Tagged: royal diaries
Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor by Kathryn Lasky
(Cover picture courtesy of Longitude.)
November 10, 1544
I have been living with this constant fear of exile now for two days. So far I have heard nothing. Plans seem to proceed as normal for our move to Ashridge. This palace, too, is becoming quite filthy, what with all the banqueting and people and gambling between Michaelmas Feast and the feast of All Saints’ Day. The roses bloom in our garden with such vigor, but the stench from the courtyard over the wall outside the kitchen is unbearable.
Kat is mumbling something about baths again. The woman is becoming a fanatic. I think we have had half a dozen baths since summer…
Queen Elizabeth I. Pretty much everyone knows she was a good queen and some people know what she accomplished during her reign (like outlawing wife-beating after 10:00pm, according to one of my Bathroom Readers), but not many really know much about her childhood and teenage years. In this installment of the Royal Diaries, Kathryn Lasky presents a Rated G version of Elizabeth’s teenage years for people ages 10-12.
This book really contains no new information for me, but readers who have yet to discover the wonders of historical fiction will love it. Elizabeth is a good main character and a very interesting narrator as she is strong even when she is betrayed and mistreated by her own father, King Henry VIII. We really see the woman she will become later on as she learns skills that were unusual for women of the time, like archery, falconry and languages like Greek and Latin. And we also see how she yearns for her father’s acknowledgement of her, how she treasures every smile or every bit of encouragement he gives her.
The plot isn’t what I would normally call fast-paced, but it is interesting enough. Young readers will sympathize with Elizabeth while learning a great deal about Tudor England. Really, what more could you ask for in historical fiction?
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.
Kristina: The Girl King by Carolyn Meyer
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads. Although when I try to link to the exact location I get an error message.)
August 3, 1638
Papa Matthiae arrived last evening, accompanied by Jacob Henrik Elbfas, the court painter. I feared this meant I should have to pose for another official portrait. They dress you in wretchedly uncomfortable gowns and make you stand perfectly still for hours, holding something in your hand—a large feather, or a glove, or some symbolic object. When you think you cannot bear it for another minute, the thing is finished, and you are expected to say how splendid it is!
In truth if I am not with Papa Matthiae and studying a serious subject, I prefer to be outside and on horseback, if possible. Or with a fencing sword.
Even though in her historical note Carolyn Meyer says Kristina of Sweden is one of the most talked about female monarchs in history, even more popular than Cleopatra, I highly doubt this. There is no doubt in my mind Cleopatra—to name one example—is more popular than Kristina will ever be. I had never heard of Kristina until I read this book (which actually belongs to my little sister), which is kind of sad because she really is a woman worthy of admiration.
In a world dominated by men and when only males could inherit the throne, Kristina is proclaimed heir to the throne of Sweden by her father. Kristina: The Girl King follows Kristina’s young years as she is trained like a prince, not a princess. She eschews romance, rides horses, practices archery, fences, learns battle strategies and studies classical Greek and Roman literature. Queen Elizabeth I has nothing on Kristina!
Kristina has a very powerful voice that readers will love, especially tomboys like myself. She is very sympathetic and three dimensional, as are all of the characters, even though we only glimpse them through her writing. Readers will love her and remember her for years to come, which is a good thing because the plot is not exactly fast-paced. However, it is an enjoyable read.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.
Marie Antoinette: Princess of Versailles by Kathryn Lasky
(Cover picture courtesy of Fantastic Fiction.)
June 13, 1769
It has come at last—the marriage proposal! King Louis XV’s personal envoys arrived this morning. I was called immediately to Mama’s summer house, The Gloriette, where she works on the hottest days. I did not know what I was being called for. Indeed, I thought maybe Luisa had told Mama about our picnic and I was to be reprimanded for hill rolling! But as soon as I set foot in the cool marble receiving room, Mama was out of her chair behind the desk and running toward me. She crushed me to her bosom and whispered, “Antonia, you are to be married! You are to be the Queen of France!” Her cheeks were wet with tears and soon mine were, too!
When my mother told me people used to urinate on the floors of Versailles, I laughed at her and chaulked it up to either hyperbole or myth. Sure, Europeans weren’t the cleanest bunch back then, but to relieve oneself indoors on those magnificent palace floors? That’s crossing the line between truth and fiction, right?
Wrong.
For all of their protocol, manners and customs, the French nobility apparently acted like dogs who have not been properly house trained. Enter Marie Antoinette, an Austrian princess who has been married off to Louis XVI, the Dauphin of France. Can you see why she rebelled against their ridiculous customs? I knew a little bit about the customs of the French court before reading this, but learning the extent of their stupidity was shocking. You learn something new every day, I guess, especially when you read historical fiction like this.
Marie Antoinette: Princess of Versailles is written for ages 10-12 and focuses mainly on Marie Antoinette’s life before her marriage. We get a little bit of her life after marriage, but most of the novel focuses on the time before she became Dauphine. This is not exactly my favourite book in the Royal Diaries series because of its incredibly simplistic style (especially at the beginning), but young readers will love it. They will be able to identify with Marie Antoinette, enjoy a well-written book and learn quite a bit of history without even realizing it. What more can you ask for in historical fiction?
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.