tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21946425278156283552024-03-07T22:02:21.681-05:00Plenty About PlaidyAll About the Highly Prolific Jean Plaidy (1906 - 1993)Susan Higginbothamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13517907583894026599noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194642527815628355.post-8888799766970746532009-06-13T00:01:00.004-04:002009-06-13T00:10:36.757-04:00Just Stopping By . . .No, I'm not posting on this blog on a regular basis again (much as I wish I had time to do it justice), but I wanted to let you know about a newish blog out there that's also devoted to Jean Plaidy. It's called <a href="http://royal-intrigue.net/index.php">Royal Intrigue</a>, and is a must-see for Plaidy fans. There's also a Plaidy discussion board there.<br /><br />Also, the ladies at <a href="http://historicaltapestry.blogspot.com/2009/06/announcing-jean-plaidy-season.html">Historical Tapestry</a> are running a Plaidy Season, devoted to posts about Jean Plaidy and her novels. There have already been a few posts, so stop on by and enjoy them!<br /><br />Finally, while I'm here, I should mention that a couple of months ago, I read the last Plaidy reissue, <span style="font-style:italic;">The King's Confidante</span>, about Thomas More, and found it an excellent read about More and his family, particularly his daughter Meg. I heartily recommend it to Plaidy fans and to those who have yet to try her books.Susan Higginbothamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13517907583894026599noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194642527815628355.post-55028575582443990202008-01-31T16:07:00.000-05:002008-01-31T16:08:48.886-05:00I Surrender!For a while, I've been pondering the fact that I have three blogs (and am associated with a fourth) and have been neglecting all of them. The days aren't getting any longer, and my workload isn't decreasing. So at last, an epiphany came to me:<br /><br />STOP TRYING TO KEEP UP THREE BLOGS, STUPID!<br /><br />I always believe in obeying epiphanies, particularly when they come in all caps. And I hate it when bloggers let their blogs languish. So I'll still be posting about Jean Plaidy, but I'll be doing it on my <a href="http://susandhigginbotham.blogspot.com/">main blog</a> instead. I'll keep the old posts on this one viewable, though. <br /><br />See y'all at the main blog!Susan Higginbothamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13517907583894026599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194642527815628355.post-84200173997901343332007-11-09T22:02:00.000-05:002007-11-09T22:36:41.179-05:00The Captive Queen of ScotsI finally finished this one today (sorry, it's been that kind of month).<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">The Captive Queen of Scots</span>, as the title implies, begins shortly before Mary, Queen of Scots is imprisoned at Lochleven and covers her flight to England, her captivity there, and her eventual execution.<br /><br />Like most Plaidy novels, this one isn't for those who like a lot of action. Most of what there is here consists of Mary moving from one stronghold to another, and although there's some intrigue and plotting, most of it takes place offstage. Instead of sweeping drama, we mostly see the domestic interactions between Mary, her faithful followers, and her captors, though there are a few catty scenes involving the vain, jealous Elizabeth. As Plaidy well illustrates, having a captive queen in one's charge was by no means an easy task, and we see how the job of jailer affects various families, from that headed by the Earl of Moray's doting mother to that headed by the strong-willed Bess of Hardwick. <br /><br />Mary as portrayed by Plaidy is an appealing character, impulsive, generous, and fatally unwary. A number of other people move in and out of the novel, and Plaidy made several of them, such as Bess of Hardwick, sufficiently interesting so as to make me want to read more about them.<br /><br />Hearing today of Reay Tannahill's death made me think of how her novel on Mary. <span style="font-style:italic;">Fatal Majesty</span>, compares to Plaidy's. In one respect, the two are mirror opposites. Whereas Tannahill's novel is concerned, at least in the latter part, more with the machinations regarding Mary at Elizabeth's court and in Scotland rather than with the captive Mary, Plaidy's novel always has Mary at its center. So those who prefer intrigue should go for Tannahill; those who prefer a quieter look at Mary herself should go for Plaidy.<br /><br />On another note, I'll be volunteering at the county library's book sale next week, which is not a particularly onerous task because volunteers get to buy books at a discount (not to mention get to them ahead of the crowd). Last year I scored lots of Plaidys; this year, I'm hoping for similar success.Susan Higginbothamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13517907583894026599noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194642527815628355.post-81435705268273978022007-10-16T23:08:00.001-04:002007-10-16T23:20:50.114-04:00October Plaidy UpdateI started <span style="font-style:italic;">The Reluctant Queen</span>, but couldn't finish it. This wasn't so much Plaidy's fault as the fact that I've read too many Ricardian novels recently, and <span style="font-style:italic;">The Reluctant Queen</span> takes pretty much the usual pro-Richard stance as the rest of them. It's one I recommend, though, to those who haven't read quite so much about the Wars of the Roses. Here's a less jaded review from <a href="http://www.romrevtoday.com/2007%20Reviews/Historical%20%20Fiction%20Reviews/the_reluctant_queen_9-29-07.htm">Romance Reviews Today</a>.<br /><br />Speaking of Plaidy, my husband was digging through my mother-in-law's house a few weeks ago and pulled out a 1947 edition of <span style="font-style:italic;">Beyond the Blue Mountains</span>! My mother-in-law's not a historical fiction fan, so goodness knows how this got there--probably she bought it in a lot at an auction. Makes me wonder what else in the Plaidy department is lurking in her house!<br /><br />I have started a new Plaidy read, <span style="font-style:italic;">The Captive Queen of Scots</span>. I just began reading today, but so far I'm quite impressed. It's a reissue of a 1963 novel, and it feels less rushed than some of Plaidy's later works. This time, I promise a real review.<br /><br />Finally, I'm adding a poll, so be sure to weigh in!Susan Higginbothamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13517907583894026599noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194642527815628355.post-8194232355721782562007-09-18T22:47:00.000-04:002007-09-18T23:13:06.391-04:00The Rose Without a Thorn<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXaW3TSM-0gz04ZRuXqQwCGQvkuLdsV8rCKQMGGC07xsl67XAYwRaXEvaZPd2Jjs22CbIr1gs1IVfpyFCXnTOnnZACDp24HPkrltV8F5WFUATWzy0O_QZCFDUAD5ky-vwweqZQaXxZNj_L/s1600-h/rose.gif"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXaW3TSM-0gz04ZRuXqQwCGQvkuLdsV8rCKQMGGC07xsl67XAYwRaXEvaZPd2Jjs22CbIr1gs1IVfpyFCXnTOnnZACDp24HPkrltV8F5WFUATWzy0O_QZCFDUAD5ky-vwweqZQaXxZNj_L/s320/rose.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5111748001229287906" /></a><br /><br /><br />After a Plaidy hiatus, I started re-reading <span style="font-style:italic;">The Rose Without a Thorn</span> (Katherine Howard) today.<br /><br />This was one of the first Plaidy novels I read. In the several years that have passed since, I've read a number of other novels about Katherine Howard, and I must say that this one surpasses most of them. Philippa Gregory's <span style="font-style:italic;">The Boleyn Inheritance</span> (in which Katherine is one of three major female characters) does do a good job of capturing Katherine's youthful giddiness, I think, but Plaidy's approach--a subdued Katherine looking back upon her life and her mistakes--works well too.<br /><br />While in the bookstore the other day, I admired the new edition of <span style="font-style:italic;">The Reluctant Queen</span> (Anne Neville, Richard III's queen). As I have a perfectly readable, albeit homely, mass-market paperback of it, I couldn't bring myself to splurge on the new edition, but I'll be re-reading the novel soon for this blog anyway. (Daphne shows several editions <a href="http://tanzanitesbookcovers.blogspot.com/2007/09/reluctant-queen-by-jean-plaidy.html">on her blog</a>. I have the fourth cover (the one showing Anne with the great big pointy hat. Watch out for breezes, Anne!) <a href="http://historical-fiction.net/?p=56">Arleigh</a> has also reviewed this one.<br /><br />Here's <a href="http://ontheothersidebookclub.blogspot.com/2007/08/italian-woman-jean-plaidy.html">a review</a> by Pat of <span style="font-style:italic;">The Italian Woman</span>--one I haven't read before, and want to.<br /><br />Finally, Crown Historical is running a Jean Plaidy competition in conjunction with the Historical Fiction bulletin board, a great site for lovers of historical fiction from all authors. Check it out here. There's still time to join the board and enter! The prize? Something we all love--books!Susan Higginbothamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13517907583894026599noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194642527815628355.post-13686021290654062432007-08-31T08:08:00.000-04:002007-08-31T08:25:18.162-04:00A Plaidy Cover ArtistWhile surfing the other day, I came across a mention of this site, by cover artist <a href="http://romancebookcoverart.com/">Elaine Gignilliat</a>. Gignilliat mostly does covers for romance novels, but she's also illustrated other genres, including several Plaidy novels, the cover illustrations of which can be seen (and purchased) <a href="http://romancebookcoverart.com/catalog/00122.htm">here</a>. Gignilliat did illustrations for some Philippa Carr and <a href="http://romancebookcoverart.com/catalog/00068.htm">Victoria Holt novels</a> (including <span style="font-style:italic;">The Queen's Confession</span>) as well.<br /><br />This was a fun site to visit, especially the section on <a href="http://romancebookcoverart.com/create1.htm">Creating a Book Cover</a> (which shows a Victoria Holt cover in the making).Susan Higginbothamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13517907583894026599noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194642527815628355.post-82781453772725756242007-08-17T12:47:00.000-04:002007-08-18T00:52:46.810-04:00He's EverywhereWhile 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 <span style="font-style:italic;">The Queen From Provence</span>, <span style="font-style:italic;">Hammer of the Scots</span>, and <span style="font-style:italic;">The Vow on the Heron</span> 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 <span style="font-style:italic;">The Queen From Provence</span>, nibbling the ear of a fiery brunette on <span style="font-style:italic;">Hammer of the Scots</span>, and angling for a kiss from a blonde with a Farrah Fawcett hairdo while standing aboard a ship on <span style="font-style:italic;">The Vow on the Heron</span>--but it's definitely the same chap, with crisply curling blondish brown hair and a little moustache. On <span style="font-style:italic;">Hammer of the Scots</span>, he has a short beard. He's wearing the same crown on all three covers.<br /><br />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:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiINVQ9z5Wd39UF3w__UDRsaQYteUKyen9s1o6z8nduVXKowMtjbsRhHiRQq9H7yWrmvKMcX3st9G98M4qvFABSPPoNuMdPpmja9Z-wRLcnEu_JEB79fljOQYeIW6Ai6D_zagTcbkrJICYD/s1600-h/100_4293.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiINVQ9z5Wd39UF3w__UDRsaQYteUKyen9s1o6z8nduVXKowMtjbsRhHiRQq9H7yWrmvKMcX3st9G98M4qvFABSPPoNuMdPpmja9Z-wRLcnEu_JEB79fljOQYeIW6Ai6D_zagTcbkrJICYD/s400/100_4293.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5099898693004009842" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFi_g7ueAedXHDC8yCeCtJjjMnXql1fyJLGbSlqtpr3GUvC87qEnAVf37D_BfGoHticQJoD8IdhLZUmptGyB9g9ddVKvOheiMlcE5W6hUs1S6zhrWJsDAP_I6DCNOaTomLiUxMka1GHQmv/s1600-h/hammer1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFi_g7ueAedXHDC8yCeCtJjjMnXql1fyJLGbSlqtpr3GUvC87qEnAVf37D_BfGoHticQJoD8IdhLZUmptGyB9g9ddVKvOheiMlcE5W6hUs1S6zhrWJsDAP_I6DCNOaTomLiUxMka1GHQmv/s400/hammer1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5099895514728210770" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnNlHZQkWlHPZtkx6UKVNYrun8m8S_O9ozLWkj-rcMEcz7hxI0861RP7XNuhlI4qwVDsl2GkQN3uWAzr_lNTldehkEhzeONmeXHthgWH-XJzkNyb4QgHfhe-x84wQ06SxjA0hMDpEA9L1X/s1600-h/heron2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnNlHZQkWlHPZtkx6UKVNYrun8m8S_O9ozLWkj-rcMEcz7hxI0861RP7XNuhlI4qwVDsl2GkQN3uWAzr_lNTldehkEhzeONmeXHthgWH-XJzkNyb4QgHfhe-x84wQ06SxjA0hMDpEA9L1X/s400/heron2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5099897980039438690" /></a>Susan Higginbothamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13517907583894026599noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194642527815628355.post-56352643672405633772007-07-31T22:45:00.001-04:002007-10-16T23:31:06.502-04:00Vintage SnarkWhile researching my Plaidy article, I came across a December 7, 1947, review in <span style="font-style:italic;">The New York Times</span> of <span style="font-style:italic;">Beyond the Blue Mountains</span>, Plaidy's first novel written under the Plaidy name. (Edit: Make that the second Plaidy novel. Thanks, Sarah!)<br /><br />The reviewer is rather unimpressed: "This novel sings of illegitmate ladies and philandering men, and a long-winded, blowsy song it is. . . . This novel of generations is here coupled with a sampling of Amber-class heroines to produce a fiction so foolish and formula that its sponsors have seen fit in one place to label the creation 'A Romantic Novel.' It should offer limited appeal exclusively to readers of whatever that is."<br /><br />Whew! And you thought historical fiction took some licks nowadays!<br /><br />After three more paragraphs, in which the reviewer (identified as "B.V.W.") proceeds to give away most of the plot, he or she (odds are that it's a he) concludes, "It is pleasant to note, from the author's picture on the dust jacket, that she bears a winsome and charming resemblance to the British musical-comedy actress Jessie Matthews. Perhaps Miss Plaidy has missed her calling."<br /><br />Well, no. Rather, millions of Plaidy sales later, it appears that B.V.W. sure missed the boat.Susan Higginbothamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13517907583894026599noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194642527815628355.post-69500352750595574952007-07-16T11:13:00.000-04:002007-07-16T11:29:04.971-04:00Review RoundupRoyalty Reviews has put up several reviews of some Plaidy novels over the past few days, including <a href="http://royaltyreviews.blogspot.com/2007/07/sixth-wife-by-jean-plaidy.html">this one</a>. And Daphne has finished her reading of the Plantagenet saga with the review <a href="http://shelfandstuff.blogspot.com/2007/07/sun-in-splendour-by-jean-plaidy.html">here</a>.<br /><br />And here's a review of <a href="http://acr2angel.blogspot.com/2007/05/rose-without-thorn-by-jean-plaidy.html">The Rose Without a Thorn</a> by Acr2angel. And, on the subject of Henry VIII's wives, <a href="http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=68582554&blogID=263642012">another review</a> of <span style="font-style:italic;">The Lady in the Tower</span> by Alita.<br /><br />Finally, here's <a href="http://historical-fiction.net/?p=34">a review that Arleigh did</a> in May of <span style="font-style:italic;">Passage to Pontefract</span>.<br /><br />If I've missed a recent one, please let me know!<br /><br />I scored a couple of Plaidys on ebay the other day and am reading <span style="font-style:italic;">Red Rose of Anjou</span>, about Margaret of Anjou. Interesting, as it covers the period of the Wars of the Roses I'm least familiar with, that up to the Duke of York's death.Susan Higginbothamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13517907583894026599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194642527815628355.post-26691607607467083882007-07-14T00:02:00.000-04:002007-07-14T01:08:50.811-04:00The Lady in the TowerI finished <span style="font-style:italic;">The Lady in the Tower</span> today, about, of course, Anne Boleyn. I suspect this book is to Plaidy what <span style="font-style:italic;">The Other Boleyn Girl</span> is to Philippa Gregory: if you've read one Plaidy book, this is probably it. It's one of the later Plaidys, published in the United States in 1986, and not surprisingly, it was one of the first two Plaidy novels to be reissued by Three Rivers Press. Judging from the very rumpled state of my library copy, it's been quite a popular read.<br /><br />This was actually a re-read of this novel for me. I read it several years ago, when I was just getting interested in historical fiction in a big way, and it's probably the first novel I'd read about Anne Boleyn. Having read a number of novels about Anne since, I was pleased to see how well it compared to more recent efforts.<br /><br />Like many other novels about doomed queens, <span style="font-style:italic;">The Lady in the Tower</span> is narrated in the first person by the heroine on the eve of her execution. (Question: are there novels about doomed kings told in the first person on the eve of the hero's execution? I can't remember a single one if so.) Anne looks back to her childhood at Hever, her intellectually stimulating time at the French court, her thwarted romance with Henry Percy, and her relationship with Henry VIII. She tries to understand the mistakes she's made, and though she judges Henry harshly, she's not inclined to let herself off easily either.<br /><br />Those who have been accustomed to more sensational portraits of Anne won't find one here. Anne doesn't poison anyone, sleep with anyone besides Henry, engage in wild outdoors sex, or speak in modern American slang. Plaidy's prose, however, is rather flat compared to that of some of her more recent counterparts. There's some clunky dialogue, in particular that between Anne and her brother, and the chapters in which Henry schemes to divorce Catherine tend to drag, though a reader who is new to the history involved might not think so. The first person narrative imposes its own restrictions; by being limited to Anne's perspective, we miss out on other potentially fascinating ones, such as those of Anne's male courtiers.<br /><br />Still, Plaidy tells an absorbing story, and her Anne is a sympathetic, yet flawed heroine. Those who are new to the story of Henry VIII and his six wives would be well advised to start their fictional journey here.Susan Higginbothamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13517907583894026599noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194642527815628355.post-17354121883614091982007-07-04T19:13:00.000-04:002007-07-04T19:22:19.020-04:00Sweatin' to the Plaidy, and a QuestionIt being a holiday today, I spent the afternoon at the gym. This time I had the foresight to bring a book along--Jean Plaidy's <span style="font-style:italic;">The Lady in the Tower</span>. I read it several years ago, but I thought it'd be interesting to re-read it to see how its portrayal of Anne Boleyn stacked up to later novels about her.<br /><br />Usually I stop after about 10 minutes on the treadmill, not because I get tired but because I get bored. This time, however, with Plaidy for company, I managed over 20 minutes, and a full mile! (For the record, I can read about 28 pages of Plaidy per mile.) The moral here is that Jean Plaidy is not only a diverting read, but good for your health.<br /><br />Anyway, I'm working on an article about the reissue of Jean Plaidy's novels. In conjunction with that, I have some questions to pose to you Plaidy fans out there: What appeals to you about Plaidy's novels? Which ones would you like to see reissued? Do you have a preference for Plaidy's novels over other historical fiction, and if so, why? Inquiring minds (or my mind, anyway) want to know!Susan Higginbothamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13517907583894026599noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194642527815628355.post-44880875569847846762007-06-16T22:46:00.000-04:002007-06-16T23:12:10.633-04:00In My Absence . . .Though I've been pitifully inattentive to this blog during the last few weeks, you'll be pleased to know that not everyone out there has been so slothful. Over at the <a href="http://www.historicalfiction.org/">Historical Fiction bulletin board</a>, a thread has been started just for Plaidy's novels. So if you're a Plaidy fan, sign up for the bulletin board (it's fast and there's a great group of members there) and start chatting!<br /><br />There's been some discussion on one of the groups I frequent about the popularity of female characters in historical fiction versus male ones. These days, females seems to be more in vogue. I'm wondering if that's one of the reasons for Plaidy's continuing popularity--so many of her novels focus on women, and many of them on figures who have been relatively neglected in historical fiction.<br /><br />Thoughts?Susan Higginbothamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13517907583894026599noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194642527815628355.post-81067271354106630062007-05-24T21:27:00.000-04:002007-05-24T21:28:47.098-04:00The Italian Woman--A LinkHere's <a href="http://royaltyreviews.blogspot.com/2007/05/italian-woman-by-jean-plaidy.html">an in-depth review</a> of Jean Plaidy's The Italian Woman, done on the Royalty Reviews blog. Another one to search out!Susan Higginbothamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13517907583894026599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194642527815628355.post-61486830246154704232007-05-23T23:26:00.001-04:002007-05-23T23:36:05.842-04:00Plaidy PenmanshipEver wondered what Jean Plaidy's signature looked like? Here's <a href="http://www.tomfolio.com/autographimg.asp?sigid=709&ret=AGIni">a site with an example</a>.<br /><br />Very nice and legible. <br /><br />I'm going through a Plaidy-less period at the moment, but I should be rectifying the problem soon.Susan Higginbothamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13517907583894026599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194642527815628355.post-85339097746419653162007-05-14T00:59:00.000-04:002007-05-13T23:57:37.920-04:00What's In a Title?Looking at the back matter to <span style="font-style:italic;">The Queen's Secret</span>, I've noticed that some of the upcoming Plaidy reissues are getting new titles:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Myself My Enemy</span>, about Henrietta Maria, is going to be entitled <span style="font-style:italic;">Loyal in Love</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">The Pleasures of Love</span>, about Catherine of Braganza, is becoming <span style="font-style:italic;">The Merry Monarch's Wife</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">William's Wife</span>, about Mary, wife of William the Orange, is becoming <span style="font-style:italic;">The Queen's Devotion</span>.<br /><br />What do you think of these new titles? I think <i>Myself My Enemy</i> was somewhat better suited than the new title for the Henrietta Maria book, given the mood of the book, which is that of someone looking back on her mistakes and regretting some of her actions. Still, Henrietta Maria was certainly loyal. I did think that <i>The Pleasures of Love</i> was somewhat misleading for the Catherine of Braganza book, since poor Catherine is one of the few people in the novel who isn't enjoying the pleasures of love all that much. (And there is the difficulty of walking into a bookstore and demanding <i>The Pleasures of Love</i>; unless one hastens to mention Jean Plaidy, goodness knows what the clerk might pull up on the computer.)<br /><br /><i>William's Wife</i> is definitely a dud of a title, but I'm not sure <i>The Queen's Devotion</i> is much of an improvement. It has a certain yawn-inducing quality to it. Given that one of Sarah Churchill's nicknames for William was "Caliban," I would have called it <span style="font-style:italic;">Caliban's Wife</span>. But alas, no one ever asks me about these things.Susan Higginbothamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13517907583894026599noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194642527815628355.post-56463418057392179712007-05-08T23:26:00.000-04:002007-05-09T00:18:10.214-04:00The Queen's Secret<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj69rYex6m2OLLcr7UiQwHPDOkgX2IlTOydDf6kKertoI6uLokZHx3lgD5uk6rHvtm5VdvxSePTsRnIlNTZCAH8yh2xIHlAbQtXo480TSdRePTr66dg11wHAU7MRwvyAn_ubsSltCVdAxGE/s1600-h/queen's+secret.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj69rYex6m2OLLcr7UiQwHPDOkgX2IlTOydDf6kKertoI6uLokZHx3lgD5uk6rHvtm5VdvxSePTsRnIlNTZCAH8yh2xIHlAbQtXo480TSdRePTr66dg11wHAU7MRwvyAn_ubsSltCVdAxGE/s320/queen's+secret.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062410098679808722" /></a><br />Here's a timely Plaidy review: <i>The Queen's Secret</i>, reissued recently. It's about Katherine of Valois, queen to Henry V and secret wife of Owen Tudor.<br /><br />Katherine tells her story in the first person, beginning with her miserable, insecure childhood in France with her mentally ill father and her corrupt mother and ending with her forcible separation from the love of her life, Owen Tudor.<br /><br />Plaidy's depiction of Katherine's childhood and its effects on her as a woman gives her a certain psychological depth, and though Katherine is ultimately helpless to prevent her fate, she preserves a certain dignity and strength about her that keeps her in the reader's sympathies. Plaidy also is good at conveying the mixed feelings that Katherine has as a French princess married to an English king, a situation that makes her position in both countries difficult.<br /><br />I did find the structure here--it's one of those novels where the narrator looks back upon her life as she prepares for death--a bit limiting. Although we know from history what was to become of Owen Tudor and Katherine's children after her death, the novel leaves their stories unresolved, so there's still a sense of being left hanging when the novel ends. <br /><br />From what I've read after reading this novel, little is known about how the relationship of Owen Tudor and Katherine came about. I thought that Plaidy's version of it was plausible and that Katherine's willingness to risk all for love showed an appealing, and believable, reckless streak in her character.<br /><br />All in all, a worthy addition to your Plaidy shelf, either in this spanking new version or in one of the older ones.Susan Higginbothamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13517907583894026599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194642527815628355.post-44419230003112584802007-04-29T17:26:00.000-04:002007-04-30T11:10:49.628-04:00The Passionate EnemiesAs I mentioned, I've been reading <span style="font-style:italic;">The Passionate Enemies</span>, which I finished a few days ago. It's about King Stephen and the Empress Matilda's battle for the throne.<br /><br />This book will inevitably be compared to <span style="font-style:italic;">When Christ and His Saints Slept</span> by Sharon Penman, who covers considerably more ground and whose characters have more psychological depth. Plaidy, however, devotes more time to Henry I than Penman did, so her novel doesn't feel like Penman Lite, at least in the first half. I also thought that Plaidy did a good job of portraying Queen Matilda (Stephen's wife, as opposed to the Empress Matilda) as a formidable woman in her own right; she got sort of lost to me in the Penman novel, where the author seemed to prefer the strong, strident Empress to the strong, quiet Queen. The Empress, however, is portrayed by Plaidy as a shrill harpy with little common sense, so Empress admirers will undoubtedly prefer the more sympathetic portrait of her that Penman draws.<br /><br />As I mentioned in my last post, in <span style="font-style:italic;">The Passionate Enemies</span>, Plaidy accepts the notion, since discredited, that Stephen and the Empress Matilda were lovers. I don't know whether the notion was generally accepted when Plaidy was writing this novel or whether Plaidy simply thought it made for a better story, but I wish it had stayed in the shadowland of unutilized plotlines. Its effect was to make Stephen seem an utter fool who is guided by his nether regions instead of by his brain, as when he allows the Empress to proceed unhindered to Bristol simply because they've had a satisfying session in bed after being long parted. Even when he's taken prisoner by the Empress, Stephen still seems hopeful that she'll take him to her bed instead of to a dungeon. I'm no expert on this period of history, but I think the real-life Stephen was considerably more intelligent than he's portrayed here as being.<br /><br />On the plus side, this novel does read quickly, and I did like the sympathetic portrait of Queen Matilda. All in all, though, in the battle of the P's, Penman prevails over Plaidy here.Susan Higginbothamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13517907583894026599noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194642527815628355.post-2305173486486195202007-04-24T23:28:00.000-04:002007-04-25T00:09:47.852-04:00The Star of LancasterNow that <span style="font-style:italic;">Victoria Victorious</span> is off my plate, I'm back reading my Plaidys with a vengeance. Yesterday, I finished <span style="font-style:italic;">The Star of Lancaster</span>.<br /><br />I greatly preferred <span style="font-style:italic;">The Star of Lancaster</span> to <span style="font-style:italic;">Victoria Victorious</span>. For one thing, <span style="font-style:italic;">The Star of Lancaster</span> is written in the third person, which avoids the somewhat blinkered perspective that bothered me in the Victoria novel. The other thing is that I simply found the events in <span style="font-style:italic;">The Star of Lancaster</span> more gripping than those in <span style="font-style:italic;">Victoria Victorious</span>. It seemed that more was at stake for the people involved.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">The Star of Lancaster</span> opens near the end of Richard II's reign (his story is told more fully in <span style="font-style:italic;">Passage to Pontefract</span>) and ends with the death of Henry V, so it covers a lot of ground in a short space of time. Despite this, the novel didn't feel rushed to me. It seemed to cover all of the important events of the time, not in depth, to be sure, but not once-over-lightly either.<br /><br />Though most of the events are seen from the viewpoint of Henry IV and Henry V, Plaidy also gives a great deal of attention to the women in their lives. She also takes us inside the French court.<br /><br />The downside? Plaidy's prose here is, well, prosaic; chapters that should be gripping, like that dealing with Agincourt, are somewhat plodding. On the other hand, a while back I tried reading Rosemary Hawley Jarman's <span style="font-style:italic;">Crown in Candlelight</span>, which covers many of the same events, and found I just couldn't get through it, between the visionary Welshwoman who kept popping up when I hoped she had gone away and the style, which could be called lyrical or purple, depending upon your point of view. Given a choice between them, I'd choose Plaidy, but it largely comes down to a matter of taste, mine being for uncluttered prose and Welshwomen without visions.<br /><br />Next on my Plaidy list? I'm getting through <span style="font-style:italic;">The Passionate Enemies</span>, about Stephen and Matilda, at a rapid pace. Plaidy's novel does revolve around the now-discredited notion that Stephen and Matilda were lovers, but as there's far more going on in the novel than their brief affair, it's proving to be quite interesting.Susan Higginbothamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13517907583894026599noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194642527815628355.post-83193644184214096322007-04-18T23:23:00.000-04:002007-04-19T00:10:21.066-04:00Finally Finished Victoria VictoriousYessir, it's been a long haul, but I finally closed <span style="font-style:italic;">Victoria Victorious</span> yesterday. It's told in the first person by Queen Victoria and spans the period from her childhood until near the end of her life. <br /><br />An unfortunate thing about this book is its alliterative but undescriptive title. It suggests that Victoria triumphs over adversity in some way, and at least as far as this book goes, she doesn't. She's not victorious or defeated; she simply lives a long, full life.<br /><br />Plaidy succeeds in making Victoria a complex character. She's quite often stubborn, selfish, and insular, yet the reader rather likes her at the same time for her tenacity and for her spirit. These qualities are most apparent in the first half of the novel, where Victoria has to deal with her interfering mother and her beloved but priggish husband.<br /><br />The focus of this novel is on Victoria's relationships with others, not the events of the day, and this insularity--heightened by the first person narration--was to me the great defect in this novel. Though major events--the Chartist movement, the Crimean War, and so forth--are mentioned, there's little sense of how they came about or what Victoria thought of them. We hear from Victoria which prime ministers she likes and doesn't like, and we're told which party they represent, but there's little real sense of the politics of the day. There's also very little sense of the enormous changes that were taking place; no one seems to have invited Victoria to the Industrial Revolution. When toward the end of the novel, someone mentions a telegraph, I was frankly surprised, for up to then there'd been no indication whatsoever of such technology. Indeed, I don't think there's even mention of the railways here.<br /><br />All in all, this is a pleasant read if you're interested in Victoria's domestic life, but those who are looking for something deeper will likely be disappointed.<br /><br />In other Plaidy news, check out <a href="http://tanzanitesbookcovers.blogspot.com/">Tanzanite's Book Covers</a> blog, where she's posted some cheesy Plaidy paperback covers.Susan Higginbothamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13517907583894026599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194642527815628355.post-82811055503786901602007-04-06T10:20:00.000-04:002007-04-06T10:25:42.423-04:00Plaidy Comes to the New World--Another LinkHere's a link to <a href="http://romancereviewed.blogspot.com/2007/03/kings-adventurer.html">a review by Gray</a>, of Romance Reviewed, of Jean Plaidy's novel about John Smith and Pocahontas, <em>The King's Adventurer</em>--an interesting change from the novels about English royalty we usually associate with Plaidy. Another one to search out (per Gray, it may also be known as <em>This Was a Man</em>).Susan Higginbothamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13517907583894026599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194642527815628355.post-85797091399825578542007-04-06T00:37:00.000-04:002007-04-06T00:49:14.446-04:00Victoria Victorious, and A Couple of LinksI've been reading <span style="font-style:italic;">Victoria Victorious</span>, so look for a review soon. It's fairly interesting, so far. Though I've read a lot of Victorian novels, I don't know that much about Victoria herself, other than the very basics. It was interesting to see her portrayed, in the early part of her reign at least, as a bit of a brat, and Albert as a prig.<br /><br />While I solider on with Victoria (long reign, long novel), here's a couple of Plaidy links for your perusal. Gata has a nice appreciation of Plaidy <a href="http://queengata.blogspot.com/2007/03/prolific-plaidy.html">here</a>. And here's <a href="http://speakunique.blogspot.com/2007/03/reading-in-shadow-of-crown.html">a review</a> by Kirsten of <span style="font-style:italic;">In the Shadow of the Crown</span>.Susan Higginbothamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13517907583894026599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194642527815628355.post-53613479917227689532007-03-30T23:56:00.000-04:002007-03-30T23:58:00.710-04:00Plaidy Goes Slumming<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p179/boswellbaxter/janeshore.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p179/boswellbaxter/janeshore.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Now, if Jean Plaidy's name wasn't on the cover of this 1952 paperback (a Pyramid Books Giant), would you have guessed who wrote it? Be honest, now.<br /><br />The front cover isn't the only fun thing about this historical novel (about Jane Shore, of course). The back cover teases us with "From the king's boudoir to a prison for prostitutes!" Inside, there's a short biographical note stating that Jean Plaidy became "a best-selling novelist after successive steps as a secretary, rare gem salesman and housewife."<br /><br />The back contains even more treats. For those who didn't have the nerve to walk into a bookstore, the publisher offered order coupons to order titles such as <span style="font-style:italic;">Cage of Lust</span> ("The stark human drama of a love-starved young girl's passion and torment for her own father"), <span style="font-style:italic;">Teen-Age Vice!</span> ("Inspired by J. Edgar Hoover of the F.B.I., this book rips the veil off the vice racket, juke joint binges, cabins for the night, prisons that pervert, the smut peddlers, lonely heart clubs"), and <span style="font-style:italic;">The Moonstone</span> by Wilkie Collins. No, I don't see the connection between Wilkie Collins and <span style="font-style:italic;">Teen-Age Vice!</span> either, except that in 1952 they each cost 35 cents, plus 5 cents for postage and handling.<br /><br />Things get even cheaper on the previous page, with 25-cent offerings such as <span style="font-style:italic;">French Doctor</span> ("His lady patients tempted him!"), <span style="font-style:italic;">Palm Beach Apartment</span> ("Strange love story of a young girl and her benefactor!"), <span style="font-style:italic;">Farm Girl</span> ("In the city--they would have called her a juvenile delinquent!), <span style="font-style:italic;">The Divided Path</span> ("The story of a homosexual!"), and <span style="font-style:italic;">Blonde Mistress</span> ("Daring expose of illicit love!). Somehow, Guy de Maupassant squeezed his way onto this page with <span style="font-style:italic;">The House of Madame Tellier and Other Stories</span>, which merited the feeble blurb of "An exciting collection by the famous French storyteller!" Coming between <span style="font-style:italic;">Chain Gang</span> ("Our most brutal prison system!) and <span style="font-style:italic;">Swamp Girl</span> ("She had to choose between white man and black!"), poor Maupassant didn't stand a chance.Susan Higginbothamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13517907583894026599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194642527815628355.post-62142693952585132292007-03-23T20:07:00.000-04:002007-03-23T23:13:13.273-04:00Plaidy Goes to the DogsAs you can see, the UK reissue of <em>The Revolt of the Eaglets</em> has quite a clever variation on the ever-popular headless woman cover:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8a4jzfjcFZT2V74aDhiEq6CzMRcdtdZJ-_aIdr7-KaYYcbDtxjoFGAiQfFgwapU9r2Y6gK36CPCIJTo_PysPG6IG5GR5qZRe-lF9zdu4teGe1QzQHLgt39vukFMgrQgk1E-TYCa0zbHhH/s1600-h/eaglets.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8a4jzfjcFZT2V74aDhiEq6CzMRcdtdZJ-_aIdr7-KaYYcbDtxjoFGAiQfFgwapU9r2Y6gK36CPCIJTo_PysPG6IG5GR5qZRe-lF9zdu4teGe1QzQHLgt39vukFMgrQgk1E-TYCa0zbHhH/s400/eaglets.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5045320981144343554" /></a><br /><br />Maybe this will start a trend--I see possibilities for all sorts of combinations here. Anne Boleyn with Purkoy, perhaps.<br /><br />Speaking of covers, there's a nice gallery of them <a href="http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/p/jean-plaidy/">here</a> at Fantastic Fiction. My favorite is the one from <a href="http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/p/jean-plaidy/red-rose-of-anjou.htm">Red Rose of Anjou.</a> It's probably safe to say that the hunky guy on the cover isn't Henry VI.Susan Higginbothamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13517907583894026599noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194642527815628355.post-74761832107452808572007-03-14T17:48:00.000-04:002007-03-14T18:08:00.354-04:00Dropping By With Some LinksAlthough I've been a slacker in the Plaidy department lately, others have been reading her. Here's a post from I Heart Books about <a href="http://beckyhead.wordpress.com/2007/02/22/the-shadow-of-the-pomegranate/"><em>The Shadow of the Pomegranate</em></a>, about Katherine of Aragon. It's a UK edition, evidently, with a very pretty cover. (But do pomegranates really cast that large of a shadow?)<br /><br />And <a href="http://shelfandstuff.blogspot.com/2007/03/passage-to-pontefract-by-jean-plaidy.html">Daphne's been reading</a> <em>Passage to Pontefract</em>, about Richard II and with a delightfully cheesy cover. (Note how much alike "Pomegranate" and "Pontefract" sound.)<br /><br />Finally, speaking of Richards, here's the cover for the upcoming reissue of <em>The Reluctant Queen</em>, about Anne Neville, Richard III's wife. I rather like this one; although I have it in paperback, I may buy it just for the purty cover.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiow2UAceB2lDQDRZlfb6aTFP1JuiiMVg3x2rCtdR3lzfQh7Yfsj5wXJIpwcHBCDgbs_uOl2t4sM6poPuvn8ttXTMMBdq29euTzZGlF2OObgVtdxiqGohshbSpz1huuO26wLa8OUYd_HgB7/s1600-h/cover.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiow2UAceB2lDQDRZlfb6aTFP1JuiiMVg3x2rCtdR3lzfQh7Yfsj5wXJIpwcHBCDgbs_uOl2t4sM6poPuvn8ttXTMMBdq29euTzZGlF2OObgVtdxiqGohshbSpz1huuO26wLa8OUYd_HgB7/s320/cover.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5041904056165049074" /></a>Susan Higginbothamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13517907583894026599noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194642527815628355.post-17693668939389964872007-02-25T20:56:00.001-05:002007-02-25T20:58:11.857-05:00Caroline, the QueenI've been writing more than reading lately, but I haven't neglected Plaidy entirely, having recently finished <em>Caroline, the Queen</em>, about (you guessed) Caroline, queen to George II. This is a continuation of <em>Queen in Waiting</em>, reviewed in my last post.<br /><br />This will be a rather cursory review, because the book's not all that fresh in my mind. It's entertaining, which is remarkable considering that no one in it, including Caroline herself, is particularly sympathetic. That's probably one of the reasons the book is amusing, actually--it's fun, in a way, to see people whom one doesn't like fall out with each other.<br /><br />There's a certain amount of drollery here, particularly when George II writes to Caroline to get advice as to how to win over various potential mistresses. (He can't imagine why his wife would find this off-putting.)<br /><br />I'm at a bit of a loss as to what Plaidy to read next. I've been in a thirteenth-century mood lately, so I may try to resume <em>The Battle of the Queens</em>, though I put it down previously and didn't have the urge to finish it. I read <em>The Queen from Provence</em> last year. As I recall, I found it decidedly a mixed bag, but I may give it another whirl.Susan Higginbothamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13517907583894026599noreply@blogger.com1