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The Last Queen by C.W. Gortner

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xiaotien
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Post by xiaotien » Tue April 28th, 2009, 4:20 am

just finished this tonight. so compelling, so interesting, so vividly written from juana's view point with beautiful prose.

well done and bravo to gortner. i loved it. and like so many others, i had never heard of juana. what a crazy tragic life she led, no wonder they gave her that nickname. she survived a lot.

i gave the book five stars on goodreads.
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cw gortner
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Post by cw gortner » Tue April 28th, 2009, 10:05 pm

[quote=""xiaotien""]just finished this tonight. so compelling, so interesting, so vividly written from juana's view point with beautiful prose.

[/quote]

Oh, I'm blushing . . . Thank you so much, this is very sweet and high praise indeed.
THE QUEEN'S VOW available on June 12, 2012!
THE TUDOR SECRET, Book I in the Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles
THE CONFESSIONS OF CATHERINE DE MEDICI
THE LAST QUEEN


www.cwgortner.com

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xiaotien
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Post by xiaotien » Tue April 28th, 2009, 10:12 pm

[quote=""cw gortner""]Oh, I'm blushing . . . Thank you so much, this is very sweet and high praise indeed.[/quote]

*standing ovation*

i hope you are working on something else
we can read soon, cw?? =D

i will try to write a review when i am less frenetic!
a proper one. my own release is today!
SILVER PHOENIX : Beyond the Kingdom of Xia
greenwillow / harpercollins summer '09

cindypon.com

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cw gortner
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Post by cw gortner » Tue April 28th, 2009, 10:33 pm

CONGRATULATIONS!! Champagne is a must!

Yes, I've finished a book on Catherine de Medici that is currently with my editor, awaiting final approval. And I'm percolating a fantastic new idea.

Enjoy your day! Kidding aside, it's a fantastic achievement, so bask in the glow before you join the rest of us anxiously checking our amazon sales ranking every ten seconds :)
Last edited by cw gortner on Wed April 29th, 2009, 5:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
THE QUEEN'S VOW available on June 12, 2012!
THE TUDOR SECRET, Book I in the Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles
THE CONFESSIONS OF CATHERINE DE MEDICI
THE LAST QUEEN


www.cwgortner.com

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new launches

Post by Erika Mailman » Thu April 30th, 2009, 5:01 am

Congratulations for the Silver Phoenix release today! And CW, you have only six more days to wait! Champagne is a must, indeed!
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Leyland
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Post by Leyland » Thu April 30th, 2009, 2:08 pm

[quote=""cw gortner""]And I'm percolating a fantastic new idea.
[/quote]
Oh, please don't forget Brendan Prescott because I'm waiting for Spymaster #2! I confess, I loved The Secret Lion a bit more than The Last Queen. And I'm very interested in reading about Catherine, so I hope she gets edited and published very soon.
We are the music makers, And we are the dreamers of dreams ~ Arthur O'Shaughnessy, Ode

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diamondlil
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Post by diamondlil » Sun May 10th, 2009, 8:53 pm

As much as I love reading historical fiction that is set in England, every now and again I really appreciate a change of location and characters. If that sounds a bit like you, then you can't really go wrong with The Last Queen by C W Gortner.

Whilst a lot of historical fiction fans will be familiar with the life and times of Catherine of Aragon, I must confess that I knew very little about any of her other family members. In this book, the author focuses on the life of Juana, Catherine's older sister who married into the Hapsberg family, to Phillip of Flanders (known as Phillip the Handsome). What started out as an arranged marriage quickly turned into a passionate, loving marriage but just as quickly turns into a passionate marriage of what can be a far stronger emotion - loathing and hate.

Due to a series of tragedies that hit the Aragonese royal family, Juana becomes the rightful heir to the Castilian throne. She is however forced to fight for her birthright against not only against her husband who was determined to claim the throne for himself, but also against the church, her own remaining family members, and against the distrust of the idea of a queen reigning.

As husband and wife engage in political power plays to try and gain the upper hand, as family members betray each other, and as mother becomes separated both physically and emotionally from her children, we are left with a portrayal of a woman who many would have envied as having everything, but who is left with nothing. Some of the choices that Juana did make seem somewhat foolhardy and yes, slightly mad, and the author does not shy away from these events. The portrayal of Juana is handled with sensitivity and perceptiveness, and yet as a reader, it is quite easy to be swept up in the drama and the emotion of the story.

I am glad to have been introduced to this fascinating character who in some ways is a footnote in history for many non-Europeans. I will definitely be looking forward to reading more from C W Gortner.
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EC2
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Post by EC2 » Mon May 11th, 2009, 9:23 am

This one is next up after I finish Half of a Yellow Sun. :)
Les proz e les vassals
Souvent entre piez de chevals
Kar ja li coard n’I chasront

'The Brave and the valiant
Are always to be found between the hooves of horses
For never will cowards fall down there.'

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cw gortner
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Post by cw gortner » Mon May 11th, 2009, 6:14 pm

[quote=""Leyland""]Oh, please don't forget Brendan Prescott because I'm waiting for Spymaster #2! I confess, I loved The Secret Lion a bit more than The Last Queen. And I'm very interested in reading about Catherine, so I hope she gets edited and published very soon.[/quote]

I haven't forgotten! I've got fingers crossed that my agent can sell the series to a larger publisher soon. The second book is outlined and I've got the first few chapers written, so if I can get a contract for it I'll plunge right in. Selling the series could really help me in my writing career, too. We'll see. I'm so anxious about it, I almost don't want to say anything lest I jinx it. :eek:

I heard from my editor this weekend and Catherine is slated for a summer 2010 pub date.

Diamondlil, thank you for the lovely review!
THE QUEEN'S VOW available on June 12, 2012!
THE TUDOR SECRET, Book I in the Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles
THE CONFESSIONS OF CATHERINE DE MEDICI
THE LAST QUEEN


www.cwgortner.com

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Post by Chatterbox » Mon May 11th, 2009, 10:54 pm

I confess that I wasn't as enamored of Spymaster as I was The Last Queen, but then the latter set a very high barrier!! And I'm really looking forward to the Catherine novel... do I really have to wait a whole year? Couldn't you just sneak me a copy in a brown paper envelope????? I won't tell anyone, really... ;)

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