Book Review: “The Summer Queen” by Elizabeth Chadwick

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The Summer QueenA legendary Queen of both France and England. A wife who went on the Crusades with her first husband and chose her second husband. A fierce mother who defended her Plantagenet children no matter the cost. Eleanor of Aquitaine has been revered and reviled for centuries, some saying she was a powerful woman ahead of her time while others considered her someone who could manipulate those around her by having affairs, including supposedly with her uncle in Antioch. Her story has been told in numerous ways through different mediums throughout the centuries, but now Elizabeth Chadwick has decided to write her interpretation of Eleanor of Aquitaine’s life in a trilogy of historical fiction novels. The first in the series, “The Summer Queen,” explores Eleanor’s early years, her marriage to a young French king, and the man destined to become King of England.

I have always been drawn to Eleanor of Aquitaine’s story since I first learned about her and the origins of the Plantagenet dynasty. I remember watching “The Lion in Winter” in college and I enjoyed the film, so I decided to study more about Eleanor and Henry II. When I heard that Elizabeth Chadwick had written a trilogy about the legendary queen, I knew I wanted to read it to see how she felt about Eleanor.

We begin our journey into the past when Eleanor (in this novel, Alienor) and her sister Petronella are getting ready to bid their father, William X Duke of Aquitaine, is about to set off on a pilgrimage, leaving the control of the duchy to Eleanor as his heiress. Her father’s final wish for his heiress was that she would marry the heir to the French throne, the soon-to-be King Louis VII. Eleanor reluctantly agrees and at first, the marriage seems to be successful, but after a miscarriage of a boy, Louis’ extreme piety, and his meddling mother Adelaide of Maurienne, Eleanor is at her wits end.

After giving birth to a daughter named Marie, Louis has decided to join the Crusades and Eleanor must tag along, although she would rather have an annulment. The journey that the two embark on drives even more of a wedge between the couple as it is rumored that she was close to her uncle Raymond of Poitiers, Prince of Antioch and one Geoffrey de Rancon. In 1152, Louis and Eleanor receive their divorce; Eleanor may return to Aquitaine and remarry, but she must leave her two daughters, Marie and Alix, with their father in France. Eleanor does not stay single for long as Geoffrey of Anjou convinces the former queen to marry his young, hotheaded, handsome son who would become King Henry II of England by birthright thanks to his mother Empress Matilda.

I have read both historical fiction and nonfiction accounts of Eleanor of Aquitaine’s life, but this novel truly made her feel alive, as well as the men and women that surrounded her at court. Even though I knew what was going to happen, it was still thrilling to read the story from multiple perspectives. I cannot wait to read the rest of this trilogy to see the birth of the Plantagenet dynasty. If you are a fan of the life and times of Eleanor of Aquitaine, you must check out, “The Summer Queen” by Elizabeth Chadwick.

Book Review: “Queen, King, Ace” by Olivia Hayfield

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Queen King AceEngland is in desperate need of a hero. After the Covid pandemic and the Brexit debacle, England is in despair, and only one man can save the day. He does not wield a sword, but a tennis racket and his fair maiden is the badass CEO of the Rose Corp. Ace Penhelagon and Eliza Rose seem like a picture-perfect pair, but every rose has thorns that protect it from a dark past. What dark secrets do these two hide away from the flashes of the paparazzi and can love endure over fate? Olivia Hayfield’s latest novel, “Queen, King, Ace,” is a modern love story that combines the elements of the Arthurian myths with the Tudor dynasty to answer the question of what might King Arthur and Queen Elizabeth be like in the 21st century.

I would like to thank Sue Copsey/ Olivia Hayfield for sending me a copy of this novel. I have seen Hayfield’s previous modern historical retellings, “Notorious”, “Wife After Wife,” and “Sister to Sister” online on social media, and they have looked intriguing, but I have yet to read one. When I heard the premise of this novel, it intrigued me as I was not sure how a modern story with the Tudors and the court of King Arthur would work out.

We begin our modern Tudor/ Arthurian adventure with Eliza Rose, the new CEO of Rose Corp, discussing with Terri Robbins-More about a new tennis phenom named Ace Penhelagon and their planned interview with him for their magazine, The Rack. Eliza agrees to the interview and asks her right-hand man, best friend, and writer extraordinaire, Will Bardington, to write the article. A chance encounter blossoms into a romance between Eliza and Ace, but obstacles get in the way.

Eliza is dealing with the aftermath of the murder of someone whom she considered a soul mate, Kit Marley, who was also very close to Will. Ace is on track to complete the Golden Slam, which is when a tennis player wins the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, the US Open, and the Olympic gold medal, which is a tall order for any athlete. From the meddling press to stalkers and parents questioning their intentions, it seems like fate is throwing everything it has at this young couple. The final twist in this tale was something I was not expecting and kept me on the edge of my seat. When I finished reading this novel, I wanted to read Hayfield’s other modern historical retellings.

This book may have not been a book that I thought I would enjoy in the concept alone, being a modern retelling of the Tudors and the Arthurian myths, but by the end, I was engrossed in the tale and a bit sad that it ended. I am a fan of modern tales from time to time, but the fact that Hayfield added a Tudor/Arthurian twist was a bit of fun searching for those little Easter eggs. If you are a fan of contemporary fiction, the Tudors, and the Arthurian legend, you should check out, “Queen, King, Ace” by Olivia Hayfield.

Book Review: “Normal Women: Nine Hundred Years of Making History” by Philippa Gregory

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Normal WomenThe field of history for centuries has been focused on men and the struggles that mankind has had to endure for society to survive. We tend to get only a mere glimpse at the lives of women when they are next to powerful men. Some will write about women, mostly royal women, who lead extraordinary lives and left an imprint on the past. But what about those who lived ordinary lives? What about the women who lived daily, fighting to survive every obstacle? What can we learn about history through the eyes of ordinary women? Philippa Gregory has taken on the mammoth task of trying to answer these questions and more with her tome, “Normal Women: Nine Hundred Years of Making History.”

I would like to thank Harper Collins and Net Galley for sending me a copy of this book. I have had an interesting background regarding Philippa Gregory’s books. When I was in middle school/ high school, I started reading novels by Gregory and I became fascinated with the stories that she was weaving. It was only when I read other books that disproved some of the things that Gregory had included in her novels that I stopped reading them. When I saw this book and its praise, I decided to give Gregory another shot because, in the end, I enjoyed her writing style.

As the title suggests, Gregory covers over nine hundred years of English women’s history, from the Norman Conquest to the modern day. It is a daunting undertaking, but the way Gregory presents the information is so easy to follow that it allows the depth of the subject material to sink in without it being too overwhelming. Each part of this book focuses on a different era in the history of England and has segments that highlight important developments during the era when it comes to women’s roles in society. As readers, we can see changes in society like how the church accepted women, how society accepted women, what kind of rights women had, what jobs women could do for money, how women viewed relationships with men as well as other women, and how men viewed women’s nature.

Unlike Gregory’s previous books and novels, the focus of this book is not the women who wore crowns, but women who lived everyday lives and survived whatever life handed them. Mothers, wives, daughters, soldiers, protesters, doctors, factory workers, Suffragettes, guild widows, pirates, highwaywomen, and women husbands are all represented in this book. By including small snippets of stories from women of every walk of life over centuries, Gregory allows her readers to discover more about these women for themselves, which is an exciting prospect.

I am so glad I read this book and gave Philippa Gregory a second chance. This book was fresh, innovative, challenging at times, and overall a fascinating read. By letting the facts and the stories of these women speak for themselves, Gregory presents the past in a way that is both inspirational and heartbreaking, raw and real. If you want to learn more about English women’s history or you are a fan of Philippa Gregory, I highly suggest you read, “Normal Women: Nine Hundred Years of Making History” by Philippa Gregory.

Book Review: “Four Queens: The Provencal Sisters Who Ruled Europe” by Nancy Goldstone

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Four QueensIn southeastern France, there is a region called Provence, known today for its lavender fields and its vineyards. In 13th-century France, Provence would be known as the birthplace of four queens who dominated European politics. The daughters, Marguerite, Eleanor, Sanchia, and Beatrice were the daughters of Raymond Berenger V Count of Provence, and his wife Beatrice of Savoy. They would become the queens of France, England, Germany, and Sicily. While the sisters were known for their beauty, how they acted as queen consorts for their husbands cemented their legacies in history. Nancy Goldstone tells the tale of these remarkable siblings and how they changed European history in her book, “Four Queens: The Provencal Sisters Who Ruled Europe.”

I am always looking for a new history story to familiarize myself with to read and grow as a history nerd. I was familiar with Eleanor of Provence as she is mentioned in biographies about Henry III, but her sisters were a complete mystery to me and so when I heard about this book and its exploration into the sister queens and 13th-century European history, it intrigued me.

Goldstone begins with a story of how the English King Henry III met with the French King Louis IX in Paris during Christmas 1254, and this extraordinary meeting was orchestrated by two sisters, Eleanor and Marguerite of Provence. We then jump back in time to the childhood of the four sisters in Provence, full of wine and songs of the troubadours. At the heart of this glamorous court was Raymond Berenger V and Beatrice of Savoy, Count and Countess of Provence, along with their four daughters; Marguerite, Eleanor, Sanchia, and Beatrice. All around Provence, wars raged, and without a male heir, Raymond Berenger V and his beloved Provence risked the wars coming into his home and taking everything he loved. What is a father to do, but make exceptional matches for his daughters?

Marguerite, the oldest daughter, was married to the young Louis IX of France, thanks to the deal made by her father and her new mother-in-law, the formidable Blanche of Castile, the White Queen. Guillaume of Savoy, the sisters’ uncle, decided to arrange the next marriage, which was between Eleanor of Provence and the King of England, Henry III, who had been ruling a turbulent nation for over 20 years. The two eldest sisters would help weather civil wars and crusades to allow the dynasties that they married to survive.

The younger sisters, Sanchia and Beatrice, married men who were also younger siblings and were fighting for their rights to rule in Europe. Sanchia married Richard, Earl of Cornwall, the younger brother of Henry III. They would become King and Queen of Germany for only a brief time, but they would pave the way for the Habsburgs. Finally, Beatrice married the younger brother of Louis IX, Charles Count of Anjou; they would soon become the King and Queen of Sicily.

In the world of 13th-century Europe which was dominated by kings and popes fighting crusades and civil wars, it was the women at home and their husbands’ sides that helped stabilize nations. Marguerite, Eleanor, Sanchia, and Beatrice were fierce women who were loyal to their own families even if that meant that they had to step in the way of their sister’s glory. Goldstone can weave together a narrative of all four siblings that is compelling, engaging, and academically fascinating. If you want a book that explores the familial bonds of four sisters and the lengths that they had to go to to protect what they loved the most, I highly suggest you read, “Four Queens: The Provencal Sisters Who Ruled Europe” by Nancy Goldstone.

Book Review: “The Royal Women Who Made England: The Tenth Century in Saxon England” by M.J. Porter

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royal womenWhen we think about England, we often think about a unified country with an illustrious history of wars and triumphs. However, England in the 10th century was drastically different. It was barely a country as it was newly formed through politics, but it faced the risk of elimination with a carousel of kings and Viking raiders. Some of the most notable kings of this era include Alfred, Edward the Elder, Athelstan, Edward the Martyr, and Aethelred II, but the most fascinating figures of this time were the women who were hidden in the shadows of the past. M.J. Porter uses the written record from the 10th and 11th centuries to tell the tales of these remarkable women in her book, “The Royal Women Who Made England: The Tenth Century in Saxon England.”

I would like to thank Pen and Sword Books and Net Galley for sending me a copy of this book. I have heard of M.J. Porter and her historical fiction novels ( I even hosted her for a guest post on my blog), but I had never read her books. I saw this particular title and I was curious as the history of 10th century England is a weak area in my historical research and I wanted to know more about the royal women who lived during this era.

Porter begins by explaining the concept of the long 10th century in England, which starts with the death of King Alfred in 899 to the death of Lady Elfrida in 1001/1002. In that span, ten kings reigned: Alfred, Edward the Elder, Aethelweard, Athelstan, Edmund, Eadred, Eadwig, Edgar, Edward the Martyr, and Aethelred II the Unready. Although this was a turbulent time, it was the women who kept England together. Women like Lady Aethelflaed Lady of the Mercians and Elfrida, the first crowned Queen of England, were not afraid to get their hands dirty whether that meant fighting off Viking invaders or potentially killing off her stepson so her son could be king. Some less famous women were daughters, sisters, mothers, saints, and abbesses/nuns who saw England transformed and whose stories survived through wills, charters, and chronicles.

While I did find the information in this book fascinating as I did take copious notes while reading, I have to be a bit critical of the actual structure of this book. The structure as it was published made it a bit difficult to follow along and I was struggling to keep track of who was who as some women shared the same name. I feel like Porter should have done an introduction to the events of the period in the beginning, then dived into what sources she will use in the book, and then gone into the more minutiae details of the lives of the royal women in chronological order.

Overall, it was a decent read that was extremely informative, but it could have been structured differently to make it even better and a more enjoyable read. Porter’s passion for this period of the past is evident on every page and I wonder how it translates to her historical fiction novels. If you want to learn more about the royal house of Wessex and the women who were close to the throne, I would recommend you read, “The Royal Women Who Made England: The Tenth Century in Saxon England” by M.J. Porter.

Guest Post: “Snippet from ‘Imperatrix’ by S.P. Somtow”

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Imperatrix Tour BannerI am pleased to welcome S.P. Somtow to my blog today to share a snippet from his latest novel, “Imperatix.” I would like to thank S.P. Somtow and The Coffee Pot Book Club for allowing me to be part of this blog tour. 

Have another brain,” said the Emperor, feeding me Himself.

“Divinitas,” I said, “how many peacocks does it take to make such a platter?”

“Wonderful!” said Himself.  “Poppaea never takes an interest in how the world runs.  For her, the brains just appear by magic.  The answer to question is — why — we have our own, private little — to coin a word — pavonarium.  Would you like to see peacocks — a veritable ocean of peacocks — more bird-brains than even in the Senate?”  He clapped his hands, dropping a brain onto the grass, though Hercules quickly disposed of it.  “Come!”

He took me by the hand and started to pull me in toward the far side of the garden, where there was a fountain cunningly designed like a pair of dolphins.  I turned to look at the Lady Poppaea, terrified that I would soon be alone with the God.

“This could be your fortune,” she said to me.  “You’ve insulted, you’ve appeased.  Now, Sporus, you must seduce.”

Imperatrix CoverBlurb:

Captured by pirates and sold to a Roman aristocrat as a sex slave, Sporus attracted the attention of no less a personage than the Emperor Nero, ruler of the known world. Would-be poet, patron of the arts, aesthete, and brutal autocrat, the Divine Nero saw in the boy a startling resemblance to the Empress Poppaea – and made him an empress as well.

Suetonius, Tacitus, and other Roman historians have given tantalizing glimpses into the incredible life story of the boy who became twice an empress to two emperors and was condemned to die in the arena by a third.

In this meticulously researched trilogy, World Fantasy Award-winning author S.P. Somtow lays bare the darkest secrets of Imperial Rome – its triumphs and its nadirs, its beauty and its cruelty. Through this chaos, a contorted mirror of our contemporary world, this figure of Sporus moves, all too knowing yet all too innocent, providing a worm’s eye view of one of the wildest periods in ancient history.

Imperatrix, the second volume of the tale, takes us into the heart of the Imperial palace with all its intrigue, depravity, and splendor.

Buy Links:

This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/mV2EaJ

S.P. Somtow authorAuthor Bio:

Once referred to by the International Herald Tribune as ‘the most well-known expatriate Thai in the world,’ Somtow Sucharitkul is no longer an expatriate since he has returned to Thailand after five decades of wandering the world. He is best known as an award-winning novelist and a composer of operas.

Born in Bangkok, Somtow grew up in Europe and was educated at Eton and Cambridge. His first career was in music and in the 1970s, his first return to Asia, he acquired a reputation as a revolutionary composer, the first to combine Thai and Western instruments in radical new sonorities. Conditions in the arts in the region at the time proved so traumatic for the young composer that he suffered a major burnout, emigrated to the United States, and reinvented himself as a novelist.

His earliest novels were in the science fiction field and he soon won the John W. Campbell for Best New Writer as well as being nominated for and winning numerous other awards in the field. But science fiction was not able to contain him and he began to cross into other genres. In his 1984 novel Vampire Junction, he injected a new literary inventiveness into the horror genre, in the words of Robert Bloch, author of Psycho, ‘skillfully combining the styles of Stephen King, William Burroughs, and the author of the Revelation to John.’ Vampire Junction was voted one of the forty all-time greatest horror books by the Horror Writers’ Association.

In the 1990s Somtow became increasingly identified as a uniquely Asian writer with novels such as the semi-autobiographical Jasmine Nights and a series of stories noted for a peculiarly Asian brand of magic realism, such as Dragon’s Fin Soup, which is currently being made into a film directed by Takashi Miike. He recently won the World Fantasy Award, the highest accolade given in the world of fantastic literature, for his novella The Bird Catcher.

Returning to Thailand in 2001, he became artistic director of Opera Siam and has had more than a dozen operas produced around the world including The Snow Dragon and The Silent Prince, which premiered in the United States, Helena Citronova, an opera set during the Holocaust, and the ten-part DasJati: Ten Lives of the Buddha.

In the last few years, he has made a return to writing novels with the Nero and Sporus trilogy and the young adult series, Club X.

In 2021 the film he produced and wrote, The Maestro: Symphony of Terror received over forty awards at international festivals, and in 2023 the Thai government officially elevated him to the status of National Artist.

Read S.P. Somtow’s interview on Literary Titan about Imperatrix at https://literarytitan.com/2024/01/21/the-core-of-innocence/.

Author Links:

Website: www.somtow.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/somtow

Facebook: www.facebook.com/somtow

Instagram: www.instagram.com/somtow

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/s-p-somtow

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B000APBJXC

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/81037.S_P_Somtow

Book Review: “The History of England Vol. II: Tudors” by Peter Ackroyd

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TudorsThe royal dynasties of English history are some of the most popular in European history. We have the Normans, the Angevins, the Plantagenets, who occupied the throne for 300 years, the Scottish Stuarts who saw religious change and political upheaval, the haughty Hanovers, and the current Windsor dynasty. However, one dynasty that has captured the imagination of history nerds for centuries has been the tumultuous Tudors. In book two of Peter Ackroyd’s “The History of England: Tudors,” he explores the stories that made the Tudor dynasty so infamous.

I saw this book at a used bookstore and picked it up. I just read the previous book in this series, “Foundation” and wanted to see how Ackroyd would tackle the tricky Tudors.

Ackroyd, unfortunately, does not start with the patriarch of the Tudor dynasty, Henry VII, instead, he starts with his infamous second son, Henry VIII, and his coronation. Ackroyd did include a bit of information about Henry VII’s reign in his previous volume, but I think it would have made much more sense to have included his story in this book to show the dynasty from beginning to end. When it comes to the reign of Henry VIII, his martial affairs take a backseat to the more religious and political aspects of his reign. The theme of religious changes goes throughout this book as Ackroyd explores the reigns of Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I, the children of Henry VIII.

While I did find some of the facts in this book informative, I did have issues with this book. When it comes to the characterization of the women in this book, especially Mary I, it felt like a repetition of some of the old tropes (like Bloody Mary). There were also stories and dialogue that Ackroyd had included that felt similar to historical fiction rather than historical facts, which was a bit distracting, especially for a chronicle.

Overall, I felt like this book was just okay, but quite a bit of the information presented in this book could be disproven with the latest research about the Tudors (of course this book is over 10 years old). I think this is a fine introductory book to the Tudor dynasty and the religious changes that happened during the 16th century in England. If this sounds intriguing to you or if you have read “Foundation,” “The History of England Vol. II: Tudors” by Peter Ackroyd might be something you would be interested in reading.

Guest Post: “Snippet from ‘Signatures in Stone’ by Linda Lappin

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Signatures in Stone Tour BannerToday, I am pleased to welcome Linda Lappin to my blog to share a snippet from her novel, “Signatures in Stone.”I would like to thank The Coffee Pot Book Club and Linda Lappin for allowing me to be part of this blog tour.

Without inspiration, I could not write. What I needed was a new batch of
signatures, those curious messages our waking life sends us from our own unconscious, which I have come to see as promptings from the muse, and even as a spiritual guide for my own existence.

We are constantly immersed in a network of signs and symbols, whose meaning eludes us, but which, if only we could read them, would reveal every detail of our past and even predict our future.

The mind talks to itself not with words, but with scrambled symbols, pictures, fragments, often severed from any literal meaning. If we wish to learn to read them, we must abandon the rational links of words to thoughts. Signatures are always there waiting for us, like unopened letters slid beneath the front door, accumulating after a long absence, written in a hieroglyphic alphabet we have forgotten.

Signatures in Stone coverBlurb:

Captivating critics and readers, SIGNATURES IN STONE, was the OVERALL WINNER in the DAPHNE DU MAURIER AWARDS for Excellence in Mystery and Suspense Writing -Best Mystery of 2013

Rome, Italy – November 2023 – Pleasure Boat Studio is thrilled to announce the release of the second edition of Linda Lappin’s celebrated novel, SIGNATURES IN STONE: A BOMARZO MYSTERY. This captivating suspense tale takes readers on a thrilling journey through the enigmatic Monster Park of Bomarzo, also known as the Sacred Wood, an extraordinary Baroque sculpture garden in Italy. With the 500th anniversary of the park’s creation, this edition is accompanied by a magnificent new cover and a series of Tarot card illustrations by Santa Fe artist Carolyn Florek.

In SIGNATURES IN STONE, readers are transported to the atmospheric setting of the Monster Park of Bomarzo, a sixteenth-century garden adorned with mythical creatures believed to represent a terrifying journey into the realm of nightmares. Against this backdrop, four travelers find themselves intertwined in a fate-driven Italian holiday. Daphne, a British writer of occult mysteries, her down-on-his-luck aristocratic publisher Nigel, the aspiring artist and American gigolo Clive, and the art historian Professor Finestone, all converge in a dilapidated villa near the park. They are attended by rustic servants who harbor secrets of their own.

Professor Finestone has made a groundbreaking discovery, revealing that the garden was designed by one of Italy’s greatest artists as a transformative experience that delves into the shadow side of life. Over the centuries, the park’s meanders continue to influence the minds and destinies of those who venture within. As the group explores their heart’s desires amidst the haunting sculptures, they become entangled in a web of intrigue and danger. When Daphne, renowned for writing cozy murder tales, becomes the prime suspect in a shocking homicide, she must confront her own darkness and rely on her sleuthing skills to uncover the terrifying truth.

Linda Lappin’s gripping tale presents an intriguing exploration of gardens in Renaissance Italy, where they were regarded as tools for altering consciousness and changing destiny. The Monster Park of Bomarzo becomes the backdrop for a “Gothic-in-Wonderland” phantasmagoria, immersing readers in a suspenseful and thrilling journey.

New Edition of Linda Lappin’s Award-Winning SIGNATURES IN STONE: A BOMARZO MYSTERY Commemorates the 500th Anniversary of the Monster Park.

Praise:

“Layers of mystery are woven into Linda Lappin’s beautifully written and atmospheric historical novel set in Bomarzo, Italy’s enigmatic park of stone monsters.”
~ Gigi Pandian, author of The Accidental Alchemist.

“Deftly mixing fascinating art history and murder with an exotic atmospheric setting (the Bomarzo garden actually exists), dramatic historical period (1928 fascist Italy), and fully fleshed characters, Lappin (The Etruscan) has written a hallucinatory gothic mystery in which no one is as they appear. Daphne is a most memorable, if a bit unreliable narrator. Readers looking for an intelligent summer mystery will find much to savor here.”
~ Wilda Williams, Library Journal

Buy Link:

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/mYDWvd

Linda LappinAuthor Bio:

Linda Lappin, poet, translator, novelist, and travel writer is the prize-winning author of four novels: The Etruscan (Wynkin deWorde, 2004); Katherine’s Wish (Wordcraft, 2008), dealing with the last five years of Katherine Mansfield’s life; Signatures in Stone: A Bomarzo Mystery (Pleasureboat Studio, 2013,2023), overall winner of the Daphne Du Maurier award for best mystery novel of 2013; and Loving Modigliani: The Afterlife of Jeanne Hébuterne (Serving House Books, 2020), 2021 Daphne Du Maurier award finalist and shortlisted for the 2021 Montaigne Medal for Books of Distinction.

She is also the author of The Soul of Place: Ideas and Exercises for Conjuring the Genius Loci, (Travelers Tales, 2015), winner of a Nautilus Award in the category of creativity in 2015.

A former Fulbright scholar to Italy, she has lived mainly in Rome for over thirty years. She is at work on a second Daphne Dublanc mystery novel, Melusine, set in Bolsena. The second edition of Signatures in Stone (2023) has been issued to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Monster Park.

Author Links:

Website: https://www.lindalappin.net
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LindaLappin1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LindaLappinAuthor/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/linda_lappin_author/
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@linda_lappin_author
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/lindalappin.bsky.social
Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/linda-lappin
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/lindalappin
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1157178.Linda_Lappin

Book Review: “Women of the Anarchy” by Sharon Bennett Connolly

On By hmalagisiIn Book Reviews1 Comment

Women of the AnarchyCivil wars, clashes between cousins, are known to be full of battles between men on foot and horseback, with their eyes set on the throne of their desired country. Many stories of civil wars tend to leave out the women who often were left on the sidelines, ready to pick up the pieces. The story of the Anarchy is a bit different than other civil wars as one of the main figures was not a man, but Empress Matilda, the daughter of King Henry I and the rightful heiress of England facing off against the man who stole the throne from her, her cousin, King Stephen. However, it was not just Empress Matilda who defined what it meant to be a woman during the Anarchy. In her latest book, “Women of the Anarchy,” Sharon Bennett Connolly tells the stories of the mothers, sisters, and wives who defined this turbulent period that saw the end of one dynasty and the beginning of another.

I want to thank Amberley Publishing for sending me a copy of this book. I have enjoyed Sharon Bennett Connolly’s previous books that I have read, “Ladies of the Magna Carta,” “Silk and Sword,” “Defenders of the Norman Crown,” and “King John’s Right Hand Lady.” When I heard that Connolly was writing about the women who were involved in the Anarchy, I was excited because it is one of my favorite conflicts in history to study. I wanted to see what new information Connolly would present in her book.

Connolly begins by explaining how the conflict around the Anarchy arose and how Empress Matilda and Queen Matilda became the female faces of opposing sides of this civil war. Empress Matilda, the daughter of King Henry I, was the wife of the Holy Roman Emperor Henry V. However, her life took a dramatic turn when her only legitimate brother William Aetheling died on November 25, 1120, when the ship he was on, the White Ship, sank after a night of drunk sailing. As King Henry I’s last living legitimate child, Empress Matilda was the rightful heir to the English throne, even though she was a woman and she was willing to fight with everything in her power to sit on the throne. On the other side of the conflict was Queen Matilda of Boulogne, the wife of King Stephen. Although Queen Matilda or Empress Matilda could not wield a sword in battle, they showed that they were capable of fighting in their own unique ways.

Empress Matilda and Queen Matilda had grandmothers and mothers who showed them what it meant to be a queen and a mother who was willing to fight for their family. Women like Matilda of Flanders, Saint Margaret of Scotland, Matilda of Scotland, and Adeliza of Louvain showed the two Matildas how to help their husbands run a country while maintaining their strong identities as women rulers. However, Connolly does not stop just at the two Matildas when discussing royal women who had to navigate the Anarchy. We are introduced to interesting characters like Isabel de Vermandois, Ada de Warenne, Lucy Countess of Chester, Ela de Talvas, Mary of Boulogne, Isabel Countess of Warenne and Surrey, culminating with the story of Eleanor of Aquitaine.

While other books focus on the Anarchy, by focusing on the two Matildas and other women affected by this conflict, Connolly brings something fresh to this story that is centuries old. It shows how their actions to protect their families brought forth change in England through the birth of the Plantagenet dynasty. This book is rich in details and is so well written as Connolly takes the time to distinguish between the Matildas, which there are quite a few in this book, and explain how the conflict started and finally how it was concluded. I think if you want a fabulous book about the Anarchy and the women who defined this period, I highly recommend you check out, “Women of the Anarchy” by Sharon Bennett Connolly.

Book Review: “Daughters of the North: Jean Gordon and Mary, Queen of Scots” by Jennifer Morag Henderson

On By hmalagisiIn Book Reviews1 Comment

Daughters of the NorthIn the late 16th/ early 17th centuries, Scotland was chaotic and full of dynamic characters near or on the throne. People like Mary of Guise, Mary Queen of Scots, Lord Darnley, Earl of Bothwell, the four Maries, and James VI/I show how turbulent the Scottish court was to those around it. However, the stories of those who lived outside the court system and tried their best to maintain control of the country for their monarch tend to fade into obscurity. Take for example the story of Jean Gordon. A noblewoman who was married three times; to James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, Alexander Gordon, Earl of Sutherland, and her true love, Alex Ogilive. Jean’s story is full of heartaches, clashing clans, religious squabbles, and loyalty to one’s family, which is told in Jennifer Morag Henderson’s book, “Daughters of the North: Jean Gordon and Mary, Queen of Scots.”

I would like to thank Sandstone Press and Casemate for sending me a copy of this book. When it comes to 16th-century history, I mostly focus on England, but I wanted to branch out to other countries and learn more about European history as a whole. When I saw the title of this book, it immediately caught my attention because I wanted to learn more about Scottish history and I did not know anything about Jean Gordon.

Jean Gordon, born in 1545, was the daughter of one of the most powerful men in Northern Scotland (known as King of the North), George Gordon 4th Earl of Huntly, and his wife Elizabeth Keith. When she was a child, Jean fell in love with a man named Alex Ogilive, but it was never meant to be as her family fortune changed when the Huntlys decided to clash with Mary, Queen of Scots’ illegitimate brother Lord James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray. This clash ended with the death of George Gordon (with his corpse being put on trial) and the execution of Jean’s brother John Gordon. The family fell out of favor with the young Mary, Queen of Scots, but they would soon rise again.

Mary, Queen of Scots ended up marrying Lord Darnley and having the future King James VI/I of Scotland and England, while in 1566, Jean married James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell. Jean and James were not married for long because in 1567 after it was found that Lord Darnley was murdered, Bothwell decided to dump Jean and marry Mary, Queen of Scots; we all know how that one turned out. Bothwell was such a jerk, but Jean did not mind as she did not care for Bothwell at all.

Jean would marry for a second time to Alexander Gordon, 12th Earl of Sutherland. They would have between seven and eight children. Although it was an arranged marriage, there was love between Jean and Alexander as they worked hard to maintain order in the North while clans were clashing over small issues (like cutting horsetails) and religious rows. After Alexander died, Jean decided to take a chance and marry her true love Alex Ogilive after over 30 years of waiting. Jean would outlive her husbands, her siblings, some of her children, and several monarchs, dying in 1629.

As someone who did not know much about Jean Gordon’s story or 16th/17th-century Scottish history, I adored this book. Henderson has made this complex history accessible to readers, both novices and experts alike. Now I want to explore more Scottish history, maybe even medieval Scottish history. If you want a fresh look into the wider world of the 16th century full of romance and drama, I highly recommend you read, “Daughters of the North: Jean Gordon and Mary, Queen of Scots” by Jennifer Morag Henderson.