Montfort: The Founder of Parliament The Early Years 1229 to 1243 by Katherine Ash

[Misfit]

Anyone know anything about this? One of my friends at Goodreads is asking about it. Isn't Booksurge self-published? I am curious about the reviews, seven gushers (most of whom have only that one review) then the single one star that surprisingly (not) has been commented on by some of the gushy reviewers.

Product Description
Warfare, clandestine romance, intrigue and Bordeaux wine mix in a feast of adventure in Volume II of Montfort The Founder of Parliament. As Viceroy Simon de Montfort learned the hard lessons of military strategy and politics that later enabled him to seize England and found Parliament, the first modern democracy. Acclaim for Katherine Ashe's Montfort: In a tale crammed with romance, deceit, rampant ambition, failures and triumphs galore, readers will get all they hoped for in this deeply researched and well-told historical narrative. Jane Geniesse,author

About the Author
The Viceroy is the second of the four volume series Montfort the Founder of Parliament. Katherine Ashe, a writer for stage, screen and radio theater, has spent thirty three years researching the thirteenth century and the life of Simon de Montfort. Visit her web site katherineashe.com, and don't miss simon-de-montfort.com for more information on montfort and the books, events, radio interviews and discussions of topics ranging from the miracles attributed to Simon to the symbolism of the saints on the ivory shown on the books' covers.

[boswellbaxter]

She's turned up on Amazon's discussion groups. She has the theory that Montfort was the father of Edward I. She also described Eleanor de Montfort in her promotional materials as having been a nun before Simon married her--when someone pointed out that she had taken a vow of chastity but was not a nun, she said that she knew this but that she called her a nun because the distinction was too fine for readers to grasp. We grasped it well enough in Sharon Penman's novel; don't see why we couldn't grasp it in this novel.

The book does have a Search Inside feature.

[Misfit]

I remember her now. I hardly go to the Amazon boards anymore (they either go way OT or it's all try my book). I was just looking at search inside. Perhaps it's still to early but I think I'll pass.

[Ken]

I don't know! She does say that she has approached the books as works of fiction, based on extensive research and the sources she quotes are those I have looked up and used myself. I also checked 'Look Inside' and the excerpts of her writing are pretty readable.

Lover of all things De Montfort, who figures extensively in the novel I'm trying to write, I'll take a chance and buy them. I'll let you know what I think later!

[EC2]

[quote=""Ken""]I don't know! She does say that she has approached the books as works of fiction, based on extensive research and the sources she quotes are those I have looked up and used myself. I also checked 'Look Inside' and the excerpts of her writing are pretty readable.

Lover of all things De Montfort, who figures extensively in the novel I'm trying to write, I'll take a chance and buy them. I'll let you know what I think later! [/quote]

You must let us know Ken. I wouldn't go near de Montfort with a barge pole having discussed him with a medieval professor friend who has studied him in some detail and considers him the vilest of the vile, but I'm still interested in how others explore him in fiction. I do find it very hard to swallow that Edward Longshanks is de Montfort's son, but who knows. It's either defaming the dead on an enormous scale, or it's one of the great undiscovered scandals of the middle ages. I wouldn't want to read this myself I think, but I'd be happy to read an unbiased review.

[SarahWoodbury]

CreateSpace/BookSurge is self-published.

[Misfit]

Oh good, Ken can be our guinea pig

[Ken]

[quote=""EC2""]You must let us know Ken. I wouldn't go near de Montfort with a barge pole having discussed him with a medieval professor friend who has studied him in some detail and considers him the vilest of the vile, but I'm still interested in how others explore him in fiction. I do find it very hard to swallow that Edward Longshanks is de Montfort's son, but who knows. It's either defaming the dead on an enormous scale, or it's one of the great undiscovered scandals of the middle ages. I wouldn't want to read this myself I think, but I'd be happy to read an unbiased review.[/quote]

I'd like to know why your friend considers Simon de Montfort (1208-1265) to be the vilest of the vile. From what I have read (Bemont, Maddicot, M W Labarge and Matthew Paris, he was considered to be arrogant, proud and perhaps cruel in his treatment of the Gascon rebels, but in no way could he be considered as 'vile' as his father of the same name who carried out the atrocities of the Albigensian crusade. SKP treats him kindly and who knows how England (and Wales!) would be today, if he hadn't died at Evesham??

I also do not believe the story of Edward 1 being his son and I'll be interested to read her reasons for suggesting it!

[Ash]

Yeah - It confused me for a bit when I was reading about the Cathars, until I realised there is a big difference between pere and fil.

[EC2]

[quote=""Ash""]Yeah - It confused me for a bit when I was reading about the Cathars, until I realised there is a big difference between pere and fil.[/quote]

Not much difference at all when it came to the Jews. I don't remember the specifics of my discussion with my professor friend, it was many years ago, but I do remember her saying that historians and fiction writers have terribly white-washed Simon's reputation as a good guy. Being the father of parliament has apparently blinkered many going back to Victorian times. He was just as much of a religeous bigot as his father -which is no surprise as he would have been raised with his father's values and belief systems. Of course he was acting within the parameters of society at the time with his attitudes, but even within that society, some were more extreme than others, and his were at the extreme end. There were degrees of tolerance too. My medieval professor friend is Jewish and has researched S de M and the Jews in detail. He could turn on the charm like the sun when he wanted, but what lay underneath was not so charming.
I am reporting this from what I remember - must be going back about 10 years now and I am talking in impressions, not specifics.
If I ever write about him, it will be through the lens of the Bigods, who were not his fans, (not that they were always fans of the sovereign either) and it will be interesting to read up on him. I have the Madicott and the Labarge on on reference shelves but have never read them through as I haven't needed to for research up to now. I'd be interested to know how this new novel compares with SKP's take on Simon.