What do readers think of Tides of War by Stella Tillyard? Write your own review.

Although I don't usually read books about war, I love a good historical book. This one fits the bill. Great story. Good characters that hold your attention.

I love historical novels where I can embrace the world at that particular time and place. Tides of War is beautifully written and I enjoyed it from the first page on. The characters are well developed especially the strong female characters. You are totally drawn into the brutality of the bestiality and brutality of war and the lives of the soldiers at the front. I highly recommend it as an engrossing and entertaining novel

Tides of War may have been Stella Tillyard's first foray into fiction writing, but I pray it will not be her last. That a biographer of her repute would be able to write a historically accurate novel was not in question. That she would be able to develop her characters-both real and fictional, so expertly was the delightful surprise. Tides of War is an absorbing and satisfying read on every level.

What a great novel. I love historical novels but usually they do not meet my expectations, but this one grabbed me from the beginning and held my interest until the very end. I enjoyed the author's writing style and how she was able to bring so many different characters to life with such ease. Her characters were realistic and easy to care about. Although in the beginning it was difficult switching between characters and places, I came to really like going from city life to war life. Definitely looking forward to reading other works by Ms, Tillyard.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The blurb suggests that it is the story of a soldier and his young wife during the Napoleonic wars, but it is really about a lot of different people, each affected differently by the war. I appreciated the fact that several of the characters remained in England, so that there was the homefront point of view as well. Since there were so many characters, the book moved between them in short sections, not really long enough to be called chapters, which may put off some readers as the action jumps around quite a bit. But I found these bits fascinating, especially the sections with Nathan Rothschild and Kitty Wellington, the Duke of Wellington's wife. The inside glimpses of the financial world (very similar to today's) were fascinating and I learned quite a bit about Wellington through his wife. I didn't even know he had a wife during his military period! Although it seems they did not get along well--part of the explanation of England's stock exchange came through the sections of Kitty's investments with the Rothschilds in order to provide herself an independent living. While I enjoyed to variety of viewpoints, it did make the story a bit disjointed and I didn't really feel that I knew the supposed main characters, Harriet and James. This is not a book with a single story line, so readers who want to get lost in one character or story may not enjoy it, but the variety of experiences and details will engage others.

This book started off very slowly for me and I had a hard time really getting into the story. Lots of characters and new places. Once it had my interest I enjoyed it and found the in depth history interesting.

Though an avid reader of historical fiction, I have not read much that takes place during this time period of 1812-15 in England and Spain. This novel truly brought the time period to life with careful attention to detail and historical research. The characters were vividly believable and drew you into the emotional side of the historical period. I truly learned a great deal about this time period through an enjoyable read. Due to the amount of detail I would suggest that the reader be a history fan. Some readers looking for a shallow romance with historical background will be disappointed. I will be looking forward to more novels by Stella Tillyard.

After a very engaging opening, the book drags a bit. For some it may still be great, but for me it was just okay.