H is for Harper

Karen Harper is quickly becoming one of my new favorite historical novelists.  I had the great priviledge of meeting Karen Harper at the 2009 Historical Novel Society Conference in Illinois last June.  I was able to chat with her a few minutes, and she signed my copy of her novel The Last Boleyn.  In December, I listened to the audiobook version of Mistress Shakespeare, which was incredible.  In fact, reading Mistress Shakespeare inspired me to finally take a class on Shakespeare which I am currently in the middle of.  Our midterm is due tomorrow!  I am anxiously awaiting to begin Harper's latest historical novel, The Queen's Governess.  I just finished reading a James Patterson book for our staff book discussion, so I think I deserve to curl up with a great historical novel!   Below are product descirptions from the publisher of two of her books I have read:

Mistress Shakespeare
In Mistress Shakespeare, Elizabethan beauty Anne Whateley reveals intimate details of her dangerous, daring life and her great love, William Shakespeare. As historical records show, Anne Whateley of Temple Grafton is betrothed to Will just days before he is forced to wed the pregnant Anne Hathaway of Shottery. The clandestine Whateley/Shakespeare match is a meeting of hearts and heads that no one—not even Queen Elizabeth or her spymasters—can destroy. From rural Stratford-upon- Avon to teeming London, the passionate pair struggles to stay solvent and remain safe from Elizabeth I’s campaign to hunt down secret Catholics, of whom Shakespeare is rumored to be a part. Often at odds, always in love, the couple sells Will’s first plays and, as he climbs to theatrical power in Elizabeth’s England, they fend off fierce competition from rival London dramatists, ones as treacherous as they are talented. Persecution and plague, insurrection and inferno, friends and foes, even executions of those they hold dear, bring Anne’s heartrending story to life. Spanning half a century of Elizabethan and Jacobean history and sweeping from the lowest reaches of society to the royal court, this richly textured novel tells the real story of Shakespeare in love.

The Last Boleyn

She Survived Her Own Innocence, and the Treachery of Europe's Royal Courts.

Greed, lust for power, sex, lies, secret marriages, religious posturing, adultery, beheadings, international intrigue, jealousy, treachery, love, loyalty, and betrayal. The Last Boleyn tells the story of the rise and fall of the Boleyns, one of England s most powerful families, through the eyes of the eldest daughter, Mary.

Although her sister, Anne, the queen; her brother, George, executed alongside Anne; and her father, Thomas, are most remembered by history, Mary was the Boleyn who set into motion the chain of events that brought about the family s meteoric rise to power, as well as the one who managed to escape their equally remarkable fall. Sent away to France at an extraordinarily young age, Mary is quickly plunged into the dangerous world of court politics, where everything is beautiful but deceptive, and everyone she meets is watching and quietly manipulating the events and people around them. As she grows into a woman, Mary must navigate both the dangerous waters ruled by two kings and the powerful will of her own family in order to find a place for herself and the love she so deeply desires.

G is for Gregory

By far my favorite historical fiction novelist is Philippa Gregory. I have read all of the books in her Tudor series. A few months ago I finished her latest book, The White Queen, the first book in her new War of the Roses series.  I'm excited about the potential for this new series.  For my birthday about two years ago, my husband bought me all of Gregory's other books.  I have yet to read any of them yet.  They are all lined up neatly on my "to read" shelf on our bookcase.  

Review of The Boleyn Inheritance 
The stories of Lady Jane Rochford, Anne of Cleves, and Katherine Howard are told in Philippa Gregory’s latest tale of the Tudor court, The Boleyn Inheritance.  

Anne of Cleves is Henry’s Bavarian born fourth wife, Catherine Howard, an English teenager that catches Henry’s eye, is his fifth wife, and Jane Boleyn (Lady Rochford) is a lady of Henry’s court whose testimony sent her husband and her sister-in-law, Anne Boleyn, to the scaffold just a few years before.

These three women’s lives are bound together as they all try to survive in a court that is ruled by a man who changes his mind almost by the hour. The novel is full of court intrigue and politics told from each of the three women’s point of view. The change in narrators will keep readers interested in the plight of each woman, even though most will already know the story of who was divorced, beheaded, or survived. 

F is for Felber

Queen of Shadows: A Novel of Isabella, Wife of Edward II by Edith Felber

I absolutely loved this novel. Felber publishes romance novels and historical romances under the name Edith Layton, though I have never read any others of hers.

The following is the product descirption that I copied from Amazon. I know I wrote a review of this book for my library's staff reccomendations shelf, but it seems to have been misplaced.

In fourteenth-century England, beautiful Queen Isabella-humiliated by her weak, unfaithful husband-is emerging from the shadows to take her revenge. But her newly arrived, twenty-oneyear-old Welsh handmaiden, Gwenith de Percy, also seeks vengeance-against the English invaders who crushed her beloved Wales. Isabella's once-golden marriage is now her penance. Due to his rumored relations with men, Parliament forced Edward to share his throne-a demeaning arrangement that torments Isabella.
With the help of her secret, noble lover, Roger Mortimer-an enemy of her husband, imprisoned in the Tower of London-the queen plots to take control. Thrilled by this turn of events, Gwenith realizes that a king cannot afford to be weak-especially when his formidable, discontented queen seeks his power as her due.

E is for Eleanor the Queen

Another review for Historical Novels Review for Eleanor the Queen by Norah Lofts.

Eleanor the Queen is a vivid account of the life of one of the world’s most famous queens, Eleanor of Aquitaine. Beautiful, freethinking, and strong-willed, Eleanor was not the typical woman of the 12th century. The novel is divided into four parts, each one focusing on a different period of Eleanor’s long life, beginning with the time when it was dangerous to be the unmarried heiress to the richest and largest provinces of France, Aquitaine and Poitou. Following her arranged marriage to King Louis VII of France, Eleanor embarks on crusade with Louis, and readers are immersed in the long, arduous journey of the Second Crusade. She exhibited bravery and strength, risking her life on the religious journey.

When her marriage to Louis VII ends in annulment, Henry Plantagenet asks for her hand in marriage. Their union produces two future kings of England, Richard the Lionheart and John Lackland. International bestselling author Norah Lofts does an excellent job of portraying the rivalries that exist between the sons and Henry II. Set in France, England, and the Holy Land, readers are transported to a world of intrigue, double dealings, and complex relationships. What is most revealing is the time that Eleanor spends in captivity in England. Lofts recreates the struggle that Eleanor goes through during her years of imprisonment and the feelings of being separated from her children, with little to do but think about the past and hope for the best for the future.

Eleanor the Queen was originally published in 1955, now reissued, and is a story filled with love, pain, betrayal, and politics of the 12th century. Lofts paints a rich portrait of the times, giving readers a compelling novel that should not be missed.

D is for Shannon Drake

Here is a review I wrote for Historical Novels Review for the novel Emerald Embrace by Shannon Drake.

Originally published in 1991, Drake’s tale set in Scotland in 1865, delivers a gothic feel and an element of suspense. When Lady Martise St. James learns that her friend, Mary, has suddenly died, she travels from America to Scotland to investigate her friend’s death. As soon as Martise arrives at Castle Creeghan in the Scottish Highlands, she is met with a sense of foreboding. The Lord of the castle and the late Mary’s husband, Bruce Creeghan, is a mysterious and attractive man, but there is something about him that Martise does not trust though she immediately feels the passion developing between them despite her better judgment. Martise’s goal is to uncover the mystery behind her friend’s death, retrieve a missing emerald that she knows must be hidden somewhere in the castle, and escape the clutches of the castle alive.
Though the pacing of the novel is fast and is packed with steamy love scenes, readers may get a sense of déjà vu because the dialogue between the two main characters is very repetitive. Drake does keep the reader guessing as to who is behind the mystery and deception at the castle, but the best quality of the book is the atmospheric descriptions of the castle and its surroundings.

C is for Carolly Erickson

Here is a review I wrote for Historical Novels Review regarding Carolly Erickson's latest novel:

Historian and novelist Carolly Erickson takes another foray into fiction and delivers a sweeping tale spanning the life of Mary Queen of Scots. The novel, told from Mary’s point of view, focuses on the queen’s whole life, not just the time she spent in captivity, which adds more life to the story and gives readers a more complete picture of who Mary Stuart was.

The story begins with the young Mary’s betrothal and marriage to the king of France, which did not last long before the young, sickly king died. Her mother-in-law, Catherine de Medici, is portrayed as an imposing and cruel figure in Mary’s life, and Mary rightfully fears what will happen to her if she remains at the French court. The widowed queen feels very alone with only her beloved grandmother there to support her. Mary returns to her birth land of Scotland after the death of her mother, the ruling regent. She is quickly surprised by the different life she is thrust into and must quickly adjust from the serene, cultured French court to the rough, undisciplined ways of Scotland. Mary is living in turbulent times, with very little guidance, and fears betrayal and uprisings at every turn. Her cousin, Elizabeth I, who always viewed Mary as a threat, plays a very small role in the novel. Instead, the book is more focused on the relationship between Mary and her second husband, Jamie, Earl of Bothwell.

Erickson writes from the perspective of what if and fills in the gaps that history has left. Her style makes for an entertaining story about imagined events and people in the life of the Queen of Scots. As long as readers are not looking for historical accuracy in every part of the plot, they should be pleased with Erickson’s take on the life of the headstrong and tragic queen.

I also really liked her nonfiction book Royal Panoply: Brief Lives of the English Monarchs. Erickson, the author of several royal biographies and fictional accounts of historical figures, brings readers a brief introduction to each of the English rulers. Starting with William the Conqueror and ending with the present queen, Elizabeth II, Erickson devotes about ten pages to each monarch. She focuses on each monarch’s entire life, from birth to death providing engaging details and entertaining facts about each royal over 1000 years of Britain’s past. A recommended read for those interested in English history but want the short version of it!

B is for Burning Bright

I have to admit that Burning Bright is my least favorite of all of Tracy Chevalier's books. But I was very excited for this one because I love William Blake- both his poetry and art. When I was in library school, my archives class took a field trip to one of the museums in Tucson, AZ which had a few of Blake's prints from his Book of Job series. I was estatic!

So, I was really looking forward to this novel. I even interviewed Tracy Chevalier for Public Libraries. We had a great conversation, and I learned that she is really down to earth and that we both shared a love for unicorns when we were children. If you have never read Chevalier before, I'd start with her famous Girl With a Pearl Earring. My favorite though is The Lady and the Unicorn. The Virgin Blue is also an excellent read.