Princess of Orange

by Elisabeth Kyle

Historical fiction at its best in a YA format from the talented Miss Kyle. Mary Stuart, later Princess of Orange, was the elder daughter of James II, last Catholic monarch of England. At the urging of her uncle, Charles II, and her father, later James VII and II, she married her cousin William, Prince of Orange. Later they would rule England together as William and Mary.

Genres: Historical, Historical Fiction

255 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1966

About the author

Elisabeth Kyle, pseudonym of Agnes Mary Robertson Dunlop, was a British writer of novels and children's books. She also wrote under the name Jan Ralston.


http://www.theweeweb.co.uk/public/aut...

Reviews

[Chrisanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was drilled into me that William and Mary were key players in the world as we know it now. So my interest was piqued when I found out that this book existed.

It suffers from multiple points of view(one must suppose this stems from the sources used), but is a useful tool for teaching that section of British history, if needed. Maddeningly, it seems to stick to available sources. Incredibly frustrating to take the author's word that William of Orange and Mary were terribly in love. There was hardly any "showing."

I realized, about halfway through, how foreign the concept of religiosity being tied to the reigning power is to me. What we see in this portion of history is mild trauma---maybe?--- being displayed from the religously-exhausting Henry VIII, Mary I, Elizabeth I periods. It really cements my gratitude that, though mandates and EO's might change, it's not quite as upending as that every time that we get a change in POTUS (at least, so far). I can still wear blue and keep my old friends, for example.

[Elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my. I first read this book when I was about...13 or 14 years old, and I loved it. I have read it many times since. The writing was great, and the book was educational - as a young kid, the story surrounding the historical facts really helped to cement this history in my young mind. One of the reasons I felt such a strong connection to this story was that the Prince of Orange was short and had asthma, just like me! Sounds silly, but to a young kid having a rough time I loved that feeling of not struggling alone. The man described in the book was also one of the first times I had heard of a man genuinely loving a woman and treating her with respect, and that was when I knew I wanted to one day be with someone like that (at that point in my life I really didn't have positive examples of romantic relationships). All that to say, it's a great book, and it's very clean - save for young teenagers for sure.

[Conniegull · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars

[CLM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mary, elder daughter of James II, of England was born in 1662, and brought up quietly with her sister Anne. One of their few friends was Sarah Jennings, later Anne's inseparable friend Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough. As the only legitimate heir to her uncle Charles II, the Merry Monarch, Mary was married off to her first cousin, William of Orange, and sent to live in Holland as a teen. He was cold, condescending and insensitive (at least according to this book, which contributed to my lifelong dislike of him). Unlike his daughters, James II was Catholic, which made him unpopular when he became king and prevented him from working effectively with parliament. In 1688, he was forced to abdicate (and perhaps felt that was better than the terrible fate his father had endured) and fled to France, and William and Mary replaced him on the throne of England.

[Jann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though this was written for young readers I found it a lovely story and well researched. It told me enough about the young princess who, with her husband, became King and Queen of England as the William and Mary monarchy.

[Esther · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely book, about some of history's overlooked characters: Mary Stuart and William of Orange.