THE KING'S MOTHER by Judith Arnopp @JudithArnopp

5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book:  I'd read the first two parts in this trilogy, and had been looking forward to the last, to the extent that I'd made a note on my calendar of its release date.

Review: The Beaufort Woman with a link to the review for The Beaufort Bride.

Genre: Historical fiction.

'All England for her death had cause of weeping'

Margaret Beaufort is one of my favourite women of history.  Being known not for her beauty or charm but for her piety and single-minded dedication to the fortunes of her son, Henry VII, she is often overlooked as an historical heroine.  I give a round of applause to this exploration of her character in Judith Arnopp's trilogy.

The King's Mother covers the period of her life when her beloved Henry had become king, and travels through the triumphs, the threats to the security of the new Tudor reign, the births of her grandchildren, and the deaths.  All the deaths.  It's always a challenge to write a historical novel from this time from the point of view of a woman, because the reader does not get to see the battles and other decisive moments that fill the history books; mostly, women were excluded from these.  But Ms Arnopp works around this masterfully, and I was engrossed in this book all the way through, completely absorbed in Margaret's life.

There are some lovely passages; as she gets older, she reflects on her life.  On her marriage to Henry Stafford: '..at the time I had not known I was happy.  Perhaps happiness is a feeling that can only be enjoyed in retrospect'

Also: 'As I grow older I realise our lives are nothing but a collection of memories, flawed recollections of a time and place that will never come again.  Once life is extinguished ... we become nothing more than an imperfect jumble of half-recollected stories in the minds of our children'.

I enjoyed how fact was so seamlessly merged with the author's imagination; especially entertaining were the prophetic scenes featuring Henry VIII as a child. From a midwife, when he is less than one hour old: '..with a temper like that, if he is not given what he wants, he will stop at nothing until he gets it'.  And, later, Henry himself saying that he wanted to be a king not like his father, but like his grandfather; of course, he would come to make the lusty, ebullient Edward IV look positively abstemious.  I also liked Margaret's mention of a certain adventurer called Mr Cabot who had gone in search of new lands and had no idea of what awaited him...!

Played by Amanda Hale in BBC's The White Queen

For all Margaret's good intentions, Ms Arnopp shows us well how far removed the aristocracy and nobility were from the common man, and how Henry VII gained a reputation for miserliness, with his insistence on heavy taxes that meant extreme poverty for some.  Margaret says: 'The people grumble against us.  I fail to understand why they cannot see it is for the good of England.'  Yet Arnopp shows Margaret as an extraordinarily strong but modest and contemplative woman who acknowledges her own faults, and, in later life, gives much to one of her favourite causes: education.

There are a few punctuation and editing errors that were a mild irritation (including my pet 'grrrr': the use of the word 'I', as in 'Henry and I', in instances when it should be 'Henry and me'), but I am sure they would not bother many readers as they did me, and I still have no hesitation in giving this book 5 stars, which I give neither lightly nor frequently. I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend the whole trilogy most highly.

Margaret's tomb in the Henry VII Lady Chapel, Westminster Abbey

THE BEAUFORT WOMAN by Judith Arnopp @JudithArnopp

5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE
On Goodreads HERE

How I discovered this book:  I'd read the prequel, The Beaufort Bride, and wanted to read more!

I liked The Beaufort Bride ~ it was a nicely written piece of historical fiction that got better as it went along, certainly good enough to make me want to read the next book, but I wouldn't have numbered it amongst my favourites.  This book, however, is in a different class.  I don't know how long after the first book it was written, but the writing itself seems to have come on in leaps and bounds.

At first, I wondered if it was simply that I was now reading about the woman, not the young girl, but it's not that; I just felt more passion and depth in this book, far more complex characterisation.  I felt as if I was stepping into the story, rather than just reading about Margaret.   

It's interesting to see different historical writers' take on history, and in The Beaufort Woman, Judith Arnopp had made more of Margaret's involvement with Elizabeth Woodville, the wife of Edward IV, than was probably factual, but I can see why she did this; it's so hard, when writing about a subject as broad as the Wars of the Roses from one point of view, to deliver information, as the key events happened in so many places, with not everyone party to all of them.  I think Ms Arnopp managed to do this masterfully.  As with most books about this complex period, I'd say that it helps if you already know the history before reading the fiction.

But what a story!  I remember commenting after I'd read another book about the period (Jasper, by Tony Riches), that one hardly needs the intrigue of fiction like Game of Thrones, when this stuff all really happened.  This was brought home to me once more.  And something else:  I mentioned, in the Beaufort Bride, that I thought Elizabeth I must have taken certain traits from her great grandmother.  In this, it struck me how Henry VIII took after his grandfather, Edward IV.

Loved it.  Highly recommended.  Now I'm going to see if the third part, The King's Mother, is available yet. 

 

OWEN - Book One of the Tudor Trilogy by Tony Riches

4.5 out of 5 stars

Historical drama based on fact

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE

Reviewed by me as part of Rosie Amber's Book Review Team 

I am deeply fascinated by all things Plantagenet and Tudor, so leapt on this book when it became available on Rosie Amber's review team list.  I was particularly eager to read it as Owen Tudor is someone about whom I knew little, apart from his having been Henry VIII's great grandfather.  My knowledge of the events leading up to the Wars of the Roses is sketchy, too, so this book was an education as well as a great story.

The novel is well edited and proofread, which was a real treat in these days of dubious standards; I could tell that Mr Riches had spent a great deal of time drafting and redrafting, and the structure of the novel itself is extremely well thought out.  The story flows beautifully throughout and is simply written, in the present tense, which is always an odd choice but worked well in this case.  

At first I was not very taken with Riches' Owen Tudor; he seemed like a bit of a stuffed shirt and I couldn't imagine why he aroused such passion in Juliette the servant girl and Queen Catherine de Valois. I found the prose a little stilted, though not terribly.  I much preferred the latter half of the book, after Catherine's death, when it loosened up considerably, Owen's adventurous side came to the fore and I became engrossed.  I looked forward to the introduction of characters about whom I know more: Margaret Beaufort (one of my favourite women in history), and Jasper Tudor, who I've always rather fancied; well done, Mr Riches, you portrayed him so well!

That the book is well researched is clear; many domestic details are included, but these are artfully woven into the story, rather than lumped in to show how much the author has mugged up before beginning to write.  I did wonder if a reader who knows nothing of this historical period might get a little confused by all the dukes and bishops and their various allegiances, but then it is likely that anyone reading this would already have an interest in the period.  There is an author's note at the back to explain which characters come from Riches' imagination and which are from real life.

If you're interested in the Wars of the Roses and the origins of the Tudor dynasty I'd definitely recommend this book, and I look forward to reading the next one in the series - about Jasper!