review: The King’s Agent by Donna Russo Morin
The King’s Agent by Donna Russo Morin Blending fact and fantasy, this fast-paced novel–which can only be described as an articulate historical adventure–Donna Russo Morin brings to life a real historical figure, Battista della Palla….
review: The Secret of the Glass by Donna Russo Morin
The Secret of the Glass by Donna Russo Morin With elegant prose and alluring style, Donna Russo Morin brings 17th century Venice gloriously to life! Based on a glassmaker’s daughter and the invention of the…
review: The Courtier’s Secret by Donna Russo Morin
The Courtier’s Secret by Donna Russo Morin Jeanne du Bois is the daughter of a minor noble in the court of Louis XIV. Fresh from convent school, she feels very out of place among the…
review: The Lacemaker and the Princess by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
The Lacemaker and the Princess by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley Isabelle, a lacemaker’s daughter, lives a poor and somewhat miserable life until, delivering lace to a noble at the palace, she is noticed by the queen,…
review: The Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir
The Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir A very comprehensive novel on the Virgin Queen’s early life, The Lady Elizabeth begins when the precocious child is not yet three. During her years as the king’s bastard…
review: The Illuminator by Brenda Rickman Vantrease
The Illuminator by Brenda Rickman Vantrease Anyone interested in the religious strife of 14th century England will devour this book! Wycliffe, John Ball, Chaucer and many other famous names of the era are depicted as…
review: The King’s Damsel by Kate Emerson
The King’s Damsel by Kate Emerson Thomasine Lodge, an heiress of considerable fortune, is sent to wait upon the young Princess Mary by the odious Sir Lionel, who purchased her wardship. Expected to ingratiate herself…
review: Duchessina by Carolyn Meyer
Duchessina: A Novel of Catherine de’ Medici by Carolyn Meyer Duchessina is a young adult novel based on the early life of Catherine de’ Medici, niece of two Popes and later Queen of France. Catherine,…
review: Dracula in Love by Karen Essex
Dracula in Love by Karen Essex Mina Murray, a graduate and teacher at Miss Hadley’s School for Young Ladies of Accomplishment and fiancé to a promising young businessman, begins hearing voices, hallucinating and sleepwalking. Even…
review: Delilah by India Edghill
Delilah by India Edghill When I was 8 years old I received an illustrated Bible from my aunt for Christmas. Though I no longer have it, I can remember the pictures that were scattered throughout….
review: Before Versailles by Karleen Koen
Before Versailles by Karleen Koen Louis XIV is a young king on the cusp of power when Cardinal Mazarin dies, leaving the realm in the hands of Nicholas Fouquet and other trusted ministers. Louis was…
review: Becoming Marie Antoinette by Juliet Grey
Becoming Marie Antoinette by Juliet Grey The first in a trilogy, this is a rare look at Marie Antoinette’s early years, and is told in her unaffected and refreshingly naive perspective. Growing up in the…
review: 1939 Into the Dark by Paula Phelan
1939 Into the Dark by Paula Phelan I accepted this book for review with some trepidation, as I do with all books that aren’t in my particular favored eras (Medieval through Victorian), not because I…
review: Mr. Darcy’s Little Sister
Mr. Darcy’s Little Sister by C. Allyn Pierson This Pride & Prejudice continuation begins just after the Darcys’ wedding and though not entirely in her perspective, is focused on Georgiana’s coming out year and hopeful…
review: The Sun in Splendour by Jean Plaidy
The Sun in Splendour by Jean Plaidy Elizabeth Woodville is the focus of this detailed account of the Wars of the Roses, beginning with her auspicious meeting with King Edward IV, where she boldly asked…
review: The Royals by Leslie Carroll
The Royals: The Lives and Loves of the British Monarchs by Leslie Carroll Book Description: Since the Middle Ages, the lavish world of the English monarchy has fascinated the public. The Royals: The Lives and…
review: Royal Pains by Leslie Carroll
Royal Pains: A Rogue’s Gallery of Brats, Brutes, and Bad Seeds by Leslie Carroll Spanning from the 12th century to the 20th century, a dozen royals–bad in their own special way–are chronicled in this collection…
review: Notorious Royal Marriages by Leslie Carroll
Notorious Royal Marriages by Leslie Carroll In my mind there is a subgenre in the history and biography sections of the bookstore which contains collections of non-fiction tidbits and anecdotes. Notorious Royal Marriages is one…








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