Andrea Randall 

Slow reader. Enthusiastic home cook. Indulgent catmum. Frustrated dog lover.
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You asked for it! So here’s:

Cholera: the Origin Story

I’ve been amateurishly interested in infectious diseases for a long time and have taken every opportunity to incorporate that interest into my professional life as a teacher - classes about medical history are usually rather a big hit (eww, gross!). Pretty soon, I decided to give cholera the award as the most interesting pandemic-causing disease, because it has had such a fascinating impact on the way we live and is so closely linked with the…

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Phew. I read The Mirror & The Light when it was published in 2020 — it was somehow a great companion for those weird lockdown days. Then when I re-read it in 2021, I stopped before the last chapter. I couldn't bear to lose Cromwell again, so I pretended he went on as he was, creating a little mischief at court. Since then, I've re-read it twice and the last pages still hit so hard and so well. Hilary Mantel did such a brilliant job with that final scene (of course she did). What a journey this has been! Thank you, Simon.

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I'm taking these betrayals personally, even if they've been on the record for hundreds of years, and I've read this book before.

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Never invite Gardiner anywhere. Feel better Simon.

Cromwell is struggling with his legacy and it seems that it is his religious reforms that he is most proud of, although he realizes that others have a stronger faith.

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The nightingale makes me think of Bess Darrell. He's paid her to sing for him, but a nightingale will sing for any owner--and he's incriminated himself in front of her. I do think there is something being said in that Christophe thinks Matthew paid too much, but I don't feel clever enough to figure it out.

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The little details like the fact about the purchased bells and that we will meet all six of Henry's wives before the end of the book, are what make this read along extra enjoyable.