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The Captive Queen by Alison Weir (view source)
Revision as of 16:27, 27 June 2011
, 16:27, 27 June 2011no edit summary
But...
... I hate to say it, but I was disappointed in this book. Alison Weir is one of my favourite non-fiction authors and I love the way she brings historical figures to life. Her biographies are perfect popular history: accessible, vivid and accurate. And I enjoy a bit of good quality historical fiction now and then, so I had high expectations for this one. But it takes a while to warm to the characters, the prose is stilted at times and the first half of the book is marred by some pretty rotten sex scenes. I wasn't expecting [[Wolf Hall by Hilary MantellMantel|Wolf Hall]] necessarily, but I wasn't expecting a twelfth century bonkbuster either.
Happily, the sex eases off in the latter half of the book and I did feel I got to know the characters as the pages went on. I turned the final page thinking that, on balance, I had enjoyed it and would have enjoyed it more had I not been expecting something different.