Customer Reviews

The Princeling (Morland Dynasty)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
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Following "The Founding" and "The Dark Rose", this is the third book in the MORLAND DYNASTY series.

A few years have passed and Nanette, having suffered a tragic personal loss, once again returns to court where she witnesses the turbulent years of Elizabeth I.'s reign as the young Queen's confidante and lady-in-waiting.

Meanwhile, in order to increase the Morland family's wealth and influence through an advantageous marriage, John, heir to Morland Place, is sent by his domineering father to the wild Northern Border. In order to prove himself among the savage Northerners and to win the love of the woman he desires, John has to live through hardship and bloody battle.

At the same time, John's gentle sister Lettice is sent to the court of Mary, Queen of Scots. When she is ravished by and marries a ruthless Scottish nobleman, Lettice soon becomes embroiled in court intrigues. Having heard rumours about the mysterious deaths of her husband's first two wives and being unable to give her husband the desired heir, fear becomes her daily fare.

I found this powerful and beautifully written novel thoroughly enjoyable. The characters are believable and it becomes obvious that the author did much research on the subject. Currently, I am reading the sixth book in the series and I have not yet tired of the Morlands.

This is the 3rd instalment of the Morland Dynasty saga, tracing to fortunes of an English family from the middle ages to present day.

I enjoyed the first 2 books, "The Founding" and "The Dark Rose". The characters were well rounded, and the historical events delightfully interwoven with their fortunes.

Unfortunately, the Princeling reads more like a recitation of the Morland family tree than a novel with people and events. Sure, John and Lettice Morland are well described, but it's like they are cardboard effigies. We never really care about them except as just another link in the chain of the family which runs before and after them. Births and deaths are described in succinct, predictable passages. One minute a baby is born, the next, the are married. Then they have children and die in an accident of some sort. This pattern happens to so many of the characters that they no longer seem to be individuals.

The historical background is pale too. The influential reign of Elizabeth I, the journeys of Francis Drake, the overthrow of Mary, Queen of Scots all happen "off stage". In the previous 2 books, the characters were actively involved.

All I can hope for the next book is a return to the earlier form. Otherwise, I don't see it worth continuing a predictable series written in "This happened, then that happened" style.

The conversion to the electronic format was not entirely successful. It badly needs editing to get rid of the frequent and distracting typos. This story wasn't as good as the first book but I suspect I would have enjoyed it as a paperback.

There is no one like Cynthia Harrod Eagles I have read all the Morland Dynasty books, now years later re reading The Princeling covers the time of Queen Elizabeth Ms Eagles always has a strong female character and in this one we say goodbye to Nan Readers who continue on reading Ms Eagles series,which is now at the end of WW1 (the Dancing Years) Going back and reading all again is a treat Every war, every political situation and how they cope and thrive This book was excellent

The Princeling is the third book in this series by Cynthia Harrod Eagles. This book continues to follow the Morlands in the era of Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots. As each book delves further into the Morland Dynasty, it also follows the real lives of the aristocracy in the late 1500'sand ends approximately 1558. There is love, death, lust and hatred aplenty and that is just between members of the family. This story has a lot of characters from the previous book , The Dark Rose and introduces new characters within the family and in history. In the background there is still controversy between the Protestants and the Catholics that tears families and the country of England and Scotland apart. There is plenty of political intrigue between the factions of Queen Mary and Elizabeth I also. I am thoroughly enjoying this series and hope to continue with it. If you enjoy English history and all the intrigue that goes along with it, this is the series for you.

In The Princeling, book three in the Morland Dynasty series, introduces readers to a new generation of Morlands. Paul's grandson, also named Paul and his wife Elizabeth are now the owners of Morland Place and an aging, yet still feisty Nanette is holding strong as the family matriarch.

England is now ruled by the Protestant Elizabeth I and the hot button topics of the day are what the new Queen will do regarding the topic of religion, her choice of husband and how she is going to handle the antics of her cousin Mary Queen of Scots. Readers follow the Morlands' adventures at the court of Elizabeth I, to Scotland and the court of Mary Queen of Scots, the wilds of Northumberland and of course, home at Morland Place. As the country's religious discord heightens it creates an inner conflict of the Catholic and Protestant factions in the Morland family.

Having been really disappointed in book two, The Dark Rose, I believe the series redeemed itself with The Princeling. I really enjoyed this generation of Morlands and the book held my attention from start to finish. One thing about this series is to never get too attached to a member of the Morland family because Eagles has no qualms about killing them off!

Next up in the series is The Oak Apple, which takes place during the time of Charles I and the English Civil War. There is no release date yet for the Sourcebooks re-issue.

The queen has passed away and Princess Elizabeth has claimed the throne. Elizabeth received little to no opposition to her becoming queen. With the raise of Queen Elizabeth comes a greater respect for Protestantism as the new religion. There is one family who does feel threatened with this new religion...The Morlands. The Morlands want to bring back Catholicism as the one and only religion. John Morland plans to find a way to keep the Morlands in a place of great power. It won't be easy as John will have to find some new allies. You never know who is really your ally or enemy.

The Princeling is book three in the Morland Dynasty series. I have not read the first two books but it was easy to jump right into this one. While, I like reading about this time period and enjoy the Tudors, I just found that I was middle of the road with this book. The beginning was slow going for me. It took me a while to really start to get into this book. Though, I found this book interesting. I am not that familiar with the Morlands. It was nice to get to know them. Also I found it intriguing regarding the battle of the religions between Protestantism and Catholicism. Overall, though there may have been some bumps throughout this book, I still think it is worth checking into, if you are a fan of the Tudors.

This is the third novel in The Morland Dynasty Series. Originally scheduled to be 12 books it will eventually became 34 covering the history of one family from 1434 to World War II. This book brings us to the reign of Elizabeth I. It is a period in history that I really love. Perhaps that is why I liked this chapter in the Morland family chronicle more than the past two. But I don't think so...my past complaints with these books have been the lack of sympathetic characters. In this book there were finally some people to get behind and root for. That does not mean that there still weren't a large number of just plain mean people populating the Morland household. I really wish I knew why Ms. Harrod-Eagles feels the need to have so many mean spirited folk in her tales.

The main focus of this chapter is the stress the "new" religion in England is taking on the Morland family. They are - or at least had always been - staunchly Catholic. Of course since Henry VIII broke with Rome over his, erm, marital difficulties and created his own brand of religion things have not been peaceful in the church ever since. Then there were the changes back and forth through Edward's and Mary's reigns until we get to Elizabeth who tried to walk down the middle with questionable success. There is money and power in religion and so each faction was searching for it.

Paul, the patriarch is not comfortable with the way the times are changing and tries to make alliances with each side through the marriages of his children but ends up losing them. Some due to his intractability as to THEIR wants and needs and some to the dangerous times.

The title comes from a nickname for the young lady that Paul's eldest marries in Scotland - this to me was odd as it was really not the largest part of the story. But whatever. I DID like this book so I will try the next one when it comes out. The stories seemed tighter and as I said there were more characters to actually root for and to care about.

In this third chapter of the family saga of the Morlands, Elizabeth the 1st is on the throne, but still being dogged by plots, mostly by the followers and adherents of Mary, Queen of Scots, who has fled to England, under the protection of Elizabeth, following an uprising by the Scottish Protestants who do not wish to be forced to follow Catholicism. John Morland, son and heir of the Morland estates, has gone to Scotland to seek the hand of Mary Percy, daughter of a powerful Lord and cattle Baron, and, after the marriage, decides that he would prefer to remain in Scotland as heir to the huge Border estates. Other members of the family marry into powerful families, including beautiful Lettice who marries the enigmatic and unpredictable Lord Robert Hamilton who was a member of the Court of Mary, Queen of Scots, and who seems to be embroiled in the secret inner workings of her Court, and whom she sees only about once a year. This large family is sending out shoots in all directions with some members marrying into their own kind and others wandering far and away and embracing many different ways of life. It's an engrossing story and one which will be enjoyed by any lovers of historical fiction.

The Princeling is the third book in the Morland Dynasty. In this book, the story moves away from Morland Place for a while, as John Morland moves north to marry Mary Percy, and his sister Lettice marries a Scottish lord, Robert Hamilton. The sins of the previous generation come back to haunt the younger, as Jan Chapham learns secrets about his past.

Sence the novel covers fifty years of history, all of them eventful, Cynthia Harrod-Eagles has a lot of ground to cover. At times it seems as though it's too much; the story jumps from event to event, sometimes skimming over the family's story in favor of touching on the major historical events of the period. But the story of the Morland family is still addictive, as ever, and it was interesting to me to see how the family interacted