About the book:
London, 1672. The past twelve years have brought momentous changes: the restoration of the monarchy, a devastating plague and fire. Yet the city remains a teeming, thriving metropolis, energized by the lusty decadence of Charles II's court and burgeoning scientific inquiry. Although women enjoy greater freedom, they are not allowed to practice medicine, a restriction that physician Hannah Devlin evades by treating patients that most other doctors shun: the city's poor.
But Hannah has a special knowledge that Secretary of State Lord Arlington desperately needs. At the king's Machiavellian court, Hannah attracts the attention of two men, charming courtier Ralph Montagu and anatomist Dr. Edward Strathern, as well as the attention of the powerful College of Physicians, which views her work as criminal. When two influential courtiers are found brutally murdered, their bodies inscribed with arcane symbols, Hannah is drawn into a dangerous investigation by Dr. Strathern, who believes the murders conceal a far-reaching conspiracy that may include Hannah's late father and the king himself.
Cambridge, 2008. Teaching history at Trinity College is Claire Donovan's dream come true -- until one of her colleagues is found dead on the banks of the River Cam. The only key to the professor's unsolved murder is a seventeenthcentury diary kept by his last research subject, Hannah Devlin, physician to the king's mistress. With help from the eclectic collections of Cambridge's renowned libraries, Claire and historian Andrew Kent follow the clues Devlin left behind, uncovering secrets of London's dark past and Cambridge's equally murky present, and discovering that events of three hundred years ago may still have consequences today....
A suspenseful and richly satisfying tale brimming with sharply observed historical detail, The Devlin Diary brings past and present to vivid life. With wit and grace, Christi Phillips holds readers spellbound with an extraordinary novel of secrets, obsession, and the haunting power of the past.
About the author:
Christi Phillips is the author of The Rossetti Letter, which has been translated into six foreign languages. Her research combines a few of her favorite things: old books, libraries, and travel. When she’s not rummaging around in an archive or exploring the historic heart of a European city, she lives with her husband in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she is at work on her next novel, set in France. Find her online at her website, www.christi-phillips.com.
drey's thoughts:
I got my copy on Thursday evening, and didn't get a chance to pick this up until late Friday night (after I got home from Transformers 2)... I couldn't put it down. Seriously.
Hannah Devlin is a strong woman--her father, husband, and child are all dead, and her mother's lost her wits. With no manly man to help and protect her family, Hannah does what she can--treat the poor's sick to help keep her household going. One day she is waylaid by the King's Secretary of State, to treat the King's mistress--because she is the only one who knows an effective remedy (courtesy of working alongside her father all those years). Once at court she is drawn into a web of intrigue, and when bodies start showing up around her, she starts wondering if her father's death was really accidental...
Claire Donovan is a new-to-Cambridge history professor who finds Hannah's diary in one of the libraries and gets drawn in to the mystery of a female physician during a time when women weren't allowed to practice medicine. Then one of her colleagues shows up dead. The one she punched in the face in front of a roomful of witnesses, of course.
I really liked Hannah's story--it drew me in and kept me captivated. Claire's, not so much--until the end. Just because it felt like her story had to be there, so that you could get to the end and the "ta-dah" moment... However, Christi Phillips did a fantastic job weaving the story together and telling it from both viewpoints (even if I had to wait for it to pick up with Claire's), which makes this a worthwhile read.
Fun stuff!
Read an excerpt!
Giveaway!
Thanks to Pocket Books, I have two copies of this lovely book for you (only if you live in the US or Canada--no PO Boxes, please)! To enter, comment and tell me why you'd like to read this book. +1 for following, +2 for sharing. Do it all before 6:00 pm CST July 12th! Good luck!
73 comments:
This sounds really great! I'd love to be included in the drawing.
sara - ihpie at yahoo.com
I SOOOO want to win this one! I'm a follower, too!
I'm wanting this just looking at the cover art. Thanks for sharing!
s.mickelson at gmail dot com
Put my name in the hat, too, please!
reading_frenzy@yahoo.com
Oh, I'd love to be entered for this one! Thanks for the giveaway. milou2ster(at)gmail.com
First of all, the cover is so appealing to me. And to know that the main character is a strong woman really puts it on my must read list.
+ follower
melacan at hotmail dot com
I would love to be entered in this giveaway. I really enjoyed the Rossetti Letter and this one looks fabulous as well!
I'm also a already a follower
Cheers,
julie.sherrritt[at]gmail.com
I've recently become addicted to historicals. This sound like my type of reading. I'm a follower. Have a great day.
house_mouse88 at yahoo dot com
Hi! Just posted on Win A Book.
Hi Drey!
After reading your review, I'm hooked. I want to read this book. Please enter me.
chey127 at hotmail dot com
this books sounds great! Lots of mystery and suspense
throuthehaze at gmail dot com
im a follower
blogged
http://throuthehaze.blogspot.com/2009/06/giveaways.html
I would liek to try and win this because it seems like something I would really like and because I LOVE books I can't put down and just have to read without stopping. Since that happened with you, it just might happen to me. :D
lc_intocable[a]yahoo[d]com
The dual narrative from two timelines sounds interesting. reader047 at gmail dot com
I like the idea of the story being told from two viewpoints.
I've been hearing about this quite a bit in the blogosphere and it looks like a good book, please enter me into this drawing.
+1 I'm also a Google follower of your blog.
Thanks for hosting this giveaway.
jake.lsewhere[at]gmail.com
This looks great! Please enter me!
I love historical novels, and with a cover like that, who wouldn't want to read it?
BookcrossingKitten22 AT gmail DOT com
historical fiction!!! love it!!! mysteries!!! love them!!! moving back and forth in time!!! ahhhh!!!! you got me! i want this book please!!!! (see little praying hands)
spvaughan yahoo com
+1 for following,
hodgepodgespv (little white dog) follows
spvaughan yahoo com
+2 for sharing
spvaughanRT @tweetmeme drey's library: Tour & Giveaway: 102. The Devlin Diary by Christi Phillips... http://tinyurl.com/nuxge3
spvaughan yahoo com
facebooked
Sandra Vaughan RT @tweetmeme drey's library: Tour & Giveaway: 102. The Devlin Diary by Christi Phillips... http://tinyurl.com/nuxge3
drey's library: Tour & Giveaway: 102. The Devlin Diary by Christi Phillips...
is this another +2?
you rated 1 second ago
read what dreys has to say and you will want this book too!
stumbled as spvaughan
I so have had my eye on this book. Count me in pretty please.
I follow your blog
Dutchlvr1(at)aol(dot)com
I would like to read this just by reading your thoughts on it.
I'm a follower.
I put the link to this on my sidebar.
jaam121388 at yahoo dot com
Wow. This sounds fantastic! It sounds like an intriguing, complex plot - something that will keep you interested until the end! I'd love to read it.
danunepthys(at)hotmail(dot)com
Please enter me. I love historical fiction and when there is a mystery involved it is even better.
I'm a follower.
I blogged about it here:
http://completepoppycock.blogspot.com/2009/06/devlin-diary.html
thanks
rebecca.bradeen(at)verizon(dot)net
I've always liked learning about the past and reading historicals like this one is an easy and fun way to do it. Thank you for the giveaway!
Carol M
mittens0831 AT aol.com
I'm a follower.
Carol M
mittens0831 AT aol.com
I'd like to read this. I like stories with strong female characters.
winterset @ peoplepc.com
I am a follower.
winterst @ peoplepc.com
this sounds so interesting - pls count me in
gaby317nyc AT gmail DOT com
1. I am a follower.
2. I really enjoy historical fiction. It's a painless way to learn a bit while enjoying a good book.
lisamasini@aol.com
I'd love to enter for this one Drey. You know I'm a sucker for anything historical and this one sounds so good, not to mention I love the cover. I already follow you...
bj19662001 (at) yahoo (dot) ca
I enjoy historical fiction and the combining of 2 historical periods is an intersting concept.
I subscribe to your feed.
I love historical books which is why I'd like to read this.
I'm a follower
I'd like to read this book because well, I really like the cover. Also, the synopsis sounds interesting.
Blogged about giveaway
http://bridget3420.blogspot.com/2009/06/630-book-giveaway-2.html
As a historian myself, I love reading stories about people uncovering historical mysteries.
Blogged: http://www.morbid-romantic.net/2009/06/30/book-giveaways-june-29-july-5/
I am a follower on Google Reader.
Valorie
morbidromantic@gmail.com
I enjoy reading books where the past and present are intertwined ~ sounds like a great book.
hawkes (at) citlink.net
I'm a follower
hawkes (at) citlink.net
I'd like to read this because of your review. When you said that it was hard to put down, I knew it would be a good book!
pbclark(at)netins(dot)net
This looks so good!!
I am a follower.
marielay@gmail.com
Sounds Very good!
I follow!
This book just sounds really fascinating and fun. A strong female character living a forbidden life, royalty, murder, arcane symbols. What more could I ask for? Please count me in. Thank you!
nfmgirl AT gmail DOT com
I follow
nfmgirl AT gmail DOT com
I love murder mysteries and medical thrillers, so to combine the two is my ultimate book, thanks for the chance to win. And thanks to Readaholic for sending me over here to your blog, it looks like a great site.
I follow on Blogger:
http://wmljshewbridge.blogspot.com/
Blogged about giveaway #1:
http://wmljshewbridge.blogspot.com/2009/07/giveaway-devlin-diary-by-christi.html
Blogged about giveaway #2:
http://wmljshewbridge.blogspot.com/2009/07/giveaway-devlin-diary-by-christi.html
Sounds great, historical mystery brought to the present...
Please enter me!
Dottie :)
gymmom_027@yahoo.com
I'm also a follower
Dottie :)
gymmom_027@yahoo.com
This looks like an interesting read... count me in!
oheeyore at hotmail dot com
I follow your blog.
oheeyore at hotmail dot com
I have heard nothing but good things about this book. Would love to read it.
I am a follower of your blog.
pjhess55@hotmail.com
I would like to read it because your review sounds great. I like captivating story lines.
+1 follow.
Read the review and it sounds like a book that would interest me. The cover art on the front makes me want to open it up and read the first page too.
I follow
I have posted your giveaway here
http://coolcanucks.ca/14808-dreys-library-devlin-diary-christi-philips-book-giveaway-july12-canada
Canadian Contests, Freebies, Coupons, Deals, Games and Chat - join us at CoolCanucks.ca
bluebelle0367(at)hotmail(dot)com
The synopsis of the story sounds very interesting. I like to read historical fiction & thrillers and this book combines both. I also like to read books that show the effect the past has on the present.
Thanks!
megalon22 at yahoo dot com
I follow
megalon22 at yahoo dot com
Why would I like to win this book? Girl, first of all, a diary! I love books that involve someone in the future reaching through the past for answers to a specific mysterious circumstance. The summary had me going!!!! :) I am also rather intrigued because you couldn't put it down! Thanks for the giveaway!
kalea_kane(at)yahoo(dot)com
I am also a follower.
kalea_kane(at)yahoo(dot)com
Tweeted and posted in my blog sidebar.
http://twitter.com/kellyblackwell/status/2486226800
http://enroutetolife.blogspot.com/
Blogged about your giveaway. That is SOME cover too isn't it?
http://enroutetolife.blogspot.com/2009/07/giveaway-blow-out.html
kalea_kane(at)yahoo(dot)com
I would love to read this book. It sounds fantastic and I am a historical fiction junkie!
Thanks!
I'd love to be included in the drawing for Devlin's Diary.
dd DOT bookgoddess AT gmail DOT com
thanks so much
Your description sounds great, and I'm very drawn to anything historical. I particularly like this time period.
Thank you!
lesleymfan(at)gmail(dot)com
I am already a blog follower, via Blogger; thanks!
lesleymfan(at)gmail(dot)com
I Tweeted about this giveaway:
http://twitter.com/uwsreader/status/2562881122
And I've said it before, but I'll say it again: thanks for so many great giveaways!
lesleymfan(at)gmail(dot)com
I would love to be included in your giveaway. I have read several good reviews about this book.
Thanks
Debbie
debdesk9(at)verizon.net
I am a follower.
Thanks
Debbie
debdesk9(at)verizon.net
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