non-fiction release on Sophia of Hanover



Release Date: November 1, 2009

SYNOPSIS:  Sophia, Electress of Hanover (1630 1714), grand-daughter of James I and mother of George I, is best remembered as the link between the Houses of Stuart and Hanover. But, above all, she was a gifted and prolific chronicler and her detailed memoirs and letters give us an insider s view of life for the top echelons of society in the 16th century. A true European, Sophia spoke English, French, German, Dutch and Italian fluently, she was open minded and intellectually curious. Her writings cover an astonishing variety of subjects: religion, philosphy, international gossip, household hints, poltics and the details of her family life. Josephine Duggan has translated Sophia s memoir and thousands of letters to paint a remarkable portrait of a woman who deserves to be known by modern-day Europeans.



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7 comments:

  1. I have been reading Jean Plaidy's Georgian Saga. Sophia was a major character in "The Princess of Celle" and "Queen in Waiting." Plaidy hinted Sophia was an intellectual, but I had no idea she wrote so much! I will definitely want to read this.

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  2. This should be a good one. I read a biography of Sophia in college (the one by Maria Kroll) and was fascinated by her story. If she had lived a couple months longer, she would have succeeded to the British throne.

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  3. I'd be really curious to find out more about her...I really didn't like her in Plaidy's Princess of Celle; she seemed so calculating and spiteful. So it would be interesting to read a different perspective. Thanks:)

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  4. Now there was a formidable woman, and yes, Lucy, not very likeable. I've always wondered how other historical fiction authors can take an unpalatable person and make them the center of their novel. I wouldn't want to live with them for the 2 years (at least) that it takes to write the book.

    Nonfiction is different though. Readers want to see the warts. I read a bit about the formidable Sophia while I was researching George I for NOTORIOUS ROYAL MARRIAGES. She didn't even like her own firstborn son, referring to George as "the most pigheaded, stubborn boy who ever lived, and who has round his brains such a thick crust that I defy any man or woman ever to discover what is in them."

    Can you imagine having that for a mother?

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  5. I put this book on my wish list. I don't know much about Sophia, and haven't really read a book she's been featured in, but the synopsis you posted really intrigued me. Thanks!

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  6. Interestingly enough, Lucy, Sophia was portrayed far more sympathetically in "Queen in Waiting," where she is a friend and mentor to Caroline of Ansbach (wife of the future George II).

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  7. What an intriguing woman. I will definitely have to get this one.

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