A History of Royals discussion
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October - November Open Reads
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I an reading Shadow Princessby Indu Sundaresan..it is the 3rd in his trilogy about the Mughal Emporer Shah Jahan and his wife Mehrunissa aka Mumtaz Mahal..and his family. It is based purely on history, but of course it has been fictionalised..also...reading Empress Orchid...An Chi Min...about the last Empress in the Ching dynasty.
-Notorious Royal Marriages: A Juicy Journey Through Nine Centuries of Dynasty, Destiny, and Desire by Leslie Carroll-Non-Fiction
-Stories of royal marriages made through history that turned out to be either very disastrous or very good. Louis VII and Eleanor of Aquitaine through Charles, Prince of Wales to Lady Diana Spencer then to Camilla Parker Bowles
-I'm only about 80 pages in and have just started to get to ones I don't know much about, but the stories are very interesting and it definitely doesn't read like a straight forward history.
I am almost done reading Elizabeth I by Margaret George. It is fiction. I am really enjoying it, but it is taking me an unusually long time to read it. What got me addicted to Tudor history was actually The Autobiography of King Henry VIIIThe Autobiography of Henry VIII, which I read during my college finals in 1985. Perhaps because this book takes place during the autumn of Elizabeth's life (while she was in her 60's), it is a little slower moving. Still, I recommend for a pleasant Tudor read for all those who like royal, especially Tudor, history.
Does the Arthurian Legend count? I know it's usually consider mythical but I just finished The Kingmaking by Helen Hollick and it's considered a to be a very realistic take on the legend. It's a novel on the early part of Arthur's life and his struggle to claim the throne, mostly told from his and Gwenhyfar's point of view. I really liked it and gave it 4/5 stars. My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...Cindie, I have Margaret George's "Elizabeth I" and I'm hoping to read it soon!
I am listening to Queen Isabella: Treachery, Adultery, and Murder in Medieval England by Alison Weir. I'm a little over halfway through with this audiobook. This is non-fiction. Basically, this is about Queen Isabella nicknamed She Wolf of France. She has a bad reputation in history although I'm having a hard time seeing why. So far, she reminds me of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Anne Boleyn.
Tammy wrote: "She has a bad reputation in history although I'm having a hard time seeing why."Weir is very sympathetic to Isabella and her bio basically sets to task at rehabilitating Isabella's reputation.
(Possible spoilers if you're not familiar with this part of history).
Her bad rep kind of stems from medieval views on women but she did, after all, overthrow the lawful king with her lover and rule in her son's place. Weir presents her as a woman wronged and neglected - her position as queen constantly compromised and disrespected in favor of her incompetent husband's male lovers. Our modern mind's are able to excuse her infidelity because her marriage was arranged and her husband was sleeping with other people too. But that's not how infidelity was viewed in the past and Isabella's reputation suffered for it. Put on top of that the fact that she and her lover overthrew the "rightful" king, however incompetent he may have been, and ruled as regents with Isabella basically using her son for power, and you're likely to stir up some major medieval misogyny. Our modern minds view it as an incompetent, unfaithful man whose wrong wife rightfully took control of things. But at the same time, I recall that Weir presents evidence that Isabella wasn't actually the driving force behind the overthrow but a submissive woman simply following her lover's ambition.
In fiction, Isabella is portrayed in all different ways. And that's what is so much fun about history in my opinion - all the different ways to consider a person or event and you can decide for yourself how it was.
Just finished Pendragon's Banner- 2nd book in Helen Hollick's Arthur trilogy. Definitely grittier than other Arthur books that I've read and enjoyed it (solid 3 stars).ETA: noticed thatThe Kingmaking was mentioned above -I also gave it 4 stars.
The Judgment of Paris: The Revolutionary Decade that Gave the World Impressionism, by Ross King. Non-fiction art history, but also a requiem for the Second Empire.Napoleon III is not the main subject (those being painters), but is a very strong secondary character. Hope this counts!
I read this one for the Art Lovers group read this month, and really enjoyed it, giving it four stars.
1) Currently reading The Women of the Cousins' War: The Duchess, the Queen, and the King's Mother2) Non-fiction
3) This novel is Phillippa Gregory's first attempt at non-fiction and contains 3 essays: Jacquetta, the Dowager Duchess of Bedford by PG 2) Elizabeth Woodville by David Baldwin 3) Margaret Beaufort by Mike Jones. I currently have a few pages left in Baldwin's essay (on page 227 as I type this). Ech section is basically an overview of the lives of the women who are sometimes overlooked, yet had a large hand to play in the Wars of the Roses.
4) I have not finished yet so don't know my rating but right now, thinking 3.
Mod
Melissa wrote: "-Notorious Royal Marriages: A Juicy Journey Through Nine Centuries of Dynasty, Destiny, and Desire by Leslie Carroll-Non-Fiction
-Stories of royal marriages made through history tha..."
I finished the book and it was really good. I gave it 5 stars. My full review is here:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/66...
Lyn M wrote: "I had heard that she was going to put together something like that, Orsolya. I will be interested in what your final thinking is."I just finished yesterday so I am about to type up my review :)
Mod
1. She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth by Helen Castor2. Non-Fiction
3. Shortened biographies of four English queens that came before Elizabeth I: Matilda, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Isabella of France, and Margaret of Anjou. The conclusion also covers the lead to up Elizabeth's ascension, including Lady Jane Grey and Mary I.
4. Loved it, very comprehensive but not dry. Gave it 4 out of 5 stars: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I'm reading The Duchess of Windsor by Greg King. I've read other biographies of the Windsors and Wallis in particular. This one is sympathetic to The Duchess and is a departure from the usual information that we know about her. It's quite readable and fascinating and good to see Wallis Simpson from another angle. Highly recommend it.
1. Elizabeth I by Margaret George2. Fiction
3. Covers Elizabeth's later life, told from her point of view and her cousin's, Lettice Knollys.
4. Loved it, gave it 4 stars but debated giving it 5. If we had half stars, I'd probably give it 4.5: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Robin, I read it too and loved it...5 stars from me
Interestingly, I just saw a trailer for a movie called Anonymous based on the fringe theory that William Shakespeare didn't actually write the works he's credited with - which sounds ridiculous but I can't wait to see it because it involves a lot of the characters I just read about in Margaret George's novel on Elizabeth I.
I agree, Robin; I loved Elizabeth I, too, think it is Margaret George's best book yet. Another excellent book about Elizabeth is Legacy by Susan Kay.
1. A Treasury of Royal Scandals: The Shocking True Stories History's Wickedest, Weirdest, Most Wanton Kings, Queens, Tsars, Popes, and Emperors by Michael Farquhar2. Nonfiction
3. Covers all the vices recorded about royals.
4. It was ok. I gave it 3/5 stars. I didn't find it all that great because I knew so much on the history of the English royals and the book was 1/2 about English royals doing very bad things. The author even went into detail about each of Henry VIII's wives. Again not new. I did learn some very interesting things about the Popes though. I gave it 3 stars instead of 2 because if you want a nice overview of English royality and a little bit about other royal houses, this is a good book for that.
Robin wrote: "Interestingly, I just saw a trailer for a movie called Anonymous based on the fringe theory that William Shakespeare didn't actually write the works he's credited with - which sounds ridiculous but..."yeah...just saw that yesterday! it loks like it might be a good film! I just don't know where they get these ludicrous ideas from either!
Catherine wrote: "Robin wrote: "Interestingly, I just saw a trailer for a movie called Anonymous based on the fringe theory that William Shakespeare didn't actually write the works he's credited with - which sounds ..."I just saw it today and it's really good, I highly recommend it
Catherine wrote: "yeah...just saw that yesterday! it loks like it might be a good film! I just don't know where they get these ludicrous ideas from either! "Well, it appears the theory has been around for a while but not many historians support the idea.
Here is a review of the film by a Shakespeare scholar. It is safe to say that he is not a happy camper.http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/mag...
The theory (well baring the bits about writing A Midsummer Night's Dream at 9!) has been around for nearly a century.Not taken seriously by either historians or English scholars.
I found the movie to be a really good, but ultimately a work of fiction. It was full of historical inaccuracies, but that didn't make it not an interesting couple hours of film.I'm not a Shakespeare scholar, nor do I really care about much of anything he wrote, I think that he probably wrote some of his plays if not most, but I'm also pretty sure there are a few works that he got credit for that weren't his.
While the whole thing was good, the end of the article Sharon linked was classic though, and not untrue:
"Along with a right-wing antielitism, an unthinking left-wing open-mindedness and relativism have also given lunatic ideas soil to grow in. Our politeness has actually led us to believe that everybody deserves a say.
The problem is that not everybody does deserve a say. Just because an opinion exists does not mean that the opinion is worthy of respect. Some people deserve to be marginalized and excluded."
Sharon wrote: "Here is a review of the film by a Shakespeare scholar. It is safe to say that he is not a happy camper.http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/mag......"
Great review! Thanks for the link Sharon :-).
Robin wrote: "Interestingly, I just saw a trailer for a movie called Anonymous based on the fringe theory that William Shakespeare didn't actually write the works he's credited with - which sounds ridiculous but..."I haven't seen the movie yet either but the theory about Shakespeare has been around for quite awhile and many scholars think it holds merit. Interesting isn't it?
Er, many scholars think it doesn't hold merit.
Susanna wrote: "Er, many scholars think it doesn't hold merit."Yes, ongoing debate.
I know it's November...already...but I am only half-way through my 2 books. they are both very intersting, and take you back into their respective time periods.
Is there going to be a November Open Read? I'm almost finished my first royalty read for this month.
I was hoping for a Nov Open read myself.
I finished Empress Orchid..Anchee Min...truly amazing story. I love the history! t also really brings to life The Forbidden citty..although..it is no where near the same as being there in person. but you can see the people and how they lived.
Okay, on to November...1. The Secret Diary of a Princess: a novel of Marie Antoinette by Melanie Clegg
2. Fiction
3. Covers Marie Antoinette's childhood, written as her private diary might have been.
4. I gave it 3/5 stars - my review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
1. Virgin: Prelude to the Throne by Robin Maxwell2. Fiction
3. Covers Elizabeth I from 1547-1549 during the reign of her brother Edward VII
4. I truly love anuthing about Elizabeth I and yet know very little about her during the reign of her brother so I liked it for that aspect. And I liked it because it reminded me that I really like Robin Maxwell and wonder why I stopped reading her stuff.
1. Queen Emma and the Vikings: Power, Love, and Greed in 11th Century England by Harriet O'Brien2. Non-Fiction
3. A biography on Emma of Normandy, wife to Aethelred the Unraed and Cnut of Denmark, mother to Harthacnut and Edward the Confessor, and aunt to William the Conqueror. She reigned as queen consort and queen mother of England during the time leading up to the Norman invasion of 1066.
4. Really enjoyed it, very informative, gave it 4 out of 5 stars - my review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
1. The Duchess of Windsor by Greg King2. Non-fiction
3. A biography of Wallis Simpson.
4. Thoroughly enjoyed this bio. It's quite sympathetic to the Duchess. Having read several other bios, it's good to hear the other side of the story. Gave it 5 stars.
Has anyone read-Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch? My library has it on order-can't wait to get a copy!
1. Nefertiti: The Book of the Dead by Nick Drake2. Fiction
3. A mystery based on the disappearance of Queen Nefertiti in ancient Egypt, told from the first person POV of a fictional "detective".
4. I was disappointed and struggled to get into in, gave it 2 stars. More in my review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
A History of Royals
Books mentioned in this topic
Nefertiti: The Book of the Dead (other topics)Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch (other topics)
Queen Emma and the Vikings: A History of Power, Love, and Greed in 11th-Century England (other topics)
Virgin: Prelude to the Throne (other topics)
The Secret Diary of a Princess (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Nick Drake (other topics)Harriet O'Brien (other topics)
Robin Maxwell (other topics)
Melanie Clegg (other topics)
Michael Farquhar (other topics)
More...
1. Title and author of the book (preferably using the GR links so that others can find the book easily.)
2. Whether the book is Fiction or Non-fiction.
3. A short synopsis of the book which does not include spoilers.
4. What you thought of the book, including the GR rating that you gave it.
NOTE: To be considered "Royalty related" at least one of the central characters must be considered Royalty.
Have fun reading!