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A review by cate_ninetails
The Silken Rose by Carol McGrath
4.0
It's telling that the non historical character in this story, Rosalind, is an embroideress because as the events of The Silken Rose unfold much attention is paid to medieval courtly attire. For me this did occasionally become distracting as many terms were oft repeated seemingly meaninglessly without adding much to moving the story along.
I admire that the author makes much of the women in this period who are strong and clever in their own right, traits perhaps frowned on in the period. This take on Queen Ailenor is almost modern as she deftly steers her sometimes bumbling husband the king into more intelligent decisions while still attending her duties as wife. Coming as she did to England at such a tender age it is a marvel the amount of power that she consolidated in time. I was pleased to learn that this is a planned first in a new trilogy and look forward to maybe learning more about often overlooked queens.
I admire that the author makes much of the women in this period who are strong and clever in their own right, traits perhaps frowned on in the period. This take on Queen Ailenor is almost modern as she deftly steers her sometimes bumbling husband the king into more intelligent decisions while still attending her duties as wife. Coming as she did to England at such a tender age it is a marvel the amount of power that she consolidated in time. I was pleased to learn that this is a planned first in a new trilogy and look forward to maybe learning more about often overlooked queens.