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rambly reviews
Feb. 8th, 2007 02:04 amStill trying to keep track of my reading. So for January, just three...
The King's Touch by Jude Morgan - picked this up since I enjoyed reading Passion so much. This one is narrated by James, Duke of Monmouth, illegitimate son of Charles I. And of course, with his being a bastard, there are many, many pages of daddy issues. Although a deeply flawed character, Morgan gives him a much more sympathetic portrayal than Plaidy did in The Loves of Charles I.
The Boleyn Inheritance by Phillipa Gregory - well, this one did not annoy me as much as The Virgin Lover did. In fact, it was a fairly fast-paced read. It's split up into three stories, that of Anne of Cleves (Henry VIII's 4th wife/victim), Jane Boleyn (who betrayed her husband and sister-in-law Anne Boleyn), and Katherine Howard (Henry's fifth wife/victim). I actually really liked this one, because you really don't see Anne of Cleves get her story told too often and it's a very suspenseful one at that. (Considering she has to manuever between an intolerably strict family back in Germany and a new, bloodthirsty husband.)Jane, who was pretty evil in The Other Boleyn Girl, comes across as much more sympathetic here, although after reading the author's note at the end, I'm not sure if that was really Gregory's intent. I think Gregory's use of first person just makes Jane seem pathetically self-deluded and in denial instead of just plain evil. Katherine Howard was the least interesting of the three... she was just selfish and stupid, rather like Lydia Bennett.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - reread this after watching the new BBC version of this on Masterpiece Theatre. This was my favorite classic as a teenager. I still love it, but I think Pride & Prejudice has replaced it in my heart. I had forgotten how religious it gets, like whenever Jane admonishes Mr Rochester to turn to God and be a good Christian. I would totally have gone off with him to his French villa. At least she turns down St. John Rivers, who is my least favorite part of the book. Anyway, I bought a new copy of it with illustrations by Dame Darcy. Her art style doesn't look really Victorian (it reminds me more of Edward Gorey's Edwardian style), but it's still a nice edition (although I wish they had done it in hardcover instead.)
The King's Touch by Jude Morgan - picked this up since I enjoyed reading Passion so much. This one is narrated by James, Duke of Monmouth, illegitimate son of Charles I. And of course, with his being a bastard, there are many, many pages of daddy issues. Although a deeply flawed character, Morgan gives him a much more sympathetic portrayal than Plaidy did in The Loves of Charles I.
The Boleyn Inheritance by Phillipa Gregory - well, this one did not annoy me as much as The Virgin Lover did. In fact, it was a fairly fast-paced read. It's split up into three stories, that of Anne of Cleves (Henry VIII's 4th wife/victim), Jane Boleyn (who betrayed her husband and sister-in-law Anne Boleyn), and Katherine Howard (Henry's fifth wife/victim). I actually really liked this one, because you really don't see Anne of Cleves get her story told too often and it's a very suspenseful one at that. (Considering she has to manuever between an intolerably strict family back in Germany and a new, bloodthirsty husband.)Jane, who was pretty evil in The Other Boleyn Girl, comes across as much more sympathetic here, although after reading the author's note at the end, I'm not sure if that was really Gregory's intent. I think Gregory's use of first person just makes Jane seem pathetically self-deluded and in denial instead of just plain evil. Katherine Howard was the least interesting of the three... she was just selfish and stupid, rather like Lydia Bennett.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - reread this after watching the new BBC version of this on Masterpiece Theatre. This was my favorite classic as a teenager. I still love it, but I think Pride & Prejudice has replaced it in my heart. I had forgotten how religious it gets, like whenever Jane admonishes Mr Rochester to turn to God and be a good Christian. I would totally have gone off with him to his French villa. At least she turns down St. John Rivers, who is my least favorite part of the book. Anyway, I bought a new copy of it with illustrations by Dame Darcy. Her art style doesn't look really Victorian (it reminds me more of Edward Gorey's Edwardian style), but it's still a nice edition (although I wish they had done it in hardcover instead.)
