Jean Plaidy is the Queen of Historical Fiction

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When I was working on my historical fiction blog last week, I noticed that my original list of recommendations was like 90% Jean Plaidy. Quite simply, Jean Plaidy is the queen of historical fiction (which is funny because she writes about royalty a lot).

In case you've never heard of Jean Plaidy (not her real name), she was an English novelist who wrote tons of books under a bunch of different pseudonyms, but her historical fiction was mostly written under the name Jean Plaidy.

The first book I read by her was Victoria in the Wings, a novel about the succession crisis that resulted in Queen Victoria's birth. With a title like Victoria in the Wings, you would think that the book would mostly be about Queen Victoria, however I was surprised, though not disappointed, to realize that that was not the case. Like a lot of her novels that I later read, Plaidy approaches the historical figure by first firmly establishing the political and familial setting.

I appreciate that in a world where most modern historical fiction is to busy trying to get to the 'good stuff' to bother with the actual history. I mean, it's called 'historical fiction' for a reason, it's supposed to be historical. I like Jean Plaidy's novels because she is fairly factual and, shockingly, it's even possible to learn something.

So, if you're actually interested in actually learning something from your historical fiction, you should visit the Jean Plaidy section of your library today. My favorite Jean Plaidy novel is Mary, Queen of France, which I wrote about in my Historical Fiction Recommendations blog, but I also really like her series about Lucrezia Borgia, Madonna of the Seven Hills and Light on Lucrezia. I enjoyed A Favorite of the Queen, which was about Robert Dudley, The Plantagenet Prelude, which was about Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II, and Victoria Victorious, which was about Queen Victoria, as well.

I'm also planning to read her books To Hold the Crown, which is about Elizabeth of York and Henry VII, The Sun in Splendour, which is about Richard III (and, if you've read by blogs about the White Queen, then you all know how I feel about him), and The Reluctant Queen, about Anne Neville (you all know how I feel about her too).

Also, a lot of her books are being reprinted with new covers. That's always fun.

Just readin'

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