political mysteries gunpowder antoinette

books:

106 reviews
Antonia Fraser

Anchor, 2002

A pleasant surprise
This biography was a pleasant surprise! I thought it would be tedious to read and even harder to sift through the writer's biases. However, Antonia Frasier provided a wonderful insight into not only what Marie Antoinette's world was like, but also her strengths and weaknesses as a queen, mother, and woman. Frasier lent an air of sympathy which kept me enraptured until the very end of the book ...

Love and Louis XIV: The Women in the Life of the Sun King

18 reviews
Antonia Fraser

Anchor, 2007

Good read
This book was a good factual read on Louis XIV. Anyone with an interest in Louis (or just the era) will enjoy this book. I found no factual errors.

Mary Queen of Scots

47 reviews
Antonia Fraser

Delta, 1993

Fantastic
This is the book that got me started reading about history in the first place, 10 years ago. It must be pretty good, at the time I was partying my butt off in SF and reading wasn't the first thing on my mind. I picked it up, couldn't put it down and haven't put down a book since. Read it, it rocks.

The Wars of the Roses (A Royal History of England)

1 review

University of California Press, 2000

An Overview
If you are looking for a quick way to get an idea of what was going on with the Houses of Lancaster and York during the 15th century, this little book might be just the ticket. It is a short book of only 101 pages, and the large number of illustrations reduce the text pages to only about 50. The book includes a Genealogical Table starting with Edward III which helps immensely in understanding ...

Cromwell

15 reviews
Antonia Fraser

Grove Press, 2001

Cromwell - a man of his time
Fraser's book is best at trying to place Cromwell in his time. It is pointless to upbraid her for writing a book about someone who could be an unpleasant, violent and designing character - Europe was full of even more violent generals and religous fanatics at the time By carefully following his career and the people around him she shows how he rose from mediocrity to high office AND was a ...

The Lives of the Kings and Queens of England, Revised and Updated

29 reviews

University of California Press, 2000

Beautiful coffee table book
As a lover of British royal history, I think this is a fantastic overview that 'sums' things up, devoting a few pages to tell the story of each monarch. Antonia Fraser manages to pass on a lot of information in short form. The illustrations are wonderful, as are the charts (although as someone else mentioned, they are missing some details for us serious fanatics). I consider this is a great ...

The Warrior Queens: The Legends and the Lives of the Women Who Have Led Their Nations in War

10 reviews
Antonia Fraser

Anchor, 1990

ANOTHER WINNER FROM ONE OF THE BEST HISTORIANS EVER
Antonia Fraser superbly writes about Boadicea of Great Britain, Catherine the Great of Russia, Elizabeth the First of England, Queen Isabella of Spain, the Rani of Jhansi, and the obscure Queen Jinga of Angola. All are delineated with grace and fervour and this book is another welcome addition to the opus of Lady Antonia Fraser. It is very highly recommended. Timothy Wingate Ottawa CANADA

King Charles II

2 reviews
Antonia Fraser

Phoenix (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd ), 2007

Charming Charles
This is what popular historical writing is all about - a readable, knowledgeable, enjoyable book. Fraser provides a superb introduction to the varied life and dramatic times of king Charles II. Her background information is clear and reliably accurate, she provides a great deal of insight into the person of this most personable of kings, and her bibliography is a launching place for further ...

Faith and Treason: The Story of the Gunpowder Plot

24 reviews
Antonia Fraser

Anchor, 1997

Explosive look at Traditional English Attitude toward Catholics
Guy Fawkes Day is still celebrated in England with fireworks and mock burnings of him in effigy. I wondered about this celebration and this book was recommended. I find Tudor and Stuart England absolutely fascinating and this book shed light on an incident that is little known and not taught in the States. English recalcitrant Catholics hoped James I's reign would usher in more tolerance. ...

The Wives of Henry VIII

31 reviews
Antonia Fraser

Vintage, 1993

Of all the books on Henry VIII's wives, this is the best
A few years ago David Starkey wrote a book on Henry VIII's three wives which received much publicity. It was even turned into a PBS documentary. I read that book and while I found some of his research compelling, his arrogant style and dubious conclusions irritated me. The book is overlong (880 pages), and lopsidedly devoted to Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. Out of the 750 odd pages of ...

The Stuarts (A Royal History of England)

4 reviews
Maurice Ashley

University of California Press, 2000

no, good history
The previous reviewer probably did not read the actual book, only the Book Description on the Amazon Website which incorrectly states that the mother of King James I of England was Margaret Tudor. Antonia Fraser, as her many readers know, would never allow a mistake like this to make it into print. (Ms. Fraser is actually the editor of this book, which was written by the late Maurice Ashley.) The ...

Oxford Blood (Jemima Shore Mysteries)
Antonia Fraser

W. W. Norton & Company, 1998

In this tale Jemima is reluctantly shooting a TV expos-"Golden Lads and Girls"-on the exotic lifestyles of overprivileged undergraduates. Among them is Lord Saffron, the wealthy, twenty-year-old heir to the former foreign secretary. When a confession by a dying midwife throws Saffron's birth and bloodline into doubt, Jemima's interest in the documentary perks up considerably. Then a student is murdered, drawing Jemima into a case ...

The Middle Ages (Royal History of England)

1 review

University of California Press, 2000

Basic and easy reading
It's not great history but it's short and readable and has nice pictures. I read a lot of history but I've always had trouble sorting out all those Henries and Edwards in between William the Conqueror and Henry VIII and this was a great help. It goes from William the Conqueror up to 1400, which is when Henry IV bumped off Richard II. It's only 117 pages, some of which are illustrations so you ...

Quiet As a Nun (Jemima Shore Mysteries)

4 reviews
Antonia Fraser

W. W. Norton & Company, 1998

The best mystery writer since Christie!
It's odd to note that Lady Antonia Fraser, famous for her historical biographies, decided to try writing mysteries as a lark; she turns out to be the best mystery writer I have read since Agatha Christie! Possibly that's because, unlike so many other mystery writers, she does not copy or imitate Christie, Doyle or the other old masters of the genre. Instead, in Jemima Shore, she has created ...

Tartan Tragedy
Antonia Fraser

Orion, 2006

Las Seis Esposas De Enrique VIII/ the Wives of Henry VIII
Antonia Fraser

Ediciones B, 2007

Political Death

1 review
Antonia Fraser

Crimeline, 1997

Fascinating look at murder in the past
Lady Antonia displays her interest in history by focusing this book on a murder in the distant past. As always, Jemima Shore finds herself surrounded by a cast of fascinating, eccentric characters, almost any of whom could be a murderer. Fraser is remarkably good at creating vivid characters, and none perhaps so vivid as Jemima Shore herself. Fraser is a great mystery writer; if you are an ...

The Houses of Hanover and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha

3 reviews

University of California Press, 2000

Well Illustrated Overview of the Hanovers, Victoria, Edward
This is a pretty good history of the Hanovers and their two immediate descendants. There are alot of pictures, and fairly short biographies of each of them. The book is very informative and a very quick read. I just wish that these biographers would realize that not all of us speak French, there are never any translations. Latin I can read, but French is beyond me, and I would guess, alot of ...

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