The Morland Dinasty series is, according to the author's website, the longest-running historical family saga ever! It's not difficult to believe it because it includes 32 books by now and covers the history of England from The Wars of The Roses to WWI. It seems the initial plan was to cover the period till WWII in 12 volumes but as the writing started so did the series start to grow.
The series focuses not only in the important political aspects of each period but also on the lives and problems of the fictional Morland family. It's interesting to see how the author combines both to enrich her story. In her own words:
THE MORLAND DYNASTY is the longest-running historical family saga ever, following the Morland family through five hundred years of British history. Though the Morlands are a fictional family, they interact with real historical events and characters, so you can witness through their eyes the great events of history from the Wars of the Roses through the Restoration, the French Revolution, the American Civil War, the Charge of the Light Brigade, and the sinking of the Titanic. More and more, people are coming to understand that history matters, that we cannot understand who we are unless we know where we have come from. The Morland Dynasty is both a family saga and a painless way to absorb the real history of this island and its people. It is intended to continue up to the Second World War. At present I have got as far as WW1.
Although the author has written other books (and has used Emma Woodhouse and Elizabeth Bennett as a pen name for some, which I felt was a nice nod to Jane Austen) the Morland saga is definitely her best known work. We have already reviewed the first two books at Historical Tapestry and we plan to continue with the series soon.
The Founding - Book 1
The Dark Rose - Book 2
This is the series which inspired me to write historical fiction. All readers have a favourite era and the current WWI books aren't as fascinating to me as the 17th century ones. But CHE is consistent in her characters and storylines, so I feel she must have research assistants as her history is so detailed. A fabulous series
ReplyDeleteI just finished reading the second book in this series and have really enjoyed both of these books and will definitely be continuing on through the series!
ReplyDeleteI want to start reading this series soon! But right now, I'm working my way through Jean Plaidy's Georgian saga - also a huge family story - told in 11 books.
ReplyDeleteI've been working my way through this series for a while now. I love the writing in these books! They're some of my very favorite historical fiction reads.
ReplyDeleteI loved this series when I was younger, however I started to find that they ran out of steam once she started to reach the 19th century, which was a shame.
ReplyDelete