The Royal Diaries

The Royal Diaries is a series of twenty books published by Scholastic Press from 1999 to 2005. In each of the books, a fictional diary of a real female figure of royalty as a child throughout world history was written by the author. "The Royal Diaries" was a spin-off of Scholastic's popular Dear America series. While "Dear America", "My Name Is America", and "My America" were all cancelled in 2004, "The Royal Diaries" continued until 2005. Rumors that there was going to be a book on Marie Antoinette's mother, Empress Maria Theresa, now confirmed as false.

Unlike "Dear America", which consisted of diaries of young girls living during pivotal periods in American history, "The Royal Diaries" is a series that features women of royalty from all over the world. The series is fictional, though involves real historical figures. Facts and images concerning the historical figure featured in the book are given at the end of each of the books.

ubjects in The Royal Diaries

"The Royal Diaries" has covered many famous women in royalty, including Marie Antoinette, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Queen Elizabeth I, Mary, Queen of Scots, Cleopatra VII, Grand Duchess Anastasia, Catherine the Great, and Queen Victoria. The series has also covered much less known women, such as Anacaona of the Tainos, Weetamoo of the Pocassets, the Lady of Ch'iao Kuo of the Hsien, the Lady of Palenque of the Mayans, and Nzingha of Ndongo. It also covers the life and customs of these women. The target age for theese books are nine to twelve.

Book

*"Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor, England, 1544" by Kathryn Lasky (1999)]
*"Cleopatra VII: Daughter of the Nile, Egypt, 57 B.C." by Kristiana Gregory (1999)
*"Isabel: Jewel of Castilla, Spain, 1466" by Carolyn Meyer (2000)
*"Marie Antoinette: Princess of Versailles, Austria-France 1769" by Kathryn Lasky (2000)
*"Anastasia: The Last Grand Duchess, Russia, 1914" by Carolyn Meyer (2000)
*"Nzingha: Warrior Queen of Matamba, Angola, Africa, 1595" by Patricia McKissack (2000)
*"Kaiulani: The People's Princess, Hawaii, 1889" by Ellen Emerson White (2001)
*"Lady of Ch'iao Kuo: Warrior of the South, Southern China, 531 A.D." by Laurence Yep (2001)
*"Victoria: May Blossom of Britannia, England, 1829" by Anna Kirwan (2001)
*"Mary, Queen of Scots: Queen Without a Country, France, 1553" by Kathryn Lasky (2002)
*"Sŏndŏk: Princess of the Moon and Stars, Korea, A.D. 595" by Sheri Holman (2002)
*"Jahanara: Princess of Princesses, India, 1627" by Kathryn Lasky (2002)
*"Eleanor: Crown Jewel of Aquitaine, France, 1136" by Kristiana Gregory (2002)
*"Kristina: The Girl King, Sweden, 1638" by Carolyn Meyer (2003)
*"Elisabeth: The Princess Bride, Austria-Hungary, 1853" by Barry Denenberg (2003)
*"Weetamoo: Heart of the Pocassets, Massachusetts-Rhode Island, 1653" by Patricia Clark Smith (2003)
*"Lady of Palenque: Flower of Bacal, Mesoamerica, A.D. 749" by Anna Kirwan (2004)
*"Kazunomiya: Prisoner of Heaven, Japan, 1858" by Kathryn Lasky (2004)
*"Anacaona: Golden Flower, Haiti, 1491" by Edwidge Danticat (2005)
*"Catherine: The Great Journey, Russia, 1743" by Kristiana Gregory (2005)

TV Movies

In 2000 HBO created three TV movies based on the three of the Royal Diaries books: "Elizabeth I - Red Rose of the House of Tudor", "Isabel - Jewel of Castilla", and "Cleopatra - Daughter of the Nile".