Obit: Barbara Mertz (Elizabeth Peters)

From UT San Diego:

Barbara Mertz, an erstwhile Egyptologist better known to millions of readers as Barbara Michaels or Elizabeth Peters, the noms de plume on the covers of her dozens of top-selling historical mysteries and romantic thrillers, died Aug. 8 at her home near Frederick, Md. She was 85.

Her daughter, Elizabeth Mertz, confirmed her death and said she did not yet know the cause.

She wrote two scholarly books on ancient Egypt in the 1960s but was unable to find employment in academia. When she turned to fiction, she discovered that she had a talent, and that readers had an appetite, for particular tales of historical intrigue.

By weaving the curiosities of ancient Egypt, archaeology and other rarefied fields into her fiction, Dr. Mertz produced one crowd-pleasing yarn after another.

Anne of Cleves: Henry's Luckiest Wife

I had the pleasure of reading a new (and soon to be published) work by David featuring the fourth wife of Henry VIII of England and entitled "Anne of Cleves: Henry's Luckiest Wife".

Anne has had a bit of a rough time at the hands of chroniclers and writers, being described as being most unpleasant in appearance and personal charm, folksy and uncultured, the Flanders Mare; and yet she also comes across as smart, personable and even pleasant of appearance, and certainly shrewd enough to make a financially beneficial “divorce” from Henry which set her up for the rest of her life in England.  Even today, Anne remains an enigma.

This retelling of Anne’s life is initially told to us in the first person by Anne herself, as she reflects upon her life and the events leading up to her marriage to Henry VIII, King of England.  Anne’s recollections are interspersed with a more standard retelling of events as they occurred before, during and after her marriage.  We find Anne adjusting to court life around her and to her change of status once the divorce was made formal. We are then taken through the events that took place from the death of Henry VIII to Anne’s own demise.

I found this to be a rather enjoyable read, and David presents Anne in a more personable light, attributing to her some measure of intelligence and understanding of the politics of the day, as well as being a typical Tudor-era woman who enjoyed the finer things in life – friends, fashion, gossip, the good life.

Anne certainly was the luckiest of Henry’s wives – she married Henry and managed to keep her head!  And she outlasted both Henry and all his other wives, dying aged 41 in 1557.

For those with a love of all things Tudor, this is a must for your personal library.

David has written a number of  works that readers will enjoy – I certainly found his book on Shakespeare quite intriguing!

You can see a full list of David's books at his website - author website and Goodreads website

Reading & Writing History

As I have been reading alot lately, it got me thinking about all those books written about history over the centuries.  As time has progressed and modern scholarship improved, these past tomes have been discarded as being not relevant and historically incorrect.  But are they.

Consider: most contemporary sources are now considered flawed (by our modern standards of scholarship) and yet are still a valuable resource for the historian and writer.  They reflect the time in which they were written; often the bias of the author; and the availability of information at hand (often localised).  And these "primary" sources are still considered more noteworthy than some "secondary" sources.

Which brings me to my next point.  Should all "secondary" sources be dismissed outright just because modern scholarship has more to add.  Again, I think these "secondary" sources are just as valuable, reflecting not only the scholarship of their author (as with the "primary" sources) but also prove to be a study of the current values of society at that time.

Yes, we should look to improve upon what was written before - and we today have the advantage of access to so much more than some writers who came before us.  Technology is a wonderful thing - so many previously inaccessable tomes are now available so freely over the internet.  No longer do we have to pore over unwieldly tomes in dimly lit archives, travel miles to the nearest library to access some book only available to scholars at universities - unless we want to.  Much of what we need comes at the touch of a button (or keyboard).

My pet gripe is with authors who poo-poo at works considered "outdated" should actually take a closer look them and not just base their opinions upon those of others.   Doing your own research is one of the joys of history - discovering some little piece of long-hidden information, tucked away in a book considered "out of fashion".  No book should be discounted based solely upon it's age.  Many of these early books provided a great introduction into history - they have their place and their value.

Which brings me to another point - historical fiction.  Have you noticed how much historical fiction has come along.  A few decades ago, artistic license was flourishing - readers didn't demand greater authenticity and attention to detail from their fiction writers - how that has changed today.  More and more authors are bringing the past to life in their tomes of fiction - so much so, it is becoming increasingly difficult to assess what is fact and what is fiction.  Some "non-fiction" actually reads like it should have been deemed "fiction" and vice-versa! 

And we are becoming more critical of our fictional authors - demanding they stick to details and admonish them when they leave the path.  Possibly because history itself has entered something of a renaissance - the more we read, the more we feel the need to read and explore further.  Not a bad thing in my opinion.

TODAY: Meet Michelle Cameron

From North Jersey:
On Saturday, Jan. 9, at 2 p.m., author Michelle Cameron will be at the Morris County Library, 30 E. Hanover Ave., Whippany, for a reading and discussion of her latest historical novel, "The Fruit of Her Hands," based on the life of Cameron’s 13th-century ancestor, a renowned Jewish scholar of medieval Europe. Book signing afterwards.

To reserve seats, call 973-285-6930 or go to www.mclib.info/author.html.

Colleen McCullough

For those of you not already aware, renown Australian author, Colleen McCullough, underwent brain surgery on 11th December 2009. It was greatly feared that the surgery would render the author incapable of continuing her writing career. At this stage, Colleen is recovering slowly in Sydney - and time will tell if this surgery will impact her writing.

Colleen is the author of "The Thorn Birds", the "Masters of Rome" series, and numerous other books. Her latest book, "Too Many Murders" has just been released, and her 22nd book is near completion.

Our wishes extend to both Colleen, her husband Ric and their family.

Get well soon Colleen!

Colleen McCullough on wikipedia

Colleen @ Harper Collins

Books: Women & History

Some more interesting reads this week:

Caliban and the Witch: Women, the Body, and Primitive Accumulation by Silvia Federici.
Review: "Explains connection between the Great Witch Hunt of the 16th and 17th centuries and Marx's concept of Primitive Accumulation of Capital. Relates these to Kropotkin's disscussion of the rise of the state. And to the Marxist conception of the Epoch of Capitalist Decay (Imperialism)." - Not for the faint-hearted.

Remarkable Creatures by Tracey Chevalier.
Alyssa McDonald interviews the author for the Australian: "Like each of its predecessors, it's a historical work: this one set in Lyme Regis in the early 19thcentury, when an otherwise unremarkable English coastal town became the setting for some of the world's earliest and most important discoveries of dinosaur remains. Many significant fossils were found by Mary Anning, a working-class local woman who, along with Elizabeth Philpot, another fossil collector living in Lyme Regis, is the focus of Chevalier's story."

The White Queen by Philippa Gregory
Elizabeth Renzetti interviews Philippa for the Globe & Mail: "In the same manner that she dusted off the historical figure of Mary Boleyn (in her 2002 bestseller, The Other Boleyn Girl), now Gregory turns her attention to Elizabeth Woodville, the White Queen of the title. The wife of Edward IV (and mother to the poor princes in the Tower), Elizabeth was "an unpopular and controversial Queen," according to Gregory."

1940-1945, Erotic Years by Patrick Buisson
Review by Matthew Campbell @ Times Online: "An unusual history of the Nazis in France has trampled on one of the country’s most painful taboos by focusing on women who slept with the enemy during the occupation. Flouting a long-running convention of silence on what he calls “horizontal collaboration”, Patrick Buisson, the author, describes the Nazi occupation as the “golden age” of the French brothel, chronicling a dramatic growth in prostitution to satisfy German demand."

Author: JoAnn Smith Ainsworth

From JM Bown @ Mercury News:

At 65, longtime Alameda resident JoAnn Smith Ainsworth was sort of forced to pursue her dream of becoming a novelist.

The database administrator found herself unemployed and scared when the law firm where she had worked for 20 years abruptly went out of business. To stave off her sorrow, the divorcee turned her focus to books — not reading them as much as writing them.

Last week, Ainsworth, now 70, celebrated the paperback release of her second novel, "Matilda's Song." The medieval romance set in Britain after the Norman Conquest of the British Isles of the 11th century already has been published online.

Visit JoAnn's website

Review - Innocent Traitor

The story of Lady Jane Grey by Alison Weir.

Okay - I began this book with severe trepidation. Weir is not one of my favourite authors - especially her brand of historical "non-fiction" - so I was hesitant to say the least when I chose this book to read. Others who have read it have given good reviews. Well, now to mine.

I liked it!! Yes, strangely enough, I enjoyed this foray into fiction by Weir far greater than any of her "factual" based books. She manages to convincingly tell the story of Lady Jane Grey, the Nines Days' Queen of England.

Weir's book takes the form of a narrative told by the various characters of the book - the main ones being Jane, herself, and her mother, Lady Frances Brandon, Duchess of Suffolk, and Jane's nurse, Mrs Ellen. A number of other historical personages add their voices: Queen Mary I (The Lady Mary), Queen Katherine Parr, Queen Jane Seymour; and later John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, and lastly, The Executioner.

Jane's character comes across as sympathetic though at times her stubborness does irk one - the character of her mother, Frances, is another story. Frances was renown for her cruelty to her daughter Jane - and at the end of the book, Frances is rebuking herself for being a 'strict" parent.

The story of Jane's life flows well, despite the number of voices being heard - this does not complicate things. The book is not encumbered with a lot of historical detail - and yet it maintains true to Jane's life as we know it. It is easy to read and the story is easy to follow regardless of which character has centre stage.

Of all Weir's books, this is one I would recommend.

Review - The Tigress and the Rose

Subtitled as: "Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Fair Rosamond" by Richard Cameron Low.

Okay - I didn't finish it, so how then can I give a review. Quite easily, actually.

The premise for this novel is the relationship between Eleanor and Rosamond. The problem is that, in my opinion, despite this being a work of fiction, I really could not respond to the work.

Problems:

• The meetings of Henry II and Rosamund when both were children - just didn't work for me. Please correct me if I am wrong, but I don't believe they ever met prior to Henry becoming King of England, and certainly not in the early stages of his marriage to Eleanor. Henry met Rosamund c.1166 and their relationship lasted ten years, during which time Eleanor was held a prisoner (1173 - 1189).
• The tedious background information contained in the first chapter - too long.
• The naming of the members of Eleanor's Amazon women during her Second Crusade - well as two were non-existant, poor scholarship.
• The "relationship" between Eleanor and a Kurd called Ayub at Antioch, the resultant offspring being Saladin himself - unbelieveable - as was the supposition that Eleanor was a virgin at the time. I believe that Eleanor already had one daughter (c.1145) prior to the Second Crusade, and gave birth to another shortly after her return (c.1151). Louis may have been pious but he and Eleanor were married for at least seven years - and if she were a virgin, it would surely have been cause for comment.
• The sister of Ayub, one Rohesia, was the mother of St.Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury through her liaison with an Englishman named Gilbert.

In addition, this work of fiction was interspersed with factual notes, which should have been appendixed at the end of the book as part of an Author's Note.

I am not sure what the author's intent was - a work of fiction or a factual biography - but it reads as neither.

I was really looking forward to this interplay between the formidable Eleanor and the Fair Rosamund, but was bitterly disappointed by the time I reached Page 86 (Year 1148).

I welcome feedback and comments from anyone who has read the book - I, I am sad to say, just could not finish it.

Review - The Winter Mantle

"The Winter Mantle" by Elizabeth Chadwick concerns the events immediately after the Norman Conquest of England.

The main characters are:

• Waltheof, Earl of Northumbria.
• Judith, his Countess and niece of William the Conqueror.
• Matilda, their daughter.
• Simon de Senlis, Earl of Huntingdon and Northumbria.

The story picks up a year after the Conquest (1067), William is back in Normandy with his hostages - and it is here that Waltheof and Judith are said to have first met. Although it is "love at first sight", a sense of duty and social position prevents things from going further.

As it turns out, Waltheof has a predisposition for rebelling against the Norman yoke, after after being granted the earldom of Northumbria by William but not the hand of the formidable Judith, Waltheof rebels again. To cut a long story short, Waltheof gains Judith as a bride - but is the marriage to stuff of legends.

Unfortunately, Waltheof, who seems to be a man easily influenced by those around him - though not his wife - rebels again. This time, he forfeits his life (1076). So ends the first half of the book.

Intertwined in Waltheof's story is that of Simon de Senlis, who is a court official under William the Conqueror.

The second half of the book picks up ten year after the death of Waltheof - Dowager Countess Judith has been managing the Earldom of Northumbria, until the re-appearance of Simon de Senlis, who has been given the earldom by the new King of England, William II (Rufus).

Judith, quite naturally, refuses to go gracefully, so Simon take matters into his own hands - he marries her daughter Matilda.

Thereafter "The Winter Mantle" continues with the story of Matilda and Simon, his adventures on the First Crusade, the death of Judith, and Simon's participation in William II's wars. The book end roughly around the year 1097.

So, to the verdict.

Chadwick's portrayal of Waltheof as a weak-willed man and Judith as, well, a hard-nose bitch perturbed me - at first. However, as the story develops you get a sense that this man was indeed, rather weak of character to be so easily misguided - from a Norman point of view. He was an Englishman at the time of the Norman Invasion, and doubtless loyalties were tested quite often. It really was a matter of choosing sides and hoping yours was the winning one. As to Judith, she comes across as a woman of her times - she knows her position and considers duty to her family upper most. Women were not free to make marriages of their own choosing, ultimately it came down to the politics of alliances.

Overall, I enjoyed the book - I was already familiar with the characters and the events, and Chadwick provides an "Author's Note" at the end to help fill in the blanks.

Some Light Reading

I am about to embark on some "light" reading.

My poor brain is completely "fried" - overworked and just plain old tired, so I have decided to give the non-fiction a bit of a miss for a while and take up some historical fiction. Mind you, every book I selected in over 400 pages!!

So, on the agenda for the next month or so - depending upon the state on my mental faculties, are the following books, in no particular order:

• "The Winter Mantle" by Elizabeth Chadwick ( - Norman England and the revolt of Earl Waltheof of Northumbria)
• "The Tigress and the Rose" byRichard Cameron Low (- Eleanor of Aquitaine and Fair Rosamund Clifford)
• "Innocent Traitor" by Alison Weir (- Lady Jane Grey) - I am slightly hesitant as Weir is not a particluar favourite of mine, but others think this foray into fiction is okay.
• "The Greatest Knight" by Elizabeth Chadwick (- William Marshall)
• "The Scarlet Lion" by Elizabeth Chadwick (- William Marshall, again)
• "Bretheren" by Robyn Young (- Knights Templar)

I wonder if I should have tackled those books sitting, covered in dust, on my own bookcase first???