"Passage to Pontefract" by Jean Plaidy was her tenth book in the Plantagenet series. Frankly, they're all starting to sound alike and bore me, but I persist. This one takes place after Edward III has died. His eldest son, also Edward, died before him, and Edward names his grandson, young Richard, as his heir, even though he has three other living sons. Now, I thought that was wrong. I thought the crown should have gone to the next eldest son, which would have been Prince Lionel, but it didn't. Richard became king at the age of 10, causing some bad feelings amongst his uncles (understandably so!), especially John. Richard is a rather wishy-washy king who spends a lot of money on clothes and creature comforts, and is constantly quelling revolts. Finally, Henry, John's son, manages to depose Richard and take the throne as Henry IV.
"Forty Whacks" by David Kent was a great, straightforward account of the Lizzie Borden murder trial in Fall River, back in 1892. He presented the facts without bias, and showed just how weak and pathetic the prosecution's case against her really was. It was very nicely done.
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