Daughters of England. Phillipa Carr. Ivy Books. 1997.

Book review by Tracey
I found this story to be interesting, yet somehow I missed something in it. Not the storyline, just the real emotions behind the actions. Some authors are extremely gifted at showing the reader just what their characters are feeling. It makes the characters seem very real. This author, who has many, many novels, several of which I have read and enjoyed immensely, is not as good at description as some. She has good stories, though, and they are usually RIGHT TO THE POINT. This story is first about Sarah Standish, a naïve girl who has an interesting life as a commoner in the last half of the 15th century. She is eventually duped into a mock marriage and has a daughter, Kate. I won’t tell you what happens to Sarah in the end, but the second half of the book is narrated by Kate. I actually had read this book before. I kept thinking it seemed too familiar, but as I read a lot, I thought perhaps I had just read something similar. Nope. Anyway, I got through it again with little trouble. I was pretty sure I remembered what was going to happen all along, but not quite sure enough to put it down and say I knew, so I had to finish. Phillipa Carr and Jean Plaidy are also known as Victoria Holt. I imagine almost anyone who reads will recognize one of these names, and have probably read at least one of her novels. Lots of material to choose from with this author. The Victoria Holt Web site actually lists a whole Daughters of England Series, of which this selection is the latest. Maybe I should have started at the beginning!

Tracey.