Told in alternating points of view, Her Highness, the Traitor tells what happened leading up to and after the death of King Henry VIII.His son Edward VI became king after his death however, if he died, Henry’s daughter Mary was to become queen and if she died, the Kingdom would go to Elizabeth.Sounds simple but it was not.
There were others vying for the Kingdom, claiming that both Mary and Elizabeth were bastards and not entitled to the throne.Many had their sights on little Lady Jane Grey for Queen and fought to make it happen.She was queen for all of nine days and Her Highness, the Traitor is her story and the story of the ones who made her Queen.
It is no secret that I am a fan of Susan Higginbotham and this novel has not changed my mind on that.I like the way this novel is laid out, telling it in alternating points of views work really well.The reader is able to get the story from all sides, not just one point of view.Higginbotham doe an outstanding job of trying to get to the truth of what really might have happened.The writing is clear and beautifully descriptive and the characters jump out of the page to greet the reader and welcome him or her into the past.
I felt as if I was brought back in time and experienced everything first hand.This is another winning historical fiction novel by Susan Higginbotham!I can hardly wait to see what she comes up with next!
4.5/5
Thanks to Sourcebooks and Net Galley for the eBook version for advance review.Also, thanks to Beth Pehlke of Sourcebooks, I am giving away one copy of Her Highness, the Traitor.
This giveaway is for Canada and the U.S. and ends on July 6, 2012.Please use Rafflecopter to enter.
Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.
Neil Pasricha started a blog, 1000awesomethings.com and started writing about everyday occurrences and things that were awesome to him.People started reading it and over 10 million hits later he decided he must be on to something.He got all kinds of comments from readers who also shared the things they saw as awesome.
That was when he got the idea to compile all of the awesomeness into a book called The Book of Awesome.Awesome things like the smell of fresh baked bread, finding money in your clothes, and hitting many green lights in a row.There is also my favorite, the universal French fry sharing policy, especially important to me when sharing fries with my husband.LOL!
There are lots of things wrong with the world, like war and global warming but there are some everyday comforts that helps us get through every day.The Book of Awesome draws out attention to these things and makes us appreciate the things that go right.There were some things that I didn’t find awesome myself, such as a person farting in public, and there were things I found boring, but there was something awesome for everyone in The Book of Awesome.
Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.
It is mid-15th century Spain and with her father, the King, dead Isabella and her brother Alfonso go into exile with their mother.Their half-brother, Enrique becomes King.When Isabella and Alfonso becomepre-teens, Enrique sends for them to join him in life at court.
There, they meet a second cousin of theirs, Fernando of Aragon, who is there visiting.He walks in the garden with Isabella with loose supervision and announces to her that they will eventually marry.She’s not sure about that but she does like him and enjoys his company.However, he goes back to Aragon and she doesn’t think a lot on it.
She has too many things to worry about at court.The two young siblings soon learn how ineffectual a ruler Enrique is and Alfonso is taken by Archbishop Carrillo of Toledo and other to strike up resistance to King Enrique with the goal of crowning Alfonso.Isabella is accused of treason and is held prisoner.
For awhile, it looks like Alfonso will succeed in his mission but he eventually dies and Isabella takes his place.She marries Fernando, even though Enrique forbids it.However Isabella does make peace with her half-brother and he vows that she will rule when he dies.He leads a very unhealthy lifestyle and soon dies.
Enrique has a daughter who in all likelihood isn’t really his but she also strikes up a fight for the crown.However, her attempts fail and Isabella becomes Queen.Though she is Queen she shares her power with Fernando, though she ultimately has to make most decisions on her own.With hardly any money in the treasury and unrest all over Spain and Europe, will Isabella be able to start the healing process for her realm?
C.W. Gortner creates a brave Isabella who, like most people is also conflicted.With all male advisors and a sign of the times she often gives into what she thinks must be done, even though it conflicts her ethics.It is a time where many countries all around are trying and killing people for heresy and eventual Isabella agrees to it for Spain, which we know as the Spanish Inquisition.
Gortner paints a vivid picture of what it was like to be there in mid 1400’s Spain.With the stroke of his pen his characters come to life and leap off the page.This is the third book I have read by C.W. Gortner.If it wasn’t official before, it is now, I am a fan!I didn’t think he could top The Last Queen or The Confessions of Catherine de Medici, but I think he has with A Queen’s Vow.I can hardly wait to see what he comes up with next.
5/5
I was given this book for my honest review.
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About C.W. Gortner:
C.W. Gortner is the author of The Last Queen, The Confessions of Catherine de Medici and The Tudor Secret. He holds an MFA in Writing with an emphasis in Renaissance Studies from the New College of California.
In his extensive travels to research his books, he has danced a galliard in a Tudor great hall and experienced life in a Spanish castle. His novels have garnered international praise and been translated into thirteen languages to date. He is also a dedicated advocate for animal rights and environmental issues.
He’s currently at work on his fourth novel for Ballantine Books, about the early years of Lucrezia Borgia, as well as the third novel in his Tudor series,The Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles (US) or Elizabeth’s Spymaster (UK).
Half-Spanish by birth, C.W. lives in Northern California.
Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.
