Plaidy Giveaway Winner

And our Jean Plaidy Season is nearing its end so it's time to announce our giveaway winner. And the winner is:

teabird

You mentioned you had never read Plaidy so this is your opportunity. Please contact us at historical dot tapestry at gmail dot com with your contact details and we will send you the book as soon as possible.

HT News

Christi Phillips, author of The Rossetti Letters and The Devlin Diaries has been interviewed at A Book Blogger's Diary and also at Book Bird Dog.

Stacy from Stacy's Bookblog is giving away a copy of Deborah by Eva Etzioni-Halevy. The contest closes on July 10.

Savvy from Savvy Verse and Wit has a few things happening on her blog at the moment. Not only does she have an interview with Jennifer Cody Epstein about her book The Painter from Shanghai, she also has a giveaway for her blogiversary including Galway Bay by Mary Pat Kelly.

If you have visited my personal blog, you will know that I am something of a lover of reading challenges. There is a new one around that might interest Historical Tapestry readers - the Everything Austen challenge which is being hosted by Stephanie from The Written Word

If You Want to Know More...

There are several websites focusing on the life and work of Jean Plaidy (Eleanor Burford) and where you can also find information about the titles she penned under a different name.



Jean Plaidy's Royal Intrigue
Lucy and Arleigh's site. Here you find a book list, reviews and even a reading challenge.
Thank you for telling us why you love Jean Plaidy!

All About Plaidy
The most comprehensive site on Plaidy's life and works. It has a list of all of books under the different names.

Plenty About Plaidy
Susan Higginbotham's old site with interesting opinions and tidbits on Plaidy's books.

Random House where you can find the newly published books

HT News

Arleigh, over at historicalfiction.com is giving away a copy of Margaret George's The Memoirs of Cleopatra. The giveaway is open to everyone and it ends July 14th.

Sarah from Reading the Past is giving away three copies of Rachel Dupree's Personal History by debut novelist Ann Weisbarger.

Anna Elliott has unveiled the cover of her next book, Dark Moon of Avalon, on her blog. There may be a few changes between now and publication date next year, but they should be minor. I have to say I like it a lot.

Guest Post by Lezlie - Madonna of The Seven Hills

"In a castle in the mountains outside Rome, Lucrezia Borgia is born into history's most notorious family. Her father, who is to become Pope Alexander VI, receives his daughter warmly, and her brothers, Cesare and Giovanni, are devoted to her. But on the corrupt and violent streets of the capital it is a very different story: the Borgia family is feared, and Lucrezia's father lives up to his reputation as 'the most carnal man of his age'." (From the cover of the Arrow Books edition.)

I was gushing just the other day about the ability to get Jean Plaidy reprints from Book Depository. Madonna of the Seven Hills was my first purchase from there, and I'm so glad I took the plunge! I've read Jean Plaidy a couple of times before, and I still feel that she is great for that dose of "history lite" that I find I so often want. The stories tend to move quickly but highlight the important people and events.

One of the best parts of reading this version of Lucrezia Borgia's life is that my memories of The Borgia Bride by Jeanne Kalogridis are so fresh in my mind. It was fascinating to compare how the two authors took the same set of facts and approached them in vastly different ways. For example, Kalogridis took the Borgia incest rumors head on, while Plaidy chose to portray the family as simply weirdly affectionate. They both agreed on the brutality of Cesare and Giovanni Boria and the corruption of Pope Alexander VI, but Plaidy hinted at it much more than blatantly showing their actions. Lucrezia's first pregnancy is told very differently in each book, but I believe the same man dies for it. (I can't check my Kalogridis book right now because a friend has it. Sorry!) Sanchia of Aragon, the heroine of The Borgia Bride, has a wildly different persona in Madonna of the Seven Hills. Both authors, however, cut Lucrezia some serious slack regarding her evil image. Now I'm wondering if she really was as bad as I've heard! Don't worry. I'll keep seeing what I can find out. :-)

Plaidy has split Lucrezia's story into two books, and I have Light on Lucrezia sitting right here to get to very, very soon. I already know how it ends, but it will be so much fun finding out how Ms. Plaidy gets there!

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Lezlie can usually be found blogging at Books 'N Border Collies/

Guest Post by Ana O. - Flaunting, Extravagant Queen

At the age of fifteen, Marie Antoinette, beautiful and charming bride to the impotent Dauphin, is plunged into the intrigue of Versailles. Frivolous and reckless, she flouts the strict and demanding etiquette of the glittering court, and discovers the true nature of love, hate and jealousy. But the clouds of revolution are overhead, and Marie Antoinette, who only wishes to enjoy life, learns too late that the price of her enjoyment is very high...

Browsing through the extensive list of Jean Plaidy’s books I decided to read Flaunting, Extravagant Queen, about the life of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France from 1774 to 1792. I have to confess that my knowledge regarding French history is sadly lacking, which was one of the reasons that made me choose this book, plus the other day I saw a documentary about this fascinating and misunderstood woman and have been wanting to learn more about her ever since.

When the story begins, Marie Antoinette is a fourteen-year-old careless child somewhat neglected by her mother, Maria Theresa, Empress of Austria, being the youngest girl in a long line of brothers and sisters (her mother had 11 girls and 5 boys, 10 of whom reached adulthood), her education was slightly deficient, which resulted in a preference for music and dancing instead of languages and mathematics.

Wanting to strengthen the alliance between the two old enemy countries, Maria Theresa, managed to arrange the marriage between her youngest daughter and Louis Auguste, Dauphin of France. Due to the fact that Marie Antoinette was used to leading a relaxed court life in Austria, after the alliance was settled, her mother tried to educate her on French etiquette and rules. And from the start we notice that she finds it all a bit too much and even a little ridiculous!

On May 7th, 1770, Marie Antoinette is officially passed on to the French, on neutral territory, in a ceremony where for the first time she is humiliated and made to feel like a foreigner. Comtesse de Noailles, her first lady-in-waiting, later nicknamed Madame Etiquette by the Dauphine, made her undress and remove all of her Austrian clothes, not even a small ring which had been a present from her mother, was allowed, everything from head to toe had to be French, before she entered their country. We almost feel like this ceremony is an omen for what destiny holds in store for Marie Antoinette.

Louis Auguste, Duc de Berry and Dauphin of France, was a fifteen-year-old boy who was never much interested in politics or court life, being shy and indecisive he felt more at ease spending his time with manual labour and playing with his locks. In the beginning he acted somewhat distant and cold towards his Dauphine, he almost seemed to be scared of her, and the marriage was never consummated because he thought he was impotent. With time they became a little closer and seven years later, with the help of her brother Joseph, Emperor of Austria, the couple figured out that the King only needed corrective surgery to be able to consummate the marriage.

On May 10th, 1774, Louis XV, King of France, died from an attack of the smallpox and his grandson, Louis Auguste finally acceded the throne as Louis XVI, Le Désiré. Despite his best intentions Louis XVI was never cut out to be King, he lacked the necessary backbone to lead the kingdom and its people. France at the time was having serious financial problems and the people were starving in the streets, and instead of blaming the right person, everyone turned against the Queen, the foreigner, the Autrichienne, as she was called.

Everything she did was observed, criticised, she was accused of spending too much money on clothes and jewellery while the people were starving, slandering publications were passed around portraying the Queen in the most shameful scenes, she was said to have lovers, men and women, in sum, she was an easy scapegoat, only because she was a foreigner, everything got blamed on her. The situation escalated with the affair of the necklace, a piece of jewellery said to cost 2.000.000 livres, which was stolen by Jeanne de Valois, who managed to involve the Queen in her plot. And even though the culprit had been found and imprisoned, there were those who said everything had been planned by Marie Antoinette and that she kept the necklace stored in a locked box.

On July 14th, 1789, one of the most important events of the French Revolution took place, the Storming of the Bastille. That was one of the first steps in the decline of the King and Queen, leading four years later to their death by the guillotine.

What I most liked about this book was the author’s objectivity, most of the time Marie Antoinette is portrayed as an airhead, a shallow woman and even a harlot, it usually depends on who’s telling the story, but Jean Plaidy tells us the facts and lets us draw our own conclusions. I don’t think that this is an easy book though, fans of light historical romance might be disappointed, the language is accessible, the story never gets boring but I’d recommend it to more hard core history fans who enjoy tons of details. There are certain scenes that had to be understandably abbreviated, nevertheless she managed to pack a lot of history in 482 pages.

As I said before, I’m far from an expert in French history, but I didn’t notice any huge flaws or anachronisms, and even one of the most polemic issues was lightly approached, Marie Antoinette’s affair with Count Fersen. Many say she was her lover and others say she wasn’t, so Plaidy chose to never really reveal her opinion, she described their common attraction, said how much they loved each other but apart from one or two scenes at the end (that to me can be interpreted both ways), the affair wasn't the focus and you can almost dismiss it from your mind. Which I thought was very smoothly done!

I liked it so much that I’d continue on writing about the details indefinitely, that’s a sure sign of enjoyment, sometimes I get stumped with what to say or criticise, with this book I just had to restrain myself not to write more. In the meantime I discovered that there’s one more book featuring Marie Antoinette, it’s The Queen of Diamonds. I’ll surely be looking out for it!

I have to thank the ladies at the Historical Tapestry for inviting me to review a book by this author, I probably wouldn’t have gotten to it at this time without their invitation, and I would surely be missing out.

Rating: 4.5/5

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Ana O. can be visited at Miss Picky's Column, her newly revamped blog.

Guest Post by Alex - Queen of This Realm

In this "memoir" by Elizabeth I, legendary historical novelist Jean Plaidy reveals the Virgin Queen as she truly was: the bewildered, motherless child of an all-powerful father; a captive in the Tower of London; a shrewd politician; a lover of the arts; and eventually, an icon of an era. It is the story of her improbable rise to power and the great triumphs of her reign--the end of religious bloodshed, the settling of the New World, the defeat of the Spanish Armada. Brilliantly clever, a scholar with a ready wit, she was also vain, bold, and unpredictable, a queen who commanded--and won--absolute loyalty from those around her. But in these pages, in her own voice, Elizabeth also recounts the emotional turmoil of her life: the loneliness of power; the heartbreak of her lifelong love affair with Robert Dudley, whom she could never marry; and the terrible guilt of ordering the execution of her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots. In this unforgettable novel, Elizabeth emerges as one of the most fascinating and controversial women in history, and as England’s greatest monarch.

When I was invited to write a review about a book by Jane Plaidy, I readily accepted. I had heard so much about the author but never really had the chance to read any of her works. Queen of this Realm seemed like a good choice for this first experience, since the charismatic Elizabeth I, queen of England is one of my favorite historic figures.

The book opens with Elizabeth’s troubled childhood. Daughter of the all powerful Henri VIII and the attractive Anne Boleyn, who was executed when Elizabeth was only 3 years old, we sense how this child grew insecure of her place into her father affections and how deeply she was scarred by her mother’s destiny and her illegitimacy. Raised by governesses, servants and stepmothers (like Katherine Parr), we follow her life through the years, watching her slowly becoming the woman who gave her name to her time - the Elizabethan era.

The struggle between Protestants and Catholics create an unstable situation in England aggravated by Edward VI’s death and Mary’s ascension to the throne. These were hard times for the future queen who had to spend a year in prison after being accused several times of plotting against her sister’s life.

After Mary’s early death, she finally accedes to the throne, to the joy of the English people who were much in love for their princess. As a young queen (barely 25 years old), many were those who wanted to see her settle down and giving an heir to the country. Elizabeth decides to do exactly the opposite; she will be married to her people and will rule without a man by her side. Of course, this didn’t stop her to have several suitors over the years, mainly due to diplomatic reasons.

The later years come in a rush with the victory over the Invincible Armada, the sudden death of Robert Dudley, earl of Leicester or even the queen’s tempestuous relationship with the deeply annoying Robert Deveraux, the stepson of Dudley.

I have to confess I was not expecting much from this book in terms of historical accuracy, since I heard the author is known to sometimes romanticize History. For what I previously read about Elizabeth I, these 400 pages are a fair account of her life, which is not an easy task to do in such a short length or even write as a memoir. Of course, several important moments are rushed in a few lines, it was almost expected. I’m nonetheless impressed that Plaidy still managed to pull it off so elegantly. Now I wish I had her entire backlist at home…

I particularly enjoyed reading about the queen’s relationship with Robert Dudley, how they met as children in court, found themselves imprisoned at the same time at the Tower and later built a very complex relationship that resisted during 30 years to everything and everyone: treasons, cheating, disputes, banishments… I was never very fond of Robert, I can actually understand Elizabeth’s fascination for him, but he really never wins my affections.

My favorite moments were mostly the portraits of some of Elizabeth’s pairs or close family, like Jane Grey, so insecure and innocent and clearly a puppet in the hands of the ambitious John Dudley. The poor child looks just like a little lamb sent to the slaughter…

The fatherly figure of Lord Cecil who always admired his young queen and wanted the best for her, even if she sometimes strongly disagreed with his opinions, is very touching. He is always there for her, no matter what. I confess the scene when he gets ill and is lying in his bed talking with Elizabeth brought some tears to my eyes.

In the other hand, I missed to read more about Walsingham. He always fascinated me and I was quite disappointed to see that if he is mentioned here and there, we don’t know much about him or even quite see how crucial his role was during Elizabeth’s reign. We end up knowing more about his daughter and her hidden affair and consequent marriage to the spoiled Robert Deveraux.

Mary, Queen of the Scots is described almost as I imagined her: pretty, attractive but probably not suited to rule and certainly not a match for her intelligent cousin, Elizabeth. After 18 years living as a captive in England, she was becoming a liability and a threat… After collecting enough evidence of Mary’s treason and plots against his queen, Walsingham, along with other advisors, convinced Elizabeth of the necessity to bring Mary to a trial and an execution. Elizabeth’s fears and hesitation clearly show she knew how delicate the situation was; any wrong decision could gain her the displeasure of her beloved people and overthrow her. She readily admitted ruling by popular consent and valued the advice of the parliament and her counselors.

Something that deeply annoyed me was the frequent pinching and slapping given by Bess to her ladies in waiting and even her favorites. She is indeed known by her mercurial temper, especially in her older years but making her punish physically and constantly everyone around her gives her a childish behavior that seems far from her personality, even as a child.

A subject much discussed about Elizabeth was her virginity. Plaidy preferred to follow the queen’s reputation and the iconic and virginal image she built to herself but other biographies do mention she had certainly some affairs. Some even suggest Thomas Seymour ravished her when she was an adolescent and living with her stepmother, Katherine Parr, leaving her somehow traumatized for her future amorous experiences.

While rushing some important parts of Elizabeth I life, I do find this Queen of this Realm an excellent debut for anyone who would like to know this queen a little better. Jean Plaidy gives us an intelligent, empathic and very astute Elizabeth who learned since early age how to reach for her goals with patience and insight. She’s not a model of perfection or sainthood, she can be vain and egocentric but she was an inspiration to the men and women of her time and even today she continues to fascinate us. Elizabeth I was certainly a woman ahead of her time.

As I mentioned before, this is my first Plaidy and certainly not the last! Thank you ladies of the Historical Tapestry for giving me this opportunity to discover another great author.

Grade: 4.5/5

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Alex is the author of Historical Tapestry's design - header, background and icons all came from her imagination - and her favourite historical characters are Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria. You can visit her at Le Canapé.