Jean Plaidy, world-renowned historical novelist, in this, the second book of her Plantagenet saga, chronicles the dysfunctional family of King Henry II of England and his Queen, Eleanor of Acquitaine, and their four sons, Henry, Richard, Geoffrey, and John. In many ways, it is reminiscent of the film, "A Lion in Winter".

This twelfth century family was a family at war with itself. The father, King Henry II, had mistresses, a situation that put him at odds with his headstrong, opinionated, and proud wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, who had nothing good to say about him once she discovered his perfidy and unfaithfulness and realized that it had taken place right under her very nose. As part of her revenge, she created a rift between the King and their sons. She had trained her eaglets to pluck out the eyes of the eagle. She aggravated Henry so much that finally held her in captivity.

His oldest son and namesake, Henry, whom he had crowned King, so that there would be an orderly transition upon his death, would not wait for his father to die so that he could take the reigns of power. He wanted the reigns and trappings of a king immediately and literally waged war upon his father. This would one day cost them both dearly, as Henry would not live to reap the fruit of his coronation.

Richard, Eleanor's favorite and beloved son, loathed his father and there was no love lost between them. Yet, he is the son who was probably most king-like in his bearing. To add insult to injury, his father took Richard's betrothed, Alice, the young daughter of the King of France, as his mistress when she was no more than a child. This was really no skin off Richard's back, even though it was insulting, as Richard really hankered after Alice's brother, Philip, the future king of France with whom Richard had a "special" relationship.

Geoffrey would join his brother Henry and take up arms against his father. John, the youngest, would play upon his father's sensibilities and make Henry think that John was someone other than what he truly was, a cruel, craven, and dissolute youth. So much so did John fool him, that Henry eventually declared that John was to be his successor to the throne, incurring Richard's lifelong enmity.

It would be Eleanor who would have the last laugh, however, as she would survive her captivity and, even though she was about twelve years Henry's senior, she would also survive Henry. Eleanor would go on to see her favorite son, Richard the Lionhearted, crowned King of England.

This is an engrossing and enjoyable work of historical fiction.

I use this book as the resource for an adult science education course I teach at a local university. I find it an excellent base for information for people who have not had any real science exposure. My students have reacted positively to its use amd I would recommend it for middle/high school library reference as well as for older students.

Excellent treatment of bipolar junction transistor (BJT) physics in a very tutorial, readable style. Covers many topics in a lucid, intuitive and insightful manner, such as space-charge limited currents, surface recombination velocity, and ohmic contacts, where the discussions are a large cut above other introductory texts. Also covers MOSFETs and PN junctions, but nothing unusual here. There is little information on heterojunctions, optical and microwave devices. Overall, it is the "light" version of an earlier work "Transistors" by Warner and Grung, Wiley, 1983.

I really enjoyed this book. I have never been much of a western
book reader, but I was given this book to read and really enjoyed
it. It has a little bit of everything, mystery, family troubles,
action, and love. Buy it, you will enjoy the read.

it is a very basic introduction to stage design and set management, but it can get you through the making and managing of a set. With no knowledge of theatre and this book, you can design, biuld paint,and support, a set, and be creative in the process

I liked this book because of tthree sections. Rhythms and Patterns gave a wonderful introduction to how the night sky moves and how to observe it without expensive equipment. The Useful Universe section gave me tips on how to use the day and night sky to understand your surroundings and navigate if lost. The Constellations section used the stories of the Constellations to relate one area of the sky to another in an easy conversational manner. Be warned that some of the Greek Myths are a little racy.

If you want to start enjoying astronomy without complex technology than this is a great book.

Recommended ages....Readers 12 and over, However it would also make a good read aloud book to children under 14.

Jean Plaidy (Victoria Holt) does a service to readers that writers of historical biographies seem unable to do. She tells a good story and makes the people seem real. Biographies of royalty tend to be stilted, heavily burdened with the intricacies of politics and remote from the person and character of the royal. They are not fun to read. Plaidy's novels are fairly close to historical fact without being tediously so.

The Sweet Lass of Richmond not only is fun to read, it brings to mind an interesting parallel between George IV and his great-great-great nephew, The Duke of Windsor. Both men were the brilliant centers of fashionable society, on bad terms with their fathers, and both fell heedlessly in love with unacceptable, older women. Where Wallis Simpson was a twice-divorced woman, Maria Fitzherbert was a twice-widowed woman. Where Wallis did not mind welcoming her prince into her bedchamber outside of marriage, devotely Catholic Maria Fitzherbert would have nothing less than marriage before she'd consent to give in to her prince. This drove George IV into a secret marriage, a device that allowed him to keep his place in the succession while enjoying the marital favors of the woman he loved. Had this marriage been open, he not only would have been at odds with his father for marrying without the King's consent, he would be barred from the succession for marrying a Catholic. George IV wanted Maria, his crown and his debts paid. George ended up choosing money and the Crown over Maria, his good wife--a choice he regretted for the rest of his life.

This is another fine, well-written, historical novel by Jean Plaidy, also known to her legion of devoted fans as Victoria Holt. This, the eleventh book in her Georgian saga, focuses on the House of Hanover's need to secure their dynasty.

With King George III under lock and key, suffering from what seemed to be a form of insanity, and the Prince Regent in ill health, all looked to the Regent's daughter, Charlotte, who was pregnant and due to give birth. Unfortunately, the unthinkable happened and both Charlotte and her baby died during childbirth, leaving the kingdom in a quandary. For though King George III had many children, they were all well into middle age and none had any legitimate children to secure the continuation of the Hanoverian dynasty.

This turn of events galvanized the unmarried sons of King George III to marry suitable wives, so as to have legitimate children and secure the line of succession for the House of Hanover. William, the third son and Duke of Clarence, as well as Edward, the fourth son and Duke of Kent, did so. William married Adelaide of Saxe-Coburg Meiningen, while Edward married Victoria Mary Louisa of Saxe-Saalfeld-Coburg. Meanwhile, Ernest, the sinister fifth son and Duke of Cumberland, was already married and hoping to be the one to provide the necessary children.

When King George III died and the ailing Prince Regent became King George IV, William and Edward were in a dead heat trying to have heirs. While William and Adelaide were unsuccessful, Edward and Victoria managed to have a daughter, who was to be known as Victoria. Shortly after, Ernest and his wife Augusta had a boy, whom they named George.

It looked as if Princess Victoria were in the wings, waiting to become Queen; that is, if nothing happened to prevent her from reaching maturity. Plots, intrigues, and danger lurked around every corner. This is the story of how the little princess of the fourth son of King George III would find herself positioned to one day become sovereign of England.

Not comprehensive enough in scope to be a true dictionary of architectural style, but certainly provides the visual images necessary to recognize the styles. Included floor plans also demonstrate the various modes. Good survey of vernacular styles, often overlooked in other texts.

This amazingly well-constructed tale brings into focus several modern archetypes (as well as some absurd intruders from various other realms best left unmentioned) and follows them as they clash sharply with a leftover element from the realms of fantasy. This book is amazing-- even for the masterweaver Tom Holt, who regularly entwines elements of the ancient sagas with the problems of being able to find your car keys.

In Lake Chicopee, Iowa, remains one of the last wonders of the world-- anyone who falls into its waters gets his dearest wish granted. This would be wonderful for people who found it... if anyone falling into the water actually understood it was magic. Unfortunately, the only notice given is from a frustrating rustic old man who simply insists the place is "haunted".

On a busy day (when this story takes place) four different people have fallen into the waters of the lake-- overtaxing the multi-formed entity responsible for granting the wishes. On this particular busy day, not only have four people fallen into the lake, but an "inspector" has shown up to check the accounts and see how the wish-granting has been getting on for the last few centuries. And as if that wasn't bad enough, one of the people who has fallen in knows all about the lake and has a secret wish to fulfill!

In the true fashion of a Grimm tale or any good morality play, Holt insures that people get what they wish for but in such a way as to insure they will never ever wish such a thing again consciously and have no choice but to become very happy about their former lives. This element is key in providing the character development which drives the tale and makes it so real and poignant.

This book is a treat for Holt's fans and if you have never heard of Tom Holt at all then this is the perfect introduction to him. I warn you not to read it in public because people will stare at you as you laugh helplessly and loudly. From the first page to the last line, Holt uses every arrow in his comedic quiver and one surreal scene paves the way for the next sublimely ridiculous event.

Don't forget to pay attention to the invisible indian!