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A review by doriastories
The King's Daughter by Barbara Kyle
2.0
To be fair, the writing of this book is not terrible, which is why I felt that I couldn't give it less than two stars (although I wanted to give it only one, for reasons of taste). In fact, given some of the subject matter, I might have preferred it if the writing was far worse and less effectively descriptive than it was.
Far and away the most egregious fault - noted by other Goodreads reviewers - is that the title is terribly misleading. It gives one to believe that the subject is a king's daughter, in this case, "Bloody" Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII. DIsappointingly, this singularly ill-fated but fascinating queen and her reign serve only as the backdrop to a far-fetched sub-plot concerning a family of Protestants trying to escape Catholic England during Queen Mary's reign. It's a strange thing that many writers of historical fiction continue to delude themselves into thinking that the wan figments of their own imagination are capable of capturing our attention in any way close to the way that the lives and doings of real historical people continue to do. The Thornleigh family - notwithstanding their colorful clothes and language - pale in comparison to the hints and whispers we are occasionally given concerning Queen Mary. Simply put, we don't care about the Thornleighs; give us Mary, warts and all!
Other than the misleading title and the credulity-straining antics of the main characters, this book is notable for a scene that features a truly horrific sexual assault, which the author describes in nauseatingly lurid detail. This scene is followed by a series of other scenes which echo the author's fetish for prison rape; if you don't have a strong stomach, you honestly won't want to read this. And don't imagine that the reader's perseverance will be rewarded in the end. If you can stand to finish it, which I very nearly couldn't, this book will probably leave you with the improbable sensation of both revulsion and boredom.
Far and away the most egregious fault - noted by other Goodreads reviewers - is that the title is terribly misleading. It gives one to believe that the subject is a king's daughter, in this case, "Bloody" Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII. DIsappointingly, this singularly ill-fated but fascinating queen and her reign serve only as the backdrop to a far-fetched sub-plot concerning a family of Protestants trying to escape Catholic England during Queen Mary's reign. It's a strange thing that many writers of historical fiction continue to delude themselves into thinking that the wan figments of their own imagination are capable of capturing our attention in any way close to the way that the lives and doings of real historical people continue to do. The Thornleigh family - notwithstanding their colorful clothes and language - pale in comparison to the hints and whispers we are occasionally given concerning Queen Mary. Simply put, we don't care about the Thornleighs; give us Mary, warts and all!
Other than the misleading title and the credulity-straining antics of the main characters, this book is notable for a scene that features a truly horrific sexual assault, which the author describes in nauseatingly lurid detail. This scene is followed by a series of other scenes which echo the author's fetish for prison rape; if you don't have a strong stomach, you honestly won't want to read this. And don't imagine that the reader's perseverance will be rewarded in the end. If you can stand to finish it, which I very nearly couldn't, this book will probably leave you with the improbable sensation of both revulsion and boredom.