Queen The Books

Copies of this book are on sale in the gift shop at the Palace of Versailles. That's saying something for a book published, in English, in 1961. I figured there must be a reason and I was right. This fascinating page-turner is equal parts social history, shadowy mystery, and riveting tale of intrigue. The story is told primarily through masterfully translated excerpts from contemporary source materials--diaries, memoirs, autobiographies. In all honesty I rarely read books this long anymore, but this did not seem long at all. Finally, this title will expand your vocabulary--I guess readers were familiar with more words in 1961!

In 1785 The Queen's Necklace scandal broke over France. Queen Marie Antoinette was alleged to have bought a diamond necklace worth over 1.6 million franks and refused to pay for it, and had Cardinal Prince Rohan, a long time courtier out of favour, arrested for it along with his accomplices the Countess de la Motte-Valois and the famous mystic Count Cagliostro.

This book is a series of fascinating first person accounts of how the necklace swindle occurred and the trial that followed it. Most of the people involved in the scandal wrote their memoirs and virtually all the court related documentation is still available in France in archives. This book is a compilation of these memoirs and legal statements made by all the parties involved in this crime which opened the monarchy and France to the fury of the revolution.

The author does not impose her own interpretation of the events on the reader, but does provide explanations to the backgrounds of the people involved and the social and political niceties of the time that explain why people acted as they did.

This book is a lively account of this important French scandal that, because of the first person accounts, reads like a novel. If the story wasn't true it would be hard to credit such a cast of interesting characters, with their extravagant and wildly different backgrounds, coming together like this to play a crucial role in the downfall of the French Monarchy. Its also very interesting to compare this book to what is portrayed in the movie of the same name. There are a number of very significant differences!

The Queen's Necklace is a remarkable book. As an avid reader of French Revolutionary history, I was initially daunted by its 500+ pages, but the style of writing with it's excerpts from period memoirs, made it eminently readable. I found myself unable to stop reading. The use of the memoirs, particularly when they contradict each other so strongly, presents the reader with the opportunity to weigh each version and use them to "read between the lines" to obtain the story - or in some cases, "a" story - by the memoirs' authors themselves.

It was a delightful read with virtually no connection to the movie of the same name. What a wasted opportunity that was! The real story is the stuff of movie making, had the writer and producer used this book, the film might have been a hit. Sophia Coppola, with her "Marie Antoinette" film could have benefitted from this book as it accurately presents Marie Antoinette at a time when her fate had already been decided in the minds of the public by libelous pamphleteers and the actions of such self-interested, self-involved charlatans as Madame La Motte-Valois, the central character in this story.

I was fortunate to be able to see the San Francisco Legion of Honor exhibit on Marie Antoinette and the Grand Trianon as I was reading this book. It served to reinforce what a great book this is.

Al Pereira's writing style and photographic genius has created a hip hop Joy of Cooking for the '90's. A must for any one who is a scholar of older rap or good food.

Reading this book made my mouth water. I can't wait to try out some of the recipes. The photos of all my favorite artists are phat!

Rappers' Delight is a great cookbook for novice chefs--especially kids. The rappers represented are mostly old school, but the photos are timeless. There's a great deal of humour in this book, in the photographs, the commentary, and the recipes themselves. The personality of each performer is conveyed in his or her contribution, and the author is good-natured and well-versed in rap history. This book makes a wonderful gift for anyone interested in either rap or quick and easy American cooking.

This is a great story for girls and boys between 6 and 10 years old.

This is my 3 year-old's current favorite - it's got it all: Bike riding action, singing (we made up tunes to the rhymes), construction, drama...sharing. Lots of fun; it's the most requested bedtime reading, by far. We originally got it from the library, but have decided to invest in a copy of our own. If your child is a bike-riding fan, this book is a must-have.

My favorite children's book author, Cari Best captures the independence and creativity of children with her wonderful language. I'd been waiting for this book to be released and I certainly wasn't disappointed! My five year old declared -- I love this book!

Beautiful book. Very colorful illustrations and equally colorful language. I never read a book that would make you sense different colors. For last 3 years, my daughter and me, are coming to this book over and over.
maggie

This is the best children's book I have ever read. It is about a girl who's sisters have married an evil king and then mysteriously died. She most marry him if she plans to find out what happened to them. It has wonderful pictures that make you feel your there. I would buy it just for that.

This is a great story for both adults and children. It is about a poor girl who's sisters have married an evil king and then mysteriously died. When here family runs out of money she agrees to marry the king. She also hopes that she will find out how her sisters died. I read it in grade two and I've been looking for it for years. It is a wonderful fairy tale. This book has the most amazy pictures I have ever seen they make you feel like your actually there.

For any fan of the classic Battletech universe, this is essential reading. Patrick Kell's "wife", the reason Tormano Liao split for exile in the Federated Suns, and a once-a-decade interview with then-Major Natasha Kerensky, the "Black Widow" her very own self.

It's worth it for the art. Almost every piece of art FASA ever used for everything from novel covers to miniatures boxes is there, an easy way to replace all the stuff you hung on your wall and Mom trashed when you left home.

This is a very good read if you can find it. Quite a few short stories from William Keith, Michael Stackpole, and other authors. The stories are well written and entertaining. You can often find this on ebay and get it for a relatively decent price.

I managed to find a copy of this book a few years ago and I think it is worth all the money I spent on it. It is a compilation of short stories by some Battletech novelists such as Michael A. Stackpole and William H. Keith, and also some other authors such as Bear Peters, Mark O. Green and others. The short stories are of excellent quality, especially Stackpole's, Keith's and Peters' works. With this book being published in 1988, it details the time of the Third to the Fourth Succession Wars. Artwork taken from the covers of the early Battletech novels, scenario packs, sourcebooks, blueprints, technical readouts and some original ones can be found throughout the book. All in all, this is one is as valuable as lostech if you ever want to ask Amazon.com to search for it. For those of you who have the patience for this order, you will be rewarded with stories that detail the unexpected bits of life and death in the Inner Sphere.

Some years ago, we stumbled upon these books at the library. They were an instant hit - every single one in the Sir Cumference series! We check out lots of books but this one the children remembered. In fact, we hadn't checked these out for a couple of years when one son started a new geometry section in math and asked me to get these again so he could review! My preschooler thinks of these as fun stories and enjoys the illustrations while the older crew is making the connections to mathematical concepts they are learning. For example, one child always keeps diameter and radius straight because of the book characters (Radius is the little guy!). I highly recommend this series as enjoyable literature that will help your children remember their geometry. The books also have an object or character (jester, seagull, rat, cat, etc.) that appears on most pages which is an extra bit of fun to look for. I love the rich colors and oil painting technique too (I may be wrong about the oil painting but that's the feel of it). I decided these belong in our home library and was especially pleased that Amazon was running its buy 3 get 1 free promotion just then.

I love these stories and so did my students. This book came in good condition.

I purchased the whole set for homeschooling purposes and it really drives home the concepts in a fun way with the kids not realizing they are learning geometry. This is as fun as Cyberchase in a book format. Highly recommend these!

After reading Archibald's 'Whales for the Wizard' I had to read more of his work. 'Soldier of the Queen' is the first of a trilogy concerning Drew Selkirk, a young farmer from the Scottish Borders who joins the army to escape trouble and ends up fighting in the Boer War.
Bloody battles mix with an intriguing romantic life, and Selkirk experiences life as an irregular cavalryman during teh siege of Kimberley before returning to the infantry at the battle of Paardeberg, where the Canadians were also involved.
I recommend this book thoroughly.

I must admit that I had never heard of the Boer War before I read this book. Now I know quite a lot - and have been attracted by Archibald's method of mingling history with fiction to form a truly exciting story.
Will there be a follow up?

Until I read Malcolm Archibald's prize winning 'Whales for the Wizard', I had not heard of him as an author. Now I cannot get enough of his books. 'Soldier of the Queen' is a mixture of solid fact and absorbing fiction that had me gripping the edge of my seat. I followed the adventures of young Drew Selkirk in the Royal Borderers (was that a real regiment? I'm not sure) and hope that there will be a sequel.
Will Selkirk fall in love with the enigmatic Georgina? I hope so!

This is a nice story about a prince and princess who love to read and tell stories. They think they are rebelling from their parents but they are only finding each other.

In this book a princess faces a loveless arranged marriage and declares she would rather be washed overboard than to marry someone she has not chosen herself. Of course, her wish comes true and she is washed overboard the ship she is sailing on to meet her betrothed. Soon she finds herself competing to tell a story with an ending a prince cannot predict. The story is entertaining, albeit predictable for adults, and provides positive role models for children. The power of story is shown as the princess and the prince hopefully live happily ever after with lots of great stories to share.

The illustrations are particularly beautiful and romantic without sappiness. The book should be well received by the younger set who are tired of their traditional fairy tales and want a new story to read.

Once upon a time, a King told his son that the time had come for him to marry and he had arranged for the Prince to marry a Princess from a far off kingdom across the sea. The Prince, not happy with his fate and lack of choice declared, "I will only marry the Princess I pick for myself." But the King was insistent and the Prince finally agreed to a contest. He would marry the Princess if his father could find anyone in the kingdom who could tell him a story with an ending he didn't know. At the same time, a Princess, in a far off kingdom is boarding a ship with her parents to cross the sea for an arranged marriage to a Prince. She too, is not happy. "I'd rather be washed overboard in a storm at sea." And as fate would have it, that's exactly what happens. After many days in the water, she finally washes ashore in a strange land and finds a dry sailor's suit to wear. Disguised and needing money, she enters a contest to tell a young Prince a story, a new and special story, with an ending he's never heard before..... Rafe Martin has written a charming and imaginative old fashioned fairy tale, complete with happily ever after ending that's perfect for youngsters 4-8. His evocative text is beautifully depicted in Kimberly Bulcken Root's detailed and expressive artwork, done in soft tones of blues and golds. Though the ending is predictable, the enjoyment is in the getting there and this is a satisfying story children will want to read again and again.

I am deeply impressed by this book.I really like Marguerite of Burgundy.She is independent woman who is not afraid of her sexuality.Even when she is denounced she keep self-respect and she never said that she made a fault.Some think that she was a whore but it is understandable when you are married such person like Louis X-cruel,dull,ugly,quarrelsome,uncapable to satisfy his wife.I think that she was judged too severely.Isabella,the daughter of Philip IV,exposed and blamed her deed but later she also had a lover.Her husband is supposed to be a gay.Both Marguerite and Isabell have their arguments but Morguerite is supposed to be the fornicatress and is sentensed to death.It is so unfair,life is unfair!We shouldn't judge the other people too strictly!!

Marguerite of Bourgogne having fallen into disgrace is emprisoned in Chateau Gaillard. This (her emprisonment rather then her sentence to death) leaves King Louis X le Hutin (her estranged husband) still married and without a women at is side as well as without an heir to the trone of France (since Jeanne de Navarre is considered by Louis as a bastard). Only one of two solutions to solve this problem: either Marguerite grant annulment to Louis (allowing him to take a wife) or Marguerite dies...

One of the seven in the series "The Accursed Kings", "The Strangled Queen" is the story of Marguerite of Burgundy, the ill fated wife of Louis X of France. Incredible historical accuracy, attention to detail and high literary form make this novel more than good reading, like all the other in the series. If you can find all seven, by all means, get them!

There is nothing I will not do for Queen Kunti. I love Kunti!!!!

I once owned a limited edition copy of this amazing book signed by (His Divine Grace) A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada's mother which I read daily and adopted as my spiritual path to enlightenment and to rajputs. Sadly, after an evening of rajputs finest, a little castle eden and a life altering experience in a dusty library in the north of England I somehow managed to leave Queen Kunti behind. But I have never forgotten the Teachings of Queen Kunti. The massive hole in my life has alas been filled with over-eating and gout. But no matter how many pies I have eaten and will continue to eat - nothing will take the Kunti out of me. I only hope that whoever picked up my copy of this book will treasure it as I treasured it, and not forsake it as I so foolishly did in my youth just for a bit of carnal darkness in a darkened library. Ooo war she wit?

I stumbled upon this book in a dusty library and instantly fell in love. It's universal themes of purity, understanding and aural awareness touched a part of me I never knew existed. I can honestly say that this book has changed my life for the better. In fact, I plan on giving it to a friend so that he too, can learn about the teachings of Queen Kunti.