Welcome to the Historical Fiction Online forums: a friendly place to discuss, review and discover historical fiction.
If this is your first visit, please be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above.
You will have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed.
To start viewing posts, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

The King's Grace by Anne Easter Smith

Post Reply
User avatar
amyb
Reader
Posts: 159
Joined: August 2008
Location: Atlanta, GA
Contact:

The King's Grace by Anne Easter Smith

Post by amyb » Thu July 23rd, 2009, 6:48 pm

Grace Plantagenet, bastard daughter of King Edward IV of England is only mentioned once in history - in a account written first hand about the small party seen escorting the Dowager Queen Elizabeth Woodville’s funeral barge. This lack of the Grace’s historical background provides the author, Anne Easter Smith, complete control over her heroine, which is quite unique in a historical fiction novel (if it’s a GOOD historical fiction novel, that is!).
Grace spends the first 11 years of her life in an abbey, when one day Dowager Queen Elizabeth Woodville summons her to court. England is in much turmoil at this time - King Edward IV is dead and the marriage between he and Elizabeth has been declared invalid and their children made bastards, based on the facts now coming to light of Edward’s previous betrothal. Edward’s brother, King Richard III wears the crown, the two York princes and heirs to the throne are in the tower for “safe keeping” and Henry Tudor is threatening to invade.

When Henry Tudor succeeds with his invasion and King Richard III dies in battle, the Tudor Dynasty is born. Edward and Elizabeth’s daughter, Bess, reluctantly marries the usurper and surprisingly they end up very happy together. They will eventually produce four children: Arthur, Mary, Margaret and the infamous, Henry VIII.

As his hold on the crown is not very secure, Henry is constantly fearful and paranoid. He suspects Elizabeth Woodville of plotting against him and sends her to Bermondsey Abbey. Grace accompanies her out of respect and feelings of gratitude, although she never thought she’d be once again in an abbey. This part was really interesting to me – we get to see a softer side of the formidable Woodville woman and even though she’s every bit of a Royal snob, she is a real human being underneath and I actually grew to like her a bit! The proper and moral Good Queen Bess and her less than moral, impetuous sister, Cecily bring amusing moments to the novel and provide a sense of family among the siblings. Grace is the diplomat between these two very strong personalities.

Stories of a young man calling himself Richard, the lost duke of York, begin reaching England. No one knows what to believe – is it the lost prince or a boatman’s son from Tournai named Perkin Warbeck (sp) pretending to be Richard? And if he is just a boatman’s son, how does he know French & Latin? Grace’s inquisitive nature takes her on a mission to find out the truth – for her and for her family. In the end, nothing is quite what it seemed to be.

Not only is The King’s Grace about the mystery of Perkin Warbeck, but of Grace - a girl who is trying to find her own path in life and the obstacles she overcomes to get there. Sweet natured and one for the underdogs, Grace is a pleasure to read about and I truly enjoyed this story. I’m no expert on The Princes in the Tower, so I can’t really comment on Smith’s explanation of the Perkin/Richard debate, but her conclusion doesn’t seem too out there and was believable for me. And the happy ending was a nice change of pace from your usual historical fiction ending.

User avatar
Carine
Compulsive Reader
Posts: 675
Joined: September 2008
Currently reading: Jonkvrouw - Jean-Claude Van Ryckeghem
Interest in HF: I love history
Favourite HF book: Can't pin that down to only 1 :-)
Preferred HF: Medieval, Tudor and Ancient Egyptian
Location: Ghent, Belgium
Contact:

Post by Carine » Fri July 24th, 2009, 6:23 am

Great review Amy, thanks !
I'm looking forward to reading this book too.

User avatar
Nefret
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 2994
Joined: February 2009
Favourite HF book: Welsh Princes trilogy
Preferred HF: The Middle Ages (England), New Kingdom Egypt, Medieval France
Location: Temple of Isis

Post by Nefret » Wed September 16th, 2009, 2:47 am

Looking forward to reading this one. (After I read the ones before it.)

User avatar
robinbird79
Avid Reader
Posts: 378
Joined: June 2009
Location: Georgia

Post by robinbird79 » Thu September 17th, 2009, 2:21 am

This was a good book but not my favorite out of the three (Rose for the Crown was my top pick of them). I do think it was interesting to read about someone who is pretty much lost to history and her story was interesting enough.
Currently Reading: Crown in Candlelight, R. H. Jarmen

http://almostcrazymommy.blogspot.com

User avatar
Loveday
Scribbler
Posts: 26
Joined: November 2009
Location: Virginia

Post by Loveday » Tue January 12th, 2010, 6:46 pm

Very late on this, but I'm kind of new here and am going through a lot of older threads. This book is next on my TBR pile; I found it a few weeks ago on a clearance table at Borders. Thanks for the review!
"When I get a little money, I buy books; and if any is left...er... I buy more books." (Apologies to Erasmus ;) )

tsjmom
Reader
Posts: 227
Joined: August 2008

Post by tsjmom » Mon February 22nd, 2010, 10:18 pm

I recently finished this and really enjoyed. New era for me, interesting perspective on the 2 princes, fast. 4.5/5 I plan to follow up with the others in the trilogy.

Post Reply

Return to “By Author's Last Name R-Z”