Review: THE CHALICE - A NOVEL

Title:  THE CHALICE: A NOVEL

Author:  Nancy Bilyeau
Publisher: Touchstone
Publication date: 3/5/2013
Pages: 485
How Acquired:  Net Galley/TLC Book Tours

What it’s about:  In 1538, England’s bloody power struggle between crown and cross threatens to tear the country apart. Novice Joanna Stafford has tasted the wrath of the royal court, discovered what lies within the king’s torture rooms, and escaped death at the hands of those desperate to possess the power of an ancient relic.

Even with all she has experienced, the quiet life is not for Joanna. Despite the possibilities of arrest and imprisonment, she becomes caught up in a shadowy international plot targeting Henry VIII himself. As the power plays turn vicious, Joanna realizes her role is more critical than she’d ever imagined. She must choose between those she loves most and assuming her part in a prophecy foretold by three seers. Repelled by violence, Joanna seizes a future with a man who loves her. But no matter how hard she tries, she cannot escape the spreading darkness of her destiny.

To learn the final, sinister piece of the prophecy, she flees across Europe with a corrupt spy sent by Spain. As she completes the puzzle in the dungeon of a twelfth-century Belgian fortress, Joanna realizes the life of Henry VIII as well as the future of Christendom are in her hands—hands that must someday hold the chalice that lies at the center of these deadly prophecies.

My thoughts:   I’d heard good things about Nancy Bilyeau’s first novel THE CROWN last year but I couldn’t bring myself to read it.  It was about a former nun for one, and I’d spent twelve years being taught by Episcopalian nuns.  The last thing I wanted to do was read about one.  It was also set during my least favorite time period, the reign of King Henry VIII.  So while everyone was heaping praise on the novel, I sat on the sidelines.   But then I was offered the opportunity to review Nancy’s new book THE CHALICE, and I was in a different mindset.  I thought ‘why not?’  So I sat down last week and downloaded the book onto my NOOK and then didn’t put it down until I was finished.  In fact, I resented doing things like having to go to work because it interrupted my reading time. 

Joanna Stafford is exactly my kind of heroine, she’s impatient, has a bad-temper, asks questions when she shouldn’t.  She resents the idea that she has some sort of role to play that has been prophesied; in fact she fights the idea ¾ of the way through the book before she finally accepts her responsibility.  At times she’s too stubborn for her own good, but I like that in a heroine.  She’s half Spanish, her mother was a lady-in-waiting to Katherine of Aragon, and so her behavior is sometimes excused for that reason.  At the beginning of the book, Joanna believes that her life has settled down after her first adventure.  She has a good life in Dartford, raising her cousin Margaret Bulmer’s son Arthur.  She even has a plan for making a living, weaving tapestries.  Although she had planned to spend her life cloistered in a Dominican nunnery, and misses the life that should have been hers, Joanna adapts easily to life outside the nunnery walls.  No doubt this is because she entered the cloistered life later than most women, and her time as a novice was brief.

What I enjoyed about this book was Joanna’s struggles against the role that she is fated to play, and that she was an active heroine.  Joanna doesn’t wait for things to happen to her in the novel, she seeks them out.   I was surprised that she had two different men in her life, both of whom have feelings for her in different ways, Geoffrey Scovill and Brother Edmund.  Although Joanna had planned to spend her life as a nun, she still is all too human, with all the frailties that come along with being human. She’s no saint, nor does she aspire to be.  It was a very interesting choice to have Joanna related to the Stafford family, who like Henry VIII were descended from both Edward III and the Woodville's.  It means that you have a character who is not only related to everyone that matters but who has a reason to get involved in what is going on.

The book is equal parts, historical mystery and thriller, and it moves at a breakneck pace until the final scenes.  I was pretty amazed at what the dénouement turned out to be. It was extraordinarily clever I must say and it explains a bit of history that people have often wondered about.  I don’t want to spoil the story by revealing too much.  I just recently read that there will be a third book in the series, which makes me very happy, although now I have to go back and read the first book damnit!  I will admit that I did spend some time looking up some of the historical characters on Wikipedia.  Bilyeau neatly weaves in the historical events regarding Henry VIII’s systematic removal of the remaining Plantagenets who could conceivably have a claim to the throne.  I found myself fascinated by the turmoil and havoc that Henry VIII's decision to wrench control of the church from Rome had on England. A decision that still has ramifications today.

My verdict:   This is a superbly written, historical thriller, an enticing brew filled with intriguing characters, politics, emotional turmoil, and religion, all served up with sumptuous historical detail.  A must read.

Scandalous Women in Fiction: THE IRISH PRINCESS

THE IRISH PRINCESS
author: Karen Harper
Publisher: NAL, February 1, 2011

From the back cover:

Born into a first family of Ireland, with royal ties on both sides, Elizabeth Fitzgerald-known as Gera-finds her world overturned when Henry VIII imprisons her father, the Earl of Kildare, and brutally destroys her family. Torn from the home she loves, her remaining family scattered, Gera dares not deny the refuge offered her in England's glittering royal court. There she must navigate ever-shifting alliances even as she nurtures her secret desire for revenge. From County Kildare's lush green fields to London's rough-and-tumble streets and the royal court's luxurious pageantry, The Irish Princess follows the journey of a daring woman whose will cannot be tamed, and who won't be satisfied until she restores her family to its rightful place in Ireland.

My thoughts:  I first came across the name Elizabeth Fitzgerald while researching Grace O'Malley for SCANDALOUS WOMEN. And then I saw her name again while reading Tracy Borham's excellent book ELIZABETH'S WOMEN which was just published in the states this past fall. So when I heard that Karen Harper's new book was about Gera, I couldn't wait for it to be published. I grabbed my copy early Tuesday morning while browsing the front table at Barnes & Noble.  This isn't the first book by Karen Harper that I've read, I've also read THE LAST BOLEYN about Anne's older sister Mary which is excellent.  There are so many books out there set in The Tudor time period, that its almost overkill.  What I found intriguing about this book was that Gera was Irish.  The history of Ireland as I discovered while reading about Grace O'Malley is full of intriguing characters, and is virtually untapped as a setting for most historical fiction set during this time period.  Gera is the ultimate outsider at the Tudor court, her family is attainted, even though
she is half-English and related to Henry VIII through her mother Elizabeth Grey, a granddaughter of Elizabeth Woodville, she must keep a tight hold of her tongue at all times, which she often is not too successful at doing.  The novel is filled with the usual suspects, Lady Jane Grey makes an appearance, as do her parents, and Catherine Howard who is as much of a dingbat in this book as she is in the Showtime series. 

While I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I didn't love it, although I loved Gera who is feisty, stubborn to the point of recklessness, fiercely loyal to her family and the idea that the Geraldines will once again rule Ireland as they did successfully for the English for almost 100 years. Gera is also beautiful with red gold hair and pale skin, when she meets the young Princess Elizabeth, she feels a sense of kinship with the girl, who like her, has been buffeted about as she is in and out of favor according to her father's will.  Henry VIII in this novel, is not the handsome figure that Jonathan Rhys-Meyers cut in Showtime's THE TUDORS.  This is more the Henry VIII that most historical fiction readers have come to know. He's crotchety, cranky, morbidly obese with a disposition that can turn from hot to cold on a dime. Gera hates Henry with a passion, and spends most of the novel trying to figure out ways to destroy him.

The early part of the novel moves quickly as the young Gera Fitzgerald is forced to leave Ireland after the reckless actions of her older half-brother Thomas, nicknamed Silken Thomas. Resourceful, and fiercely Irish, Gera manages to secrete away The Red Book of Kildare out of the country so that the English don't get their hands on it.  On the boat from Ireland to England to join the rest of her family who went to England earlier, she meets Edward Clinton, the husband of Henry VIII's discarded mistress Bessie Blount.  Despite her young age (she's 13), she's immediately attracted to Clinton, even though he's English, one of her avowed enemy. But even before she gets to England, Gera learns about treachery, when she learns that her uncle by marriage, has turned her 5 uncles into the English.

The novel for me bogged down after the execution of her half-brother and uncles.  Once Gera is at court, she becomes more of an observer, than instigator of action.  While it was fascinating to see events through her eyes, at times I found my attention wandering, until Edward Clinton came back into the story, and he and Gera sparred. Their forbidden attraction, that has to be kept hidden because Clinton is married and Gera is bethrothed to Sir Anthony Browne, a man over 40 years her senior, give the novel heart.  Otherwise, it would just be a revenge story.  The book picked up again after Edward VI's death, in the struggle for the crown between Lady Jane Grey and Mary Tudor, which leads to conflict between Gera and her new husband, because his mentor is John Dudley, the father of Guildford and Robert.  Gera is plunged once again into the action, and the book is wonderfully exciting at this point.

When Gera finally returns to Ireland at the end of the book, the reader feels as if she and the main character have come full circle.  Harper was wise to end her book when she did, although Gera's life continued for another 20 or so years after the books end.

My verdict:  THE IRISH PRINCESS features a strong, powerful female protagonist that most readers will identify with.  With a strong beginning and end, only the meandering middle kept it from being a keeper for me.  Still if you are looking for something a little different, THE IRISH PRINCESS might just be your cup of tea.

Everything's Coming up Tudors

With the success of Showtime's The Tudors, and the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII's coronation, bookstores are exploding with books on the Tudors. While looking for books on Amazon.co.uk, I found this book that was recently released, a biography of Mary Boleyn by Josephine Wilkerson. Here is a description:

The scandalous true story of Mary Boleyn, infamous sister of Anne, and mistress of Henry VIII. Mary Boleyn, 'the infamous other Boleyn girl', began her court career as began her career as the mistress of the king of France. Francois I of France would later call her 'The Great Prostitute' and the slur stuck. The bete-noir of her family, Mary was married her off to a minor courtier but it was not long before she caught the eye of Henry VIII and a new affair began. Although a bright star at Henry's court, she was soon eclipsed by her highly spirited and more accomplished sister, Anne, who rapidly took her place in the king's heart. However, the ups and downs of the Boleyn sisters were far from over. Mary would emerge the sole survivor of a family torn apart by lust and ambition, and it is in Mary and her progeny that the Boleyn legacy rests.

While there have been many historical fiction books written about Mary, most famously The Other Boleyn Girl, this appears to be the first straight-up biography of Mary in years. I have no idea whether or not this book will be released in the States or not. I hope so, although since it was just published in the UK, we may not get it for several months.

Another interesting book I found was this one about Lady Jane Grey and her sisters Katherine and Mary. Everyone has heard about Lady Jane Grey, the 9 day Queen, but her sisters were also put under pressure because they were so close to the throne.

The dramatic untold story of the three tragic Grey sisters, all heirs to the Tudor throne, all victims to their royal blood. Lady Jane Grey is an icon of innocence abused. Remembered as the 'Nine Days Queen', she has been mythologized as a child-woman sacrificed to political expedience. But behind the legend lay a rebellious adolescent who became a leader, and no mere victim. Growing up in her shadow, Jane's sisters Katherine and Mary would have to tread carefully to survive. The dramatic lives of the younger Grey sisters remain little known, but both women became heirs and rivals to the Tudor monarchs, Mary and Elizabeth I. To gain Queen Mary's trust, teenaged Katherine ignored Jane's final request not to change her religion, only to risk her life with a marriage that threatened Queen Elizabeth's throne. While Katherine's friends fought to save her, the youngest Grey sister, Mary, stayed at court. Though too poor and plain to be significant, she looked set to escape the burden of her royal blood. But then she too fell in love and incurred the Queen's fury. Exploding the many myths of Lady Jane's life, and casting fresh light onto Elizabeth's reign, acclaimed historian Leanda de Lisle brings the Grey sisters' tumultuous world to life: at a time when a royal marriage could gain you a kingdom, or cost you everything.

Another interesting book is one on Henry VIII's mistresses. I'm intrigued by this book because apart from Mary Boleyn and Bessie Blount, I haven't been aware that Henry had that many mistresses compared to say Charles II who pretty much populated Restoration England with his children.

Everybody thinks they know the tale of King Henry VIII's wives: divorced, beheaded died; divorced, beheaded, survived. But behind this familiar story, lies a far more complex truth. This book brings together for the first time the 'other women' of King Henry VIII. When he first came to the throne, Henry VIII's mistresses were dalliances, the playthings of a powerful and handsome man. However, when Anne Boleyn disrupted that pattern, ousting Katherine of Aragon to become Henry's wife, a new status quo was established. Suddenly noble families fought to entangle the king with their sisters and daughters; if wives were to be beheaded or divorced so easily, the mistress of the king was in an enviable position. While Henry VIII has frequently been portrayed as a womanizer, author Philippa Jones reveals a new side to his character. Although he was never faithful, Jones sees him as a serial monogamist: he spent his life in search of a perfect woman, a search that continued even as he lay dying when he was considering divorcing Catherine Parr thus leaving him free to marry Katherine d'Eresby. Yet he loved each of his wives and mistresses, he was a romantic who loved being in love, but none of these loves ever fully satisfied him; all were ultimately replaced. "The Other Tudors" examines the extraordinary untold tales of the women who Henry loved but never married, the mistresses who became queens and of his many children, both acknowledged and unacknowledged. Philippa Jones takes us deep into the web of secrets and deception at the Tudor Court and explores another, often unmentioned, side to the King's character.

So there you have it, some of the new Tudor books that are out now in the UK, and hopefully will be published in the US. I will hopefully be reviewing them here on Scandalous Women, and I will be adding them to my widget.