The Haunted Sisters

by Jean Plaidy

Book by Plaidy, Jean

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical

317 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1966

About the author

Eleanor Alice Burford, Mrs. George Percival Hibbert was a British author of about 200 historical novels, most of them under the pen name Jean Plaidy which had sold 14 million copies by the time of her death. She chose to use various names because of the differences in subject matter between her books; the best-known, apart from Plaidy, are Victoria Holt (56 million) and Philippa Carr (3 million). Lesser known were the novels Hibbert published under her maiden name Eleanor Burford, or the pseudonyms of Elbur Ford, Kathleen Kellow and Ellalice Tate. Many of her readers under one penname never suspected her other identities.
-Wikipedia

Reviews

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading Maureen Waller's Ungrateful Daughters: The Stuart Princesses Who Stole Their Father's Crown" I turned to Jean Plaidy, the prolific writer of monarchical drama, to see how she would interpret these sisters:
--- Mary who served as Queen with her husband William of Orange, to whom she always deferred and
---- Anne, who became the last Stuart monarch.

Plaidy draws Mary and Anne as, not ungrateful, but each as being under the control of a Svengali; for Mary it was her control freak husband and for Anne it was her ambitious attendant, Sarah Churchill.

Plaidy fashions their father, James II, to be loving and generous towards them. If his formal sweetness weren't so syrupy, he'd be more believable in this role.

The daughters are shown to have periods of remorse. The word "haunted" in the title suggests that guilt is dominant, but Plaidy shows it as an emotion that comes to the surface in periods of reflection.

The characters are defined by dialog. This technique was notably effective in demonstrating how Sarah's depersonalizing of herself and Anne into Mrs. Freeman and Mrs. Morely, respectively, helped her in manipulating Anne. Plaidy's dialog also helped to show the precociousness she ascribes to the young Duke of Glouster.

While both Mary and Anne are Protestants, the fundamental reason for their enthronement, Plaidy does not show either to be caught up in the religious fervor of their time. Mary is shown to have a personal religion, but religion does not seem to be a big part of Anne's life. Her son learns the elements of the Bible only serendipitously when he is ill.

All and all this is a satisfying novel. It provides a personal perspective on landmark historic events. I'm hopeful to find a fictional interpretation of Sarah Churchill's the fall from favor.

[Bronwyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

it is about the lives of princesses mary and ann, both future queens of england and daughters of king james11, and their lives before and after their father is deposed, it tells og mary,s unhappy marriage, , her sisters marriage to prince george of denmark, and their eventual turning away from their father, and their lives after their father is deposed, and mary and her husband william of orange assume the throne

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. I do so enjoy a well written histroical novel. there is scheming and drama and tragedy. Anne is portrayed as a greedy, lazy rather silly woman, who just can't see Sarah Churchill for what she is. Mary is a more sympathetic character, she is married to the cold and controlling William of Orange, they are joint Sovereigns, she is strong and bright and yet she defers to him in all things. She loves him, but he has little interest in her. Sarah Churchill is a marvelous villainous character, and of course it is difficult to know if she was quite as bad as she is painted here - but her scheming and weedling make for a great read. I have the Sequel to this - The Queen's Favourites tbr - and look forward to reading it soon. This has been a fantastic bit of escapism on this quite stresstful and exhausting week at work - due to which I wasn't able to read it as fast as I would have usually - but I am glad I have had this one to look forward to each evening -it brightened the week for me.

[Janis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be another interesting story of the dysfunctional families of royalty. It's easy to get so caught up in our own political scandals, selfishness, secrets & intrigues that we feel like we're the only country with such a problematic government. The Brits have had these issues with their rulers since 1066 & still they continue to be a world leader. That's almost 1,000 years! I think part of the reason I continue reading & enjoying this series (I've been working on them for 35 years) is that it gives me hope that our country can survive another 750 Years.

[Karen Galber · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read. This is the continuation of the three crowns and begins with the end of Charles II reign and ends with the beginning of Queen Anne 's reign. It is basically the story of Queens Mary ii and Anne.
Sarah Churchill is at the centre of the novel. Sarah is the ultimate bitch and bully in chief. and only interested in the advancement of her family.

[Tracey- Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

An average historical read.

[Netti Sillitoe · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked this book because my Gran gave it to me but the writing style and language was a bit beyond me. Written for a different time which I liked but my heart just wasn’t in it

[Eva Knox · Rating 3 out of 5]

The sisters' lives makes me glad I'm not a royal.