A Rose for the Crown: A Novel
by Anne Easter Smith
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Book Summary Information
Author: Anne Easter SmithEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-03-07
ISBN: 0743276876
Number of pages: 672
Publisher: Touchstone
Book Reviews of A Rose for the Crown: A Novel
Book Review: A Masterpiece
Summary: 5 Stars
A Rose for the Crown by Anne Easter Smith is one of the best books I have ever read. It is an incredible accomplishment. The storyline (with lots of embellishments) is simple. Girl meets boy, they make whoopee, girl loses boy. Despite this, the book is far from simple. I grew up learning that King Richard III of England, the male protagonist, was a misshapen monster who killed two helpless princes while they were incarcerated in the Tower of London. The author's mission is to disprove this Tudor perpetrated version of history. Sharon Kay Penman in The Sunne in Splendour sowed seeds of doubt but did not convince me. Smith has almost turned me into a believer.
Aside from writing revisionist history, Smith is splendid novelist. Most of the characters in the book, including the protagonists, actually lived. Smith fills in missing information with delightful, period true imagination.
The aspect of the book I liked best was Smith's creation of the world as it existed for her characters. With meticulous detail, she describes various kinds of dwellings (farm cottage, merchant's quarters, castles). She describes everyday food of different classes and the extravagant banquets of the aristocracy. Clothing is also described. I always wondered how the men held up the tights they wore. Richard III enlightens us when he dresses following a torrid love scene. Questions about the cone like hats women wore were also answered. Little details fascinated me. For example, when one character made a deep bow, a louse fell out of his hair. No one is surprised. Most details are not unpleasant. Smith describes fish farming by castle ponds that, in future, became purely ornamental. She tells us what grew in various kinds of gardens and fields. We are introduced to 15th century ambient smells and sounds. Finally, the rhythm of the book seems to reflect the experience of time in the 15th century. It meanders slowly. The exchange of letters takes weeks. News arrives weeks after events have taken place. Into the lazy meander cuts death - often sudden, violent, shocking. Death arrives in long, poorly understood sickness, sudden illness accident, and war.
Smith ambitiously tackles social relationships between 15th century people. She depicts relations between classes as much less rigid than I had supposed. But the barrier of heredity prevents lower classes from moving into the aristocracy. She depicts many relationships between men and women. When love and friendship exist between a man and woman, male characters relax the demeaning and limiting rules of female behavior. When there is no love, the rules are an excuse for terrible cruelty. Children are loved and petted, easily sent to live with strangers, and sometimes abused. Religion permeates everyone's life. Usually it is casual and perfunctory. Occasionally it is extremely serious.
Although I adored this book, I had two problems with it (nobody is perfect). First, Smith left me confused about why so many lords betrayed Richard III. This may have been intentional. She told the story through the eyes of his mistress, Kate. Since Kate was not well connected or near the center of power, she would not have understood. But in order to completely buy into the revised Richard III, the reader has to understand. Second, Kate unwittingly marries a homosexual. Divorce and annulment are not available. When gays had to stay in the closet (or be burned at the stake), situations like this occurred. But instead portraying the gay husband as an individual man, Smith disappointingly creates a stereotypical homosexual. Among other things, he is cowardly and inept in battle. Although the U.S. armed forces apparently share this view, it is unfair. Two of the greatest warriors in history, Alexander the Great and Richard Lionheart, appear to have been gay. (I am straight but I hate stereotypes.)
For readers who love total immersion in another time and place, this book is a must. Those believe the Tudor version of Richard III will find this book a titillating challenge. Anyone who enjoys a delicious story will have a good time.
Summary of A Rose for the Crown: A Novel
A KING MISUNDERSTOOD BY HISTORY,
A LOVE STORY THAT HAS NEVER BEEN TOLD
In A Rose for the Crown, we meet one of history's alleged villains through the eyes of a captivating new heroine -- the woman who was the mother of his illegitimate children, a woman who loved him for who he really was, no matter what the cost to herself.
As Kate Haute moves from her peasant roots to the luxurious palaces of England, her path is inextricably intertwined with that of Richard, Duke of Gloucester, later King Richard III. Although they could never marry, their young passion grows into a love that sustains them through war, personal tragedy, and the dangerous heights of political triumph.
Anne Easter Smith's impeccable research provides the backbone of an engrossing and vibrant debut from a major new historical novelist.
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