Alice Perrers was The King's Concubine

Anne O'Brien's books just keep getting better in my estimation. The title character of Alice was impeccably developed and I like to think accurately illustrated her life and the times she lived in. Perhaps her marriage was less idyllic than described, and possibly Queen Philippa did not choose her to entice Edward, but all things looked at together do seem to represent historical events.

As a critic, I would say that as the protagonist Alice shone, and Edward had much less depth. The rest of the characters were sort of typecast as minor villains as their roles as family members of the King dictated. It was a tumultuous time and Alice rose to her self imposed task on more than one occasion, quite possibly because she necessarily had to try to have a safety net for herself and her children.

Alice was a solitary figure her entire life, I would like to hope that the last 20 some years were good ones for her, living in comfort with her children and her husband. We do not know a lot about her early life but it could have happened just this way.

Christ's Mass 1203 - The Canterbury Murders

Nicolaa de Haye and Bascot are a fine team that I visit every chance that Maureen Ash gives me. Christ's Mass season in 1203 in Canterbury was just such an occasion with King John. King John, like all Plantagenets is a complicated person, and he surely added unnecessary twists to this murder investigation.

Nicolaa as a historical figure is always intriguing to me, as she was a very important and capable person and valuable to the throne. Maureen Ash's history and sense of time and place is always impeccable.
Nicholaa and King John are always the most vivid characters for me, although that surely varies for others.

I am looking forward to the next episode.

The Devil's Companion ~ A Fine Read

 

Very glad indeed that I happened upon this book by a favorite author! This is a period in time skipped over by many but very important to know about,William Rufus's reign is often relegated to the events of his death.

Robert Fitzhamo(Fitzhamon),Earl of Gloucester,who died young and in the King's service was also called the Lord of Tewkesbury. His family served,Duke William in Normandy and likely came with his entourage.His father Haimo and Grandfather Richard were hereditary feudal lords in Lower Normandy. Apparently they earned the respect of the native Saxons as well as their Norman peers.

Maureen Ash's characters had depth, vibrancy and very much came alive to tell their own story. I hope there will be a sequel as Fitzhaimo's relationship with Sybil de Montgomery has just begun with the ending of the book. The remainder of their life appears to be eventful and worthwhile to read about in such eventful times.

Their daughter Mabel married an illegitimate son of Henry I and together they established a line of important personages in England.
I hope to hear about them soon.

Outlaw Knight ~ Fulke FitzWarin as Robber Baron

The story of the Outlaw Knight was not new to me as Fulke FitzWarin was already a favorite character. Revisiting him and his world was surely no chore for me at all. Elizabeth Chadwick has no equal, I do not think.

Beginning with the most probably true story of Fulke's argument with Prince John over chess, their personal history is always one of struggle. As King, John was terribly unfair to Fulke about awarding Whittington Castle to another. Fulke has been awarded the right to the Castle in the Curia Regis court and as a consequence he turned outlaw.
Outlaw Knight is a very apt title for the book as he was truly an outlaw for a period, though surely not the only man driven to such by the crown.

Fulke as a Robber Baron is superb and the history supports the events of his life. He lived and loved hard and well. It is a story worth retelling and no one tells a story better than Elizabeth Chadwick

So missing Gail Frazer~ Two last volumes

Gail Frazer was a great writer and an extremely fine person and I mourn her passing. She and her children devised a plan to digitize her works and I am so glad I purchased this one.

Although I have read one of the three short works in the book, the other two as well as the "tour" of St. Frideswides' Abbey and surrounding lands and houses made it a very worthwhile purchase for me. The tour was much more educational and surely more enjoyable than other works about Medieval life I have read.

"Margaret" Frazer wrote so well and entertainingly about this period and this place. She was , I believe my first venture into medieval historical novels. So worthwhile!

A Wilder Rose ~ Two Lives

Susan Wittig Albert has done a masterful work with the two subjects of her book, Laura Ingalls Wilder and her daughter Rose Wilder Lane. It is a novel, a novel with facts to be explored. In her very fine reader's companion to A Wilder Rose, Albert says " Writing novels about real people can be a tricky business"

What can be so tricky about it, you might well ask? Laura Ingalls Wilder's stories about a time gone by are now a fabric of our society and part of legend, part of our childhood. Let me let Laura herself explain " All I have told is true bit it is not the whole truth".

We knew her as an unpublished, inexperienced writer who put pencil to paper and wrote her memories of life on the prairie and frontier with her family. In actuality, Wilder and her daughter Rose were collaborators in taking the memories of pioneering and making them publishable and saleable.

The author's years of meticulous study of original documents including the diaries and day journals of both women and scholarly comparisons of the writing of both are compelling but sympathetic. We can enjoy them by understanding that both of these women lived through hard times and created stories that endure.

Susan Albert ends her very excellent Reader's Companion with a  statement in response to those who say that something has changed with this new knowledge. I wholeheartedly agree with her when she says, "Do the books really 'mean something different' "? I don't think so."

They are "books that we still cherish, some eight decades after their  publication."

Hey There Georgie ~ Her Royal Spyness

So pleased that I grabbed this review copy of this book from NetGalley which was there to announce and promote the seventh book in the series, "Heirs and Graces". Rhys Bowen is a favorite author but I had not gotten to this series yet and so glad I now have. The rest of the books are now a must.

Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie is a delightful, vibrant and funny character who is marvelously well developed. I would have loved the book even if any mystery had not developed but happily it did. Georgie was an intuitive if not physically adept sleuth. Her cousin the Queen appreciates her thinking and daring and will surely utilize her skills in the future.

The dreary castle in Scotland she was born in as daughter of the Duke of Rannoch and Glen Garry was described so well as was the London town house belonging to her family. Poor Georgie had really never functioned without a maid to assist her and had to quickly discover how to do just about everything or be cold and hungry.

Her brother the Duke, Hamish called "Binky" was suitably stuffy but with warmth and affection for his sister. Her adorable grandfather and her typical actress-cum-socialite mother were superb characters.

It is obvious why Rhys Bowen has won just about every mystery writing award that exists. She is brilliant and so is Georgie!