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Checkmate
  

Checkmate (Hardcover)

by Dorothy Dunnett (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)

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3 used from CDN$ 38.55

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Product Description

Ingram

Returning to France to take up arms against England, soldier-scholar Francis Crawford achieves great success on the battlefield, but the dark secrets of his past return to haunt him, in the epic conclusion of the Lymond Chronicles. Reprint. 20,000 first printing."


About the Author

Dorothy Dunnett was born in 1923 in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. Her time at Gillespie's High School for Girls overlapped with that of the novelist Muriel Spark. From 1940-1955, she worked for the Civil Service as a press officer. In 1946, she married Alastair Dunnett, later editor of The Scotsman.

Dunnett started writing in the late 1950s. Her first novel, The Game of Kings, was published in the United States in 1961, and in the United Kingdom the year after. She published 22 books in total, including the six-part Lymond Chronicles and the eight-part Niccolo Series, and co-authored another volume with her husband. Also an accomplished professional portrait painter, Dunnett exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy on many occasions and had portraits commissioned by a number of prominent public figures in Scotland.

She also led a busy life in public service, as a member of the Board of Trustees of the National Library of Scotland, a Trustee of the Scottish National War Memorial, and Director of the Edinburgh Book Festival. She served on numerous cultural committees, and was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. In 1992 she was awarded the Office of the British Empire for services to literature. She died on November 9, 2001, at the age of 78.

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Customer Reviews

19 Reviews
5 star:
 (17)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (19 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most helpful customer reviews

 
5.0 out of 5 stars The final book in the Lymond Chronicles and a spectacular finish!, Mar 9 2008
By Misfit (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
Checkmate opens as Lymond and his band of mercenaries leave England behind and travel to France to serve the French King in his battles with King Phillip. As Lymond is still set upon returning to Russia King Henri offers Lymond the annulment from Philippa that he desperately wants if he serves France for one year - if he doesn't Henri will do all in his power to block the annulment forever. Philippa comes to France to serve as lady in waiting to the young Mary Queen of Scotts, and continues her investigation into who actually parented Lymond and Marthe, as Lymond starts his own separate inquiry into his parentage.

The story unfolds amidst the pageantry of the French Court as it prepares for the wedding of Queen Mary to the Dauphin of France, and Philippa and Lymond struggle to deny the love they have come to feel for each other. Lymond and Philippa's adventures take them from the domicile of the deceased Dame de Doubtance, to a wild chase through the back streets of a French town (loved it!), until Philippa's quest to obtain the proof of Lymond's birth before it's sold to the evil Margaret Lennox and culminates in a disastrous encounter for Philippa that tears Philippa and Lymond apart and almost destroys any chance they have for happiness together.

As with the first five books in the series, Francis Crawford is a fascinating hero, and is as suave, debonair, flawed and fascinating as only a 16th Century version of James Bond could be. This was a rock-solid finish to a fabulous series, and it was wonderful to see the return of Jerrott and Marthe, along with more of Lymond's mother Sybilla and his brother Richard. I most especially enjoyed the mature and grown up Philippa who stole every scene and was a perfect foil for Lymond. My only complaints are the return of the French and Latin without translations as was found in the first book, and thumbs down to the publisher for not including a cast of characters as they did in the first four, this was a complex tale with many characters coming and going and that would have been greatly appreciated. Five Stars.
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1.0 out of 5 stars Now for something completely different..., May 30 2002
By A Customer
I tried, gang. Honestly, I tried my hardest to enjoy the Lymond Chronicles. I love well-done historical fiction (which is surprisingly difficult to find,) I'm interested in anything that even slightly concerns Mary Queen of Scots, and I'm a sucker for swashbucklers. So, why am I seemingly the only person on the planet who would rather stick a fork up my nose than try and read these books again? I found Dunnett's work to be poorly written, with a pretentious, overly "poetic" prose style, the plots tedious, and all the characters unlikable, unbelievable, and flat. Also, Dunnett follows a school of historical fiction that has always bugged me--where the writer uses real historical characters (such as Mary and Margaret Lennox) and real episodes in history, but twists them around so they bear no resemblance whatsoever to the truth. I tend to believe authors should either use real figures in as historically accurate a way as possible, or use completely fictional characters and plots. Mixing both never seems to work. Particularly here. I know this review won't make me too popular on this board, but I'd like all you Dunnett fans to know that I'm not putting anyone down for loving these books. Good for you, I say. I just wish I understood why you do.
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5.0 out of 5 stars This deserves a galaxy, April 1 2002
By H. McCarthy (London, U.K.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Five stars is not enough.I first encountered Lymond through a friend at university who told me the character and I "would have a lot in common". Intrigued,I started reading the series at once, with THE GAME OF KINGS, but didn't fully appreciate what a magnificent compliment I had been paid until I reached CHECKMATE. Here, the strands of Mrs Dunnett's tapestry are drawn together into a magical web that more than repays the reader for the investment of time, tension, involvement and wonder demanded by her characters and their world. She gives us a most precious gift - to feel that we have, for a while, stepped into another place and time and breathed the same air as her creations. The depths of scholarship and grace, wit and elegance, political and economic mastery and understanding of emotion that she displays are truly liberating. Her rich, gorgeous descriptive style is matched by a unique way with dialogue, and her plotting is as deep and involving as her character development. With the whole world for a stage and one of its richest periods as a backdrop, she has created a most marvellous play. Don't miss the last act.
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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Almost too rich
This fitting culmination of the Lymond Chronicles is like eating a rich and delicious cheesecake. The characterization, action, and historical asides combine to create a splendid... Read more
Published on Aug 8 2001 by Darren A. Jones

5.0 out of 5 stars Checkmate is a triumph
Over the last six months, I've slowly made my way through this wonderful series. But I read the last 250 pages of Checkmate in a large gulp. Read more
Published on Jul 24 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Ending to a Great Series!
This book is a masterpiece, and the "piece-de-resistance for the Lymond chronicles. The whole series was wonderful, and I would recommend reading it all in order, but this... Read more
Published on Jan 4 2001 by S. Schwartz

5.0 out of 5 stars Oh, how enthusiastically I agree!
Thanks to all the reviewers. It is nice to know I'm not alone. I read "The Ringed Castle" first, in paperback, in the '70's. Read more
Published on Dec 9 2000 by rswstork

5.0 out of 5 stars I wish everyone wrote like this!
I read this series for the first time in the late '70s. I read it again in the early '80s and then lost or loaned out my books. Read more
Published on Jul 30 2000 by Sue Howell

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Ever
My Father used to get mad at me because I didn't hear anything while I was reading. "Gone With the Wind" when I was nine, "Lolita" when I was 10 (no, I didn't... Read more
Published on Jan 7 2000 by Tracy McCoy

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent
Without a doubt this is the perfect conclusion to a wonderful series. I only wish the adventures of Francis, Phillipa, Jerrott, Richard and the others could continue. Read more
Published on Sep 22 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing
A chance recommendation by a friend introduced me to this series and all I can say is that I am grateful for that suggestion. Read more
Published on Aug 15 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars READ THESE BOOKS. THEN READ THEM AGAIN.
In the wee hours of last night I finished reading Checkmate, the final saga in the splendid and turbulant life and times of Crawford of Lymond & Sevigny. Read more
Published on Jul 3 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars I adored this book, and all the ones that precede it.
I am bereft! The final page turned, and the lives of Lymond and Phillipa go on without me. I wonder about the new turbulent and exciting times that they are entering into with... Read more
Published on April 19 1999

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