Stevie‘s review of Queen Elizabeth’s Daughter: A Novel of Elizabeth I by Anne Clinard Barnhill
Historical Fiction published by St. Martin’s Griffin 18 Mar 14
The Tudors always strike me as being rather under-represented when I’m looking for lightweight historical romances to read, being generally overshadowed both by the Regency period (for historical romance) and by weightier volumes covering the era or the fictionalised love lives of the most powerful members of the various monarch’s courts. So I was very pleased when this book came up for review, although a little nervous after some of my less-than-stellar encounters with historical romances by new-to-me authors. Fortunately, this one doesn’t disappoint.
Mary Shelton was orphaned at an early age and brought up in the household of her cousin, Queen Elizabeth, becoming as close as a daughter to the monarch and gaining a place among the ladies of the royal bedchamber. While the Queen plays off various political factions at home and abroad by seeming to favour one suitor over another as necessary to keep the peace, while never pledging herself permanently to any of them, she is determined to make an advantageous political match for Mary.
Mary, however, has a habit of falling for unsuitable men. After her first minor flirtation ends in the boy she fancies being sent away, she falls for an older man, John Skydemore. John is the son-in-law of an important, though Catholic, advisor to the queen, but his wife recently died, leaving him with five young children. John and Mary conspire to be together, but the court is rife with gossip and spies and nothing they do escapes the queen’s attention for long.
I love all the glimpses we get of real historical figures I’ve read about elsewhere, and the descriptions of what it was really like to be part of a court that was constantly on the move – partly because castles got rather smelly after a few months of being fully inhabited. At times Queen Elizabeth comes across as a little too shouty (reminiscent of the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland), but this is balanced by the chapters told from her point of view.
A lot of research went into this book, and I now need to find time to read others by the author. A refreshing change from a lot of historical romances I’ve picked up recently.
Grade: A
Summary:
From Anne Barnhill, the author of At the Mercy of the Queen, comes the gripping tale of Mary Shelton, Elizabeth I’s young cousin and ward, set against the glittering backdrop of the Elizabethan court
Mistress Mary Shelton is Queen Elizabeth’s favorite ward, enjoying every privilege the position affords. The queen loves Mary like a daughter, and, like any good mother, she wants her to make a powerful match. The most likely prospect: Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford. But while Oxford seems to be everything the queen admires: clever, polished and wealthy, Mary knows him to be lecherous, cruel, and full of treachery. No matter how hard the queen tries to push her into his arms, Mary refuses.
Instead, Mary falls in love with a man who is completely unsuitable. Sir John Skydemore is a minor knight with little money, a widower with five children. Worst of all, he’s a Catholic at a time when Catholic plots against Elizabeth are rampant. The queen forbids Mary to wed the man she loves. When the young woman, who is the queen’s own flesh and blood, defies her, the couple finds their very lives in danger as Elizabeth’s wrath knows no bounds.
Read an excerpt.
