Another new release coming soon

cw gortner · Post by **cw gortner** » Mon March 16th, 2009, 11:11 pm

[quote=""annis""]There is Bianca, a wild gypsy girl who becomes Isabella's maid, but who has a secret affair with Blasco.[/quote]

Has there ever been a tame gypsy girl in fiction, one wonders?

Sarcasm aside, I used to love Jean Plaidy; when I was growing up in Spain, I collected her books and owned almost all of the Pan paperback editions, plus quite a few of the hardcovers. A bookstore owner there used to save them for me; I still have them. She inspired in me my love for historical fiction and I've always have a soft spot for her because of it. However, I have not been successful in my attempts to re-read her work; the few I did try were "flat" somehow, lacking something. Not sure why, but maybe I should try again. Despite the "wild gypsy girl" Scarlet Cloak is one I never read or had.

annis · Post by **annis** » Tue March 17th, 2009, 1:37 am

Posted by CW

However, I have not been successful in my attempts to re-read her work; the few I did try were "flat" somehow, lacking something. Not sure why, but maybe I should try again.

This is my experience, as well.The Jean Plaidy book are useful because they cover a wide range of eras not always covered by other HF, but yes, "flat" is probably fair. I still have a bit of a soft spot for "The Goldsmith's Wife", though. I think that JP did feel a certain empathy for Edward IV's mistress, Jane Shore, which added warmth to the story.

Intereesting how the gypsy girls are always described as wild

Might have been a certain amount of male fantastising there, perhaps? I have the impression that the gypsies had a strong moral code and expected their young women to be chaste.

diamondlil · Post by **diamondlil** » Tue March 17th, 2009, 9:12 am

Other than My Enemy the Queen which I read a couple of years ago, all my Plaidy reading was done in early high school. I remember her books with great fondness but I haven't yet managed to read one any more recently.

Chatterbox · Post by **Chatterbox** » Sat April 25th, 2009, 2:53 am

A starting point for the Plaidy Title Revision Thread:

The King's Confidante -- was St. Thomas's Eve
The Queen's Devotion -- was The Three Crowns
Lord Robert -- was Gay Lord Robert (surprise, surprise)
The Loves of Charles II -- was three books: esp, Here Lies Our Sovereign Lord & King, A Health Unto His Majesty and I think an abbreviated version of The Wandering Prince.
The King's Mistress -- was The Goldsmith's Wife.

Some of the Queens of England stuff was adopted wholesale from her earlier books, such as Murder Most Royal and her 4 books about Victoria.

I would love to see Evergreen Gallant (France's Henri IV), the Lucrezia Borgia novels and some of the singleton books back in print. I'm glad to see the Catherine de Medici books are around (or at least Madame Serpent). One of those truly evil individuals. Am looking forward to yr book on her, CW.

Ariadne · Post by **Ariadne** » Sat April 25th, 2009, 3:54 am

The Lucrezia Borgia novels should be back in print in the UK in about a month. Along with the hard-to-find Defenders of the Faith.

There is a Revised Title thread for Plaidy on the forum somewhere, but it's been a while.

diamondlil · Post by **diamondlil** » Sat April 25th, 2009, 4:24 am

The revised title thread is here

robinbird79 · Post by **robinbird79** » Sun June 28th, 2009, 12:40 am

I love Jean Plaidy and I'm hoping to get my hands on more of her books as they're republished. Too bad the covers I like are already not being used! All but one of mine I purchased about 4-5 years ago and the covers have paintings of the title character on them, which I really like. I got To Hold the Crown with its cover of a headless lady (lol) and it disrupts the pretty line of Plaidy books I have on my shelf. Lol. I'd love it if the Norman and Plantagenet books were republished.

Tanzanite · Post by **Tanzanite** » Tue July 7th, 2009, 3:45 am

I found a couple more releases for March 2010:

A Favorite of the Queen(formerly Gay Lord Robert) and For a Queen's Love: The Story of the Royal Wives of Phillip II(this must be The Spanish Bridegroom) - and this one has a picture!

Chatterbox · Post by **Chatterbox** » Tue July 7th, 2009, 4:02 am

argh, headless lady alert!!

(but that was a good book...)

SonjaMarie · Post by **SonjaMarie** » Tue July 7th, 2009, 4:04 am

They were more creative in the past. I have tons of old(er) book covers with Lady Jane on the cover, now you get ladies turning the head aside or no heads or paintings that aren't actually the subject matter. Sigh, I miss the days when they got artists to draw and paint the covers.

SM