Lost Tudor Princess: The Life of Lady Margaret Douglas/ Alison Weir/ 536pages

The Lost Tudor Princess: The Life of Lady Margaret Douglas written by Alison Weir is a biography of Lady Margaret Douglas, niece of Henry VIII and contender for the English and Scottish thrones.  Weir traces Margaret's life through detailed written documentation including poetry and letters.  Included in the book are maps, photos, and family trees.  Margaret was the daughter of Henry VIII's youngest sister.  Aware of her place in the royal family tree Margaret spends most of her life manipulating marriage contracts for both herself and her children to her advantage.  This activity lands her in the Tower of London on more than one occasion.  Unfortunately, Margaret does not live long enough to see her grandson, King James VI of Scotland elevated to James I of England.  The books includes experts of letters and poems to support the author's take on Margaret's life.  It does not deal in depth with the daily life of Elizabethan England.  On the whole it was an enjoyable read about a less known Tudor even though some area's bog down with documentation.  For more info click here to visit the SCCCLD website.

Dragonfly in Amber / Diana Gabaldon / 743 pages

This is the second installment of Gabaldon's Outlander series.  The beginning of the book was a bit jarring; the end of the first book leaves our heroine Elizabeth Beauchamp Randall Fraser safely in Scotland with her 18th century love, but in the beginning of the 2nd book, she is driving with her daughter in 1963 Scotland.  After the first couple of chapters we get a flashback to explain how she ended up back in the present (or more recent past to us) and who her daughter's father is.  The series is Dr. Who meets Braveheart.  Fans of either who can appreciate a strong female character will love this book,

Outlander / Diana Gabaldon / 627 pages

In the foreword to this book, the author recounts that her publisher told her this book would have to be a word-of-mouth book because it was just too weird to describe.  While there is some truth to that, I shall do my best to describe it.  This is primarily a historical fiction with some time travel and a heap of romance thrown in.  Gabaldon doesn't shy away from describing any of the practices of 18th century Scotland in excruciating detail - whether it's the punishment of a young thief by nailing his ear to a post or the use of herbs and plants in both medicine and magic.


Gabaldon covers a slew of social issues throughout her fiction.  You'll find Elizabeth Beachamp's reactions to domestic violence, corporal punishment, homosexuality, relationships between husbands and wives, and fealty between lords and subjects expressed in a refreshingly honest way.  I personally liked the juxtaposition of religion, magic, and science in 18th century Scotland and the question that Gabaldon raises of whether we have progressed or regressed in our thinking about those subjects.


Overall, it is a great read, and I look forward to reading the next book in the series, Dragonfly in Amber.