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Posts tagged with ‘England’

WINTER KING, by Thomas Penn

July 24, 2012

FASCINATING BIOGRAPHY OF HENRY VII examines the roots of the Tudor dynasty.  Well researched and engrossing!

Grade: B PLUS

WINTER KING: HENRY VII AND THE DAWN OF TUDOR ENGLAND
Simon & Schuster
2012

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A MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION, by Helen Rappaport

July 22, 2012

ENGROSSING, THOROUGHLY RESEARCHED look at Queen Victoria’s very public mourning for husband Prince Albert.

Grade: SOLID B

A MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION: VICTORIA, ALBERT, AND THE DEATH THAT CHANGED THE BRITISH MONARCHY
St. Martin's Press
2012

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WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN WINTER, by Candia McWilliam

July 9, 2012

WRENCHINGLY HONEST, BRUTALLY eloquent, a novelist’s memoir of losing her sight and her way in life astounds.

Grade: A MINUS

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN WINTER: A MEMOIR IN BLINDNESS
Harper
2012

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BEING LARA, by Lola Jaye

June 27, 2012

A LONDON WOMAN’S unexpected, life-changing reunion with her Nigerian birth mother–thoughtful, touching novel.

Grade: SOLID B

BEING LARA
William Morrow
2012

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THAT WOMAN, by Anne Sebba

May 20, 2012

THE DUCHESS OF WINDSOR gets yet another biography; this one offers some interesting new information, insights.

Grade: SOLID B

THAT WOMAN: THE LIFE OF WALLIS SIMPSON, DUCHESS OF WINDSOR
St. Martin's Press
2012

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MARY BOLEYN, by Alison Weir

March 10, 2012

MARY BOLEYN, MISTRESS and later sister-in-law to Henry VIII, is richly envisioned in this adept biography.

Grade: B PLUS

MARY BOLEYN: MISTRESS OF KINGS
Ballantine
2011

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EFFIE, by Suzanne Fagence Cooper

February 22, 2012

FASCINATING BIOGRAPHY, RICH with newly released letters, of Victorian art figure Effie Gray Ruskin Millais.

Grade: B PLUS

EFFIE: THE PASSIONATE LIVES OF EFFIE GRAY, JOHN RUSKIN, AND JOHN EVERETT MILLAIS
St. Martin's
2011

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A STRANGE EVENTFUL HISTORY by Michael Holroyd

June 1, 2009

RICHLY DETAILED BIOGRAPHY of Victorian England’s greatest acting duo follows the public and private lives of each. A MINUS

A STRANGE EVENTFUL HISTORY: THE DRAMATIC LIVES OF ELLEN TERRY, HENRY IRVING, AND THEIR REMARKABLE FAMILIES by Michael Holroyd
New York: Farrar Straus Giroux
March 2009

Grade: A MINUS

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THE BIRTHDAY PARTY by Barbara Vine

May 20, 2009

FOR BARBARA VINE FANS ONLY! Starts off well, w/ interesting kinky-Tory premise, but dissipates into non-sequiturs. B minus.

THE BIRTHDAY PRESENT by Barbara Vine
March, 2009
New York: Shaye Areheart Books

Grade: B MINUS

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