Burton Book Review - Leafing through history

Dec 27, 2009

2009: Top Ten Books Reviewed at Burton Book Review

BurtonReview Sunday, December 27, 2009

I read about 64 books in 2009. They included genres of historical fiction, general fiction, regency styles, and non-fiction. This was my first year of reviewing books for authors and publishers, and it has opened up my reading world to many new authors that I otherwise may not have read. It has been the inspiration of other bloggers' reviews and recommendations that have increased my collection of books, which has grown from roughly 100 books to probably 500 books over the last year. I joined Paperbackswap, bookmooch and swaptree, which helps decrease my costs. I won a contest at Alibris where I won $100 worth of books, and I also won 25 books from Paperbackswap. I also won several giveaways, sponsored by bloggers, publishers and authors.

My complete review list can be found here which will show what I rated the book at the time as well. The specific titles mentioned below will be linked to the review I wrote. Sometimes even a 5 star rating or 4 star rating doesn't differentiate how the book resonated with me months later; so not all 5 star reviews made it to my favorite of-all-time type of a status.

So, now that 2009 is over, which 2009 published book did I enjoy the absolute MOST? Everyone knows you can't pick just one...

From Georgette Heyer, I really enjoyed Arabella (reissue 2009, 5 stars). A classy, witty, regency-style read that was comic in nature. Georgette Heyer is a new-to-me author for 2009, and I am working on collecting the rest of her romances and mysteries.

Biblical fiction is another new-to-me genre, and I really enjoyed Delilah by India Edghill (2009, 4 stars). It was a suspenseful read that had me hooked on its love triangle angle.

My favorite fictional book on Royalty was probably The Last Queen by C.W. Gortner (2009, 5 stars); it was an inspiring read that was done on a subject who seems to have been largely misunderstood, and forgotten over the years. The author did a fabulous job of pulling me into Queen Juana's world.

As a sort of thinker-type book, I really enjoyed Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie (2009, 4.5 stars) which was about the effects of war on a group of family members. Another surprising read for me was The Housekeeper and The Professor by Yoko Ogawa (2009, 5 stars) which was an endearing story of little boy, his mom and the man she worked for.

I was also inspired by Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant (2009, 4.5 stars) moreso than others were; it was a thought provoking read that also had me intrigued with the setting of a convent in Italy. The author's writing style really engaged me throughout this read.

Another enjoyable read was The Day the Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan (2009, 4.5 stars), which was a fabulous debut for the author and an inspiring story of one family's relationship with the economy and the Niagara Falls.

In another historical genre, The Twilight of Avalon by Anna Elliott (2009, 4.75 stars) which is set in the aftermath of King Arthur's court with the love story of Tristan and Isolde. This is a trilogy, and Dark Moon of Avalon will be released in the spring of 2010.

Finally, in the fictional group, is Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran (2009, 4.5 stars ) which was a very moving and touching story of Queen Cleopatra's remaining surviving children after Cleopatra's death. I cried during this one, and wish for a sequel.

I read ten non-fiction books this year, from the Tudor genre to inspirational books. My favorite non-fiction was Elizabeth's Women: The Hidden Story of The Virgin Queen by Tracy Borman (2009, 4 stars) which easily helped me to understand Elizabeth I with such a greater understanding that I really don't think any other book could accomplish. This is one that I hope to read again soon.

For 2010, there are many promising-looking releases that have been scheduled, and I think it is going to be another great year for readers, especially in the historical fiction genre.
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EDITED to add: Lorielle at Just Bookin' Around is doing a Top Five Meme, so if you want to join in the fun, click the pic:

Dec 24, 2009

Booking Through Thursday: HISTORY!!!!!

BurtonReview Thursday, December 24, 2009

Booking Through Thursday is hosted by Deb:

Given the choice, which do you prefer? Real history? Or historical fiction? (Assume, for the purposes of this discussion that they are equally well-written and engaging.)

OH MY!! My favorite topic. History is my favorite genre to read about, both fiction and non-fiction alike!! I have read much more historical fiction over non-fiction, but it is simply because that is what has been available to me to review this year.

I have read and reviewed some wonderful non-fiction this year, such as Anne Frank Remembered: The Story of the Woman who Helped Hide the Frank Family by Miep Gies, Elizabeth's Women by Tracy Borman and The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn by Alison Weir. And given the choice.. at this point I would really like to read a lot more NON-FICTION! I love the Tudor and Stuart eras in England, and I would really like to branch out this year to include more of Europe and ultimately the United States.

I have some biographies on my shelf such as Harry S. Truman and Mary Todd Lincoln that I would like to read, and I would like to read more on Louisa May Alcott.

I have read a lot of historical fiction this year (see all my reviews listed here) and in 2010 there are some more promising historical fiction works being published. So, I predict I will still be reading a lot more historical fiction rather than non-fiction in 2010 because of the abundance of new releases.

Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates it!!!

Dec 22, 2009

Teaser Tuesday~ Between Two Queens by Kate Emerson

BurtonReview Tuesday, December 22, 2009

TEASER TUESDAYS is hosted by ShouldBeReading and asks you to:
♠Grab your current read.
♠Let the book fall open to a random page.
♠Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page.
♠You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
♠Please avoid spoilers!

"It was a pity that her opportunity had been lost, but she was no worse off than she had been and she'd been spared the onerous task of pretending, night after night, perhaps for years, that the king was a wonderful lover. Perhaps she'd had a lucky escape."~p. 190

See my review of The Secrets of The Tudor Court: Between Two Queens by Kate Emerson

Dec 21, 2009

Book Review: The Secrets of The Tudor Court: Between Two Queens by Kate Emerson

BurtonReview Monday, December 21, 2009

Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Pocket (January 5, 2010)
ISBN-13: 978-1416583271
Review copy provided by the author
The Burton Review Rating: Four Stars

Product Description:
THE SECRETS OF THE TUDOR COURT SERIES IS "RICH AND LUSHLY DETAILED, TEEMING WITH PASSION AND INTRIGUE," SAID ROMANTIC TIMES. NOW TALENTED KATE EMERSON CONTINUES A SAGA AS DRAMATIC AND SEDUCTIVE AS THE COURT ITSELF.

Pretty, flirtatious, and ambitious. Nan Bassett hopes that an appointment at the court of King Henry VIII will bring her a grand marriage. But soon after she becomes a maid of honor to Queen Jane, the queen dies in childbirth. As the court plunges into mourning, Nan sets her sights on the greatest match in the land...for the king has noticed her. After all, it wouldn't be the first time King Henry has chosen to wed a maid of honor. And in newly Protestant England, where plots to restore the old religion abound, Nan may be the only one who can reassure a suspicious king of her family's loyalty. But the favor of a king can be dangerous and chancy, not just for Nan, but for her family as well...and passionate Nan is guarding a secret, one that could put her future -- and her life -- in grave jeopardy should anyone discover the truth.

Based on the life of the real Anne Bassett and her family, and drawing extensively from letters and diaries of the time, Between Two Queens is an enthralling picture of the dangers and delights of England's most passionate era.

In Kate Emerson's second installment in the Secrets of The Tudor Court series, Emerson brings to life the character she imagines as Nan Bassett. Called 'Nan' by her friends, there is not a lot known about Anne Bassett, this mistress of Henry VIII, except that he had courted her briefly. How far that went is unknown, but Henry seemed to be fond of her. The author takes this a bit further, and has Nan in the midst of Tudor court intrigues, as a maid of honor to Jane Seymour, albeit quite briefly due to Queen Jane's death; and then as a maid of honor to Anne of Cleves, and eventually to Queen Mary Tudor.

But we are treated to more than just the coquettish ways of the courtiers: the author cleverly inserts facts of the times such as habits and foods, and the politics of the factions within the court as well. The writing style is adept at inserting these facts without turning it into a history lesson, and those readers who would truly like to learn more about the customs and traditions of Tudor England will appreciate the references the author relays. Along with the many details offered, there is a wide cast of characters within the novel, from Nan's large family to the courtiers and the movers and shakers of the time. The author supplies a genealogical chart, and an informative Who's Who section as well.

Since Nan spent time in Calais, then still an English possession, we are also privy to the unrest in Calais. Nan's stepfather, to whom the author portrays as being close to Nan, was Lord Lisle, Deputy of Calais, otherwise known as Arthur Plantagenet. He was the illegitimate son of Edward IV, and Henry VIII's uncle. Lord Lisle becomes implicated in a treasonous plot, along with some of the family members, while Nan needs to find ways to help her family without implicating herself in the process. Thomas Cromwell figures heavily here as well, as Cromwell dislikes Lord Lisle and believes he is incompetent in Calais. When Lord Lisle was arrested in 1540, the letters that were seized during this arrest were preserved, which in turn did historians a great service.

Nan's mother is also featured, who was Honor Grenville, and in her second marriage to Lord Lisle had found herself in a higher standing than she had enjoyed with her previous husband; whom she had her children by. Emerson doesn't go into great detail regarding the personal lives of the many siblings of Nan; they are seen more in the background and perhaps as a bit less than supporting characters. Their mentions are more along the lines of who and when they are going to marry.

Nan would like to have an advantageous marriage herself, and this is the characteristic that we are heavily introduced to in the beginning of Emerson's novel, which did not endear me to her right away. But, as the novel progressed, Nan's better side began to show through as if she had matured as we read on, and she was more careful than I expected her to be. Such as when the author takes liberties and invents an affair with one of her father's men, Ned Corbett, and they have a child together. It was an intriguing storyline that could have ended badly as far as plot and predictability, but the storyline was played out well which was surprising. The author inserted this fictitious affair into the story, but it created an interesting plot and served the story well.

The novel weaves its way through the everyday court life, with comings and goings as we learn more about how life was during the period. There are not a lot of dramatics, but as a reader I came to also hope for Nan's ultimate goal of securing a stable future for herself. She wisely conducted herself when she was with the king and did not flaunt whatever relationship she and others perceived her to have with him. When Catherine Howard comes into the picture, Nan doesn't fight for a place as Henry's mistress, as we would expect her to do, and I found this refreshing. It seems that Nan did ultimately but briefly achieve a sense of happiness, but her life also could be seen as one that was full of hardship and sacrifice.

I was intrigued by the way that Emerson portrayed Catherine Howard, which was more as shrewd young woman rather than the naive twit that we are used to. I enjoyed the name dropping the author deftly employed as I enjoy trying to place who was where, when and why; although those newer to the time period may find the multitude of names confusing and unwarranted. Emerson seems to take great care to provide her readers with a full sense of the Tudor times, with all of the main characters present.

The use of the title Between Two Queens made me think... as the book was not necessarily about two queens. But the fact that Nan was 'stuck' between two queens could be cause for discussion. Nan's only source of income and status was as a maid of honor, and she was briefly one for Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard and Mary Tudor. Much of the focus is within the time period that Henry was looking for a wife, and Henry was without one when Jane had died after childbirth. There was a time when Christina of Milan was purpoted to be the Queen, but she would not have him. Anne of Cleves was next, and luckily survived the marital state. Catherine Howard, a fellow maid of honor with Nan, was selected as the next Queen. One wonders if Nan had a shrewd uncle, like Catherine had in the Duke of Norfolk, if Nan could have been advanced further. But Nan's family had clung to the 'old ways' and the Catholic religion, although they tried to stay low during the Reformation and Henry's reign. They did not succeed fully in that endeavor, as Nan's mother and stepfather were implicated and held in the Botolph plot, thus further tainting Nan's own reputation.

The author Kate Emerson mentions that she relied heavily on the six volume edition of The Lisle Letters compiled by Muriel St. Clare Byrne, which comprises of multiple family members' letters and correspondence primarily between the years of 1533 -1540. Emerson astutely derives facts from these letters and reconstructs Nan Bassett's life surrounding the facts within these letters. As a work of fiction, readers need to be aware that most of what is in this story regarding Nan is what the author imagines "could be true", but I still enjoyed this story on a Mistress Anne Bassett, for whom will always be within a shroud of mystery, as with many historic figures of Tudor times are. Those who wish for drama akin to Philippa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl may be disappointed, however. As a Tudor junkie myself, I enjoyed the education within the story and the writing style of Kate Emerson made this a pleasurable read for me. Instead of focusing on the life of royalty or kings and queens, this is an endearing work of fiction about a female struggling to maintain a safe existence within the many intrigues of the Tudor Courts.

For those wanting to know, Kate Emerson's previous Secrets of The Tudor Court: Pleasure Palace is pertaining to a different family altogether. These two novels are stand alone, although I did enjoy the first one as well (see my review). Kate Emerson also created an inspired guest post during the first Historical Fiction Bloggers Round Table Event, and you can read that here at The Burton Review. Kate Emerson is a pseudonym for Kathy Lynn Emerson, and she also writes mysteriesand non-fiction works. She has also created a very interesting website devoted to Tudor women.

Dec 20, 2009

The Sunday Salon~ Merry Christmas!!

BurtonReview Sunday, December 20, 2009

(*Newsletter subscribers get this in their mailbox every Saturday (an early version sometimes un-edited), with access to exclusive newsletter only giveaways. This is the only mail that you will receive from me if you sign up for my newsletter; it winds up in your spam folder. Sign up for my newsletter by looking below my Follower gadget in the left sidebar.)

Christmas Christmas Christmas...It's almost here already!! I hope you are all done with your shopping.. I am not looking forward to the grocery shopping in preparation for the big day. It was utter madness for Thanksgiving.

Some of the books that are waiting under the tree are The Sisters Who Would Be Queen: Mary, Katherine, and Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Tragedy by Leanda de Lisle, Marrying Mozart by Stephanie Cowell, Eden's Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father by John Matteson, March by Geraldine Brooks and American Bloomsbury: Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau: Their Lives, Their Loves by Susan Cheever.

I finished reading Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy: The Last Man in the World by Abigail Reynolds, and I will have that up for you right after the New Year, and a guest post probably with a giveaway as well courtesy of Sourcebooks.

This week, I also read Kate Emerson's second novel in her Secrets of The Tudor Court Series: Between Two Queens. Some people tend to pull their hair out when there is a new Tudor novel, but I really enjoyed her last novel "Pleasure Palace". With this one, Nan Bassett is the main protagonist who is known to Tudor fans as a mistress to Henry VIII. This review will be posted Monday.

I think I will begin another Tudor novel, Brandy Purdy's The Boleyn Wife aka Vengeance is Mine aka The Tudor Wife.

Every now and then I come across an eye-opening article on the world wide web. With a hop skip and jump, I was at M.'s blog, and she mentioned certain fees for aspiring writers, and directed her readers to L'esprit D'escalier's article regarding Harlequin H-something (I already forgot). Apparently, they offer(ed) this awesome program for those writers who are rich and want to be published. Go check it out. It was indeed interesting. Yes I know the post is a month old. But it is still worthwhile.. think of $0.042 cents/word.. marketing packages.. And I wish I could be a publicist. With Harlequin's rates.

For newsletter subscribers, the book giveaway for Norah Loft's The Lute Player (for my ARC) is still ongoing, so if you didn't get a chance to enter for it last Sunday, there is still time. Instructions are in your newsletter, and you will need to dig it out of your Spam folders.

My blogoversary is in 10 days!! One whole year being blessed with books and online friendships with fellow book fiends!! It's been a fabulous year as far as books go. You can see all the books I reviewed here.

Till next time, my friends, but let me offer you my sincerest Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays & Season's Greetings!! May your holidays be happy, stress-free, and bountiful.

Dec 14, 2009

BOOK REVIEW: DEVIL'S CUB BY GEORGETTE HEYER

BurtonReview Monday, December 14, 2009

Devil’s Cub by Georgette Heyer
Product ISBN: 9781402219535
Historical Romance
Reissued by Sourcebooks, originally issued in 1932
Publication Date: November 2009
Review Copy from the publisher
The Burton Review Rating: Four and a Half Fun & Witty Stars!

See my other Heyer reviews

Synopsis:
Devil's Cub is one of Georgette Heyer's most famous and memorable novels, featuring a dashing and wild young nobleman and the gently bred young lady in whom he finally meets his match…
Like father, like son…
Dominic Alistair, Marquis of Vidal and fiery son of the notorious Duke of Avon, has established a rakish reputation that rivals his father's, living a life of excess and indulgence. Banished to the Continent after wounding his opponent in a duel, Vidal schemes to abduct the silly aristocrat bent on seducing him into marriage and make her his mistress instead. In his rush, however, he seems to have taken the wrong woman…
A young lady of remarkable fortitude…
Determined to save her sister from ruin, virtuous Mary Challoner intercepts the Marquis's advances and throws herself into his path, hoping Vidal will release her upon realizing his error. But as the two become irrevocably entangled, Mary's reputation and future lie in the hands of a devilish rake, who finds her more fascinating every day…

Hooray for another fun-tabulous Georgette Heyer novel! This one is more Georgian than the typical Regency novels she wrote, but reads just as well. In Heyer's Devil's Cub, she brings to life the Lord Vidal, otherwise known as Dominic, who is yet another dashingly irresistible debonair gentleman that every blushing beauty would like to get her hands on. Some he happily obliges, but then he promptly walks away. This time, in typical Heyer tragical comedic fashion, Mary attempts to save her naive sister Sophia from Lord Vidal but in doing so, Mary threatens to ruin her own chances at a respectable future.

This is the second in the series of the Alastair trilogy (Heyer really liked these characters); the first book of the series, These Old Shades (1926), perhaps in fitting Heyer comedic fashion, arrived 26 hours too late at my doorstep, forcing me to read this series out of order. Once I had gotten thirty pages into Devil's Cub, the arrival of These Old Shades wasn't enough to deter me from this one. Let me stop right here and pronounce the fact that I am a Georgette Heyer fan (possibly upgradeable to junkie status). She is devilishly clever in her stories, and she makes me laugh (oh.. all right, except for once). I love the way she can take the same sense of a plot and make each of her books new and clever, illustrating how she expertly develops her characters. (I say this because the plot in The Convenient Marriage resembles this one somewhat.) Yet, Devil's Cub was no exception to Heyer's ability to breathe laughter and life into age old plots. For some reason in all the regency novels I've read, there is always the pressing need to find an eligible bachelor for the young girl who needs to get out of her mama's house.

(an older cover version shown here) I couldn't make up my mind, though, if I should loathe or love Vidal. Oddly enough, our heroine had the same conundrum. 'Strait-laced' Mary knew what type of man he was, but of course that glitter in his eye made Mary wonder if there were more to him than just charm and arrogance. But I was getting a little unnerved at the fact that every time a pistol was near Vidal it invariably would go off. Murderer! (Dueling was still the rage then). Or, was he and his pistol always in the wrong place at the wrong time? And it is just this occasion that sends Vidal packing to Paris, fleeing England, but unbeknownst to him, he is bringing along Mary and not the silly Sophia. And hoity-toity Vidal gets his comeuppance and is shot by none other than Mary herself!!!

The melodramatics continue when all of the main characters and their family members collide in Dijon, where Mary consented to marry a Mr. Comyn as opposed to Lord Vidal, and more misunderstandings occur when the mom and dad (who are featured in These Old Shades) get into the middle of it. (Funny little side note was that the parson in Dijon that they were counting on doing the marrying would not do it for them anyway).

There were quite a lot of supporting characters in this one and many cousins and uncles for which I getting ready to draw a genealogical chart if one more relation was mentioned. I was getting confused! But that didn't detract from the hilarious adventures and the witty dialogue that is seemingly typical Heyer traits. I loved this one, and can't wait for my next Heyer romp.

Not wanting to give the rest of the plot away, and there is indeed a lot more that could be said, I'll simply say that was another win for Georgette Heyer.. she is my go-to-gal when I need a pick-me-up and I am so happy to report that this one did just that. The sequel to Devil's Cub is An Infamous Army.

If you are lucky, maybe you can find These Old Shades, Devil's Cub, and An Infamous Army in the 2006 omnibus shown here:

Mailbox Monday Time!

BurtonReview Monday, December 14, 2009

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page. We share what books that we found in our mailboxes last week. And I am adding what I purchased, swapped, etc.

From Paperbackswap:

My Dream of You by Nuala O'Faolain

This compelling novel by Nuala O'Faolain intertwines the stories of two women, an Irish travel writer living in present-day London, and a British landowner's wife during the 19th century potato famine, who was convicted of committing adultery with an Irish groom.

"A lovely heartbreaker of a novel that asks the hard questions...O'Faolain writes beautifully about longing and regret." (USA Today)

"One of the finest achievements of the book is its unflinching, empathetic depiction of just how it feels...to experience the chill clutch of the thought that the rest of one's life might be empty of love, sex, intimate human contact...a fully rendered portrait." (The New York Times Book Review)

Fallen Skies by Philippa Gregory

"Now back in print from New York Times bestselling author Philippa Gregory, Fallen Skies takes readers to post-World War I England in a suspenseful story about the marriage of a wealthy war hero and an aspiring singer he barely knows.

Lily Valance is determined to forget the horrors of the war by throwing herself into the decadent pleasures of the 1920s and pursuing her career as a music hall singer. When she meets Captain Stephen Winters, a decorated veteran, she's immediately drawn to his wealth and status. And Stephen, burdened by his guilt over surviving the Flanders battlefields where so many soldiers perished, sees the possibility of forgetting his anguish in Lily, but his family does not approve.

Lily marries Stephen, only to discover that his family's facade of respectability conceals a terrifying combination of repression, jealousy and violence. When Stephen's terrors merge dangerously close with reality, the truth of what took place in the mud and darkness brings him and all who love him to a terrible reckoning."

Above is a picture of my Georgette Heyer's that I purchased via Ebay. The pink one is "Venetia" and that one is from 1958. Pretty old! The lot was a total of 28 books.
My Heyer collection now includes:
A Blunt Instrument
A Civil Contract
An Infamous Army
Arabella
Behold, Here's Poison
The Toll-Gate
The Black Moth
These Old Shades
Devil's Cub
The Corinthian
The Grand Sophy
Venetia
The Masqueraders
The Convenient Marriage
The Nonesuch
Powder & Patch
Envious Casca
Footsteps in The Dark
No Wind of Blame
Why Shoot A Butler
They Found Him Dead
Detection Unlimited
Duplicate Death
The Unfinished Clue
Charity Girl
Death in the Stocks
Faro's Daughter
Fridays Child
The Spanish Bride
The Conqueror
Beauvallet
Sylvester
Royal Escape
Regency Buck
My Lord John

Shown above were purchased by me at my local bookstore & the 3 on the right are for review:
Firedrake's Eye by Patricia Finney (1998)
"Brilliantly written in language eerily reminiscent of sixteenth-century England and filled with the dazzling color and drama of Tudor England, Firedrake's Eye concerns a meticulously constructed plot to kill Queen Elizabeth I. Tom O'Bedlam, the mad son of prominent Catholic family, stumbles upon evidence that his hated brother has returned to England to spearhead a scheme to assassinate the Queen. Patricia Finney transports the reader back in time to the dirty, dangerous underbelly of 1583 London. Combining accurate and detailed historical research with story-telling of an unusually high caliber, Firedrake's Eye brilliantly evokes that danger and treachery of Tudor politics."

Unicorn's Blood by Patricia Finney (1999)
"Patricia Finney's outstanding literary thriller plunges into the vivid and deadly world of the 16th century: from the torture chambers of the Tower to the elegant artifice of court life; from the bawdy-houses of Southwark to the Queen's own bed. Why are the Jesuits, the Queen's Puritan councillors and even the Queen herself searching for the mysterious Book of the Unicorn? What ancient scandal threatens Elizabeth Tudor as she fights to avoid executing her cousin, Mary Queen of Scots? And what of the man waking up in the dungeon with no memory of who he is? David Becket and Simon Ames, the two mismatched heroes of FIREDRAKE'S EYE find themselves unwillingly in the thick of the struggle to unravel the plot."

Mapping the Edge by Sarah Dunant
"Anna, a self-sufficient and reliable single mother, packs her bags one day for a short vacation to Italy. She leaves her beloved daughter at home in London with good friends. When Anna doesn't return, everyone begins to make excuses, until the likelihood that she might not come back at all becomes chillingly clear. In this dazzling work of suspense, Sarah Dunant interweaves parallel narratives that are stretched taut with tension even as they raise difficult questions about love, trust, and accountability. We are challenged, unnerved, and ultimately exhilarated as Dunant redefines the boundaries of the psychological thriller."

From the author of A Separate Country, released 2009, this is his previous work:

The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks
"In 1894 Carrie McGavock is an old woman who has only her former slave to keep her company…and the almost 1,500 soldiers buried in her backyard. Years before, rather than let someone plow over the field where these young men had been buried, Carrie dug them up and reburied them in her own personal cemetery. Now, as she walks the rows of the dead, an old soldier appears. It is the man she met on the day of the battle that changed everything. The man who came to her house as a wounded soldier and left with her heart. He asks if the cemetery has room for one more.
In an extraordinary debut novel, based on a remarkable true story, Robert Hicks draws an unforgettable, panoramic portrait of a woman who, through love and loss, found a cause. Known throughout the country as "the Widow of the South," Carrie McGavock gave her heart first to a stranger, then to a tract of hallowed ground - and became a symbol of a nation's soul."

From Sourcebooks to review:
The Stolen Crown: The Secret Marriage that Forever Changed the Fate of England by Susan Higginbotham
"On May Day, 1464, six-year-old Katherine Woodville, daughter of a duchess who has married a knight of modest means, awakes to find her gorgeous older sister, Elizabeth, in the midst of a secret marriage to King Edward IV. It changes everything—for Kate and for England.
Then King Edward dies unexpectedly. Richard III, Duke of Gloucester, is named protector of Edward and Elizabeth's two young princes, but Richard's own ambitions for the crown interfere with his duties...
Lancastrians against Yorkists: greed, power, murder, and war. As the story unfolds through the unique perspective of Kate Woodville, it soon becomes apparent that not everyone is wholly evil—or wholly good."

Young Bess (Book one in the Good Queen Bess trilogy) by Margaret Irwin, this is a reissue by Sourcebooks. Originally published 1944.
"This first of Irwin's trilogy about Elizabeth traces her early life from the execution of her mother, Anne Boleyn, to Bess's banishment from her Henry VIII's court, to the intrigues of Tom Seymour and the death of her brother, Edward VI."

From Simon & Schuster to Review:
Eve of the Isle by Carol Rivers
"January 1928, the Isle of Dogs. Following the mysterious disappearance of her sailor husband (missing, presumed drowned), young widow Eve Kumar struggles to provide for herself and her twin sons. But her flower-selling business is destroyed overnight when the Thames floods its banks, wrecking Eve's ramshackle riverside cottage and forcing her to take refuge with the lecherous Harold Slygo and his drunken wife. As Eve's home life turns from bad to worse, she is befriended by a young constable, Charlie Merritt, who shares Eve's growing suspicions that her husband's death was no accident. But Eve and Charlie's investigations are attracting unwelcome attention - and when Eve herself disappears, it becomes clear there are those who would go to any lengths to ensure the truth remains buried. Will Charlie be able to save the woman he has grown to love?"

Dec 13, 2009

The Sunday Salon~ December Rush

BurtonReview Sunday, December 13, 2009

(*Newsletter subscribers get this in their mailbox every Saturday (an early version sometimes un-edited), with access to exclusive newsletter only giveaways. This is the only mail that you will receive from me if you sign up for my newsletter, & it winds up in your spam folder. Sign up for my newsletter by looking below my Follower gadget in the left sidebar.)

Happy weekend to everyone!! I hope you are staying warm all tucked in with your favorite books! Isn't that a fantastic feeling? Coffee/Tea, a good book, and a fuzzy blanket: an earthly heaven! It is getting mighty close to Christmas, so I hope you are getting close to completing your gift shopping etc. I have a few loose ends to tie up but I am primarily done. And that is fantastic. Happy Hanukkah to all of my Jewish readers out there!! I know there are some of you out there, and I am sending you a hug this season!

I hope that it is a wonderful holiday season for everyone, and that we remember to enjoy the little things, and not worry so much about things that you can't control. That's my goal, anyway. I have to remember that myself, when my life at the office starts to get panicky. From October to March it is much more stressful then the other months and I get overwhelmed. Like Friday. At my old job, I used to have a few plaques in the office.. one said "BREATHE"; the other said "EXHALE." Which was a needed reminder during the retail Christmas season back in those retail days of hell.

I have most of Christmas cards in the mail to my friends and family, and they feature a family photo which was hell and high water to accomplish with the toddler. I ordered the cards from Snapfish and I was not happy with the quality, but what can you do. A sampling of the photos we took trying to create the perfect family photo (utterly impossible with a toddler):

(a video here)

Okay onwards to books. And Book Giveaways!! In my last newsletter I had an Exclusive Newsletter-Only Two book giveaway for two Highland Romances.. and the winner was Jenny Girl of Jenny Loves to Read! She already has the books on the way to her, and I hope she enjoys them. On the blog, the Two Book Giveaway for Her Mother's Daughter by Julianne Lee and the the winners are:

The Book Pixie and The True Book Addict.. Congratulations!! If they have already found this book elsewhere, I will use the next shown in the list. Likewise if they fail to respond to my email by Tuesday A.M. This is a fabulous novel focused on the life of Queen Mary Tudor, and one that I recommend highly.

So what's next in The Burton Review Giveaway Land? Hmmm...if you are a newsletter subscriber you will see important information in red right here when it is is delivered to your mailbox. (Don't forget to check your Spam folders!) If you are not, well you need to see the Newsletter gadget underneath the followers gadget to sign up. But if you are not interested in The Lute Player, don't worry. Arleigh from historical-fiction just posted up a little something on Norah Lofts (probably the same time I was writing mine!) so go check that out also.

The Lute Player by Norah Lofts has been reissued by Simon & Schuster! It is available now at your favorite booksellers, and you may be lucky enough to find an older version at a cheap price. It was originally issued in 1951.

The Description:

"Beloved author Norah Lofts brings to life the romance and adventure of the crusading king Richard the Lionhearted through the eyes of his most humble and trusted companion -- his lute player.
One of the most renowned figures in medieval history, Richard the Lionhearted, inspired by a vision of the Holy Land, led his knights onto the battlefields of the Third Crusade. During the years of fighting and intrigue, Richard's life was intertwined with the lives of two strong, vibrant, and drastically different women who loved him -- Berengaria, princess of Navarre, and his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine. While his marriage to Berengaria was ill-fated, Eleanor loved her son with a frantic, possessive pride. But it is Blondel, the king's lute player, who here steps forward from the shadows to tell this tale of romance, war, and betrayal.
In her trademark style, Norah Lofts paints a complex and human portrait of a legendary king."

Eleanor of Aquitaine is going to have a banner year in 2010! There are going to be some fantastic books, (some that I hope to review here for my readers) coming out in 2010!

They include of course The Lute Player by Norah Lofts, and:

Non-Fiction:
Queens Consort: England's Medieval Queens from Eleanor of Aquitaine to Elizabeth of York by Lisa Hilton
Eleanor, the Secret Queen: The Woman Who Put Richard III on the Throne by John Ashdown-Hill (paperback comes out in 2010, now available in hardcover)

Fiction:

Eleanor the Queen: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine by Norah Lofts
The Captive Queen by Alison Weir
The Queen's Pawn by Christy English
Eleanor the Queen by Cecelia Holland

Have you read some good books concerning Eleanor of Aquitaine? I have read Sharon Kay Penman's trilogy When Christ and His Saints Slept, Time and Chance, and Devil's Brood. I loved them all. I also read Pamela Kaufman's The Book of Eleanor: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine which I found very engaging. It was a wonderful introduction for me to Eleanor, although a very fictional account it was. I know Jean Plaidy has written some with Eleanor featured, such as The Courts of Love.

What have you read on Eleanor of Aquitaine? Do you like her as a strong-willed woman, or do you think she was going too far in her love for her son Richard, and seemingly choosing her sons over her husband?

This week, I reviewed Alison Weir's newest non-fiction work, The Lady in The Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn, which was a winner. I started Georgette Heyer's Devil's Cub, and I have been enjoying that read during this trying week. Review will be up Monday, it was another fun HeyerTastic Read. And I received from an Ebay lot 28 old old OLD Georgette Heyer books, and I am ecstatic. If only I could get some time to sit down and read!! I also need to air them out, and they were an easy Christmas present to send the duplicates to Lizzy =) I have lots on my plate for 2010, with all of the new historical fiction novels coming out that I really want to read, along with the Historical Fiction Bloggers Round Table Events..woohoo Lots of fun stuff coming in 2010.. but that means less time for my personal reading pleasure which is the downfall of the review blog hobby.

I just posted my I suck at challenges Post, so you can see what I did this year as far as that goes. And because I am a masochist I signed up for another..

My official Blogoversary is in 17 days! Which is why I am doing the newsletter-only book giveaways. I am also going to give away my ARC of My Unfair Lady by Kathryne Kennedy, and my ARC of The Wildest Heart by Rosemary Rogers. So stay tuned for those in the future. Right now, the book being given away is The Lute Player by Norah Lofts (for the newsletter subscribers).

Okay, I am off to reading! See you on the blogosphere, and if I don't, I hope you have a wonderful holiday season!!

Dec 12, 2009

The Defunct Challenges a.k.a. I Suck at Challenges Obligatory Post

BurtonReview Saturday, December 12, 2009

The Big Admission of Guilt: One thing I found out during this first year at book blogging, is I suck big time at Reading Challenges.

The Current Ones I've decided to do for 2010 (despite my better judgement):

I have joined in the The Four Month Challenge 2010 part two and I so far have 40 points there.
I have also joined in the 2010 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge, and my hopeful and boisterous post with the potential reads of 2010 can be found here.

The 2009 Challenges that I am just going to let pass on by.. and let's just say I tried:

Four Month Challenge Part one (challenge over)
10 point: New Author: 'Of Bees & Mist'(Completed 6/6)
15 Point:Book by Author born in August:G. Heyer, born 8/16/1902 (Completed 6/14)
5 Point:Book for its Cover: 'Twilight of Avalon' (Completed 6/20)
15 point:One Word Title: 'Partners' by D.McGowan (Complete 6/24)
15 Point:Book into Movie:Anne Frank Remembered(Complete 6/27)
10 Point:Read a hardcover book:Crowner Royal (Completed 7/4)
5 Point: Hist Fiction:Twilight of A Queen(Complete 7/19)
10 Point:Book About Royalty:The White Queen (Complete 7/26)
20 Point:1001 Books to Read:Pride & Prejudice (Complete 8/7)
15 Point: Biblical Character: Girl Mary (Complete 9/13)
5 Points: ChickLit: 'The Wildest Heart (completed 9/30)
TOTAL 125 out of 250 Points

Austen Challenge
1. Pride & Prejudice Read 8/6/09
2. Darcy & Anne Read 8/11/09
3.The Other Mr. Darcy, read 09/23
4. Pride & Prejudice, the movie

TBR 2009
♦2009 To Be Read Challenge♦
My list was:
The Spanish Bride: A Novel of Catherine of Aragon by "Laurien Gardner penname for Julianne Lee"
A Lady Raised High: A Novel of Anne Boleyn by "Laurien Gardner"(PENNAME)
The King's Daughter:A Novel of the First Tudor Queen (Rose of York) by Sandra Worth
Mistress of the Revolution by Catherine Delors
Spain for the Sovereigns by Jean Plaidy
Ummm.. didn't read those, but I did manage to read and review the following that was on my list:
Too Hot to Handle by Robin Kaye
Wild Highland Magic by Kendra Leigh Castle
The Nonesuch by Georgette Heyer
The Unfinished Clue by Georgette Heyer
The Convenient Marriage by Georgette Heyer
My Lord John by Georgette Heyer
The Crimes of Paris By Dorothy & Thomas Hoobler

2009 Jean Plaidy Challenge at Royal Intrigue ♦ 6 read, and Wish I READ LOTS MORE! GRR . Ok moving on.. no sense to dwell on negativity..

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2010

BurtonReview Saturday, December 12, 2009

Historical Fiction Reading ChallengeThis is a challenge over at Royal Reviews.

This challenge has been posted about everywhere, so hey why don't I join in? Sure, since I sucked at every other challenge I've done. Yet, this one, is actually one I can complete effortlessly.

I will be going for the obsessed level, and I don't think that will be a problem since I read probably twice the Obsessed Level of Historical Fiction books in 2009. So that means I am going to go for the unlisted Double Obsessed Level of 40.. in order to make it a challenge!

I will edit this post to coincide with reviews with links to the reviews, and adds or edits etc.

Challenge Guidelines:
1. Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate.
--Non-Bloggers: Include your information in the comment section.

2. There are four levels:

-- Curious – Read 3 Historical Fiction novels.

-- Fascinated – Read 6 Historical Fiction novels.

-- Addicted – Read 12 Historical Fiction novels.

-- Obsessed – Read 20 Historical Fiction novels.

3. Any book format counts. (*EEEK I hate E-Books! And I've never done an audiobook either but would like to since it would increase my totals, eh?)
4. You can list your books in advance or just put them in a wrap up post. If you list them, feel free to change them as the mood takes you.

5. Challenge begins January 1st thru December, 2010. Only books started on January 1st count towards this challenge.

Some of the Historical Fiction Books that I hope I will be reading and reviewing in 2010 are:

Notorious Royal Marriages: A Juicy Journey Through Nine Centuries of Dynasty, Destiny, and Desire by Leslie Carroll
Royal Affairs: A Lusty Romp Through the Extramarital Adventures That Rocked the British Monarchy by Leslie Carroll
Dark Moon of Avalon by Anna Elliott
The Secret of the Glass by Donna Russo Morin (read and reviewed)
The Botticelli Secret by Marina Fiorato
Claude and Camille: A Novel of Monet by Stephanie Cowell (read and reviewed)
Marrying Mozart by Stephanie Cowell
The Confessions of Catherine de Medici by C. W. Gortner (read and reviewed)

For the King by Catherine Delors (read and reviewed)

Mistress of The Revolution by Catherine Delors
The Lute Player by Norah Lofts
Here Was A Man by Norah Lofts
Eleanor the Queen: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine by Norah Lofts
The Captive Queen by Alison Weir (read and reviewed)
The Queen's Pawn by Christy English (read and reviewed)
Eleanor the Queen/The Secret Eleanor by Cecelia Holland (current read)
Receive Me Falling by Erika Robuck (read and reviewed)
The Triumph of Deborah by Eva Etzioni-Halevy
Young Bess (Good Queen Bess, Book One)by Margaret Irwin (read and reviewed)
Hugh and Bess by Susan Higginbotham (read and reviewed)
The Stolen Crown by Susan Higginbotham (read and reviewed)
The Island of the Swans by Ciji Ware (read and reviewed)
Several Georgette Heyer novels, perhaps Beauvallet (1929) & The Conqueror (1931)
I also will be reading (GOD WILLING!) Jean Plaidy and maybe even some under her Victoria Holt pen name.
What about you? Are you on board? Feel free to leave me your link, I'd love to check out your progress throughout 2010!

You can visit the page here which has the list and links to all of my reviews.

Dec 10, 2009

Booking Through Thursday~ Mark The Spot

BurtonReview Thursday, December 10, 2009

Booking Through Thursday is hosted by Deb:
What items have you ever used as a bookmark? What is the most unusual item you’ve ever used or seen used?

I use a regular bookmark 98% of the time, which is typical of the one seen here.

My current favorite since my birthday in July is a bookmark with the image of Ophelia by John William Waterhouse, which I received from fellow HF Fanatic Arleigh. I have made some bookmarks, and I gave one to my mom, but that's as far as they have gotten as far as being productively used.

If said typical bookmark of mine is somehow lost (such as when I fall asleep in bed), then I find a temporary placeholder such as a tissue, napkin, iPhone..
I cannot think of any strange-out-of-this-world type of bookmark that I have used or seen.

Dec 8, 2009

BOOK REVIEW~ THE LADY IN THE TOWER: THE FALL OF ANNE BOLEYN BY ALISON WEIR

BurtonReview Tuesday, December 08, 2009

The Lady in The Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn by Alison Weir:
Category: Biography & Autobiography
Format: Hardcover, 464 pages
On Sale: January 5, 2010
Price: $28.00
Pre-Order Price Guarantee at Amazon ($18.48)
ISBN: 978-0-345-45321-1 (0-345-45321-2)
Review copy provided by Publisher, Ballantine Books, an imprint of Random House

The Burton Review Rating: Four and a Half Stars!

Product Description:

"Nearly five hundred years after her violent death, Anne Boleyn, second wife to Henry VIII, remains one of the world's most fascinating, controversial, and tragic heroines. Now acclaimed historian and bestselling author Alison Weir has drawn on myriad sources from the Tudor era to give us the first book that examines, in unprecedented depth, the gripping, dark, and chilling story of Anne Boleyn's final days.
The tempestuous love affair between Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn scandalized Christendom and altered forever the religious landscape of England. Anne's ascent from private gentlewoman to queen was astonishing, but equally compelling was her shockingly swift downfall. Charged with high treason and imprisoned in the Tower of London in May 1536, Anne met her terrible end all the while protesting her innocence. There remains, however, much mystery surrounding the queen's arrest and the events leading up to it: Were charges against her fabricated because she stood in the way of Henry VIII making a third marriage and siring an heir, or was she the victim of a more complex plot fueled by court politics and deadly rivalry?
The Lady in the Tower examines in engrossing detail the motives and intrigues of those who helped to seal the queen's fate. Weir unravels the tragic tale of Anne's fall, from her miscarriage of the son who would have saved her to the horrors of her incarceration and that final, dramatic scene on the scaffold. What emerges is an extraordinary portrayal of a woman of great courage whose enemies were bent on utterly destroying her, and who was tested to the extreme by the terrible plight in which she found herself.
Richly researched and utterly captivating, The Lady in the Tower presents the full array of evidence of Anne Boleyn's guilt—or innocence. Only in Alison Weir's capable hands can readers learn the truth about the fate of one of the most influential and important women in English history."

Although perhaps anti-climatic with the multitude of biographies and Tudor histories, this newest work by historian Alison Weir provides Anne Boleyn enthusiasts with so many detailed accounts of the last four months of Anne's life that there is little left wanting. It is extensive with the recounting of the events that led to Anne's arrest, and Weir leaves no stone unturned in her endeavor to relay details from the myriad of sources. Weir uses many sources to quote from, examines, explains, and then succinctly affirms or refutes each fact, and leaves nothing left to our imaginations. I would see this book as a spider web that examines all the related threads formed from conjecture, from various opinions to recorded fact, and Weir weaves all this detail into a reliable work that skillfully observes all facets of the fall of Anne Boleyn. Anne Boleyn herself has been a sort of enigma for some; there have been many unanswered questions due to the multiple contradicting storytellers of her day and later. Weir attempts to examine all angles and then gives her opinion and why she thinks the certain way about something.

In those tyrannical days of Henry VIII, advisers, friends and bishops would not make their opinions known on most topics until they knew "which way the wind blew"; they dared not risk Henry VIII's displeasure. The same was true during the arresting process of the accused at this trial of Anne Boleyn. The book focuses on 1536, it encompasses the major events and common views that brought Anne and Henry to their current relationship, with the politics and religious views of the time being spelled out. It details the factions of the times, and who were Pro-Boleyn before Anne's fall, and who were always anti-Boleyn and sought for the downfall of this upstart family.

Some interesting facts that Weir touched upon were that Anne felt that Henry's dissolution of the monasteries had gone too far, and that Anne and Henry differed in their opinions about how far the reformation should go. Anne was not as zealous as Henry was, and did not condone the stripping of all of the funds that the Church had once relied on. I also found interesting that there were mentions of three ladies who were the ones to initially stir up the trouble with the accusations of adultery on Anne's part. There were many more courtiers who were involved in the setting of the snare, moreso than I had once believed. I was also intrigued as to the Catholic traditions that Anne observed before her death.

The threat of regicide, and plotting to take Henry's life, was actually the coup d'etat that sealed Anne's fate. Once Cromwell had cast doubt on Anne's character due to the infidelities he accused her of, and then the horrid accusation of incest, the figurative nail in Anne's coffin was actually the idea that Anne had plotted with her lovers that she would marry one of them after Henry had died. This is what scared mad Henry the most, because perhaps he WAS bewitched when he fell in love with Anne and felt forced to break with the Roman Church.. perhaps she had sinister tendencies and wished to see Henry dead as well! And obviously, this was all too convenient for Henry to deny in the first place, as he had fallen in love with Jane Seymour months before the trial, and was eager for this way out.

With Anne gone, Henry was free to pursue marital bliss with Jane Seymour and beget the treasured son. I also found it interesting the way that Jane Seymour had conveniently made herself available when Henry tired of Anne, and makes me suspect the innocent Plain Jane characterization. It seems the affair was going on for quite awhile before Anne's downfall. One cannot help but wonder what would have happened to Jane herself, if she had lived through the dangers of childbirth. Jane had already been chided by Henry to not be meddling in state affairs.. as Anne had also done..

How much of the infidelity accusations Henry truly believed, could not be known, but the fact that Thomas Cromwell had everything neatly tidied up to rid the court of Anne and some of his own meddlesome courtiers makes Cromwell seem like quite the evil person. Quite interesting is the fact that the poet Wyatt and another courtier were accused and arrested as well. Weir details out the methodical process of Cromwell and his friends to ensure the accused (the ones they wanted to be rid of) were found guilty, and each step made my blood boil as I learned how despicable Cromwell really was. I found morbid redemption in knowing that Cromwell would himself wind up with his boiled head on a pike in London at the bequest of Henry just a few years later. This is not to say that I formed this opinion via Weir's words; she was actually not as judgemental towards Cromwell as I am. She states that he was merely trying to save his own neck, knowing that Henry wanted a way out of the failing marriage, and he is the one who orchestrated it "for the good of the realm" using as many puppets as he could possible find.

In my recent review of "Elizabeth's Women" by Tracy Borman (which I also enjoyed), I mentioned how I was surprised at the mention of a son to George Boleyn, Anne's brother. At The Maiden's Court I mentioned this 'fact' as well and felt that it was not possible that George and Lady Jane Rochford had a son. Weir also mentions the son of George Boleyn here, also named George who later becomes the Dean of Lichfield in Elizabethan times, but explains that he is most likely an illegitimate son. I had researched online that this George was given the dean post in 1576, (40 years after the death of the elder George), offering perhaps that this George in question was offspring of a Boleyn relation, of which there were many. There were many more interesting tidbits in Weir's work, especially pertaining the backgrounds of Smeaton, Norris, Rochford, and Brereton.

Another interesting fact was that Henry Percy, Anne's very own former betrothed, had reported to Cromwell in April of 1536 that he didn't like the fact that the 'lowly' musician Mark Smeaton was able to afford horses and costumes etc. He hinted to Cromwell that he must have received some sort of reward from the Queen, and even said that he saw Smeaton leaving the Queen's apartment. Of course Cromwell's eyes must have gleamed at this offering of information! Yet, had Percy done this out of jealousy? It seems that is the romantic view, where the probably most likely view is that Percy did not like the Queen very much at all, and Weir goes into this further.

I would hesitate to call this a biography of Anne Boleyn, as it is much more encompassing as to be a portrait of the tumultuous times that caused Anne's disgrace. I enjoyed the surprising facts that I had not known before, and I think that anyone who is interested in the politics that brought Anne's reign to an end should read this. I was also disheartened to learn that there are very few accurate likenesses of her due to the fact that her memory was effectively banished from England and destroyed pretty much immediately. But it made me happy to learn that for at least the last forty years, a group of trustees has ordered for a bunch of roses to be placed at her tomb on the anniversary of her death. (Online it states that this has been since the 1850's).

This book is a treasure trove of encyclopedia-like facts regarding Anne and her contemporaries, but those who enjoy the drama of Anne's demise may feel a bit over loaded with the many names, dates and facts, who said what and when. Yet, it is these minute details that Weir divulges which make this a wonderful read for the Tudor fanatic due to the unveiling of lesser-known ideas. Although in most passages it reads well and is not difficult to follow, there is so much information that it seems easier to digest in slow spurts. This is not a book to read at the doctor's office or with toddlers demanding attention. Weir does not attempt to force her opinion on her readers, she lays it all out for us to digest and appreciate its worth; and then she simply states what she has come to believe to be the most logical explanation for the events in question. This is a vast work of intricacies of politics and factions and how they all came together to bring about the death of Henry VIII's second wife.

Since this book is full of details... facts..(I need another word for details today), this is not Light Reading. Yes, despite my overall euphoria over this read, there were a couple of days there I could not get in ten pages at a time. It was loaded with itsy bitsy teeny facts that weren't making their way into comprehension. (*True story- I momentarily closed my eyes and briefly fell asleep while on lunch, reading the book, and awoke with such a start that my freshly brewed cup of tea went flying through the air and made quite a clatter and a mess. That was within that couldn't-get-in-ten-pages-period.) The multiple versions of each and every event started to grate on my nerves as well. We would sit through a page worth of a 'chronicle' and then Weir would smartly tell us.. haha.. the buffoon.. that could not be true (not exactly in those words, hence the adjective 'smartly'). Obviously she was trying to prove the point how easily the facts got distorted, therefore people grew to believe wrong accounts and form misguided opinions; these same opinions that formed History. And every now and then I got perturbed at the redundancy of certain phrases, such as apocryphal. I had to look it up. Another word I had to look up was buggery. EWWWW. And I don't like reading books that pose questions. "Just how honorable were Henry's intentions?" etc. I would like to read the book, not have a back and forth conversation. But then I bucked up and read on, and the last chapters of the book had me riveted. I was then disappointed that I finished it. Vicious cycle of Reading a Good Book. And I wouldn't mind having that conversation now.

My other gripe? Having merely the Advance Reading Copy, and not the final version. I am missing the photos and the all-important index. I would definitely love to have the final copy so that I could go back and forth with the index, which is a weird habit of mine when I just feel the need to absorb facts. But I did have the Select Bibliography, which is a book collector's dream ~~my husband's nightmare~~!! And I would love to add this latest wealth of Weir knowledge to my special favorite Tudor bookcase, which is where its rightful place would be.

Dec 7, 2009

Teaser Tuesday~ The Lady in The Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn by Alison Weir

BurtonReview Monday, December 07, 2009

The Lady in The Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn by Alison Weir:
"The records relating to the legal process against Anne Boleyn and Lord Rochford were long thought to have been suppressed in their entirety, but in fact the Henrician government took unwonted care to preserve some of the official documentations of these proceedings. Nevertheless, crucial papers are missing: actual trial records, details of the evidence produced in court, statements known to have been made by Smeaton and Norris, depositions of all the witnesses who had supposedly been questioned, and manuscripts of the interrogations of Smeaton, Norris and the Queen." ~page 219

Review IS OFFICIALLY UP

Dec 3, 2009

Booking Through Thursday~ But, What About Me?

BurtonReview Thursday, December 03, 2009

Booking Through Thursday is hosted by Deb:

But enough about you, what about ME?
Today’s question?
What’s your favorite part of Booking Through Thursday? Why do you participate (or not)?

My favorite part of BTT is the 'getting to know you' aspect of it. There are many new-to-me bloggers who do stop by this blog just because I have participated in the BTT meme (Hello out there! said in my best Blue's Clues imitation), and I love learning about others. This meme is one of the most thought-provoking memes I participate in, and I love thinking about some of these questions that it asks me every Thursday morning.

It's fun, and I love hearing about other people's opinions; sometimes I am surprised in a good way about how others feel about books. You would think it would be cut and dry, but there are so many varying tastes and different views on some subjects that we would have otherwise thought of as simple. It is an eye-opening experience sometimes!

The best part is learning about fellow book bloggers and feeling a part of the community.