the 16th century in the Debatable Lands. The Candlemass Road 17, Karin Gastreich rated it it was amazing. Vivid characters in violent times - what more could a reader ask for? George MacDonald Fraser - Wikiwand London: Collins Harvill, Octavo 23 x 15cmpp.