Margaret George
Posted: Sat Dec 30, 2006 7:42 pmI can't believe I haven't started a thread on George before, seeing as how I'm such a fan of hers 
She's written a lot of historical fiction:
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF HENRY VIII
MARY QUEEN OF SCOTLAND AND THE ISLES
THE MEMOIRS OF CLEOPATRA
MARY CALLED MAGDALENE
HELEN OF TROY
The last three are my favourite - & "Mary called Magdalene" was a great suprise. I've just finished reading it - expecting it to be hollow & boring & tedious (Mary Queen was!) It's very well written - very thoughtful and insightful - I was up all hours of the night reading it!
Helen of Troy is my 2nd best - I've always had a soft spot for her & Paris The book was exactly what I expected it to be - Helen's life in all it's splendour and at it's every low. Didn't hurt that Paris is in a lot of it It's told from a first person POV, so I was suprised at how well the readrer gets to know all the other players in the story. She wrote Paris's part especially well
I have nothing but praise for this writer - the books I didn't like were not because the writing was bad, but because the characters were so insipid - Mary Queen, & King Henry (a rather foolish & irritating man).
One always expects the lives of famous historical characters to be filled with so much more - George has a great way of showing us that these famous people are human, and have nothing magical about them at all. We're still ruled by the same impulses, and it's easy to see one's own life in these books.
She's written a lot of historical fiction:
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF HENRY VIII
MARY QUEEN OF SCOTLAND AND THE ISLES
THE MEMOIRS OF CLEOPATRA
MARY CALLED MAGDALENE
HELEN OF TROY
The last three are my favourite - & "Mary called Magdalene" was a great suprise. I've just finished reading it - expecting it to be hollow & boring & tedious (Mary Queen was!) It's very well written - very thoughtful and insightful - I was up all hours of the night reading it!
Helen of Troy is my 2nd best - I've always had a soft spot for her & Paris
The book was exactly what I expected it to be - Helen's life in all it's splendour and at it's every low. Didn't hurt that Paris is in a lot of it It's told from a first person POV, so I was suprised at how well the readrer gets to know all the other players in the story. She wrote Paris's part especially well
I have nothing but praise for this writer - the books I didn't like were not because the writing was bad, but because the characters were so insipid - Mary Queen, & King Henry (a rather foolish & irritating man).
One always expects the lives of famous historical characters to be filled with so much more - George has a great way of showing us that these famous people are human, and have nothing magical about them at all. We're still ruled by the same impulses, and it's easy to see one's own life in these books.