Richard III discussion
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A Dangerous Inheritance
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Xenia0201
(last edited Aug 06, 2012 07:09PM)
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Aug 06, 2012 07:09PM
I was wondering if anyone had the opportunity to review Alison Weir's new book, A Dangerous Inheritance, before its release. (October 2nd) It's a novel interlacing the stories of Katherine Plantagenant, (Richard III's illegitimate daughter) and Katherine Grey. I know Weir doesn't usually support the theory that Richard III is innocent of the disappearance of the two princes and am curious of how she portrays Richard in this novel.
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Do you mean Captive Queen? I thought it was okay. What about it turned you off to her?
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Honestly, I thought the writing itself was just *meh* and I was bored to tears, especially when she was locked up all those years. Told from Eleanor's POV, there was endless exposition catching her up on what was happening outside.
Eleanor is a tough one. Not many books have been spellbinding enough to be able to hold a candle to SKP's trilogy on Henry II & Eleanor, at least for me. Time & Chance particularly, was amazing.
Alison Weir's War of the Roses history is really good. Great family trees that I've copied and keep handy. As you can imagine with all the cousins and inherited titles through generations, it gets a bit complicated. I think this is the best of her work but it's not fiction.
Xenia0201 wrote: "Eleanor is a tough one. Not many books have been spellbinding enough to be able to hold a candle to SKP's trilogy on Henry II & Eleanor, at least for me. Time & Chance particularly, was amazing."I agree - nothing beats SKP's Henry & Eleanor series. Loved it so much I made a "pilgrimage" to Fontevraud Abbey.
I recently finished this one. I was hoping it would be similar to her Innocent Traitor, which I enjoyed, but no. The alternating chapters between women in two different eras, which I failed to see the connection between, was ineffectual. As to her treatment of Richard III, if you've read her Princes in the Tower, then you know her views on him....this is just a fictionalized version of that. I'm still working on my review of the novel, but it's 3 stars in my book.
Michele wrote: "I recently finished this one. I was hoping it would be similar to her Innocent Traitor, which I enjoyed, but no. The alternating chapters between women in two different eras, which I failed to se..."I'm more curious to see how she treats the Grey family.
Susan wrote: "Michele wrote: "I recently finished this one. I was hoping it would be similar to her Innocent Traitor, which I enjoyed, but no. The alternating chapters between women in two different eras, whic..."
I didn't read anything new brought to the table. The Suffolk parents were bad, bad, bad. Mary 'the crouchback' didn't make an appearance. Catherine was the 'good girl' who wants to be queen, Jane the 'bad girl' who has a limited role here aside from not wanting the crown. Her death occurs early on.
I think the story had promise, because Catherine has promise as a protagonist. The switching between eras is clumsy and would likely confuse the average reader. Interesting, though, is how Weir tries to take every debatable source for Richard and the Princes and incorporate their writings/character into the story. Catherine Grey, throughout the novel, is a 'detective' trying to solve the murder of the princes. She therefore tracks down every source and its merits then get debated within the story. While I thought the technique was interesting (despite the fact that I disagree with Weir's use of and interpretation of those sources), not sure how much the average reader will remain interested in it. My copy is an e-edition or I would send it to you...grrrr.
I didn't read anything new brought to the table. The Suffolk parents were bad, bad, bad. Mary 'the crouchback' didn't make an appearance. Catherine was the 'good girl' who wants to be queen, Jane the 'bad girl' who has a limited role here aside from not wanting the crown. Her death occurs early on.
I think the story had promise, because Catherine has promise as a protagonist. The switching between eras is clumsy and would likely confuse the average reader. Interesting, though, is how Weir tries to take every debatable source for Richard and the Princes and incorporate their writings/character into the story. Catherine Grey, throughout the novel, is a 'detective' trying to solve the murder of the princes. She therefore tracks down every source and its merits then get debated within the story. While I thought the technique was interesting (despite the fact that I disagree with Weir's use of and interpretation of those sources), not sure how much the average reader will remain interested in it. My copy is an e-edition or I would send it to you...grrrr.
I'm entered in the Goodreads giveaway for it, so maybe I'll get lucky. It does sound interesting.
I'm trying to figure out how to make a connection between Katherine Plantagenant and Katherine Grey work to begin with! LOL Thanks for the comments - I have it on my list.
I think the connection is that they both married into the Herbert family (briefly, in Katherine Grey's case).
