King Arthur-Elizabeth II Challenge

Brenna · Post by **Brenna** » Tue April 5th, 2011, 10:28 pm

Hello all-

Back when I started reading Sharon Kay Penman's books, I wanted to know more about the Plantagenet Kings and well it snowballed from there. So earlier this year, I decided to start my own King Arthur-Elizabeth II challenge. However, I need some help as I have plenty of gaps. I started reading historical fiction thanks to Phillipa Gregory but I no longer prefer her or Allison Weir books. So if you know some novels out there that would recommend be added to this list, please let me know. Non-fiction is also welcome. I tried attaching this list as an excel file, but apparently that file is not allowed. Sorry for the length! Thanks everyone!

*means need to buy or get from library

King Arthur
Mary Stewart Series on Arthur
Jack Whyte's Camulod Series
Helen Hollick-King Arthur Triology
Anna Elliot-Tristan and Isolde
Marianne Zimmerman The Mists of Avalon

King Arthur to Harold
Nan Hawthorne An Involuntary King
G.R Grove-The Storyteller
Helen Hollick-Forever Queen
Judith Arnopp Peaceweaver*
Susan Fraser King-Queen Hereafter*
Susan Fraser King-Lady Macbeth
Bernard Cornwell-Saxon Series
The Last Kingdom
The Pale Horseman
The Lords of the North
Sword Song
The Burning Land

William the Conqueror-1066
Georgette Heyer-The Conqueror
Elizabeth Chadwick-The Winter Mantle
Elizabeth Chadwick-The Conquest
Helen Hollick-I am the Chosen King

William II-The Plantagenets-1087-1100
Elizabeth Chadwick- The Wild Hunt
The Running Vixen*
The Leopald's Unleashed*

Henry I & II-1100-1189
Elizabeth Chadwick- A Place Beyond Courage
Sharon Kay Penman-When Christ and His Saints Slept
SKP-Time and Chance
Elizabeth Chadwick- To Defy a King
SKP The Devil's Brood
Arianna Franklin-The Mistress in the Art of Death
Elizabeth Chadwick-The Greatest Knight
Elizabeth Chadwick-The Scarlet Lion
Elizabeth Chadwick-For the King's Favor
Elizabeth Chadwick-Shields of Pride
Elizabeth Chadwick-Shadows and Strongholds

King Richard I and King John-1189-1216
SKP-Lionheart
SKP-Here Be Dragons
E.C The Marsh King's Daughter
Elizabeth Chadwick- Lords of the White Castle
Nicole Galland-The Fool's Tale
Barbara Erskine-Lady of Hay

Henry III, Edward I & Edward II
Robert Low- The Lion Wakes*
SKP- Falls the Shadow
SKP- The Reckoning
Susan Higginbotham-The Traitor's Wife
N. Gemini Sasson-The Crown in the Heather

King Edward III & Richard II

Susan Higginbotham-Hugh and Bess
Margaret Campbell Barnes-Within the Hollow Crown
Roseanne Letz- I Serve
Karen Harper-The First Princess of Wales

Henry IV and Henry V
Katherine-Anya Seton*
Within the Fetterlock-Brian Wrainwright
Emma Campion- The King's Mistress*
Denise Giardina-Good King Harry
Susan Howatch-The Wheel of Fortune* library
Vanora Bennett-The Queen's Lover*
Edith Pargeter-A Bloody Field at Shrewsbury
Rosemary Hawley Jarman-Crown in Candelight

Henry VI, Edward IV, and Richard III
Anne Easter Smith-A Rose for the Crown
Anne Easter Smith-Queen By Right*
SKP-Sunne In Splendour
Susan Higginbotham- The Stolen Crown
Philippa Gregory-The White Queen
Allison Weir-The Princes in the Tower
Brian Wainwright-Allinore Aidley
Josephine Tey-Daughter of Time

The Tudors
C.W Gortner-The Tudor Secret
Margaret George-Henry VIII by Will Sommers*
Legacy by Susan Kay
Philippa Gregory-The Constant Princess
Margaret Campbell Barnes: The Tudor Rose
Philippa Gregory-The Other Boleyn Girl
Philippa Gregory-The Boleyn Inheritance
Philippa Gregory-The Queen's Fool
Philippa Gregory-The Virgin's Lover
Allison Weir-Henry VIII's Children
Hilary Mantel-Wolf Hall
Allison Weir-The Six Wives of Henry VIII
Dorothy Dunnett-The Game of Kings
Dorothy Dunnett-Queen's Play

The Stuarts-1567-1714
James I- The King's Daughter by Christie Dickason*
Margaret Campbell Barnes: Mary of Carisbrooke*
Priya Prima- Exit the Actress
Maria McCann-As Meat Loves Salt* library
Gillian Bagwell-The Darling Strumpet*
Antonia Fraser-Charles II

The House of Hanover-1714-1837
Ciji Ware-Island of Swans

Margaret · Post by **Margaret** » Tue April 5th, 2011, 11:19 pm

What a neat idea! Do you have the list annotated so you know which monarchs are missing?

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Tue April 5th, 2011, 11:47 pm

You might look at Forever Amber for the Stuarts. I really liked Joan Wolf's dark ages trilogy. Road to Avalon (Arthur), Born of the Son (Saxon) and The Edge of Light (Alfred). I don't think I see Nigel Tranter's Bruce trilogy in there either. Edward II I think that would be.

Valerie Anand's Gildenford books are good as well and I think the libraries have them. Gildenford, The Norman Pretender (egads, I just pulled it up on Amazon, the prices :eek

, The Disputed Crown and King of the Wood (William Rufus).

I like Nancy MacKenzie's Queen of Camelot a lot, although it is a tad on the romancy side. First of a trilogy. I've read book two The Grail Prince (very good) and the last I think is on Tristan and Isolde.

Brenna · Post by **Brenna** » Tue April 5th, 2011, 11:57 pm

[quote=""Margaret""]What a neat idea! Do you have the list annotated so you know which monarchs are missing?[/quote]

I do, but it a way bigger file and I didn't want to risk crashing the website or something

So far I am missing William Rufus (but I believe Elizabeth Chadwick's books will meet that requirement). Then I pretty much run out of books starting with the Stuarts until the Windsors.

Thanks Misfit for the recommendations! I will add them to my list and see which ones I am able to purchase vs. get at the library!

princess garnet · Post by **princess garnet** » Wed April 6th, 2011, 12:18 am

Jean Plaidy's Stuart novels:
Royal Road to Fotheringhay
Captive Queen of Scots
Murder in the Tower
Loves of Charles II omnibus edition
Three Crowns
The Royal Sisters (previous title The Haunted Sisters)
Courting Her Highness (previous titleThe Queen's Favorites)

Margaret Irwin--Elizabeth trilogy
Young Bess
Elizabeth, Captive Princess
Elizabeth and the Prince of Spain

Nonfiction
Mary Tudor by Anna Whitelock: Biography of Queen Mary Tudor
A Royal Passion by Kate Whitaker: dual biography of Charles I and Henrietta Maria

annis · Post by **annis** » Wed April 6th, 2011, 2:29 am

Henry I - Juliet Dymoke, Henry of the High Rock

George Shipway's Paladin and Wolf Time feature all three of William the Conqueror's sons.

Dymoke's Plantagenet novels are all pretty good too
Descriptions here:
http://www.fuzzyhistory.com/2008/06/

boswellbaxter · Post by **boswellbaxter** » Wed April 6th, 2011, 3:00 am

For Mary I, there's Hilda Lewis's excellent trilogy.

I have a list of novels set during Edward II's reign here--it's a little dated, but has some good ones like Brenda Honeyman's books, though they're hard to find.

To the Henry VI/Edward IV/Richard III list I would add (cough) my own Queen of Last Hopes (Margaret of Anjou) and Reay Tannahill's The Seventh Son (Richard III).

Margaret George's new novel on Elizabeth I came out today, as did Christy English's second novel about Eleanor of Aquitaine, To Be Queen.

I loved Jude Morgan's The King's Touch (James of Monmouth, with quite a bit on Charles II)

Edited to add: For some nonfiction, there's Ian Mortimer's The Perfect King (Edward III), Chris Skidmore's Edward VI, Marc Morris' A Great and Terrible King (Edward I), Seymour Phillips's Edward II, Susan James's and Linda Porter's biographies of Katherine Parr, Leandra de Lisle's book The Sisters Who Would Be Queen (the Grey sisters), and Eric Ives' biographies of Anne Boleyn and Jane Grey.

annis · Post by **annis** » Wed April 6th, 2011, 4:34 am

Have you come across the World of Royalty website? They provide lists of NF, novels and films associated with figures from each dynastic period.

Also useful for ideas is Daniel S. Burt's The Biography Book: a Reader's Guide to Nonfiction, Fictional and Film Biographies... Quite a lot of the material is available on Google Books.

Mythica · Post by **Mythica** » Wed April 6th, 2011, 8:42 am

[quote=""Misfit""]You might look at Forever Amber for the Stuarts.

I like Nancy MacKenzie's Queen of Camelot a lot, although it is a tad on the romancy side. [/quote]

I second these too recommendations, although I read Queen of Camelot when I was 12/13 (when it was actually two separate books called The Child Queen and The High Queen) and I don't know what I'd make of it if I read it now.

I also recommend Jean Plaidy - she's written on practically every English monarch, I think. But maybe there's a reason you haven't added her to your list?

[quote=""annis""]Have you come across the World of Royalty website? They provide lists of NF, novels and films associated with figures from each dynastic period.
[/quote]

That looks like a great website for NF but I think http://www.historicalnovels.info/ is more comprehensive for fiction.

EC2 · Post by **EC2** » Wed April 6th, 2011, 10:00 am

[quote=""Brenna""]I do, but it a way bigger file and I didn't want to risk crashing the website or something

So far I am missing William Rufus (but I believe Elizabeth Chadwick's books will meet that requirement). Then I pretty much run out of books starting with the Stuarts until the Windsors.

Thanks Misfit for the recommendations! I will add them to my list and see which ones I am able to purchase vs. get at the library![/quote]

For William Rufus, King of the Wood by Valerie Anand is perfect. I loved that one and it gives a well rounded protrayal of him.