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  Arleigh of Historical-Fiction.com“My fascination with Jean Plaidy began in 2004 when I was working at a Borders bookstore. I had recently read 2 novels by Philippa Gregory which sparked my interest in historical fiction and I noticed the Plaidy novels while shelving because they had portraits on the spines. I was very intrigued by Anne Boleyn and so I chose The Lady in the Tower to begin with and soon had read all of the reprints by Three Rivers Press. I knew there were many more, but I’d have to work to find them, as they were all out of print or only available in the UK. So began my Jean Plaidy collection. I scour used bookstores, the annual library sale (all books are only $1) and of course shop online at Amazon, Alibris, The Book Depository and Thrift Books. I’ve managed to accumulate 50 so far with the most expensive being $79, a rare copy of The Queen of Diamonds. My favorite continues to be The Lady in the Tower because it depicts Anne not as a manipulative schemer, but as a bright young woman who made the most of the world she was thrust into. Plaidy’s books are very accurate and I thoroughly enjoy the history lesson I get from each story.” Arleigh is a 30 years old and works part-time at a used bookstore. She has been married to her husband, Adam, since May 7, 2000. They have 2 daughters: Alannah (9 years old) and Lorelei (14 months old).  Lucy of Enchanted by Josephine“My fascination with Plaidy books began with ‘Queen of this Realm’: Elizabeth I; Her story of strong determination to rule and keep the crown. Plaidy’s style immediately captured my attention. I love the way she gets right into the plot and keeps the story rolling. She also sticks to the facts, and since historical accuracy is really important to me, I find that all her novels make it that more enjoyable for me to read That first Plaidy was borrowed from a Florida library, while I was vacationing there in 2005. I loved the book so much that I kept on borrowing more. By the end of that summer, I had devoured about 15 of her novels. I was definitely hooked and determined to read more when I got back to Canada. Unfortunately, finding Plaidy here was not as easy. First of all, it’s impossible to purchase reprints here in Montreal. So, you can imagine that collecting has become even more of a challenge for me. Let’s just say that Plaidy novels are a rare and precious find. I now regularly scourge the Net and local used bookstores hoping to come across one of these exceptional books.” Lucy is married to a wonderful guy who willingly puts up with all her Josephine and history obsessions. Together they have five kids (…and two dogs). In her professional career, Lucy is a Language Consultant who speaks four languages fluently. Besides her compulsive reading, Lucy enjoys creating art pieces using various mediums. © 2009 royal-intrigue.net |