Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Current Reading, Some Link Love, and Dead Existentialists







Jen - devourer of books said...

I just finished reading 'The King's Confidante' and I think they should have kept the old title. As you said, the book was mostly about Thomas and Meg, and really didn't seem to depict Thomas as being as close to Henry as some other books do, leaving me puzzled about why on earth they would call it 'The King's Confidante'. If they thought that 'St. Thomas' Eve' was too obscure (and it is pretty hard to miss the significance if you pay attention while reading), there had to have been a better choice!

Mimi said...

I've heard about the new book about St. Thomas More and his daughter, I look forward to it, and I don't think I've ever read Plaidy's version either.

I just finished a Plaidy as well, "Daughters of Spain" about the daughters of Ferdinand and Isabelle.

Su_H said...

I think I am too faint-hearted to read four novels' worth of that, Susan, even if it could probably count as research!
Ah Simone and Jean-Paul - pity Simone has already written THE novel!!!

Sarah said...

I read Memorial to a Duchess about a month ago. It was refreshing to read about a heroine who understood she was destined for an arranged marriage and didn't have to be dragged kicking and screaming to it. That said, the later parts of the book jumped around too much for me. I have another historical novel by Kettle, which is a family saga, but that's all I remember about it.

Susan Higginbotham said...

Jen, I agree, King's Confidante was a poor choice of title. I suppose they wanted to get the "king" into the title in hopes it would sell better?

Mimi, how was Daughters of Spain? Sounds interesting!

Su H, I share your faintness of heart. By the way, we stumbled onto that tombstone by pure accident--my teenager daughter wanted to sit while we looked around, and there's a bench right next to it. She was thoroughly unimpressed.

Sarah, I'm about 1/3 way through, and I see what you mean about the jumping. One minute Alice is complaining about her first husband, and suddenly he's dead, and then suddenly she's formed a deep attachment to husband number 2 even though he's hardly figured into the book so far . . .

Mimi said...

I liked it, I'd like to delve more into Isabella and Ferdinand, as well as Juana of Castille.