Elizabeth Loupas
Auteur de The Second Duchess
Œuvres de Elizabeth Loupas
To The End of Time 1 exemplaire
Étiqueté
Partage des connaissances
- Nom canonique
- Loupas, Elizabeth
- Sexe
- female
Membres
Critiques
Listes
Prix et récompenses
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Statistiques
- Œuvres
- 4
- Membres
- 472
- Popularité
- #52,190
- Évaluation
- 4.0
- Critiques
- 56
- ISBN
- 24
- Langues
- 2
Marina Leslie/Rinette is a lady-in-waiting and prophetess first to Mary of Guise and then Mary of Scots. Readers are introduced to the beginning of Mary's reign as queen, which are turbulent yet glamorous. Marina has no interest in the glamour, though. She wants to find out who murdered her husband, and she plays a dangerous game when she bargains with Mary of Scot. See, Marina holds a special prophecy from Mary's mother written by the famed Nostradamus. Marina was supposed to hand this over as soon as Mary landed in Scotland, but one thing after another kept getting in the way, leading to her husband's untimely death. However, blinded by grief, Marina will resort to anything to have justice, including teaming up with the enigmatic and somewhat androgynous Nico de Clerac, an advisor first to Mary of Guise and then her daughter.
Marina is quick-thinking, romantic, headstrong, and not afraid of taking risks if the reward is the guaranteed safety of her loved ones. She was fascinating to read about, and the writing was so well done that I felt like I was next to her every step of the way.
The supporting cast was vibrant and really made the story come to life. Nico de Clerac is the epitome of the French diplomat: de-escalating situations with his words all while wearing earrings and fancy clothes. Queen Mary is in her late teens/early twenties throughout the story, and she comes off as very mercurial, the exact opposite of Saorise Ronan's portrayal in the biopic. Personally, I didn't mind this interpretation. According to Loupas, Mary of Scots was actually quite temperamental in real life, so it was interesting reading about this. The rest of the Scottish court is full of menacing men in what I imagine to be dark mustaches all vying for power and chafing at the fact that a young woman is queen while another young woman the same age holds Scotland's greatest secrets in her hands.
Indeed, women's rights, women's places in marriage, and women's roles in general take center stage in this novel. The reality is that women in this time period had very little power, and while both Marina Leslie and Queen Mary exercise great power over the course of the novel, they are both often shown to be quite powerless, and the results are often near fatal. However, the novel is overall very triumphant. It's definitely worth the read, as all of the trials and tribulations make the end that much sweeter. While we know the fate of Queen Mary of Scots does not end well (that isn't shown in this book but it is heavily implied), the fate of Marina Leslie is glorious. The heroine saves herself time and time again, making her the most inspirational of all of Loupas's heroines, in my opinion. And so, if you read any of Loupas's books, let it be The Flower Reader.… (plus d'informations)