European Royalty discussion
European Royalty Discussions
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What have you read lately?
Misfit wrote: "The White Rose by Jan Westcott. About Elizabeth Woodville and thank God no Melusine or witches in sight."That's on my TBR pile. :)
Susan C wrote: "Nona wrote: "I'm excited I ordered TheRunning Vixen by Elizabeth Chadwick part of her Ravenstow triology and it should be here the week of Christmas!! "Congratulations! Nona you were the one t..."
I reccomended them too. Yes, read Eleanor the Queen first( NL's title is vQueen in Waiting but I think the US publishers changed it I never know why!)
It wouldn't really be the end of the world if you read Lute Player first, but they are about her as the young and then the old queen respectively.
BTW, both are wonderful.
Misfit wrote: "The White Rose by Jan Westcott. About Elizabeth Woodville and thank God no Melusine or witches in sight."Love Jan Westcott!!!!! She was the author that caught my imagination with this book on Elizabeth Woodville and "The Tower and the Dream" about Bess of Hardwick when I was about 12. I owe this author a great deal!
Susan C wrote: "Well now I'm stumped, should I get Eleanor The Queen or not? Opinions Please!!!right now i think it's 2-1 no."
Well, I'm certainly late to the discussion (worked 12 days straight and finally have a day off), but I enjoyed Eleanor the Queen by Lofts and have read it twice.
Finished A Hollow Crown and really loved it. Hope to get Harold the King soon.I just started Eleanor of Aquitaine By the Wrath of God, Queen of England by Alison Weir.
I am reading a biography of Jane Boleyn (my spell check wants to change Boleyn to Boolean!) Truthfully, it's not very good. It's more about Anne and Katherine Howard than Jane herself.
Kelly wrote: "I am reading a biography of Jane Boleyn (my spell check wants to change Boleyn to Boolean!) Truthfully, it's not very good. It's more about Anne and Katherine Howard than Jane herself. "I really hated that book. And it gave the impression that George and Jane were happily married and Jane and Anne best friends...
Finished Katharine of Aragon The Wives of Henry VIII by Jean Plaidy and I'm almost done with The Lady in the Tower by Alison Weir.
How were they? (Katherine of Aragon and Lady in the Tower - I think we know what you thought of the bio of Jane Boleyn!)
I liked them. I think the first part of Katherine of Aragon had little too much Juana and Ferdinand on it. Lady in the tower was really interesting. Didn't know there's so many different versions of George's scaffold speach!I started The King's Daughter by Sandra Worth. I don't know, I kinda hope it gets better...
Elysium wrote: "I liked them. I think the first part of Katherine of Aragon had little too much Juana and Ferdinand on it. Lady in the tower was really interesting. Didn't know there's so many different versions o..."RE: The King's Daughter. IMHO it doesn't get better, just worse.
Ladies, you have been warned!
Elysium wrote: "Kelly wrote: "I am reading a biography of Jane Boleyn (my spell check wants to change Boleyn to Boolean!) Truthfully, it's not very good. It's more about Anne and Katherine Howard than Jane herself..."I know! I had such a problem with the fact that she is portrayed as a saint and never making mistakes.
Elysium wrote: "I liked them. I think the first part of Katherine of Aragon had little too much Juana and Ferdinand on it. Lady in the tower was really interesting. Didn't know there's so many different versions o..."I'm almost finished with Weir's The Lady in the Tower and I thought the same thing about George's speech (and others). It got me to thinking though - with so many different versions of what George said (relayed by people who supposedly heard it or got it from someone who did), it's obvious people heard/remembered different things and/or had their own agenda in what they recounted. It makes you wonder how much of what was recorded in primary sources is really accurate.
I'm reading a book called Wordly Goods, by Lisa Jardine, a fascinating look at the Renaissance from the view of commerce, as contrasted to the usual perspectives of art, politics and religion. This is part of my research for a new novel I am writing set in Florence in 1478. LEW
That one sounds interesting - I've read Jardine's book about the Scientific Revolution of the 17th Century, which was very interesting.
Finished The King's Daughter. It didn't really get any better. And I didn't like how Rickhard III, Henry VII and young Henry VIII were portrayed. Just started Lady of the Roses A Novel of the Wars of the Roses by Sandra Worth. I hope this one is better.
Don't remember the last book I posted but I have read in the last month or so "O, Juliet" by Robin Maxwell, "The Boleyn Wife" by Brandy Purdy, "The Greatest Knight" by Elizabeth Chadwick, "Willoughby's Return" by Jane Odiwe, and "The Heretic's Daughter" by Kathleen Kent.About to start Michelle Moran's "The Heretic Queen."
Lady of the Roses was better than The King's Daughter but still not good. And The Rose of York Crown of Destiny was the worst of those. Guess I won't be reading her books anymore.Now I'm reading The King's Pleasure A Novel of Katharine of Aragon by Norah Lofts. It's good but I liked The Concubine much more. But haven't read that much yet so we'll see...
I finished The Queens Secret and now I'm reading The Traitors Wife - TQS was really good - my favorite Plaidy so far.
TTW is wonderful and I'm really enjoying it, though the plot seems a bit unclear to me...it reads almost like a life story. Interesting things keep happening, and then resolving, and then we move on to another event. I'm loving it, I'm just not seeing a story arc.
I'm sure it will resolve itself - it's probably there and I'm just not seeing it yet. I'm about 1/3 of the way through, I think.
I've just read Plaidy's Caroline the Queen, after years of not reading Plaidy. I used to be her avid fan until I dioscovered Norah Lofts who I continue to have a girly crush on and who I think was the very best historico/fiction writer of them all. I think and hope Elysium, that you will get to love The Kings Pleasure as much as the Concubine
Caroline the Queen is not really one her Plaidy's best I don't think, perhaps because it's about the awful Hanoverians and their tedious family conflicts. Still, it's pretty good and clearly well researched, even if she does fall into the dreaded P Gregory habit of reiterating some aspect so many times you could scream. In this case poor Caroline's ( unspecified but probably uterine prolapse ) gynaecological problem and the need to hide it from the king. That and King's habit of writing huge letters to her in which he detail his doings with his mistresses.
Barbara wrote: " I've just read Plaidy's Caroline the Queen, after years of not reading Plaidy. I used to be her avid fan until I dioscovered Norah Lofts who I continue to have a girly crush on and who I think was..."Hi Barbara,
Plaidy attracted my attention with your treatments of Queen Anne Boleyn and her daughter Elizabeth. I'm not familiar with Lofts works but they should be easy to find if still in print.
Thanks.
Hi Barbara, Tee and ElysiumI started reissuing Norah Lofts's books in 2006 (they'd been out of print for years) on the advice of Alison Weir. They came out under the Torq imprint and about 6 titles are now under the History Press umbrella (I left that company a year ago and now work for a rival, Amberley Publishing). Touchstone bought the rights off me for US rights and they have published a couple in the US.
Best of luck tracking them down, she wrote about 50 books....
Jonathan
Just finished EC's "The Winter Mantle" last night. Great book!
Robin wrote: "Just finished EC's "The Winter Mantle" last night. Great book!"The small baby at the end of the book is the MC in Falcons of Montabard, there's a little bit of crossover at the beginning where you come across some familiar characters from WM.
Misfit wrote: "Robin wrote: "Just finished EC's "The Winter Mantle" last night. Great book!"The small baby at the end of the book is the MC in Falcons of Montabard, there's a little bit of crossover at the be..."
Ahhh...interesting! I'll have to try to get that one.
I've been squeezing in some Jean Plaidy in between group reads here. I'm on the third of her Charles II trilogy (all three packaged together currently in The Loves of Charles II). The first one was alright (bit dull for a good chunk of the book, but got much better at the end), but the second one was much more interesting overall. I gotta say, Charles II seems like a fascinating person! I've never read anything about him before (I tend to read about the Tudors and people who came before them - this is my really my first venture passed the 1500s). Anyone have any recommendations? I know Mark's book dealt with this general time period (more Charles I, I believe), but I'd be interested in some others as well.
Sara W wrote: "I've been squeezing in some Jean Plaidy in between group reads here. I'm on the third of her Charles II trilogy (all three packaged together currently in The Loves of Charles II). T..."I thought Jude Morgan's The King's Touch (narrated by Charles II's illegitimate son, James of Monmouth) was excellent.
The King's Touch
Susan wrote: "Sara W wrote: "I've been squeezing in some Jean Plaidy in between group reads here. I'm on the third of her Charles II trilogy (all three packaged together currently in The Loves of Charles ..."</i>I'll second the recommendation for The King's Touch. There always that BFB (I do mean fat) [book:Forever Amber. You might also look at The Child from the Sea. Susan Holloway Scott has written several books on his various mistresses (I think Haeger wrote one as well) but the only one I've tried was pretty average.
If you're interested in books set in this period but not necessarily revolving around Charles and more on the countryside and the Civil War and it's conflicts, you've got quite a range. I just started a Listopia on the subject - http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/37...
I looked at Forever Amber on Amazon, saw the page length, and requested the publisher to put it on the Kindle! :)
Sara W wrote: "I looked at Forever Amber on Amazon, saw the page length, and requested the publisher to put it on the Kindle! :)"fyi, the font size on that is a bit on the large size so it does go faster than you'd think. But it is big. Winsor also wrote on set in 19C New York and Montana, Wanderers Eastward Wanderers West. HUGE.
I looked up Westcott after reading her name here - looks like she has some great books - cheap, too, on Amazon!I finished The Traitors Wife a few days ago.
LOVED it.
I tried to put another Higginbotham on hold at my library - they don't carry anything else by her! Grrr. Guess I'll have to fill out a purchase request.
I guess this is kinda mean but I am about halfway through The Stolen Crown The secret marriage that forever changed the fate of England by Susan Higginbotham. I like the POV's from Buckingham and his wife Kate (Woodville).
Misfit wrote: "I guess this is kinda mean but I am about halfway through The Stolen Crown The secret marriage that forever changed the fate of England by Susan Higginbotham. I like the POV's from ..."I am working on it right now. Only a few chapters in but liking it so far. :)
Robin wrote: "Misfit wrote: "I guess this is kinda mean but I am about halfway through The Stolen Crown The secret marriage that forever changed the fate of England by Susan Higginbotham. I like ..."I have it lined up for the New Year sometime.
I'm reading The Tsarina's Daughter by Carolly Erickson. I haven't heard much good things about her and never read her books before but it's better than I thought. Not very realistic but still...
Misfit - you are such a tease! I'm dying to read it...wish I had an advanced copy...For now, I filled out a purchase request at my library and ordered Hugh and Bess from B&N.com. I needed something my 3 year olf could give me for Christmas, so I chose that :)
Mandy wrote: "Misfit - you are such a tease! I'm dying to read it...wish I had an advanced copy...For now, I filled out a purchase request at my library and ordered Hugh and Bess from B&N.com. I needed somethi..."
Oh I didn't even THINK of that!!! I may have to get me a book and say its from my 2 yr old!!!
Elysium wrote: "Kelly wrote: "I am reading a biography of Jane Boleyn (my spell check wants to change Boleyn to Boolean!) Truthfully, it's not very good. It's more about Anne and Katherine Howard than Jane herself..."Hi Robin,
This version of the tale is very disappointing in that Jane Boleyn is made to appear spinless. I believe she made the most of a bad situation caught between the ambitions of her father and the lusts of two kings. That the book centered on Ann and Katherine was also a pitty in that Ann is painted as a grasping Harpie.
Tee
I've read so many on the subject (fiction and non-fiction) that I don't know where to start! Currently I am rereading 'Dear Heart How Like You This'... The story of Anne Boleyn as seen from Thomas Wyatt's perspective...
Oh, and I am also reading a Victorian mystery called Buckingham Palace Gardens by Anne Perry... about a murder of a prostitute at the Buck House.
I'm about halfway through The Quickenberry Tree by Annette Motley. Set in 17C during England's Civil Wars.
"Oh I didn't even THINK of that!!! I may have to get me a book and say its from my 2 yr old!!!" Christmas gifts from the kids are the BEST!
My daughter got me a new teapot, my son the book. I'm all set up now :)
Currently reading the Charles II saga by Plaidy - only a few pages in, but enjoying it :)
Mandy, anything by Jean Plaidy is awesome!
Mandy wrote: ""Oh I didn't even THINK of that!!! I may have to get me a book and say its from my 2 yr old!!!" Christmas gifts from the kids are the BEST!
My daughter got me a new teapot, my son the book. I'm ..."
Ha ha, that's a great idea about the kids! I don't have them yet, but I'll definitely keep that in mind.
I just finished the Charles II saga by Plaidy. The first book of it had some slow spots imo, but it picked up near the end and the last two books flew (I'm reading the individual books, but I think the saga in stores now is just the three books in one volume).
I want to read more about Henriette and Louis XIV after these books...
Helen wrote: "Mandy, anything by Jean Plaidy is awesome! "Glad to have another Jean Plaidy fan!!! I absolutely LOVE her! :)
Sara W wrote: "Helen wrote: "Mandy, anything by Jean Plaidy is awesome! "Glad to have another Jean Plaidy fan!!! I absolutely LOVE her! :)"
I would have to say that she single-handedly turned me into a full fledged anglophile/history buff!
European Royalty
Books mentioned in this topic
The Book of Royal Useless Information: A Funny and Irreverent Look at the British Royal Family Past and Present (other topics)Katherine (other topics)
Queen of the North (other topics)
Victoria and her daughters (other topics)
The Heir Apparent: A Life of Edward VII, the Playboy Prince (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Noel Botham, Bruce Montague (other topics)Alison Weir (other topics)
Alison Weir (other topics)
Alison Weir (other topics)
Jean Plaidy (other topics)
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I enjoyed that, but Harold ..."
We read "A Hollow Crown" as a group read a few months ago. I liked it...had not read anything about that time period before. I am hoping to get my hands on "Harold the King" but its a bit pricey.