My life in books

I read quite a few historical novels last year, most of them set during the Wars of the Roses or the Tudor dynasty. A few were by authors I've read before, but most were by writers new to me, and thanks to judicious reading of reviews prior to acquisition, they were all good reads - and a few of them were excellent.

One of the most delightful discoveries in terms of new-found authors in the genre was Margaret Campbell Barnes. Born in 1891, most of her historical novels were published in the 40s ans 50s. After her death in 1962, most of her books went out of print, but she has been "rediscovered" and a number of her books have been recently republished. Barnes' novels are well-researched, detailed, and have a realatively "modern" feel to them, which should make her as popular today as she was 60 years ago. I've certainly found the books I've read to be just as entertaining as anything by Philippa Gregory, or any of Alison Weir's historical novels. So far, I have been able to obtain and read:

Margaret Barnes Campbell, The Passionate Brood. Originally published as Like Us, They Lived, this is a novel of the fractious Angevin Plantagenets - Henry II, his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, and their children - focusing primarily on Richard (later called Lionheart), his younger siblings Joan and John, and his wife Berengaria. Barnes also brings into her tale a decidedly ahistorical relationship between Richard and the legendary Robin Hood.

Margaret Campbell Barnes, The Tudor Rose. The story of Elizabeth of York, daughter and niece of the last Yorkist kinss Edward IV and Richard III, wife of the first Tudor king Henry VII.

Margaret Campbell Barnes, King's Fool. A portrait of Henry VIII through the eyes of his fool, Will Somers.

Margaret Campbell Barnes, Brief Gaudy Hour. The story of Anne Boleyn's marriage to Henry VIII.



Other historical novels read and enjoyed during 2013 included:

Vanora Bennett, The People's Queen. A fascinating take on Alice Perrers, businesswoman, mistress of Edward III, and friend (if not more) to poet and merchant Geoffrey Chaucer, who is thought to have used her as the inspiration for the Wife of Bath.

Vanora Bennett, Blood Royal (published in the US as The Queen's Lover). Catherine of Valois. Daughter of the mad king Charles VI of France, wife of Henry V, mother to the infant king Henry VI who would be the last Lancastrian king, lover and probably wife to Owen Tudor (a descendant of Welsh princes), ancestor of the Tudor dynasty. 

Joanna Hickson, The Agincourt Bride. Another perspective on Catherine of Valois, this first volume of a duology covers Catherine's early life, marriage to Henry V, and early widowhood. The second volune, which I am eagerly awaiting, will cover her relationship with Owen Tudor.

Philippa Gregory, The White Queen. A sympathetic view of Elizabeth Woodville, wife of Yorkist king Edward IV and mother of the princes in the tower and Elizabeth of York.

Anne O'Brien, The Virgin Widow. An engaging portrait of Anne Neville, daughter of Warrick the Kingmaker, wife to the last Lancastrian heir (Edward of Lancaster) and the last Yorkist king, Richard III.

Alison Weir, A Dangerous Inheritance. Weir does something quite interesting in this novel, which tells the story of two women, both close to the throne but on the losing side of dynastic struggles - Katherine Plantagenet, illigitimate daughter of Richard III, and Katherine Grey, younger sister of Lady Jane Grey, focus of a plot to set aside the succession of Mary Tudor. Weir links them togethet, despite the 100 years that separate them, through the device of secret papers exploring the fate of the Princes in the tower - young royals who lost, like the two Katherines, status and liberty, but unlike them, also lost their lives. 

Susan Higginbotham, Queen of Last Hopes. The story of Margaret d'Anjou, wife of the last Lancastrian king, Edward VI, and her long and ultimately unsuccessful struggle to first regain her husband's throne, and later to win the throne for her son, after the victory of the house of York.

Karen Harper, The Queen's Governess. A portrait of Queen Elizabeth I through the eyes of her governes and later personal confidante, Kat Astley.

Margaret George, Queen of Scotland and the Isles. Novel of the tempestuous life of Mary Stuart, Queen of the Scots.

Stephanie Dray, Lily of the Nile and Song of the Nile. First two novels of a trilogy based on the life of Cleopatra Selene, daughter of Cleopatra of Egypt and Mark Anthony.

Michelle Moran, Cleopatra's Daughter. Another portrait of Cleopatra Selene.