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Mary Lide

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Vanessa
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Currently reading: The Farm at the Edge of the World by Sarah Vaughan
Interest in HF: The first historical novel I read was Katherine by Anya Seton and this sparked off my interest in this genre.
Favourite HF book: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell!
Preferred HF: Any
Location: North Yorkshire, UK

Post by Vanessa » Fri March 12th, 2010, 10:54 pm

I think it's the same book, too. I looked it up on Amazon UK and the only book which came up was the Diary of Isobelle which seemed to have the same synopsis as Misfit's Isobelle.
currently reading: My Books on Goodreads

Books are mirrors, you only see in them what you already have inside you ~ The Shadow of the Wind

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Post by Misfit » Fri March 12th, 2010, 11:14 pm

[quote=""annis""]I'm 99 percent sure that they are the same book, Misfit- I think i saw synopses of both when I was checking out ML's books earlier, and I see that Bookfinder has them listed together under the same heading:

Isobelle
by Mary Lide
Softcover, Grand Central Pub, ISBN 0446389498 (0-446-38949-8)
More editions of Isobelle:
The Diary of Isobelle: Softcover, Grafton, ISBN 0586073906 (0-586-07390-6)
The Diary of Isobelle: Hardcover, Grafton, ISBN 0246131888 (0-246-13188-8)
Isobelle: Hardcover, Grand Central Pub, ISBN 0446512680 (0-446-51268-0)

It's annoying when that happens- luckily I discovered that ML's "Royal Quest" and "Hawks of Sedgemont" were one and the same book before I accidentally bought it twice![/quote]

Thanks both of you. I've thrown the issue to the more experienced librarians at Goodreads and hopefully they can sort it out and combine the editions.
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Post by annis » Sat March 13th, 2010, 12:10 am

It seems that it was published in the UK as "Diary of Isobelle" and in the US by Warner Books as "Isobelle" from what I can tell.

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Post by Misfit » Sun March 14th, 2010, 5:56 pm

Finished Isobelle and review here. Good, but not great. Although I mislike the diary format/first person narrative. Found a cover for the US Hardback as well.
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Post by Misfit » Wed March 24th, 2010, 6:16 pm

I just got Fortune's Knave from the library. Here's the jacket blurb,
When Robert of Normandy dies while on pilgrimage to the Holy Land, he not only leaves behind the peasant woman Herleve and their illegitimate son William, he leaves his duchy in turmoil. There are many claimants to Robert's duchy, but the claimants and their allies do not count on Herleve's determination to see her son inherit, or on William's precicious leadership and battle skills. Not much more than a child, William makes the most of his alliances-with King Henry of France, with Count Baldwin of Flanders, and most significantly of all with the count's beautiful, independent daughter Matilda. The bargain they strike will have far-reaching consequences for not only Norman but lands beyond.
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Post by annis » Wed March 24th, 2010, 6:28 pm

Hah- you beat me to it- I'm still waiting for my copy to arrive. I did just get "Robert of Normandy" the other day, though, written under the name Mary Lomer.(It's the one about William the Conqueror's parents)

Blurb:
The castle of Falaise, stronghold of the powerful Dukes of Normandy, dominates the landscape and the village below. The duke is lawmaker, judge and executioner, controlling the lives of all in his domain.

Herleve, the peasant daughter of Fulbert the village tanner, has lived within sight and sound of the castle all her life. Yet despite her lack of noble blood there is a fineness about her that sets her apart from the other villagers. She and her brother William are out in the forest of Falaise gathering nuts for the pigs, when she encounters the young Lord Robert riding out on a hunt. He is struck by her fragile beauty and feels, despite his arrogance and rank, that their lives will be entwined forever.

Robert is the favoured younger son of Duke Richard II, and this fact has inflamed his brother Richard into jealous plots against him. Richard seizes upon Robert's infatuation with the peasant girl Herleve as yet another weapn to dislodge his brother from their father's affection, and is determined, if necessary, to kill him.

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Post by Misfit » Wed March 24th, 2010, 6:47 pm

Thanks for that. I put the blurb on the book page at Goodreads.
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Post by annis » Wed March 24th, 2010, 8:04 pm

Misfit, I see that the Goodreads cover is for the LP edition, so wonder if you'd like my one as well? It's for the Headline p/b ed. pub. 1991
ISBN 0 7472 3693 3

Image

Something about the colouring of this cover makes poor young William appear as a disembodied head :)

This is my cover for "The Hawks of Sedgemont" aka "Royal Quest"
Bk 3 in the "Ann of Cambrai Chronicle" trilogy. This p/b ed. pub. Sphere Books, 1988.
ISBN 0 7221 5561 1

Image
Last edited by annis on Wed March 24th, 2010, 8:08 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Post by Misfit » Wed March 24th, 2010, 8:16 pm

Thanks Annis, I had only seen the one listing - but there are two others. I just combined them.

You need to come to Goodreads and become a librarian and help us get all these covers a jackets up ;)

I see there's also a listing for Fortune's Knave under this name as well as Lide. Why do they do that?
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Post by annis » Wed March 24th, 2010, 8:31 pm

She also wrote under the name Mary Clayton. She was born in Cornwall, England, but moved to the States. I'm sure (but can't find) I saw somewhere that Lomer is her maiden name, and Lide her married name, but don't quote me on that. Why FK was published under both names I'm not sure- UK/US differences again?

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