Follow the tea-soaked disaster magnets of St Mary's as they rattle around History. Because wherever the historians go, chaos is sure to follow. And the building itself. I lost myself in the description when Max first arrived. The library but also the hall must be so fascinating. I would feel right at home there too! Behind the seemingly innocuous façade of St Mary's, a different kind of historical research is taking place. They don't do 'time-travel' - they 'investigate major historical events in contemporary time'. Maintaining the appearance of harmless eccentrics is not always within their power - especially given their propensity for causing loud explosions when things get too quiet. The title is a reference to a misquote from historian Arnold J. Toynbee. The misquote is that “History is just one damned thing after another” but the actual thing he said was:

Just One Damned Thing After Another appeared on the USA Today Best-Selling Books list on 21 January 2016 at #74. [8] It earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly, which called it "a carnival ride" in a "world ... depicted in lush detail". [9] The review in Library Journal lauded the book's "appealing cast of characters", with "plenty of humor, lots of action, and even a touch of romance". [10] Bibliography [ edit ] The Chronicles of St Mary's [ edit ]

ˌone (damned/damn) thing after aˈnother

We see everything and everyone through the eyes of one character, Madeleine Maxwell, better known as Max. The book begins with Max’ interview and introduction to St. Mary’s, and then follows her somewhat madcap career through training and early missions. I say somewhat madcap not because Max is occasionally serious but because madcap appears to be the norm for St. Mary’s. The staid and stolid either do not make it through the rigorous training in thinking on your feet and lying through your teeth, or they don’t survive their first missions. A story of history, time travel, love, friendship and tea. Meet the disaster-magnets at the St Mary's Institute of Historical Research as they ricochet around history, observing, documenting, drinking tea and, if possible, not dying. Follow the catastrophe-curve from eleventh-century London to World War I, and from the Cretaceous Period to the destruction of the Great Library at Alexandria. Discover History – The New Sex.

The Max and Leon romance was utterly terrible. all the subtle warmness of the beginning of their relationship seemed to be surgically removed from this script and what was put in its place was utterly cringe-worthy. Leon sounded like a dirty and cold-hearted old man, which is totally at odds for how he is in the book. Markham comes across as a whiner instead of a highly intelligent and resourceful smartarse and Peterson seems to be there for comic relief only. That said, not everything is light and fluffy either; every now and then a grim pall will settle over some of the plot’s events. There’s violence, there’s death, and there’s lots and lots of dismemberment. It can be jarring sometimes, especially when there’s a tendency for all this gruesomeness to come on suddenly. Same goes for the sex, and the random emotional displays that seem to drop in and explode out of nowhere. I certainly don’t mind the darkness and brutal themes, but as with all good things, timing is everything. Maybe this book just needed some extra editing, or maybe it was just a consequence of the author’s personal unique style. Whatever it was, I found it somewhat distracting. It is better to be a “has been” than a “never was,” says Uncle Joseph, and adds “What is life, anyway, but one doggoned, golbinged, dodrotted thing after another !!!***???!!!???!! anyhow?” Madeleine Maxwell (Max) - Historian. In her late 20s. Short, red-haired, engaging, impatient, self-deprecating, with a murky past and a precarious future.That being said, Taylor’s gift is in immersing the reader in history, any history, and making it interesting and accessible. She can drop her characters anywhere in time, and make me want to learn more about it. The writing is good, well described and fast paced (perhaps too much at times!) and Taylor’s passion for history, and the infallible research that goes with it, is great to read and shines through. She manages to encompass so much both socially and on a wider scale that I’ve felt personally compelled at times to read up on some topics that I wouldn’t normally ever be interested in, or been exposed to. That’s a wonderful talent to have. And there were historians with names, but no real personality traits, so I couldn't tell one from the other. Most of them were killed off at the beginning, but it didn't help me remember much about the few others who were left alive.