The Legend of the Seventh Virgin - Victoria Holt

Advantages: It provides an interesting and realistic look at the history of the Elizabethan era.
Disadvantages: None

..."MY ENEMY THE QUEEN" I am lady, age 69 years, who lives in the deep south of the US. For the past decade, I've sought out books of historical fiction; particularly set in the British Isles. I found this book entirely fascinating!! If the historical time period it covers is anywhere near factual, then it provides a broad and well detailed panoramic view of Elizabethan England. The life and times of Queen Elizabeth1 are graphically written. Attention to even the smallest detail of apparel, eye color, physical appearance, and personality present Victoria Holts brillant writing ability. The story takes you back, almost in person, to Elizabethan England, and the court of the Queen. It's very much worth reading, if you like historical fiction.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: A good storyline.
Disadvantages: Too many characters and a quick ending.

...My latest book review is on another ?bargain? from the ever increasing selection of cheap books at my local Asda. Everytime I visit the store there seems to be more and more books reduced in price, my sister had the best bargain recently, managing to get the latest Harry Potter book for the sum of £1.00, just for the simple reason it had an old designed cover, jammy bag! The book I will review this time is titled ?Mistress of Mellyn?, by Victoria Holt. The thing that attracted me initially to the book, I?m afraid to admit, was the front cover! As a lover of romance and even bigger fan of vampires and all the gothic wonder that goes with it this book promised a good mixture of both. (The gothic wonder, not vampires?.unfortunately!). The book simply states the title with the clincher words ?Victoria Holt, the queen of gothic... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Lots of adventure in the compelling first half.
Disadvantages: An entertaining rather than compelling second half.

...*** The Author *** The author's real name is Eleanor Alice Burford, but she wrote under many pseudonyms. I have enjoyed many of her historical fiction stories, attributed to Jean Paidy, which follow the facts of real people and events closely. There are over 100 of these from British, Italian and French history. This is the first book that is attributed to the pseudonym Victoria Holt that I have read. Although under this name she still wrote historical fiction, it is in the more recent past, and the characters are made up from the types that existed, rather than ones that actually did. I am aware of 32 books attributed to Victoria Holt and all but 4 are set in the Victoria era. Being a prolific author there are other pseudonyms that I still haven't tried yet. These are Philippa Carr (The Daughters of England family... Read review

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