Rating: 
Summary: A dissapointing effort to inherit Ellis Peters' mantle
Review: (Sigh) Yet another entry in the now-burgeoning field of historical detective stories this effort exhibits some of the more tiresome deffects of this genre; it is more costume drama than a work of historical fiction. The characters are twentieth-century people in fancy-dress. Blanchard simply lacks a sure feel for the period; characters dart in and out of each others' houses as if they were characters in a village whodunnit. Two characters marry in a ceremony only a few days after they have agreed to marry -- an illicit marriage both in civil and canon law. Oddly enough for an English author, the class distinctions are oddly blurred : a member of the gentry addresses her grooms sister as "Mistress". The book suffers from being written in the first person and the reader must put up with the plodding thought patterns of the "heroine". An author of fiction who must justify her historical plot by appending a bibiliography is confessing the weakness of her own plotting. Lastly, using fictional charaters to solve an historical conundrum is dirty pool.
Rating: 
Summary: Marvellous suspense
Review: A compelling mystery, made all the more believeable by a credible and well-characterized first-person narrator, this book had me hooked almost from the first page. The only thing that bothered me somewhat was the choice of title, since Queen Elizabeth herself appears only briefly towards the beginning and the end of the story. I will definately be following this series in the future.
Rating: 
Summary: "a step back in time "
Review: and i certainly enjoyed the adventure. this was the first of this type mystery and i will read more.i read at least 50 books a month and i am always searching for new authors.
Rating:
Summary: "a step back in time "
Review: and i certainly enjoyed the adventure. this was the first of this type mystery and i will read more.i read at least 50 books a month and i am always searching for new authors.
Rating:
Summary: I loved this fascinating and colorful historical mystery
Review: By 1650, the court is whispering about the relationship between the young Queen Elizabeth and her chaperon, Sir Robert Dudley. To strengthen her tentative hold on the crown while dispelling rumors that she plans to rid Robert of his ailing spouse, Amy, the Queen employs Ursula Blanchard to tend to the woman's needs.
However, Ursula fails at her task when Amy is found dead from a broken neck. Did the woman fall down the stairs or was foul play (perhaps of a royal variety) the cause of her death? To clear her own reputation with her highness, Ursula begins to investigate Amy's death. As she gets closer to the truth, threats to herself and her daughter suddenly appear. It seems that someone close to the Queen does not want the truth to be revealed.
TO SHIELD THE QUEEN is an exciting historical mystery that brings alive the early reign (second year on the throne) of Queen Elizabeth I. Ursula is a wonderful amateur sleuth while the rest of the cast bring color and pageantry to the excing storyline. The treacherous behavior of the characters and thenumerous conspiracies swirling around the Queen abound to the point that Mulder would be proud to investigate. With the first Blanchard novel, Fiona Buckley has opened up an auspicious new series.
Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Historical Mystery
Review: Coming from the perspective of a junior in high school taking British Literature, To Shield The Queen by Fiona Buckley was a fascinating as well as enlightening novel. The book is set in 1560 England under the reign of Queen Elizabeth. The story focuses on Ursula Blanchard, a recently widowed young mother who accepts employment in the Queen's court as a Lady of the Presence chamber. It quickly becomes apparent to her, as well as to the rest of the court, that the Queen is romantically interested in her Master of Horse, Sir Robin Dudley. Unfortunately, Sir Robin is still married, although Lady Dudley is very ill. To terminate any rumors that may be circulating around court, Ursula is sent by the Queen to take care of Lady Dudley. As events play out, Lady Dudley is mysteriously found dead at the bottom of the stairs after she sent all her servants away for the day. The ensuing chase by Ursula to find out the true circumstances surrounding Lady Dudley's death (murder?) leads her on a pursuit all over England. To complicate matters further, during her stay with Lady Dudley Ursula has fallen for a man who very well may be supporting the removal of Queen Elizabeth from the throne to replace her with a Catholic monarch.
As this novel progressed, I became more and more impressed with the unusual strength of character that Ursula embodied. I was very surprised to read a novel set in the 16th century with a woman as a main character who was strong-willed, determined, making her own decisions, and taking care of herself; this view of women presented by Fiona Buckley was very refreshing and appreciated. For someone who usually doesn't enjoy historical literature, To Shield The Queen was a welcome exception; as opposed to dry, monotonous writing, this novel had a plot with twists at every corner and an ending that I would never have expected. Fiona Buckley never let historical inaccuracies slip into the story while creating her novel, and that extra touch shines through in her writing. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys mysteries or historical novels - it is a great story!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Historical Mystery
Review: Coming from the perspective of a junior in high school taking British Literature, To Shield The Queen by Fiona Buckley was a fascinating as well as enlightening novel. The book is set in 1560 England under the reign of Queen Elizabeth. The story focuses on Ursula Blanchard, a recently widowed young mother who accepts employment in the Queen's court as a Lady of the Presence chamber. It quickly becomes apparent to her, as well as to the rest of the court, that the Queen is romantically interested in her Master of Horse, Sir Robin Dudley. Unfortunately, Sir Robin is still married, although Lady Dudley is very ill. To terminate any rumors that may be circulating around court, Ursula is sent by the Queen to take care of Lady Dudley. As events play out, Lady Dudley is mysteriously found dead at the bottom of the stairs after she sent all her servants away for the day. The ensuing chase by Ursula to find out the true circumstances surrounding Lady Dudley's death (murder?) leads her on a pursuit all over England. To complicate matters further, during her stay with Lady Dudley Ursula has fallen for a man who very well may be supporting the removal of Queen Elizabeth from the throne to replace her with a Catholic monarch.
As this novel progressed, I became more and more impressed with the unusual strength of character that Ursula embodied. I was very surprised to read a novel set in the 16th century with a woman as a main character who was strong-willed, determined, making her own decisions, and taking care of herself; this view of women presented by Fiona Buckley was very refreshing and appreciated. For someone who usually doesn't enjoy historical literature, To Shield The Queen was a welcome exception; as opposed to dry, monotonous writing, this novel had a plot with twists at every corner and an ending that I would never have expected. Fiona Buckley never let historical inaccuracies slip into the story while creating her novel, and that extra touch shines through in her writing. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys mysteries or historical novels - it is a great story!
Rating:
Summary: Fun Historic Mystery
Review: Good mystery mixed with mostly accurate Tudor history. Ms Buckley takes a real mystery of the Elizabethan area and gives us some possible answers. A quick read.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting Mystery
Review: I enjoyed this book quite a bit. It was an interesting account of the events of that time and it was nice that a historical fiction novel actually expected you to know a little bit of history in order to fully understand the book. Ursula was a highly likable character who proved to be interesting as well. This was a fun story and I can definitely allow Ms. Buckley a few liberties and imaginings of the true accounts of this bit of history. I can't wait to read further books in the series.
Rating:
Summary: An easy to read book that is captivating and entertaining.
Review: I found Fiona Buckleys novel extremely entertaining. Not only is the main character believable and realistic, but she is easy to identify with. THis novel sucked me in and I couldn't put it down until I was finished. It left me eagerly awaiting the next in the series.
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