Judith Paris is the second volume in the family chronicle of the Herries family, another big book of well over 600 pages. However, this isn't felt as the book reads swiftly. The second volume is not as impressive as the Sturm-und-Drang character of the first volume, but still a major, broad-sweeping story. It reads seemingly so fast because of the tremendous pace of the story. Almost every chapter represents a jump in time of about ten years.

The opening chapter is surprisingly well able to bring back the memories of Volume One, which I read more than 10 years ago. It opens with a classical King's drama of a newly born baby in a castle surrounded by persished family. Subsequent chapters tell of her maturing, and her tempestuous marriage to the wild George Paris, a story that remotely mirrors that of her father, who is a presence looming over the first half of the book.

The second part of the book also introduces and connects to the various other family members and branches of the Herries family, which is a bit confusing, because it wasn't part of the first volume. As I was reading an ebook, the family tree diagram at the back of the book wasn't clear, but would have been very useful.

While the first volume, Rogue Herries was set against the historical backdrop of the Jacobite succession, particularly the 'Old Pretender', the second volume introduces romance in the form of various references to the Romantic poets Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, as part of the story is set in the Lake District, and later, more dramatically, reflects how the French Revolution was felt across the Channel.

The sweep of the story, the fascinating backdrop and the magnificent writing style of Hugh Walpole make Judith Paris a very interesting historic novel to pick up. ( )

This is the follow up to the author's Rogue Herries, the first in the main series of his Herries Chronicles, following the lives of the Herries family in the Lake District during the 18th and 19th centuries. The eponymous character here is Rogue's daughter by the lover of his old age, called Paris in later life as she marries a Frenchman Georges. As before, this novel evokes a wonderful sense of the ebb and flow of life in the Lake District (the action is mostly around Derwentwater and Skiddaw), and how the little communities, and the towns of Kendal and Keswick adapt to change at the turn of the 19th century, with industrial revolution transforming the economy, and the spectre of the French Revolution scaring the upper classes, with it and Napoleon's expansionism being seen by the rural communities as a threat to their peaceful way of life. The main struggles are within and between the branches of the Herries family, with Judith, born out of wedlock and later with a son Adam similarly born, having uneasy relationships with all sides and struggling to assert her independence. I thought this wasn't quite as good as Rogue Herries, lacking some of the same narrative drive, but still a very good read while holidaying in this wonderful part of the country. Some famous historical personalities appear briefly, including Wellington, Wordsworth, Coleridge and Robert Southey. ( )

I did so enjoy this second book in The Herris Chronicles, it is jammed packed with beautiful descriptions of the Cumbrian countryside, which brings a picture to your eye as you read. The Characters are all so strong and wonderfully rich in life and eccentricities!
Judith is a fantastic heroine with so much personality and adventure in her soul.
I loved it loved it loved it, a wonderful read, you just have to give it a go!! ( )