European Royalty discussion
European Royalty Discussions
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What have you read lately?
I just started Young Bess by Margaret Irwin a couple of days ago. It's ok......I find it a bit tough to read at times. A lot of reminiscing amidst the "current" action of the novel. I'll keep plugging through it, in hopes that it gets better.
I have read
and enjoyed it. Currently I am reading book 2
and I have
. I am using them for my trilogy challenge. I was not very aware of Josephine or the French Revolution. I have found these books very interesting and informative.
Just finished Young Bessby Margaret Irwin. I had a tough time getting through it, some of the facts were incorrect to what I've researched. Too much reminiscing. At times the book dragged laboriously and at others it moved too quickly. Overall, I wasn't very happy with it. Anyone else have this happen to them with this book?
Nope, I love Young Bess but do realize for me it is very much a sentimental favourite as it was the first historical novel I ever read at the age of fourteen :-).I do understand some people could have problems with it though...the style is very post-war Britain and of course research has advanced from what was known back then. I re-read it recently and did feel it stood the test of time, but like I said, it was a book of it's time (albeit one of the better ones!) and may not appeal to a modern reader.
Jemidar wrote: "Nope, I love Young Bess but do realize for me it is very much a sentimental favourite as it was the first historical novel I ever read at the age of fourteen :-).I do understand some people could..."
I enjoyed it, but I also knew going in it was YA and written quite some time ago.
Started Holland's The Secret Eleanor. I don't know how far I will get though.
Yeah, I give a book a pass on the history not being as we currently understand it, if it's an older work and that was how they understood it at the time it was written. And sentimental favorites are always another category altogether, aren't they?
Yes, it's unfair to judge older books by today's standards! Young Bess (& the other two in the trilogy) was actually very well researched and well written by the standards of it's day but tastes in books have changed as much as everything else over the years. While I have a fondness for books like these as they were the staple of my teen years, people coming to them now for the first time would probably view them quite differently. However, I do think Margaret Irwin has held up better than Jean Plaidy overall :-).
I think a lot of people don't realize when some of these books were written though. If you look at the shelves at a book store, it can be hard to tell which book was written yesterday and which is a book from 50 years ago which has been republished with a modern cover. Yeah the copyright date will be there a few pages in, but I doubt most people look at it when they are choosing a book. I try to keep in mind when a book was written (especially when it comes to research of the time), but I can understand if other people just aren't aware of it.
Gem H aka *Dhelirious* wrote: "Just finished The White Queen and I really liked it."I'm in the middle of the book and I'm also really enjoying it. I had pretty much given up on PG after struggling to get through TOQ (and failed on that because I never finished it) but this one is holding my attention so far.
Gotten a bit behind on posting what I've finished! These aren't all I've read since my last post either!!
OMG this was HORRIBLE!
Mixing some Austen in here lately..
This was fantastic!
Decent book, review to come on blog.
Review to come on blog...actually really enjoyed it.
Some more Austen...
Finished up 25 Chapters of My Life:The Memoirs of Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia, and it's a pretty incredible book. Not very long, but full of photographs, a genealogical table showing her descendants, and the like. Outrageous prices being asked for it on Amazon.com.
The intro alone in Mary Queen of Scots was enough to hook me. I was in the book store and did not get to continue reading it but is certainly on my to be read list! I paused half way through Katherine, read another book or two and am now ready to return to it! It's a good story but a bit slow. I think I get too impatient and have to read more than one book at a time to fulfill my literary addiction. Ha!
Hi! I am new to this group. I do enjoy historical fiction, especially European royalty. And really appreciate others feedback on other books.
I did deviate from ER and read Tales of the Otori. A beautiful story that takes place in medieval Japan. I have never really been interested in the Orient, for whatever reason, but found this series very enjoyable. It's a quartet and I read through them pretty fast! Just have the last book to read. And I am kind of saving it.
I have been reading and enjoying Jean Plaidy's book on the Tudors, Plantaganents & Stuarts. My only regret is I have not read them in sequence. The books have been fantastic; and I am truly happy that I am reading them. I have also been reading the Elizabeth Chadwick's books concerning William Marshall. Now I will be starting
Finished The Scarlet Lion and loved it! Now I'm reading Hugh and Bess by Susan Higginbotham and loved it so far.
Sara W wrote: "I really want to read the Josephine trilogy. I haven't read any books by Sandra Gulland yet (or Robin Maxwell for that matter)."Go IMMEDIATELY to the nearest copy and read the gulland!!! It's FABULOUS! I literally had someone take them out of my hands as i finished them. I've given them as gifts like 20 times and had people rave about them afterwards pretty unanimously. You'll like them, i promise!
Been reading Plaidy: just finished "The Lion of Justice." If you want a not-real-common but excellent read, see if you can find Frances Parkinson Keyes "I the King" -- I read it as a teenager and it's what got me interested in this genre. Covers king phillip iv of Spain and the women who influenced him -- wife, mistress, and a very unusual nun.
I'm reading Kate Williams' Becoming Queen Victoria, and enjoying it. Far better writing and research than Charlotte and Leopold.
I'm reading Richard III, Vol. 1: The Young King To Be by Josephine Wilkinson and I've loved it so far.
'No Will but His' by Sarah A. HoytI haven't decided yet if I like it or not.
Elysium wrote: "I'm reading Richard III, Vol. 1: The Young King To Be by Josephine Wilkinson and I've loved it so far."Never heard of this one...I'll have to check it out. Is it NF or HF?
Robin: It's NF. I dd like it but I wish it had been better organized.Now I'm reading Children of England: The Heirs of King Henry VIII 1547-1558 by Alison Weir. Just started it so can't say much yet.
I liked Children of England (or, as it's titled here in the States, The Children of Henry VIII).
I'm reading The Stolen Crown: The secret marriage that forever changed the fate of England and LOVING it. LOVING it.
Can't say enough good about this one. I'm about 3/4 of the way through...it's looking like a 5 star read at this point!
Mandy wrote: "I'm reading The Stolen Crown: The secret marriage that forever changed the fate of England and LOVING it. LOVING it.
Can't say enough good about this one. I'm about 3/4 of the way t..."
I need to pick up one of Higginbotham's books one of these days. I need something GOOD. What I've been reading lately has been so blah. Not really bad, but just so-so (I don't necessarily regret reading the book, but I do regret buying it).
Just finished The Man Who Believed He Was King of France: A True Medieval Taleby Tommaso di Carpegna FalconieriInteresting - a switched-at-birth story based in France during the reign of King Philip IV and his sons.
Reading The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn by Robin Maxwell. I like the diary parts more than the Elizabeth parts but it's been ok so far.
annie wrote: "Gem H aka *Dhelirious* wrote: "Just finished The White Queen and I really liked it."I'm in the middle of the book and I'm also really enjoying it. I had pretty much given up on P..."
The other Queen was ok except I really didn't like the male point of view. It really got on my nerves. I did like Mary's POV and the other characters one, but that really bugged me.
I intend to read The Red Queen.
I also recently bought The Scarlet Contessa of the Italian Renaissance because I've been addicted playing Assasin Creed brotherhodd and wanted to find out a bit more about the woman behind the character.
Gem H aka *Dhelirious* wrote: "I've got The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. sitting on my TBR. Any one read it?"Yes, Gem H, I've read the trilogy & I highly recommend all three,as well as "Mistress of the Sun", which is the latest book by the same author,Sandra Gulland. And best of all,I just read on her website(or on her blog) that it is the first of another trilogy!!
The Josephine trilogy is FABULOUS. I literally had one of them taken out of my hands as I finished it by someone who had been reading over my shoulder. I've given the set as gifts probably 10 times and two of my friends are reading their ways through them from my "spare" sets now.
The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn was ok but nothing more. Now I'm reading Mary Tudor: England's First Queen by Anna Whitelock and I'm loving it!
I'm almost finished with Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles by Margaret George. It's pretty good, but nowhere near as good as The Autobiography of Henry VIII.
I just read Paris '97 by Eric Hamilton and LOVED it. Has anyone else read it? I have a few things I'd like to talk about but don't want to post public spoilers!
Janie wrote: "I am half way through Isabella: She-Wolf of France, Queen of England An incredibly interesting read and well researched.
I am very interested in medieval english royal history at p..."
I listened to this one unabridged on audio last year (or year before? can't remember) and remember at the time I was struck by how much Weir hated Edward II. It just seemed so biased. Wonder if I should give it another shot to see if my impressions would change.
I am very interested in medieval english royal history at p..."
I listened to this one unabridged on audio last year (or year before? can't remember) and remember at the time I was struck by how much Weir hated Edward II. It just seemed so biased. Wonder if I should give it another shot to see if my impressions would change.
I found it an interesting read. I do not, however, buy her "out there" theory about Edward II.
Just finished The Resurrection of the Romanovs: The Life of Anastasia, the Birth of Anna Anderson, and the World's Greatest Royal Mystery. Whew. Finally gets all of the rumours, the facts and the science together in one place and shifts through it.
Michele wrote: It just seemed so biased. Wonder if I should give it another shot to see if my impressions would change. I think your impressions were correct!
Weir's books always seem to be biased to me! I added her Isabella book to my to-read list anyway, though - I'm interested to read something that's actually in favor of Isabella! I read one this year about Edward II and Isabella that I really enjoyed. It was called She-wolf by Pamela Bennetts - it's quite old! It focused on a very short part of their lives, went in to quite a bit of detail about it.
And, of course, I've read the Traitors Wife and LOVED it.
I also added The Resurection of the Romanovs to my to-read list - looks very interesting!!!
I'm currently reading Blackout, which is a science fiction book about time travel. All of the characters have traveled to different parts of WWII - the authors research is amazing! I'm absolutely loving all the details I'm learning about. It feels like a HF read!
Anyone read Too Great A Lady: The Notorious, Glorious Life of Emma, Lady Hamilton? I'm about to start it.
I got the Cleopatra bio by Stacy Schiff for Christmas! Looking forward to Cleopatra: A Life some time in the new year.
Susanna, the Cleopatra book was really good! Definitely an interesting read.I am reading through Wolf Hall. It's kind of a struggle to keep track of all the characters (and pronouns!), but it's still really really good.
I got Wolf Hall for Christmas last year, and really enjoyed it. If you concentrate on remembering "he" is almost always Cromwell, I think it's a little easier.
Wolf Hall is easier to read, I think, if you give it long bouts, to sink in to the flow of it. At least that's how it was for me.
Susanna wrote: "Wolf Hall is easier to read, I think, if you give it long bouts, to sink in to the flow of it. At least that's how it was for me."I agree, don't try to rush it and take a break with another book if you need to.
Susanna wrote: "I got Wolf Hall for Christmas last year, and really enjoyed it. If you concentrate on remembering "he" is almost always Cromwell, I think it's a little easier."I kept that in mind, and it became a bit easier. I felt though that new characters were introduced very abruptly. I got a lot of people mixed up. It was still very enjoyable though, I liked the author's take on both Cromwell and Anne Boleyn. She sure was feisty.
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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Jemidar wrote: "I think PG intends to write one from Anne Neville's POV, but it's further down the line. Last I heard, her original trilogy had expanded to eight books!!."
Yeah, but at 300 pages a pop and all that repitition how hard can it be? :)