Cynthia Sally Haggard's Blog: Cynthia Sally's Blog, page 28

Philippa Gregory’s LADY OF THE RIVERS

Jacquetta of Luxembourg aka Jacquetta de St Pol (1416-1472) portrayed by Janet McTeer in “The White Queen.”

LADY OF THE RIVERS is Philippa Gregory’s latest foray into the world of the Wars of the Roses. Ms. Gregory has a talent for picking out a female heroine, who is both very interesting and totally unknown. She managed that feat with Elisabeth Woodville in THE WHITE QUEEN and Lady Margaret Beaufort in THE RED QUEEN. Now we have Jacquetta de St. Pol, a Burgundian princess born to wealth, fortune and arranged marriages, who seemingly threw it all away for the sake of love, in the shape of the well-favored Sir Richard Woodville, a mere knight.

Fast forward twenty-eight years, and Jacquetta resumes her position as the aristocrat she was born to be, through a very fortuitous marriage. So fortuitous was this marriage, that the people of the time whispered that she had practiced the Black Arts in order to secure it.

Philippa Gregory is so talented, and I thoroughly enjoyed the beginning of the novel where she introduced us to Jacquetta’s world, seen through the eyes of a fourteen-year-old, and her encounters with Joan of Arc. But Ms. Gregory knows how to handle her material, and although Joan was riveting, at no time did I feel that she was overpowering Jacquetta or Jacquetta’s story. (This is not true of other novels I have read, which have included Joan as a “minor” character).

However, I did think that the pacing of the novel could have been improved. There were a couple of times where the novel went too fast. One was the death of Joan, which I felt was cut too soon. All I needed was more of a response from Jacquetta, some image or physical response that made you understand that this experience was seared into her forever.

John, Duke of Bedford (1389-1435) younger brother of Henry V of Agincourt fame.He is shown in a miniature taken from the Bedford Book of Hours.

The other time where I felt that Ms Gregory lost an opportunity was with John of Bedford, Jacquetta’s first husband. Although he was menacing, he wasn’t menacing enough. I would have liked to have seen real fear on the part of Jacquetta about this man who was not only the cause of her friend’ death, but was also asking her to do what he’d killed the other young woman for. Of course, all of this was presented to the reader. But I felt that its handling was too intellectual.

Apart from these concerns, this novel is an enjoyable read for those of you interested in 1400s England. Five stars.

THE LAND BEYOND THE SEA by Sharon Kay Penman

Battle of Montgisard (aka the Battle of Ascalon) 18 November 1177, painted by Charles-Phillipe Larivière (1798-1876), Château de Versailles.

Although this novel got off to a slow start, I loved discovering the courage, heroism and leadership of a couple of characters I had never heard of before. King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, born in 1161, succeeded to the throne on the death of his father in 1174 when he was 13. In 1177, at the age of 16, he won an unexpected victory against Saladin (Salah ad-Din)  at the Battle of Montgisard. He continued to weld his fractious nobles together and keep Saladin at bay until his tragic death at the too-early age of 23 or 24 on 16 March 1185.  This is all the more remarkable given that he contracted leprosy at the age of 10, the disease which killed him.

Edward Norton playing Baldwin IV in the 2005 movie “Kingdom of Heaven.”

Baldwin IV’s achievement is all the more glorious set against what happened after his death. Under the inept leadership of Guy de Lusignan (husband of Baldwin’s sister Sybilla) it took only 30 months for Jerusalem to fall to Saladin in October 1187, following his victory at the Battle of the Horns of Hattin on 4 July 1187.

Hattin decimated the native-born Frankish ruling class of Outremer, who had town-houses in Jerusalem, and country estates in what is now Israel, Palestine, Jordan and Syria. They were unable to put up much of a fight when Saladin appeared 3 months later with a large army outside Jerusalem.

Orlando Bloom playing Balian d’Ibelin in the 2005 movie “Kingdom of Heaven.”

They would have been unable to put up any fight at all, were it not for the second character I so enjoyed reading about, Balian d’Ibelin, a Frankish noble born in Outremer (the land beyond the sea) in the 1140s, who somehow managed to persuade Maria Comnena (the widowed Queen of Baldwin IV’s father) to become his wife. Balian was a native-born lord of Outremer, (not a “foreigner” from France) and so he was thoroughly acculturated to that interesting blend of French and Arabic cultures that existed in Outremer (the Crusader States) in the 1100s. He spoke Arabic well, which was useful when he had to negotiate terms with Saladin, who wanted to enslave 33,000 of the poorer inhabitants of Jerusalem. Somehow, Balian d’Ibelin managed to convince him not to do that, but to allow everyone to leave peacefully and re-settle in the Christian territories of Tripoli and Antioch.

How inspiring to read about two men who used their gifts to help their people and do the right thing! If the coronavirus is making you depressed, I suggest you reach for this novel. Five stars. #sharonkaypenman #thelandbeyondthesea #outremer

A KING’S RANSOM by Sharon Kay Penman, narrated by Emily Gray

This novel is the sequel to LIONHEART, also narrated by Emily Gray. If you haven’t experienced this first novel, I suggest you do so BEFORE experiencing this one, as much of what happens will make better sense if the books are read in order.

A KING’S RANSOM picks up where LIONHEART ended. In this novel we follow Richard as he sets off for Europe in the Fall of 1192, only to be captured by Leopold V, Duke of Austria and turned over to Henry VI (the Holy Roman Emperor) for political gain. Henry imprisons Richard  in Trifels Castle.

Trifels Castle, where Richard the Lionheart was imprisoned in 1193.

This novel is just as strong as it’s predecessor in taking a much-vaunted hero and making us understand him. Richard’s 15 months of imprisonment and mistreatment at the hands of his enemies changed him forever. Five stars. #sharonkaypenman #akingsransom #richardthelionheart

Sharon Kay Penman’s LIONHEART, narrated by Emily Gray

Richard I in profile, funerary effigy above the tomb containing his heart in Rouen Cathedral (early 13th century) A painting of Salah ad Din (Saladin) the Sultan of Egypt and Syria (r. 1174-1193 CE) who shocked the western world by defeating a western army at the Battle of Hattin and then capturing Jerusalem in 1187 CE. (Painting by Cristofano dell’Altissimo, c. 1525-1605 CE, Uffizi Gallery, Florence)

LIONHEART by Sharon Kay Penman is the story of Richard I during the early years of his reign, from 1189 when he ascended the throne of England to the end of 1192, when he left the Holy Land.

In this novel, we see Richard, “the Lionheart” (Coeur de Lion) reckless, brave, brilliant as he battles the Emir of Egypt Salah ad Din (Saladin) for control of Jerusalem. Imagine medieval knights in their iron armor fighting in a desert in temperatures of 40 degrees centigrade (110 degrees Fahrenheit) and you can see why Richard finally gave up and returned home to England. (It didn’t help that his faithless brother John was claiming he was dead, so that he could inherit Richard’s throne.)

Narrator Emily Gray does a wonderful job with the accents of these people, whose first language was NOT English. I especially loved her portrayal of Eleanor of Aquitaine (Richard’s mother) and Richard himself.

This novel was a rich & insightful look at someone who is a hero to British Schoolchildren, a book that humanizes him and brings him vividly alive with all his faults & contradictions. Five stars. #sharonkaypenman #richardthelionheart #saladin

She walked away. But she wasn’t weak. (PARIS WIFE)

PARIS WIFE by Paula McLain is a fictionalized account of Ernest Hemingway’s first marriage to Hadley Richardson, and the time they spent together in Paris during the 1920s. Hadley Richardson was not glamorous; indeed in the eyes of Hemingway’s increasingly sophisticated circle of friends she was probably seen as a liability. And she couldn’t compete with the alluring determined, shrewd woman, who beguiled her way into the Hemingway’s marriage by presenting herself as Hadley’s friend, and succeeded in becoming the second Mrs. Ernest Hemingway.

Hadley and Ernest Hemingway in Switzerland, 1922

So it was an interesting choice to tell the story of the marriage using Hadley’s voice, especially as Hadley fails to keep her marriage. Or rather, she makes a choice not to fight for it. Which makes her an interesting protagonist, the protagonist who walks away from a fight.

But I don’t think most people will walk away from this novel thinking that Hadley was weak, or made the wrong decision, because what comes across so well in this book is how difficult Hemingway himself was. A great writer, yes. A great person to live with? Not so much.

If you enjoy reading about the twenties, then I highly recommend this book. Five stars. #pariswife #ernesthemingway #paulamclain

Ronan Farrow’s CATCH & KILL: Lies, Spies and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators

“Catch and Kill” refers to a tactic used by news organizations to get rid of stories they don’t like. They spend a (HUGE) sum of money to buy the rights to the story, which they then NEVER publish, broadcast or share in any way. Instead the inconvenient truth is completely buried.

I was not sure what I was getting into with this audiobook, as I usually read sordid tales of greed and hypocrisy that happened in the past, not at NBC news and not in the present. To say that Farrow’s tale was shocking is an understatement. His narrative begins with his attempts to report on the story about Harvey Weinstein, when some heroically brave women finally decided to speak up in 2017, despite their fear of retaliation and character assassination. However, the higher-ups at NBC had a problem with this reporting. It wasn’t the quality of the reporting. It wasn’t the facts. It wasn’t the sources. Or the ethics. It was…well they had a very hard time actually saying what it was.

One of Farrow’s sources tipped him off by saying that there were more Harvey Weinstein’s at NBC. And so Farrow’s narrative stopped being an account of the Harvey Weinstein story, and instead became an account of Matt Lauer’s abuse of subordinate women, in particular one woman (whose name I will not mention) whom he savagely raped, hurting her so much that she couldn’t walk properly for a time.

I guess it was this story about Matt Lauer that shocked me the most, and made me furious that a group of people (women who depended on Lauer for their career prospects) should be forced to work at their “dream job” in an environment that was positively hazardous to inhabit.

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<> at Sheraton New York Times Square on April 24, 2017 in New York City.

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I have written one novel about the Middle Ages, and so am familiar with macho, male-dominated cultures, where women are afraid to speak up, are routinely brutalized, and are seen (mostly) as rented wombs for the getting of male children. I watched “Game of Thrones” and didn’t flinch. But Lauer’s unprovoked savagery against this young woman made me sick.

Five stars.

THE DAUGHTERS OF PALATINE HILL by Phyllis T. Smith, narrated by Cristina Panfilio, Joyce Bean & Amy McFadden

THE DAUGHTERS OF PALATINE HILL is the sequel to I AM LIVIA. Whereas the first novel dealt with the life of Livia Drusilla and her relationship with the Emperor Augustus, DAUGHTERS deals with Augustus’ daughter Julia as well as Livia’s adopted daughter Selene, the product of the affair between Cleopatra and Mark Antony.

Julia the Elder (39BCE-14AD), daughter of Emperor Augustus. This bust of her is in the Altes Museum in Berlin.

Selene’s parents are both dead, but their memory remains, which is why this poised 14-year-old has to be extremely careful how she behaves as she goes about forging a relationship with the intimidating (and dangerous) Livia Drusilla.

By contrast, Julia, daughter of the Emperor Augustus and step-daughter of Livia Drusilla is comfortable in her life of privilege and ease. After her first husband dies, she is married off to army general Agrippa, who is considerably older than she is. Of course, Julia had no say in this marriage, and with the passing of time and her husband’s many absences abroad she acquired at least one lover.

After Agrippa’s death, Julia was married off to another husband, also not of her liking, Tiberius, who also happened to be Livia Drusilla’s eldest son. With this marriage, things became more fraught. Livia Drusilla had a mother’s natural ambition for her son, and her step-daughter (and now daughter-in-laws) behavior was a problem.

I won’t tell you here what happens to Julia, but I will say that this is a gripping novel with three strong women at its center. Five stars.

#daughtersofpalatinehill #phyllistsmith #emperoraugustus

I AM LIVIA by Phyllis T. Smith, narrated by Joyce Bean

Bust of Livia Drusilla at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens

I AM LIVIA opens in an arresting way, when 15-year-old Livia Drusilla overhears her father and his friends plotting to murder Julius Caesar. Most novels would be a disappointment after that opening. This one is not. It portrays the life and times of Livia Drusilla who eventually became the consort of the Emperor Augustus.

Like most people, I don’t  know much about the Emperor Augustus, and what I do know is based upon the stone statues of him as an awe-inspiring divinity. Like most good novelists, Phyllis T. Smith brings him to life, humanizes him, and makes us see him as the brilliant and charismatic young man he was, before the difficulties of life and the corruption of power spoiled him.

Highly recommended! Five stars. #liviadrusilla #emperoraugustus #iamlivia #phyllistsmith

Read an eye-witness account of Pliny the Elder’s “Manifestation,” (POMPEII by Robert Harris, narrated by John Lee)

Having visited Pompeii a couple of years ago, I decided to read this book, and I was enthralled.

The characters seem so real, especially that of Pliny the Elder (uncle of the more famous Pliny the Younger), the man in charge of the fleet at Poteoli (Pozzuoli). Now in his declining years, too heavy for his own good, he nevertheless sets sail into the teeth of the volcanic eruption that happens one fine day in AD 79 to help out a lady friend, who is worried about her house.

Artist’s impression of the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79 as seen from Pompeii. (This image is probably a screen grab from the movie “The Last Days of Pompeii.”)

Of course, he and his men have no helmets, no gas masks, nothing to protect them from the ash and rocky projectiles that are now pouring out of Vesuvius, as they gingerly make their way to Herculaneum, a charming seaside resort that lies right at its feet.

Things get so bad, they are obliged to sail on south, finally landing at Stabiae, the home of the super-rich. Pliny either suffers from a heart-attack or suffocates after ingesting the poisonous fumes, perhaps from lying down to take a nap. In any event, he dies soon thereafter, as the “Manifestation,” (his term for this cataclysm) continues.

Five Stars for an incredibly realistic and interesting read.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

TRUE COLORS by Kristin Hannah, narrated by Sandra Burr

I have been reading Kristin Hannah’s novels in order, so that I can get to know this remarkable writer better. But I have NOT been reading all of her novels, just cherrypicking some of them. So before this volume, I read FIREFLY LANE. That book was published in 2008, this one was published in 2009, so can be seen as the follow-on to FIREFLY, which ends with the death of the mother from cancer.

Renegade, the horse, dancing around his paddock.

TRUE COLORS begins with the mother’s death from cancer, and concerns three sisters and their father who are left bereft. While the family doesn’t fall apart, the weight of the mother’s absence is a constant burden. The father retreats, becoming morose and bitter, drinking too much. The eldest daughter Winona, a talented lawyer, never gets the attention and love that she craves from her father. It takes her years to realize this is not her fault. Middle sister Aurora, the peacemaker of the family, marries and has children, but is never happy in her marriage. Interestingly, she is the daughter who never expects her father to give her anything. Then there is Vivi Anne, the youngest, and the father’s favorite. Vivi Anne is the beauty. Vivi Anne has gifts her father admires, being tremendously talented with horses (rather than the best legal mind in the county). Vivi Anne can do no wrong, stirring a poisonous jealousy in eldest sister Winona (the talented lawyer) until she falls in love with someone completely unsuitable, according to her father’s lights, choosing her man over her father.

Oh dear. That unsuitable marriage affects everyone in the Grey family, and sets off a chain reaction of shifting alliances. Whereas Vivi Anne and her father had once been thick as thieves, they now barely speak. But things hold together – sort of – until tragedy strikes.

View of Olympic Mountains from Ocean Shores Washington State

Many readers have complained about the predictable plotting and the cheesy romance, but I say that Kristin Hannah can get away with it because her writing is at its most powerful when she delineates the emotions of her characters. How could you possibly not sympathize with each sister? They are flawed human beings who make mistakes, get mad at each other and even betray each other. But their love for each other brings them together at the end. And how could you possibly not feel for teenaged Noah, my favorite character? So I am giving this book five stars for such wonderful characters.

Rating: 5 out of 5.