Ladies of History

March is Women's History Month so I have done a lovely display at my library and am devoting my reading time to books on great women in history. Of my current books, one is much better than I anticipated and one is a bit of a disappointment so far.

The Constant Princess is the second book I've read by Philippa Gregory. I very much enjoyed The Other Boleyn Girl but took into account what is was ... British history in soap opera form. Which is great. And the movie was great too ... even if some of the facts were wrong and there was a huge amount of bodice ripping. But Tudor-era English royalty is one of my favorite subjects (especially anything surrounding Henry VIII) in fiction or nonfiction. So when I saw that The Constant Princess was a historical fiction account of Catherine of Aragon - Henry's first wife - I was thrilled.

To be fair, I am only about 1/4 of the way through the book but I am finding Gregory's writing to be redundant. She makes a point but then goes on to make it again ... and often a third time. The story itself seems to follow fairly closely to what I have read about Catherine in the past (mostly Alison Weir ... the lady I am going to MEET in PERSON in May!! But more on that later) but the pace is slow and there are long stretches of Catherine talking to herself or writing to her mother instead of actual action. This book reads like a romance with a little too much detail about the wedding night but it is to be expected from Gregory, who was originally a romance writer. Her Wideacre series are historical romances that I have not read but I know others who have read them and were not fans. But I will stick with The Constant Princess and give my full report when I finish.

The other book that I am reading is Nefertiti: A Novel by Michelle Moran and so far it is fabulous. Ironically, Nefertiti reminds me of The Other Boleyn Girl more than The Constant Princess does. It is the story of Nefertiti, told through the eyes of her younger sister, Mutnodjmet. While Nefertiti marries and becomes Queen of Egypt, her sister tries to keep the peace in the family and in the clash between priests and pharaohs. This is not Pulitzer or Booker prize winning novel, but it is very well done. Considering how long ago these events took place (the Eighteenth dynasty - 1570-1320 B.C.) and the limited amount of actual facts we have about Nefertiti and her family, the story is rich and full of detail.

I recently read The murder of Tutankhamen - A True Story by Bob Brier. He reasoned that Tut had been murdered - and explained how and by who. It was a quick, fun, enlightening non-fiction read but it still didn't transport me to Egypt like Nefertiti does. For the first time I can really see her, putting on her wig and lining her eyes with kohl.