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Deborah (162 KP) rated Mistress of Rome (The Empress of Rome, #1) in Books

Dec 21, 2018  
MO
Mistress of Rome (The Empress of Rome, #1)
Kate Quinn | 2010
6
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
For a debut novel, Quinn's 500 page Roman epic impresses. The blub describes it as 'aimed squarely at the female market' but I'm sure men would find something to enjoy in here too; on reflection I think I'd be more likely to lend it to be brother than my mother!

The narrative in the book is a bit odd and it took a little while for me to get used to it. Large chunks are in the first person, mainly from one of the two main female characters. This sometimes would get confussing when switching between the two, especially when these two characters are together, early in the novel. The text will then switch back into a third person narrative. Overall I think Quinn has made this narrative device work quite well, it just takes a bit of getting used to.

The character of Lepida is through and through nasty, with not a single redeeming characteristic, so while one is happy to see her meet Nemesis (did the Roman's have an equivalent?!) she is really a bit of a one-dimentional character.

There is a note at the end of the book which explains a little more about what is historical fact and what is taking a bit of a liberty; that's the sort of thing that I do like in an historical novel - I think it's helpful.

I found this a gripping, hard-to-put-down read, although it's pretty violently, both in the fighting and the sexual stakes; not one for the squeamish!
  
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Deborah (162 KP) rated King's Fool: A Notorious King, His Six Wives, and the One Man Who Knew All Their Secrets in Books

Dec 21, 2018  
KF
King's Fool: A Notorious King, His Six Wives, and the One Man Who Knew All Their Secrets
Margaret Campbell Barnes | 2009
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I've read a couple of other historical novels by this author, which were quite enjoyable, but not great. I had to review this after finishing this morning as it was so much better and a really rewarding read.

The novel covers the reign of Henry VIII from the point of view of Will Somers, the man who becomes the king's jester or fool. This gives the book a totally different twist and insight from something concentrating on the usual courtly suspects. Will is in the thick of things, with a front row seat in the course of history, if you like, but he's not one of the players in the drama.

The novel is actually written in the first person, and it's very rarely that I like this because in the hands of most authors it is clunky, but here I had to go back and check that this was so, as it seemed so natural.

Obviously, hindsight is a wonderful thing in history and some of the points made are from the point of view of someone with historical hindsight, but there's also a lot of psychological truth in there and you can quite clearly see why characters act the way they do.

Now, my only problem is that MCB was not a writer of authorial afterwords, like many present authors. What I really want to know is how much of the story is true (within the bounds of fictional probability!) and what is fiction/surmise - and what happened to Will Somers next?!