Beware, Princess Elizabeth

Summary: Imprisonment. Betrayal. Lost love. Murder. What more must a princess endure? Elizabeth Tudor's teenage and young adult years during the turbulent reigns of Edward and then Mary Tudor are hardly those of a fairy-tale princess. Her mother has been beheaded by Elizabeth's own father, Henry VIII; her jealous half sister, Mary, has her locked away in the Tower of London; and her only love interest betrays her in his own quest for the throne. 

Told in the voice of the young Elizabeth and ending when she is crowned queen, this second novel in the exciting series explores the relationship between two sisters who became mortal enemies. Carolyn Meyer has written an intriguing historical tale that reveals the deep-seated rivalry between a determined girl who became one of England's most powerful monarchs and the sister who tried everything to stop her.

About:

Author: Carolyn Meyer

Pages: 214

Year Published: 2001

Review:

Another read about Elizabeth I's early days as a princess. This book was written by the same author who wrote a book I love, Doomed Queen Anne. I was actually quite disappointed by this book; maybe it's just that Elizabeth's early days didn't really interest me all that much.

She wrote this book in a very similar style as that of her book of Anne Boleyn, and yet this novel had a more or less textbook-like feel. It wasn't much of a story, to me, but the parts that did have that 'story' element to it were very enjoyable. 

Overall, this was historically accurate to my knowledge. The 'romance' in the summary is a bit over-hyped and there would be little dialogue at some point, but it was an enjoyable enough read that I think young adults would enjoy. It's a pretty fast one, too, an 'introduction' to Elizabeth Tudor, and what lead up to her ascent to the throne.

Rating:

3 stars/5 stars

Nine Days a Queen

Summary: I had freckles. 
I had sandy hair.
I was too short.
Would my feet even touch the ground if I sat on the throne? 

These are the words of lady Jane Grey, as imagined by celebrated author Ann Rinaldi. Jane would become Queen of England for only nine days before being beheaded at the age of sixteen. 

Here is a breathtaking story of English royalty with its pageantry, privilege, and surprising cruelty. As she did in her previous novel Mutiny's Daughter, Ms. Rinaldi uses powerful, evocative writing to bring to life a teenage girl caught in the grip of stirring times.

About:

Authors: Anne Rinaldi

Pages: 228

Year Published: 2005

Review:

I was quite impressed with this novel, my first about the life of Jane Grey. To my knowledge, historically, it was quite accurate - maybe even a bit too accurate. She was portrayed in a sympathetic light, naturally, because after all she was an unwilling queen, a pawn in her parents' game and beheaded at sixteen for it. 

This is a good read particularly for young adults, though maybe not adults. It was a very good fact-based 'summary' overview of important events in her life, her relationships with real characters/figures like Thomas Seymour, Elizabeth I, Catherine Parr, etc.

My only problem is with the storytelling of this book; it almost had a bit of a history textbook feel, only in the first-person point of view. This took away, a little bit, although I don't think it was such a large problem, or one that will ruin your reading experience.

Rating:

3 stars/5 stars

The Boleyn Inheritance

Summary:

Three Women Who Share One Fate: The Boleyn Inheritance 

Anne of Cleves: She runs from her tiny country, her hateful mother, and her abusive brother to a throne whose last three occupants are dead. King Henry VIII, her new husband, instantly dislikes her. Without friends, family, or even an understanding of the language being spoken around her, she must literally save her neck in a court ruled by a deadly game of politics and the terror of an unpredictable and vengeful king. Her Boleyn Inheritance: accusations and false witnesses.

Katherine Howard: She catches the king's eye within moments of arriving at court, setting in motion the dreadful machine of politics, intrigue, and treason that she does not understand. She only knows that she is beautiful, that men desire her, that she is young and in love -- but not with the diseased old man who made her queen, beds her night after night, and killed her cousin Anne. Her Boleyn Inheritance: the threat of the axe.

Jane Rochford: She is the Boleyn girl whose testimony sent her husband and sister-in-law to their deaths. She is the trusted friend of two threatened queens, the perfectly loyal spy for her uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, and a canny survivor in the murderous court of a most dangerous king. Throughout Europe, her name is a byword for malice, jealousy, and twisted lust. Her Boleyn Inheritance: a fortune and a title, in exchange for her soul.

The Boleyn Inheritance is a novel drawn tight as a lute string about a court ruled by the gallows and three women whose positions brought them wealth, admiration, and power as well as deceit, betrayal, and terror. Once again, Philippa Gregory has brought a vanished world to life -- the whisper of a silk skirt on a stone stair, the yellow glow of candlelight illuminating a hastily written note, the murmurs of the crowd gathering on Tower Green below the newly built scaffold. In The Boleyn Inheritance Gregory is at her intelligent and page-turning best.

About:

Author: Philippa Gregory

Published: 2006

Pages: 518

Review:

This was the first fictional novel I've ever read centered around the queens Anne of Cleves and Katherine Howard, and Lady Rochford. I actually enjoyed it, unlike The Other Boleyn Girl.

I found everything pretty believable - the way life at Henry VIII's court was portrayed in the early 1540's, long after Anne Boleyn. I enjoyed the way the author often tied in the 'legacy' of Anne. Overall, this was an enjoyable enough read, but I did have some problems with it - not on historical accuracy, but the way it was written.

I feel as though this story moved a bit too fast; Anne of Cleves arrives in England, Henry is disgusted by her, and after a few conversations with maid-in-waiting Kitty Howard, he declares that he is in 'love' with her. Just as soon as she became queen, Anne of Cleves and the king are divorced, and she is sent to live in the country. Honestly, I feel as though from the start, Jane had little to do with the story, and was just there for the author to make references to Anne Boleyn, who the book was titled after: The Boleyn Inheritance. And then, when Anne of Cleves is divorced and goes to live in the country, she has almost nothing to do with the story, and is quite meaningless to it. 

The story continues to move to fast; in fact, right after Katherine Howard and Henry are married, in a flash, it's over: her adulterous rampages are discovered, the king won't see her, and it's off to the tower for little Kitty Howard, her lovers, and Jane Rochford. Also, I was surprised that this book did not include Katherine running in the Long Gallery to try and see the king before her arrest.

It's hard to say where the climax of this story is, or the resolution, and, again, I feel it went a bit too fast. Perhaps it's because not much is known about Kitty Howard and her reign as queen, other than that, like her cousin Anne, she was beheaded for adultery. While I was left wanting more from this book, I did find it enjoyable, and more accurate than The Other Boleyn Girl, and would recommend it to anyone that enjoys Tudor Era novels, and, of course, has some prior knowledge to 16th century Europe (or you'd be lost as to what is going on!).

Rating:

3 stars/5 stars