My first delve into the pirates and corsairs of the Barbary Coast and I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Parts of it were definately predictable, as previously noted, but still a good read and I found the information about the slave trade "into" Africa very interesting.

Historical romance about an area and time not generally well known. I liked the contrast between the times. The 1625 Catherine wants more from life than her time and circumstance would seem to allow. The modern Julia is doing nothing with her life even though she has all of the opportunity that money and women’s liberation has provided. This book is a little predictable for my taste. I enjoyed the tour of Morocco Julia took us on. I did like the very ending in the attic. It really worked for me.

Excellent book, great writing imaginative storyline. I couldn't put it down

In the present day, Julia is given an embroidery book and diary of a young girl kidnapped in 1625 in Cornwall and taken to Morocco as a slave. As Julia reads Catherine's story, she discovers that their lives are intertwined, and that her own life will be changed by the encounter. Combining history, romance, art, tragedy and a hint of the supernatural, this is a great novel.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book - parallels two women in very different eras searching for love and meaning in their lives and their journey to discover these things.