Tuesday 15 May 2012

A Right Royal Read



As we are approaching the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, our thoughts turned to royals in fiction.
 There are many historical novels which explore the lives of past kings and queens - do you enjoy reading these? Share your favourites with us.
The present Queen Elizabeth features in the books above.
She is 'the Uncommon Reader' in Alan Bennett's story.
In 'Springtime at Burracombe' it is 1953 and approaching the Queen's Coronation and in 'Remembering the Bones' there is to be an 80th birthday lunch at Buckingham Palace for ninety-nine Commonwealth subjects born on the same day as the Queen - but one of them has an accident on the way.
Have you read any other novels which include the Queen?

15 comments:

Bex-Read said...

Sue Townsend, of Adrian Mole fame,
explored the very opposite of royal life, and what she thought would be the royal family's worst nightmare, in 'The Queen and I' - a Republican party wins the General Election and sends them to live in a housing estate.
Jill

Will said...

I`ve just finished reading William Boyd’s novel `Any Human Heart`….Very, very good – but, if you’re a fan of Wallis Simpson and the Duke of Windsor then you won’t like it one little bit…Nasty!
The couple only make a fleeting appearance in the story, but…well, you’ll just have to read it for yourself…

Bex-Read said...

Has anyone read Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel? It won the ManBooker Prize and I know some people loved it and others hated it.
Jill

Lisa said...

I couldn't get on with Wolf Hall at all and I was really disappointed because I was really looking forward to finding out more about Thomas Cromwell. I've been a big fan of the Shardlake books and found Thomas Cromwell to be quite an intriguing character but the punctuation in Wolf Hall, or rather lack of it, really put me off. Perhaps I'm just lazy but I read for entertainment and I found Wolf Hall just too much like hard work.

The Phantom said...

Wolf Hall, eh?...

Do you know: if I`d been given a pound by everyone who’d told me that they didn’t actually like Wolf Hall, then I’d have had enough to buy a copy of the hardback AND a fish supper and a bottle of beer to wash it down!

And yet it won the Booker Prize. Very odd. Oh well…

Bex-Read said...

It's often the case that the ManBooker prizewinner isn't a mainstream popular novel but I have heard quite a lot of people say they really enjoyed it - so are any of you out there?
Jill

Will said...

There’s obviously a big demand for Hilary Mantel’s big books out there…Her latest one – Bring up the Bodies – is already a bestseller.
Historical fiction is becoming very ‘trendy’ at the moment…(Remember all the books about the Tudors, courtly `bodice-rippers’, and `The Other Boleyn Girl` etc?…)

Any more?...

Lisa said...

Maybe prize winning books are much like prizewinning sausages and pasties, best avoided. I've not had good experiences with any of the above. Unfortunately for book prizes I've heard a few people over the years both in the media and in the library say that they won't read a book purely for the fact that's it won a prize. Which is, I agree, quite narrow minded but if sausages and pasties are anything to go by.....

The Phantom said...

Well now, this is what I find so fascinating about online book discussions…How on earth we came to be talking about sausages, pies & pasties within a royal-themed book chat is a mystery, but an interesting one, nonetheless.

And, now that the Orange Prize is changing sponsors, I wonder if there might be an opportunity for a meat-product manufacturer or pie retailer to take on the mantle?...
The Ginsters & Greggs Great Meaty Big Book Award, perhaps?...The Walls Summer Sizzler for romantic fiction, maybe?...Or the Pukka Pies Prize? You never know!

(As an aside, and back to our Royal theme…I believe that Prince Philip’s affectionate nickname for his wife is “Sausage”)…

Bex-Read said...

Ah.... if you are interested in more facts like that, you might want to look for a copy of 'At Home with the Queen : life through the keyhole of the Royal Household' by Brian Hoey. He has been behind the scenes at Buckingham Palace to tell the real story of what goes inside the royal residences through the eyes and words of royal staff past and present.
Jill

Will said...

The River Thames becomes the focus of celebrations soon, and rightly so!

I love Peter Ackroyd’s book about it: “The Tames: Sacred River”…it’s a fantastic read, full of mystery and history, folklore, facts and tittle-tattle.

A great book, to go with – we hope – a great occasion!

Sharon said...

I read Wolf Hall when it first came out and read it again recently just before the sequel Bring Up the Bodies was published. I absolutely loved it. Hilary Mantel does an amazing job of bringing Thomas Cromwell to life and making him human rather than simply showing his darker side.

She was criticised for writing in the present tense. I think that works perfectly - it throws you right into the action. There was also a lot of criticism about who she's referring to when she uses the word 'he' - i.e. is it Cromwell. For me, that just adds to the mystery. It makes you really think about how alike/different the characters are.

I'm now reading Bring Up the Bodies and can't wait for the final part of the trilogy.

I'm not usually a fan of historical fiction - I can't stand Philippa Gregory, for example - but I love Hilary Mantel's writing.

Bex-Read said...

Thanks, Sharon…
So, it seems that Wolf Hall and Hilary Mantel’s books still seem to divide opinion quite sharply…You either love ‘em, or you hate ‘em: real ‘Marmite’ books, in fact.

(Mind you, I expect that Prince Philip is more of a `Bovril` sort of chap?...)

Still, it’s good that books can cause such passionate and diverse views.
Any more Royal Marmite Reads?...

Will said...

While we’re reviewing all things royal, has anyone seen this new website? Queen Victoria’s diaries, thoughts, jottings and sketches – all 43,000 pages of it – online!
www.queenvictoriasjournals.org

It’s really quite something…

Lisa said...

I'm a big fan of Philippa Gregory and have read most of her historical novels. She tends to focus on strong women characters from history but also makes you realise how their families used them to get nearer to the throne, it's quite sickening really. I'm coming round to the idea of Wolf Hall as I've been told that it's worth the effort, so maybe I'll give it another go one of these days.....