Queen in Waiting opens with Caroline of Ansbach at only 8 years of age leading a difficult life as an outcast in her own home due to her father’s death and step-brother’s disdain. Luckily for her, however, she is accepted into the household of the Electress of Brandenburg where she receives an excellent education and is considered quite a catch… Read more »
Jean Plaidy, Victoria Holt, Philippa Carr, Ellalice Tate, Elbur Ford, Kathleen Kellow, Eleanor Burford, Anna Percival These are all pen names of Eleanor Hibbert, who died this day in 1993. She left behind more than 200 books that are widely read still today. My ongoing project – Royal Intrigue – hosts a number of articles and reviews. One of my… Read more »
It’s been a very hectic year with my new career, and I have not had the luxury of free time as I had in the past. But, I plan for 2020 to be different. I can’t lose sight of this part of me–the reader. It has been the pathway to my current endeavors, and I miss being continually immersed in… Read more »
The Lion of Justice by Jean Plaidy This is the story of Henry I of England, The Lion of Justice, and his wife, Edith Atheling (later called Matilda of Scotland). It begins with Henry’s brother, William Rufus on the throne, and recounts his uninspiring reign. With Rufus’s mysterious death, Henry claims the throne of England before his eldest brother, Robert… Read more »
“That solemnity which etiquette, decorum and decency insisted should prevail could scarcely hide the excited expectation in the Palace of Kensington on that June morning in the year 1837.” THE QUEEN AND LORD M by Jean Plaidy On the morning of 20th June 1837, an eighteen-year-old girl is called from her bed to be told that she is Queen of… Read more »
The Lady in the Tower by Jean Plaidy This is the book that started my obsession with Jean Plaidy–the first of her novels I read and my absolute favorite characterization of Anne Boleyn. Eight years have passed, and reading it again I stand by my initial delight in finding an admirable protagonist in Anne–after having been introduced to her by… Read more »
The Murder in the Tower by Jean Plaidy Set in the court of James I of England, this is the story of Frances, Countess of Essex, and the path she took to rid herself of her husband so that she could marry the king’s favorite, Robert Carr, Earl of Somerset. Written in classic Plaidy style, many would not enjoy this… Read more »
The Merry Monarch’s Wife previously titled The Pleasures of Love by Jean Plaidy ‘But when I consider the truth of her heart Such an innocent passion, so kind, without art I fear I have wronged her, and hope she may be So full of true love to be jealous of me O, then ’tis I think no joys are above… Read more »
The Third George by Jean Plaidy Fifth in the eleven book Georgian Saga, The Third George covers the intermediary life of England’s King George III—after his liaisons with Hannah Lightfoot and Sarah Lennox, just before his marriage to Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and ending with his first serious mental episode, which required the Prince of Wales to take over as Regent…. Read more »
The Princess of Celle by Jean Plaidy This story begins with a family of brothers, of whom one will inherit the family titles and fortune: Hanover, Celle and Osnabruck. When it falls on the one brother least eager for the responsibilities, Duke George William, he passes it on to a younger brother with a few concessions — the main one… Read more »
The Queen’s Husband by Jean Plaidy The third of the four-book Queen Victoria series (The Captive of Kensignton Palace, The Queen and Lord M, The Queen’s Husband, and The Widow of Windsor) The Queen’s Husband is a detailed account of Prince Albert’s childhood, youth in Coburg and marriage to the Queen of England. I chose to read this particular book… Read more »
In celebration of Mother’s Day, I have selected three mothers from literature I have read, each decidedly different from the other. We have an exemplary step-mother of ten, a well-intentioned, but delusional doting mother of five, and a grandmother bent on scheming and revenge. The latter may not be what’s expected of a holiday post, but let’s be honest: in… Read more »
