The Swift and the Harrier is an entertaining, feminist take on the English Civil War. Jayne Swift, as a heroine, is likeable and enigmatic - it's incredibly easy for the audience to connect with her, and so see the attraction in the mysterious William Harrier.
The novel begins with an exciting introduction to the characters, quickly establishing their relationships and setting the scene for events to come. It does however start to flounder in the middle, with a large amount of time spent to describing actions of countrymen that, although helping to set the scene, ultimately have little bearing on the plot itself.
The ending in comparison comes about very quickly; there's plenty of detail on everyday life of side characters, but not much time is spent on Jayne and William after their marriage, and it felt like this was missing when it would have really rounded off the novel at the end.
The novel begins with an exciting introduction to the characters, quickly establishing their relationships and setting the scene for events to come. It does however start to flounder in the middle, with a large amount of time spent to describing actions of countrymen that, although helping to set the scene, ultimately have little bearing on the plot itself.
The ending in comparison comes about very quickly; there's plenty of detail on everyday life of side characters, but not much time is spent on Jayne and William after their marriage, and it felt like this was missing when it would have really rounded off the novel at the end.