I had the fortune to go to Borders last weekend and I went to the Literature section where the Historical Fiction books were located. I let out a squeal when I saw the Jean Plaidy books, which caused a woman browsing nearby to glance at me. The cry was involuntary and I myself was surprised by it, as I'm not the squealing type.
So, anyway, I looked for The Captive of Kensington Palace and it was there! I grabbed it and browsed. I'd read good reviews of it on Amazon and I wanted to read it immediately.
I was disappointed. Why? I expected a novel the likes of Philippa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl or The Constant Princess. But this was so far removed from my expectations that I wanted to cry.
Just to be sure what I felt was right, I read several different scenes, especially what I think, as a romance reader, is the most exciting place for me--when Victoria met Albert for the first time. Unfortunately, they all read the same. I felt like I was reading a history book, only with dialogue. If I'd wanted a history lesson, I'd have read Wikipedia and be done with it, but so far, I've been resisting the urge to do so, because I want Queen Victoria and the events of her time to come alive for me.
Yes, that's what I'm looking for when I read historical fiction. A close first or third person POV, wherein you can see the events of history through his/her eyes and feel like you were really there. Living history vicariously.
So, I guess this means I have to continue my search for good fiction books on Queen Victoria.
Monday, May 24, 2010
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