I read the ARC of QOTN and was pretty impressed with the clothing talk, except in a couple of spots, which I wonder if they got ironed out in the final edit; at one point the protagonist and her friend can't stand close enough to each other to talk because of their crinolines, yet at one point she says she's wearing a bustle. I swear the two didn't go together...
Did you know there is a new novel out about the later life of Sisi? There is some clothing talk, but nothing like what's in QOTN.
Hmm, i do recollect mention of a bustle, but i think that comes after she debuts what's described as the "new silhouette." Which, since the book spans from the 1860s to the 1880s, perhaps those two references fall to either side of the silhouette shift. I'd have to reread it with that specific thing in mind.
I'm torn. It sounds interesting, but the comparison to Phillippa Gregory novels gives me pause. I used to read LOADS of those as a teenager (along with Victoria Holt and Nora Roberts) but they aren't my taste these days. Still, i might check out the sample. Thanks for mentioning it!
I thought that the two descriptions were very close in time- as in, days apart only, and in the 1860s- but I could (very well) be mistaken. I do tend to lose track of time in novels that have a long time span.
Yes, that's the book about Sisi. It was a pleasant read, but not stunning. I had conflicted feelings about Sisi as a person and as a ruler, and, other than the assassination, the book has little of the grand drama that you'd expect from a book about royals. It was sort of 'and then this happened'.
I do plan to reread QotN at some point, so i will keep an eye out for what you mention. It's possible that it did get ironed out in post-ARC edits.
This one was particularly hard to track time periods in--i did have to go back and reread a few sections several times to figure out when i thougt something was happening, and gauge it against what i knew from historical events (like when Eugenie fled France, or when Napoleon III died, etc.)
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Did you know there is a new novel out about the later life of Sisi? There is some clothing talk, but nothing like what's in QOTN.
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Regarding the Sisi novel, is it this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Sisi-Empress-Her-Own-Novel-ebook/dp/B00Z3FYSAK
I'm torn. It sounds interesting, but the comparison to Phillippa Gregory novels gives me pause. I used to read LOADS of those as a teenager (along with Victoria Holt and Nora Roberts) but they aren't my taste these days. Still, i might check out the sample. Thanks for mentioning it!
Reply
Yes, that's the book about Sisi. It was a pleasant read, but not stunning. I had conflicted feelings about Sisi as a person and as a ruler, and, other than the assassination, the book has little of the grand drama that you'd expect from a book about royals. It was sort of 'and then this happened'.
Reply
This one was particularly hard to track time periods in--i did have to go back and reread a few sections several times to figure out when i thougt something was happening, and gauge it against what i knew from historical events (like when Eugenie fled France, or when Napoleon III died, etc.)
Reply
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