An old fashioned sort of book by an old fashioned sort of novelist. Plaidy is brimming with stories from her research and writes, breathlessly, like a woman catching you up on her weekend before the bus arrives at your stop. There is no intellectual rigor here, merely gossip. I guess that would be okay for some but not for me. ( )

An old fashioned sort of book by an old fashioned sort of novelist. Plaidy is brimming with stories from her research and writes, breathlessly, like a woman catching you up on her weekend before the bus arrives at your stop. There is no intellectual rigor here, merely gossip. I guess that would be okay for some but not for me. ( )