The Red Queen

From English Monarchs

From About.com

Philippa Gregory's newest book The Red Queen is definitely worth checking out. It is a rare autobiographical account of Margaret Beaufort, the mother of King Henry VII. The book deals with Margaret's childhood, how she lacked warmth and attention as a child along with her fierce devotion to God and her only son Henry. Although at times Margaret is a difficult heroine in that she comes out as high and mighty as well as allowing her jealousy to get the best of her you have to respect her as a mother. She is willing to do anything for her son, no matter what the cost is to herself. Margaret Beaufort can be petty, but she is extremely driven and doesn't know the meaning of the word defeat. She is a very powerful and Philippa Gregory does an excellent job getting that point across as well as how Margaret's experiences help shape who she is. The thing that made this novel resonate with me is that Gregory is able to show through Margaret's point of view, why she did everything that she did, good or bad.  This novel also showed how humans are able to justify almost everything they do as being for a good cause. It's definitely worth reading if only to be able to get a not often told story of a woman whose actions had an impact on the history of an important country.

Doomed Queens

Doomed Queens by Kris Waldherr tells the stories of various, often times, little known queens who have suffered terrible fates due to their exalted status. Many died quite young or had their lives shortened by those closest to them. Some were noble while others seemingly deserved their fates. Ms. Waldherr's is able to portray these tragic lives in a light that makes them seem important to the reader. Despite the gravity of the topic the author is able to add humor through the "cautionary morals" at the end of each queen's tale. Still the specter of death is never far, represented by the skeletons that constantly shadow these royal women. The book is richly illustrated with images of the doomed queens, some actual portraits while others are a breathtaking representation of what the author thinks they would have looked like. The book is only 172 pages but included into these pages are quizzes that test your knowledge of these royal ladies. All in all Doomed Queens is a quick, but insightful read that will definitely encourage the reader to further look into the lives of these unfortunates. I know it certainly made me do some research of my own.

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Intro

Hi, I've created this blog as a way to get in touch with other history lovers. I'll be periodically posting reviews or comments on a bunch of books that deal with history or random facts on the royals of the world that I find interesting.

From Wikipedia

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