Book Review: The Ripper's Wife by Brandy Purdy

The Ripper’s Wife by Brandy Purdy
ARC, Paperback, 369 pages
Kensington Books
October 28, 2014
★★★★☆

Genre: Historical Fiction

Source: Received book for review as part of HF Virtual Book Tour

“It begins as a fairytale romance-a shipboard meeting in 1880 between vivacious Southern belle Florence Chandler and handsome English cotton broker James Maybrick. Courtship and a lavish wedding soon follow, and the couple settles into an affluent Liverpool suburb.

From the first, their marriage is doomed by lies. Florie, hardly the heiress her scheming mother portrayed, is treated as an outsider by fashionable English society. James's secrets are infinitely darker-he has a mistress, an arsenic addiction, and a vicious temper. But Florie has no inkling of her husband's depravity until she discovers his diary-and in it, a litany of bloody deeds...”

The tale of Jack the Ripper is one that has been told in a variety of ways, however the one told by author Brandy Purdy in The Ripper’s Wife is an entirely new (and refreshing) angle. James Maybrick was a suspect brought up many, many years after the crime spree, but the claims to this identity have since been proven to be false. In The Ripper’s Wife, Purdy brings this little known theory to the fore. Additionally she explores the contentious marriage between James and Florie Maybrick which leads to a scandalous trial. All of these dramatic moments created some great fodder for the novel.

The bulk of the novel is Florie telling her story of how she met James and her life being married to him. We don’t really know much about the Ripper’s story until about halfway through the novel when his diary is introduced – then you are immersed in the brutality and gore that is his crime spree. And there are quite some brutal moments – it is not for the faint of heart.

The segments of the novel which tell of the crime spree feel frantic, desperate, and crazed – essentially mirroring the internal turmoil of the killer. However, much of the novel does feel dense; this won’t be a novel that you race through, but it will be one that you enjoy the new twist to typical Ripper story.

Author Brandy Purdy also has written The Tudor Throne, The Queen’s Pleasure, Vengeance is Mine, The Boleyn Bride, The Queen’s Rivals, and The Confession of Piers Gaveston. You can visit the author’s website or blog for more information about the books.  If you would like to preview the story before reading it, why not try out this excerpt of the book?

My reviews of other books by this author:

• The Boleyn Bride

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Book Drunkard
• Readful Things Blog

Here are some choices for purchasing the book: Amazon, B&N, RJ Julia (my fav indie bookstore).

You can follow along with the rest of the tour by visiting the HFVBT site or on Twitter with the following hashtag: #RippersWifeBlogTour.

 

 

Copyright © 2014 by The Maiden’s Court

Book Review: The Boleyn Bride by Brandy Purdy

The Boleyn Bride by Brandy Purdy
Paperback, 272 pages
Kensington
February 25, 2014
★★★☆☆

Genre: Historical fiction

Source: Received for review as part of Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tour

“At sixteen, Elizabeth Howard envisions a glorious life for herself as lady-in-waiting to the future queen, Catherine of Aragon. But when she is forced to marry Thomas Boleyn, a wealthy commoner, Elizabeth is left to stagnate in the countryside while her detested husband pursues his ambitions. There, she raises golden girl Mary, moody George, and ugly duckling Anne—while staving off boredom with a string of admirers. Until Henry VIII takes the throne. . .

When Thomas finally brings his highborn wife to London, Elizabeth indulges in lavish diversions and dalliances—and catches the lusty king's eye. But those who enjoy Henry's fickle favor must also guard against his wrath. For while her husband's machinations bring Elizabeth and her children to the pinnacle of power, the distance to the scaffold is but a short one—and the Boleyn family's fortune may be turning. . .”

This book was a mixed bag for me – I liked the story but did not care much for the writing style, which actually made it very difficult for me to finish reading the book. I’m going to first address the storyline (which I liked) before moving into what did not work for me.

The Boleyn Bride follows Elizabeth Howard, wife to Thomas Boleyn and mother of Anne, Mary, and George Boleyn. I was intrigued by the novel because I wanted to know more about this woman who brought these three intriguing historical figures into the world. She has to have had an interesting story?! Right?! Well, sort of. It seems the majority of her time was spent trying to find a way to spite her husband. She was a hands-off mother, even when her daughters were favorites of King Henry VIII. She really wasn’t all that interesting of an individual after all – but I did appreciate her outside looking in storytelling. I actually can’t say that I liked Elizabeth – I found that I did not have any real feelings for her; she just came off as cold, distant, and superficial. I also did not like that the author chose to continue to include the rumors about Anne Boleyn – the sixth finger, growth on her neck, and the belief that Anne bewitched (literally) Henry. These are elements that I cannot stand in Tudor novels, especially these modernly written ones.

With regard to the writing style, I almost did not get through the prologue – it alone was 26 pages of a 272 page novel! It felt way too long. The author also uses very long, extremely descriptive sentences full of semi-colons. These sentences slowed the pace of the narrative down and did not necessarily add anything to the narrative. Early on in the narrative, the author establishes Elizabeth as a complainer, a turnoff to me as a reader when the same complaints are repeated over and over. A perfect example of that is that Elizabeth repeatedly says “Thomas Bullen – I mean Boleyn!”. I get that the character is mocking her husband and the first time or two it worked, but each time after that I actually got angry when I read it. Please give me something new!

Overall, I don’t feel that this novel contributed anything to the Tudor literature collection and could easily be passed over.

Author Brandy Purdy also has written The Tudor Throne, The Queen’s Pleasure, The Queen’s Rivals, Vengeance is Mine, The Boleyn Wife and The Confession of Piers Gaveston. You can visit Purdy’s website for additional information about the book.

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• The Tudor Enthusiast
• Curling Up With a Good Book

Here are some choices for purchasing the book: Amazon, B&N, RJ Julia (my fav indie bookstore).

You can follow along with the rest of the blog tour by visiting the HFVBT website or on Twitter with the following hashtag: #BoleynBrideTour.

I also have two copies of the novel to giveaway today to a lucky US resident thanks to HFBRT.  Entries are made through the Rafflecopter below.  Last day to enter is March 2nd.  Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Copyright © 2014 by The Maiden’s Court