Brian Wainwright, author of Within The Fetterlock
Next to the entry for Anya Seton’s Katherine, Wainwright remarks that he includes it just in case “there’s anyone out there who hasn’t read it.” That would be me. In fact, I haven’t read any of these books, so I’m going to have to get busy.
Told from Edward II’s point of view, Gaveston
Piers Gaveston was the most beautiful creation on God’s earth…. [He] had eyes as green as emeralds and a smile that dazzled like the sun….
But Gaveston’s beauty was to be, in Edward’s eyes, his curse. For as much as Edward loves him, others seethe with anger over his special treatment. They resent the gifts Edward bestows on him. They further blame him for Edward’s inattention to important matters ranging from securing his inheritance to dealing with the Scottish wars.
In time, Edward’s cousin, Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, and Guy de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, conspire to capture and kill Gaveston. But the story doesn’t end quite at this point. There’s a brief accounting of Edward’s later relationship with Hugh le Despenser and a 4-paragraph epilogue on Roger Mortimer’s and Isabelle’s (Edward’s queen) imprisonment of Edward.
While the author’s knowledge of the subject is impressive and her inventions (Thomas’ and Edward’s youthful sexual experiments) make sense in light of the story, I find myself unable to recommend it without qualification except to those who never tire of reading about this time period or these characters.
The problem with the novel is threefold: While well-researched, it never really breaks out of the gay historical romance model. The sex is often, explicit and largely unnecessary. Second, while Edward clearly was a weak ineffectual king, his portrayal as an immature, petulant, sniveling man who can’t get Gaveston’s nether parts out of his head grates.
Third, telling the story from Edward’s point of view sometimes made it farcical. For instance, at the end of a section where Edward tells about leaving England to marry Isabelle, he says, “I simply cannot understand why so many people took offence when I left him [Gaveston] regent in my absence.” While Edward lacked good judgment, this remark makes him stupid. Rating: Good.
See also: Read a review of this novel from someone who is quite knowledgeable about the man: Gaveston by Chris Hunt on Edward II
Susan Higginbotham has been kind enough to remind me about the availability of a new discussion forum on historical fiction. Historical Fiction Online is a spin-off of the former, HistoricalFiction.org, which mysteriously went offline late last week.
Members have been working hard to restore as much of the content as possible. The new site provides a forum for discussing historical fiction and related issues. You will find book reviews, discussions on authors, time periods, research and writing issues, and more.
Free registration is required.
Updated 2 September 2008. A most unique and interesting woman, Eleanor of Acquitaine was at different times queen to the kings of two countries – Louis VII of France and Henry II of England. She inherited Aquitaine (southwestern portion of France) at the tender age of 15 when her father, Duke William, died without a male heir.
Eleanor lived an eventful life. She actively recruited soldiers from her duchy in preparation for the Second Crusade. She also joined the Crusade.
When she became bored with Louis, she attempted to divorce him. Later, the two received an annulment.
Eleanor then married Henry, 11 years her junior. They were crowned king and queen of England together in December 1154. Eleanor again became disgruntled about 12 years later, superficially because of Henry’s public affair with Rosamond Clifford. She returned to Aquitaine.
By 1172, she was leading her older sons (Young King, Richard and Geoffrey) into rebellion against Henry. The short-lived uprising ended in her capture. Eleanor remained Henry’s prisoner for 16 years.
After his death, she ruled England while Richard was on crusade. Eleanor died in 1204 at about the age of 82. (Source: Marion Meade, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Penguin Books, 1977)
Regarding historical fiction about Eleanor, see the reading list below. Use the resources available in Find Books to locate copies. Or for books currently available at Amazon, follow the title links. Fuzzy History receives a small commission for referral purchases.
Green titles comprise those I really enjoyed (Excellent to Very Good rating). If there is no comment following the title, I haven’t read the book and I know nothing about it. Please feel free to suggest titles by leaving a comment.
Alinor
Beloved Enemy
The Book of Eleanor
The Canterbury Papers
Champion
The Court of Love
The Courts of Love by Peter Bourne. A historical romance.
The Courts of Love
Cruel as the Grave
Death at Blenheim Palace
Devil’s Brood
Devil’s Brood
Dragon’s Lair
Duchess of Aquitaine
Eleanor: Crown Jewel of Aquitaine
Eleanor: The Passionate Queen
Eleanor the Queen
Forever Love
The Greatest Knight
The Lion in Winter: A Play
The Lion of England
The Lute Player
Mortal Love
My Lady Troubadour
The Passionate Brood
The Plantagenet Prelude
A Pride of Kings
Prince of Darkness
A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver
The Queen’s Man
The Queen’s War
The Revolt of the Eaglets
The Scarlet Lion
The Serpent’s Tale
Through a Glass Darkly
The Tigress and the Rose
Time and Chance
17 August 2008 — fuzzyhistory
Vulpes Libris will discuss Richard III during the week. “We won’t be providing any definitive answers this week, but we will – we hope – be offering a reasonably balanced overview of the most controversial and enigmatic monarch England has ever known.” Discussion topics include Shakespeare’s Richard III, Sharon Kay Penman’s The Sunne in Splendour, Emma Darwin’s A Secret Alchemy (due out in the U.K. in November 2008), Sir John Everett Millais’ painting, The Two Princes Edward and Richard in the Tower, two different versions of Richard III in film, and Annette Carson’s Richard III: The Maligned King. Annette Carson will join in at the end of the week. (Tip of the hat to EC at Historicalfiction.org for the head’s up.)
Richard III Week
14 August 2008 — fuzzyhistory
I have admired Alianore’s Edward II blog from afar for awhile. I was catching up on my blog reading tonight when I found her post on fiction and non-fiction on Edward II. It’s a great list with short annotations.
I read two of the fictional titles on her “like” list – The Traitor’s Wife by Susan Higginbotham and The Lion of Mortimer by Juliet Dymoke. Both of these are excellent. I intend to re-read them.
I’ve been watching for Brenda Honeyman’s books at used book sales for several months. She’s not easy to find. I’ve seen some of her titles associated with the name Brenda Clarke. Unfortunately, she’s not available through my local library. I may have to go the interlibrary loan route (since she’s on Alianore’s “like” list).
Don’t miss the comments on the post. They’re equally informative and entertaining.
10 August 2008 — fuzzyhistory
It’s the third book in a trilogy that includes When Christ and His Saints Slept
The author’s Web site now features an excerpt from the novel. It’s due out in U.S. bookstores in October 2008.
Thanks, Penguin Group and Shelf Awareness! (Click the image above to pre-order the novel from Amazon. Fuzzy History receives a small commission for the referral.
9 August 2008 — fuzzyhistory
While the politics of both countries regarding this event, as well as the disruption of the Napoleonic Wars, provide interesting background, the story centers around the lives of two women – Bruce’s (called Lord Elgin) wife, Mary, and Aspasia, the consort of the Athenian politician Perikles during the 4th Century B.C. Both women suffer to a greater or lesser degree because they live in a world that did not recognize their status except as a man’s chattel.
Thus, the premise of the novel intrigued me. But, unfortunately, the anachronistic portrayal of Aspasia, as well as oft-mentioned feminist ideals out of context with the times and anachronisms in conversations amongst ancient Greeks (particularly, the use of modern coarse slang) contribute to my overall dissatisfaction with the book.
If this were the sum of the problems with the novel, I might still have rated it “good” as defined in my chart. But the story fails to engage. I became bored at about page 150 and remained bored until the end. I was unable to connect with either Elgin or Mary.
Elgin was an irritating conniving vengeful bully, who despite his role in government, remained clueless about people and politics. Mary, more a woman of her times than Aspasia, was too innocent and saintly – a Mary Sue. Rating: Fair.
27 July 2008 — fuzzyhistory
Lured by the strong pull of Communism amongst the circle of his acquaintances, Botsford attends a gathering where he meets Edward Phelan, a man 2 years younger and from the working class. Edward accompanies Botsford to the apartment where he recently moved.
Their brief sexual encounter leads to a more involved relationship. But whereas Phelan is comfortable with his sexuality, Botsford is not. Eventually his interfering aunt talks him into meeting a woman, who, he convinces himself, he ought to marry.
The woman – Philippa – knows him better than he knows himself. She rejects him. But in the meantime, Phelan discovers the betrayal and flees to Spain into the arms of the Communists.
Botsford’s reminiscences continue as they relate his feelings of sexual confusion and his eventual pursuit of Phelan. Readers gain snippets of insight into the dealings of the Communist Party, attitudes toward homosexuality and the conditions of war – the Spanish Civil War.
But, alas, this is not a novel about war or politics. Rather, it is a coming of age story – a tale about a man, who, by the time he accepts his homosexuality, finds it is too late for the one he loves.
Warning: Contains graphic descriptions of homoerotic sex. Rating: Very good. (Click the image above to purchase the novel from Amazon. Fuzzy History receives a small commission for the referral.)
25 July 2008 — fuzzyhistory
Troy has fallen when the story opens. Gull is the child of a slave woman. Because of an accident that cripples her, she becomes Pythia’s acolyte. In a few years, at the tender age of 12 or 13, Gull becomes Pythia through the death of her mentor.
Aeneas arrives in Pylos seeking a place for his people to live. Pythia joins Aeneas at this point and travels with his people.
Centered around the trials and tribulations of their travels from Pylos to their final destination, Latium, near the future Rome, Black Ships describes the economic crisis of the times (approximately 1200 BCE) and how people coped with it.
While I very much enjoyed the story, I wonder if this modern retelling loses something of the reality of the times of Virgil’s Aeneid. The men seem too kind-hearted (e.g., Aeneas’ treatment of Basetamon), too deferential to Gull – though at times they believe her to be more a god than a woman. There are sword fights and skirmishes, but the battle scenes aren’t related in the same graphic detail as the travels or the relationships amongst the people.
At the end of the day, Black Ships is as much a love story as it is a historical novel. It’s in no way, shape or form the kind of trashy bodice-ripper often associated with the genre, historical romance. But neither is the novel what I would call historical fantasy. There is legend, but no dragons. There is mystique, but no magic.
While the categorization is unlikely the author’s fault, potential readers should be prepared for an emotional journey rather than a fast-paced romp through imagined lands. Rating: Very good. (Click the image above to purchase the novel from Amazon. Fuzzy History receives a small commission for the referral.