Sera's comments
(member since Jan 03, 2008)
Sera's comments from the European Royalty group.
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I'd like to nominate The Rose Without a Thorn The Wives of Henry VIII. This book is about Katherine Howard as wife to Henry VIII. She's not as well known as the other wives, which is why I would like to learn more about her.
I'm so excited to hear about this book. I hadn't heard about it before, and I love reading about the Romanovs. I'm adding it to my list.
Thanks so much.
Hi, Mandy.
1. I think that Evita didn't want to be tied to her past, because it might impede her ability to make something of herself. Plus, I think that people who are mysterious in some way are more intriguing to others.
I would be curious to see what others thought who read this book. I'll circle back to chime in on the other questions when I have a chance.
About 15 years, Sara. He was 6 when his family arrived there, and he was 22 when he left to come to the US.
I think that it's more surprising that a well-known actress became a political powerhouse. I think that it is more common for poor people to get discovered as models, actors, etc. than it is that someone like Evita would marry such a powerful man. It's something out of one of our Victorian novels - lol. What's really amazing, too, is how fast everything happened and then ended - really unbelievable.
I had no idea that Argentina and France were so closely connected until I read this book. There's some good stuff in this one even though it is a dry read.
Sara, I thought the same thing. The rest of the book continues in pretty much the same manner, but I appreciate the author's difficulty with the subject. Apparently, information is on Evita is tough to find so I think that Fraser took what little was out there and attempted to interpret it himself.
My father lived in Argetina during Peron's reign. I told him that I had just read the book, and when I asked him questions about it, he pretty much told me what's in the book. He also reiterated Fraser's perspective that there was a real split in how the people of Argentina viewed Evita. My poor dad - he had to leave the Ukraine when he was a child, because of Hitler and Stalin, and then he lived in Argentian during its period of upheaval.
I finished this book earlier this week, and I enjoyed it very much. I am looking forward to the discussion once it begins.
Enjoy!
I haven't read Massie's follow-up to Nicholas and Alexandra either, but I am going to add it to my list. Thank you for the information.
Chrissie, Olga sounds great, and I am adding it to my TBR list. Thank you so much!
Erickson's Alexandra was an excellent; however, it's non-fiction. I believe that its the historical fiction that readers have had a problem with.
Susan, you should check out The Kitchen Boy thread in this club. I listed some Romanov books that I have read there. Peter the Great is one of the best bios that I have ever read, even though it is tremendously long. I loved Catherine the Great, too. Five Empresses is a nice non-fiction read if you are interested in the female leadership of Russian. I also enjoyed Rasputin's Daughter. Robert Alexander does a nice job with his Romanov novels.
I agree with Sara - there's no hot sex in Plaidy's books.
I have 4 Erickson books on my TBR - Blood Mary, Great Harry, Hidden Diary of MA, and The Last Wife of Henry VIII. I intend to read this last one within the next couple of months. I'm curious to see what's been fabricated. I am pretty traditional in this sense, but not over the top, so it will be interesting to see how this one goes.
Boof wrote: "Oh cool, Tanzanite. I'm looking forward to it.
I have started Plaidy's Daughter's of Spain today (I appear to be on a tudor roll!). It's the 3rd in the Isabella and Ferdinand trilogy but I did..."
Boof, I read this book a few weeks ago, and although Plaidy isn't at her best, the story is still very good. I also didn't read the first 2 books in the trilogy, but you are right, it doesn't matter.
Will do, Boof. Hopefully, I can get to it this summer. The de Lisle book looks interesting, too. I've seen it in HB; let us know how you like it. If it's good, I will pick it up.
I have a biography that is sitting at home, waiting desperately to be read. It's entitled Queen Victoria: A Personal History by Christopher Hibbert. I bought it some years ago. I think that it may be time for me to dust it off and see if it's any good.
I loved Weir's The Innocent Traitor - completely heartbreaking!
Legacy sounds fantastic. I can't wait until it is available again.
Sara wrote: "Sera wrote: "The way Amazon does it really confused me so I don't know if you would find it useful either.
The Holt book was just ok. I'm not a big romance reader, but the book held my interest..."
Based upon my research, I would agree, Sara. Some of the Carr books are also closer to some of her historical fiction works than her books under the Holt/Hibbert name. The problem that I had though is finding the Carr books in print. Amazon had only 2 or 3 (and none for Kindle). My local library didn't have any either.
The way Amazon does it really confused me so I don't know if you would find it useful either.
The Holt book was just ok. I'm not a big romance reader, but the book held my interest just fine. It's just I found it to be very predictable. I doubt that I would read any of Plaidy's books under her pseudonyms. I intend to stick with her historical fiction only going forward. It's just that I doubt find the genre to be my thing.
Will do, Sara! I've only read a few pages, but so far, it reminds me of a Bronte novel - a house on a cliff next to the sea, a young governess arriving at her benefactor's house for the first time...
I'm not a big romance person when it comes to reading so this will be interesting.
A historical fiction book that I really enjoyed about the Plague is Year of Wonders. It's a quick read, too.
I loved The Thorn Birds and have some books from the Roman series, which I haven't read yet.
