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ClareR (5726 KP) rated Elizabeth of York: The Last White Rose in Books

Mar 14, 2023  
Elizabeth of York: The Last White Rose
Elizabeth of York: The Last White Rose
Alison Weir | 2022 | Fiction & Poetry
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I loved this rather melancholy story of the last Lancastrian princess - Elizabeth of York.
It’s 500 pages of history, with loads of details of what it was like to be a female royal during times of instability and unrest. Even for royalty it wasn’t a great time to be a woman. Only good for one thing: providing the next generation. But Elizabeth bucked that trend somewhat, and Weir makes the case for her having some influence with Henry VII. She was a literate, intelligent woman at a time where women weren’t always well educated. Her duty is always to her country and her family - and she had to play a dangerous game of keeping Richard happy whilst hoping that Henry would succeed. After all, she considers Richard responsible for the deaths of her brothers, one of whom was the true heir to the crown (but will we ever really know what happened to these boys?).

I really enjoyed this. I know from reviews I’ve read that some people believe it’s too long, but I can’t see how it could be made shorter and still make sense! There’s so much happening during Elizabeths lifetime: civil war, chopping and changing kings, backstabbing, family strife, births, deaths, marriages - the lot!

Three generations of royalty are covered wonderfully in this book, and I for one ate it up!
  
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Jeff Nichols recommended Cool Hand Luke (1967) in Movies (curated)

 
Cool Hand Luke (1967)
Cool Hand Luke (1967)
1967 | Classics, Comedy, Drama
8.3 (9 Ratings)
Movie Favorite Watch

"Now we’ll start with the Paul Newman ones. The three Paul Newman ones. I guess I’ll start with Cool Hand Luke. I think it’s the first time I ever started to recognize metaphor. Or I guess allegory, because it’s a bit of a Christ allegory, I think. After he eats those 50 eggs and he’s laid out on that table it’s the same way that he’s laid out at the end after he’s shot. His legs are crossed, and his arms are out. I didn’t know when I first saw that film that that’s what was going on, or I didn’t know how that affected the rest of the story, but I recognized it, I know that. Because Cool Hand Luke is a strange film where I grew up with it on TV every weekend. It was just one of those films that always played on cable on the weekends growing up. It’s just always there, so you never really consider it. My dad loves that film. Then you go back and sit and watch it when you’re older and you realize that in the background of your life there was this amazing piece of artwork playing. Obviously its depiction of the south and the character behavior in it is just so rich and the cast amazing. Also I’m really drawn to this idea of a square peg in a round hole. That’s what Cool Hand Luke was. Luke was this guy, he wasn’t a bad person but he just didn’t fit in the world around him and he was persecuted as a result. Yeah, he was responsible, he was cutting the heads off parking meters. He was always culpable in the things that he did. But it was more a result that he probably just never belonged anywhere and he was restless as a result, unsettled. What that says to me: it’s not like that’s the way I felt in my life — quite the opposite actually. What I recognized in that is that is an archetype of a man, that person exists. To be able to take a personality type like that and make it so realistic, make it not cliché, make it not generic, but at the same time represent this type of person — I’m really impressed by that. It’s kind of what you strive for in ultimate storytelling in my mind. Both specificity and universality all at the same time."

Source
  
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Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated A United Kingdom (2017) in Movies

Oct 1, 2017  
A United Kingdom (2017)
A United Kingdom (2017)
2017 | Drama, Romance
10
9.3 (3 Ratings)
Movie Rating
One of the greatest love stories in the past century
Rarely can you make a claim that a true relationship is the greatest love story in the past century until you hear about Seretse Khama and his wife Ruth.

As an African chieftain of Bechuanaland, now Botswana, Khama was studying law in the UK before meeting Ruth, a secretary and daughter to a British Army captain. Even after the Second World War interracial couples faced much prejudice, but none so much as a king of a British protectorate and an ordinary white woman.

Facing many trials and tribulations, even exile from his own country thanks to the British relationship with the then apartheid nation of South Africa, the couple attempt to endure endless hardships to be the rightful rulers of Botswana.

It's always magnificent when you hear these stories are based on real life events. The Notebook has nothing on this.
  
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Alison Pink (7 KP) rated Those Across the River in Books

Jan 15, 2018  
TA
Those Across the River
Christopher Buehlman | 2011
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I won a copy of this book on Goodreads. I was very much anticpating its arrival and I am pleased to say that I was not disappointed!
If you are not afraid of being out in the woodsat night, you will be after you read this book! Hell you may even be scared of forests in the daylight too. The characters throughoutbthe book are weel developed. While there were a few "typical" characters many of them were shown to have quirks or traits thatnare not typical of a suspense novel.
The plot was well paced. The suspense factor was always high...I found myself constantly wondering who would be next. Yet at the same time it wasn't too over the top. The story contained enough events that were reality based that you even found yourself convinced that the fantastical elements were just as likely to be real.
  
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ClareR (5726 KP) rated The Catherine Howard Conspiracy (The Marquess House Trilogy #1) in Books

Apr 13, 2019  
The Catherine Howard Conspiracy (The Marquess House Trilogy #1)
The Catherine Howard Conspiracy (The Marquess House Trilogy #1)
Alexandra Walsh | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics, Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is set in two timelines: modern day and the Tudor Court. Dr Perdita Rivers and her twin sister, Piper, have been left an enormous bequest by their maternal grandmother. Perdita’s grandmother was a renowned Tudor historian, and had cut off all ties with her granddaughters after the death of their mother. So this is a bit of a shock!
The other timeline follows Catherine Howard in the lead up to her marriage to Henry VIII, and those fateful months that followed it.
I really do like historical novels, and the Tudor period has always particularly fascinated me. I loved all of the historical detail (and I know a lot of it is just conjecture, but it’s fun to imagine!), and Perdie’s research was very interesting too. I’d love a library like hers!
I’m very much looking forward to reading the second instalment as the ending was most intriguing!!
  
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Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated The Child in Books

Jan 20, 2018 (Updated Jan 20, 2018)  
The Child
The Child
Fiona Barton | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.3 (15 Ratings)
Book Rating
Good twist at the end
Fiona Barton's thrillers are always very accessible, it truly feels like you're reading an updated whodunit. The story surrounds various women with lots of secrets, that seem to emerge after the discovery of the remains of a baby at a building site.

Emma, a neurotic writer, her cold mother Jude, the mother of a missing infant Angelica, and of course, journalist Kate Walker take centre stage in this book. Each voice is unique with Kate being driven and ambitious, Emma appearing secretive, and the fragile Angelica breaking down fairly regularly. In this way, you're unlikely to become confused as the characters are distinct.

No doubt, a lot does happen so there is a question of whether Barton may have overdone the story. However, the last twist at the end was less obvious than the others and so the story concluded satisfactorily. An enjoyable read.