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I received this great Wishlist book for my birthday as part of the 2014 Birthday Group! Thanks so much and I am really looking forward to reading this one very soon :)

Eloise Rousell is the seamstress and lady-in-waiting to Princess Elizabeth of England and stays by her side throughout the turmoil of both her brother and sister's reigns.
Eloise becomes involved in the plots to overthrow Queen Mary and spends some time in the tower but is eventually released and all their work comes to fruition when Elizabeth is crowned Queen.

I really enjoyed this look at Tudor life told from another point of view. Now ready to move on

Sharing my Historical Fiction books, happy reading!

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The extremely generous, and well named, bookstogive shared this lovely morsel of historical fiction with me, knowing it's a taste we have in common. Thank you!

A big part of the fun of reading historical fiction is that it's a pleasant and easy way of picking up new bits of interesting historical knowledge. Sadly, that was almost completely lacking in this book. Very likely the reason, for me, is that I've already read so much about the Tudors. Someone who is newer to the period could likely find it quite informative. However, for all the importance of the main character's profession of sewing Elizabeth's wardrobe, there was a disappointing lack of details. There were vague generalities about "lustrous silks and satins" and "rippling velvet," and a few terms like "bodice" and "overskirt" tossed in. I was interested enough to wish Ashley had added some pictures, or at least drawings.

The one exception came late in the book (page 309): a reference to "mahoitered sleeves." Say what?? In my opinion, a writer who uses a term that obscure has a responsibility to provide more information - a footnote of description, or in this case, a drawing. Here's a picture I found: http://www.gogmsite.net/the_middle_1500s_-_1550_to_/subalbum-margaret-of-parma/1552_margaret_duchess_of_pa.html
I'm glad I took a few minutes to mouse around, because there are some fascinating, and gorgeous, examples online.

But that's just one person's opinion. Future readers, what do YOU think?

On top shelf of LFL.