Now Out Grand Duchess Marie Pavlovna

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Now available from Amazon Grand Duchess Marie Pavlovna .  (And if you order through this link, I earn a few pennies,  really a few pennies, so if many of my readers order this book from my link, I can earn a few dollars.)

The book will be reviewed in the not-to-distant future

Catching up: a mixed bag of books

It was the Plantagenet women who played important roles, as wives, mothers, political analysts, and consorts, but most historians have focused on the men, the princes, the kings, the warriors, and the kingmakers.


Thank goodness for Sarah Gristwood's Blood Sisters (Basic Books: $29.99).  Gristwood, a British biographer and historian,  turns the attention to seven women who were forced to take sides in the war of the Cousins the War of the Roses.


The seven women were: Marguerite of Anjou, consort of Henry VI; Cecily Neville (mother of Edward IV and Richard III); Elizabeth Woodville, consort of Edward IV; Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV and consort of Henry VII; Margaret of Burgundy, daughter of Cecily Neville; Anne Neville, wife of Edward, Prince of Wales and consort of Richard III and Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII.


Each of these women had their role to play in the tapestry of that led to war between two branches of the family, ultimately brought together by the determined and forceful Margaret of Beaufort and the pragmatic former Queen Elizabeth, widow of Edward IV, arranging the marriage of their children|: Henry Tudor and Elizabeth of York.

Gristwood weaves together a fascinating story that spans several generations and embraces these women's' histories.   They survived and played the political machinations games with varying degrees of success.  They were wives, mothers, lovers, friends and enemies.   These women come alive with Gristwood's delineation of their lives and the roles they played in the war of the Roses.

Blood Sisters is an excellent read.  One of best modern books on the distaff Plantagenets.   This book would make a great mini-series, far better than Showtime's trashy and historically inaccurate The White Queen.

It is a shame that most foreign language books on European royals rarely ever get translated into English.  Lothar Machtan's Prinz Max von Baden Der letze Kanzler des Kaisers  (Suhrkamp Verlag)  is a certainly a candidate for translation, perhaps by a British or American university Press.

This is a well-researched biography that covers Max's life, but Machtan is largely concerned with Max's political career.  He was the last Imperial Chancellor, who played a role in the dismantling of the Kaiser's final days.

Machtan's work must is a major accomplishment, offering a piece of an ever-increasing puzzle that was the life of Wilhelm II -- and the first world war.  In  October 1918, in the waning days of World War, as German defeat appeared certain, Wilhelm II appointed Max as chancellor, seeing an opportunity to save his throne.  But Max could not save the Germany that Wilhelm wanted to keep, and he was willing to negotiate with the socialists and others for the establishment of a republic, forcing Wilhelm II (and the other German sovereigns) to abdicate their thrones. 


Wilhelm was not expecting the final outcome.  He never believed he would lose his throne, and he blamed Max.


The collapse of the monarchy was quickly followed by the collapse of the close relationship between Max and Wilhelm II.  Max's wife, Marie Louise, was the sister of Prince Ernst August, Duke of Brunswick, who was married to the Kaiser's only daughter, Princess Viktoria Luise.


My only quibble is the limited number of photographs (which are buried in the book).  German publishers tend to economize on including photographs in books.

Professional translations are expensive, which makes foreign rights difficult for publishers, especially if the books are marked for a limited market.  This book is more than a royal biography.  It is a complex history that offers insight into the life of a prince, who tried to save Germany from itself and from the ego of a monarch whose time had long passed.


Prinz Max von Baden Der letze Kanzler des Kaiser is worth the translation.  World War I historians and scholars will appreciate the effort. The price is of the book is 29,95 Euros.

.http://www.suhrkamp.de/

German historian Karin Feuerstein-Prasser has joined the Hannover anniversary (three hundred years since George I succeeded to the British throne) with the publication of Englands Koniginnen aus dem Hause of Hannover (1714-1901).   This slim paperback is a quick read into the lives of Sophia Dorothea Celle, Caroline of Ansbach, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Caroline of Brunswick, Adelheid of Saxe-Meiningen and Queen Victoria. 


The first five women were consorts of the Hannover Kings (George I,II, III, IV  William IV) and Victoria, a Queen Regnant.  Victoria is included because she was the last of the Hannover queens.


This book was published by Verlag Friedrich Pustet (14.95 Euros)

http://www.verlag-pustet.de/

Now available: Princesses on the Wards by Coryne Hall

 

 

Coryne Hall's Princesses on the Wards is now available (History Press) ... official publication date in the UK is October 22.   The book will be available in the USA in December (from Amazon.)

 

 

From Amazon.co.uk  Queens and princesses have always shown care and compassion, but many went much further. They were not afraid to roll up their sleeves, work in wards or help in field hospitals and operating theatres, despite their sheltered upbringings. Through wars and revolutions across Europe, their experiences were similar to those of thousands of other nurses, but this is the first time that their involvement in nursing and the extent of their influence on the profession has been detailed in full. Beginning with two daughters of Queen Victoria – Princess Alice and Princess Helena – this book looks at the difficulties these royals faced while carving a worthwhile role in an age when the place of a well-born woman was considered to be in the home. Empress Alexandra of Russia, Queen Marie of Romania, Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, and Princess Alice of Greece (mother of the Duke of Edinburgh) were just a few of Queen Victoria’s relatives who set an example of service well beyond that considered necessary for their rank. Not all of them were fully trained nurses, but each made a positive contribution towards alleviating suffering which cannot be overestimated.

The Royal Letters Mystery by Janet Cowland

I received a copy of The Royal Letters Mystery (Rydings Associates) from the author, Janet Cowlard, earlier today while on a visit to Bethesda, MD.   On the Metro from Bethesda to Gallery Place, changing from the Yellow Line to King Street, where I waited for the Blue Line to Franconia-Springfield (yes, one can change for the Blue Line at Metro Center, but it is a long ride.)


I nearly missed my stop at Gallery Place because I was so engrossed in this excellent story.

Janet Cowlard is a detective-cum-researcher par excellence.    In the 1980s, her husband purchased an "unpopular lot" of 5 letters for £2.00.  The five handwritten letters were written at some point in the early 1920s by someone who was connected to the British court.  Four of the letters were written to the letter writer's mother, and one letter to her daughter.  The stationary was from Buckingham Palace, York Cottage,  Windsor Castle, and Balmoral.

The letters were unsigned.  Each of the five letters referred to other people at court, to the royals themselves, but no real in-your-face clues as to the identity of the letter writer. 
Cowlard began her search with a letter to the Royal Archives (to no avail) in the early 1990s, but due to her own work as a Disability Trainer for Arthritis Care, a British charity, her research to find the identity was put on hold for several years.

The research was painstaking, but Janet, carefully and thoughtfully, peeled away layer by layer, filling in the blanks, identifying the people mentioned in the letters (mostly royals and members of the British aristocracy), and writing a story with a very interesting story with a twist at the end.

Because of that twist,  I am not going to reveal even the name of the letter writer except to say that it was an aristocratic woman with ties to the court.  The twist comes with learning about the letter writer's descendants.

Queen Mary, the Duchess of York, Duchess of Albany, Queen Emma of the Netherlands are among the many clues that lead Janet to finally learning who wrote the letters and her own family connections .. and that little twist at the end.

No, you cannot twist my arm.  I am not going to name the person.  Think of it as a murder mystery with the denouement coming near the end.  When you read the book  -- and you will want to read this book -- you will understand why I refuse to give anything away, except to say that Janet Cowlard is to be commended for the detailed research.  (And being an academic librarian, you know I LOVE good research.)

The Royal Letters Mystery is available from Amazon.uk, and from the author's website.   The price of the book is £5.50 (postage extra).   This book is NOT available in bookstores or any other Amazon as the book is sold by the author.

 This book deserves wider exposure because it is a very good read.

The book is illustrated with photographs of the people and places mentioned in the letters and connected to the letter writer. (Thought I was going to name her ... wrong again!)


So if you want to find out who wrote the letters (and the intriguing twist at the end) you will need to order this book and read it yourself.  I refuse to  "fess" up. 


And, when you get the book, don't turn to the end, and read the final pages.  Start at the beginning, and join Janet on her fascinating journey as she unravels the identities of the letter writer and those named in the letters.  It's a super trip to be on.  You won't regret a single moment of The Royal Letters Mystery.


http://www.rydingsassociates.co.uk/index.html

The King's Curse by Philippa Gregory

Wow! Wow! Wow!   Philippa Gregory's The King's Curse (Touchstone: $28.99) is the best book so far in The Cousin's War series.  After the disappointment of her last historical novel, The White Princess, I was ready to be underwhelmed by The King's Curse, which focuses on Margaret Pole, the daughter of the Duke of Clarence and Isabel Neville's, whose sister, Anne, was the primary character in Gregory's last but one book, The Kingmaker's Daughter.  (The Earl of Warwick, father of Isabel and Anne, was known as the King Maker.)


I loved The King's Curse.  Got comfy on my floatie and read it in the middle of the pool.  I could not put it down. 


Margaret, a first cousin to Princess Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV, and consort of Henry VII, is fond (and loyal) to Elizabeth.  But she remains a threat to the Tudors, at least in the eyes of Henry VII's mother,  Margaret Beaufort (whose story was told in The Red Queen). 


Her brother, Edward, the Earl of Warwick, is arrested and sent to the Tower on the orders of Henry VII, the victor at Bosworth Field.   Warwick is only 10 years old when he is sent to the Tower.  He would spend the rest of his life as a prisoner, and was executed in 1499.


Margaret Beaufort arranged for Margaret's marriage to a Tudor loyalist, Sir John Pole, a minor nobleman.  The death of her husband left Margaret and her children in poverty.  She is forced to send one son, Reginald, to become a priest.


The death of her cousin brings Margaret Pole back to court. Her estates and her title, Countess of Salisbury, are restored, and she serves as the chief lady-in-waiting to Katherine of Aragon, the wife of Arthur, the Prince of Wales.  Margaret's loyalty to Katherine is never doubted, and she remains close to her after Katherine is widowed and marries Henry VIII.


But Margaret's loyalty would be tested (and her family, too), when Henry VIII decides that he needs a new wife because Katherine could not give him a son.   This would lead to further tensions as Margaret was chief governess to Katherine and Henry's daughter, Mary.


Philippa Gregory knows how to tell a story, and she succeeds here with a breathtaking, page turning first rate historical saga as Margaret and her family are caught up in the growing maelstrom of Henry VIII's increasing tyrannical reign. 


Religion and politics make bad bedfellows, certainly during the reign of Henry VIII.  As the king went from marriage to marriage, seeking a woman who would bear him a healthy son, his reign degenerated into paranoia.


Henry VIII proceeded to eliminate people he perceived to be his rivals, just as his father ordered the death of the Earl of Warwick.


Margaret Salisbury and her several of her children were arrested and sent to the Tower on charges largely based on their ties and correspondence with Reginald Pole, once a devoted supporter of the King.  But Reginald, a devout Catholic, was determined to save the Church.  There were reports of plots orchestrated by Reginald, safe in Rome.  His family would suffer.  His brother, Henry, and other family members, were executed.  Another brother, Geoffrey, ratted on his mother and brothers, and was pardoned. 


Margaret was stripped of her property, and her peerage.  On May 27, 1541, at the age of 67, she was executed without ever having been tried.  She was the oldest of all of Henry's victim, and her death was particularly violent as the executioner botched the job, and "hacked her head and shoulder to pieces."


This is historical fiction at its very best.  Philippa Gregory is to be commended for the magnificent The King's Curse.