“An Irish Hostage” is the twelfth book in the “Bess Crawford” series by Charles Todd. In this historical fiction novel, World War I has come to an end. Bess Crawford, a nurse for injured soldiers, travels from her home in England to Ireland for her friend’s wedding. However, the groom, a former soldier, is missing. In the wake of the Easter Rising of 1916, everyone is on edge, and things get dicey.
Before this book, I had not read any other book in the “Bess
Crawford” series. However, I do not think I missed out on anything. Todd’s character
development throughout the story and the standalone plot make this novel
enjoyable on its own. While it may be useful to read other books in the series,
I do not want to, as I feel this was good on its own.
I listened to the audiobook version of the book through my
library’s online resources. It was narrated by Rosalyn Landor. I enjoyed the different voices that were used
throughout the reading. Since Bess is British, it was great listening to the
reader’s British accent, especially since the book is written through Bess’
point of view.
The audiobook is about ten and a half hours, but it did not
feel that long. Admittedly, I struggle with listening to audiobooks as I get
distracted by other things. However, this book held my attention. I enjoyed the
riveting plot and the characters. There was a lot going on (at times, maybe too
much), but the book was enjoyable because of this.
The characters of this novel are memorable, and the plot is
one that will stick with me for a while. I was captivated from the first word
and could see the story unfold in my mind’s eye. The descriptions of the
characters and setting let me have an image that played in my head throughout
the reading. As much as I would love a movie version of the book, I love the
image and video edition I have in my head.
While there is a lot of suspense, the suspense comes from
seeing how things will be handled and less from whether or not things will work
out. Personally, I loved the
intersection of the 1916 Rising and World War I. As someone who loves Irish
history, seeing these things unfold together was interesting, especially in a
narrative sense. This may be fiction, but I learned a lot about how WWI
influenced the 1916 Rebellion and how individuals were influenced by both
events in history.
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