How much?

How much would you pay for a rare Plaidy novel? I think I would go up to $100, if it were for my birthday or Christmas. Searching amazon I found one under the pseudonym Elbur Ford for..........

$1,046.73

Are they serious??? Wow. Here's the link.

Guess the Plaidy novel!

Based on fact this is the dramatic story of Charlotte Walpole, who left her comfortable Norfolk home to act at Drury Lane, married Sir Edward Atkyns, and attempted to rescue Marie Antoinette from the guillotine.

It is also the story of Homer, the passionate, impulsive girl from the Cornish parsonage who, unwanted in her own home, joins her distant relation, Charlotte, in London.

Involved with them are Richard Danver, in the service of the British government; Jean Pierre de la Vaugon, serving the French government, the aristocrat who cannot hope to escape the attentions of the mob; the lecherous Sir Edward; and Sophie, the young girl for whom the guillotine is waiting.

The story, moving swiftly from the Cornish parsonage to London, Norfolk, Lille and Paris, tells of the loves and adventures in the lives of two very brave women. It will delight all readers of Jean Plaidy's memorable novels.

Touch Base Thursday

Who's reading The Plantagenet Prelude this month? I haven't started it yet, but as it is a smaller one I think I can get it in right at the end of the month. I have one more book to read before it.

We've decided on our September & October reads:

Sept. - The Wandering Prince (stand-alone or included in The Loves of Charles II trilogy). The trilogy is currently in print and available through Amazon, The Book Depository or any of the chain stores.

Oct. - Miracle at St. Bruno's (Philippa Carr) Out of print. I am going to see if I can get some copies from the used bookstores for those of you who can't find it.

Lucy is dying to read Plaidy's version Charles II & Louis XIV, so this is perfect! I read it a few years ago, so this is a refresher for me. Miracle at St. Bruno's is a nice introduction to her 'romance' pen name. I am curious to see just how romantic she gets.



Charles II, the most fascinating rake in England's history. The story of the years he spent in exile as a young man is seen through the eyes of two women.

Charles' sister Minette and his mistress Lucy Walter are brought vividly to life in this enthralling story of romance, escape and the youth of a king for whom love always came first.



Damask Farland

"I was born in the September of 1523, nine months after the monks had discovered the child in the crib on that Christmas morning. My birth was, my father used to say, another miracle: He was not young at the time being forty years of age . . . My mother, whose great pleasure was tending her gardens, called me Damask, after the rose which Dr. Linacre, the King's physician, had brought into England that year."

Thus begins the story narrated by Damask Farland, daughter of a well-to-do lawyer whose considerable lands adjoin those of St. Bruno's Abbey. It is a story of a life inextricably enmashed with that of Bruno, the mysterious child found on the abbey altar that Christmas morning and raised by the monks to become a man at once handsome and saintly, but also brooding and ominous, tortured by the secret of his origin which looms ever more menacingly over the huge abbey he comes to dominate.

This is also the story of an engaging family, the Farlands. Of a fathr wise enough to understand "the happier our King is, the happier I as a true subject must be," a wife twenty years his junior, and a daughter whose intelligence is constantly to war with the strange hold Bruno has upon her destiny. What happens to the Farlands against the background of what is happening to King Henry and his court during this robust period provides a novel in which suspense and the highlights of history are wonderfully balanced.

As Damask and her two cousins, Kate and Rupert, pass from childhood into adolescence, the peace that has lain for years over the big gabled Farland house as over England is shattered. At home the restless Kate has found the ivy-covered door in the abbey wall, and inevitably, curiosity leads to a confrontation with the mysterious boy Bruno and the knowledge of the perilous secret of the hidden treasure of the abbey. And beyond the Farland gates England's King has cast his covetous eyes on Anne Boleyn, and soon Sir Thomas More's severed head adorns London Bridge and a power-hungry Cromwell covets the abbey's riches.

The disappearance of Bruno and the treasure of the abbey and the betrayal of Damask's father to a hostile crown set forces in motion that threaten tragedy as Damask finds herself impelled by a force she cannot recognize, let alone cope with, to discover the secret of the missing abbey treasure and the truth surounding the handsome, almost mesmeric man whom she has always loved.

Damask and Bruno's story, the story of a questionable birthright, of the abbey and it's coveted treasures, The Miracle at St. Bruno's is also the story of sixteenth-century England - - an era of vicious corruption and deep tenderness, when periods of violent brutality follow a time of deep contentment, presided over by one of England's most colorful rakes and rulers, Henry VIII.

This long and richly entertaining novel is written with power and clarity and a superb sense of the suspenseful and dramatic.

Wordy Wednesday

Sorry for the lack of posts and updates, but Lucy and I have both been really busy lately. Here are some words:

assailing - to attack vigorously or violently.

caustic - severely critical or sarcastic

debarred - to hinder or prevent

lassitude - a condition of indolent indifference

noisome - harmful or injurious to health

opined - to hold or express an opinion

peremptory - leaving no opportunity for denial or refusal

pithily - brief, forceful and meaningful in expression

repertoire - the entire stock of works existing in a particular artistic field

sidled - to edge along furtively

Wednesday's Riddle-Me-WHO??

Riddle Me- WHO?


First the brave King’s Head,
Then ‘off’ with hers, they said…

Young, beautiful and kind,
Yet, fault they needed to find

‘What have I done
Other than love and have fun?

They say I am to blame
For France’s great shame

My pious devotion
Causes such a commotion

My rosary I pray
Until my doom's day

When onto that block
My head I will lay’.

Then after that day,
Many would say:

France will never have seen
A kind and more gentler Queen.


In the streets all could hear:
Adieu La Reine Martyre!

Book Review: The Thistle and The Rose

This Plaidy novel begins with Margaret Tudor as a young girl. She is portrayed as strong-minded and very defiant, yet close to Henry, her brother. I love the way from the very beginning the two of them go at it in terms of who will rule first. Margaret is so intent on getting married and when all of a sudden it’s decided that she is to be wed to the King James IV of Scotland, although she is somewhat reluctant, she’s also extremely delighted.

From the moment she meets him, she becomes totally enamored with the King, whom she thought to be the handsomest man ever. Margaret is but a young girl, but being a Tudor in every way, her appetite for love is strong and her passions difficult to curb. The King enjoys his young bride and the marriage is seemingly perfect. It’s only when Margaret discovers that the formidably charming and irresistible James is also very much the ladies’ man…her heart is shattered.

King James is a kind man at heart, and although he cannot refute his passions, he still makes sure that his Queen never goes amiss of anything. He respects and nurtures her, and also takes care of her every need. They go through much hardship as the Queen suffers many miscarriages and deaths of their children. Finally, she bears him two sons; future heirs of the Scottish throne.

The happily-ever-married does not last forever…Margaret is terribly hurt from James affairs and she seeks her own adventures. When James dies, she goes on to marry the Lord Angus, to the dismay of all of Scotland. He was a Douglas, and thought to be extremely detrimental for the fate of their country. Nonetheless, Margaret made the terrible decision to marry Angus, for she cold not bear to not live out her lusty passions.

A tragedy suddenly hits when the youngest of her two sons, while under the guidance of the Duke of Albany (brother to the former King James) dies from the pox. Margaret is convinced that Albany wants to be rid of the boys to conquer the throne himself. She compares him to the late Richard III and the boys in the tower. A love-hate relationship begins…

The story unfolds with Margaret in continuous struggle to be back with her son, the King, and rid herself of Albany. But in the meantime, she also discovers Angus to be unfaithful. This leads her to having another affair and then again another marriage…another bad choice. Henry VIII, her brother, who is now King of England, is always in communication with his sister. Many a times, she finds refuge and assistance by his side- except when he does not want to acknowledge her divorce from Angus…for religious purposes (suitable to him until he seeks similar cause with his own once-beloved Anne…)

This story is continuously on the move. Margaret, who is so much like Henry in so many ways, is always ruled by her heart and passions rather than by logic. A Tudor weakness that is too often the blame.

I really enjoyed this novel especially because of the history. From the beginning, right up to the end, starting with Elizabeth of York, all the way to James V’s first wife and Henry’s Jane Seymore, the novel, through its historical figures and happenings, pieces the puzzle of this wonderful time in history.

I totally enjoyed reading about this feisty lady who loved passionately- all she wanted was to find someone who loved her deeply in return...The characters, the history, everything was incredibly entertaining. I highly recommend The Thistle and The Rose to anyone who’d love to read a great summary of what happened back in Scotland, England and France in the times of Margaret and Henry. It’s all Tudors and Stuarts. Loved it!


NOTE: I must also mention that this novel is filled with 'Incidentals'- so you can be sure I'll be writing a few posts on these as well. It's just too juicy.

Reading Group Discussion for July

As you may have read via email, we are no longer using the Message Board layout for our Reading Group Discussions. We've decided it is easier and more convenient to post our discussions here. As July was Pick Your Own Plaidy month, it will be even simpler! All you need to do is REPLY TO THIS POST and tell us about your July choice. You can also link to your review (if you posted one). We may reply to your comment, so check back to 'discuss' the books on this thread.

Lucy read The Thistle and the Rose. Her review is in the works.

I read The Goldsmith's Wife and you can read my review here:

http://royalintrigue.blogspot.com/2009/07/review-goldsmiths-wife.html

What did you read?