"When beautiful cloth merchant’s daughter Elizabeth Williams is widowed at the age of twenty-two, she is determined to make herself a success in the business she has learned from her father. But there are those who oppose a woman making her own way in the world, and soon Elizabeth realizes she may have some powerful enemies – enemies who also know the truth about her late husband…
Security – and happiness – comes when Elizabeth is introduced to kindly, ambitious merchant turned lawyer, Thomas Cromwell. Their marriage is one based on mutual love and respect…but it isn’t always easy being the wife of an influential, headstrong man in Henry VIII’s London. The city is filled with ruthless people and strange delights – and Elizabeth realizes she must adjust to the life she has chosen…or risk losing everything"
I have called this novel "powerful", and it was to me..and "groundbreaking" because few facts are available to the public about the wife of Thomas Cromwell, excepting for her name and her death date. Additionally, again for me, this family has not been "overdone" in fiction although the Tudors themselves perhaps have been.
I preface this review to say two things: one is that I received this ARC for a review and secondly, that I hope there is a sequel of some sorts ( Gregory Cromwell and/or Richard Williams). This author's prior work that I am most familiar with, was a family series involving three book.
This evocative story begins with a preface, that shows how Elizabeth's life will be in 1526, then jumps to Part One, which is when she is widowed from Tom Williams. On that occasion she is reintroduced, as an adult with Thomas Cromwell ( who she may have met in childhood).
Carol McGrath,in her fine author note, indicates that any "inventions" are a novelist's prerogative, but emerge from facts which are in existence, from her historian perspective. She also handles "time jumps" adroitly and in a way that enhances the story.
It was very satisfying to me to be able to read about the Cromwells' life together, and to put flesh on their bones, as the saying goes. It seems to have been a good life lived in very difficult times, poised as they were on a religious reformation with many societal norms being thrown asunder.
Many of the associates and staff of Thomas Cromwell and "Lizzie", as she was called, had their life station rise as their employer's did. We do know that in these perilous times life was precarious. This family dared to challenge some norms and consequences occurred.
I recommend this book to all historical novel lovers as well as some Tudor fans, although Henry and his queens were only backdrops to how this story is told. Masterful!
3.5 stars. It was a good read, although not really my usual historical novel type, I tend to avoid a lot of battle scenes and gore. That being said, I think the author's notes were superb, so for sure some history was there. I gave it a bumping grade for that reason.
I have read several books about Nest so had no idea this one would lead to multiple executions, and that Gerald of Windsor sort of vanishes at the end. I would have liked, or hoped that Nest would have gone on towards her next relationship at the end.
Also was Nest or Gwenllian the Warrior Queen, the primary character? There was a bit too much of jumping from scene to scene with depth and context. Curious as to whether this was a standalone of a sequel to the Blood of Kings Series.
I appreciated being given an ARC at Netgalley by Thomas and Mercer for this read. Recommended for followers of this author and others who write about Welsh rebellions.
This long telling of the Grey sisters trauma at the hands of Elizabeth I was engrossing as well as an emotional read. I did know a good bit about these sisters, having read other books recently but this one went into much more depth and juxtapositions of Elizabeth versus anything that was threatening.
What I got from this very well written story was that Elizabeth's terrors and anxieties put her at odds with almost everyone from time to time, reminding me of our own political landscapes I suspect.
The book ended sort of upbeat, although we know that despite having a pension and owning a house, Mary Grey only have several years of freedom and never again lived with Thomas Keyes. Did she communicate with him in letters prior to his death? I hope so and the book portrayed it that way.
Jane Grey's tragic story is known to most and that was the shorter part of the book, which makes sense. Jane was portrayed as being a "saint" and a "martyr" and surely was fanatically religious; that fact consoled a bit for the manner of her death, as she was not terrified.
The part of the book that tells of the life of Catherine Grey had a lot of depth, which also makes sense as she lived a fuller life. Did she die because she was depressed and anorexic or as other chroniclers indicate also have consumption, if so she may have been infected from Lady Jan Seymour her sister in law.
Married first to Henry Herbert at 13 she was back at court at the age of perhaps 14. Her cousin Queen Mary was kind to her and kinder to her mother Frances Brandon Grey than Elizabeth I was.
Catherine Grey was beautiful and according to Philippa Gregory, she was the darling of the people of Britain when she was imprisoned.
Her imprisonment was for marrying without the Queen's consent and she and her spouse and her two young sons paid dearly for their relationship. Elizabeth I was , indeed, a horrible person as her cousins ( Especially Mary Grey) said often.
I received this book from NetGalley for a review and I feel it was excellent, although I greatly missed an "author's note" , which was not in this ARC. It was an emotional read and quite engrossing. Recommended to all who appreciate this era.
A birthday present book that I bumped ahead of my ARC I was supposed to be reading for two days. I thought this book was awesome as was a previous book by Sally Cabot, "Benjamin Franklin's Bastard" - great fiction based on accurate and known facts.
Not an expose as such, but letters between Martha and some of her peers suggest that she had a love interest in William Short a protégé of Thomas Jefferson. If that was not the case then they were very close lifelong friends. Martha's life with Thomas Randolph was not easy although they had twelve children together, they lived apart for the last years of Randolph's life.
The author allowed Martha as the main character of this work to rationalize away, for many years her father's relationship with Sally Hemings. She was aware that it was likely that Sally Hemings was her mother's half sibling.
When she went to Washington to act as her father's "First Lady" for a short time she was confronted with associates who queried her about her father's liaison with Sally Hemings. Upon returning to Monticello she decided that in the South such things were not talked about.
One time she came upon her father and Sally in her father's room at night, a fact that made clear to her that at least one child belonged to her father. The contents of her father's will also made that clear but although she discussed the will with her father they did not discuss what his actual relationship was to the Hemings children.
After her father's death she relocated herself away from Thomas Randolph but apparently was at his deathbed when he passed away. I appreciate the allusion that she may have resumed a relationship with William Short.
I recommend this book wholeheartedly.
I gave something over 3.5 and rounded up to 4 on here. It was difficult to follow as there were many subgroups and subplots going on, as this was a diaspora of sorts. I found a reviewer who had itemized the characters who traveled together and originated from the same places, thanks going out to her!
I do love Roman Britain and this aftermath is important to understand, the author's note goes into some detail. I would have liked a bit more cohesion of plot, although I assume this was a "scattershot" sort of crisis, and the author gave a good glimpse of what might have been going on.
Coel, who might be "Old King Cole", was a favorite character with some depth.(See Colchester or "Cole's Castle") I also was partial to Llinos and Owain as a couple and their relationship to others had depth.
I would recommend to those who love Roman Britain as I do.
This was a very good book, well researched and written and I enjoyed it. My only problem was that I could not get "into it" for a long time due to the quite blatant fictional aspects of the book. Yes, I understand it was a novel. Let's go right to the point,though, and say she did not have an adult brother named Cuthbert, and that it is extremely doubtful that Cecily Neville had an illicit physical affair with a fairly close relative.
So what would have been a 5 star book for me sort of melted down to maybe 3.75. I almost did not finish it but I am very glad that I did. Once I got going on it, I could not put it down. The historical details were mostly excellent and the last half of the book was a delight.
Except that Cecily had no such adult brother, the role of Cuthbert as "other voice" worked very well. Perhaps he could have been a well depended on squire so there was not SO much fiction but he lent credence to the "unseen" things we needed to hear about Cecily and Richard's life.
I do recommend this book to those who admire this part of the Plantagenet family and just say.."keep reading" as it is certainly worthwhile!
This is a series I have enjoyed for years, this one was not my all time favorite but it was still quite enjoyable. There were at least two mysteries involved in this story: one was involving King John, the second was about a long missing Sicilian boy, and third was an unrelated mystery of a family of drapers with an illegitimacy over generations which culminated in a murder.
The Medieval Lincoln and its historical atmosphere of the series is just right, but sometimes the characters do not spring to life. Nicolaa de la Haye, hereditary castellan of Lincoln castle, and her husband Gerard de Camville, Sheriff of Lincoln always are credible, this book is no exception. Gianni could be a bit more colorful as could the Templar.
If there is another outing I will be glad to read it. Recommended for historical mystery Medieval fans.
