Tudor History Lovers discussion
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A Dangerous Inheritance
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April 2014 - A Dangerous Inheritance, by Alison Weir
I already read it last year, and I really enjoyed it. I'm curious to see what everyone thinks.
My local library has this one, luckily.
I read this book when it was published in 2012 and remember enjoying it. I think it may be time to have a quick re-read and join in the conversation :)
Okay I purchased the kindle ebook and by golly :) I'm going to read and hopefully join in the discussion.
Cindy
Cindy
Started this morning on the train to work. It must be appealing to me because I missed my stop!! Hahaha, explaining to the boss in the middle of giggles that I was late because I was reading.
Note to self: remember to get from library next time you go. (Should be soon.)
I've been a bit of a lurker in this group for awhile, so I hope to join in the discussion of the novel this time around :)
Have you been able to find a copy?
It's available for Kindle from my local library, though I am behind one other person on the holds list. Have you been having trouble, Susanna?
Nope, my library has it (checked their catalog), just haven't been over there yet to check it out.
I was afraid there'd be a huge waiting list--that's been my luck recently with any books I want to borrow!
I read it when it first came out and loved it, time to reread I think!
I also read it when it first came out - Unfortunately I didn't particularly care for it.
Well, I have a copy in my hot little hands (metaphorically, anyway).
I have a copy now and am looking forward to reading this book.
I am at 20% and am enjoying it so far.Anyone else started yet?
I just got it, but haven't started it yet. Maybe after work tonight.
Still waiting for it to become available from my library--but it should be soon!
As a historical fiction lover I have always preferred more historical and less fiction and dislike romance. I prefer Sharon Penman to Phillipa Gregory. Well, in the first 70 pages of A Dangerous Inheritance I was disappointed, bored, and the jumping back in forth in time and Kates confusing. It seemed to me to be a sudden shift around page 70 when there is some mysterious connection and a bit more of the history I love. I'm suddenly smitten.
I have read it and loved it. I also prefer more historical and less fiction but found it interesting to read this fictional account of two Kates who were close enough to the throne to be unable to lead lives of their own.
I just started reading this book and am enjoying it so far. I am finding it easy to read and like the way the author describes the settings, dress etc.
I read this just a few months ago and thought that the story could have been so much better if Weir could stop talking about Richard. Kate and Katherine have intriguing stories of their own that weren't fully explored because the author, once again, had to convince her readers that Richard was an evil villain. Whether he was or not, I wanted to hear about the ladies, not him. Here is my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Took me a bit to get into, but I enjoyed it.
I finished this book and loved it.
The way she described the times and all that it entailed, wow, to me it was like I was there (am I crazy? probably! One of the many reasons why I love to read) :)
I also prefer more historical and less fiction.
I love Alison Weir but just wish her ebooks were cheaper. Sad thing I have quite a few of her dtb but find that I read much better and more on my Kindle or Nook.
The way she described the times and all that it entailed, wow, to me it was like I was there (am I crazy? probably! One of the many reasons why I love to read) :)
I also prefer more historical and less fiction.
I love Alison Weir but just wish her ebooks were cheaper. Sad thing I have quite a few of her dtb but find that I read much better and more on my Kindle or Nook.
Although I love Alison Weir I would have preferred a single narrative rather than the two Kates. Having read The Princes in the Tower I did not feel the need to use Katherine Grey as a vehicle to retell that story and would have enjoyed more of Katherine and Ned's story.
Wow...this FINALLY became available for me from my library. I put a hold on it for my Kindle two weeks ago and saw that I was second on the list. Well, apparently the person who checked it out before me must have JUST done it! Whew, anyway, I'll be starting this soon :)
Susan wrote: "Although I love Alison Weir I would have preferred a single narrative rather than the two Kates. Having read The Princes in the Tower I did not feel the need to use Katherine Grey as a vehicle to r..."Yeah, just as I get into the flow of one narrative, she starts up with the other one again, it seems like. Somehow I feel very disjointed in my reading.
So far it seems like it is a little fragmented jumping from one to the other. With that said.... I like it so far. The start was very hard to get into but at about page 80 or so it finally started picking up in both stories.
I've made it through the first quarter of the book and have to agree with most of what people have said so far. Jumping back and forth is rather jarring. I'm not enjoying Kate's story at all, mostly because she doesn't have a story, she is just the narrator of events during that time period. I find myself wishing to read a Phillipa Gregory novel instead of the Kate parts. I'm loving Katherine Greys story and her curiosity about Kate.
I am enjoying this book very much. I understand what people is saying about the different narratives and feeling disjointed - I have had to go back a few times to remember what was going on with whom but for the most part I like the reflective theme and the parallels that occur so many years apart.
I'm not too far into the novel yet, but so far I'm really enjoying it. Weir's double-narrative technique seems a bit different from other double-narrative novels I've read because she seems to switch to the other storyline JUST as something interesting is going to happen or something important is about to be said. I've found that to be a bit frustrating because, usually, I do enjoy several points of view in a historical novel as long as each narrative doesn't leave me hanging. It can get exhausting!
I just finished the book. I didn't have too much problem with the going back and forth between the two characters, because Tudor history is my special interest and I know who everyone is. I prefer Alison Weir to Phillipa Gregory. I would have liked to know more about Kate; I already knew what happened to Katherine Grey.
Is there a book about Katherine Grey you would recommend? I know her basic story but would be interested in something more focused on her.
I've now finished the book... As a whole I think Alison Weir did a good job. She told both women's stories revolving around the events that matter to both of them the most up to their deaths. I would also like to know a bit more about Kate. but I feel I was more interested in Katherine ' s story while reading. maybe it is because she is from my favorite Tudor era. I'm not sure.
Samantha wrote: "Is there a book about Katherine Grey you would recommend? I know her basic story but would be interested in something more focused on her."There are some books on the Grey sisters, but again would not just be focussed on Katherine. One I found, but have not read is The Sisters Who Would Be Queen by Leanda de Lisle:
The Sisters Who Would Be Queen
Thanks! That one is on my TBR list. Looks like I need to move it up :-)
Samantha wrote: "Is there a book about Katherine Grey you would recommend? I know her basic story but would be interested in something more focused on her."
Three Maids for a Crown: A Novel of the Grey Sisters by Ella March Chase
This was a good book, but again it is about the three Grey Sisters
Actually here is a link that might help....
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
I am currently reading "The Sisters Who Would Be Queen" and finding it very interesting. I know a little about Jane, but not much about her sisters. Ms. de Lisle is doing a very good job in laying out the events of the period, as well as pointing out the views of other Tudor historians on a given point. So far the story is basically about Jane, who has just become Queen. So I'll have to see how the author handles the rest of the story.On another note I have to say don't take anything by Philippa Gregory as fact. The little I've seen of her work is very good fiction, but historical fact has no place in her world.
Odette wrote: "Samantha wrote: "Is there a book about Katherine Grey you would recommend? I know her basic story but would be interested in something more focused on her."There are some books on the Grey sister..."
I read the the Lisle book when it came out. Overall it is a very good attempt at defining the Grey sisters and their lives without a lot of historical documentation. In retrospect very much like Alison Weir's Mary Boleyn you get a good sense but wish there was a little more substance.
I would like to read "The Sisters Who Would Be Queen", Goodreads has kept recommending it to me for a while. It seems to be pretty good and I would like to know more about Katherine and Mary Grey. I think I first discovered them exactly thanks to "A Dangerous Inheritance". I also bought The Queen's Rivals a while ago, has anybody read it?
If it means anything, I thought The Sisters Who Would Be Queen was excellent. 
After Elizabeth: The Rise of James of Scotland and the Struggle for the Throne of England is also very good. In this one de Lisle looks at how James VI became James I
I thought After Elizabeth was very interesting.
Well, I ended up abandoning this one. It was due back at the library, and I wasn't enjoying it enough to renew it.They can't all be winners for all of us!
I was tempted to drop it after she started discussing Katherine and Mary. There is so little information out there about them, they really come across as colorless and uninteresting.
My wish is that there is a stash of hidden family histories or diaries that will one day be released and we will know what these people really felt or things that really happened to them. It will never happen but it would be nice and I think it would be such an eye opener to see what really happened and their feelings during the time. especially from this time period of the Tudors and the Plantagenants.
Ashley wrote: "My wish is that there is a stash of hidden family histories or diaries that will one day be released and we will know what these people really felt or things that really happened to them. It will n..."That would be awesome!
I have to agree that the first 70 pages were pretty dull. After that point I couldn't put the book down. I thought that Katherine was an interesting character, especially with her version of Mary. But, I was very disappointed that she was somewhat foolish and reckless at the end of the book by secretly wedding Tom Seymour.
Ashley wrote: "My wish is that there is a stash of hidden family histories or diaries that will one day be released and we will know what these people really felt or things that really happened to them. It will n..."I agree that would be amazing although I would hope it would be just a little bit salacious and not all prim and proper!
You never know what might show up out of the blue; they found Boswell's diary for 1762-1795 tucked away in the back of a cabinet, back in the 1920s. (His Victorian descendents were embarrassed by how much naughty fun their famous ancestor had been having, and didn't let anyone know they had it.)
Tudor History Lovers
Books mentioned in this topic
Sisters of Treason (other topics)The Sisters Who Would Be Queen (other topics)
After Elizabeth: The Rise of James of Scotland and the Struggle for the Throne of England (other topics)
Three Maids for a Crown (other topics)
The Sisters Who Would Be Queen (other topics)
More...
This novel seems to be set at the Tower of London, and features Lady Katherine Grey, Katherine Plantagenet, and the Princes in the Tower. It was published in 2012, and should be pretty widely available.