TinaII2None,

I am very sorry to learn that you lost your other. I send my deepent sympathy to you and yours at this time. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

The book sounds interesting. I shall see if the local library has a copy. Books here in my hometown can be quite expensive and the stores rarley have any interesting books, so I stick the the library.

I am reading Gayle Lynds The Book of Spies. I started it today and am about 50 pages in. It's pretty good if one likes espionage thrillers.

DuchessofBrittany said:

TinaII2None,

I am very sorry to learn that you lost your other. I send my deepent sympathy to you and yours at this time. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

The book sounds interesting. I shall see if the local library has a copy. Books here in my hometown can be quite expensive and the stores rarley have any interesting books, so I stick the the library.

I am reading Gayle Lynds The Book of Spies. I started it today and am about 50 pages in. It's pretty good if one likes espionage thrillers.

Thanks so much Duchess for your kind words.

I'm sorry to hear that books are so expensive wehre you are — here's hoping the library gives you a nice variety.

That Book of Spies that you mentioned — is it fiction or non-fiction?

TinaII2None said:

That Book of Spies that you mentioned — is it fiction or non-fiction?

The book is fiction, although based upon historical fact regarding something called The Library of Gold. It was last recorded as being owned by Ivan the Terrible and, after his death, disappeared. I find it a great, fun read and something less heavy than my university readings.

My deepest sympathy, Tina.  I'm very sorry for your loss. 

I have heard of Elizabeth Tudor, Vampire Slayer, but wasn't sure if I'd like it.  I'm reconsidering. Not a big fan of Twilight, but if this book is about good old-fashioned vamps, I'm good with it.

I am now reading, The Greatest Knight, by Elizabeth Chadwick. It is about William Marshall…What a guy. 

Sharon said:

My deepest sympathy, Tina.  I'm very sorry for your loss. 

I have heard of Elizabeth Tudor, Vampire Slayer, but wasn't sure if I'd like it.  I'm reconsidering. Not a big fan of Twilight, but if this book is about good old-fashioned vamps, I'm good with it.

I am now reading, The Greatest Knight, by Elizabeth Chadwick. It is about William Marshall…What a guy. 

Thank you so much Sharon for your kind words.
I read some more at brunch this morning and so far, Elizabeth is behaving as I would suspect she might in the face of such a danger; she is curious but there is something in her that rebels at Mordred's offer of immortality, especially at the loss of her soul and the surrender of her kingdom to him. Mordred reminds me of the serpent in the Garden of Eden or the angel Lucifer — a tempter with seductive words, beautiful beyond description and a being that sees his way to finally taking control of Britain by having Elizabeth become his Queen while he shares her throne as a King (talk about Elizabeth chafing at sharing her throne *g*). Now I'm sure over the next couple of hundred pages we'll get quite a battle – I hope so anyway! (Oh one non-vampire related moment I did like was that Elizabeth mentions switching from the heavier Crown to the diadem her mother wore at her own coronation — in honor of Anne, and that the detailed oriented among those attending would have noticed; but she doesn't care. She did it for Anne. I liked that scene a lot).

Oh I have The Greatest Knight on my Amazon wish list! I vaguely remember him as a cameo in The Lion in Winter and then William Hurt gave him a larger role in 2010's Robin Hood with Russell Crowe; quite honestly, as much a Crowe fan as I am, I wish the movie had been about the real life Marshall instead LOL

TinaII2None said:

Oh I have The Greatest Knight on my Amazon wish list! I vaguely remember him as a cameo in The Lion in Winter and then William Hurt gave him a larger role in 2010's Robin Hoodwith Russell Crowe; quite honestly, as much a Crowe fan as I am, I wish the movie had been about the real life Marshall instead LOL

I am going to order Elizabeth Tudor, Vampire Slayer.  It does sound really enjoyable.
You have to read The Greatest Knight then the sequel The Scarlett Lion,  both by Elizabeth Chadwick.  Together they cover Marshal's life.  Also, For the King's Favor and To defy a King by Chadwick.  The first covers one of Henry II's affairs with Ida Tosney who has his son William Longespee out of wedlock.  She marries Roger Bigod.  Their paths cross with Marshal's.  The second covers the marriage between Maud Marshal, Mahelt in the book, (William's Daughter) and Hugh Bigod (Roger's son).  Marshal is in both of these.  I am now reading To defy a King.  Excellent storyline and she sticks to history wherever possible in novels.

I'm hoping someone will do a movie about William Marshal. Crowe could even play him. I wouldn't mind seeing that.  Although I did love William Hurt as an older Marshal. 

BTW, One of the real heroes of the battle on the beach where Crowe is fighting the French invaders, actually was William Marshal.

I just finished reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, a novel about the German occupation of the Channel Islands during World War II. It starts off as being full of local color about quirky (and unlikely) aficionados of great literature and the London journalist who is inspired to write about them immediately after the war, but ends up being much more than that.

Frequently from the halfway point of a novel, one can see the ending a mile away. I had thought that Elizabeth, the intrepid founder of the book club, would return from the concentration camp and live happily ever after on Guernsey with her young daughter Kit, while Juliet, the London journalist, having finished her book on the German occupation of Guernsey as seen through the book club, would return to the mainland and marry her American publisher suitor, Mark (who would have become more sympathetic to Juliet's writing career), while keeping a vacation home in Guernsey and visiting her friends every summer. Needless to say, what I imagined would happen did not happen — it was even more satisfying, and less cliched.

Highly recommended

Impish_Impulse said:

I just downloaded The Secret History of Elizabeth Tudor, Vampire Slayer onto my Nook. The first two chapters have been very good, in character with the times and not a Buffy rip-off. Thanks for the recommendation!

I think that's what hooked me — that the people I've studied for so long felt in character. And you're right — it's not a Buffy rip-off, and thankfully not Philippa Gregory meets Twilight either!

Sharon said:

You have to read The Greatest Knight then the sequel The Scarlett Lion,  both by Elizabeth Chadwick.  Together they cover Marshal's life.  Also, For the King's Favor and To defy a King by Chadwick.  The first covers one of Henry II's affairs with Ida Tosney who has his son William Longespee out of wedlock.  She marries Roger Bigod.  Their paths cross with Marshal's.  The second covers the marriage between Maud Marshal, Mahelt in the book, (William's Daughter) and Hugh Bigod (Roger's son).  Marshal is in both of these.  I am now reading To defy a King.  Excellent storyline and she sticks to history wherever possible in novels.

I've read all these books too. I loved them. I wish all authors who write historical fiction would be like Elizabeth Chadwick. She does such great research and really brings the historical period to life. I finished To Defy a King a few weeks ago, and I liked it. I did not find it as strong as The Greatest Knight or The Scarlet Lion, but enjoyable nonetheless.

I would love to see Russell Crowe play Marshal in a film, preferably based on Chadwick's novel. I liked Robin Hood and love Crowe. Although, William Hurt does play a great Marshal and really embodies all the qualities I imagine him to hold.

I have The Winter Mantle by Chadwick, but not read it yet. I am currently reading Ivanhoe by Walter Scott. I've decided to read more classical literature. I am not sure if it is such a good idea, but I shall try. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Sharon said:

I'm not sure of the kind of classics you are looking for and right now my mind is a blank.  Le Morte d'Arthur, by Sir Thomas Malory.  I don't know why this book came to mind but it is a great read. A book that was written much later that I love is, The Mists of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley.  It tells the story of Arthur and the women in his life.  It is told by the women and it becomes most believable even though there is mysticism involved.  You will believe. 

I haven't read Le Morte d'Arthur for years, I don't think I hvae a copy still……good excuse for buying more books

I was given Mists of Avalon by a friend who knew I liked her Darkover books. I enjoyed but I found the rest of the series incredibly bitty in quality, rather like the Darkover novels which were written after her death.