I couldn't get into this book so unfortunately it is not for me. I am happy to read historical fiction as a way to broaden my knowledge but the long Author's Note at the beginning of this put me off. And then the long list of characters sealed the fate of this novel for me. Maybe if the Author's Note had been at the end rather than the start I would have been happier to delve into the book itself but I felt if it needed an explanation before it got underway I wasn't up to the task of reading it. Not for me.