Queens of England Books In Order

Publication Order of Queens Of England Books

Victoria Holt was the pen name of Eleanor Hibbert, an English novelist specializing in various genres namely gothic and romantic fiction, and historical fiction. Eleanor Hibbert was birth name was Eleanor Alice Burford. According to popular opinion, Holt was born on September 1, 1906 in the present day London Borough of Newham, London, United Kingdom. However, there are conflicting accounts of the year she was born; some sources cite 1906 while others opine 1910. The author’s private life was shroud in misery as she did not comment on it. She died on January 19, 1993 as a result of accident at sea. Holt was aboard the Sea Princess during the time of her death; the cruise ship embarked on an ill-fated voyage and she died at an area nestled between Athens, Greece and Port Said City, Egypt.

Victoria Holt is unarguably Plaidy’s commonest pen name, under which she published the Queens of England series. However, she had a laundry list of pseudonyms which varied in the same vein as her works. Holt was alternatively known as Philippa Carr and Jean Plaidy. The genre she wrote determined the pen name under which she published. For instance, she published fictional accounts of monarchies in Europe, as evident in the appropriately named the Queens of England series, using the pen name Jean Plaidy. She adopted the Victoria Holt for her Gothic horror books. In the same context, she used the pseudonym Philippa Carr for family saga fiction.

She had other pseudonyms in different eras. In the formative years of her writing career, during the 1950’s, she used three pen names–Eleanor Burford, Ellalice Tate, Kathleen Kellow, and Eleanor Burford. Other pen names, which she used from the 1960’s, are the famous Victoria Holt and Anna Percival. She created the pen name Philippa Carr later on in her writing life. In her extensive writing career, she used a total of eight pseudonyms. Not surprisingly, her fans who read one novel published under one pseudonym did not notice the other pseudonyms. Holt penned more than 200 books which have been translated into over 20 different European languages, Near Eastern languages, and Asian languages. Under her different pen names, she has sold over 100 million copies over the years since she penned her first book.

Despite the paucity of her private life, it is known that she was home schooled. In her teenage, she attended a business college for vocational training. Shortly thereafter, she worked in a jewellery shop. She also briefly became a language interpreter, interpreting French and German languages especially for tourists. As a young adult, she married fellow bibliophile George Percival Hibbert. Her husband, a businessman dealing with leather, was nearly twice her age. She identified herself her using a pen name partly inspired by husband’s name–the pseudonym Anna Percival.

For her finesse of fifty years of writing experience, a period during which she produced critically-acclaimed novels, she was, in 1989, awarded, most notably, the Golden Treasure award by the Romance Writers of America. A non-profit organization, Romance Writers of America awarded her for her notable and commendable effort of contributing to romance fiction.

Queens of England Series
Queens of England is a serialized fictitious account of European monarchies. Like other works denoting fictional European royalty, the Queens of England series was published under the pen name Jean Plaidy. There is a total of eleven books, and many editions, in this series and which were published between 1983 and 1993.

The following are the first two of Holt’s books in the Queens of England series. The first one, called “Myself, My Enemy”, was first originally published in 1983. The second one is called “Queen of This Realm” and was originally published in 1985. There have been twenty and nineteen subsequent editions of the two series, respectively, from different publishing houses. In all editions, however, the basic story remains the same.

Myself, My Enemy: Queens of England Series
In the first series of Queens of England, “Myself, My Enemy”, the plot of the historical recount revolves around Henrietta Maria of France and the monarch King Charles I of England. Incidentally, Maria also has royal ancestry as she is the child of a monarch on whom regicide was committed, King IV of France. Maria’s religion was, like the rest of her royal family members, Roman Catholicism. On the other hand, King Charles’ religion was Anglican which was in many ways similar to Reformed Protestantism.

Queen Maria marries King Charles I, making her a royal family member in England. The cynosure is her religion. She is a staunch adherent of her religion and refuses to let go of her religion, something that does not augur well for the predominantly strict Protestant England. The people of England have a stereotypical view of Catholics, holding a sneaking suspicion of them. The stereotypical opinion of the English towards Catholics is based on Mary I of England who was given the sobriquet “Bloody Mary” by Protestants who executed her. The English population disdained her for her being a staunch Catholic, gossiping, having great enthusiasm for music, taste for fashion, and beauty. Her husband, King Charles I, was a complete contrast; he was a person of principle and honor, who greatly loved her and their family.

The greatest undoing of their love, though genuine and mutual, was the reason behind their marriage. Queen Maria’s marriage to her was seen as crucial for maintaining cordial and good relations between France and England. However, the English people felt cheated, for she was seen as Rome’s Trojan horse, discreetly trying to convert Protestant English people into Catholic English. This inspired especially the Puritans, who embarked on a mission to “purify” Protestant England from Catholic elements. And for that to be accomplished the carotid vein that was King Charles I had to be cut through, inevitably, regicide.

Queen of This Realm: Queens of England Series
Novelist Jean Plaidy wrote the second book in the Queens of England series, “Queen of This Real”, in a seeming urge to portray it as a memoir. In the same token, this book appears as an autobiographical recount of Queen Elizabeth I of England. The book paints a vivid recount of her as an impressive politician, art enthusiast, and one whose legacy lives on. But she was not with a flip side. To sum it up, bad aspects contained therein are the musings of the unfulfilled aspects of Queen Elizabeth Is life: befogged by childlessness in the wake of her powerful father Henry VIII of England, chagrined by her quest for elusive love to Robert Dudley, hazed by not marrying Dudley, and dazed by the memory of commanding her relative Mary Queen of Scots to be killed.

Her real name is Eleanor Alice Burford. She was a British author with nearly two hundred novels under her pseudo, Jean Plaidy. She published books, which sold 14 million copies before her demise.

Queens of England Best Books

Myself, My Enemy #1Queens of England

Queen Henrietta Maria is a staunch Catholic believer. She is aware of the consequences of practicing her faith in the predominantly protestant English kingdom. Despite her Catholic beliefs, a few citizens adore their queen and find her lovable and fashionable. Henrietta quickly gains the favor of many, including Charles, her husband and a devout man of principle. Their happiness is short-lived when the Pope charges Henrietta into wooing England back to the Roman faith. Her castle soon fills up with spies and enemies from both Rome and England. Henrietta finds herself choking in scandal and a diminishing affection and devotion from her loving husband, Charles.

Henrietta Maria hailed from France, she now regrets marrying into the complex English fold and wishes to return home and live out the rest of her days in frivolous pleasure, without a care in the world. Since her arrival in England, Henrietta tries to discredit her marriage to Charles by favoring and engaging only in her French attendants. She also openly rebukes and disrespects the Church of England by allowing her pesky dogs roam about her quarters while the English attend church service.

As the queen grows older throughout the book, she doesn’t show signs of maturity with her age. Henrietta disdainfully looks down on people below her status and even those equal to her if she finds them distasteful. Her children are not spared from her spite. She gets angry at flimsy reasons and blames her dead children for their untimely departure! When her son, Henry refuses to convert to Catholicism, she loathfully dismisses him and banishes him from visiting her quarters or addressing her in any way.

However, when Henry dies later on Henrietta feels sad, but she’s not sorry for refusing to visit him before he dies. The Queen brews another feud with her daughter Mary for refusing to name her son after King Charles I. In another scenario; Queen Henrietta feels disgruntled by her son James, he fell in love with a girl below his highly sophisticated status. The Queen was furious with James. What a drama queen!

Queen of This Realm #2Queens of England

This is the story of the legendary virgin queen Elizabeth. As the daughter of Anne Boleyn and King Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth spent the better half of her youthful years locked up by her jealous and paranoid stepsister, Queen Mary. Queen Elizabeth rose in status in the most tumultuous times of the English Monarchy. Elizabeth I far-fetched rise to power catapulted a series of events that shaped the course English politics and governance. As a young queen (25 years), Queen Elizabeth “married England” and devoted her life to serving her people. Although she had many suitors begging for her hand in marriage, she managed to use those opportunities as bargaining chips for her political interests. Her reign saw the end of religious divisions as she declared England a protestant nation. It was also during Queen Elizabeth1 that England overwhelmingly defeated the mighty Spanish Armada during the war at sea.

Elizabeth also describes the emotional tumult of her life: the loneliness; the heartbreak of loving a man she couldn’t marry, Robert Dudley; and the tough decision of authorizing cousin Mary, Queen of Scots beheading, accusing her of treason. Elizabeth was truly a remarkable woman of great strength, tenacity and controversial as the greatest queen in English History.

Victoria Victorious: The Story of Queen Victoria #3 Queens of England

Queen Victoria lived an extraordinary life packed with tragedy, romance, and heartbreak. At the time of her birth, the little Princes was fourth in line to the English throne. Her father died not long after her birth. Princess Victoria and her mother lived in exile because of her mother’s feuds with George IV AND William IV. She grew up as a strong, resolute young Princess, though forgotten by the people; she was determined to have her say, having to put up with a controlling mother and equally uncouth uncles.

One morning, when the young Princess was eighteen years old, England woke to the news of the death of King William. The forgotten and banished princess was next in line and heir to the throne, the rightful Queen of England. Victoria was elated as she would finally be free from her mother’s domineering presence and her Uncle George’s manipulations. Queen Victoria’s first order of business was to demand her private living quarters. She married a distant cousin, Prince Albert, and they had beautiful moments, producing nine healthy children. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert enjoyed a blissful marriage full of passion and romance. Albert was her trusted advisor, confidant, and a constant companion.

When Albert died after a short illness, the Queen went into a lifetime of grief; she was so devastated and depressed. Victoria’s sadness of the loss of her husband and a best friend changed her life forever. She never went out again and only wore black outfits for nearly forty years. The English political status quo tried to assassinate her several times but failed. It was during Queen Victoria’s reign that saw the expansion of the empire, capturing most cities and countries and turning them into England territory.

Queen Victoria was the longest serving Queen of her time; she ruled England for sixty-four years. It was during her reign that the empire enjoyed peaceful relations with her neighbors and raised her country to the glory we see today as a British empire. Queen Victoria shared her life story through her memoirs where she described every moment of her life, until her death in old age. It’s interesting to see how the Queen sidelined all her children after the death of her dear husband. She did not want to engage anyone, and they only saw her during dinner or when summoned in her quarters.

Plaidy brought out the Queen’s weaknesses more than what she managed during her reign as queen. Victoria indeed endured heartache, in the care of her controlling mother, and Uncle and later on, the lonely, dark, gloomy days following the death of her supportive husband. She was tenacious and brave, a tard stubborn but compassionate altogether.