The Countess and the King
by Susan Holloway Scott
Katherine Sedley is not a well-known name even among history lovers, but a closer look reveals a lady of wit who had the ironic position of being the Catholic King James II’s Protestant mistress. Because her mother was emotionally unstable, Katherine was raised by servants and began accompanying [...]
Georgette Heyer’s Regency World
The definitive guide for all the fans of Georgette Heyer, Jane Austen, and the glittering Regency period
by Jennifer Kloester
Whether you’ve read Georgette Heyer or not–or even if you don’t plan to–this book is an enlightening read for history enthusiasts or those simply wishing to learn more about the Regency era. Heyer’s novels [...]
The King’s Mistress
by Emma Campion
Sponsored by TLC Book Tours
In The King’s Mistress, Alice Perrers claims her place among the surfeit of fictional autobiographies by royal mistresses. Infamously known as the lover of the aging King Edward III, she is given her chance to ask: When had I a choice to be other than I was? [...]
The Red Queen
by Philippa Gregory
This highly anticipated second novel of the Wars of the Roses from Philippa Gregory, though perhaps not sensational, definitely does not disappoint in terms of intrigue, timelines and historical detail. Gregory’s Margaret Beaufort begins life having visions of Joan of Arc and so dedicates her life to what she believes is [...]
The Secret Confessions of Anne Shakespeare
By Arliss Ryan
In a death bed confession to her beloved granddaughter, Anne Shakespeare (nee Hathaway) relates the secret life she lead after following her young husband to London when their children were very young. Feeling a burden to her parents-in-law in their already too crowded home, Anne set out to [...]
By Fire, By Water
by Mitchell James Kaplan
15th century Spain is an era I am not very familiar with, having only read novels mentioning Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon. The Spanish Inquisition and the fate of both the Muslims and the Jewish communities during this time period is a subject I’ve planned to read [...]
For the King
by Catherine Delors
After the French Revolution, when families were picking up the pieces of their scattered lives—loved ones dead, fled abroad or hiding from the new regime—two factions against Napoleon Bonaparte were actively plotting attacks and assassinations. The Chouans were royalists and wished to restore the monarchy, while the Jacobins were revolutionaries who [...]
The Heretic Queen
by Michelle Moran
Nefertari, daughter of the protagonist Mutnodjmet from Moran’s first novel Nefertiti, is an orphaned and unwanted princess in the court at Thebes, as her aunt had been posthumously branded The Heretic Queen by the new regime and virtually wiped from tangible and spoken history. Though she is treated with respect by [...]
The French Blue
by Richard W. Wise
A narrative of the adventures of the French traveler and gem merchant, Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, The French Blue starts off with an exciting sea journey and meeting with the Aborigines of Australia as related by a visiting sea captain. Jean, already an excitable young boy, sets his heart on an enterprising [...]
The Confessions of Catherine de Medici
by C. W. Gortner
C. W. Gortner has once again taken a controversial historical figure and made her into an admirable protagonist. Like Juana from The Last Queen, Catherine de Medici has not enjoyed a plethora of novels depicting her in a positive light. From Jean Plaidy’s trilogy (Madame Serpent, [...]
Hello, my name is Arleigh... welcome to my book review site! Here you will find author guest posts, book news, reviews and various articles on the genre. My favorite author is Jean Plaidy, of whom I have built a digital shrine, along with my friend, Lucy of Enchanted by Josephine. I'm 31 years old and have two beautiful girls, ages 9 and 22 months with my husband of 10 years, Adam. We live in Georgia. 
arleighjohnson(at)gmail(dot)com
