Stolen Crown Marriage Forever ebook
Susan Higginbotham has brought us her third meticulously researched historical fiction novel,The Stolen Crown. The story of the secret marriage of Elizabeth Woodville to Edward IV of England is told through the eyes of Elizabeth's younger sister, Katherine. In the way of royal families, Elizabeth's many siblings are soon placed in marriages advantageous to the king, and Kate is married to Harry, the Duke of Buckingham.
Historical novels about the War of the Roses and its aftermath are everywhere right now, and I have read several of them. The Stolen Crown seems to be the most carefully researched and true to actual events, as they would have been seen through Kate's eyes. I often complain about historical novels not giving readers enough reference or background, and Susan Higginbotham always includes an interesting Author's Note, that I refer to often while reading. There is also a "cast of characters" in the front of the book, with descriptions and connections given.
I highly recommend Susan Higginbotham's The Stolen Crown to those interested in this era of history. It is interesting and exciting, written with an eye on the family behind the history.
I greatly enjoyed Susan Higginbotham's "The Stolen Crown." Both with this novel and her previous book "The Traitor's Wife," I was impressed by how Higginbotham can take a well-known historical event and create it anew by choosing to tell it from the viewpoint of a person close to the major events but one not always in the center. In this case, it is Elizabeth Woodville's sister and her husband, who from early childhood watch the rise of Edward IV and later Richard III, as well as the latter's downfall. I have read several history books about the Wars of the Roses and also Shakespeare's history plays. I thought I was relatively knowledgable, but Higginbotham had me running to genealogy charts to keep track of who was who as I discovered numerous new details to the story. I greatly appreciate her fresh perspective on events as well as her in-depth research. I hope many more historical novels will spring from her pen.
BalasHapus- Tyler R. Tichelaar, Ph.D. and author of the award-winning "Narrow Lives"
Once again Susan Higginbotham has spun a tale weaved with historical fact that had me falling head long into her latest, The Stolen Crown, with excitement. Now I don't profess to be an expert at anything historical but I do love to read historical novels. I love when an author can teach me something along with giving me a story that captivates my interest. Susan Higginbotham has done that for me in all of her novels: The Traitor's Wife (my review), Hugh and Bess (my review) and now with The Stolen Crown that takes on the Wars of the Roses.
BalasHapusKatherine Woodville is just seven years old when she is married to nine year old Henry (called Harry the majority of the time) Stafford, Duke of Buckingham. All of this comes about after her sister Elizabeth is secretly married to King Edward IV. From that point the lives of the Woodville family change dramatically as they are launched into King Edward IV's Court - marriages are arranged and of course their financial status improves greatly. All of a sudden little Kate is the perfect match for the young Duke of Buckingham.
The novel takes us through the viewpoints of both Katherine and Harry all throughout their lives. We have front row seats to their marriage as children, growing up together, finally discovering their love for each other and eventually having children. Along the way we are treated to their lives at King Edward IV's court and all the secrecy and scheming that goes with that. We find out that Henry Stafford was never a favorite of King Edward IV and this made him very resentful; enough that when given the chance he sides with King Edward IV's brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester which ultimately leads to his downfall.
When King Edward IV dies from a short lived illness his son Edward is next in line to the throne with his brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester and Harry Stafford guiding him until he is of age. However this isn't good enough for Richard who looks for every way possible to take over the throne until he succeeds and in the process two of King Edward IV's sons disappear from The Tower and to this day nobody really knows what happened to them.
My favorite character by far was Kate in the novel. As a young girl she is quite amusing and as an adult woman she is strong and intelligent. Harry I liked as well although I wish he hadn't been so blinded by Richard most of his life. By the time he realized who and what Richard really was it was too late for him. I have to say that I am glad I didn't live in this time period. It was so uncertain. As long as you were in favor with the King you were living high on a cloud but let that be jeopardized in any way and all of a sudden you and your family were at risk of being imprisoned or worse - killed.
I enjoy how Susan Higginbotham makes these characters come to life for her readers. I felt for them - their joys and their sadness. At the end of the novel she gives her reasons for taking the routes she does within the book because some are different from what is popular. I like that about her; that she takes the facts and then can give us such a believable tale of what things might have been like in this time and place. If you love historical fiction then The Stolen Crown is a must read!
This was an excellent and entertaining book, but it also teaches you a little bit about history and you might even become interested in British history after reading it.
BalasHapusHowever, at first it is a little difficult to keep up with all the characters, but once you get further into the book it gets easier.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.
This book was at first, hard for me to get into, and keep up with. After I realized what was going on, I found it to be very helpful and informative with my research in English History. I would reccomend this book.
BalasHapusSusan Higginbotham has brought us her third meticulously researched historical fiction novel,The Stolen Crown. The story of the secret marriage of Elizabeth Woodville to Edward IV of England is told through the eyes of Elizabeth's younger sister, Katherine. In the way of royal families, Elizabeth's many siblings are soon placed in marriages advantageous to the king, and Kate is married to Harry, the Duke of Buckingham.
BalasHapusHistorical novels about the War of the Roses and its aftermath are everywhere right now, and I have read several of them. The Stolen Crown seems to be the most carefully researched and true to actual events, as they would have been seen through Kate's eyes. I often complain about historical novels not giving readers enough reference or background, and Susan Higginbotham always includes an interesting Author's Note, that I refer to often while reading. There is also a "cast of characters" in the front of the book, with descriptions and connections given.
I highly recommend Susan Higginbotham's The Stolen Crown to those interested in this era of history. It is interesting and exciting, written with an eye on the family behind the history.
BalasHapusInteresting and moving book. If you like Phillipa Gregory you will like this too. The most fascinating thing is to see the same story told from the viewpoint of a different author, and how these 2 authors interpret the same facts differently.
BalasHapusSusan Higginbotham is batting three for three! The Stolen Crown is my third Higginbotham read and my third 5 star rating!
BalasHapusIn her third book Higginbotham takes on Katherine Woodville and Harry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, two lesser known players in the Wars of the Roses. Katherine is the younger sister of Elizabeth Woodville, who was secretly married to King Edward IV of England and Harry is commonly known as one of the suspects in the Princes in the Tower debate.
I found it very interesting to see the actions of Richard III after King Edward IV died through the eyes of Harry, his close friend. As you can imagine with Harry on one side with Richard III and Kate on the other with her sister, Edward's widow there was quite a family divide. Harry would eventually turn away from Richard III and rebel against his actions which would lead to his ultimate downfall.
Kate was a very likeable heroine, in fact all of the characters were if not likeable then understandable (even Richard III). They are fantastically real and not the typical stereotypes that they are often attached with. Even if you don't necessarily agree with their thoughts and actions, you can grasp where they're coming from and for me that just shows how perceptive and understanding Susan is as a person.
True to form, Susan's writing draws you in and takes you on a fantastic journey through the lives of these two intriguing historical figures. The Stolen Crown is a perfect mix of strong characters, eloquent dialogue tinged with Susan's wonderful humor and meticulous research and I recommend to all lovers of historical fiction!
I am super excited that Susan will have a new book coming out on January 11, 2011 titled The Queen of Last Hopes, which will be about Margaret of Anjou.
I admit it, I usually only read for entertainment. I'm not big on non-fiction, so serve it to me "lite"! This is a fictionalized account of a real time in English history - so maybe the facts aren't actually known, but the author did a great job in filling in the blanks. Ms. H made the story a page turner, the main two characters were likable - even when they didn't do nice. I actually teared up at the end. Then, at the end, Ms H writes about what is really known/unknown, and I thought how she addressed the story made sense, and it is a story to remember.
BalasHapusI had read "Traitor's Wife" some years ago, before it became a more publishable book (profitable) and really liked that one, too. So, I will look forward to any new book by this same author. She did good!