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zoeeann's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
rachel_mft's review against another edition
2.0
Didn't love this, which was a disappointment given how much I enjoyed her first novel. I didn't like the way she approached the historical material--I wanted it tethered more in time and in a sequence of events, so I might learn something, instead of jumping from place to place like she did. And tying the historical and modern stories together didn't really work for me this time, either.
nocto's review against another edition
4.0
Declaring literary blogging bankruptcy as I'm now eight months behind on logging books read and I would like to get back into the swing of things without dropping further behind!
traceyvj's review against another edition
1.0
Waded through the first half of this book and gave it up. It's not badly written, but it couldn't hold my interest - and I usually love historical fiction.
ailsabristow's review
4.0
I enjoyed this book much more than Darwin's debut offering [b:The Mathematics of Love|714583|The Man Who Loved Only Numbers The Story of Paul Erdős and the Search for Mathematical Truth|Paul Hoffman|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348101129s/714583.jpg|1407234]. Darwin seems to me to have grown in confidence and competence as a writer (as it should be) and this book was much stronger: if half stars were available to give on goodreads, I would have bumped my rating up to 4 and a half.
This book weaves together three narrative strands - the historical perspectives of Elizabeth Woodville and her brother, Anthony, as well as a contemporary narrative about Una Pryor, a bibliographic historian with an interest in the Woodvilles.
As well as being a strongly plotted well-told story in a period which I find fascinating, Darwin's book was intellectually intriguing too. The book (gently) prompted the reader to consider questions of history and historical narrative, and the role of fiction in bridging the gap between fact and narrative. It also delved into all sorts of "big" ideas, without ever really losing pace or my interest.
All in all, a very confident and engaging novel. Historical fiction at its best.
This book weaves together three narrative strands - the historical perspectives of Elizabeth Woodville and her brother, Anthony, as well as a contemporary narrative about Una Pryor, a bibliographic historian with an interest in the Woodvilles.
As well as being a strongly plotted well-told story in a period which I find fascinating, Darwin's book was intellectually intriguing too. The book (gently) prompted the reader to consider questions of history and historical narrative, and the role of fiction in bridging the gap between fact and narrative. It also delved into all sorts of "big" ideas, without ever really losing pace or my interest.
All in all, a very confident and engaging novel. Historical fiction at its best.
elysianfield's review
3.0
3.5 stars
I really liked the portrayal of both Elizabeth and Antony. They’re both usually the villains and power-greedy people and it was refreshing to see them in another light. Antony’s story begins when he is taken to Pontefract Castle and knows he is being executed there. Elizabeth is in Bermondsey Abbey where she lived during Henry VII’s reign. We don’t hear the whole life story of either but few selected episodes. I have to confess I’m not usually huge fan of Antony but couldn’t resist falling for him just a bit.
I didn’t care for the present day story that much and could have lived without it. Also I had problem with too many narrative switches.. One minute it’s Una telling her story, then the next Antony is about to die and then it switches to a scene where he’s on a horse riding somewhere. So confusing!
I really liked the portrayal of both Elizabeth and Antony. They’re both usually the villains and power-greedy people and it was refreshing to see them in another light. Antony’s story begins when he is taken to Pontefract Castle and knows he is being executed there. Elizabeth is in Bermondsey Abbey where she lived during Henry VII’s reign. We don’t hear the whole life story of either but few selected episodes. I have to confess I’m not usually huge fan of Antony but couldn’t resist falling for him just a bit.
I didn’t care for the present day story that much and could have lived without it. Also I had problem with too many narrative switches.. One minute it’s Una telling her story, then the next Antony is about to die and then it switches to a scene where he’s on a horse riding somewhere. So confusing!
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