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Anne Easter Smith

Chatterbox
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Post by Chatterbox » Fri May 15th, 2009, 10:25 pm

ROTFL, Misfit -- yes, Elizabeth of York and Henry Tudor as HR characters, anyone?

Grace just irritated me, while Perkin bored me.

Am I becoming harsh in my old age??

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boswellbaxter
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Post by boswellbaxter » Fri May 15th, 2009, 11:03 pm

I just didn't find Grace interesting enough to carry this novel. To me it would have been a lot better novel if more time had been given to Margaret of Burgundy, Perkin Warbeck, and Katherine Gordon.
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Misfit
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Post by Misfit » Sat May 16th, 2009, 12:31 am

[quote=""Chatterbox""]ROTFL, Misfit -- yes, Elizabeth of York and Henry Tudor as HR characters, anyone?

Grace just irritated me, while Perkin bored me.

Am I becoming harsh in my old age??[/quote]

Hee, between that bit and all the "tis" intermixed with some more modern language use, i.e. sibling rivalry I just couldn't take it. If I'd had word of a strong finish I could have carried on, but I had little hope for one. Harsh in one's old age? Hell no, just less years left to get all the good books read.
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EC2
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Post by EC2 » Sat May 16th, 2009, 8:45 pm

I DNF the first one, so I probably won't get around to any more by the author at the moment.
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.'

Histoire de Guillaume le Mareschal

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Margaret
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Post by Margaret » Sat May 16th, 2009, 10:19 pm

I've posted my review of The King's Grace at http://www.HistoricalNovels.info/Kings-Grace.html. In line with my general policy to describe novels rather than, in most cases, give them a thumbs-up or thumbs-down, I haven't panned it. But it wasn't to my taste. Many of the characters were well-drawn, I thought, but they just didn't do enough to carry a novel that long. And Grace sometimes suffered from the historical fiction version of please-don't-go-down-into-that-dark-basement syndrome. She just seemed a little too plucky and outspoken sometimes - especially for a very young woman characterized as being rather shy and timid.
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MedievalBookworm
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Post by MedievalBookworm » Wed May 20th, 2009, 9:38 am

I read both A Rose for the Crown and Daughter of York. I vastly preferred the first one and was somewhat disappointed in the second. I had a hard time believing in the romance and it felt too long at times, whereas I really liked Kate Haute in the first one. I haven't picked up The King's Grace yet and I'm not sure I will, especially not since no one in this thread seems to be a big fan.

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Susan
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Post by Susan » Sun July 12th, 2009, 9:57 pm

I visited Bruges, Belgium on July 4 and went to the Church of Our Lady where Charles the Bold (the husband of Margaret of York in Daughter of York) and his daughter Mary are buried. Both were characters in Daughter of York.

Approaching the Church of Our Lady, as you can see the church was under some kind of construction
Image

Tomb of Charles of Burgundy
Image

Tomb of Mary of Burgundy (the Rich)
Image
~Susan~
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Post by Chatterbox » Sun July 12th, 2009, 11:41 pm

Cool, Susan! I don't remember ever having seen them.

I do remember driving through Damme, long before I knew the story of the house of York's connection with the house of Burgundy, and my father telling us about the marriages there, and about Mary of Burgundy. How he learned that, I don't know! We were living in Brussels at the time.

I remember Damme as a very peaceful Flemish town; outside, the landscape looks like those Flemish paintings, with long lines of tall narrow trees flanking roads or narrow canals.

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diamondlil
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Post by diamondlil » Mon July 13th, 2009, 11:37 am

Great photos Susan! Thanks for sharing.
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love_uk
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Post by love_uk » Mon August 31st, 2009, 5:57 am

[quote=""michellemoran""]I was just sent an ARC for her novel The King's Grace and really enjoyed it! It's about Grace Plantagenet, the half-sister to the princes in the Tower. Really well researched and very interesting.[/quote]

Just read this one last month & really liked it!
Joan

My test of a good novel is dreading to begin the last chapter. ~Thomas Helm

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