Revolution was in the air, and the new King James II was
about to be the victim of his own ignorance. England made a call for “no popery”
yet James refused to hear the wishes of the people of England. James was firm in his Catholic beliefs, and
he would bring about his own destruction. England demanded a Protestant ruler,
and they cried for James' Protestant daughter Mary. Mary and her husband the
“Protestant usurper” William of Orange was invited by the people of England to
rule in place of her father. William greedily accepted but only after he made
one condition on his wife. William would be co ruler with Mary because his ego
would never let him tolerate being merely a royal consort.
James daughters betrayed him for the crown, and he was
forced to flee with a broken heart. James was a good father. He loved his girls
even in a time when male children were favored. He doted on his girls
particularly Mary. Upon Mary’s coronation, she received a scathing letter from
her father cursing her for taking the crown from him. Mary still went on with the coronation, and
since she was never blessed with a child her sister Anne was proclaimed heir.
William and Mary’s reign began with turbulence, and their reign was not a free
loving one like her uncle Charles II. England hated William; he was cold and
never did anything fun. Worse yet he was severe to not only Mary but also
everyone else around him. Just like in the previous novel, William continued to
ill-treat Mary with his cruel uses.
Sadly the sisters had a falling out not long into Mary’s
reign. Childhood friend Sarah Churchill was the source of this falling out.
Mary did not like Sarah, and she also was clever enough to see that Sarah
Churchill directed the Princess Anne in all things. Mary became determined not
to let Sarah Churchill arise any farther than she already had. Anne was
determined not to lose her long time best friend and moved from the palace
cutting off all communication with her queenly sister. At that point, the only
thing the two sisters shared was the love of Anne’s only surviving child, the
little Duke of Gloucester.
The “little Duke” was the little treasure of the family and
oh how he twinkled. The whole family doted on the boy and were in perpetual
worry about his health because his “head was abnormally large”. It was said
that he had water on the brain, and he hardly walked without the aid of others.
As the little Duke grew he became a “serious soldier”. The Princess gave her
son his own “soldiers”; imagine ninety little nine-year-old boys in uniform
under the little Duke’s command. These good times for the royal family were
eventually marred by the bad, and it seemed there would be no peace for any of
the Stuart's unless it was in the grave.
4/5 I enjoyed this one, but there were too many people to
hate in it. William of Orange I have already established my dislike for him,
but the overwhelming Sarah Churchill reared her ugly head. She has taken
William’s place as my most hated person during this period. I unquestionably
loved the little Duke and his “army of men” they were so bad and funny all at
the same time. I even found myself laughing out loud at his antics. Jean Plaidy
is highly recommended here. This novel is one you have to read just to read
about Gloucester because he made this novel great.
FTC-this novel is from my personal collection
PG-13 some violence
Amazon
"Royal Sisters" by Jean Plaidy
The Stuart Saga by Jean Plaidy
~LIZZIE~
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