# Suggestions Tudors/Horror Anthologies/Northern MN



## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

I'm currently interested in the Tudors. There are a zillion books on Henry VIII, of course, as well as Elizabeth I. I want to find good books about VII though -- and about his mother, Margaret Beaufort. Also of interest would be Elizabeth of York. I'm open to biographies or historical fiction by someone who kinda knows their stuff. Also, I think I would be interested in a good book about Katherine of Aragon, her parents, etc. (I really enjoyed The Constant Princess.)

I'm also looking for recommendations on horror anthologies. I'm one of those unfortunate people who like short stories, especially horror stories. I like the Hot Blood series, only one of which is available on Kindle, and something else along those lines would be nice. 

I also like books set in MN, particularly Northern MN. I've read William Kent Krueger, Sandford, Steve Thayer, and I'm just looking for something else. Oh, I read a couple mystery anthologies by MN writers. 

Thanks in advance and I hope I'm not missing a big honking thread where I could have added these requests.


----------



## Guest (Feb 21, 2009)

http://www.amazon.com/Favorite-Horror-Anthologies/lm/224REWHBZKT7M


----------



## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

That was actually a good list! None of the ones I wanted were available on Kindle though. I did lots of clicking to request them.   (I'll have to explore the other lists it recommends.)


----------



## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

This thread did not go as well as I had hoped.


----------



## ginaf20697 (Jan 31, 2009)

I really liked Margaret Barnes Campbell's My Lady of Cleves about Anne of Cleves. There isn't much out there on her so it was a nice change from the plethora of Anne Boleyn books though the author also has one on her as well. 

The King's Daughter by Sandra Worth about Elizabeth of York is pretty good but her story is soooo frustrating. There's another book I read about her To The Tower Born by Robin Maxwell which is just awful and has one of the most annoying Mary Sues I've ever come across.


----------



## marianneg (Nov 4, 2008)

I'm sure you've probably already read all of these, but I love Stephen King's short stories.

Here's one that I found a few weeks ago on the bargain books thread. These aren't horror so much, but they do remind me a bit of King's style:


The MN request is a tough one, but have you ever read the Laura Ingalls Wilder books? Not available on Kindle, unfortunately, but very good. The family travels from Wisconsin to Oklahoma, back to Minnesota, and finally settles in South Dakota.


----------



## chobitz (Nov 25, 2008)

Horror anthologies:


----------



## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

ginaf20697 said:


> I really liked Margaret Barnes Campbell's My Lady of Cleves about Anne of Cleves. There isn't much out there on her so it was a nice change from the plethora of Anne Boleyn books though the author also has one on her as well.
> 
> The King's Daughter by Sandra Worth about Elizabeth of York is pretty good but her story is soooo frustrating. There's another book I read about her To The Tower Born by Robin Maxwell which is just awful and has one of the most annoying Mary Sues I've ever come across.


I had My Lady of Cleves and I couldn't get into it -- of course, there was a lot of tough stuff going on in my personal life. I just think the book would be permanently awash in bad memories. I'd love to find a good book about her though, as her story interests me. Anne Boleyn, while also interesting, doesn't deserve the lioness's share of the stories. 

I have a sample of The King's Daughter and I'll keep in mind your comments on To The Tower Born!

Thank you!


----------



## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

marianner said:


> I'm sure you've probably already read all of these, but I love Stephen King's short stories.
> 
> Here's one that I found a few weeks ago on the bargain books thread. These aren't horror so much, but they do remind me a bit of King's style:
> 
> ...


Yep, pretty set on Stephen King and inhaled Laura Ingalls Wilder books as a young lass. Also made my husband go well off the beaten trail one year to find one of her old houses in Wisconsin -- was it Peppin or Pepin?

I DLed a sample of the "Cosmic Insolence" book.


----------



## chobitz (Nov 25, 2008)

Talking about King..
How can I forget his son's anthology?



VERY VERY good..


----------



## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

chobitz said:


> Horror anthologies:


Thank you! Didn't have 4 out of 6 of those -- like Christmas Day!  (Plus, Bite has a story set in Northern MN, so bonus points even though it was one of the two I'd all ready had!)

***

Added to respond to new post. I do have 20th Century Ghosts in print, but haven't read it yet.


----------



## Tippy (Dec 8, 2008)

Love the Tudor books, although I confess I get tired of hearing about Anne Boleyn and Katherine.  The Constant Princess and the other Phillippa Gregory books are very good.  However, Anne of Cleves may have been the most intelligent, if not the homeliest, of Henry VIII's wives.  Alison Weir writes very good books about these subjects.  The Life of Katherine Swynford is very interesting.  AW also wrote another good book entitled Queen Isabella: Treachery, Adultery, and Murder in Medieval England.


----------



## marianneg (Nov 4, 2008)

MichelleR said:


> Yep, pretty set on Stephen King and inhaled Laura Ingalls Wilder books as a young lass. Also made my husband go well off the beaten trail one year to find one of her old houses in Wisconsin -- was it Peppin or Pepin?


Awesome! Have you ever been to the museum in Missouri?


----------



## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

Tippy said:


> Love the Tudor books, although I confess I get tired of hearing about Anne Boleyn and Katherine. The Constant Princess and the other Phillippa Gregory books are very good. However, Anne of Cleves may have been the most intelligent, if not the homeliest, of Henry VIII's wives. Alison Weir writes very good books about these subjects. The Life of Katherine Swynford is very interesting. AW also wrote another good book entitled Queen Isabella: Treachery, Adultery, and Murder in Medieval England.


I know Henry was allegedly repulsed by Anne of Cleves, and that Holbein painted her as a more attractive woman than she was, but I still have no grasp of what these people found attractive. Invariably the ones labeled beauties, if the paintings are correct, would be considered homely today and the ones labeled as having more of a great personality than looks seem rather pretty.

While looking at the Isabella book, I also say this one which looks pretty good, although expensive. http://www.amazon.com/Mistress-Monarchy-Katherine-Swynford-Lancaster/dp/B001NLL9JQ/ref=pd_sim_kinc_5

***


marianner said:


> Awesome! Have you ever been to the museum in Missouri?


Nope.


----------



## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Tippy said:


> Love the Tudor books, although I confess I get tired of hearing about Anne Boleyn and Katherine. The Constant Princess and the other Phillippa Gregory books are very good. However, Anne of Cleves may have been the most intelligent, if not the homeliest, of Henry VIII's wives. Alison Weir writes very good books about these subjects. The Life of Katherine Swynford is very interesting. AW also wrote another good book entitled Queen Isabella: Treachery, Adultery, and Murder in Medieval England.


Philllipa Gregory's The Boleyn Inheritance has a lot about Anne of Cleves. The story alternates between Anne, Catherine Howard and Jane Rochford. It's my favorite book of hers.



For Katherine Swynnford, you can't beat Anya Seaton's Katherine. Unfortunately, not available in Kindle.


----------



## robin.goodfellow (Nov 17, 2008)

I heartily agree with all the people who have recommended Phillipa Gregory.  All of her stories are very good ones, even the one about Bloody Mary.  I also liked the one about Jane Grey by Allison Weir (so well that I can't actually remember the name of the book).  Allison Weir may also have written "The Last Wife of Henry VIII" about Catherine Parr, which was good, and actually focused mostly on Catherine, not Catherine-as-she-was-seen-by-Henry.  The Boleyn Inheritance was indeed a very good book.


----------



## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

I'm already a fan of Phillipa Gregory, although she catches heck from people who're into the history of it all -- even more so than other writers of historical fiction.


----------



## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

MichelleR said:


> I'm already a fan of Phillipa Gregory, although she catches heck from people who're into the history of it all -- even more so than other writers of historical fiction.


Gregory is pretty accurate historically. She just fills in the blanks in a plausible way. On the other hand, the movie of The Other Boleyn Girl was a total travesty.


----------



## robin.goodfellow (Nov 17, 2008)

> know Henry was allegedly repulsed by Anne of Cleves, and that Holbein painted her as a more attractive woman than she was, but I still have no grasp of what these people found attractive. Invariably the ones labeled beauties, if the paintings are correct, would be considered homely today and the ones labeled as having more of a great personality than looks seem rather pretty.


Don't you think it's odd that all the faces of the paintings of Henry's wives look EXACTLY ALIKE? And they all look like Bloody Mary and Elizabeth, as well? And the Duke of Norfolk, to boot? I'm just not sure that's even possible. I mean, I know a lot of those people were related to each other, and maybe there were fewer people so they just looked more alike, but I also can't help but think we're pretty much basing our ideas on the output of one really bad portrait painter. JMO. But honestly, even the Anne of Cleves portrait looks like all the rest of them, and she was from another country. I saw a picture of the mannequins in the British museum of Henry and all his wives, plus his two daughters and son, it's all exactly the same face. And they're all the face from the portrait. Honestly, if I could travel back in time, I'm too nosey not to go back and see if they all really did look exactly alike.  This is probably why nobody bothers to invent a time machine. We'd just misuse it.


----------



## Tippy (Dec 8, 2008)

MichelleR said:


> I know Henry was allegedly repulsed by Anne of Cleves, and that Holbein painted her as a more attractive woman than she was, but I still have no grasp of what these people found attractive. Invariably the ones labeled beauties, if the paintings are correct, would be considered homely today and the ones labeled as having more of a great personality than looks seem rather pretty.


Weir's book on Swynford is really quite good. I loved the descriptions of the homes they were always remodelling and what they gave each other for Christmas gifts and what they wore. John of Gaunt built a magnificent palace that I believed was burned to the ground. The books also indicates the cost of the gifts in that time period and what they would cost today. Verrry interesting. John of Gaunt was an extremely wealthy, powerful man. And Katherine Swynford's descendants appear in every line of English royalty.

Anya Seton's book on Katherine Swynford is a classic. Read it when I was in junior high -- my mother was NOT pleased. But it was a great read.

Anne of Cleves -- I have always wondered what she really looked like. But she was one smart cookie. She quickly figured out she was not Henry's 'cup of tea' and gracefully bowed out of the picture. As a result, Henry treated her pretty well financially and they had what could almost be described as a friendship. They loved to play chess. Bet Henry always won. . . Anne gaine freedom from a despot brother, then from a despot husband and really lived a rather quiet, happy life.

It is interesting to note women through history. Our strength and our abilities continue to amaze me.


----------



## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

I know, Anne saw the writing on the wall, and made it easy for Henry. She had a lot less invested than Katherine of Aragon though, so it was easier for her to be sensible. And, yes, these people did look alike.


----------



## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Tippy said:


> Weir's book on Swynford is really quite good. I loved the descriptions of the homes they were always remodelling and what they gave each other for Christmas gifts and what they wore. John of Gaunt built a magnificent palace that I believed was burned to the ground. The books also indicates the cost of the gifts in that time period and what they would cost today. Verrry interesting. John of Gaunt was an extremely wealthy, powerful man. And Katherine Swynford's descendants appear in every line of English royalty.


John of Gaunt's palace was The Savoy, and yes, it did burn to the ground. The Savoy Hotel stands in it's place. I like Allison Weir. I think I'll check out that book.

John married well, twice. The first marriage brought him the Bolingbroke estates and titles. The second marriage was supposed to bring him a throne but never did.



> Anne of Cleves -- I have always wondered what she really looked like. But she was one smart cookie. She quickly figured out she was not Henry's 'cup of tea' and gracefully bowed out of the picture. As a result, Henry treated her pretty well financially and they had what could almost be described as a friendship. They loved to play chess. Bet Henry always won. . . Anne gaine freedom from a despot brother, then from a despot husband and really lived a rather quiet, happy life.


Great Royal Sister. And she got Richmond Palace and Hever. Quite an accomplishment ... not to mention keeping her head.

Part of the problem, which I've read in a couple of places, was her distaste for Henry. He liked to disguise himself and surprise people. Everyone always knew who he was, of course. Anne didn't know and treated him like the drunken lout he was. So whether or not she was attractive, Henry wasn't going to accept her.

ETA: Alison Weir's book on Katherine Swynnford just came out on Kindle a couple of weeks ago. Here it is. Quite expensive, so I'll wait.


----------



## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

robin.goodfellow said:


> Don't you think it's odd that all the faces of the paintings of Henry's wives look EXACTLY ALIKE? And they all look like Bloody Mary and Elizabeth, as well? And the Duke of Norfolk, to boot? I'm just not sure that's even possible. I mean, I know a lot of those people were related to each other, and maybe there were fewer people so they just looked more alike, but I also can't help but think we're pretty much basing our ideas on the output of one really bad portrait painter. JMO. But honestly, even the Anne of Cleves portrait looks like all the rest of them, and she was from another country. I saw a picture of the mannequins in the British museum of Henry and all his wives, plus his two daughters and son, it's all exactly the same face.  And they're all the face from the portrait. Honestly, if I could travel back in time, I'm too nosey not to go back and see if they all really did look exactly alike.  This is probably why nobody bothers to invent a time machine. We'd just misuse it.


I was thinking about this comment again when reading the NYT. There was an article that touched on this. It was titled:_ Portrait of Shakespeare Suggests 17th-Century Spindoctoring _and was about the portrait recently discovered and purported to be of you-know-who. The title is weird because 16th Century is more like it -- anyhow, from the article:

_...likeness meant something a little different from what it does now. A likeness was not necessarily an exact representative but an idealation, and indicator of a sitter's wealth and status. _

Back then, accuracy in the clothing was more important, because it denoted class and status, than the painting looking like the person.

_...which is why if you walk, say, through the National Portrait Galler in London, one Elizabethan gent pretty much looks like another after a while. _

The paintings are still valuable as a reflection of the fashions and aspirations of the time. 
_
No one pays money to be painted -- or photographed -- exactly how he looks. _

The writer, Charles McGrath suggests we think of them more as passport photos or book-jacket portraits.

He further suggests the newly discovered painting might be preferable, because the image matches Shakespeare's words better than the traditional image, which he calls a downer. The new painting, even if it's not accurate, shows us how Shakespeare probably wanted to see himself and 
_
...is of a young man full of himself, in the best sense. We can believe he has the whole world stored inside that high, capacious forehead._

I think the traditional image of him is what allows schoolchildren to be surprised to find out some of his stuff was seriously smutty.


----------



## Gables Girl (Oct 28, 2008)

robin.goodfellow said:


> Don't you think it's odd that all the faces of the paintings of Henry's wives look EXACTLY ALIKE? And they all look like Bloody Mary and Elizabeth, as well? And the Duke of Norfolk, to boot? I'm just not sure that's even possible. I mean, I know a lot of those people were related to each other, and maybe there were fewer people so they just looked more alike, but I also can't help but think we're pretty much basing our ideas on the output of one really bad portrait painter. JMO. But honestly, even the Anne of Cleves portrait looks like all the rest of them, and she was from another country. I saw a picture of the mannequins in the British museum of Henry and all his wives, plus his two daughters and son, it's all exactly the same face. And they're all the face from the portrait. Honestly, if I could travel back in time, I'm too nosey not to go back and see if they all really did look exactly alike.  This is probably why nobody bothers to invent a time machine. We'd just misuse it.


Most of the ones that can be verified were painted at Henry's request. Henry has a "type" of woman he was attracted to so I think the painter painted what he liked rather then then truth. If you think about it most of them rarely bathed, had bad teeth and other problems including Anne Boleyn's supposed 6th finger. If you are being paid to paint a portrite aren't you going to paint something you willget paid for rather then something they will want o slash and get rid of? They were all relted in some fashion too, except for Kathrine of Aragon and Anne of Cleves. Lot's of intermarriage in those days, royalty intermarried to keep the bloodlines pure.

Frankly from what I've read Henry was no bargain by the time Anne of Cleves showed up and she was probably happy to get rid of him. He was fat, balding, had bad teeth, an open sore on his leg from jousting that ran with pus, gout and thought he was prince charming and killed anyone that disagreed. Yup every girls dream man!

Alson Weir is very good, Carrolly Erickson is good too.


----------



## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

As for Minnesota, if you go to the Kindle Store and do a search on Minnesota mystery  or Minnesota fiction or just Minnesota you'll get a lot of hits, 3 pages in the case of Minnesota mystery.  Too many for me to do a Kindleboards link to.  All the ones I checked seem to be southern Minnesota, none set in Hibbing for sure.  

Betsy


----------



## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> As for Minnesota, if you go to the Kindle Store and do a search on Minnesota mystery or Minnesota fiction or just Minnesota you'll get a lot of hits, 3 pages in the case of Minnesota mystery. Too many for me to do a Kindleboards link to. All the ones I checked seem to be southern Minnesota, none set in Hibbing for sure.
> 
> Betsy


Yeah, well, they don't know what they're missing. 

If I ever find one set in Hibbing, you'll be on the top of my list to tell.

(I have a lot of the mysteries set in the wrong darned part of the state!)


----------



## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

and if I find one, I'll let you know!

Betsy


----------



## justpam (Nov 19, 2008)

For MN books, you've probably already read books by Jon Hassler, right? North of Hope and Staggerford are 2 of his books. I love his writing. If you like crime/mystery by MN authors, read PJ Tracy's series starting with Monkeewrench (I think that's the first one) set in MSP. Very good.


----------



## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

Thanks, Justpam. I appreciate the suggestions. 

Jon Hassler is not on Kindle and there is only one P.J. Tracy available, as well. When I get a chance, I'll add them to the thread where people click to request them.


----------



## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Gables Girl said:


> Frankly from what I've read Henry was no bargain by the time Anne of Cleves showed up and she was probably happy to get rid of him. He was fat, balding, had bad teeth, an open sore on his leg from jousting that ran with pus, gout and thought he was prince charming and killed anyone that disagreed. Yup every girls dream man!


I did NOT need to read this with my morning grapefruit! LOL

L


----------



## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Quick, Leslie, we need a pic of Hugh to dispell the image of Henry!  (and not "Ewe Jackman" either, EV!)

Betsy


----------



## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Xia just posted this in the Bargain Book thread:



Xia said:


> This one is the first in a series of 12. Unfortunately, they're not all available for Kindle yet (it looks like only 5 of the 12 have been Kindle-ized thus far).
> 
> 
> 
> ...


----------



## Gables Girl (Oct 28, 2008)

Leslie said:


> I did NOT need to read this with my morning grapefruit! LOL
> 
> L


Sorry, after the day you had yesterday you didn't need that.

Here is a younger Henry!


----------



## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

I kept thinking, Minnesota, Minnesota and then I remembered I read a couple of books by Lorna Landvik. *Patty Jane's House of Curl*, *Your Oasis on Flame Lake*, and *The Tall Pine Polka*. I remember them as vaguely amusing, good but not great. Unfortunately, none of them are available in Kindle editions. 

L


----------



## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I'm going to be travelling to Finland this summer and was looking for books set in Finland and found this book by a Minnesota author (Minnesota has had its share of Finnish immigrants):











I'm definitely going to get it, thought I could post here as it fit the requirement (Minnesota author) and KBoards could get the commission! Now, where is that rewards certificate I just got...

Betsy


----------



## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

I have the Joanna Fluke book and will be getting the The Winter War. It says the author lives on Lake Vermilion -- that's Northern MN -- too bad the book isn't set there.

Thank you, again to all the smart and helpful people.


----------

