- Paperback: 445 pages
- Publisher: Robinson Publishing (25 Feb 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 185487893X
- ISBN-13: 978-1854878939
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 13 x 3.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 614,418 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
The fashion for historical detection and for celebrity sleuths and victims is nothing new; what is perhaps new is the assiduity with which editors like Mike Ashley leave no possible avenue unexplored ... In this anthology, the deaths of kings are entertainingly dissected--we learn the truth about the demise of William the Conqueror, William Rufus and Princess Caroline of Brunswick. Rulers ranging from Macbeth to Victoria get their hands dirty with the details of crime and other celebrities from Shakespeare to Napoleon get to walk on and take a bow. Perhaps the most interesting stories are those which either look at attitudes to monarchy--Tom Holt's "Accidental Death" is a particular case in point--or those which make proper use of the limited technologies available to their killers and detectives--Tina and Tony Rath's "Who Killed Fair Rosamund?" makes neat use of a minstrel going over the old story in an attempt to work out the story logic for a ballad. And some of the stories, notably Paul Barnett's "Two Dead Men" with its picture of the interlocking psychoses of the courtiers of Mary Queen of Scots, interestingly move into the psychological thriller in which the puzzle is less interesting than the question "Why?" --Roz Kaveney
Product Description
A collection of mayhem and murder, featuring more than 20 whodunnits themed on and around many of the most illustrious royal houses of Britain and Europe. Some of the leading roles are taken by King Henry VI, Macbeth, Mary Queen of Scots, George IV, Caroline of Brunswick, and Robert the Bruce.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown" fits well here!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Royal Whodunnits (Paperback)
In his introduction to this collection, Paul Doherty writes that " a number of (the British) monarchs have met highly suspicious deaths, or disappeared under mysterious circumstances" and then proceeds to give some delectable morsels of royal intrigue, mayhem, and murder. In "Royal Whodunnits" Ashley has brought together 25 "tales" of this nature in an intriguing compendium, to say the least. Popular--and good--writers contribute, from Edward Marston to Peter Tremayne to Susanna Gregory to Margaret Frazer, to name but four. Of course, the collection is fiction--and should be read as so--but intriguing, exciting, and suspenseful nevertheless. The subjects range from Richard II, William the Conqueror, Richard the Lionheart, the Princes in the Tower, Edward II, and Henry VIII, again to name a few. Anglophiles--and even others, if there are any!--will find this a good read!
5.0 out of 5 stars
INTRIGUING AND EXCITING MYSTERIOUS TALES OF MURDER,
By MEGA History Junkie (Lancashire) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Royal Whodunnits (Paperback)
VERY ENTERTAINING. MOST OF MY FAVOURITE AUTHORS HAVE WRITTEN A STORY RELATING TO ROYALS EITHER INVOLVED IN MYSTERIOUS DEATHS OR DISAPPEARING. OF COURSE ALL THE TALES ARE WORKS OF FICTION AND NOT TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY BUT THE UNDERLYING LESSON IS THAT THESE MONARCHS DID COME TO DIE UNDER SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES. SOME OF THE STORIES ARE GORY, OFTEN THRILLING FULL OF SUSPENSE AND KEEP YOU HOOKED UNTIL THE END OF THAT PARTICULAR ROYAL. I THOROUGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.0 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews) 3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An unusually high quality anthology,
By Elizabeth A. Root - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Royal Whodunnits (Paperback)
I am not a big fan of short story anthologies. I usually find a few that I enjoy, and equal number that I loathe, most that are enjoyable enough ways to pass the time, and, if I'm lucky, one really great story that makes the purchase worthwhile.
I was torn between giving this 4 and 5 stars. Four because none of these stories was a "great", that I will always want to go back to, but almost all of them were very good and interesting. There were none that I thought were truly bad. On this basis, I am going to give Mike Ashley's other anthologies a try. The stories move over something like a thousand years in time, and I enjoyed the constantly changing times, places and people. They range from almost gruesome to very funny. Not being a historian, I cannot say how accurate they all were, but the ambience was generally very well evoked. One comment as a matter of taste. Many of the stories are very cynical, which is actually quite appropriate, given the royal subjects. Mysteries usually concern themselves justice, but don't count on it here! 3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A royal collection of great intrigue!,
By Billy J. Hobbs "Bill Hobbs" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Royal Whodunnits (Paperback)
In his introduction to this collection, Paul Doherty writes that " a number of (the British) monarchs have met highly suspicious deaths, or disappeared under mysterious circumstances" and then proceeds to give some delectable morsels of royal intrigue, mayhem, and murder. In "Royal Whodunnits" Ashley has brought together 25 "tales" of this nature in an intriguing compendium, to say the least. Popular--and good--writers contribute, from Edward Marston to Peter Tremayne to Susanna Gregory to Margaret Frazer, to name but four. Of course, the collection is fiction--and should be read as so--but intriguing, exciting, and suspenseful nevertheless. The subjects range from Richard II, William the Conqueror, Richard the Lionheart, the Princes in the Tower, Edward II, and Henry VIII, again to name a few. Anglophiles--and even others, if there are any!--will find this a good read! (Billyjhobbs@tyler.net)
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting, but not very compelling...,
By bookjunkiereviews - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Royal Whodunnits (Paperback)
This set of royalty-based mysteries also include a bit of alternate reality, notably in the deaths of the Princes in the Tower (Edward V and his brother Richard, Duke of York) and the Grand Duchess Anastasia. I found the stories that were based on earlier royalty (such as Macbeth and his wife Gruoch, a descendant of the older dynasty) rather more interesting. By comparison, the alternate-reality sketches of some famous royal crimes seemed rather iffy. I don't read historical mysteries to get "what-if" scenarios, but rather to get valid and soundly constructed mysteries. [I am rather interested in medieval royalty. Add to that the fact, that I don't like Edward IV nor Henry VII nor Henry VIII!]. I hoped that the less-known mysteries in the lives of some major and minor royal personages would have been discussed, such as "Did Anne of Austria really fall for Buckingham? And what exactly was her relationship with Richelieu?" or "Why did Mary Queen of Scots behave as she did at critical points in her life?" And so forth. Of course, stories using these as plots should also be based on solid historical evidence. That is what makes them historical, not alternate reality.While there were several stories, some better than others, this anthology therefore failed to satisfy me on several levels. For one, some of the stories simply were not very interesting. Others offended my sense of history (as well as my sense of logic, whatever I posses). Still others struck me as rather unrealistic solutions. On the whole, I cannot recommend this collection; it was not a waste of my time, but I had expected a rather different style. |
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