Partage des connaissances

Nom légal: Barnes, Margaret Campbell Wood
Autres noms: Barnes, Margaret Campbell
Date de naissance: 1891-02-27
Date de décès: 1962-04-01
Sexe: female
Nationalité: UK
Lieu de naissance: Rotherfield, England, UK
Lieux de résidence: Isle of Wight, England, UK
Rotherfield, England, UK (birth)
Professions: historical novelist
Courte biographie: Margaret Campbell Wood was born on 17 February 1891 in Rotherfield, Sussex, England, UK. She was the youngest of ten children, who lied a happy childhood in the Sussex countryside. She was eventually educated at small private schools in Paris and London.

She married Peter Barnes in 1917, a furniture salesman, and the couple had two sons, Michael and John. Michael, a Royal Armoured Corps Lieutenant, was killed during WW II. She died on 1 April 1962 in Yarmouth, Isle of Wight.

Her books are historical novels, called Shadows of the Crown, that follow the history of the English Crown. The majority of her books were written between the 1940's and 1950's. Her last and posthumous novel Lady on the Coin was finished by the novelist Hebe Elsna

Over two million copies of Margaret's historical novels have been sold worldwide.

Her historical fiction has recently seen a renewed interest and her excellent writing and research outshines the majority of the "historical" books on the market today.

Membres

Critiques

King's Fool: A Notorious King, His Six Wives, and… par Margaret Campbell Barnes

Will Somers was Henry VIII’s court jester from the time his daughter Mary was around 10 years old. Will remained Henry’s jester through all Henry’s wives until Henry passed away. Initially, Will found work for a local merchant, but when he accompanied that merchant to Court, he was enticed to stay and work as Henry’s jester. Will apparently became quite close with Henry and his family. This book has a fictional romance component to it.

There was a short author’s note at the start that explained that the romance was fictional, though much of the rest of the story is true; I always appreciate that kind of note or I would have wondered. I actually found Will’s life more interesting initially when he worked for the merchant, but then my interest waxed and waned through the rest of it. It seemed like Henry went through his last 5 wives very quickly in this book (and I suppose he really did, but this book seemed to speed that up), but of course that wasn’t the focus of the book, either. Overall, it was ok for me.… (plus d'informations)

Signalé

LibraryCin | 8 autres critiques | Apr 30, 2023 |

Brief Gaudy Hour: A Novel of Anne Boleyn par Margaret Campbell Barnes

This book is about Anne Boleyn and I really enjoyed it. What was interesting for me, is that the author was writing at the same time as another historical novelist Jean Plaidy, whose books I have also read.

The difference is that Plaidy's books are a little dry, just covering the known historical facts, whereas this fictionalised account really put meat on the bones.

I look forward to reading more from this author. Also she wrote her books on the Isle of Wight which is where I am from so I am even more pleased that I actually liked the book.… (plus d'informations)

Signalé

LisaBergin | 4 autres critiques | Apr 12, 2023 |

My Lady of Cleves par Margaret Campbell Barnes

I love Anne of Cleves, but I just couldn't get into this book. The parts that featured Henry VIII weren't very interesting, and of course it's a book about his wives so he's in it quite a few times. I liked the invention of a hopeless love between court painter Hans Holbein and Anne. I just gave up reading. It's not boring, exactly, it's just... not intriguing, I guess? I'm not sure. I read books before I go to bed and I found I was putting off going to bed so I wouldn't have to read the book. It's not BAD. I'm sure for readers in 1952 who didn't have a wealth of other, more exciting Tudor fiction it was pretty good.
Also my copy (published in 1952!) was full of typos and there's some occasionally confusing sentence structure, so I'd have to go back and reread something three times to figure out who was talking. Like it would say "...he said" but the dialogue sounded like it should've been said by Anne.

I mean I love reading but it took me a month to get through 40 pages. My recommendation is to check it out of a library if possible, don't buy unless you can get it for super cheap.

Also this isn't really a review, but the cover for the 1952 version is hilarious - we all know approximately what Anne looked like because of a few paintings of her, but the 1952 cover features a 1950s-style pinup of an almost blue-skinned woman with shoulder-length black hair and curved bangs. Looks absolutely nothing like Anne of Cleves, it's actually pretty funny.… (plus d'informations)

Signalé

momelimberham | 9 autres critiques | Jun 8, 2022 |