No, I am not becoming a Philippa Gregory groupie. I had purchased The Boleyn Inheritance to read on vacation. Thanks to an hour and a half flight delay, I finished it ahead of schedule and needed another airplane book. Juan Santamaria Airport (San Jose, Costa Rica) had limited options. And paperbacks that normally cost $12-$14 were selling for $22-$24. So I went with a book that wouldn’t be much of a gamble, and was in the less expensive range. Hence, The Other Queen.
Both works of historical fiction follow the same format: a story unfolding from the viewpoint of three characters at the same time. The chapters are short which, in my opinion, makes a great vacation book. It does seem a bit disjointed at times, though. And also tiresome given that the two books combined total over 1000 pages.
The Boleyn Inheritance tells the story of Anne of Cleves and Katherine Howard, the fourth and fifth wives of Henry VIII. Also involved in their tale is Jane Rochford, the widow of Anne Boleyn’s brother George. Jane serves as lady in waiting and confidante to both queens.
The Other Queen begins 25 years after the end of The Boleyn Inheritance. Queen Elizabeth has been on the throne of England for ten years. She has imprisoned her rival for the throne of England, Mary Queen of Scots. This story is told by Mary, as well as her captors, George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury and his wife Bess of Hardwick.
As with her other books, Philippa Gregory has done a tremendous amount of historical research. She paints a vivid picture of life among the nobility in sixteenth-century England. After reading a number of these books, I do understand English history a bit more. At least now I know the difference between the Tudors and the Stuarts and why they were rivals for the throne.
I do recommend both of these books, but not one right after the other. And now I have to read the two books that cover the time span in between. My “must read” list keeps getting longer. I have three books on my nightstand, and another on reserve at the library. Well-I’d better get to it!
The Boleyn Inheritance
Published in hardcover-Touchstone-2006
Softcover edition-Touchstone-2006
The Other Queen
Published in hardcover-Touchstone-2008
Softcover edition-Touchstone-2009
I purchased this book by Lawrence Hill in Canada while on vacation. It was prominently displayed in a chain bookstore, and I was quite surprised I had never heard of it. While this excellent book was published in Canada as The Book of Negroes, the politically correct U.S. publisher felt that an innocuous title, Someone Knows My Name, was better suited to the American audience.This is a pity. The title refers to an historical document, The Book of Negroes. This book was an enumeration of the Black-British slave colonists who escaped to the British during the Revolutionary War. Many of these people became settlers in Nova Scotia and Sierra Leone.
This novel is written in the style of a memoir. It tells the story of Aminata Diallo. She was captured by slave traders in her native Africa at the age of eleven and forced to march three months through Africa to reach the Guinea Coast, a notorious port of exit for African slaves. She boarded a slave ship, and came to the American colonies in 1756. In Charleston, South Carolina, Aminata was sold to the owner of an indigo plantation.
Of course this book tells the familiar tale of personal indignities and privations suffered by the slaves at the hands of their American owners. But because it tells it from the perspective of a woman who, against all odds, learned to read and write and make her own escape to freedom, it is extremely powerful. Aminata had a gift for languages, and she was able to take advantage of all opportunities to learn. She was learned in midwifery and medical care, and was respected in every community in which she lived.
The Book of Negroes is a winner of the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best Overall Book. By whatever name, I’d suggest reading this important book.
In Canada:
Published in softcover Harper Collins 2007
In USA:
Published as Someone Knows My Name
Hard cover-W.W. Norton 2007
Softcover edition-W.W. Norton 2008
Loving Frank is the first novel by journalist and author Nancy Horan. It tells the story of Mamah Borthwick Cheney, who carried on a long love affair with Frank Lloyd Wright. This was a public scandal in the Chicago of the early 1900’s. Frank and Mamah left their families and traveled extensively through Europe before settling in at Wright’s Wisconsin farm and estate, Taliesen.
This historical novel tells the story through Mamah’s eyes. Little is known of Mamah, and much that is written of her is fiction. The events of Wright’s life are well-documented, as are the inspirations for his architectural genius. Horan lived for many years in Oak Park, Illinois, the Chicago suburb where many of Wright’s early designs were built, including the home of Mamah and Edwin Cheney. Horan has a good feel for the community of Oak Park, and what it would have been like 100 years ago when the prairie ended just outside Chicago.
In this day and age, the idea of a major scandal erupting when two private individuals begin an affair seems quaint. But the Cheney/Wright drama was fodder for the yellow press for years. I visited Taliesen six years ago, and Mamah Borthwick was never mentioned on the tour. I imagine that now, with the popularity of Loving Frank, that is no longer the case.
While I suspect this is more fiction and less history, it’s great to read historical fiction from the twentieth century. I enjoyed reading Loving Frank, and I do recommend it.
In USA:
Published in hardcover-Random House-2007
Softcover edition-Ballantine Books-2008
The Virgin’s Lover is another historical novel by the popular British writer Philippa Gregory. Gregory has very obviously done a tremendous amount of research on British history in general, and the Tudors in particular. The Virgin’s Lover tells the story of the early years of the reign of England’s Elizabeth I.
Elizabeth was only 25 when she ascended to the throne. She was the daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. She succeeded her older half-sister Mary I, the daughter of King Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon. Mary died at the age of 45, leaving no heirs. For a time during Mary’s reign, Elizabeth had been imprisoned in the Tower of London. There were, of course, a number of other candidates with claims to the throne but, shortly before her death, Mary recognized Elizabeth as her heir. Elizabeth was crowned at Westminster Abbey on January 15, 1559.
Matters at the Court were not easy, particularly for a young and inexperienced Queen. Elizabeth relied heavily on her advisers, particularly William Cecil. These are the generally accepted facts. From this point on, Gregory takes the story into the realm of fiction. She presumes that Elizabeth falls in love with the married Robert Dudley (later named Earl of Leicester) and begins a passionate affair with him. This book follows the trajectory of their affair and its consequences.
Elizabeth, of course, never married (hence the sobriquet “Virgin Queen”) but, for much of her reign, she entertained various royal suitors. Most of these proposed matches were considered for political purposes. In The Virgin’s Lover, Elizabeth negotiated with emissaries from King Philip II of Spain (the widower of her late sister) as well as from the Hapsburg Archduke Charles of Austria.
This book doesn’t grab your attention like The Other Boleyn Girl. It took me a while to get into the story. For me the interest was more about life in sixteenth-century England. However, as more of the back story was revealed, and as the machinations of the Tudor court were depicted, I got more interested in the story. So, if you don’t care for this book at first, it is worth reading a bit further on.
In USA:
Published in hardcover-Touchstone 2004
Softcover edition-Touchstone 2005
Philippa Gregory’s book of historical fiction was first published five years ago, but it is enjoying renewed interest due to the recent release of the movie starring Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johannson. It is quite lengthy (over 660 pages in paperback) and is full of historically accurate details about life in sixteenth century England and the court of King Henry VIII.
The Other Boleyn Girl tells the story of the friendship and rivalry between Henry’s well known second wife, Anne Boleyn, and her sister Mary. Both girls were used to advance the interests of their family. They were raised to be courtiers, and considered family property. They were pampered and sheltered in many ways, and treated poorly in others. It was not an easy time to be born female!
This book is definitely a page turner. As long as you don’t accept any of this as serious history and enjoy it as a time novel, I’d definitely recommend it. This was a selection by my book club; we generally have a 350 page limit on our books. No one knew it was this long, but I think we’re all managing to finish it in time. Anyway-enjoy!
This final book in the Canaan Trilogy really had me going back to my Bible. I had no recollection of anyone named Lilah. I read the entire Book of Ezra, and she is not mentioned at all. In fact the only women mentioned in Ezra are those who were not considered”daughters of Israel”, and thus cast out of Jerusalem by the pious Ezra.
The action in Lilah occurs many generations after Zipporah, during the Babylonian exile, in the reign of Artaxerxes II. Ezra and his his sister Lilah are descendants of Moses’ brother Aaron. Ezra has devoted his life to studying the laws of Moses under the tutelage of the scholar Baruch ben Neriah. Ezra is determined to live his life studying and strictly following the laws.
Lilah is in love with a Persian warrior, Antinoes, whom she will not marry without Ezra’s blessing. Ezra’s blessing in not forthcoming. With the help of Baruch, Lilah convinces Ezra that it is his destiny to lead the Jewish people to Jerusalem. Through the intersessions of Antinoes and Lilah, Ezra is granted an audience with Artaxerxes, who allows Ezra to lead his people to Jerusalem.
It is a difficult journey, followed by many more difficulties once the exiles reach Jerusalem. In an effort to please God, Ezra orders the expulsion of non-Jewish wives and children from Jerusalem, with predictably disastrous results.
Once again, Marek Halter has done a credible job of describing ancient life in the Middle East. However, this story demands a grander scope than Halter is able to provide. Once again, his characters seem thin and unbelievable. In the right hands, this could be a truly compelling tale.
In USA:
Published in hardcover-Crown Publishers 2006
Softcover edition-Three Rivers Press 2006
Once again, Marek Halter’s book sent me scrambling for my Bible to read about Zipporah. Her father was Jethro, a Midian priest. She and her sisters met Moses at a well as they were drawing water for their flock, and she did bear Moses two sons, Gershom and Eliezer. Like Sarah, the bulk of this novel is based on Halter’s knowledge of life in ancient times.
This Zipporah is a Cushite, a dark-skinned woman, who is the adopted daughter of Jethro. We do eventually learn how she came to Midian, but there seems to be no point in not telling us sooner. She is intelligent, confident, and strong-willed; a good companion for Moses.
Halter does a good job in this novel of giving personalities to a number of the characters, particularly Jethro and Zipporah’s sisters, Orma and Sefoba. There is quite a bit more action in this book than in Sarah.
Halter gives us a good, albeit overly rosy, picture of life amongst ancient people of the desert, as well as a glimpse of the Egyptian civilization of the time. These depictions are probably the strongest feature of the book.
So-this is not the greatest book, but it is a quick and easy read, and does have some interesting material. I think I’ll take a break from the Canaan Trilogy and read something else now.
In USA:
Published in hardcover-Crown Publishers 2005
Softcover edition-Three Rivers Press 2005
Sarah is the first book in Marek Halter’s “Canaan Trilogy”, a series about three women of the Bible. It tells the story of Sarai, a daughter of a lord of the ancient Sumerian city-state of Ur, who marries Abram. They become the matriarch and patriarch of the Jewish people. Yes, we know them best as Sarah and Abraham, but that name change comes later in the tale.
Halter’s narrative is loosely based on the chapters in Genesis which detail this very important story. I am no historian, but Halter has obviously done his research and his descriptions of life in ancient times seem genuine. In fact, the details of daily life among the ancients are the most interesting part of this book. The descriptions of the emotional lives of the characters seem one-dimensional, especially for such an important story.
Sarah, however, did send me back to read my Bible. I was interested in seeing how much of this story came from the Bible (not much), and what Halter had invented.
I am going to read the other books in the series-Zipporah, wife of Moses and Lilah. I’m hoping the stories will be a bit more compelling.
In USA:
Published in hardcover-Crown Publishers 2004
Softcover edition-Three Rivers Press 2005
