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What’s everyone reading historical wise? 

I just finished work for the summer and so I’m going to be spending my summer finishing the first draft of my historical novel. 

Alison Weir is one of my favourite historians, and so to get in the historical mood, I’m going to start her Six Queens series. 

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If you enjoy Alison Weir you should try Carolly Erickson. Very good Author. Read her Bio of Victoria a couple of times :) 

 

Not exactly Historical fiction but  I am reading Waylon Jennings Autobiography right now. Just a great and very Funny, honest  book. 

 

Also reading Jews: the Story of a People  by Howard Fast. Facinating.

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The Summer Queen by Elizabeth Chadwick about Eleanor of Aquitaine. The first of three books. I read her previous book Lady of the English about Eleanor's mother-in-law Matilda (mother of Henry II) and her stepmother Adeliza which was really good. 

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I adore Alison Weir and Philippa Gregory. I'm currently reading The Winter Palace by Eva Stachniak. It's about Catherine the Great from the perspective of a palace servant that becomes a lady in waiting. It's only ok. There's a lot of intrigue and tons of name-dropping, but I have a hard time keeping track of who's on who's side because it's not very clear. I think it could have been a better book if it was like 2/3 the size and stuck to a couple of subplots about intrigue instead of so many characters that are only mentioned for a few pages.

Next up on my reading list is The Virgin's Daughter. It's the first of a trilogy of speculative fiction exploring the possibility of a Tudor heir. The Tudors are my favorite dynasty, so I'm really excited to see how it goes.

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On 6/30/2018 at 6:37 PM, viii said:

What’s everyone reading historical wise? 

I just finished work for the summer and so I’m going to be spending my summer finishing the first draft of my historical novel. 

Alison Weir is one of my favourite historians, and so to get in the historical mood, I’m going to start her Six Queens series. 

Just finished 'Jane Seymour: The Haunted Queen,' book 3 in the series. It was excellent. I'm anxiously awaiting Anne of Cleves. She's my favourite of the six queens because I think she got the best deal--she kept her head, didn't have to spend more than six months or so with Henry, and ended up with some really nice digs, including Hever Castle. 

On 7/1/2018 at 1:55 AM, JordynDarby5 said:

The Summer Queen by Elizabeth Chadwick about Eleanor of Aquitaine. The first of three books. I read her previous book Lady of the English about Eleanor's mother-in-law Matilda (mother of Henry II) and her stepmother Adeliza which was really good. 

I have yet to read a book by Chadwick that I didn't like. The Eleanor books are wonderful, as well as the ones about William Marshal, the 'greatest knight.' Someone needs to start making mini-series of her books! 

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3 hours ago, Loveday said:

Just finished 'Jane Seymour: The Haunted Queen,' book 3 in the series. It was excellent. I'm anxiously awaiting Anne of Cleves. She's my favourite of the six queens because I think she got the best deal--she kept her head, didn't have to spend more than six months or so with Henry, and ended up with some really nice digs, including Hever Castle. 

I have yet to read a book by Chadwick that I didn't like. The Eleanor books are wonderful, as well as the ones about William Marshal, the 'greatest knight.' Someone needs to start making mini-series of her books! 

They really do! I almost passed up Lady of the English because of the size but it was so good I finished it in three days.

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  • 1 month later...

Following this thread. One book I read last year was The Queen's Lady by Barabra Kyle. It was ok, quite not what I was expecting. 

I wish I could find more books about Royalty...non fiction or fiction. 

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I just finished Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir. It was, of course, quite excellent. I plan on reading The Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir next. 

The more historical fiction books I read, the more inspired I get to work on my own novel, which has been slow coming. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Cor Rotto  by Adrienne Dillard. About Katherine Carey, daughter of Mary Carey(nee Boleyn) and possibly HVIII. Not too bad. Reasonably lightweight.  Ms Dillard subscribes to the theory that Katherine is Henry's daughter. 3/5

 

HVIII's Secret Daughter: The Tragedy of Lady Jane Grey by F W Kenyon. Jane S has daughter, exchanged for new born boy. Frances Grey brings up daughter as hers..Hi-jinks ensure. Not over impressed. 1/5

 

The Spanish Bride by Lauren Gardner. The story of KoA and one of her maids flits from  Katherine's arrival in England to AB's death. The heroine, Estrella is hard to like at times. KoA is naturally portrayed sympathetically, AB less so. 3/5

 

Some non fiction

 

Jane Boleyn: the True Story of the Infamous Lady Rochford by Julia Fox. Book that changed how I looked at JB. 4.5/5

 

George Boleyn: Tudor Poet, Courtier and Diplomat by Claire Ridgway and Clare Cherry. Another of history's scapegoats. 4/5

 

 

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I've read a few books by Anne Easter Smith- she covers the Wars of the Roses but from people who aren't necessarily known as main players so she can fill in the gaps without making people mad. I really enjoy them!

Nonfiction-wise, I've been reading The Rival Queens, which is about Catherine de' Medici and her daughter Marguerite de Valois. It is so, so good. Here's a link to it on Amazon.

I find really good historical books by listening to the History Extra podcast that the BBC puts on if anyone is looking for some new titles!

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Presently reading 'The Last Tudor'. Jane grey comes off as quite self important. Non fiction '99 glimpses of Princess Margaret'. Ditto for her.

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  • 5 weeks later...

I didn't really care for The Last Tudor, personally. I typically like Jane Grey, but this book made her a bit insufferable, and I wasn't sad to see her go. 

I just finished The Boleyn King by Laura Andersen. I had trouble wrapping my head around it in the beginning (it's essentially historical fan fiction, with the idea that Anne Boleyn's final pregnancy didn't end in miscarriage, but she was instead delivered of a healthy son). However, the more I read, the more intrigued I became with the characters, which is a nice nod to Laura Andersen's writing. 

I've just checked out the sequel from my library, and plan to start it this weekend. 

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  • 6 months later...

The Raven's Widow , a novel of Jane Boleyn by Adrienne Dillard.  4/5

A look at George's wife and near constant scrape-goat for the Boleyn siblings and cousin. Another  novel which flits through time. From Jane going to court in 1520 to her execution in February 1542.  Jane is portrayed as sympathetically as possible as is her relationship with her husband and sisters-in-law. It doesn't really cover her relationship to KH's downfall very much.

 

 

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That book sounds interesting, @Seahorse Wrangler. I'll have to check it out!

This might be a good place to ask - I'm looking for book recommendations on Queen Victoria. I've recently started to read more about her, and I'd love some really good fictional novels on her. 

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I'm currently reading The Last Hours by Minette Walters, which takes place during the Black Death in England and I'm actually surprised by how much I'm enjoying it! I have a terrible habit of picking up historical fiction and then being disappointed for one reason or another, but so far I'm totally into this one. The protagonist is a very strong, intelligent female character, without being a Mary Sue or too ahistorical, imo (I'm always willing to suspend my disbelief at least a little in historical fiction as long as I'm enjoying the characters and the story).

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I haven’t been reading much lately due to chasing my toddler around and just being too tired. I’ve liked Alison Weir’s work in the past. Phillipa Gregory is good for a light and easy read, but I’d skip her novels if you’re looking for realistic portraits of the historical figures - I enjoyed reading, “The Other Boleyn Girl,” but it bugs me how she opted to portray George and Anne.

I read, “The Book Thief,” last year and absolutely loved it. I’d highly recommend it to anyone, but especially people interrelated in WW2 historical fiction. And I liked, “The Invention of Wings,” by Sue Monk Kidd as well.

ETA: Oh! And, “The Light Between Oceans,” too!

ETA2: And for anyone interested in the Vietnam War I’d recommend, “The Things They Carried.” 

Edited by VelociRapture
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I just finished reading Alison Weir's "Anne Boleyn, A King's Obsession" and I plan to read more in that series. I also enjoyed that biography of Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford as it was different as the way she's typically portrayed. I just consider Phillipa Gregory to be light reading, just as the show The Tudors is basically a soap opera based loosely on Henry VIII and his wives.

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I actually really love Phillipa Gregory's novels, but like someone mentioned.. it's like a soap opera. I don't go into them expecting to be historically accurate. 

Normally Alison Weir is very good, but I read A King's Obsession and didn't really enjoy it. I didn't like her portrayal of Anne. I've been waffling about reading her Jane Seymour novel, because I don't like to read books on what I'm writing, because I'd never want to accidentally mimic something. However, I'm also stuck and uninspired, so I'm tempted to read it because it might spark my interest again. 

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3 hours ago, viii said:

I actually really love Phillipa Gregory's novels, but like someone mentioned.. it's like a soap opera. I don't go into them expecting to be historically accurate. 

Normally Alison Weir is very good, but I read A King's Obsession and didn't really enjoy it. I didn't like her portrayal of Anne. I've been waffling about reading her Jane Seymour novel, because I don't like to read books on what I'm writing, because I'd never want to accidentally mimic something. However, I'm also stuck and uninspired, so I'm tempted to read it because it might spark my interest again. 

I find it hard to read Gregory, too. I have to be in the right mood otherwise I fling them around. I won't buy them because of this.

 

I have Weir's first two books in the six queens series sat in the spare room waiting for my birthday/mother's day, as it's the same day...again.

Weir doesn't like AB that much IIRC. So I'm not looking to expect much form her on that score.

 

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6 minutes ago, Seahorse Wrangler said:

Weir doesn't like AB that much IIRC. So I'm not looking to expect much form her on that score.

That would make sense. I find her Anne to be quite insufferable, which is a shame because I think there is SO much you can do with a character like Anne Boleyn. That's probably the biggest issue I have while writing my own book - my narrator is Jane Seymour, who is biased against Anne, but I LOVE Anne, haha. So I have to carefully keep my voice out of the book. 

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I wish you luck. Trying to write a sympathetic Anne from Jane's viewpoint must be hard.

 

I was looking for some more Tudor fiction books for my birthday and the way some of them caricature Jane B is hideous. It's like all the tropes of smarmy evil.  Countess Evelyn Evil of Evilville. It seems most writers are just lazy enough to make a cardboard cut-out with no redeeming features at all.

 

You may as well give her one of those sandwich boards to wear saying"Don't trust me" to go with the devil horns and forked tail.

 

 

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On 4/18/2019 at 5:54 PM, singsingsing said:

I'm currently reading The Last Hours by Minette Walters, which takes place during the Black Death in England and I'm actually surprised by how much I'm enjoying it! I have a terrible habit of picking up historical fiction and then being disappointed for one reason or another, but so far I'm totally into this one. The protagonist is a very strong, intelligent female character, without being a Mary Sue or too ahistorical, imo (I'm always willing to suspend my disbelief at least a little in historical fiction as long as I'm enjoying the characters and the story).

So what's your take on "The Last Hours"? Details please? I've just finished part 1 and am nearly finished with the second book, and my feelings are a bit mixed. I'd love to hear your take on it all, but don't know who far you've read, so don't want to spoiler on the big issues I've had. The issues I've had have nothing to do with the protagonist, whom I find just about believable in the tradition of learned medieval women like Hildegarde of Bingen, but that's about all I want to say without spoilering.

One minor issue - not a spoiler- that I had was a description of Christmas. Nothing wrong with that per se, but Christmas didn't end with the New Year on January 1st back in 1348. Ladyday in March was New Year, back then. It plays into the greater quibbles that I ended up having, but I'd be very interested to hear about your impressions first, so I don't spoiler.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Just got my Mother's Day bundle of books.

3 from Alison Weir, Katherine of Aragon, the True Queen; Anne Boleyn, A King's Obsession and Jane Seymour, The Haunted Queen.

 

2 from Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, Keep the Home Fires Burning and The Long, Long Trail. Both are part of her  War at Home series centering on WWI.

 

One non-fiction, Elizabeth's Rival by Nicola Tallis about Lettice Knollys.

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On 5/12/2019 at 6:02 PM, Seahorse Wrangler said:

 

 Alison Weir, Katherine of Aragon, the True Queen;

One the family tree page, literally the second page of the book... Constance of Castile is called John of Gaunt's first wife...

 

I'll find an ale  to sob into since hops weren't introduced to England in that era...

 

 

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