A thought-provoking tale of royal influence, treachery, and betrayal.
A historical novel follows Isabelle, the queen of France, who wielded astronomical power and then suffered a staggering fall from grace during the late 14th and early 15th century.
Rogers (Four Princesses From Provence, 2015) opens her tale as Elizabeth, a young royal of Bavaria, prepares, along with her best friend, Catherine of Fastaverin, for a night of merrymaking at her home. She lives a life of privilege and enjoys all the amenities one would expect for the beautiful daughter of the duke of Bavaria. As the story unfolds, the handsome, young king of France expresses interest in becoming acquainted with Elizabeth. Their first meeting is a stunning success, and Charles VI insists he will marry Elizabeth of Bavaria and no other. He is so smitten that he even refuses a dowry. The people of France are at first captivated by the monarch’s teenage bride, whom they call Isabelle. She easily embraces her new life and enjoys the unbridled affection of her husband. Unfortunately, the doting Charles gradually loses his mental faculties. As he creeps toward insanity, he leaves his wife lonely and bereft. Worse yet, without the king by her side, the people of France lose patience with the opulence enjoyed by Isabelle and her courtiers while they suffer burdensome taxation. As Charles retreats further into the throes of mental illness, Isabelle finds others to rely on and new ways to satisfy her romantic and sexual urges. But she gradually manages to alienate many of the people to whom she was closest throughout her earlier life. As Isabelle’s situation turns increasingly dire, Rogers skillfully showcases many of the issues that caused political strife in France during the 15th century. The author also traces the volatile sentiments of the French people regarding Isabelle (“They reproached her the taxes with which they were burdened and that went to pay for her luxury and the presents she showered on her German family”). The illuminating novel examines the French relationship with the English and the role that Isabelle played in uniting the two countries. Although a lack of setting details throughout the narrative can at times make the story difficult to follow, the tale deftly explores the isolation and loneliness that can often accompany a meteoric rise to power. The engrossing book should particularly appeal to fans of French Renaissance history.
A thought-provoking tale of royal influence, treachery, and betrayal.Pub Date: June 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-63524-156-3
Page Count: 266
Publisher: LitFire Publishing
Review Posted Online: Jan. 10, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
APPRECIATIONS
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
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