For those interested in the wives of King Henry VIII and their lives as Queen, I highly recommend this book!

 

Weir brings a straightforward, unbiased view of the wives, leaving us to form our own opinion of them.  The book is very well researched and is a great read.  Weir spares no details in the descriptions of Henry's lavish court.

 

What I enjoyed best was that none of the wives were painted with their stereotypical brushes.  Anne Boleyn was portrayed as merely a motivating force behind the reformation, not a cause.  Weir is careful to remind us of Anne's staunch refusal to be Henry's mistress, and the preservation of her virtue.  She also reminds us how Kathryn Howard was a young, naive girl with very little motherly upbringing, which may have lead to her downfall.  They are also seen as victims of a scheming, self-serving family.

 

The book reads like fiction, and honestly, not even the best fiction writers could have thought up a story of a man, and six strikingly different women, and how they lived, and died.

 

out of 5

This is a must-read for anyone firmly convinced that Richard III is responsible for the demise of the Princes in the Tower.  In this novel, Tey's main character, a London police inspector, is bored silly recuperating in hospital & begins researching the history mystery because of a book brought in by a visitor.  This mischance leads him to an in-depth exploration of the evidence, which he evaluates in a methodical police fashion until it leads him to it inevitable conclusion.  You may be surprised at the persuasiveness of Tey's argument if you are into the revisionist version of these events. 

 

    

This book touts itself as "a historical detective story, meticulously researched, vividly told". It is all this an more - an exciting fictionalised account of the Great Fire of London in 1666, an all-encompassing event which touched (or should that be torched?) the lives of all the city's inhabitants. With a chapter on the modern physics of fire and firefighting and the inclusion of primary source quotes and material, this is an account that is well worth a read.

 out of five!

Tell's the story of Charles II, through the eyes of the Duke of Monmouth, his illegitimate son.  Covers many spects of life in Stuart times, the overlap between the English and French courts, the strife about the succession of James II, and of course the life of the Duke of Monmouth.  Seen as somewhat of a rebel from today's perspective, he is seen with great sympathy and honour.

 

This novel about Mary Boleyn offered an insightful look about the other sister. Starting when she's 14, Mary loves how she's in the spotlight with the king, and begins to fall in love with him. But when the spotlight passes to her sister, she realilizes that there's more to life then family and ambition. Although this novel has little historical accuracy, it looks at things that might have been overlooked, like George Boleyn, and Catherine of Aragon's like or dislike of Mary. I give it:

 stars.

This is actually four books which are often lumped together as The Plantagenet Chronicles; The Conquering Family, The Magnificent Century, The Three Edwards, & The Last Plantagenets.  They begin with Geoffrey d'Anjou & conclude with Richard III.  Costain reads more like a novel than a history; of course, with such a fascinating cast of characters, how could it not?  Anyone not hooked on the Plantagenets will be once done with these.  My copies are read to tatters!  Highly recommended.

This books is packed with intriguing information about the role of the housewife in Tudor England.  There are chapters on marriage, childbirth, education, food and drink, housework, the housewife as doctor, women in business, and religion.  It is one of the most interesting and informative books on the period that I have ever read.  I learnt all sorts of interesting things that I never knew from this book, like the role of Tudor women in business for instance, and the fact that housewives were expected to act as doctors to the family among their many other roles.  Being a housewife in those days was a very, very demanding job which required a multitude of skills, and this book is full of fascinating facts.

This book is currently flavour of the month with reviewers here in New Zealand - and with good reason. Geraldine Brooks has written a cracker ofa novel, the fictionalised account of what happened in the village of Eyam when plague was discovered in their misdt - their charismatic minister persuaded the village to cut itself off from the outside world. In following this selfless advice the villagers saved many lives - at heavy cost to their own.

Brooks shows the effects of this decison through the eyes of  young Anna Frith, who endures the heartbreak of loss, the panic of her neighbours and the miracle of love - all in all, a very human account of this terrible predicament. Highly recommended -  out of five!