Book Review: The Rose Without A Thorn by Jean Plaidy

The Rose Without A Thorn by Jean Plaidy

Book 11 in the Queens of England series

Paperback, 288 pages

Three Rivers Press

June 24, 2003

★★★★☆

Genre: Historical Fiction

Source: Personal collection

From the pen of legendary historical novelist Jean Plaidy comes an unforgettable true story of royalty, passion, and innocence lost.

Born into an impoverished branch of the noble Howard family, young Katherine is plucked from her home to live with her grandmother, the Duchess of Norfolk. The innocent girl quickly learns that her grandmother's puritanism is not shared by Katherine's free-spirited cousins, with whom she lives. Beautiful and impressionable, Katherine becomes involved in two ill-fated love affairs before her sixteenth birthday. Like her cousin Anne Boleyn, she leaves her grandmother's home to become a lady-in-waiting at the court of Henry VIII. The royal palaces are exciting to a young girl from the country, and Katherine's duties there allow her to be near her handsome cousin, Thomas Culpepper, whom she has loved since childhood.

But when Katherine catches the eye of the aging and unhappily married king, she is forced to abandon her plans for a life with Thomas and marry King Henry. Overwhelmed by the change in her fortunes, bewildered and flattered by the adoration of her husband, Katherine is dazzled by the royal life. But her bliss is short-lived as rumors of her wayward past come back to haunt her, and Katherine's destiny takes another, deadly, turn.

I read this book immediately following Philippa Gregory's The Boleyn Inheritance, which made sense seeing as they both cover the same characters. You can see my review of Gregory’s book here. I liked reading them back to back in order to get a more well-rounded view of the character of Katherine Howard.

Plaidy's Katherine is looking back on her life retelling all of the events that have led up to her present state of confinement. You even get some little side notes like "if I had only known" or "I would have done that differently". It's refreshing to see someone of that time period recognizing their faults, but I’m not sure that, in reality, Katherine actually realized what was happening. Plaidy makes Katherine likeable, naive, and comes of age very quickly at a time when one needed to fully understand the world around them. I actually enjoyed Katherine in this novel, where as in some other books, she is whiny, overly sexual, and just unlikable.

This was my first Plaidy read and it definitely made me a Plaidy follower. Her characters feel very real and there are so many little details about the world around them that you don’t get sometimes in other books. A wonderful read.

 

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Anne the Queen
• Jean Plaidy’s Royal Intrigue
  

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia

Also by Jean Plaidy:

Jean Plaidy  also has written many other historical fiction books under several pen names.  The other books in this series include:

Loyal in Love (Book 1)

Queen of this Realm (Book 2)

Victoria Victorious (Book 3)

The Lady in the Tower (Book 4)

The Courts of Love (Book 5)

In the Shadow of the Crown (Book 6)

The Queen's Secret (Book 7)

The Reluctant Queen (Book 8)

The Merry Monarch's Wife (Book 9)
[My Review]

The Queen's Devotion (Book 10)

My other reviews by this author:

• The Merry Monarch's Wife
• Madame Serpent
• The Shadow of the Pomegranate

Find Jean Plaidy: Royal Intrigue Blog

 

 

Copyright © 2010 by The Maiden’s Court

Book Review: The Merry Monarch’s Wife by Jean Plaidy

The Merry Monarch's Wife by Jean Plaidy
AKA: The Pleasures of Love
Queens of England series 
Paperback, 336 pages
Three Rivers Press
January 22, 2008
★★★★½☆

Genre: Historical Fiction

Source: Personal Collection

“Charles II is restored to the English throne, and his court is lively and even scandalous. The country is eager for succession to be clear and certain: The next king will be the son of Charles II and his queen, Catherine of Braganza. Yet Catherine, daughter of the king of Portugal and a Catholic, has never been popular with the English people. She is also having great difficulty conceiving an heir, even as many of Charles’s well-known mistresses are bearing his children with ease. Catherine is aware that courtiers close to Charles are asking him to divorce her and take another wife—yet she is determined to hold her title in the face of all odds.”

Catherine of Braganza is a quiet, reserved, and innocent young lady when she comes to marry the Merry Monarch at the licentious court of Charles II. Her eyes are rather quickly opened when she is introduced to her new husband’s mistress, Barbara Palmer. Catherine would have to figure out how to handle her husband’s many mistresses: Barbara Palmer, Louise de Kerouaille, Nell Gwyn and many others. Catherine also has to handle the many plots that implicated her in attempts on the King’s life, hatred toward her for her Catholic religion, and failure to conceive an heir.

Plaidy does a great job at describing the many mistresses that Charles II has. We get to see not only how the court and countrymen reacted to these many women but also have an insight into what Catherine might have felt about them. She is a character that you can find much sympathy for, especially as another woman. I can imagine that it would be hard enough to handle one mistress, never mind several at once.

Prior to reading this book I had no experience with the court of Charles II. Charles is quite the interesting person. He was always lively and jovial and quick to brush off personal problems. It is amazing how carefree his life seems to be. While he cares about how his dalliances with other women affect his wife, he also expects her to handle them with decorum and not pay any attention to it (the nerve!).

Of the few Plaidy novels that I have read so far this is one of my favorites. The characters are very well developed and I could really feel for Catherine. Enough background information is given for a solid understanding of these people without having to look anything up to feel comfortable in that time period.

Plaidy is definitely becoming one of my favorite authors!

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Fresh Off the Shelf

Where to Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia

Also by Jean Plaidy:

Jean Plaidy  also has written many other historical fiction books under several pen names.  The other books in this Queens of England series include:

Loyal in Love (AKA Myself, My Enemy)

Queen of this Realm

Victoria, Victorious

The Lady in the Tower

The Courts of Love

In the Shadow of the Crown

The Queen's Secret

The Reluctant Queen

The Queen's Devotion (AKA William's Wife)

The Rose Without a Thorn
[My Review]

My reviews of other books by this author:

• Madame Serpent
• The Rose Without a Thorn
• The Shadow of the Pomegranate

Find Jean Plaidy: Royal Intrigue Blog

Copyright © 2009 by The Maiden’s Court