Customer Reviews

The Dark Rose (Morland Dynasty)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

They start off set in the Wars of the Roses and in the most recent book the American Civil War has just ended. Ms Harrod-Eagles must be one of the most talented and dedicated authors around as the historical detail is impeccable and when you couple that with the characters it makes for compulsive reading. These are my favourite books ever - I try to read the whole series at least once a year. What I love most about it is the way the author creates such strong female characters - Eleanor, Nanette, Annunciata, Jemima, Lucy, Charlotte, Mary - they're wonderful and I love reading about them. Volume 22 is coming out soon and I can't wait for it. The only bad thing about these books is having to wait a whole year for the next installment!

If anyone wants to email me to discuss the books go ahead - I don't know anyone else who reads them.

In The Dark Rose Ms. Harrod-Eagles takes on Tudor England. It is one of my favorite time periods in history and I, like many others, have done a lot of reading on Henry VIII. So that in some ways made this book familiar. The fictional Morland family is inserted into history to be the axis upon which the story spins.

I so wanted to like this this because of my familiarity with the content. I love reading new takes on old stories. But the Morlands in this tale are, for the most part, very unlikeable. Paul Morland is the head of the household as the book unfolds and is feeling resentment towards his half brother Jack. He thinks Jack is trying to steal everything he has; Morland Place, the love of the people, his son. Everyone loves Jack but everyone merely obeys Paul because he is the master. Paul feels slighted because his wife has only given him one son while Jack has a large family.

Paul's son grows into an entitled, unpleasant young man. Paul also has an illegitimate son by his mistress who grows up resenting Paul and promising revenge for Paul's neglect. I don't want to give away too many plot points but with one exception most of the characters you could get behind end up dead. It's just plain depressing.

Paul's niece, Nanette ends up at court as a lady in waiting to Anne Boleyn. I was not fond of the characterization of Anne Boleyn. It ran contrary to most that I have read. Since the novel focuses more on Anne than Henry this was difficult.

Paul does end up softening towards the end due to a newfound love that will raise some eyebrows but the relationship would have been acceptable in its time. He and his son find themselves on opposite sides of the religious battles raging at the time with Cromwell doing his harm to England.

I still want to continue along in the series but if the third book is also full of unlikeable characters that will probably be the end for me. I just feel you need someone to like and root for in a book. It was easy to read and I enjoyed the history but I struggled a bit with this one.

The second book in the Morland Dynasty series can be read as a stand-alone novel. It starts approximately during 1501, a few years after Henry VIII comes to the throne. It ends around 1548, a year after his death.

Henry VIII's reign serves as a backdrop, especially his relationship with his first 3 wives - Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour. But story centers around the Morland family with a focus on Paul Morland (age 10 at the end of the first book, THE FOUNDING) and Nannette (Anne Morland), who is introduce during this book (b. 1508).

Harrod-Eagles deals historically accurately with a sensitive topic - carnal love between family members. In addition to the intrigue at Henry's court, there's conflict and strife within the Morland family.

The novel moves along at a rapid pace. It's a fast read with neither an abundance of historical detail nor romance. Just perfect for unwinding after a busy day.

The second book in the Morland dynasty series, The Dark Rose picks up with Paul Morland, great-grandson of Eleanor. The family is now rife with jealousy and hatred. Paul cannot understand his heir Amyas, and struggles to bond with his illegitimate son Adrian. It is a situation doomed to end in tragedy.

Paul's half-brother Jack and his brood seem to have the happiness he cannot grasp. Nanette, his niece, rises at court as maid to Anne Boleyn. But even they cannot escape the uncertainty to come.

In the Dark Rose, the Morlands experience hard times - through drought, floods, religious reform and court intrigue. But through it all, the family finds new ways to bond and survive. Once again, the history of the period is cleverly woven into the fortunes of the family, particularly the marriages and religious reform of Henry VIII. An entertaining read.

This is book 2 in the Morland family series, set in the reign of Henry the 8th and dealing mainly with the life of Nanette, a beautiful young Morland woman who is a maid of honour and friend to Queen Anne Boleyn. There are of course, other issues with other family members which add spice and interest to the story, but in this instance, Nanette holds centre stage. She started as a maid of honour to Queen Katherine, along with Anne Boleyn, or Bullen as the family is sometimes called, but Anne soon took the eye of Henry who had previously had her sister Mary as his mistress. Anne was having none of this "mistress" business and refused to surrender her virginity until marriage. Nanette stayed with Anne after her marriage, right up to the steps of the scaffold where she lost her head. She returned to her home, living a happy but cruelly short married life until, many years later, she returned to Court to be a Maid of Honour to Anne's daughter, Elizabeth the 1st. It's a fascinating look into the public and private lives of courtiers in Tudor times, with much involvement in religious matters and the perilous times leading to the foundation of the Protestant Church in England.

This is the second book about the Morland family of Yorkshire. The Morland Dynasty started in 1434 with The Founding. This book picks up in 1513, 27 years after The Founding ended in 1486. It has as much historical detail as the first. It follows the Morlands through the hard times of Henry VIII's riegn. Nanette, maid-in-waiting to Anne Boleyn is drawn back to home by a strong passion which she can no longer ignore.

Paul has inherited his family estate. When his wife gives birth to a son, they are proud to have someone to pass to him the family name and all luxuries and responsibilities that go along with it, even if he is a bit of an ass. Paul is unhappy that his wife has only given him one son. He ends up having another son by his mistress, who feels that he should be the one left in charge. As the hate brews, the brothers become lost in it.

I liked this book. The sibling rivalry was entertaining. Some parts could have been condensed but other than that, it's a winner.

This, the second book in the Morland Dynasty series begins in 1501 around the time that King Henry VII dies and ends during King Edward VI's reign or actually the Regency's reign. Interspersed with the history of the Tudors is the fictional family the Morlands. It is a story of continuing court intrique, treachery, love and hate during a time in history where a person could be charged with treason just by saying the wrong thing or following the 'wrong' religion. Most everyone knows the story of Henry VIII so I will not go into detail. It is a story about the Catholics and the Protestants and the struggle that ensues. The first third of the book surrounds the life of Paul Morland, great grandson of Eleanor Morland. It tells of the marriages and births and deaths within the family. There was a lot of intermarrying within the cousins. This was a very common practice at that time to keep the bloodlines pure and to keep lands and other holdings within a family. There were also illegitimate children born of the Morland family who had no claims to the dynasty. The second part of the book is about the character of Nanette who goes to court and becomes first a friend of, then maid-in-waiting to Anne Boleyn. Nanette forsakes her own happiness for her service to Queen Anne. Nan spends time between the court and her home at Morland. The last part of the book goes into more of Nanette and the other members of the Morland family, the next generations if you will.

As in any epic style novel, there are characters too numerous to mention, some historical inaccuracies, wars, deaths, births, jealousy between siblings and also happiness. I enjoyed this book as I did the first one in the series and look forward to the next in the series. For the person who loves a great story and a very interesting time in the history of England will be sure to like The Dark Rose.

The Dark Rose, Book Two in Cynthia Harrod-Eagles massive Moreland Family Saga begins in the year 1501 and brings all the intrigue of life at the court of Henry VIII to readers through the eyes of Nanette Moreland, who becomes lady in waiting to Anne Boleyn. Nanette is a good friend to Anne, and witness to her tantrums and triumphs as she leads King Henry VIII on a merry chase for many years. Meanwhile, at Moreland Place in Yorkshire, Paul Moreland works to build the family holdings and diversify their business in the wool trade, making the Morelands one of the most powerful families in their region. These successes are tempered with tragedies of illness and death, foolish, youthful indiscretions flowing into adulthood, and the love, resentment, and jealousies that can often be found in a large family who work and live together.

I enjoyed the way the lifestyles of the different classes were described in such detail. Not only do readers enjoy the pomp and intrigue of daily Court life with velvets and jewels, but the supposedly simpler life of those making a living from the land to support the lavish Court lifestyle. For Tudor lovers The Dark Rose brings us another perspective on life at Court with Henry, Catherine of Aragon, and Anne Boleyn and for lovers of romance there's plenty of love and lust both at Moreland Place and Whitehall Palace.

As with the other books in the Moreland Place series, a family tree is provided at the front of the book, to which I referred often while reading. On Cynthia Harrod-Eagles web site there is a map of the fictional Moreland Place and it's surrounding villages, which is fun to have as a reference, also.

I have all twenty one books of this series from volume one upto twenty one. I started collecting them approximately sixteen or seventeen years ago. The stories are great the characters are facinating, but it is her historical bases for these novels that is so brillant and makes them very readable. I look forward to every new episode of this story that comes out, and I am waiting with baited breath for the next installment.