A classic Victoria Holt like “The Curse of the Kings” is a sure-fire way to dispel a reading block. Her tales of imperiled but adventurous women have aged surprisingly well since they were first published, when, like many of her other readers, I quickly snapped up each new one as soon as it appeared in stores.Inspired no doubt by the story of the discovery of King Tut’s tomb, “The Curse of the Kings” is narrated by Judith Osmond, a lowly companion to the widow of the local squire, and a friend of her daughter ad nephew.Judith has long admired the son of the local lord who had died in Egypt on an archaeological expedition. Tybalt, his sole heir, is similarly in thrall to the past, and determined to carry on his father’s work. The passion for digging up the past is one that Judith shares, ever since the day she found a piece of a bronze shield in a freshly dug grave in the local churchyard.From the green countryside of England to Egypt and the palace of a local Pasha, Judith’s story progresses from her teenage fancies to realizing some of her most cherished dreams. But there are other dreams that darken her path – nightmares involving the same supposed ‘curse’ that claimed Tybalt’s father just as he was on the verge of making a great discovery.It had been so long since I last read this book, I honestly could not remember the outcome – who was the villain, and which of Judith’s fears where unfounded, and which justified. There are the inevitable red herrings and misunderstandings, but until very late in the book I was kept guessing.“The Curse of the Kings” reminded me what a delightful experience reading a Victoria Holt novel can be.Review by Kerry Hennigan14 January 2015
I've read four of Victoria Holt's novels now, and I liked all of them, but I've noticed all of her books work on a formula, and now I have very little interest in reading the rest of them.Here's the formula:Female protagonist is childhood friends with wealthy children in the area, but is not wealthy herself. She becomes close to them and somewhere in her adolescence she falls madly in love with one of the rich men, who she can't have. As she gets older, her life continues to parallel the wealthy friends, but she is always on the outside of their world. Eventually she is given an opportunity for adventure - either in a foreign land or in love or by moving into a creepy old house - and everyone in her life warns her off it, especially the guy she's been in love with forever. Everyone thinks the worst of him, and warns her off going to this place with him, but she goes anyway. Murder! Intrigue! Stuff happens! Every step of the way, the guy looks more and more guilty, until finally our heroine is led into MORTAL DANGER! This usually leaves her locked in a room with certain death until her man comes along to rescue her, reassure her that he loves her and all her fears are not justified, and they live happily ever after.Copy. Paste. Change the names. There you have Victoria Holt. :/
What do You think about Curse Of The Kings (1985)?
This was sent by Bookworm-lady as a celebration of her bookcrossing membership. I think this is the first book I've read by this author, and it was rather fun... at one point I really did wonder if, as opposed to most historical romance type novels, the hero would turn out NOT to be a hero, or the heroine would actually die...But far be it from me to offer a spoiler here. I did have the impression there were a number of false leads - corridors which led to dead-ends, so to speak, that the author could have explored further. One of these would have been the character of Hadrian - there seemed to be a great of hinting at things - would he prove to be wrong-doing because of debts? would he turn out to be the one true love? but nothing really came of it.
—penelopewanders
Hands down, this is my favorite Victoria Holt novel because I love the protagonist so much. I'll admit it's not her strongest novel. The plot is a touch contrived and Judith's ability to let her imagination run away from her is taken to a rather unbelievable extreme. However, the characterization of Judith herself is more than enough to make up for the novel's flaws. Judith is exuberant, passionate, imaginative, and headstrong. The zeal with which she tackles life is incredibly appealing, and it's what keeps me reading this over and over again.
—Barbi
A very stern look at the regime of King Henry the Eight - and this is no romance. It puts a very human feel to the time many books lack. The reader has a narrator they can identify with in Katherine Pole that completely removes whatever sympathy romance novels about the era have created. It is the story of a family rule riddled with doubt, treachery, corruption, torture and murder. No one was safe during the reign of Henry and his father before him. It was better to hold on to one's scruples and honor because even giving them away seldom saved. Even as the narrator tries to maintain her faith and loyalty, she is betrayed again and again. There is no happy endings in this book, but there is, for the reader, the truth.
—Shadoshard
