Catherine Czerkawska

I bought the book after hearing a talk by the author. She mentioned the watch- paper Valentine http://artdaily.com/news/66501/Robert-Burns-pocket-watch-with-love-note-from-Jea... (I hope 'Anonymous buyer' lets the rest of the world see it sometime) and I became interested in the actual objects and documents the author framed her story around. As she says in the Historical Note to the book, "The casual reader might be surprised by what is documented fact and how little is invention".
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The Curiosity Cabinet - C. Czerkawska
audio performance by Carolyn Bonnyman
4 stars

The cabinet of the title is a 300 year old embroidered chest. From the description, it sounded like an exquisitely decorated sewing basket with some equally fascinating contents. The basket serves as a loose link to the stories of two women on a fictional Hebridean island. There are two, parallel, love stories, one contemporary and one historical. A few circumstantial similarities link the two female protagonists, but there’s really no mystical or time traveling connection between their stories.

That said, I enjoyed the remote Scottish setting and the satisfying romance of both stories. I was reminded of Susanna Kearsley’s books. I enjoyed Carolyn Bonnyman’s Scottish accent and her beautiful Gaelic, although I sometimes had difficulty understanding her. The kindle version helped me out. (The book begins with a description of a ferry, not a fairy). Likable characters, two mostly happy endings; this is a perfect beach read.



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