I thought I would mention another of my favorite authors who might not be well known. Her name is Susan Howatch and I first discovered her way back when I was in high school. She had written a series of gothic/romantic suspense books, including my absolute favorite, called The Devil on Lammas Night.
I'm thrilled that they've released all three books in one volume. The Devil on Lammas Night should absolutely be a movie starring Keira Knightly and Daniel Craig as Tristan. I won't give away the plot, just know that it's incredibly well done, and could a run for the money to any paranormal written today.
She also wrote a series of family sagas, including Penmarric, Wheel of Fortune, and Cashelmara that are based on the Plantagenet dynasty. I guess you can tell that the Plantagenets are one of my favorite periods of English history. You can blame Shakespeare's history plays, Anya Seton's Katherine, or even The Lion in Winter. Or maybe Jean Plaidy's books but I've always been fascinated by them. They seem to put the fun in dysfunctional more than any other family. I mean the Windsor's have nothing on the double-dealing, and double-crossing that went on in this family. The Wars of the Roses is just the tip of the iceberg. England's involvement in Ireland started with Henry II, leading do almost 900 years of the Irish trying to get rid of the English after inviting them in to help against the Norse invaders.
Anyway back to Susan Howatch. Penmarric which is set in Cornwall is a thinly veiled version of Henry II, Eleanor of Acquitaine and their children. But the great thing about her books, is that they are so absorbing, that you don't even have to know the history to enjoy them. Although if you do, it's even better, and she certainly gives you little tid-bits by the quotes in the front.
Cashelmara is set in Ireland, and is the whole Edward II, Roger de Mortimer, Isabella of France story. And Wheel of Fortune which is set in Wales, deals with Edward III.
Lately she's been using the history of the Church of England in the 20th Century for her novels. I'm such an Anglophile that I just ate this series up, plus I was raised High Church Episopalian so the novels had a great deal of resonance for me.
So I hope you enjoyed reading about another favorite of mine.
EKM
1 comment:
Oh my goodness. I also fell in love with these when I was in high school. I am so glad to see they have been released in one volume. Thanks for the information.
Libby
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