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Posted:
Feb 16, 2013
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The Constant Princess

Author: Philippa Gregory
First Published: December 2005
Publisher: HarperCollins
Series: The Tudors #1
 486 pages (trade paperback)

Katherine of Aragon is my favourite queen of Henry VIII’s six wives, so I was very excited to read this book. There are not very many books (if any) that feature Katherine of Aragon as the main character. Actually, to my knowledge, this is the only one. Katherine is usually a secondary character in books having to do with the Tudors, never the main character, sadly. Plus, it’s by one of my favourite his-fic author, Philippa Gregory!

The Constant Princess is about Catalina, or Katherine, of Aragon. Daughter of the most feared monarchs in Europe at the time — Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Argon — Katherine has grown up her whole life immersed in warfare, as her parents wage holy war against the Moors and eventually take over Granada. This has made Katherine a battle hardened young lady, as well as very religious, believing that God has her family in especial favor.

Katherine has known her whole life she is to marry the English prince, Arthur, and become Queen of England one day. Finally, that day comes and she marries Prince Arthur. At first they don’t really get along, but over the next five months, a real love blossoms between them. They dream of when they become King and Queen of England and all the things they will do for the betterment of their country.

Unfortunately, tragedy strikes. Arthur dies of the sweating illness and Katherine is left a widow at the young age of 16. Due to various political factors, England doesn’t really want her anymore and neither does Spain, her home country, as she does not have the same worth as before. Mourning the loss of her husband, broken dreams and feeling unwanted, Katherine decides she simply must fulfill the destiny she has always known from childhood — to become Queen of England, somehow, some way.

The Constant Princess covers Katherine’s life from toddlerhood up to Katherine’s third pregnancy. The portrayal of Katherine is that of a very religious woman who truly believes she is living out God’s will and will do what she must in order to make it be true.  It got quite repetitive to read Katherine saying that she is the Princess of Wales, that it is her destiny to be the Queen of England, over and over and over again. That was definitely kind of annoying. I feel like I read it every other page, it was just a bit too much.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book, but I don’t know if I liked this portrayal of Katherine of Aragon. Katherine is one of my favourite English queens because I admire how she stayed true to being the Queen of England and would not admit, even when she was banished away and prohibited from seeing her daughter, that she was not the queen anymore. In this book, she certainly has that spirit, but I think due to the repetitiveness of her inner monologue, it came off more like stubbornness than an admirable trait. She also came off as a lot of manipulative and sneaky in this novel than I am used to (even compared to Katherine in other Gregory works)! I don’t know, maybe the real Katherine really was like this — no one will really ever know — but I suppose this Katherine was just too different from what I am used to. Naturally, this disagreement in portrayals is not a fault of the book, just that I expected something different from what I got.

I really enjoyed reading about her younger years though. So often the big focus on Katherine was her divorce/annulment from King Henry, where she is always played out to be the victim (which she totally was, in my opinion). I liked reading about her younger years in this book because it showed a strong, hard side to Katherine, a Katherine with a youthful fighting spirit, as opposed to the Katherine of later years, fighting a losing battle against the beauty and charm of Anne Boleyn (who I also like, actually). My favourite thing about Katherine is her battling the Scots in full armor herself, while pregnant (!!!) and I loved reading that scene in this book, I thought it was really well done.

So I feel a bit mixed about this book mainly due to the portrayal of Katherine. Some parts of her portrayal I thought were well done, other parts I felt iffy about. The actual plot itself was fairly interesting; it briefly covered her childhood in Spain, to her marriage with Arthur, her six or seven years as a widow and the early years of her marriage to Henry. Perhaps it is because I am already familiar with her life story, but I thought it could have been made more interesting. It was certainly enjoyable, but I hungered for more. I think the alternating between first person and third person didn’t sit well with me either.

The Constant Princess leaves you wanting a bit more than what you got, but I think it is a solid novel. I definitely appreciated reading this novel, and not just because it’s pretty much the only Katherine of Aragon novel out there.

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Posted:
Jul 16, 2012
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Jahanara: Princess of Princesses, India, 1627

Author: Kathryn Lasky
First Published: September 2002
Publisher: Scholastic
Series: The Royal Diaries
186 pages (hardcover)

In comparison to the rest of the Royal Diaries series, it’s less exciting, however, I still find Jahanara to be an excellent book, especially as a starting point to get kids interested in Indian culture. I read this book for the first time in late elementary/early middle school and I remember it was this book that got me interested in the culture. For those who do not know who Jahanara is, she was the oldest daughter of the Indian emperor Shah Jahan, who built the Taj Mahal.

In this book, Jahanara starts off living with her exiled family, but later on, are returned to their proper places. Her father becomes emperor and Jahanara is granted the title “Princess of Princesses”. As a royal female living in India, Jahanara and other ladies are always kept behind screens and are not allowed any contact (even eye contact!) with men, other than family members and eunachs. Still, Jahanara proves to be a valuable member of the family as she tries to keep harmony between her scheming brother, “evil” step-grandmother, and the rest of the family.

Much of the book revolves around Jahanara finding things out about her family and her relationships with her family. The events that do occur, like her father being crowned emperor, are exciting but happen rather infrequently. Much of the book seems to introduce pieces of Indian culture to the reader. I didn’t really mind that since it still flowed with the story and never did I feel like I was reading a textbook or anything. It did get me very interested in Indian culture, in the end! Story-wise, this one was a tad slow moving, but I still liked it quite a bit. I’m pretty excited to start reading more historical fiction about Jahanara because she was so well respected in her time, and from what I read online, is still well-known in India today.

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Posted:
Jun 29, 2012
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The Tsarina’s Daughter

Author: Carolly Erickson
First Published: September 2008
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
352 pages (paperback)

This is the third Erickson book I’ve read now, and I’ve come to a realization: if you want historical fiction that is also historically accurate, you probably won’t like Erickson’s works. But if you don’t mind authors taking some liberties with history, then you’ll probably enjoy Erickson’s novels. I fall in the latter group — I don’t mind authors making things up (though I do enjoy historical accuracy as well). And there are a lot of made up events and characters in The Tsarina’s Daughter.

In this book, the Grand Duchess Tatiana actually survived the assassination of her family and is living in Saskatchewan, Canada, in 1989. She has decided to tell the story of her family during the Russian Revolution: how her father the Tsar ran the country, how her mother dealt with her “delusions” and obsession with that “healer”, Rasputin, and how she fell in and out of love over the years until she found the right man for her.

I thought it was really interested how Erickson decided to use Tatiana, the second eldest daughter of the Tsar and Tsarina, as her main character, as most novels love romanticizing Anastasia instead. I actually have never really read anything dealing with last Tsar and his family that didn’t have Anastasia as the main character, so this was a different experience indeed. I do not know that much about Tatiana Romanov, certainly not to the extent that I know Anastasia (I had an Anastasia phase when I was in middle school; I adored the mystery surrounding the missing last duchess and wanted to know everything I could about her), but I’m certain a majority of this novel is made up, especially her romances.

However, as I said before, I don’t mind historical fiction that actually puts some real fiction in it, and I thought the story was quite well done. It was interesting, it had my attention and once I started reading, I was wrapped in the story. I actually quite enjoyed the made-up romances of Tatiana. She was a teenager at the time, after all, so I thought it plausible that she had a crush or two. However, other than the romances, I found Tatiana to be a bit of a passive character. I felt like the story was really about the Russian Revolution, just seen through Tatiana’s eyes. Even though Tatiana was the main character though, I thought the most interesting characters were her parents, Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra, who were portrayed as major players in the Revolution. We see, through Tatiana’s eyes, how her parents contributed to the decline of their family, the general lack of confidence the Russian people felt towards the monarchy, and the Russian Revolution. I would love to read a novel about those two rulers, actually! (Unfortunately, the historical royalty fiction market is still quite saturated with Tudor novels, so I might be in for a long wait).

Since the author had already chosen to go down the historically fiction route (as opposed to historically accurate), I would have loved if there was a short chapter on how Tatiana’s life had been after she moved to Canada. It would have been a nice way to wrap up the story, as opposed to what I feel was a rather blunt ending, that basically said ‘I managed to escape and move to Canada, the end’ (an exaggeration, but you know what I mean). Regardless, I enjoyed this book a lot and would recommend it to people who don’t mind large doses of fiction in their historical novels.

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Posted:
Jun 26, 2012
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Legend

Author: Marie Lu
First Published: November 2011
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Series: Legend #1
305 pages (hardcover)

I had a hard time deciding if I felt this book was a 3 or a 4 to me. Ultimately, I settled for a 3.5, though Goodreads doesn’t do half points. Overall, I like this book, it was very action packed and it had a solid plot with likable characters. On the other hand, it didn’t feel like a stand-out, unique piece of fiction, mainly because I found it quite predictable, lacked a wow-factor, and blends in well with all the other futuristic YA novels available currently. The lack of good world building really bothered me as well.

Legend takes place in the far future where the United States of America has split into different factions — the Republic (Western US), the Colonies and the Patriots — and are warring against one another. The story alternates between the two main characters. Day is a 15 years old, lives in the slums of the Lake sector (previously L.A., I believe?) and is the Republic’s most wanted criminal. June is also 15, but unlike Day, she is from a wealthy family and is a military prodigy. When June’s older brother, Metias, is killed by Day, June sets out to hunt him down and bring him to justice. It becomes rather difficult when the two unknowingly form a friendship, and discover secrets of the Republic that put both their lives in danger.

The story, the characters and the writing were really well done, I think. It read a bit like a movie script, like watching a film, but I don’t really have any problems with that. It was definitely a very action-packed story, even if some parts of it bordered on the unbelievable side (15 year old soldiers in the USA? Even if it’s a broken USA, I don’t think the country would go backwards and start using child soldiers. Or maybe that’s the point, to show how backwards it has all become? I don’t know, I need more explanation on the history of this world, which I will elaborate on later). The story was exciting, though hardly unique. Many parts of it, like lovers who can’t be together because they live in “opposite worlds”, have been done to death in stories.  So it’s not unique, but I still think it was well done and the author does a really good job presenting it.

The book’s biggest downside is the world-building. Really, I would have rated this book as a 4 or even a 5 if world building actually existed in this book. It is never explained why the USA became separated into these different, individual nations and what exactly they are fighting about. Actually, I have no idea what they were fighting about. I also had no idea why Day was rebelling against the Republic. I mean, I know he was wronged by them once, but so have a million other boys before him, so I don’t know how or why he became this super notorious criminal; what does he get from that? Based on what happened to him, wouldn’t he rather lay low?

But by far, the most annoying thing was not knowing the history of the world. I couldn’t feel properly immersed into the world. At one point, Day reveals he has an old quarter from 1990 where it says the United states of America, making a big deal about how once America was united but no one knows. So obviously the history of the country is unknown to its own citizens. Why?! And how did it happen?! I don’t know, I feel this is a pretty important point to make. And if you tell me, “Oh, all will be revealed in the next books in the series” then I will say, “That’s not good enough.” It comes off as poor or lazy world building, and I’m really tired of YA trilogies withholding key story points for their next books, if that is the case here, because that’s not how book serieses should be written.

Also, the alternating fonts and font colour for Day and June’s chapters were distracting and a bit bothersome.

Anyway, I liked the book, I liked the story and characters, those were all very well done, but the world is so poorly explained that it really drags the rest of the book down a bit. I will continue to read this book series because I did enjoy it after all, though I had hoped for something more impressive.

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Posted:
Jun 2, 2012
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The Memoirs of Mary Queen of Scots

Author: Carolly Erickson
First Published: August 2009
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
309 pages

I’ve always had an interest in historical royalty, and lately I have been filling my bookshelves with historical fiction novels that deal with queens and princesses and such (mostly more Erickson works, and Philippa Gregory as well). I actually did not really know much about Mary, Queen of Scots, prior to reading this book. I have come to really fall in love with her tragic tale. Perhaps it was the way it was portrayed in this book, but I really sympathized for Mary and felt bad that she was the victim of so much unfortunate luck.

If you know a little about Queen Mary’s real life, then the plot of this story shouldn’t be too surprising to you, though there are, of course, some creative liberties taken and some completely fictional elements added to it (elements that I did not know never occurred to the real Mary until I looked up the facts later). Mary became Queen of Scotland at a mere six days old. She was married to King Francis of France when she was fifteen (and he, younger) but he died shortly. Unfamiliar with Scottish politics, Mary returned to Scotland eager to rule her realm, but due to her upbringing in France and her religion that clashes with those of her people, she finds herself facing many obstacles. She finds she must flee Scotland and looks for safety in England, with her cousin Queen Elizabeth. However, she is not safe even there as the Queen fears Mary will take her throne — and indeed, it is said Mary has a better claim to the English throne than Elizabeth — and so Mary is imprisoned for years until she manages to escape and attempts to fight for her right as a Queen.

Like I mentioned earlier, I knew pretty much nothing about Queen Mary going into this book, and I’m delighted that it has sparked not only a genuine interest in the life of Queen Mary and all the mysteries, scandals and modern day theories that go along with her, but also a renewed interest in history itself. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and I liked this portrayal of Queen Mary, a kind girl/woman who has been Queen all her life and does not want to settle for less. I am aware that there are some completely made up parts to the story that I suppose a historical purist will frown upon, but I’m the type of person who isn’t too concerned about factual stuff in this genre of books (I mean, that’s why it’s fiction!) and I personally enjoyed it, though I do admit some parts were a little hard to believe (for example, one of her fictional escapes from imprisonment was done a little easily, among other events. Another thing that I admit bugged me a little was the inclusion of her fictional daughter, who never existed in real life. That’s kind of a big thing to make up, and it had little impact on the story in the end, so it felt kind of pointless).

On that topic, some parts of Mary’s personality did irk me. I wasn’t sure if it was just an inconsistent character, or some sort of naivety on her part, but it was really bizarre to me how she sought protection from her cousin Queen Elizabeth, yet at the same time, would openly say to others that she is the rightful Queen to the English throne and that Elizabeth really isn’t a Queen at all. I mean … that’s kind of a dumb thing to say to about the person you wish to protect you, right? However, I suppose it just goes to show how sure of her rights as a queen she is, though I still think it’s foolish to proclaim yourself the rightful ruler of a throne whose current ruler you seek help from, while you are in their country as well.

Regardless if you’re into historical fiction or not, I think this book is an enjoyable and fun read. Mary’s life already lends itself to a fascinating story, and easily lures readers into wanting to discover more about this tragic queen.

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Posted:
Dec 21, 2011
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Darker Still

Author: Leanna Renee Hieber
Published: November 2011
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Series: Magic Most Foul #1
317 pages (paperback)

There are primarily two reasons I picked up this book — one, it’s inspired by Oscar Wilde’s The Portrait of Dorian Gray, which I adore, and two, look at that cover! Is that not one of the most beautiful book covers ever? I’m such a sucker for pretty covers …

The story is set in the late 1800′s in New York City. Natalie Stewart is a mute girl, though her lack of voice is strictly a psychological thing: she stopped speaking when her mother died. Anyway, a painting from England has come to grace American shores, and there’s quite a stir about it since it is rumored to be haunted. The painting is a life sized portrait of a dashing young man, Lord Denbury, who died some years ago through tragic circumstances. Natalie becomes enchanted by the painting, and senses there’s something frighteningly realistic about it. Her suspicions come true when she is pulled into the painting and realizes that Lord Denbury is alive and well, but cursed and trapped in his own portrait.

I’m going to get my biggest complaint about the book out of the way first, and that is the fact that it’s written in diary format but does not read like a diary at all. People don’t usually write diaries like narrative stories, especially not personal diaries. The inclusion of overly descriptive scenes, exact dialogue with the he-said, she-said, etc. definitely leans away from diary-writing and more to novel-writing. When people write diaries, I don’t think many of them write out their experiences in novel format, if any. Essentially what Darker Still has done is insert dates every so often to make it seem like a diary, when really it is not.

Other than that though, I did enjoy the book very much. I’m no expert on Victorian literature, so in my inexpert opinion, the story did a fairly good job replicating the style of speech and whatnot, although there were a few points in the writing where I thought the author was trying a little too hard. The story is basically a bit of a mystery novel, with Natalie attempting to figure out how Lord Denbury got into the painting, who did it, and how to get him out; overall, it was a fun, quick read.

I particularly liked Natalie. She’s mute, but rather than being a withdrawn and passive girl, she takes initiative a lot and is eager to communicate with others in any way possible. I could even forgive the fact that she is obsessed with Denbury’s charming good looks — a lot of YA novels tend to have their female leads obsess over the male lead’s muscles and abs, which, incidentally, all male leads possess — because her obsession with his looks actually kind of make sense in this book. The painting of Denbury is supposed to be mesmerising and scarily realistic, so Natalie being unable to take her eyes off of Denbury’s portrait makes sense. When she enters the painting and realizes he’s a real gentleman as well, it kind of seals the deal. No ridiculously lengthy descriptions of muscled chests here, thanks.

Denbury, on the other hand, was quite one-dimensional and personally, I don’t see what the big appeal is about him. At one point, he does something kind of weird. The two of them are on a serious mission to scope out some information and suddenlt, Denbury (Potential spoilers alert!) ……………………….. “attacks” Natalie to the ground, kissing her everywhere, trying to unbutton her blouse, and all that. The book literally says he pounced on her!  At first I thought he was just possessed (which is quite possible due to the nature of this story), but then Denbury apologizes by basically saying he’s really horny (I’m paraphrasing, of course). Natalie, being a noble Victorian lady, declines his advances, though, bizarrely, Natalie is so starstruck by Denbury that she brushes it all off as nothing! (Spoilers over!) The whole scene just stuck out oddly to me, and seemed like an awkward attempt at creating a modern sexy scene or something, I don’t know. It was weird.

I personally liked the book because I am a fan of Victorian literature and also a fan of Dorian Gray. If you generally dislike reading “old fashioned” books, you might want to skip this one over, I suppose, since it does try to mimic the style of Victorian novels. I think this book was well written as a whole and the story flows smoothly. The characters are a bit hit and miss — I liked Natalie, but Denbury was a bit blah. I’d recommend giving this book a go if you are interested!

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