Jean Plaidy, beloved author of historical fiction, is known to her millions of fans world wide as Victoria Holt. A masterful storyteller who can weave a tapestry of little known historical facts into an engrossing and well written novel, she tells the story of a young Prince of Wales, who would later go on to become King George III, and a that of a young quakeress named Hannah Lightfoot. When their paths crossed one day, theirs would be a romance that would transcend royal protocol.

This novel, set against a backdrop of political intrigues and aristocrats jockeying for power, tells the story of a young, idealistic Prince of Wales and his deep and abiding affection for a beautiful, young quakeress, Hannah Lightfoot, who happened to catch his eye one day while he was riding through the streets. She, a commoner, would go against all her beliefs for his love, and he, a future King of England, would flout those who would try to control him in order to be with this woman whom he loved with the ardor and devotion of the very young.

Their bittersweet romance provides a birdseye view into the upbringing of the Prince of Wales, as well as a peek into the sybaritic court of George II. Their love is set against a backdrop of manipulative and self-seeking courtiers who would attempt to use their knowledge of the Prince's secret romance with this young quakeress for their personal gain. Theirs would be a love that would disappear into the footnotes of history, until the author wove it into this absorbing and poignant account of a forbidden, first love that would have historical implications.

I have read this book by one of my favorite historical fiction authors, Victoria Holt. Did the future George III of England actually marry in secret, a Quaker girl called Hanna Lightfoot? Ms Holt believes so and I agree. There is much evidence to prove it is true and after George I found out about it, he was upset as any grandfather of a Prince of Wales would be. Young George was not a good pupil, had problems interacting with people and Hanna Lightfoot helped him thru this. Then came Charlotte, a real royal marriage took place, and Hanna fell by the wayside and the secret marriage was null and void. But he never forgot her. That much is true, according to this book and the way I interpreted it. Later in life, he became George III, loser of the Colonies and had bouts of confusion and mental illness. That was his legacy, he lost the Colonies.

Much of Miss Plaidy's historical novel is in line with historical facts collected by my family over the years - we all still have the name Mackelcan, which is referred to on page 233. It is interesting to note that John Mackelcan, Hannah's son, was baptised at St Mary's, Newington, Surrey on 12th April 1759 and at the age of 15, under the wing of William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, he was commissioned into the Royal Engineers. In 1795 at the age of 36 and without having seen active service he was promoted to full General. In a Will dated July 1778 Hannah wrote "Provided I depart this life, I commend my two sons and my daughter to their Royal father, my husband." The cover-up began in 1866 when a Mrs Ryves sought to establish her direct descent from George III's brother, the Duke of Cumberland; the case was heard by the Lord Chief Justice and the Baron Justice acting with a special jury. Acting for the Crown were the Attorney General, the Solicitor General and the Queen's Advocate. On the back of what appeared to be a certificate relating to a marriage between Cumberland and Mrs Ryves was the following certificate "This is to certify that I lawfully married George, Prince of Wales to Hannah Lightfoot on 27th May 1759 and that two sons and a daughter are the issue of that marriage " It was signed by J Wilmot ( a Doctor of Divinity and a friend of the Royal Family in the 18th century) and witnessed by Chatham and J Denning. The LCJ forbade Mrs Ryves to speak in Court; no other witnesses were called and the case was put straight to the Jury who found for the Attorney-General. Even as recently as 1997 officials at the Public Records Office told a researcher that the documents were not avaialable but they did eventually produce the impounded marriage certificate. Miss Plaidy's book puts the relationship between George and Hannah into a very readable context but perhaps the sequel is just as fascinating?

This beautiful picture book begins as Rebecca's grandmother sits down to write Rebecca a letter about the changes she sees around her as Winter arrives. Grandmother writes an interesting tale about the Solstices and explains how Winter actually began at Midsummer and how the light actually begins its journey back to fullness in the depths of Winter. The writing is lyrical and lovely and the illustrations are colorful and lively and filled with details of the natural world. It is a loving, poetical tale rather than a scientific approach to the Soltices, yet it is informative as well as engaging. Grandmother describes the various wildlife around her home as they experience winter, while tying it in to Rebecca's own experiences. Gradually, page by page, just like the light returning, Grandmother ushers spring back in. This is a gentle, subtle picture book that will get children thinking.

This book is about the Summer Solstice being the beginning of "winter" and the Winter Solstice being the turning point for longer days and eventually summer. It is a scicence picture book and I recommended it for students in the 2nd and 3rd grades.

I found this beautifully illustrated book to be a gentle reminder of the circular nature of our changing seasons. It is quite useful as a classroom resource for tying letter writing to science. Even first grade readers were appreciative of the of the text when read aloud.

This book is a visual delight. Small (7"by 5"), thick (207 pp), and heavy (10 oz), this book is divided into two sections. The first two-thirds, on heavy white clay stock, is lavishly illustrated in full color. Gorgeous! The last third ("Documents"), printed on standard paper, also is heavily illustrated (but only in black and white!) ---- Unfortunately, the text does not fully measure up to the images. For example, explanations the word "pictogram" are given to the point of tedium! The Documents section contains articles than approach gibberish. For example, Hassan Massoudy's contribution (1986), about calligraphy: "The moment when the calligrapher achieves total concentration represents the beginning of a transport of energy that will help him to overcome all oppressive difficulties. He will seek, in the deepest part of himself, his true path." (Huh?) On the other hand, from this book I learned what calligrams are, that Arabic and Hebrew share an 18-letter alphabet, and that hieroglyphs means "sacred writings". After years of hearing about "demotic script", I discovered that it is the common people's script. I learned how to trim a feather to make a quill pen. I learned that Francois Thureau-Dangin (1872- 1944) produced the first translation of Sumerian, the earliest identified form of writing. In short this book is an excellent introduction to a variety of topics to be followed up later on one's own, but a bit thin if one has an interest in any specific area. As others have noted, it is absolutely superlative in depicting alphabets, scripts, typefaces, calligraphic styles, manuscripts, engravings, paintings, folios, stellae, frescoes, papyruses, tablets, and so on. It is a graphic feast accompanied with a sometimes incomprehensibile text - a sad fate for a book entitled "Writing".

Packed with wonderful pictures and illustrations, providing a general overview of the origins and developments of alphabetic writing systems. By no means in depth and probably not meant to be, rather an engaging and easily read introduction to the topic. Offers a generous listing for further reading as well as exerpts from other writers on the topic in the "Documents" section of the book.

A small book, recapping briefly the history of writing from Akkad and Sumer through the development of printing in the West and China. There are, in fact, two sections: First, the overview of languages and writing, without an overly forceful emphasis on the West, which avoids the taint of cultural bias nicely; second, a group of documents ~ quotations ~ from all sorts of sources, about writing, the alphabets, ideograms, and more. The documents are interesting, though a little confused, especially as regarding the plates that illustrate them; it is not always possible to tell what is what. And the first section is a fascinating overview, well written (or well translated [from the French], it's hard to know with a translation), though with little in it i didn't actually know already. The most important thing that a book of this nature can do is to whet the appetite for more. Consider mine whetted.

If you like danger and adventure you should read this book. It is about a girl who goes into the woods to find a bird that is suppose to possess mysterious powers. Some other books written by Jean Craig head George are- one day on the Alpine Tundra and- Julie of the Wolves

Jean Craighead George, author of nearly one hundred novels, picture books, novellas, guides, and stories about nature, presents a story of the perfect length about our most familiar ecosystem, the woods. Ms. George does a terrific job of placing readers in the feet of her main character, a young girl named Rebecca (Ms. George's granddaughter and perhaps the same Rebecca from her picture book DEAR REBECCA, WINTER IS HERE). One beautiful spring morning, Rebecca takes a trip out to the woods near her home to search for a rare and remarkable bird, the ovenbird, which her uncle tells her is a real natural wizard. While Rebecca searches for this wonder of the woods, she finds lots of other incredible creatures--owls, flying squirrels, deer, ducks, and a skunk--and even runs into danger and excitement. Fine descriptions, fondly and accurately written, make birds a lot of us see every day--towhees, robins, and cardinals--all the more special and important, as Ms. George's admiration for even the smallest things in nature is evident. And when Rebecca finds the ovenbird wizard, it really is an eye-opener. The illustrations are woodsy and a nice companion to Ms. George's words. This is a great story for anyone who loves nature and the special words of the author of JULIE OF THE WOLVES and MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN.

One Day in the Woods and One Day in the Tropical Rain Forest are both books by Jean Craighead George. They are both about kids who are looking for something . They both take place out in the wilderness. If you need some interesting facts about animals, this is the book for you. One Day in the Tropical Rain Forest is about a boy and a doctor looking for an unnamed butterfly so they can save the rain forest from 11 bulldozers and 4 trucks, will they do it in time? One Day in the Woods is about a girl trying to find a wizard in the Teatown Woods. Will she do it? I hope you enjoy these two books.

According to me, the book has been done very nicely. Tthe chapters have been managed carefully and efficiently. Read it once and u will surely know the HOWs , WHATs,WHYs and etcs of Distributed Systems.

This book takes on quite a lot of material and covers all topics quite well. As an introduction to Distributed Systems it serves as an excellent first-base and covers very current technologies such as ATM. The networking protocols section (especially for Ethernet & Token Ring) is outstanding and very well designed, while the emphasis through the text on transparency ties things together quite neatly.

The strength of this book lies in its no-nonsense approach to technical issues while remaining very considerate to the reader. A great text and hopefully the next edition will include some sections on CORBA and other object-based technologies.

Thouroughly recommended

An interesting combination here: the blending of a Disney theme park with the exquisite writing of a beloved nature writer. Jean Craighead George, the highly acclaimed author of dozens of beloved books for young readers, wrote a series of picture books that focuses on four kinds of animals that make their homes in the African savanna (at least, it appears to be Africa; they may be living in the Disney theme park, Animal Kingdom). But readers are not to worry, for the animals in the stories are not cutesy, cartoonish critters--Ms. George, even though the style may be a slight departure from that of many of her other books, still manages to present her characters with accuracy and loving detail. In ELEPHANT WALK, a young elephant named Odon takes a walk across his land with his family and matriarch mother, wondering why his mother wants to walk so far, and learning about himself, his home--and his long, cumbersome trunk! During the walk he meets other animals, forms close bonds with his relatives, and loves to play. Then the family meets another group of elephants--and the ending is both endearing and intriguing. This is a good story, with lots of information about this fascinating mammal, and colorful illustrations. In the back Ms. George once again displays her interest and knowledge of animal behavior and language by showing us a chart of elephant talk. She has showed this interest and knowledge in other animal books, such as the recent HOW TO TALK TO YOUR DOG, HOW TO TALK TO YOUR CAT, and the Newbery-Medal winning novel JULIE OF THE WOLVES, and its intriguing sequels JULIE, JULIE'S WOLF PACK, and the new picture books NUTIK THE WOLF PUP and NUTIK AND AMAROQ PLAY BALL.

This is a tale of a day in the life of a baby elephant, with fairly detailed information about what it is like to be an elephant, how an elephant herd and its various members will act, depending on their respective roles in the herd, and how elephants communicate. The "narrator" has a particular problem with figuring out how to use his trunk, which he refers to as his nose, and tells his tale in a manner which I suspect will have children laughing. I found it educational and entertaining. Although apparently a single book, it has the apperance of perhaps being the first in a series of books about animals. If so, I am looking forward to the rest.

The story of Caroline of Brunswick, the injured Queen of England, is a fascinating and worthwhile read. According to Jane Austen, "She was bad, but she would not have become as bad as she was if he (Britain's George IV) had not been infinitely worse."

Jean Plaidy, a good story-teller, does an admirable job of matching history as it was to the story she writes. Still, she gets a few things wrong but this is due more to lack of access to key historical documents than to sloppy research.

After reading Flora Fraser's more recent, scholarly biography, The Unruly Queen : The Life of Queen Caroline, I found Plaidy errs in identifying the little Italian girl, Vittoria, as the daughter of Pergami when she was his niece. She also errs in calling Pergami, "Baron Pergami," at the time he first meets Caroline. He doesn't become a Baron until after Caroline visits Malta and buys an estate and the title of Baron for him. Still, Jean Plaidy takes the clay of scholarly biography and moulds a living, breathing character for the reader.

Caroline of Brunswick was, at turns, warm-hearted and maternal, and defiant and unconventional. Rejected by her husband as unfit, unkempt and embarrassingly gauche, she became even more so as a means of getting back at him. In the end, she only harmed herself.

Surprisingly, the sad story of this unloved bride and wife is almost the same of Princess Diana. And she was also loved by the British people. I strongly recommend the book.

I read Mi Rincon en la Montana by Dean Graighead. I like this book because it's a historic book. A woman wants a life in the mountains. I'm reading the book in Spanish because that's my first language.

This book was awesome and I have read it over and over again. I think this book was awesome. The most enthralling story of a courageous young man who loves nature and hates his New York buncha-kids-and-two-parents-in-one-apartment lifestyle. He runs away to the woods. And the sequel is awesome too!

...Very feminist. Also scary

...Hay writes pithily...she is solidly within the liberal tradition and writes bracingly.

Her book should be required reading. She's a hell of a writer