Friday, August 17, 2007

He's Everywhere

While working on an article about Jean Plaidy (yay! finished), I had cause to look at some of my old Fawcett editions of Plaidy, and I suddenly realized something (OK, it's hot here, and I'm a bit slow): the covers of The Queen From Provence, Hammer of the Scots, and The Vow on the Heron all used the same model for the king. He's doing different things on each cover, of course--preparing to smooch a gorgeous blonde on a white horse in The Queen From Provence, nibbling the ear of a fiery brunette on Hammer of the Scots, and angling for a kiss from a blonde with a Farrah Fawcett hairdo while standing aboard a ship on The Vow on the Heron--but it's definitely the same chap, with crisply curling blondish brown hair and a little moustache. On Hammer of the Scots, he has a short beard. He's wearing the same crown on all three covers.

Sadly, my digital photography skills haven't yet allowed me to get a nice close-up, but until I do, you may be able to get a hint from these covers:


7 comments:

Sarah Johnson said...

Is that woman in the pink nightie supposed to be Philippa of Hainault?

Susan Higginbotham said...

I fear so. Didn't know she was such a babe, did you?

Daphne said...

He certainly does get around, doesn't he??

Susan Higginbotham said...

He loves the ladies, that's for sure!

I need to work on a better shot for The Queen from Provence--keeps coming in fuzzy, even when I use the document setting!

Daphne, is he on The Follies of the King too? Sadly, I don't have that one in paperback, though the hardback cover with two dippy guys on the cover is interesting too.

Sherhazade said...

I don't have Hammer of the Scots, but I have the other two, and I think you're right. A Fabio of sorts?

I need to get Hammer of the Scots....

Anonymous said...

I hate that her work was debased as cheesy romance novels with these covers. But perhaps she gained some readers that would not have picked up her books had they the portrait paintings like the Three Rivers Press covers (which I adore).

Daphne said...

I looked at my copy of Follies of the King and it does look like the same guy, although perhaps a little bit older (a few lines around his mouth and his hair appears to have a little gray at the temples and in his moustache.