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hoserlauren's review against another edition
4.0
Henrietta Howard is poor and wife to an abusive husband. The only things she cherishes are her son, Henry, and her English last name. She uses that name to find a position with Sophia, the grandmother of King George II, while the family is still in Hanover, waiting for their opportunity to claim the throne. Unfortunately Sophia passes away before this happens, but Henrietta secures a position with her granddaughter in law, Caroline, the future Queen of England. When the family moves back to England, Henrietta finds herself a part of royal court. However she is still abused by her husband who serves King George I. When George I banishes Caroline and her husband from court, Henrietta chooses serving them over staying with her family.
I love, love, love British royalty historical fiction. But it has to be done right; historical fiction can get very dry. Thankfully this book was anything but! I've had a lot of luck with historical fiction recently and I'm happy that this book continued my streak. I was able to both learn more about George I/George II and be entertained by the characters and drama that encircled them.
It did take me a little time to get in to this book though. For some reason, I wasn't prepared for the story to be narrated by both Henrietta and Caroline so whenever the narration switched, I got confused about who was now narrating. Eventually I got in to the flow and was used to it.
There's a blurb at the end of the book from the author and it sounds like there are more books planned to shed light on other people in this time. I'd be interested in reading these!
I love, love, love British royalty historical fiction. But it has to be done right; historical fiction can get very dry. Thankfully this book was anything but! I've had a lot of luck with historical fiction recently and I'm happy that this book continued my streak. I was able to both learn more about George I/George II and be entertained by the characters and drama that encircled them.
It did take me a little time to get in to this book though. For some reason, I wasn't prepared for the story to be narrated by both Henrietta and Caroline so whenever the narration switched, I got confused about who was now narrating. Eventually I got in to the flow and was used to it.
There's a blurb at the end of the book from the author and it sounds like there are more books planned to shed light on other people in this time. I'd be interested in reading these!
moirwyn's review against another edition
3.0
This review originally appeared on my blog, Books Without Any Pictures:
http://bookswithoutanypictures.com/2015/09/30/review-and-giveaway-mistress-of-the-court-by-laura-purcell/
Mistress of the Court by Laura Purcell is a historical fiction novel about the Hanoverian monarchy. The protagonist, Henrietta Howard, is trapped in an abusive marriage, and sees entering court as a way to escape her tyrannical husband. She sells her few possessions for a ticket to Hanover, where she is accepted into princess Caroline’s household. She and Caroline become confidantes, and as Caroline and her husband George aspire to the English throne, Henrietta begins to help George with his English. But George wants more than that, and Henrietta becomes his reluctant mistress.
In many cases, royal mistresses in fiction are treated as gold-diggers. Henrietta is a much more sympathetic character who is portrayed as making the decisions she does because they’re her best options in light of terrible circumstances. Her husband is clearly dangerous, and as a woman in the 18th century, Henrietta has zero legal recourse and must seek whatever protection she can. The theme of Henrietta’s desperate struggle to escape domestic violence permeates the entire novel, and makes me realize how very glad I am to be alive in the 21st century. Her husband Charles was a terrible person, and I kept wishing that Henrietta and Caroline would go all Goodbye Earl on him. But alas, we can’t change history.
On a similar note, the oppression of women throughout Mistress of the Court extended to the fact that they had no legal right to their own children. When Henrietta first escapes Charles’ grasp, she is forced to leave her son behind, never to truly return to her. When they are finally reunited, Charles has already influenced him to the point that they no longer have a relationship. Meanwhile, when Caroline and George go to England, the king forces them to leave their son Fred at Hanover. The royal family isn’t reunited for many years, at which point Fred is not the sweet young son that Caroline had left behind, and instead has political aspirations of his own. The women in the story were robbed of being able to see their children’s childhood and to be able to build relationships with them.
Caroline, Henrietta, and George formed a rather awkward love triangle. Caroline initially wanted Henrietta to sleep with George as a distraction as part of her own political machinations. But she quickly becomes jealous of their relationship, and starts going all Mean Girls on Henrietta. Henrietta gets to experience somewhat of a normal relationship for the first time in her life, but at the expense of one of her closest friendships. Meanwhile, it never really was her choice, as Caroline used protection against Charles in order to leverage her into the position. Once Henrietta was there, she realized just how unstable her own position was, and how little actual power a royal mistress had.
While I enjoyed being able to learn more about history through Mistress of the Court, I found the story itself to be extremely depressing. And although the novel ended on a positive note and with Henrietta’s eventual empowerment, I couldn’t help but feel sad for all of the opportunities that had been lost.
http://bookswithoutanypictures.com/2015/09/30/review-and-giveaway-mistress-of-the-court-by-laura-purcell/
Mistress of the Court by Laura Purcell is a historical fiction novel about the Hanoverian monarchy. The protagonist, Henrietta Howard, is trapped in an abusive marriage, and sees entering court as a way to escape her tyrannical husband. She sells her few possessions for a ticket to Hanover, where she is accepted into princess Caroline’s household. She and Caroline become confidantes, and as Caroline and her husband George aspire to the English throne, Henrietta begins to help George with his English. But George wants more than that, and Henrietta becomes his reluctant mistress.
In many cases, royal mistresses in fiction are treated as gold-diggers. Henrietta is a much more sympathetic character who is portrayed as making the decisions she does because they’re her best options in light of terrible circumstances. Her husband is clearly dangerous, and as a woman in the 18th century, Henrietta has zero legal recourse and must seek whatever protection she can. The theme of Henrietta’s desperate struggle to escape domestic violence permeates the entire novel, and makes me realize how very glad I am to be alive in the 21st century. Her husband Charles was a terrible person, and I kept wishing that Henrietta and Caroline would go all Goodbye Earl on him. But alas, we can’t change history.
On a similar note, the oppression of women throughout Mistress of the Court extended to the fact that they had no legal right to their own children. When Henrietta first escapes Charles’ grasp, she is forced to leave her son behind, never to truly return to her. When they are finally reunited, Charles has already influenced him to the point that they no longer have a relationship. Meanwhile, when Caroline and George go to England, the king forces them to leave their son Fred at Hanover. The royal family isn’t reunited for many years, at which point Fred is not the sweet young son that Caroline had left behind, and instead has political aspirations of his own. The women in the story were robbed of being able to see their children’s childhood and to be able to build relationships with them.
Caroline, Henrietta, and George formed a rather awkward love triangle. Caroline initially wanted Henrietta to sleep with George as a distraction as part of her own political machinations. But she quickly becomes jealous of their relationship, and starts going all Mean Girls on Henrietta. Henrietta gets to experience somewhat of a normal relationship for the first time in her life, but at the expense of one of her closest friendships. Meanwhile, it never really was her choice, as Caroline used protection against Charles in order to leverage her into the position. Once Henrietta was there, she realized just how unstable her own position was, and how little actual power a royal mistress had.
While I enjoyed being able to learn more about history through Mistress of the Court, I found the story itself to be extremely depressing. And although the novel ended on a positive note and with Henrietta’s eventual empowerment, I couldn’t help but feel sad for all of the opportunities that had been lost.
unabridgedchick's review against another edition
5.0
Purcell's previous novel, Queen of Bedlam, made my top ten of 2014; it was a compelling, sympathetic look at a royal family not often featured in fiction, and it kindled in me a renewed interest (and sympathy) for royal women.
In this book, Purcell tells the story of Henrietta Howard, courtier in the Hanover court of George II and Caroline. Trapped in a violent marriage, Henrietta moves her abusive, gambling husband to Germany in hopes of bettering their lives. Her obvious plight touches Caroline, and the two develop an intimate friendship of sorts.
So loyal is Henrietta that when asked by Caroline, she becomes the King's mistress. And from there, Henrietta is plunged into even more emotional tumult. What privilege and comfort she got from that romance was countered by the loss of her friendship with Caroline as well as access to her only child.
I was gripped by this novel from the first page. Despite the scandalous plot, it's a deeply melancholy novel -- so much loss, so much sacrifice -- and I loved that Purcell focused on the darkly pragmatic nature of royal mistresses. The point of view switches between Henrietta and Caroline (occasionally in the same paragraph, which was confusing!), allowing the rich, complicated relationship between these two women to come into full view. I liked and felt for both of them, two women battling the unfair power wielded by the men in their lives.
The characters are all vibrant and unforgettable. In some ways, Henrietta could be seen as a passive puppet ("...she had given and given of herself until she was nothing but a limp rag rung through a mangle." p 290) and yet, Purcell articulates such tender affection for her, I felt the same way. George I, Caroline's father-in-law, is a manipulative, villainous man I loathed -- fun, since in her Author's Note, Purcell comments that she wrote him from the view of George II and Caroline and plans to feature him in a future novel -- one I will undoubtedly get because I cannot wait to see how she makes me care for him!
The world of the Hanover court is also portrayed with evocative detail, small dashes of description that linger in my mind -- the mushrooms growing from the walls in the dank rooms of one palace, the glittering splendor of another -- as well as other tidbits about life in this time. (For a behind-the-curtain look at writing historical fiction, I recommend Purcell's blog post about wrestling with the historical stuff that readers think aren't historical!)
Moms will appreciate this endorsement for what it means, but this book was so good, I read it in bed (under my pillow, to keep from waking the baby!).
With this read, Purcell can count me a devoted fangirl. She does historical fiction beautifully, taking people and places foreign and unfamiliar, and rendering them warm, real, and approachable.
In this book, Purcell tells the story of Henrietta Howard, courtier in the Hanover court of George II and Caroline. Trapped in a violent marriage, Henrietta moves her abusive, gambling husband to Germany in hopes of bettering their lives. Her obvious plight touches Caroline, and the two develop an intimate friendship of sorts.
So loyal is Henrietta that when asked by Caroline, she becomes the King's mistress. And from there, Henrietta is plunged into even more emotional tumult. What privilege and comfort she got from that romance was countered by the loss of her friendship with Caroline as well as access to her only child.
I was gripped by this novel from the first page. Despite the scandalous plot, it's a deeply melancholy novel -- so much loss, so much sacrifice -- and I loved that Purcell focused on the darkly pragmatic nature of royal mistresses. The point of view switches between Henrietta and Caroline (occasionally in the same paragraph, which was confusing!), allowing the rich, complicated relationship between these two women to come into full view. I liked and felt for both of them, two women battling the unfair power wielded by the men in their lives.
The characters are all vibrant and unforgettable. In some ways, Henrietta could be seen as a passive puppet ("...she had given and given of herself until she was nothing but a limp rag rung through a mangle." p 290) and yet, Purcell articulates such tender affection for her, I felt the same way. George I, Caroline's father-in-law, is a manipulative, villainous man I loathed -- fun, since in her Author's Note, Purcell comments that she wrote him from the view of George II and Caroline and plans to feature him in a future novel -- one I will undoubtedly get because I cannot wait to see how she makes me care for him!
The world of the Hanover court is also portrayed with evocative detail, small dashes of description that linger in my mind -- the mushrooms growing from the walls in the dank rooms of one palace, the glittering splendor of another -- as well as other tidbits about life in this time. (For a behind-the-curtain look at writing historical fiction, I recommend Purcell's blog post about wrestling with the historical stuff that readers think aren't historical!)
Moms will appreciate this endorsement for what it means, but this book was so good, I read it in bed (under my pillow, to keep from waking the baby!).
With this read, Purcell can count me a devoted fangirl. She does historical fiction beautifully, taking people and places foreign and unfamiliar, and rendering them warm, real, and approachable.
tasneemlovebooks's review against another edition
3.0
3.25 stars
The start starting very well and ended very poorly. The promise of this novel sounds interesting but the monotony of the characters killed the excitement, especially when we talk about Mrs Howard how she changed very little during the years and how she was stupid in her chooses but fortune was on her side.
The writing style was smooth and engaging, I mean I felt that I was there in the 18 century.
The start starting very well and ended very poorly. The promise of this novel sounds interesting but the monotony of the characters killed the excitement, especially when we talk about Mrs Howard how she changed very little during the years and how she was stupid in her chooses but fortune was on her side.
The writing style was smooth and engaging, I mean I felt that I was there in the 18 century.
kateofmind's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is lightweight like a Jean Plaidy novel, though I found that Plaidy's book about Caroline of Ansbach to be a bit more substantial in its dealing with the politics of the day, in which Caroline enthusiastically and intelligently participated. Here Caroline shares equal time with her servant Henrietta Howard, who became the mistress of King George II and diverted his attention while Caroline effectively ruled the country. Howard's is a bit of a sad story, married to an abusive drunk and coping with considerable physical and emotional trauma as a result. She never gets a chance to develop trust in anyone until late on the story, but the fact that she eventually does will inspire or at least comfort many. I just wish there'd been a bit more depth.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse
abookishaffair's review
4.0
"Mistress of the Court" is the second book in Laura Purcell's Georgian Queens series. This book is a standalone but I do suggest that you go back and read the first books in the series "Queen of Bedlam," because it is good historical fiction. This second book in the series takes on Henrietta Howard, a woman who becomes the unwilling (at least at first!) mistress to King George II. She and King George's wife, Caroline, are at the center of this story. This story brought to life two woman at the center of a very volatile time in British history.
I have not read a lot about the Georgian period of British royalty, particularly not in fiction. After enjoying "Queen of Bedlam," I was anxious to read this book. What I found was some interesting characters and a great story line. Princess Caroline understands that there are many things that she can control secondarily if she cannot control them primarily.Henrietta becoming her husband's mistress is one of those things. The way that the author writes about the dynamic between these two women is so interesting and makes for a really interesting power play that kept me entertained.
I really enjoyed visiting a new setting in this book. I love reading about British royalty and I liked the way that the author added detail to make the story really pop. I will be interested to see what the author comes out with next!
I have not read a lot about the Georgian period of British royalty, particularly not in fiction. After enjoying "Queen of Bedlam," I was anxious to read this book. What I found was some interesting characters and a great story line. Princess Caroline understands that there are many things that she can control secondarily if she cannot control them primarily.Henrietta becoming her husband's mistress is one of those things. The way that the author writes about the dynamic between these two women is so interesting and makes for a really interesting power play that kept me entertained.
I really enjoyed visiting a new setting in this book. I love reading about British royalty and I liked the way that the author added detail to make the story really pop. I will be interested to see what the author comes out with next!
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