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von Gast Do 01 Mai 2008, 15:27
The First Princess of Wales
Author: Karen Harper
Paperback: 624 pages
Publisher: Three Rivers Press (December 26, 2006)
ISBN-10: 0307237915
ISBN-13: 978-0307237910
Price: € 10.99
Author Notes
Karen Harper is the author of two previous "Elizabeth I" mysteries, "The Tidal Poole" and "The Poyson Garden", as well as a number of contemporary suspense and historical novels.
She lives in Columbus, Ohio, and Naples, Florida.Website of Karen Harper
Author Spotlight ~ Random House
Karen Harper ~ Fantastic Fiction
Synopsis
The daughter of a disgraced earl, she matched wits with a prince.
It is the fourteenth century, the height of the Medieval Age, and at the court of King Edward III of England, chivalry is loudly praised while treachery runs rampant. When the lovely and high-spirited Joan of Kent is sent to this politically charged court, she is woefully unprepared for the underhanded maneuverings of her peers.
Determined to increase the breadth of his rule, the king will use any means necessary to gain control of France—including manipulating his own son, Edward, Prince of Wales. Joan plots to become involved with the prince to scandalize the royal family, for she has learned they engineered her father’s downfall and death. But what begins as a calculated strategy soon—to Joan’s surprise—grows into love. When Joan learns that Edward returns her feelings, she is soon fighting her own, for how can she love the man that ruined her family? And, if she does, what will be the cost?
Filled with scandal, court intrigue, and prominent figures of the Medieval Age, The First Princess of Wales has at its center a wonderful love story, which is all the more remarkable because it is true. Karen Harper’s compelling, fast-paced novel tells the riveting tale of an innocent girl who marries a prince and gives birth to a king.Random House
My Opinion
Kitsch kills history
For my liking, this novel is a schmaltzy portrait of Joan of Kent. Moreover, the modern mindset seems to be somewhat out of place.
The plot is stuffed full of [court] intrigue, the back story of the execution of Joan's father, her rise to Duchess, plotting, betrayal, unwarranted copulation—and amours. Apart from the fatuous and shallow characterisations, the gratuitous insipidness and the sheer lack of historical verity, it was not bad.
However, if you are looking for a realistic depiction of Joan of Kent or fourteenth century England, the book will be a massive let-down.
A light and trivial amusement—no more, no less.
The plot is stuffed full of [court] intrigue, the back story of the execution of Joan's father, her rise to Duchess, plotting, betrayal, unwarranted copulation—and amours. Apart from the fatuous and shallow characterisations, the gratuitous insipidness and the sheer lack of historical verity, it was not bad.
However, if you are looking for a realistic depiction of Joan of Kent or fourteenth century England, the book will be a massive let-down.
A light and trivial amusement—no more, no less.
The First Princess of Wales ~ Karen Harper My Rating
