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Rating: 
Summary: Intelligent historical fiction
Review: This is the first book in a long series about the Morland family. Their saga spans the centuries and the characters are indirectly involved in the main events of English history.
The Founding describes the beginnings of the dynasty. Robert Morland has made money farming sheep in York. Eleanor is poor, but has powerful relations. Their arranged marriage is not a grand passion, but both work hard to establish their family as one of the richest and most respected in Yorkshire.
Harrod-Eagles cleverly weaves the turbulent events of the Wars of the Roses into the story. The Morlands are not aristocrats, but they choose sides to protect their family and business interests. Their fortunes roll with the highs and lows of the Yorkist cause.
The book is historically accurate, from the dates of battles to the fashions and sheep farming practices of the late Middle Ages. But these do not overshadow the story, which is essentially a well-written family saga. Often this book is displayed in the Romance section of bookstores amongst bodice rippers and melodramatic romances. This is sad, because it is far more intelligent than that. While it isn't too deep and meaningful, this is a nice read which won't make you cringe in disbelief.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent beginning...
Review: "The Founding," set during the War of the Roses, is the first book of the prolific Moreland family saga. The story opens with the marriage of the ambitious young Eleanor Courteney to Robert Moreland, son of a wealthy York wool merchant. Eleanor, having lived among nobility for most of her life, believes the match is beneath her station and desperately opposes it. The first half of the book revolves around Eleanor's struggle to come to terms with her marriage. As the novel progresses, the family is swept up, for better or for worse, by the tumultuous political tides of the war.
"The Founding" was an enjoyable read, full of colorful descriptions of everyday life during mid-to late fifteenth century England. The author effectively blends her fictional creations with historical events by giving her characters minor roles in the royal households and in significant battles of the war. In doing so, these characters' adventures seem plausible in light of known historical events. The author has also included a family chart, which this reader found extremely helpful for keeping track of the prodigious Moreland family.
I have only a few minor criticisms (the reason for the four star rating). The large gaps in time that occur between chapters can be disorienting for the reader. I also thought the book would have been more satisfying had the author given her characters more depth, rather than emphasizing the same character traits repeatedly.
Despite these criticisms, I felt the book was highly entertaining and am eagerly looking forward to continuing with this saga.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent beginning...
Review: "The Founding," set during the War of the Roses, is the first book of the prolific Moreland family saga. The story opens with the marriage of the ambitious young Eleanor Courteney to Robert Moreland, son of a wealthy York wool merchant. Eleanor, having lived among nobility for most of her life, believes the match is beneath her station and desperately opposes it. The first half of the book revolves around Eleanor's struggle to come to terms with her marriage. As the novel progresses, the family is swept up, for better or for worse, by the tumultuous political tides of the war.
"The Founding" was an enjoyable read, full of colorful descriptions of everyday life during mid-to late fifteenth century England. The author effectively blends her fictional creations with historical events by giving her characters minor roles in the royal households and in significant battles of the war. In doing so, these characters' adventures seem plausible in light of known historical events. The author has also included a family chart, which this reader found extremely helpful for keeping track of the prodigious Moreland family.
I have only a few minor criticisms (the reason for the four star rating). The large gaps in time that occur between chapters can be disorienting for the reader. I also thought the book would have been more satisfying had the author given her characters more depth, rather than emphasizing the same character traits repeatedly.
Despite these criticisms, I felt the book was highly entertaining and am eagerly looking forward to continuing with this saga.
Rating: 
Summary: EXCELLENT
Review: The Founding is the richest historical-fiction book I have ever read. You laugh with them, you cry with them. Best of all, when the characters die, they come back in their children. The start to an epic dynasty, a must!
Rating:
Summary: A fantastic book of historical fiction
Review: The Foundling begins a series that blows the mind with its historical accuracy. Unlike many other authors, Harrod-Eagles shows the good side as well as the bad, and each character is different. A depiction of real life and what the women (and men) had to go through during that time is written in great detail. A must read for history fans!!
Rating:
Summary: A fantastic book of historical fiction
Review: The Foundling begins a series that blows the mind with its historical accuracy. Unlike many other authors, Harrod-Eagles shows the good side as well as the bad, and each character is different. A depiction of real life and what the women (and men) had to go through during that time is written in great detail. A must read for history fans!!
Rating:
Summary: This book is excellent!
Review: This is a well constructed book. You really feel for the main charchter and her family. You can feel the force that drives her to make something of her husband and her family. She suffers a lot especially from unrequited love. This book is excellent and the historical detail and accuracy is amazing. This book, the first in the dynasty, was a great starting book. It made me want to go out and read all the others which were just as good.
Rating:
Summary: This book is excellent!
Review: This is a well constructed book. You really feel for the main charchter and her family. You can feel the force that drives her to make something of her husband and her family. She suffers a lot especially from unrequited love. This book is excellent and the historical detail and accuracy is amazing. This book, the first in the dynasty, was a great starting book. It made me want to go out and read all the others which were just as good.
Rating:
Summary: Morland Must
Review: This is the first book in the Morland Dynasty series. It begins in 1434 with the marriage of Robert Morland, son of a Yorkshire woolmerchant, and Eleanor Courtney, a young Dorset maiden. It heralds the beginning of a great family. Under the craftful eye of Eleanor, the woolmerchant she maried soon becomes a very successful clothier. This series follows the Morland family from the War of the Roses to the present day. A MUST!
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