Bittersweet but lovely
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Well I recieved Lady of the Roses this morning its now 1.42 am the morning after and i have finished. It was brilliant! I have read the first in Sandra Worth's the Rose of York series and I really enjoyed it. The love story between Isobel and John is beautifully written but tinged with sadness as you know that their time together was short. The main protagonists of the wars of the roses come to life in Worth's novels and Isobel is a funny intelligent and passionate heroine, whilst John is everything you would wish for in a dashing young knight in shining armour. I think it's going to be a book I will continue to pick up for years to come!! If you enjoyed any of Sandra Worth's previous works you will love this!
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Lady of the Roses
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For anyone who enjoys a good historical romance Sandra Worth's latest, Lady of the Roses, is a must. Dealing with two charagters from the Wars of the Roses, Sandra weaves a tale of two people who, as far as I know, have never held centre stage before: John Neville and Isabella Inglethorpe. John as some will know, was the largely overlooked and undervalued brother of the Earl of Warick: Isabella was his wife.
John Neville was a man I admire for his loyalty and ability, of which he possessed more than his elder brother, the much vaunted Warwick. These are traits which Sandra brings out wonderfully in her book, especially towards the end when John, torn between his loyalty to his family and his cousin the King - whom he has prviously served wholeheartedly - is forced to make a choice. However he still canot bring himself to destroy the King's army on its way south, much to his brother's dismay. He has chosen his brother and the House of Lancaster,
but goes into the battle of Barnet wearing the colours of York beneath his armour, and subsiquently loses his life.
Little is known about Isabella Ingelthorpe in history, or about her life with John, apart from the fact that they had seven children and after his death she married sir William Norris. when she died she chose to be buried beside John, which would at least point to affection between them. While I doubt that she was really as daring as in these pages, this is a novel, and she makes a very fiesty heroine.
I confess to enjoying anything by Sandra. she knows her period and makes very few mistakes. This is a book beaytifully written with great affection for the principle characters, and a novel I can thoroughly recommend.
Pauline Harrison Pogmore.
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pure cheese!!
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I wanted to write this review to ensure that no one made the same mistake as I did! Although obviously by the reviews this book is to some peoples taste, those who enjoy Sharon Penman, Elizabeth Chadwick and Helen Hollick will find this book unbearable. It is completely lacking in any historical accuracy at all, for example the characters pay a visit to "Ye Olde saddlers". It takes cheese to a level which i have never witnessed in any other book. Those who have any knowledge or interest in the Wars of the Roses have read "The Sunne in Splendor" or simply enjoy getting lost in the sense of period in good historical fiction will fling this book across the room in frustration. It is not just that it lacks any historical merit it has no merit whatsoever. I am in no way a book snob, As a Medieval History undergrad, I do not turn my nose up at Historical fiction in truth i absolutley love it and refuse to read anything else and am a real sucker for romance, but this book is truly awful. I only give such a harsh review in order to prevent fellow Penman and Chadwick fans from wasting their money.
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Love Transforms History
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"I went to bed early one night...tired and preoccupied with musings about love. then - was it a vision, a dream? - Love himself suddenly appeared before me, taking the heart from my breast and handing it to Desire..." An apt quote bespeaks the essence of a tale, in this case the story of the uniquely passionate, tender and forbearing love between Isobel Ingoldesthorpe and John Neville, the Yorkist. Their love endures through the thorny historical events of fifteen years commonly known as the War of the Roses.
Sandra Worth has once again captured the tornado-whirling shifts of loyalty as England watches two mad woman change the course of history, Marguerite d'Anjou - Henry VI's French queen - and later Elizabeth Woodville - Edward IV's beautiful wife. The former believes she is trying to bring peace to her simple, holy husband's land, the latter spouse flourishes by feeding years of imagined hurtful memories with unmitigated revenge. Their sheer, unadulterated terror will destroy England's aristocracy, including the famed kingmaker, Warwick, John Neville's brother. John himself will rise to the heights of power and lose almost all of it.
Isobel is a feisty, intelligent and compassionate character whose observations have the same effect on the reader that she experiences. When one thinks that cruelty, savagery and insanity have reached their limit, another betrayal with its accompanying horrors or unexpected deaths arises to leave Isobel and all of England reeling with shock.
When it seems that the common people are suffering the most from their leaders' cruelty and blood lust, it is Isobel who cares enough to help them survive and believe in something higher. Indeed Isobel will audaciously intervene in two hair-raising scenes to plead for mercy for two central characters. Isobel and John's intimate love is the glue holding together a world in which England's rulers precociously attempt to shape its history.
Ms. Worth's singular talent lies in the masterful way she crafts plot and deftly presents an in depth, diverse set of historical characters whom the reader comes to deeply care about. Congratulations, Sandra Worth! Lady of the Roses is an unparalleled, beautiful, dire and memorable keeper in the top ranks of historical novels! What a treat!
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