Physik (Septimus Heap, Book 3)

Book Description

When Silas Heap unSeals a forgotten room in the Palace, he releases the ghost of a Queen who lived five hundred years earlier. Queen Etheldredda is as awful in death as she was in life, and she's still up to no good. Her diabolical plan to give herself everlasting life requires Jenna's compliance, Septimus's disappearance, and the talents of her son, Marcellus Pye, a famous Alchemist and Physician. And if Queen Etheldredda's plot involves Jenna and Septimus, then it will surely involve Nicko, Alther Mella, Marcia Overstrand, Beetle, Stanley, Sarah, Silas, Spit Fyre, Aunt Zelda, and all of the other wacky, wonderful characters that made magyk and flyte so memorable.

With heart-stopping action and a dash of humor, Angie Sage continues the fantastical journey of Septimus Heap.

Customer Reviews:

Great series!.......2007-09-28

Get Magyk and Flyte (Books one and two) Then get this one! Fun and interesting series. Bought them for my daughter but I enjoyed them too.

Falling Flat........2007-09-24

NOTE: I did not like this book, so if you are a die-hard fan of Sage and the sieris i suggest hiding this review.

After captivating you with her last two books. Sage's attempt at a story is laughable.

The writing style that gripped her readers in Flyte and Magick does not appear in Physic. The people seemed to have lost their flames and senses of humors, Snorri and the Queen have no death to either of them. Each has a chapter devoted to them but they are loosely explained and the chapters tell nothing.

Worser still is the fact that most of the Heap family is not even int he book. lovable Silas Heap and Motherly Sarah heap are in the background, the book does not seem complete and the series looks unprofessional.

The plot is confusing and always makes you re read passages and wonder what is going on. The word choice is good but overly done, there is none of the simplicity that was so endearing about Magyk and Flyte.

The book is a real put downer. After Sage's steller novels you would expect something a little more high class and gripping. For fans of the siearies, I suggest pretending that this book did not exist. It si a dissaponment to her fans.

I sincerely hope that Sage recaptures the magyk in next novel.

Physik - A Great Read for Septimus Heap Lovers!.......2007-08-24

This was by far the best of the Septimus Heap series! If you have read Magyk and Flyte then you must read Physik! The plot is very in depth and exciting and new characters are introduced that you will come to love as much as Jenna and Septimus. What a wonderful book and hopefully there will be another in the series!

Keep Septimus Coming!.......2007-06-27

I am a school teacher and my students were all reading the Septimus Heap series of books. I decided to read them as well, and they are FANTASTIC! I was disappointed that Physik was the last of the series(so far), I want to keep reading about him!

Physik - Septimus Heap book 3.......2007-06-08

Angie Sage did a wonderful job continuing the Saptimus Heap story. A quick read, antertaining and very enjoyable.

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The riddle of the Boleyn Inheritance
Reign of terror
Captivated by the Tudors
Not the best, but interesting
The Boleyn Inheritance

The Boleyn Inheritance
Philippa Gregory
Manufacturer: Touchstone
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0743272501

Book Description

THREE WOMEN WHO SHARE ONE FATE: THE BOLEYN INHERITANCE

ANNE OF CLEVES

She runs from her tiny country, her hateful mother, and her abusive brother to a throne whose last three occupants are dead. King Henry VIII, her new husband, instantly dislikes her. Without friends, family, or even an understanding of the language being spoken around her, she must literally save her neck in a court ruled by a deadly game of politics and the terror of an unpredictable and vengeful king. Her Boleyn Inheritance: accusations and false witnesses.

KATHERINE HOWARD

She catches the king's eye within moments of arriving at court, setting in motion the dreadful machine of politics, intrigue, and treason that she does not understand. She only knows that she is beautiful, that men desire her, that she is young and in love -- but not with the diseased old man who made her queen, beds her night after night, and killed her cousin Anne. Her Boleyn Inheritance: the threat of the axe.

JANE ROCHFORD

She is the Boleyn girl whose testimony sent her husband and sister-in-law to their deaths. She is the trusted friend of two threatened queens, the perfectly loyal spy for her uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, and a canny survivor in the murderous court of a most dangerous king. Throughout Europe, her name is a byword for malice, jealousy, and twisted lust. Her Boleyn Inheritance: a fortune and a title, in exchange for her soul.

The Boleyn Inheritance is a novel drawn tight as a lute string about a court ruled by the gallows and three women whose positions brought them wealth, admiration, and power as well as deceit, betrayal, and terror. Once again, Philippa Gregory has brought a vanished world to life -- the whisper of a silk skirt on a stone stair, the yellow glow of candlelight illuminating a hastily written note, the murmurs of the crowd gathering on Tower Green below the newly built scaffold. In The Boleyn Inheritance Gregory is at her intelligent and page-turning best.

Customer Reviews:

The riddle of the Boleyn Inheritance.......2007-10-10

This book is amazing. If you make yourself the question "What is the Boleyn Inheritance?" The author will give you hints through the book, and you can make some guess of which the answer will be. It is just at the very end of the book, that you will find out the answer, which is a breathtaking surprise.

Reign of terror.......2007-10-06

Having just finished the last page of this book, I'm still feeling rather trembly(if that's a word!) and shaken at the picture of complete horror and terrible fear painted so brilliantly by Philippa Gregory. Poor, Katherine Howard was the 5th wife of the murderous Henry V111, a pretty but vapid child of fifteen and as silly and stupid a 15 year old as one could imagine. The poor ditz of a creature was used by her family, the aristocratic and ruthless Howards, who also produced Queen Anne Boleyn, and manipulated into captivating the King who had deteriorated into a madman with a gross, infected and ulcerated body and who had become a complete megalomaniac. The other part of the story which was more interesting to me, was the story of Anne of Cleves who was Henry's 4th wife but who, through dint of cleverness and good luck, escaped the headman's axe by agreeing to the annulment of her marriage. Not much has been written about Anne but she must go down in history as one of the luckiest women in the world. I found this book to be an excellent read and an absolute page turner to the end.

Captivated by the Tudors.......2007-09-19

Having been fascinated by "The Other Boleyn Girl", I was very much looking forward to "The Boleyn Inheritance" and was not disappointed. A sort of sequel, the latter carries forward a character from the first book, Jane Boleyn, and also includes Henry's fourth and fifth wives, Anne of Cleves and Katherine Howard. The story moves forward through alternating accounts of events by the three women. In my opinion, the author does a good job of capturing each one's spirit and voice. In addition, the story is fairly accurate historically, so provided a starting point for additional research on Henry and his wives.

Not the best, but interesting.......2007-09-16

Definitely preferred The Other Boleyn Girl and The Virgin's Lover. I'm reading Earthly Joys. I didn't think the two Boleyn books tied together that well. But the three narrators were interesting and her take on Anne of Cleves was fascinating. I loved the fleshing out of these forgotten and yet so important historical figures. But Jane Boleyn was tough to believe and understand.

The Boleyn Inheritance.......2007-09-13

The Boleyn Inheritance was a great novel. I did like The Other Boleyn Girl a little better. However, I liked the way Philippa Gregory wrote this book with three narrators. This book is worth reading!

Average customer rating:

Not My Favorite....drawn out and wordy.....going on and on...
Gregory's getting warmer . . .
Not worth reading
A heart-warming and inspiring tale
It was just OK...

The Constant Princess
Philippa Gregory
Manufacturer: Touchstone
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0743272498

Book Description

"I am Catalina, Princess of Spain, daughter of the two greatest monarchs the world has ever known...and I will be Queen of England."

Thus, bestselling author Philippa Gregory introduces one of her most unforgettable heroines: Katherine of Aragon. Known to history as the Queen who was pushed off her throne by Anne Boleyn, here is a Katherine the world has forgotten: the enchanting princess that all England loved. First married to Henry VIII's older brother, Arthur, Katherine's passion turns their arranged marriage into a love match; but when Arthur dies, the merciless English court and her ambitious parents -- the crusading King and Queen of Spain -- have to find a new role for the widow. Ultimately, it is Katherine herself who takes control of her own life by telling the most audacious lie in English history, leading her to the very pinnacle of power in England.

Set in the rich beauty of Moorish Spain and the glamour of the Tudor court, The Constant Princess presents a woman whose constancy helps her endure betrayal, poverty, and despair, until the inevitable moment when she steps into the role she has prepared for all her life: Henry VIII's Queen, Regent, and commander of the English army in their greatest victory against Scotland.

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"I am Catalina, Princess of Spain, daughter of the two greatest monarchs the world has ever known...and I will be Queen of England.""

Customer Reviews:

Not My Favorite....drawn out and wordy.....going on and on..........2007-10-17

Many of Phillipa's other books are great but this book was irritating to me. I loved the story line which was very interesting but the book portrays the thoughs of the Princess/Queen which were redundant and annoying. The book could have been half its size if she didn't have the main character repeat herself over and over. The "Virgin Queen" and "The Other Boleyn Girl" are much better.

Gregory's getting warmer . . ........2007-10-14

The first book of Philippa Gregory's that I read was the excellent The Other Boleyn Girl, and it was a double-edged sword, in that got me started on a path to read the rest of her books, but also meant I'd forever compare the rest of her books to it. Like The Boleyn Inheritance, this book suffers in comparison. It has several of the same flaws: it's repetitive, and it's not that well written. For some reason, Gregory chose to include not just third-person narrative passages written in the past tense but also first-person italicized passages from Katherine's point of view that vacillate between the past and present tense. These accounts begin from the time she was five years old, yet the voice remains constantly that of a grown woman. In my opinion, these sections take away more from the story than they add to it, and the book would have been better off if Gregory had incorporated them into the overall narrative. Or perhaps if they'd been better edited, they would have fit in better. Some of the tense shifts really suffer from poor editing and make for confusing reading at times.

Perhaps Gregory's great flaw is a flaw shared by many writers of historical fiction: the novel can only be as good as the story that she has to tell. When history provides only sketchy accounts of an event, Gregory simply cannot be relied upon to fill it in to this reader's satisfaction. This book is marred by her inclusion of an 11th-hour cry for peace in the Middle East that reads as unbelievable and unwieldy in the mouth of a woman whose daughter turned out to be such an infamous religious fanatic, still vilified in popular culture and history books to this very day. Gregory's author's note confirms that this belief is more her idea than Katherine's, and she should have known that it had no place in her book.

Overall, I enjoyed this book because of the way Gregory imagined the romance between Katherine and Arthur, and because she did a wonderful job of building a strong character who carries the book well on her own despite lapses in the writing.

I still haven't managed to strike gold as I did with "The Other Boleyn Girl" but I will keep trying, at least until I finish her Tudor series. Hopefully, I'll discover that she's a great writer, and not just a mediocre one who once managed to capture lightning in a bottle.

Not worth reading.......2007-10-10

I liked the Other Boleyn Girl...and I was intrigued when I found her book about Katherine of Aragon...

...sadly this book is not worth the time. Kathrine charecter comes off as whiney and overall without any depth. Katherine's charecter had little depth. I was very disappointed.

A heart-warming and inspiring tale.......2007-08-30

Like every other Philippa Gregory novel that I have read, "The Constant Princess" is yet another example of how delicious this author writes. This book does not disappoint. A wonderful story that is filled with fun, romance, and inspiration, "The Constant Princess" is about Queen Katharine of England (Henry VIII's first wife.)

The best part of Philippa Gregory's writing (at least what I have read so far) is that her stories are well seasoned with historical facts and characters. While this is an artistic take on historical events, it is still pure enjoyment to devour and I was left with a deep respect for Katharine the real person in addition to Katharine the character in this novel.

The first half of the book is delicious and romantic. My heart was singing and I forgot all about what really happens to our dear heroine because I was so wrapped up in the first part of her story (about her first marriage to Arthur.) Suddenly the story turns from romance to defining why the book is titled "The Constant Princess." Reading about her struggles, her near-misses, and ultimately to see her bring her goal to fruition was what made this a fantastic book.

If you enjoyed The Other Boleyn Girl and/or The Boleyn Inheritance, I am positive you will also enjoy this book. Add it to your collection of Philippa Gregory novels today!

It was just OK..........2007-08-29

As someone who thoroughly enjoys historical fiction and the Tudor time period in England I was really excited to pick up this book on Katherine of Aragon, Henry VIII's first wife.

Gregory, covers Katherine or Catalina's childhood in Spain, her first marriage to Arthur (Henry's older brother), her agonizing wait for 7 years before she became Henry's wife, and then the first few years of marriage.

I thought the first half of the book somewhat interesting up until Arthur dies and she schemes to marry Henry, his younger brother. I also found the first years of Henry and Katherine's marriage somewhat interesting.

However, what takes away from this book in a big way is Gregory's repetitiveness throughout the book (as many others have cited). It really takes away from the progress of the story as you feel you're just stuck reading the same thing over and over again. Then Gregory glosses over Katherine's shining moment as Queen - holding back the Scots, skips 13 years of their reign together (during which Anne Boleyn enters the picture and convinces Henry to marry her) and ends the book abruptly. As the reader you almost get the sense that Gregory just got tired of writing about her because it didn't feel finished and complete.

Overall, this book was just OK.

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A True Winner: Angie Sage Writes Great Fantasy Fiction
F A N T A S T I C ! ! ! !
Ok book
Don't be hoodwinked by the good reviews
Like J.K. Rowling... without the imagination or characters

Magyk (Septimus Heap, Book 1)
Angie Sage
Manufacturer: Katherine Tegen Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0060577312
Release Date: 2005-03-15

Book Description

The seventh son of the seventh son, aptly named Septimus Heap, is stolen the night he is born by a midwife who pronounces him dead. That same night, the baby's father, Silas Heap, comes across a bundle in the snow containing a new born girl with violet eyes. The Heaps take this helpless newborn into their home, name her Jenna, and raise her as their own. But who is this myster ious baby girl, and what really happened to their beloved son Septimus?

The first book in this enthralling new series by Angie Sage leads readers on a fantastic journey filled with quirky characters and magykal charms, potions, and spells. magyk is an original story of lost and rediscovered identities, rich with humor and heart.

Customer Reviews:

A True Winner: Angie Sage Writes Great Fantasy Fiction.......2007-09-17

The entire series Magyk (Septimus Heap, Book 1), Flyte (Septimus Heap, Book 2), and Physik (Septimus Heap, Book 3) by Angie Sage are fast-paced, non-stop fantasy adventures for middle aged readers. Book Four: Queste, will be released in the UK in April 2008. If you miss Harry Potter, you will not be disappointed with the discovery of Septimus Heap and the world of the Ramblings. I would even go so far as to say that Angie Sage is a better writer in terms of plot and pacing. The perfect gift for children ages 9 to 12 (or adults who still miss Harry) and love the world of magic and adventure. Happy reading!

F A N T A S T I C ! ! ! !.......2007-08-16

I liked the characters in the book and what happens
to them in their AMAZING adventure to help save the princess
from the ENEMY.

Ok book.......2007-08-14

Contrary to many of the reviewers, the book wasn't anything special and lacks the magic of Harry Potter. I was convinced by the reviews to buy this book even though I wasn't sure if I really wanted to buy it and readit. However , it is still a pageturner.I found the magic spells abd creatures to be cool. I doubt I will be buying any of the many sequels. This book is about the Heap family, whose adopted daughter is wanted dead along with them since she is the queen's daughter. The Supreme Custodian and his evil servants are hot on their trail.Towards the end of the book, we dicover who is and what has happened to Septimus Heap.

Don't be hoodwinked by the good reviews.......2007-07-06

I bought this book after being persuaded by the dozens of excellent reviews, even though I'd never seen it recommended anywhere else. Magyk is Angie Sage's first novel -- and it shows. If bad writing bothers you, even a little, stay very far away from this book. Even your average fantasy novel is miles ahead of this stuff.

My children (15, 12, 9 and 7) are sophisticated readers and they all had strong negative reactions to this awful book.

Sage is an appallingly poor tour guide. Her prose fails to flow, connections between characters are lacking, the plotting is full of holes, and character development is almost nonexistent.

There are so many great fantasy novels available for young readers, this book does not deserve your time.

Like J.K. Rowling... without the imagination or characters.......2007-06-23

Very two-dimensional. Sage's history of writing picture books is evident in both the writing style and character development. The plot elements are plagarized and don't really hang together well. The climax and denouement don't provide any satisfying drama or surprise. The book would work for poor middle school readers or good ones in the early grades, but I wouldn't recommend it for smart tweens.

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A Gripping Royal Life
Engrossing from beginning to end
A sympathetic biography of a much maligned queen
Amazing Biography
A Well Told Biography

Marie Antoinette: The Journey
Antonia Fraser
Manufacturer: Anchor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0307277747
Release Date: 2006-09-12

Amazon.com

In the past, Antonia Fraser's bestselling histories and biographies have focused on people and events in her native England, from Mary Queen of Scots to Faith and Treason: The Story of the Gunpowder Plot. Now she crosses the Channel to limn the life of France's unhappiest queen, bringing along her gift for fluent storytelling, vivid characterization, and evocative historical background. Marie Antoinette (1755-93) emerges in Fraser's sympathetic portrait as a goodhearted girl woefully undereducated and poorly prepared for the dynastic political intrigues into which she was thrust at age 14, when her mother, Empress Maria Theresa, married her off to the future Louis XVI to further Austria's interests in France. Far from being the licentious monster later depicted by the radicals who sent her to the guillotine at the height of the French Revolution, young Marie Antoinette was quite prudish, as well as thoroughly humiliated by her husband's widely known failure to have complete intercourse with her for seven long years (the gory details were reported to any number of concerned royal parties, including her mother and brother). She compensated by spending lavishly on clothes and palaces, but Fraser points out that this hardly made her unique among 18th-century royalty, and in any case the causes of the Revolution went far beyond one woman's frivolities. The moving final chapters show Marie Antoinette gaining in dignity and courage as the Revolution stripped her of everything, subjected her to horrific brutalities (a mob paraded the head of her closest female friend on a pike below her window), and eventually took her life. Fraser makes no attempt to hide the queen's shortcomings, in particular her poor political skills, but focuses on her personal warmth and noble bearing during her final ordeal. It's another fine piece of popular historical biography to add to Fraser's already impressive bibliography. --Wendy Smith

Book Description

France's iconic queen, Marie Antoinette, wrongly accused of uttering the infamous "Let them eat cake," was alternately revered and reviled during her lifetime. For centuries since, she has been the object of debate, speculation, and the fascination so often accorded illustrious figures in history. Married in mere girlhood, this essentially lighthearted child was thrust onto the royal stage and commanded by circumstance to play a significant role in European history. Antonia Fraser's lavish and engaging portrait excites compassion and regard for all aspects of the queen, immersing the reader not only in the coming-of-age of a graceful woman, but in the culture of an unparalleled time and place.

Customer Reviews:

A Gripping Royal Life.......2007-08-29

Light on analysis and heavy on chronicling, MATJ efficiently and often movingly recounts a notorious chapter in history. AF does a fine job of evoking life in a European court in general, and in the times of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI in particular. She treats her subject objectively, though with a reasonable measure of implicit sympathy. The Antoinette depicted in MATJ is far more nuanced a figure than the one many of us were first introduced to in public school history lessons. Though not without flaws, Marie Antoinette emerges in MATJ as no more flawed a person than most -- a product and a victim of circumstances that were largely of others' making. MATJ is particulary affecting in its treatment of the Terror, the collapse of the French monarchy, and Marie Antoinette's ultimate fate -- a fate as brutal as one can imagine. As a history of the Terror and the French Revolution, MATJ falls short. But it does not purport to be a broader work of historical synthesis or analysis. It hews closely to its subject -- the queen whose life intersected, tragically, with enormous national and world-historical events. In doing so, it offers a full and affecting portrait of one of history's most compelling figures.

Engrossing from beginning to end.......2007-08-09

"Marie Antoinette: The Journey" was my first experience with the work of Lady Antonia Fraser. Having read many biographies of famous British historical figures, I noticed that her name always seemed to crop up in various authors' "Acknowledgements" or bibliographies. In fact, the point at which I first recall reading her name was in reviews for John Guy's "Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart". My interest piqued, I ordered a copy of "Marie Antoinette" to test the waters of an author whose scholarship and style was, it seemed to me, almost universally respected. And I can safely say that I've never been more pleased with the outcome of an experiment.

Antonia Fraser's sparklingly eloquent and witty writing style lends itself perfectly to the glamorous story of the ultimately tragic French queen. What I appreciated most about the narrative (aside from its seamless fluidity) was the lack, thankfully, of shameless allusions to the subject's eventual disastrous fate. Lady Antonia stated in the introduction to her biography that she would endeavor to present Marie Antoinette's tale `without the perils of hindsight' (her words, although not in the introduction), as most authors I'm sure would have been prone to do. Despite the fact that I was aware of Marie Antoinette's death going in, I had little knowledge of the reasons for it.

And thusly I come to another brilliant aspect of this biography: the sound and thorough description of events leading, not only to Marie Antoinette's beheading, but the French Revolution itself. Obviously, Antonia Fraser's intention in presenting the queen's story was not to simultaneously provide the reader with an exhaustive analysis of the Revolution (for that, many would recommend Simon Schama's "Citizens"); so with that said, I found the author's breakdown of the events occurring throughout Marie Antoinette's adopted country entirely satisfying within the confines of a biography.

This is one of the few biographies in which I was so sufficiently engrossed by the story that I gradually disregarded my previous knowledge of how the story ends. So swept along was I by the narrative's current that I actually harbored quiet hope for the queen's rescue from the Conciergerie, where she was incarcerated prior to her execution. As a result, I was crushed when Marie Antoinette met her gruesome death. Such unquestioning absorption is, in my opinion, the mark of any quality biography, when coupled with an objective and engaging presentation of facts that envelopes you in the world of its subject. "Marie Antoinette: The Journey" shines vividly in that regard and many others.

Elizabeth Longford, Antonia Fraser's mother and a highly-respected biographer, stated in a later-edition introduction to her masterful "Victoria R. I." that the word `definitive', in describing biographical works, is meaningless. Various authors studying the same subject may interpret facts and events quite differently. Having never read another biography of Marie Antoinette, I cannot rightly speak of Lady Antonia's book as being the essential source for information. But based upon my own experience with it, and those of most other reviewers, I would wager that this is the best possible place to start.

A sympathetic biography of a much maligned queen.......2007-07-12

Always the victim of fate and controlled by external powers, Marie Antoinette warmed to her roles well. From her idyllic childhood in Austria to her life as a princess (the Dauphine) in France during her adolescence to her extravagant Queenship in Versailles and Petit Trianon to her staid motherhood and finally to her untimely death at the hands of the Jacobins, Marie Antoinette filled her role with grace and dignity. Fraser brings us a portrait of Marie Antoinette as she certainly would have liked to have been remembered rather than the villainous harpy she was portrayed as during her life and beyond.

Starting, as any biography of Marie Antoinette must, in Austria under the reign of Maria Teresa, the book proceeds to describe life in the Empress' household and the various intrigues therein. The book tries not to miss any significant points along the way, but the book soon moves to the marriage of Marie to the young French Dauphin Louis XVI. From there, the life and political machinations of the courtiers and Marie among them are highlighted. Fraser sometimes seems to get lost recalling all the courtiers and their significances, but Marie is always kept as the central figure. Through this storytelling the reader watches a young woman grow up, sometimes under bad influences, but mostly under the watchful eyes of responsible advisors.

There is quite a bit of focus on Marie and Louis' failure to consummate their marriage, with the lightness of the King's attitude towards the Prince (Louis) in sharp contrast to the heavy yoke of responsibility laid on the Prince by Marie's brother the Emperor Joseph. In time, the married couple figure out their roles and they give birth to the first Dauphin.

What stands out about Fraser's prose is her ability to evoke great joy in the reader, as well as great sadness. She gives the joy of the royal family at the birth of their first child directly to the reader. Likewise, when the Dauphin, a sickly child, dies at a young age, Fraser pulls no punches and the sadness of the royal family is also felt by the reader.

Naturally, the book goes on to cover the rule of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette as she oversees her hobbies and children. The attempted escape, called the flight to Varennes, is well covered and Fraser does a good job of bringing out the tension and suspense of the incident. The recounting of this event reads very much like fiction, though the events are very real. Finally, the book wraps up with the incarceration and execution of the royal family at the hands of the French revolutionaries.

The inclusion of paintings and photographs of important people and places makes the book all the more enjoyable. From the cute portrait of the Austrian imperial family to the sketch of Marie Antoinette on her way to the guillotine, each picture frames the period discussed so well that the reader's imagination is free to explore the world of 18th century France and Austria.

Fraser's book is an easy, if long, read, but it is enjoyable and reads very much like fiction rather than a dry biography. The only places it lags are when the number of characters gets too unwieldy or when Fraser tries to explain the bloodline relationships between various courtiers. I think anyone wanting to get a solid background on the life of Marie Antoinette would welcome this book to their library.

Amazing Biography.......2007-07-08

This is an awesome book, written on such an intriguing person in history. Marie Antoinette has gotten a bad rap throughout the years, the whole French revolution has been blamed on her, which is wrong. There are MANY MANY reasons why the revolution happened, and many don't have anything to do with her. It's a great book and the movie by S. Coppolla is also great (if you liked Clueless, you'd like this because it has an innocent air to it). The Marie Antionette in this book comes off a little more sympathetic because the reader is able to see how young and vulnerable she was. We must remember she became Queen of France at such a young, immature age and it's no wonder she had all those lavish parties. This is a great book by a great author and I highly recommend it.

A Well Told Biography.......2007-06-16

Ms. Fraser is a well known author of historical biographies. She does her research and manages to be fair in all things when it comes to delving in past lives that have touched the world. Her attempt at penning Marie Antoinette's story is well done, fair, and shows the world a different young woman that is often portrayed in historical films.

Beginning at the young archduchess start in life to her horrid end, we travel beside this young woman, learning what she had to endure and seeing her in a way not always portrayed. With plenty of historic facts, color pictures the author has penned a fair biography that will give the reader insight into a much misunderstood woman. This is one book I highly recommend.

Le Petit Prince (French Language Edition)

Average customer rating:

Great philosophy behind it
Amazing.
Magical journey...
Classic in any lanugage
A story for all ages

Le Petit Prince (French Language Edition)
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Manufacturer: Harvest Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0156013983

Book Description

In 2000 Harcourt proudly reissued Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's masterpiece, The Little Prince, in a sparkling new format. Newly translated by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Richard Howard, this timeless classic was embraced by critics and readers across the country for its purity and beauty of expression. And Saint-Exupéry's beloved artwork was restored and remastered to present his work in its original and vibrant colors.

Now Harcourt is issuing uniform full-color foreign language editions. The restored artwork glows like never before. These affordable and beautiful editions are sure to delight an entire new generation of readers, students, children, and adults for whom Saint-Exupéry's story will open the door to a new understanding of life.

Customer Reviews:

Great philosophy behind it.......2007-09-28

I half-expected this book to be a children's book but it actually contained philosophical ideals people would often ask themselves in life. Highly recommended

Amazing........2007-08-08

I place this on a par, in it's own way, with Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet.

Deeply meaningful, cloaked in a tale of a child. I read part of it at my mother's funeral. Not that it is a sad story, per se. But there was not a dry eye in the house when I finished.

What it has to say on loving and on loss is absolutely worth more than this book costs and every minute you spend reading it.

Magical journey..........2007-06-13

My first book ever was The little prince. It was my dad's first present on the day I was born. Since then I have read it at least 20 times, and every time I read it it delivers a different message. I think this is a book that will be enjoyed by kids as well as adults. This french version is beautiful, and very similar to the one my dad gave me in spanish. Has the original drawings with nice colors. As someone stated this book can be interpreted in different ways and that's why it's so magical. I consider it one of the best short stories ever. A true masterpice.

Classic in any lanugage.......2007-03-12

I've read this book many times, sometimes in English, sometimes in French. I've read it for pleasure. I've studied it. I've taught it. I love it. The fox's secret is an important lesson for us all and one I appreciate being reminded of. I recommend this book to anyone, it's been translated into over 100 languages. (It's been translated more than any book besides the Bible I've heard.) I love sharing it with people which is why I will teach it as long as I'm teaching and I will read it aloud to my children when I have them.

A story for all ages.......2007-02-01

Although I believe that this book is for everyone young or old, I think that "grown ups" will appreciate it more than kids.

The book has passages that remind the adult of the innocent little kid within.

In a lot of ways, the wisdom in the story comes as somehow a reality check.

In depth the book is about life, relationships (the little prince and the rose), friendships (the little prince and the fox) and human caracteristics...

I have read this story so many times and every time I discover something "new". This book is a work of art!

If you speak French, I recommend the French language edition over the English one.

Desert Queen: The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell: Adventurer, Adviser to Kings, Ally of Lawrence of Arabia

Average customer rating:

Outstanding woman, mediocre biography.
This book needed an editor
Insightful Read
Desert Queen: The extraordinary Lief of Gertrude Bell
If Only Washington Leaders Would All Read This Book

Desert Queen: The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell: Adventurer, Adviser to Kings, Ally of Lawrence of Arabia
Janet Wallach
Manufacturer: Anchor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1400096197
Release Date: 2005-07-12

Amazon.com

A biography of the woman who, indirectly, was the catalyst for many of the troubles in the Middle East, including the Gulf War. In 1918, Gertrude Bell drew the region's proposed boundaries on a piece of tracing paper. Her qualifications for doing so were her extensive travel, her fluency in both Persian and Arabic, and her relationships with sheiks and tribal and religious leaders. She also possessed an ability to understand the subtle and indirect politeness of the culture, something many of her colonialist comrades were oblivious to. As a self-made statesman her sex was an asset, enabling her to bypass the ladder of protocol and dive into the business of building an Empire.

Book Description

Turning away from the privileged world of the "eminent Victorians," Gertrude Bell (1868—1926) explored, mapped, and excavated the world of the Arabs. Recruited by British intelligence during World War I, she played a crucial role in obtaining the loyalty of Arab leaders, and her connections and information provided the brains to match T. E. Lawrence's brawn. After the war, she played a major role in creating the modern Middle East and was, at the time, considered the most powerful woman in the British Empire.

In this masterful biography, Janet Wallach shows us the woman behind these achievements–a woman whose passion and defiant independence were at odds wit the confined and custom-bound England she left behind. Too long eclipsed by Lawrence, Gertrude Bell emerges at last in her own right as a vital player on the stage of modern history, and as a woman whose life was both a heartbreaking story and a grand adventure.

Customer Reviews:

Outstanding woman, mediocre biography........2007-08-23

As has been mentioned by others, I too wonder at the literary excesses of this book. "She sensed his profound hunger....". "....her heart pounding, her cheeks burning hot, and as his blue eyes burned with desire, he took her in his arms".
Gertrude Bell, an outstanding woman, deserves a better, a more maturely written biography. Thankfully, they are out there.

This book needed an editor.......2007-08-05

I began to read this book with anticipation. I was a put off by the sort of breathless tone more worthy of a bad romance novel.

About twenty pages in, I was surprised by a reference to the Ottoman Empire expanding since the 13th century from Constantinople. The Ottoman Empire expanded around Constantinople from the 13th to the 15th centuries, until they finally took the city in 1453, and promptly renamed it Istanbul.

I soldiered on, until I was informed that British were fighting Germans in the Boer war in the late 1890s. The Boers, descended from Dutch colonists, would have been surprised to hear themselves described as German.

These two mistakes, obvious to anyone with a decent knowledge of history, ruined my willingness to accept anything else in the book. I put down the book, never knowing if Miss Bell was able to overcome her lost early love.

Gertrude Bell's life seems to be worthy of a good biography. This isn't it.

Insightful Read.......2007-07-04

A book which skilfully interweaves historical facts with the anecdotes and day-to-day life of a woman struggling to find her place in the Middle East.
Was left with a sense of awe from her accomplishments and the beginnings of an inkling as to the political and religious turmoil and troubles of this region based on the history retold by Janet Wallach.

Desert Queen: The extraordinary Lief of Gertrude Bell.......2007-03-09

I only wish George W and Chaney would have read this book before entering into War with Iraq. The history of British rule and their failure to solve the Tribal problems at the establishment of Iraq as a new State after the breakup of the Otterman Empire. This only proves that History can repeat itself.

If Only Washington Leaders Would All Read This Book.......2007-01-23

Yes, I would venture to say that anyone who reads this book as well as Lawrence's "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" would be better qualified to shape US foreign policy in the Middle East than those who are now doing that... When will we ever learn?

Average customer rating:

light and fluffy fantasy
Septimus Heap: Flyte the long lost art of Flying
Flyte
The continuing adventures of Septimus Heap
A fun read

Flyte (Septimus Heap, Book 2)
Angie Sage
Manufacturer: HarperTrophy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0060577363
Release Date: 2007-03-27

Book Description

It's been a year since septimus heap discovered his real family and true calling to be a wizard. As Apprentice to Extra Ordinary Wizard Marcia Overstrand, he is learning the fine arts of Conjurations, Charms, and other Magyk, while Jenna is adapting to life as the Princess and enjoying the freedom of the Castle.

But there is something sinister at work. Marcia is constantly trailed by a menacing Darke Shadow, and Septimus's brother Simon seems bent on a revenge no one understands. Why is the Darke Magyk still lingering?

Bringing fantasy to new heights, Angie Sage continues the journey of Septimus Heap with her trademark humor and all of the clever details readers have come to love.

Customer Reviews:

light and fluffy fantasy.......2007-07-04

This is a very plot heavy and magic heavy book. That makes it perfect for those not necessarily wedded to long, dense books. It got a bit silly at times, but that's perfect for its intended audience. The thickness of the paper and the size and spacing of the type make it appear much longer than it is.

Septimus Heap: Flyte the long lost art of Flying.......2007-06-02

Flyte, the second book in the Septimus Heap series, is about an ancient lost art of Flying. Flyte is almost rediscovered by Darke Magyk. To add to that, little princess Jenna is kidnapped by one of her own family member. Septimus Heap goes out searching for Jenna and ends up putting Flyte together. He gets two ways to fly: Flyte and Beast.....

It is an intriguing well written book with its quick, witty cast of characters and infinite magical imaginary capabilities.Magyk (Septimus Heap, Book 1)Physik (Septimus Heap, Book 3)

Flyte.......2007-05-23

This is a wonderful book full of fun and adventure in which the Heaps are caught up in the stream of magic and the evil plot of evil wizard DomDaniel trying yet agian to become king and the Extra ordinary wizard. Along with some help from one of the Heaps (which one is it?), DomDaniel almost succeeds. Anyone who likes adventure and magic will like this story because of its amazing storyline and happy ending.

The continuing adventures of Septimus Heap.......2007-05-23

Okay so Septimus Heap is an apprentice to an extraordinary wizard, and he's back in this sequel to Magyk. As you might have guessed, DomDaniel was defeated but not destroyed, and he's more intent than ever on ruling the castle as the extraordinary wizard. To do this, DomDaniel must remove Jenna, the rightful heir to the throne.

The book finds Septimus Heap about a year after the events in the first book. He has slipped into his new life as an apprentice. The darkness still lingers as a menacing shadow follows Marcia the wizard everywhere. Meanwhile, Jenna also has adjusted to her new life as a princess. Life is good for both as they say but one day when the mysterious Simon Heap shows up he suddenly kidnapps Jenna. Septimus ends up going off on his own to resuce Jenna because no one believes him when he says Simon is now evil.

Over all, I enjoyed reading Flyte. Although the plotting meanders at times and the writing isn't as good as with Magyck, the book has many fun elements and is an interesting read. I'd recommend this highly to readers of Robert Stanek's Keeper Martin's Tales (The Kingdoms and the Elves, In the Service of Dragons, etc). The books are similarly well written and inventive. I'd also recommend to those who enjoy Artemis Fowl but are looking for more detail and more mature stories.

A fun read.......2007-05-17

I enjoyed reading Flyte, the sequel to Magyk in the Septimus Heap series of books. It has a lot of fun elements, and the plot held my attention well. Yes, there are some things in it that will make you think of Harry Potter here and there, but Angie Sage manages to keep those things few, and her world is not one to be confused with the world of the Harry Potter books.
In this book Septimus is coming into more acceptance with his family and finding his place in their lives and as Apprentice to the ExtraOrdinary Wizard. The plot moves quickly, and while there are a few moments of predictability, in general it kept me guessing. I look forward to reading the third installment soon.

Average customer rating:

A Never-Ending Tale
a wonderful read
An enjoyable read!
When traveling on the road to self-discovery, it can be a long ride home....
Combination chick-lit and Southern tale...

Queen of Broken Hearts
Cassandra King
Manufacturer: Hyperion
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1401301770
Release Date: 2007-02-28

Book Description

The national bestselling author of The Same Sweet Girls and The Sunday Wife returns with another compulsively readable novelIt's not easy being the Queen of Broken Hearts. Just ask Clare, who has willingly assumed the mantle while her career as a divorce coach thrives. Now she's preparing to open a permanent home for the retreats she leads, on a slice of breathtaking property on the Alabama coast owned by her mother-in-law. Make that former mother-in-law, a colorful eccentric who teaches Clare much about love and sacrifice and living freely. When Clare's marriage ends in tragedy, her work becomes the sole focus of her life. While Clare has no problem helping the hundreds of men and women who seek her advice to mend their broken hearts, healing her own is another matter entirely. Falling in love again is the last thing she wants.So when Lex -- a charismatic, charming, burly sea captain -- moves to town to run the marina, Clare insists they remain friends and nothing more. But even though she fights it, she begins to fall for him -- and then finds she has a rival, his estranged wife Annalee.A story infused with all the flavors, textures, and intrigues of a small Southern town, with a rich, resonant center, Queen of Broken Hearts is a bold step forward for Cassandra King.

Customer Reviews:

A Never-Ending Tale.......2007-07-05

I should have gotten a clue from the florid title. This is a tiresome novel that goes on & on & on. The plot starts out well, but then disintegrates after 200 pages. Was this author being paid by "the word"? I became very impatient reading it & kept wondering when, if ever it would end. The writing is rather in the trend of "then he said", "she said" scant descriptive writing I expected better. Ms. King tried to squeeze too much into this tale.

a wonderful read.......2007-07-03

I enjoyed this immensely. Well written and a wonderful escape read for those of us women who are a little older. :) Enjoy

An enjoyable read!.......2007-06-20

The book started really slow for me and didn't grab me to read on at all. I stuck to it though and am glad I did. I can relate to the "letting your husband go" aspect of the main character (since I loss my husband just 2 yrs ago)and learning to let yourself be loved again. At times, it felt like 'past' information was withheld from the reader for too long (how her husband died for instance). I loved the book though in the end.

When traveling on the road to self-discovery, it can be a long ride home...........2007-05-30

Clare Ballenger is an extraordinary woman who has finally come into her own after many years of being in the shadows. Since her marriage ended in tragedy, Clare has focused exclusively on her lucrative career as a divorce therapist. While helping hundreds of men and women mend their broken hearts, Claire chooses not to follow the sound advice she dishes out to her clients. Falling in love again is the last thing she wants.

Clare is furious when her best friend, Dory, decides to reconcile with estranged husband Son. After all, Son doesn't really deserve Dory...or so Clare thinks. Finally realizing that Son and Dory will be staying together, her attention shifts to her own situation. Although fully aware of how lonely her life has become, she constantly beats herself up about her husband Mack's shocking death. Was it her fault?

As if her demons couldn't haunt her any more, Clare has her hands full with her daughter. Haley, the product of a fling her husband had before they were together, experienced a horrible childhood, but Clare found it in her heart to welcome the girl with open arms. Mack never liked Haley's spouse, Austin. Always the one to spot things, Clare drops the ball on Austin and is blind-sided when he leaves Haley and her grandchildren for another woman. Wanting to be there for her daughter, Clare is unconsciously forced into confronting her own mishaps and skeletons. It's amazing what you see when you take the time to look in the mirror.

Wanting to be loved, but trapped in the comfortable position of shutting herself out, Clare has some difficult decisions to make. Should she open up and confront her past, move on and live somewhat happily ever after? Or should she wallow in self-pity, guilt and a psychotic need to constantly relive the not-so-perfect life she had with her deceased husband? It's bad enough that Rye, Mack's cousin, has been chasing Clare since his death. But then there's also Lex, a retired sea captain and new owner of the marina, who's very interested in her --- though Lex's ex-wife is hell-bent on rekindling their relationship. When does the madness end?

Cassandra King pens a novel full of self-reflection, truth and honesty that will compel readers to think about their own lives as well. Witty and light-hearted with some grim and poignant moments, the storyline shows how very hard it is to face your demons, whatever they may be. King does an excellent job of portraying how life has its own way, whether we like it or not. But what we choose to do with it is an entirely different story.

If you're looking for an inspiring read, QUEEN OF BROKEN HEARTS certainly does the trick. One thing is for sure: When traveling on the road to self-discovery, it can be a long ride home.

--- Reviewed by Belinda Williams

Combination chick-lit and Southern tale..........2007-05-29

Queen of Broken Hearts by Cassandra King is a combination chick-lit and Southern tale. This delightfully charming novel takes place in Fairhope, Alabama.

Clare Ballenger is a psychologist who specializes in helping people (mostly women) put their lives back together as they navigate through a divorce. She is in the process of building a retreat on land given to her by her mother-in-law, Zoe Catherine. Unfortunately for Clare, her own marriage ended with the death of her husband in a tragic accident. While Clare's specialty is helping others, she seems unable to help herself. Although she has two possible romantic interests, she keeps both at arms length, refusing to trust her heart to love again. She also wears blinders when it comes to the marriage of her daughter.

King excels in her characters, and Broken Hearts is filled with a number of quirky individuals. There is Lex (sturdy marine owner from Maine), Rye (the pretty local society boy) and Zoe (who lives in a bird sanctuary and has shunned society). There is also daughter Haley and best friend Dory. King writes of strong relationships between Clare and the women in her life. Their friendships are a driving force in helping all the women deal with adversity.

While I enjoyed Queen of Broken Hearts, I thought the plot was a bit predictable. But only a Southern author can write a good Southern tale, and I look forward to each book that Cassandra King writes.

Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution

Average customer rating:

Not sure whether it wants to be a biography or fashion
what a great read
Queen of Fashion
queen of fashion
Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution

Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution
Caroline Weber
Manufacturer: Henry Holt and Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0805079491
Release Date: 2006-09-19

Book Description

Marie Antoinette has always stood as an icon of supreme style, but surprisingly none of her biographers have paid sustained attention to her clothes. In Queen of Fashion, Caroline Weber shows how Marie Antoinette developed her reputation for fashionable excess, and explains through lively, illuminating new research the political controversies that her clothing provoked. Weber surveys Marie Antoinettes "Revolution in Dress," covering each phase of the queens tumultuous life, beginning with the young girl, struggling to survive Versailless rigid traditions of royal glamour (twelve-foot-wide hoopskirts, whalebone corsets that crushed her organs). As queen, Marie Antoinette used stunning, often extreme costumes to project an image of power and wage war against her enemies. Gradually, however, she began to lose her hold on the French when she started to adopt "unqueenly" outfits (the provocative chemise) that, surprisingly, would be adopted by the revolutionaries who executed her. Webers queen is sublime, human, and surprising: a sometimes courageous monarch unwilling to allow others to determine her destiny. The paradox of her tragic story, according to Weber, is that fashion -- the vehicle she used to secure her triumphs -- was also the means of her undoing. Webers book is not only a stylish and original addition to Marie Antoinette scholarship, but also a moving, revelatory reinterpretation of one of historys most controversial figures.

Customer Reviews:

Not sure whether it wants to be a biography or fashion.......2007-08-27

I found queen of fashion to be not enough queen and not enough fashion. It pairs a less than adequate biography of Marie Antionette with a smattering of observations on how her fashion choices both represented her role as well as influenced events around her.

What I found problematic was that the fashion highlights jumped around in terms of time periods. There would be a detailed explanation of a time, then a gap of several years before another touching base. I'm not sure if this was due to a lack of source material for the intervening period, but it made for very choppy reading.

If you've read a lot on Marie Antionette, you can skim this to pick up the fashion pieces. If you haven't read a lot about her, pick up another biography first.

This might have worked better as a series of essays than as an overall biography.

Disappointing -- 2&1/2 stars.

what a great read.......2007-07-26

So I picked this up just because the title intrigued me and what a pleasant suprise! It is very readable, interesting and balanced. You won't regret this purchase.

Queen of Fashion.......2007-06-29

I've found that if you want to get a really good feel for the history of a period, read something like this book that concentrates on some interesting aspect of a major figure. An example (besides this well written book) is A Scented Palace by DeFeydeau, which also has amazing insights and stories that you never read in more biographical type treatments. For instance, an anecdote in this book about how Marie Antionette gave her jeweled fan to a pretty village girl, that I never heard anywhere else, really colors the way I now perceive her. But it's an astonishingly "like-you-are-there" inside look at life at Versailles during a (or the) most interesting period in it's history...

queen of fashion.......2007-06-27

I haven't got a chance to read the entire book yet but it is very good and interesting. It is especially useful if you are a Marie Antoinette fanatic or history buff. This was a package that got lost in shipping and It only took one day to get a replacement one. I was surprised at how fast the costumer service was and very pleased.

Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution.......2007-06-04

This is a well-researched, engaging, and poignant read. When is Weber's next book coming out?! I'll purchase for sure.

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