Virgin Earth
10 journalers for this copy...
This is an excellent book. I had read The Other Boleyn Girl by the same author and really enjoyed it and this is more of the same well-researched historical story telling.
Set during the English Civil War and the colonisation by English settlers of Virginia, the story the life of the royal gardener, John Tradescant. He ends up torn between his life in England with his family and the new life (and wife) in Virginia to which he flees to escape the encroaching war in England.
Once there he lives with the native tribe of the area, but ultimately cannot live torn between two vastly different worlds.
I knew a fair amount about the English Civil War, having studied it at school, but had never matched up the founding of Jamestown in Virginia as being within the same period. I also hadn't realised the extent to which the English settlers were ill-prepared and ill-equiped for their new lives, although I had read something of the brutality with which they treated the native People.
My only criticism was that it was a tad too long - the second half of the book is placed mainly in England, as John's family's troubles reflect those of the changing political climate. However....still a damn good read, moving and informative.
Good for anyone who likes history, gardening, a bit of romance and adventure.
Set during the English Civil War and the colonisation by English settlers of Virginia, the story the life of the royal gardener, John Tradescant. He ends up torn between his life in England with his family and the new life (and wife) in Virginia to which he flees to escape the encroaching war in England.
Once there he lives with the native tribe of the area, but ultimately cannot live torn between two vastly different worlds.
I knew a fair amount about the English Civil War, having studied it at school, but had never matched up the founding of Jamestown in Virginia as being within the same period. I also hadn't realised the extent to which the English settlers were ill-prepared and ill-equiped for their new lives, although I had read something of the brutality with which they treated the native People.
My only criticism was that it was a tad too long - the second half of the book is placed mainly in England, as John's family's troubles reflect those of the changing political climate. However....still a damn good read, moving and informative.
Good for anyone who likes history, gardening, a bit of romance and adventure.
I'm sending this on a bookring...shipping order below:
Nyassa (UK)
Eucalia (US)
Stardustedangel (US)
Drommie1810 (US)
Jamieh2003 (US)
Czersk (US
Adrienne10 (US)
MarianneF (UK)
Nefertari (UK)<-- Arrived with
And back to me!
I know this is a fairly hefty book :) but please don't hang onto the book for too long. Also, please journal when you receive and to let us know what you think. Thanks and enjoy! :)
Nyassa (UK)
Eucalia (US)
Stardustedangel (US)
Drommie1810 (US)
Jamieh2003 (US)
Czersk (US
Adrienne10 (US)
MarianneF (UK)
Nefertari (UK)<-- Arrived with
And back to me!
I know this is a fairly hefty book :) but please don't hang onto the book for too long. Also, please journal when you receive and to let us know what you think. Thanks and enjoy! :)
Journal Entry 3 by Koalabare at -- Controlled Release in -- Controlled Release, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- United Kingdom on Wednesday, March 31, 2004
Released on Wednesday, March 31, 2004 at Sent to a bookcrosser in Royal Mail, City of London, England United Kingdom.
OK, this has begun it's journey! Off to Nyassa!
OK, this has begun it's journey! Off to Nyassa!
Arrived today from Koalabare. Many thanks for arranging this ring.
It looks like a long read - 567 pages of close print. I'll do my best to be as fast as possible.
It looks like a long read - 567 pages of close print. I'll do my best to be as fast as possible.
This is the first Philippa Gregory book that I have read and, in spite of its length and the fact that I have several other rings waiting, I felt it was no effort to read it. I knew I was hooked when I started trawling the internet for more information on John Tradescant.
I have always been very interested in gardening so it was a theme that applealed from the start, indeed I would have like more on that than on Bonnie Prince Charlie. Equally I would have liked to have learned more about Virginia. The only problem with books of this type is that you are left wondering where does fact end and fiction begin? But I suppose that is no bad thing if you are prompted to find out more, and I am. My history teacher would be proud of me!
It will be on its way to Eucalia as soon as I can get to the post office.
I have always been very interested in gardening so it was a theme that applealed from the start, indeed I would have like more on that than on Bonnie Prince Charlie. Equally I would have liked to have learned more about Virginia. The only problem with books of this type is that you are left wondering where does fact end and fiction begin? But I suppose that is no bad thing if you are prompted to find out more, and I am. My history teacher would be proud of me!
It will be on its way to Eucalia as soon as I can get to the post office.
I received this book in the mail today. I will start it as soon as I finish the book I'm in the middle of now. Thanks, Koalabare, for sharing this book with us!
Journal Entry 7 by Eucalia at sent to bookcrosser in Mail, Bookring -- Controlled Releases on Tuesday, June 15, 2004
Released on Tuesday, June 15, 2004 at sent to bookcrosser in Mailed, Bookring Controlled Releases.
My apologies to the group for hanging on to this book for so long--I hit a really busy patch there for a couple of weeks.
This book was really well written and although it was long, it kept my attention the whole time. It made me interested to know more about English history during that time and I look forward to reading more of Ms. Gregory's books!
Thanks again for sharing this book with us, Koalabare. I mailed it off to Stardustedangel this morning.
My apologies to the group for hanging on to this book for so long--I hit a really busy patch there for a couple of weeks.
This book was really well written and although it was long, it kept my attention the whole time. It made me interested to know more about English history during that time and I look forward to reading more of Ms. Gregory's books!
Thanks again for sharing this book with us, Koalabare. I mailed it off to Stardustedangel this morning.
This came in the mail sometime last week while I was away. Started it when I returned and found I couldn't put it down! Good stuff...I'm going to have to hunt down other books by this author.
I'll send this off to the next person as soon as I know the mailing address=)
I'll send this off to the next person as soon as I know the mailing address=)
Journal Entry 9 by stardustedangel at post office at Pineville -- controlled release! in -- Mail or by hand-rings, RABCK, meetings , web, North Carolina USA on Wednesday, July 14, 2004
Released on Wednesday, July 14, 2004 at post office--controlled release! in Pineville, North Carolina USA.
sent out via media mail today. thanks again to Koalabare for sharing!
sent out via media mail today. thanks again to Koalabare for sharing!
Received in the mail yesterday.
I read the first chapter or so in traffic last night...and she's certainly got the Virginia climate right! It's swampy and buggy and just plain ol' yicky, and I'm in the middle of it. Thank goodness for AC.
Interesting related factoid: in the mid 1700's, average life expectancy in Virginia was 26-29 (a bit lower for women, due to childbirth), while average life expectancy in New England and Pennsylvania was approximately 60.
Looking forward to reading this one!
I read the first chapter or so in traffic last night...and she's certainly got the Virginia climate right! It's swampy and buggy and just plain ol' yicky, and I'm in the middle of it. Thank goodness for AC.
Interesting related factoid: in the mid 1700's, average life expectancy in Virginia was 26-29 (a bit lower for women, due to childbirth), while average life expectancy in New England and Pennsylvania was approximately 60.
Looking forward to reading this one!
Surprisingly quick read, for all its length, and really enjoyable!
I thought this was so much better than The Other Boleyn Girl, with a more finely drawn sense of setting and characters it was easy to get involved with. My personal favorites were Hester, with her practicality and sense of duty, and Lambert, who was just plain nice. John himself I thought would have occassionally benefitted from a smack, but he was still compelling and realistic.
The ending was a little disappointing (though it gives interesting insight to the origins of the Ashmolean) and I probably would have been a little let down just by the book coming to any end. Plus I'm still trying to figure out what John's "tulip tree" is, with flowers as big as your head. Maybe a magnolia.
I'm now in search of the first Tradescant book, which the back of this one says is Earthly Joys...anyone heard of or seen it about?
Thanks to Koalabare for initiating a *great* bookring!
I thought this was so much better than The Other Boleyn Girl, with a more finely drawn sense of setting and characters it was easy to get involved with. My personal favorites were Hester, with her practicality and sense of duty, and Lambert, who was just plain nice. John himself I thought would have occassionally benefitted from a smack, but he was still compelling and realistic.
The ending was a little disappointing (though it gives interesting insight to the origins of the Ashmolean) and I probably would have been a little let down just by the book coming to any end. Plus I'm still trying to figure out what John's "tulip tree" is, with flowers as big as your head. Maybe a magnolia.
I'm now in search of the first Tradescant book, which the back of this one says is Earthly Joys...anyone heard of or seen it about?
Thanks to Koalabare for initiating a *great* bookring!
Loved your journal entry Drommie - my thoughts on John were frequently very similar!!
'Earthly Joys' is available over here and is on my 'To get hold of' list - if it's as interesting as this one I may send it out as a ring...watch this space!
'Earthly Joys' is available over here and is on my 'To get hold of' list - if it's as interesting as this one I may send it out as a ring...watch this space!
Two things to mention here...
First, does anyone know who Jamie2003 is? My computer keeps saying she doesn't exist when I search for her, and I've been trying for a while, thinking it may have been a problem on my end. Koalabare- let me know if there's a different spelling I should try, or if I should send to the next person in line.
Secondly, ermintrude75 seems to have an Earthly Joys bookring going! I PMed her just now and asked if she was still taking names...watch this space for an update!
First, does anyone know who Jamie2003 is? My computer keeps saying she doesn't exist when I search for her, and I've been trying for a while, thinking it may have been a problem on my end. Koalabare- let me know if there's a different spelling I should try, or if I should send to the next person in line.
Secondly, ermintrude75 seems to have an Earthly Joys bookring going! I PMed her just now and asked if she was still taking names...watch this space for an update!
OK, totally my fault for this - the list should read jaimeh2003 after Drommie1810, not jaime2003.
Mea culpa!
Sorry for the confusion, and sorry to jaimeh2003 for getting your name wrong!
Mea culpa!
Sorry for the confusion, and sorry to jaimeh2003 for getting your name wrong!
Mailed out to jamieh2003 this morning (sorry for the delay...school just started and my mind isn't working well).
Also, Earthly Joys bookring is still open...PM ermintrude75 if interested.
Also, Earthly Joys bookring is still open...PM ermintrude75 if interested.
This was waiting for me at the post office when I returned from vacation. I'm really looking forward to reading it and promise to have it moving on within the next few days. Thanks for including me in this ring! I've become a huge fan of Gregory's this last year.
Wow! What a tale! With each work by Gregory I read I become a more devoted fan. I loved this tale that was set during the English Civil War (17th Century). I find that Gregory uses enough detail to capture your attention but then makes sure she holds it with these finely etched characters. Now I have to go find the first book in the series LOL Ah...you guys who send me so many excellent books to read via bookrings have no idea what kind of book buying binges I've been on lately;-)FYI, I did a search for tulip trees after reading drommie's comments but the one's I've found though is a member of the magnolia family are called yellow birch, and the flowers seem to only be about 2 inches or so in diameter...so, I'm not sure that would be the one. They are lovely trees though.
This will be off to Czersk as soon as I receive the mailing info.
Journal Entry 18 by jamieh2003 at N/A in N/A, A Bookcrossing member -- Controlled Releases on Thursday, September 16, 2004
Released 19 yrs ago (9/16/2004 UTC) at N/A in N/A, A Bookcrossing member -- Controlled Releases
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
RELEASE NOTES:
to czersk via media mail.
to czersk via media mail.
Just arrived today, and if it's anything like The Other Boleyn Girl, I'll love it. I will get to it as soon as I can.
After reading this book almost non-stop for almost a week, I finally finished at around 10:36 last night. Wow! That was a big book. I felt it kind of drug on a bit. A good story, don't get me wrong, I couldn't put it down, but I felt that it just wouldn't end and it wouldn't be until the end of the 18th century before Phillipa decided she had had enough.
SPOILER:
I was SHOCKED when I read that King Charles I was executed and that there was such a long interregnum between monarchs. I NEVER knew that, and I pride myself on having a fair grasp of British history. Not that I mourned him. I thought he was an idiot, and so was he son. I really wanted Lambert to be the leader, but I knew that wasn't going to happen, otherwise we wouldn't have a QEII. I got to thinking how different the world would be if the monarchy had ended then and there with Charles. Would America still exist as it does now? There would never have been a Queen Victoria, and as a result no Romanovs as we remember them, with the hemophilia problems. Would there have been all of those wars (Amer. Rev., War of 1812, WWI and WWII)? What about all the English literature? Whoa.
Now I need to read the first one.
On to Adrienne10 . . .
SPOILER:
I was SHOCKED when I read that King Charles I was executed and that there was such a long interregnum between monarchs. I NEVER knew that, and I pride myself on having a fair grasp of British history. Not that I mourned him. I thought he was an idiot, and so was he son. I really wanted Lambert to be the leader, but I knew that wasn't going to happen, otherwise we wouldn't have a QEII. I got to thinking how different the world would be if the monarchy had ended then and there with Charles. Would America still exist as it does now? There would never have been a Queen Victoria, and as a result no Romanovs as we remember them, with the hemophilia problems. Would there have been all of those wars (Amer. Rev., War of 1812, WWI and WWII)? What about all the English literature? Whoa.
Now I need to read the first one.
On to Adrienne10 . . .
Rec'd a couple days ago. I've started it, but have 3 exams and a report due, besides homework and regular work the next 7 days. Will update when finished.
Update 11/27: I'm a little behing reading this book. I haven't taken it to opportunities to read it, and then I received a new release library book that I've been looking forward to for several months. Bad adrienne10, I read the library book. It took a couple days to read.
I'm going to admit now that I'm finding this a very hard to read book. It is not holding my interest well, and I'm not sure that I can stomach some of it. If I can't finish it within the next 10 days, I'll send it on.
Update 11/27: I'm a little behing reading this book. I haven't taken it to opportunities to read it, and then I received a new release library book that I've been looking forward to for several months. Bad adrienne10, I read the library book. It took a couple days to read.
I'm going to admit now that I'm finding this a very hard to read book. It is not holding my interest well, and I'm not sure that I can stomach some of it. If I can't finish it within the next 10 days, I'll send it on.
I finished this book today. Yes, it took me a long time to read. I had very little "extra" reading time over the past month, and, I must admit, when I had a good weekend for reading, read a library book of a new release I had been waiting for since September.
This is my first Philippa Gregory book, and I joined the bookring because I had heard mnay good things about her writing. I do not generally read historical fiction because I do not like it. Ms. Gregory is a good writer, albeit I agree this book is a little long.
I had to struggle through some things in the beginning. I assume Ms. Gregory has done her research, and so I learned quite a bit about English History with the Stuart Kings. As an American, we are taught quite a bit about Native American history and I took an extra course in college on the subject. The fiction part of the John/Suckahanna story was interesting.
I had to speed read some parts of the novel as it grew a little dull in places. I'm glad I read it and did push through when I thought I might stop and move on. Thank you for sharing this book. I apologize for keeping it so long. I will pass it along as soon as I have an address for the next person to get the book.
This is my first Philippa Gregory book, and I joined the bookring because I had heard mnay good things about her writing. I do not generally read historical fiction because I do not like it. Ms. Gregory is a good writer, albeit I agree this book is a little long.
I had to struggle through some things in the beginning. I assume Ms. Gregory has done her research, and so I learned quite a bit about English History with the Stuart Kings. As an American, we are taught quite a bit about Native American history and I took an extra course in college on the subject. The fiction part of the John/Suckahanna story was interesting.
I had to speed read some parts of the novel as it grew a little dull in places. I'm glad I read it and did push through when I thought I might stop and move on. Thank you for sharing this book. I apologize for keeping it so long. I will pass it along as soon as I have an address for the next person to get the book.
Journal Entry 23 by adrienne10 at through mail in Give to the followed bookcrosser on the bookring, Bookring -- Controlled Releases on Tuesday, December 28, 2004
Released on Tuesday, December 28, 2004 at about 10:00:00 PM BX time (GMT-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada) at through mail in Give to the followed bookcrosser on the bookring, Bookring Controlled Releases.
RELEASE NOTES:
Sending to MarianneF as soon as I get to the post office.
RELEASE NOTES:
Sending to MarianneF as soon as I get to the post office.
This boom just arrived today. Received it as part of a Bookring from Koalabare.
My only reservation about this book was the simplistic ways in which groups of people were dealt with. It tended to be native americans and parliamentarians = good, settlers and royalists = bad. This is itself a generalization, but prety accurate and to me this signifies lack of characterization.
Otherwise I found the story kept me gripped and I loved the atmosphere created. There was always the feling that something awful was going to happen, which added to the suspence. A very enjoyable read.
Otherwise I found the story kept me gripped and I loved the atmosphere created. There was always the feling that something awful was going to happen, which added to the suspence. A very enjoyable read.
Put this book in post today to Nefertari the next person in ring.
This arrived with me this morning. I'll try and read it as soon as possible.
I really enjoyed this, particularly the historical detail which is always wonderful in Gregory's books. I haven't read Earthly Joys, so I'd really like to read that and then maybe read this one again in another year or so. Thanks for the opportunity to read it! It might be another week before I can send this back to Koalabare as I probably won't be able to get to the post office 'til half term.
This book has arrived home! Thanks to everyone who took part in this ring and made journal entries - it's been great to read what you all thought of it!
This book is now off on loan to a friend - hoping that all the journal entries for it will persuade her to try BookCrossing! :)
11th October - well, she liked the book and was intrigued by BookCrossing, so will keep slinging BC books at her until she succumbs ;)
This book is now off on loan to a friend - hoping that all the journal entries for it will persuade her to try BookCrossing! :)
11th October - well, she liked the book and was intrigued by BookCrossing, so will keep slinging BC books at her until she succumbs ;)
