BR: At the King's Pleasure by Kate Emerson

At the King's Pleasure

Fourth Installment in the Secrets of the Tudor Court Series

by Kate Emerson

My thoughts

At the King’s Pleasure’ is the fourth book in Kate Emerson’s Secrets of the Tudor Court series. I’ve read the previously three books and I’ve truly enjoyed reading each one. In this novel our protagonist is Lady Anne Stafford.  Lady Anne is the sister of The Duke of Buckingham, a man history remembers for dying a traitor.  He is arrogant, judgmental, hypocritical and cruel.  When he hears a rumor that Henry is interested in his sister he immediately sends her to a nunnery with her husband, George Hastings’s, full approval. 

Anne is sent sixty miles away to Littlemore priory where her life, which had always been the comfortable existence that one would expect of a member of the highest tanking noble, but she quickly finds she must follow the rules of the priory and its very strict prioress, Katherine Wells.  Like so many religious houses before the Reformation Anne soon discovers that the prioress is mother to a newborn child.

Hastings retrieves his wife after a little more than a month and takes her to his family home at Ashby de la Zouch castle under conditions most would deem house arrest.  Lady Anne would remain here for five years before being allowed to return to court.  She is granted this in return for providing Hastings with an heir.  So while the two try to rekindle what they had once shared any headway was always tainted by the circumstances in which Anne lived, a virtual prisoner to her husband’s jealousy.

George Hastings seemed to have a genuine love for his wife and they shared a mutual attraction, but throughout the novel he is unable to overcome his misplaced jealousy and mistrust that borders on paranoia and seems to be founded in the flirtatious nature of his wife.  Anne masterfully plays the flirtatious courtier in a game of courtly love popular at the Tudor court.  It seems that the entire court, which the exception of Hastings, seems to understand that the banter is meaningless, but despite many years of marriage, and several children Hastings cannot find it in himself to forgive what might not have even occurred. It is surprising that the two remain together and after much time has passed Anne and George are able to rekindle their love once more.

Like the rest of Emerson’s wonderfully rich and multi-layered protagonists Anne Stafford is a strong women who knows not only love but also bitter betrayal and still has the strength of character to rise above the past when her family is threatened.  She is strong, brave and determined, faithful and loyal and is happy to fight for what she believes in herself without waiting for her knight to ride up and rescue her.  Again, Kate Emerson has left me with another rich detailed account of a marginal but important Tudor woman.  I find her depictions inspiring even for myself in the modern world and would recommend each of the novels in the Secrets of the Tudor Court series without a moment’s hesitation.  In fact, I have never taken more than a day to read any of them.

Historical Fiction at its most brilliant…  Please, Kate keep them coming.

A look at the court of Henry VIII through the eyes of Mary Howard

Secrets of the Tudor Court

by D. L. Bogdan

Secrets of the Tudor Court is told from the perspective of Mary Howard, a marginal but well-connected woman in Tudor England.  Mary was not only the daughter of Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, married to Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond, was in service as a lady in waiting to five of Henry VIII’s queens (Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, Catherine Parr), but was cousin to Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard and daughter-in-law to none other than the King himself.  It is her father, Thomas Howard, cunning and cruel, who has the greatest impact on her life.  Indeed much of the story involves the relationship of father and daughter and the impact this relationship has on Mary’s sense of self.

Overall, I found Bogdan’s account engaging, but I did find it a tedious read until the mid point of the story.  Perhaps this was because I didn't really warm to Bogdan’s Mary initially.  I found her lacking in so many qualities and so desperate to please everyone, but especially her father, who is depicted as nothing short of a tyrant.  I did find the relationship that Mary developed with Anne as well as the esteem in which she held her cousin endearing, but it wasn't until the midpoint of the novel that Mary, as well as her father Norfolk, were developed fully and the reader able to get some insight into the motivations for their actions.  This is my main criticism. 

Mary herself is a treasure.  She is a poet and musician and a supporter of the New Faith.  She is intelligent and a seeker of knowledge.  Despite this the overriding theme for Mary in Secrets of the Tudor Court is the desperate yearning for the love of her father.  Even after she witnesses her father’s duplicity in the rise and fall of two cousins she never wavers in her quest for his love.  Despite the example of her cousin, Anne Boleyn, Mary seems resigned to be a pawn for the use of men.  Truly, she is an empty sad woman for most of the first half of the novel.

It isn’t until the imprisonment of her father and the imprisonment and execution of her brother, Henry Howard, Earl of Suffolk, that Mary begins to be able to fully mature.  After receiving her brother’s children as wards Mary sees a purpose for her life beyond her father’s wishes.  She begins to realize that she has some control over her own destiny, but also wishes to nurture, support and love the children in her care.  Only at this point, for this reader, does Mary become engaging and dynamic as a character and the novel becomes a page-turner from this point until the last

However, I must applaud D.L. Bogdan, as Secrets of the Tudor Court is her debut novel and the small criticism I've made is certainly a honed skill.  I certainly was glad I read the account and must admit I read the last 200 pages in one sitting.  Bogdan also, through the use of Mary Howard as protagonist, gives the reader some insight into the plausible motivations and mindset of the influential but elusive Duke of Norfolk.

 This review qualifies for the following challenges:

Historical Fiction Book Review #15

Tudor Book Blog Reading Challenge #13

Kate Emerson continues to impress...

By Royal Decree

Secrets of the Tudor Court, #3

by Kate Emerson

By Royal Decree is the third installment in Kate Emerson’s series, The Secrets of the Tudor Court.  This series is unique is that each novel is narrated by an actual but marginal woman within the Tudor Court.  I truly enjoy Emerson’s use of this innovative and fresh point of view and at the same time enjoy her novels as they follow the history accurately.  Surprisingly, Emerson includes the actual events of the woman’s life and weaves that into the larger historical setting.  Every installment has been a new and interesting journey into the lives of those Tudor enthusiasts recognize, but do not know much about.  I find this technique enables Emerson to expand and explain motivations in such a way that the greater historical framework is not broached.  I find Emerson’s writing both innovative and classic and truly a wonderful example of how historical fiction should be done.

By Royal Decree follows the story of Elizabeth “Bess” Brooke, daughter of Lord George Brooke, 9th Baron Cobham of Kent.  The story opens with Henry entertaining a group of eligible women of noble birth, including Bess, in his search for his sixth wife.  In the first chapter we again encounter Nan Basset, Between Two Queens, and Emerson allows the second and third installment of the Secrets of the Tudor Court to overlap ever so slightly, which worked for this reader.  Bess brought to court by her parents to attend the King’s banquet.  Bess, young and beautiful, attracted the King’s interest that made her wary and she felt the need to escape his notice.  In her attempt to leave Bess accidently catches her aunt Dorothy Bray in an intimate embrace with Lord William Parr. Much to her aunt’s displeasure Parr seems taken with Bess but she leaves Court the following day to return to Kent, wisely laying low until Henry snares another bride.

Lord William Parr’s sister Katherine would become Henry’s sixth wife and Queen thereby rocketing the Parr’s up the sociopolitical latter virtually overnight.  Not that Lord William seemed to personally profit from this rise.  He was divorced from his child bride, with whom he had spent only one night and who shortly after left him with a former priest and had many children through that relationship. Divorce, ironically, even in Henry VII’s England might be granted but the spouse could not be remarried until the death of their former spouse.  The relationship and love affair between William Parr and Bess seems genuine both in the novel and in the research I’ve done into the pair after reading Emerson’s account.  In the end, politics and religion shaped the couple’s relationship.  Under Edward VI the pair were allowed to marry, Mary I quickly reversed that decision and Elizabeth I reunited the pair again.  It is from this proclamation that the novel takes its name.  Bess and William were married or not by royal decree.

Again, Emerson delivers a wonderfully crafted and carefully researched novel that truly opens up the world of the peripheral figures within the Tudor Court.  For this reader it is Emerson’s meticulous adherence to historical fact that truly allows her fictional account of Bess Brooke and William Parr to truly come to life. I recommend By Royal Decree and am eagerly awaiting delivery of the next installment in the series, At The Kings Pleasure, which will feature Lady Anne Stanhope, sister of The Duke of Buckingham.

This review qualifies for the following challenges:
Historical Fiction Book Review #12
Tudor Book Blog Reading Challenge #10

Kate Emerson continues to surprise me...

Between Two Queens

Secrets of the Tudor Court, #2

by Kate Emerson

Between Two Queens is the second in Kate Emerson's Secrets of the Tudor Court series.  I adored the first, The Pleasure Palace, and high hopes and expectations for this read.  I was surprised that Emerson followed up her immensely popular portrayal of Jane Popyncourt with such a surprising characterization of Anne “Nan” Bassett.   We meet Nan as she competes against her sister for a position in Queen Jane Seymour’s household.  She is young, naïve, and without substance so naturally King Henry takes a liking to her and Nan is chosen for the post.  However, Nan is shocked to discover that she will join Queen Jane in her confinement the following day and locked away from court and the wealthy and titled eligible men that she desperately longs to eventually marry.

Nan’s character begins to gather depth after she is sent away from court on the death of Queen Jane.  Nan begins a physical relationship with Ned Corbett, a gentleman in her stepfather’s household.  A pregnancy results and Nan manages to emerge without tarnishing her reputation and sees that her son is taken in by a loving family.  Back at court awaiting the arrival of Anne of Cleves Nan does have a brief sloppy encounter with the King, who is so intoxicated, that she easily convinces him he has deflowered her.  At last, she seems to develop a depth to her character and rather than dreaming of becoming Queen she begins to dream of life as a mother and wonders and misses her son.

Between Two Queens, follows Nan’s life at court while in service to the last four of Henry's six wives.  We meet Nan as a spoiled teenager but her character grows as the novel progresses and ultimately Nan becomes a cautious but successful courtier in an intrigued filled dangerous court with a growingly erratic King. 

Interestingly, Emerson begins each chapter with passages from actual letters written by historical figures in this story. I really enjoyed this addition.  Not only did it add some primary historical documentation that enhanced and reinforced Emerson’s portrayal.  So while I didn’t find Between Two Queens as intriguing a read as The Pleasure Palace, I did appreciate the evolution of the portrayal of Nan Bassett and in the end found myself admiring her ability to survive and thrive at the Tudor Court.  Without a doubt, Emerson continues to breath new life into the lesser-known women of the Tudor era while weaving what is known about their lives into the larger historical story while remaining true to fact.  I am eagerly anticipating the third installment in the series: By Royal Decree.

This review qualifies for the following challenges:
Historical Fiction Book Review #11
Tudor Book Blog Reading Challenge #9

The Pleasure Palace was a true pleasure...

The Pleasure Palace

Secrets of the Tudor Court

by Kate Emerson

From the beginning to the end I was captivated!  I dare say that Kate Emerson has written a classic historical fiction – a fictional account framed by hard historical fact.  This novel was a refreshing breath of air for me.  In The Pleasure Place, the first in Emerson’s Secrets of the Tudor Court series, the story comes from the point of view of Jane Popyncourt, a name I recognized but knew little about.  For me Emerson’s use of a real person, albeit a marginal person within the Tudor court, made the story even more engaging.  Since little is known about Jane Popyncourt the reader does not have an archetype in mind for the character and can enjoy Emerson’s wonderfully crafted tale of her life. 

Jane arrives in England from France with her mother, who left the French court where she served Queen Anne immediately following the death of King Charles.  The pair are welcomed to the court of Henry VII and while her mother is sent into service with Queen Elizabeth, Jane joins the royal nursery at Eltham Palace in order to converse daily with the Princesses Margaret and Mary in French.  Jane is never quite sure of her position within the court; feeling at times a servant and at others a member of the family.  Jane’s mother passes away shortly following their arrival and Jane is left with many unanswered questions about her family and the reason for the departure from France and subsequent warm welcome at the Tudor court.

As Jane matures she is drawn to Princess Mary and eventually becomes a member of Mary’s household, and serves the princess at the courts of both Henry VII and Henry VIII.  During the early years of Henry VIII’s reign England is at war with France.  During one of the battles the French noble, duc de Longueville, is captured by King Henry and returned to England and await payment of his ransom.  He is a prisoner but due to his rank he is also a guest at court.  Jane is residing at the Tower with the Princess Mary, as Queen Catherine is defending the northern border following a Scottish attack, and finds herself immediately drawn to the duc.  Unexpectedly, a childhood friend, Guy Dunois, is among the men serving the duc and Guy’s presence prompts Jane to begin inquires about her mother and her death.  Jane is unable to resist the charms of the duc and becomes his mistress soon after his arrival.  Eventually, she comes to see the duc for the cad he is but King Henry urges her to continue the relationship and serve as a spy. 

What I found fascinating is that Jane Popyncourt lived and was a member of Princess Mary’s household and was mistress to the Duc.  The fictional twist that Emerson very cleverly spins is Jane’s familial relationship to the Tudors.  Emerson also presents a wonderful character in Jane.  She is not only likeable but also intriguing and the “fictional” Jane is so wonderfully crafted by Emerson that she emerges as a dynamic figure, in her own right, against the backdrop of Kings and Queens and the dynamics of life at the Tudor court.  

This was the first I have encountered Kate Emerson, but I look forward, with anticipation, to the rest of this series.  Kate Emerson is, in my opinion, as meticulous with her research as she is clever and creative with her plot twists and character development.  The use of Jane Popyncourt, the true details of a real person’s life enriched by a fictional but plausible plot-line makes The Pleasure Palace a wonderful engaging read and I recommend it without a moment’s reservation.  

This review qualifies for the following challenges:
Historical Fiction Book Review #10
Tudor Book Blog Reading Challenge #8