[MichelleR]

I'm currently interested in the Tudors. There are a zillion books on Henry VIII, of course, as well as Elizabeth I. I want to find good books about VII though -- and about his mother, Margaret Beaufort. Also of interest would be Elizabeth of York. I'm open to biographies or historical fiction by someone who kinda knows their stuff. Also, I think I would be interested in a good book about Katherine of Aragon, her parents, etc. (I really enjoyed The Constant Princess.)

I'm also looking for recommendations on horror anthologies. I'm one of those unfortunate people who like short stories, especially horror stories. I like the Hot Blood series, only one of which is available on Kindle, and something else along those lines would be nice.

I also like books set in MN, particularly Northern MN. I've read William Kent Krueger, Sandford, Steve Thayer, and I'm just looking for something else. Oh, I read a couple mystery anthologies by MN writers.

Thanks in advance and I hope I'm not missing a big honking thread where I could have added these requests. 

 

[Guest]

http://www.amazon.com/Favorite-Horror-Anthologies/lm/224REWHBZKT7M

 

[MichelleR]

That was actually a good list! None of the ones I wanted were available on Kindle though. I did lots of clicking to request them.  (I'll have to explore the other lists it recommends.)

 

[MichelleR]

This thread did not go as well as I had hoped. 

 

[ginaf20697]

I really liked Margaret Barnes Campbell's My Lady of Cleves about Anne of Cleves. There isn't much out there on her so it was a nice change from the plethora of Anne Boleyn books though the author also has one on her as well.

The King's Daughter by Sandra Worth about Elizabeth of York is pretty good but her story is soooo frustrating. There's another book I read about her To The Tower Born by Robin Maxwell which is just awful and has one of the most annoying Mary Sues I've ever come across.

 

[marianneg]

I'm sure you've probably already read all of these, but I love Stephen King's short stories.

Here's one that I found a few weeks ago on the bargain books thread. These aren't horror so much, but they do remind me a bit of King's style:


The MN request is a tough one, but have you ever read the Laura Ingalls Wilder books? Not available on Kindle, unfortunately, but very good. The family travels from Wisconsin to Oklahoma, back to Minnesota, and finally settles in South Dakota.

 

[chobitz]

Horror anthologies:

 

[MichelleR]

I really liked Margaret Barnes Campbell's My Lady of Cleves about Anne of Cleves. There isn't much out there on her so it was a nice change from the plethora of Anne Boleyn books though the author also has one on her as well.

The King's Daughter by Sandra Worth about Elizabeth of York is pretty good but her story is soooo frustrating. There's another book I read about her To The Tower Born by Robin Maxwell which is just awful and has one of the most annoying Mary Sues I've ever come across.

I had My Lady of Cleves and I couldn't get into it -- of course, there was a lot of tough stuff going on in my personal life. I just think the book would be permanently awash in bad memories. I'd love to find a good book about her though, as her story interests me. Anne Boleyn, while also interesting, doesn't deserve the lioness's share of the stories.

I have a sample of The King's Daughter and I'll keep in mind your comments on To The Tower Born!

Thank you!

 

[MichelleR]

I'm sure you've probably already read all of these, but I love Stephen King's short stories.

Here's one that I found a few weeks ago on the bargain books thread. These aren't horror so much, but they do remind me a bit of King's style:


The MN request is a tough one, but have you ever read the Laura Ingalls Wilder books? Not available on Kindle, unfortunately, but very good. The family travels from Wisconsin to Oklahoma, back to Minnesota, and finally settles in South Dakota.

Yep, pretty set on Stephen King and inhaled Laura Ingalls Wilder books as a young lass. Also made my husband go well off the beaten trail one year to find one of her old houses in Wisconsin -- was it Peppin or Pepin?

I DLed a sample of the "Cosmic Insolence" book.

 

[chobitz]

Talking about King..
How can I forget his son's anthology?



VERY VERY good..

 

[MichelleR]

Horror anthologies:

Thank you! Didn't have 4 out of 6 of those -- like Christmas Day! (Plus, Bite has a story set in Northern MN, so bonus points even though it was one of the two I'd all ready had!)

***

Added to respond to new post. I do have 20th Century Ghosts in print, but haven't read it yet.

 

[Tippy]

Love the Tudor books, although I confess I get tired of hearing about Anne Boleyn and Katherine.  The Constant Princess and the other Phillippa Gregory books are very good.  However, Anne of Cleves may have been the most intelligent, if not the homeliest, of Henry VIII's wives.  Alison Weir writes very good books about these subjects.  The Life of Katherine Swynford is very interesting.  AW also wrote another good book entitled Queen Isabella: Treachery, Adultery, and Murder in Medieval England. 

 

[marianneg]

Yep, pretty set on Stephen King and inhaled Laura Ingalls Wilder books as a young lass. Also made my husband go well off the beaten trail one year to find one of her old houses in Wisconsin -- was it Peppin or Pepin?

Awesome! Have you ever been to the museum in Missouri?

 

[MichelleR]

Love the Tudor books, although I confess I get tired of hearing about Anne Boleyn and Katherine. The Constant Princess and the other Phillippa Gregory books are very good. However, Anne of Cleves may have been the most intelligent, if not the homeliest, of Henry VIII's wives. Alison Weir writes very good books about these subjects. The Life of Katherine Swynford is very interesting. AW also wrote another good book entitled Queen Isabella: Treachery, Adultery, and Murder in Medieval England.

I know Henry was allegedly repulsed by Anne of Cleves, and that Holbein painted her as a more attractive woman than she was, but I still have no grasp of what these people found attractive. Invariably the ones labeled beauties, if the paintings are correct, would be considered homely today and the ones labeled as having more of a great personality than looks seem rather pretty.

While looking at the Isabella book, I also say this one which looks pretty good, although expensive. http://www.amazon.com/Mistress-Monarchy-Katherine-Swynford-Lancaster/dp/B001NLL9JQ/ref=pd_sim_kinc_5

***

Awesome! Have you ever been to the museum in Missouri?

Nope.

 

[Gertie Kindle]

Love the Tudor books, although I confess I get tired of hearing about Anne Boleyn and Katherine. The Constant Princess and the other Phillippa Gregory books are very good. However, Anne of Cleves may have been the most intelligent, if not the homeliest, of Henry VIII's wives. Alison Weir writes very good books about these subjects. The Life of Katherine Swynford is very interesting. AW also wrote another good book entitled Queen Isabella: Treachery, Adultery, and Murder in Medieval England.

Philllipa Gregory's The Boleyn Inheritance has a lot about Anne of Cleves. The story alternates between Anne, Catherine Howard and Jane Rochford. It's my favorite book of hers.



For Katherine Swynnford, you can't beat Anya Seaton's Katherine. Unfortunately, not available in Kindle.

 

[robin.goodfellow]

I heartily agree with all the people who have recommended Phillipa Gregory.  All of her stories are very good ones, even the one about Bloody Mary.  I also liked the one about Jane Grey by Allison Weir (so well that I can't actually remember the name of the book).  Allison Weir may also have written "The Last Wife of Henry VIII" about Catherine Parr, which was good, and actually focused mostly on Catherine, not Catherine-as-she-was-seen-by-Henry.  The Boleyn Inheritance was indeed a very good book. 

 

[MichelleR]

I'm already a fan of Phillipa Gregory, although she catches heck from people who're into the history of it all -- even more so than other writers of historical fiction.

 

[Gertie Kindle]

I'm already a fan of Phillipa Gregory, although she catches heck from people who're into the history of it all -- even more so than other writers of historical fiction.

Gregory is pretty accurate historically. She just fills in the blanks in a plausible way. On the other hand, the movie of The Other Boleyn Girl was a total travesty.

 

[robin.goodfellow]

know Henry was allegedly repulsed by Anne of Cleves, and that Holbein painted her as a more attractive woman than she was, but I still have no grasp of what these people found attractive. Invariably the ones labeled beauties, if the paintings are correct, would be considered homely today and the ones labeled as having more of a great personality than looks seem rather pretty.

Don't you think it's odd that all the faces of the paintings of Henry's wives look EXACTLY ALIKE? And they all look like Bloody Mary and Elizabeth, as well? And the Duke of Norfolk, to boot? I'm just not sure that's even possible. I mean, I know a lot of those people were related to each other, and maybe there were fewer people so they just looked more alike, but I also can't help but think we're pretty much basing our ideas on the output of one really bad portrait painter. JMO. But honestly, even the Anne of Cleves portrait looks like all the rest of them, and she was from another country. I saw a picture of the mannequins in the British museum of Henry and all his wives, plus his two daughters and son, it's all exactly the same face. And they're all the face from the portrait. Honestly, if I could travel back in time, I'm too nosey not to go back and see if they all really did look exactly alike. This is probably why nobody bothers to invent a time machine. We'd just misuse it.

 

[Tippy]

I know Henry was allegedly repulsed by Anne of Cleves, and that Holbein painted her as a more attractive woman than she was, but I still have no grasp of what these people found attractive. Invariably the ones labeled beauties, if the paintings are correct, would be considered homely today and the ones labeled as having more of a great personality than looks seem rather pretty.

Weir's book on Swynford is really quite good. I loved the descriptions of the homes they were always remodelling and what they gave each other for Christmas gifts and what they wore. John of Gaunt built a magnificent palace that I believed was burned to the ground. The books also indicates the cost of the gifts in that time period and what they would cost today. Verrry interesting. John of Gaunt was an extremely wealthy, powerful man. And Katherine Swynford's descendants appear in every line of English royalty.

Anya Seton's book on Katherine Swynford is a classic. Read it when I was in junior high -- my mother was NOT pleased. But it was a great read.

Anne of Cleves -- I have always wondered what she really looked like. But she was one smart cookie. She quickly figured out she was not Henry's 'cup of tea' and gracefully bowed out of the picture. As a result, Henry treated her pretty well financially and they had what could almost be described as a friendship. They loved to play chess. Bet Henry always won. . . Anne gaine freedom from a despot brother, then from a despot husband and really lived a rather quiet, happy life.

It is interesting to note women through history. Our strength and our abilities continue to amaze me.