Took a while to get into this book and think a lot of bad reviews I read after starting probably put me off, however after a few chapters I got into it, I liked the fact the book explored many different character not only Henry the 7th but the pretenders to the throne perkin warbeck and lambert s...
I was disappointed in this book. It was very readable but was laden with errors. The theme reminded me of Henry II who maniacally searched for a young wife to give him more heirs while he already had three. Henry VII had an heir but desperately wanted many spares. With Henry VIII, the nut di...
This enjoyable work is about Robert Dudley and the love shared between him and Queen Elizabeth I. Dudley descended from a family of ambitious men, and their ambition had been their undoing. However, Robert found himself attracted to the Queen of England, for ambition's sake but also for the pass...
I've said it before and I'll say it again. I'm a sucker for Jean Plaidy books.Oh my....Caroline, whatever will we do with you? When we first meet Caroline, she is a teenager and she pulls off the most outrageous stunts...like pretending she's giving birth in retaliation for not being allowed to a...
Quite a good book focused on the life an reign of one of the perhaps lesser known Kings of England, Henry III and his relationship with his French Queen Eleanor de Provence. Henry not only devoted but was one of the rare kings who was faithful to his wife, but his devotion proved to be a double e...
This is the first Jean Plaidy book I've ever read that did not concern itself with a Queen of England. I was expecting the reading of it to be a stranger experience.But Jean Plaidy is always Jean Plaidy, writing as if she's telling a fairy tale but not sparing us any of the unsavory or unpleasant...
"Then he began to pace up and down again.....a lion, not sure of his strength, but aware of the cage that enclosed him. The bars were strong, but his strength was growing. One day, he knew, he would break out of the cage. Then there would be nothing - no person on Earth to restrain him."The Shado...
The marriage of The Prince of Wales to Caroline of Brunswick was strewn with private skirmish and public scandal, yet it did bear a daughter - Princess Charlotte, heiress presumptive to the English throne. The Regent is still elegant, though moving swiftly into corpulent middle age as his wife Ca...
Madame Serpent by Jean PlaidyGenre: Historical FictionWhen I started this book, I really didn’t know anything about Catherine de’ Medici and had only previously read 1 book by Plaidy. I picked up this book thinking that it would have more about Italy in it, seeing as she is a Medici, mistake! It...
Jean Plaidy’s historical novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Eleanor the Queen, includes important events in the lives of the title character, Henry II, and King Louis VII of France. Some of their sons’ and daughters’ stories are part of the intertwined story as well. The history itself is amazing, bu...
"The Widow of Windsor" is the final book in the Victorians series, obviously covering the life of Queen Victoria and her family following the death of the Prince Consort, Prince Albert. It's plain that Victoria never got over the death of her "Sainted One", wearing black every day, even to weddin...
When I was invited to write a review about a book by Jane Plaidy, I readily accepted. I had heard so much about the author but never really had the chance to read any of her works. Queen of this Realm seemed like a good choice for this first experience, since the charismatic Elizabeth I, queen of...
Quizás el mejor de los tres, lo cual no quiere decir que sea bueno. No sé si depende de la edición (Javier Vergara, 1995), pero como esta vez no tenía tantos errores tipográficos, los párrafos estaban correctamente separados y no se comían palabras, la lectura se hizo más fácil y lo disfruté más....
This is a story of Mary, Henry VIII’s daughter with Katherine of Aragon. As a child, Mary has it all. She’s the king’s only child and it’s understood she’ll be inheriting the throne. But, the king divorces the queen, marries Anne Boleyn, and has another daughter, Elizabeth. Mary is declared i...
This was a pleasure to read about Sir Thomas More, a notable figure among the prolific Tudor court of Henry VIII. Thomas More was a brilliant scholar and wrote "Utopia." You can't read a Henry VIII book and not have mention of the infamous Thomas More. Yet, we never get to see him in a personal t...
I went searching for a blurb of the story at Random House's site and this what I found is what is written above- I must say that I am a bit puzzled, Anne was not bethrothed to the older brother of her childhood love and Plaidy certainly never made that mistake... The Reluctant Queen is part of a ...
Katherine Howard has always been my least favorite of the wives of Henry VIII. She lacked the royal dignity of Katherine of Aragon, the wit and sophistication of her cousin Anne Boleyn, the quiet calculation of Jane Seymour, the sweet (yet canny) acceptance of Anne of Cleves, and the mature calm...
For the first time in paperback--all three of Jean Plaidy's "Katharine of Aragon" novels in one volume. Legendary historical novelist Jean Plaidy begins her tales of Henry VIII's queens with the story of his first wife, the Spanish princess Katharine of Aragon. As a teenager, Katharine leaves h...
Probably the title tells you right off the bat that this book has to do with Henry Tudor, AKA Henry the Eighth, he of the six wives. But before you decide that you already know as much as you want to about Henry and his wives, this historical fiction novel is by Jean Plaidy (1 September 1906 – 1...
As much as i didn't want to write a review, i had to.Despite the fact i have NEVER read from this author, i really enjoy Tudor History. I have read a lot of history but never got around to Margret. I found myself looking through my book shelf and found this book and decided to give it a try. I wa...
I love Jean Plaidy's Plantagenet work! The literary world lost a great historical novelist when she died. I sometimes have a hard time getting into old books because of the totally different writing style of way-back-when, but Jean Plaidy always manages to get me immersed. She LIVED this! It amaz...
The Revolt of the Eaglets is a direct sequel to Jean Plaidy's The Plantagenet Prelude. This 1977 entry was part of her never-ending quest to fictionalize each and every aspect of British history. This novel picks up just after the end of the last one. Thomas a Becket has just been murdered and th...
It became one of my personal goals to read 1 historical romance book every month. And this book started amazingly. I loved the author's words at the beggining and how she chose to show us a very strong monarch. I was excited for this book just after 20 pages and I had a feeling that it had the po...
Wow, That's a Lot of History.This is the first Jean Plaidy novel I've read. I recently read Hilda Lewis' 'Harlot Queen' which offers greater detail of the reign of Edward II and Edward III's succession to the throne. 'The Vow on the Heron' briefly touches on the succession of Edward III and how...
Published in North America under the title Hammer of the Scots The news of Henry III's death reached his son Edward on the long road home from the Holy Land. Now he was England's King and a man fit for his destiny. Through all the years of his reign, through stark personal tragedy and chill fore...
I enjoyed reading Plaidy's account of the early life and childhood of the boy who would become King Henry V, especially the female POV of his mother, an all too often ignored figure, in the early chapters. I barely knew that Henry had 2 sisters as well as his 3 more famous brothers. The first pa...
This is the story of William the Conqueror – Duke of Normandy and King of England, son of Robert the Magnificent and a long line of Dukes of Normandy. Such a wonderful foundation was set by first telling part of the story of Robert the Magnificent and his love story with Arlette, daughter or a t...
The Prince of Darkness is the book about the youngest son of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II of England. Together they had 5 sons and 3 daughters. William the eldest died before his third birthday. Henry, the Young King, was crowned by his father the King when he was 15 years old and died when ...
Let me just start by saying that I’ve moved this book way up my list of favourite Plaidys. In fact, right now it stands as number 1.Goddess of The Green Room is about the life of the famous 18th century actress, Dorothy Jordan and her eventual long-lasting relationship to George III’s third son, ...
2.5 starsEpitaph for Three Women turned out to be far less about these three women than I was led to believe by the book's description. Broken into three parts titled Katherine of Valois, Joan of Arc, and Eleanor of Gloucester, only Joan, or Jeannette rather, has an actual story that follows her ...
The second in Plaidy’s four book series on Victoria. Now Queen, this book covers the first few years of her reign and her close relationship with Lord Melbourne. I really enjoyed Plaidy’s take on a young, but earnest young Queen who wants to be a good ruler, but is feeling her power after years...
Con detalles históricos y un excelente contexto, Plaidy consigue que entre en un mundo completamente diferente, dándole la realidad necesaria para capturar al lector. Con personajes históricos bien retratados, inicia la historia de una pequeña heredera al trono. Si bien me gustó mucho la narrativ...
Never before had the House of Hanover been faced with such a dilemma. With the death of Charlotte, Britain had lost its only heir to the throne. Although the order of procession was quite clear, it was possible through lies, rumor, and even murder to create the extenuating circumstances that woul...
The StoryGeorge III's alleged secret marriage to Hannah Lightfoot, the niece of a Quaker linen-draper.The GoodAn amusing frolic through a highly dubious historical footnote.The BadIt's more the story of George III as he grows from sheltered child to adult capable of assuming his kingly responsibi...
A vast improvement over the first volume of the Georgian saga, this book showed me the Sophie, Sophie Charlotte and most importantly the Caroline I'd been looking for. I've already read and enjoyed Caroline the Queen so it was especially nice to get more back story, particularly about the enmity ...
This is the second book of Eleanor Hibbert’s, aka Jean Plaidy, that I’ve tried, and I have to say, I stop here. The King’s Secret Matter is just the same as The Shadow of the Pomegranate, there’s no change in style or quality. Plaidy’s historical fiction novels seem to be characterised by incredi...
Although the young widow Maria Fitzherbert is a commoner and a Catholic, her dashing suitor is none other than the Prince of Wales, whose unquestioned royal duty is to marry a Protestant Princess.In an age well accustomed to royal mistresses, Maria is as virtuous as she is beautiful. Rather than...
This is not a supernatural novel as the title may suggest, although during the time it's set - late 1500s & early 1600s - superstition was rife.Anyone who's interested in the persecution of witches during Elizabethan & Jacobean England should enjoy this. Ms Plaidy does a great job of evoking thos...
The Loves of Chrles II is three of Plaidy's works combined into one volume. First is The Wandering Prince, which is much less about Charles than about his sister, Henriette. It is also about his first mistress and the mother of James, Duke of Monmouth, Lucy Water. I enjoyed this story, until th...
This was my second Jean Plaidy book and I must say it was a good one.Catherine of Braganza was a sweet natured girl who dreamed all her life that she will marry King Charles II and she will live happily ever after.At 24 she goes to England and she is marrried to King Charles.At first everything s...
This one is the second in the Revolution Series by Jean Plaidy- and I absolutely loved it! Moving on from the first book, (Louis the Well-Beloved- see my review here), which portrays Louis from birth to the beginning of his relationship with La Marquise de Pompadour- in this volume, Louis goes...
I've had some expectations about this book - the story was too good to screw up and the autor had written dozens of books before this one.Somehow I knew it was too good to be true.The story is good but the writing.... It is so incerdibly simple, with such a small wocabulary, that it read like one...
The StoryThe 6th book in Plaidy's Georgian series, Perdita's Prince deals with the brief affair between the actress Mary Robinson (known as `Perdita' for her most famous role, in The Winter's Tale) and George IV, then still Prince of Wales. The GoodPlaidy's fluid, easy-to-read style are on displa...
I always think that read about history is fascinating! It always makes me wonder, how is possible to humans, searching for power and wealth, do whatever they want, not caring if their acts will bring suffering for people. And history is, almost all the time, about that. One wanting more power tha...
Nobody writes British historical fiction better than Jean Plaidy. And this novel is Plaidy at her best. Focuses on the lives of the powerful and scheming nobleman John of Gaunt, and his passionate love, Katherine Swynford, Edward the Black Prince and his wife Joan of Kent and his son Richard II. ...
This book is a sadly fascinating look at the topic of woman's inhumanity to woman, feudal German style. I picked it up because it is the beginning of the Georgian saga, and thus the beginning of Queen Caroline's story (Caroline being one of my favorite characters in Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycl...
I am, if anyone hadn't guessed thus far, a massive fan of Jean Plaidy. Whilst having little to no interest in the Plantagenet dynasty before now I suddenly find myself enthralled, almost entirely through her wonderful writings, and gaining new knowledge day by day of the period. Plaidy books are ...
Nature's takin' over my one-track mindBelieve it or not, you're in my heart all the timeAll the girls are sayin' that you'll end up a foolFor the time being, baby, live by my rules The Lion of Justice focuses on three of William the Conqueror's sons: William Rufus (William II), Robert (duke of No...
George III was certain that the shadowy charm of Hannah, the vital beauty of Sarah, would cease to torment him once he was married to Charlotte. But Charlotte was unexciting, and he could not help his heart beating faster every time he saw a beautiful woman. Surrounded by the great and the notori...
First volume in the French Revolution series; the people wanted to see their Louis as king in his own right, bringing back glory to France and prosperity to their hearths, but Louis cared only for the thrills of hunting and gambling, the excitements of war, until even these paled before the sensu...
She had noticed lately that the arrivals from England had decreased in the last months and this was a bad sign. Fewer people were leaving the sinking ship – ship and there was no doubt that Anne was sinking… fast. She could not live much longer; and she was growing more and more sentimental about...
An Act which forbade the sons and daughters of the King to marry without royal consent until the age of twenty-five and after that without the consent of the Parliament made a choice necessary; princes and princesses must either marry the partner chosen for them or not at all; and if no partner w...
The Queen, once gay, fond of balls and banquets, had become eager to retire from the limelight. Certain members of the Court considered her old-fashioned, rather dowdy and above all, prim. Inspired by Albert, she was taking a very stern attitude towards moral lapses, forgetting that once she had ...
Why hesitate at Berwick? ‘Very well,’ she said. ‘Berwick shall be yours...in exchange for an army which will help me destroy these rebels.’ ### Cecily Duchess of York had arrived in London in great style with three of her children—her daughter Margaret and her two youngest...
How many times in the last ten years had she been pregnant! And each one left her a little weaker and a little less able to endure the next. Yet never had she felt so ill as she did now. She was growing old, although at times she still looked like a girl, for she had remained slender and her face...
He found a certain pleasure in sitting with his wife and discussing these. Again and again he recounted the story of the lost White Ship and how his misfortunes had begun with that dire tragedy. He continually stressed that if it had not been for the loss of that ship there would not have been th...
She would never forget the jaunty smile on his face; but while he might deceive others, he could never deceive her. “Father?” “Well, Meg, see you not the change? The Under-Treasurer left you earlier this day. The Chancellor is now arrived.” “Chancellor, Father … .you!” “A worthy Chancellor, thoug...
How I wish he would stay still! thought the Queen. This excitement is bad for him.‘Although I am receiving him,’ the King was saying, ‘I shall expect deference from him. He’ll have to drop that arrogance, eh? He may be a little king in Carlton House but I’m the King here at Windsor.’‘He’ll rememb...
On it went, through streets so narrow that the tall grey houses – to which the smell of sea and harbour clung – seemed to meet over the cobbles. At the head of this company of horsemen rode a young man of medium height and of kingly bearing. His complexion was fresh and tanned by exposure to the ...
Life is like that. It gives and then, when one is lulled into security, it takes away. After the Coronation, life began to look less rosy, and at the core of all the discord was the odious Sir John Conroy. He was still in the Palace. It seemed ridiculous to me that I, the Queen, could not choose ...
As the Queen’s chief minister he came openly. Did she imagine it, wondered Abigail, or was he in truth slightly less affectionate towards her? Sometimes when he passed her by she would smell the wine on his breath more strong than usual. He angered her by the change in his manner; and she asked h...
She would never forgive him, she declared. He had abducted her. He had treated her to the utmost indignity. He had sent her old enemy, Galeran, to arrest her as though she were a common felon; and she had been forced to leave without saying farewell to her friends.What would they think of her? Wh...
He stared gloomily into the fire and took up his pen to write to Esther Johnson in Ireland. It was one of his pleasanter diversions. Stella, as he called her, was as devoted an admirer as his dear friend Miss Vanhomrigh, who was Vanessa to him. Irascible, gloomy, he was dissatisfied with life bec...
The King strode about his compartment, wig on one side, cheeks scarlet with rage.‘Hanover!’ he moaned. ‘Hanover in the hands of the French! And he calls himself a son of mine. Was ever a father so cursed by his children? I thank God the Queen has not lived to see this day.’Mr Pitt had called to s...
It was pleasant to talk with someone – even a lady’s maid.‘Madam’s success was complete,’ said Mrs Armistead, helping her mistress into her nightgown. ‘That much I gathered from the remarks. I could not help overhearing from the noble company.’‘Yes, Armistead, the Prince quite clearly enjoyed the...
He was still her favorite, but they were like a married couple who have passed through stages of passion to trust and friendship, which was, in its way, more satisfying than the earlier relationship had been. All eyes were now watching events in Scotland, and the matrimonial adventures of Queen M...
In it sat Charlotte, simply dressed in a dark-green cloak and straw hat trimmed with rosebuds; she might have been any well-bred young lady taking a drive.Beside her was Lady de Clifford, whose lips were a little pursed. She heartily disliked these excursions and believed they were bad for the Pr...
I have to marry. It is the condition they demand if my creditors are to be satisfied.’‘How much do you owe?’ asked William.The Prince waved his hand. ‘My dear William, I never keep account of figures. They bore me. Suffice it to say that I owe such a sum that these tiresome people will wait no lo...
Her sister had recovered and wrote now and then; regularly, loving letters came from Frances which brought her image clearly to Mary’s mind, and Frances provided her greatest comfort. She was changing; perhaps she was growing away from childhood. She did not understand her feelings for the reserv...
He felt alive again. Only the prospect of regaining what he had lost could give him such an interest in life.About the same time as the Sicilians were rising against the French and awaiting the signal of the vesper bell, he had aroused the whole of that part of Wales which remained in Welsh hands...
Return to Fontevrault? To nurse my wretchedness? To shut out all memory of his bright presence? On Palm Sunday Richard was buried in the church of Fontevrault. The journey from the Limousin had been a slow one and from cottages and mansions people had come out to stand in awe as the cortge passed...
He detained Katharine for he said he would speak with her. She thought how handsome he was with his newly acquired dignity and his endearing delight in it. He took her hands and kissed them. “I had always intended that you should be my Queen,” he said. Waves of gladness swept over her. It was tru...
He was old – few men passed their eightieth birthdays – and he should be grateful for a long life, during which he had been able – and he would not have been the honest man he was if he had denied this – to serve his country in a manner which had preserved her from disaster.He could look back ove...
They were all very excited and kept telling the little girl that she would be the target of all eyes on this occasion. She wriggled beneath her headdress which seemed too tight. “Be careful, my precious one,” said her governess. “Remember, you must walk very slowly and as I have taught you.” “Yes...
He had no desire to return to Venice. He was free to go where he would, for Ernest Augustus and Sophia were doing their duty for the Guelphs. They now had two sons, George Lewis was healthy, although excessively ugly, and little Frederick Augustus had joined him in the nursery.It was amusing to w...
Within a few days I was confined to my apartment. There was concern and people were praying for me in the churches. Archbishop Tenison was often with me. He was a good man and a great comfort to me in those days. I had known from the moment young William had said those strange words to me that I ...
George found her amicable, eager to learn; and the fact that she could speak only German and French, which cut her off from society considerably, made her turn to him for guidance and protection. Apart from her appearance she was all that he asked of a wife; and as he was a man who could only be ...
He loved her—loved the warm comfort of her plump breasts, the kisses and caresses which she showered on him. He loved to be rocked in her arms, to smell the scent of her—wine, onion-flavored food, and the perfume of her body mingling with the perfume she used to disguise them. Secretly he loved h...
During that year my father had been awarded several stewardships and he was now a very rich man; it was clear that he was a favorite with the King. He had been considerably successful as an ambassador, but I was of the opinion that the King was saying: Thank you for giving me Mary. One cannot gri...
The conquest had been too simple. Perhaps if there had been battles to be faced and won he would not have felt this depression; but here he was, come to England to preserve the land for Protestantism, and he was not even sure that he would be accepted as its King.William was a Stuart on his mothe...
In his bedchamber the Queen soothed him with a special posset women made in France to rouse their lovers’ ardour. She took him to her bed and with the help of her ministrations, her prayers and perhaps the posset, that night she became pregnant. * * * Gaveston recovered. T...
There had come to her that day a proposal of marriage. It was her first proposal of this nature, because it was an appeal to her direct. There had, in the course of her thirteen years, been other suggested marriages, but she had never been called to give her opinion on these. When she had been a ...