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colleenlovestoread 's review for:
Royal Mistress
by Anne Easter Smith
I reviewed this book for www.luxuryreading.com.
While I have a number of Anne Easter Smith’s novels on my bookshelves, Royal Mistress is the first of her novels I have read. I am now kicking myself that I have waited this long! Her writing makes you feel like you are plopped down right in the center of late 15th century London, along for the roller coaster ride that was the end of the War of the Roses and the rise of the Tudors. While Jane’s point of view is central to the story structure, we get peaks into the minds and hearts of a number of characters – including Edward IV and his haughty Queen Elizabeth, Richard III and Will Hastings – and this allows for a thoroughly well rounded, full grasp of the events and feelings of all participants. For me, this helped humanize everyone involved and kept from dividing characters into clear good vs. bad categories.
Ms. Smith’s Jane Shore is an absolutely fascinating character and it is easy to see how she captured the hearts of not only these various high ranking men but also the very people of London she walked amongst. The author has taken what very little information history has provided us about Mistress Shore and has so fully fleshed her out that I cannot imagine her any other way. We are also given a very thorough Author’s Note section that clearly states what is known fact and what is interpretation or invention to build the story. This is incredibly important to me when reading historical fiction as I like to know what liberties the author has taken in presenting their story and what is historically accurate.
For lovers of historical fiction this is a must read. I think those readers who aren’t as interested in reading history might feel slightly lost or bogged down by the sheer volume of history discussed but even those not interested in the history will find it a fascinating story, however, and I highly recommend this to any and all readers looking for a delightful character that refuses to give up or live by other people’s standards.
While I have a number of Anne Easter Smith’s novels on my bookshelves, Royal Mistress is the first of her novels I have read. I am now kicking myself that I have waited this long! Her writing makes you feel like you are plopped down right in the center of late 15th century London, along for the roller coaster ride that was the end of the War of the Roses and the rise of the Tudors. While Jane’s point of view is central to the story structure, we get peaks into the minds and hearts of a number of characters – including Edward IV and his haughty Queen Elizabeth, Richard III and Will Hastings – and this allows for a thoroughly well rounded, full grasp of the events and feelings of all participants. For me, this helped humanize everyone involved and kept from dividing characters into clear good vs. bad categories.
Ms. Smith’s Jane Shore is an absolutely fascinating character and it is easy to see how she captured the hearts of not only these various high ranking men but also the very people of London she walked amongst. The author has taken what very little information history has provided us about Mistress Shore and has so fully fleshed her out that I cannot imagine her any other way. We are also given a very thorough Author’s Note section that clearly states what is known fact and what is interpretation or invention to build the story. This is incredibly important to me when reading historical fiction as I like to know what liberties the author has taken in presenting their story and what is historically accurate.
For lovers of historical fiction this is a must read. I think those readers who aren’t as interested in reading history might feel slightly lost or bogged down by the sheer volume of history discussed but even those not interested in the history will find it a fascinating story, however, and I highly recommend this to any and all readers looking for a delightful character that refuses to give up or live by other people’s standards.