European Royalty discussion

***REGULAR, EVERYDAY PERSON/PEOPLE***

***PRE-1980, ANY COUNTRY, FICTION OR NON-FICTION***


Okay everyone, it's that time of the month - time to nominate! Anyone who would like to nominate one book may do so in this thread.

The theme this quarter is REGULAR, EVERYDAY PERSON/PEOPLE (pre-1980, any country, fiction or non-fiction). We are constantly reading about royalty, so I thought it might be fun to read about some regular people for a change! We're definitely flexible - royalty can certainly appear in the book, but the focus should be on a non-royal. You can decide on what "regular, everyday" means to you as well - maybe that's Alcott's Little Women in America (pretty "regular, everyday" throughout) or a social climbing royal mistress in England (started out "regular, everyday" but finished differently).

A list of every book this group has read together is at the end of this post (alphabetically by author, then by title if we've read more than one book by that author), so please try not to nominate a book we've already read together (the European Royalty read will revisit past reads every now and then, so if you missed a great book the first time around, we may get to it again sometime).

Please try to check amazon or some other site to make sure the book is easily available - the last thing we want is to nominate some great book that no one can get! If you nominate more than ONE book, only the first book listed will make it into the voting poll (so save additional books for the next months!). Also, if the book doesn't fit the theme, I won't add it to this month's voting poll, but I will carry it over to the next theme that it does fit under if you would like.

Feel free to nominate one book of your choice in this thread until June 10th, 9pm Eastern.

At around that time, I'll make a voting poll and list all the nominated books in it, and people can vote in the poll until the poll closes (set to last through June 14th). Discussion will start on July 1st.

Happy Nominating!



BOOKS WE HAVE READ AS A GROUP (PLEASE DON'T NOMINATE):

The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar by Robert Alexander

Christina, Queen of Sweden: The Restless Life of a European Eccentric by Veronica Buckley

The Greatest Knight: The Story of William Marshal by Elizabeth Chadwick

The Scarlet Lion by Elizabeth Chadwick

Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross

A Venetian Affair: A True Tale of Forbidden Love in the 18th Century by Andrea Di Robilant

The Glass-Blowers by Daphne du Maurier

The 19th Wife: A Novel by David Ebershoff

Stealing Athena by Karen Essex

A Treasury of Royal Scandals: The Shocking True Stories History's Wickedest, Weirdest, Most Wanton Kings, Queens, Tsars, Popes, and Emperors by Michael Farquhar

Marie Antoinette: The Journey by Antonia Fraser

Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III by Flora Fraser

Evita: The Real Life of Eva Peron by Nicholas Fraser

Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood by Alexandra Fuller

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Mary, Called Magdalene by Margaret George

The Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George

We Two: Victoria and Albert: Rulers, Partners, Rivals by Gillian Gill

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family by Annette Gordon-Reed

The Confessions of Catherine de Medici by C.W. Gortner

The Last Queen: A Novel of Juana la Loca by C.W. Gortner

The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory

The White Queen: A Novel by Philippa Gregory

The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

Courtesan: A Novel by Diane Haeger

Mistress of the Vatican: The True Story of Olimpia Maidalchini: The Secret Female Pope by Eleanor Herman

Sex with the Queen: 900 Years of Vile Kings, Virile Lovers, and Passionate Politics by Eleanor Herman

The Conqueror by Georgette Heyer

The Traitor’s Wife by Susan Higginbotham

A Hollow Crown: The Story of Emma, Queen of Saxon England by Helen Hollick

The Devil's Queen: A Novel of Catherine de Medici by Jeanne Kalogridis

The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye

Through a Glass Darkly by Karleen Koen

The Concubine: A Novel by Norah Lofts

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

Nicholas and Alexandra by Robert Massie

Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Murder of a Medici Princess by Caroline P. Murphy

Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky

Harriet and Isabella by Patricia O’Brien

Here Be Dragons by Sharon Kay Penman

The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman

When Christ and His Saints Slept by Sharon Kay Penman

The Queen's Secret by Jean Plaidy

Victoria Victorious: The Story of Queen Victoria by Jean Plaidy

Catherine the Great: Love Sex and Power by Virginia Rounding

The Princes of Ireland by Edward Rutherfurd

Sarum: The Novel of England by Edward Rutherfurd

Avalon: A Novel by Anya Seton

Devil Water by Anya Seton

Katherine by Anya Seton

The Winthrop Woman by Anya Seton

Innocent Traitor: A Novel of Lady Jane Grey by Alison Weir

The Lady Elizabeth: A Novel by Alison Weir

The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn by Alison Weir

Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor

The Rose of York: Love and War by Sandra Worth

I'll nominate Sarah's Key. It's been on my shelf for awhile.

I've been trying to nominate but it kept saying there was a problem when I tried to post. Anyway, my nomination is:



I think it doesn't take place 100% in a historical period but it does seem to be considered HF so I hope it counts.

How about Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution by Michelle Moran?

I'd like to nominate The Lady's Slipper

I read it a few months ago and really liked it. Swift is a Goodreads author and this is her first book. We may be able to get her to answer some questions or participate in a discussion if we're interested :)

Robin wrote: "I've been trying to nominate but it kept saying there was a problem when I tried to post. Anyway, my nomination is:



I think it doesn't take place 100% in a hist..."

Definitely not a problem about the time period! We've read books that switch between time periods before.

Nominating is closed! Time to vote!