To those around her she was a loyal subject. In her heart she was a traitor.
The Queen of the title is Elizabeth Mortimer 1371-1417, married to Sir Henry Percy (known as Hotspur) and upon his death to Thomas de Camoys. This is another of the author’s excellent retelling of the lives of medieval women. Written in the first person, this untangles history in a highly readable manner. It seems Elizabeth loved her first husband who assisted Henry IV to dethrone Richard II and was killed in battle. But in fact Elizabeth wanted her nephew, eight-year old Edmond, to become King but she kept this to herself. Upon Hotspur’s death he was pronounced a traitor and Elizabeth arrested. The King then gave her a choice, marry de Camoys or go into a nunnery. She married de Camoys, he was in his sixties, and the books ends with her settling into a harmonious relationship. I think the strength of this is that it is written in the first person, highly enjoyable.
| Primary Genre | Historical Fiction |
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Anne O'Brien really knows her subject matter.
An excellent story set at the beginning of the Reign of Henry IV, a tale of Elizabeth Mortimer who believes that the only rightful heir to the throne after King Richard II demise is her eight year old nephew Edmund and not Henry of Lancaster.
Elizabeth is married into the Percy family who are the predominant leaders in the north and the borders of Scotland, her husband 'Hotspur' is killed in battle whilst trying to overthrow Henry.
Elizabeth is of Plantagenet blood, she is now on course to play them all to the end and will not stop until Edmund is on the throne.
Anne O'brien really knows her subject matter, this seems so historically correct and yet it is tale from these times, I want to read more of her work.
If you like Phillipa Gregory you will love this!Read Full Review
If you enjoy Phillipa Gregory and Alison Weir, then Anne O'Brien is definitely worth considering. A good storyteller of the more unknown periods of English history.
Queen of the North tells the story of a lesser known period of English history which is quite refreshing after all the books on The Tudors. It seemed to me to be a literary equivalent of a TV docu-drama at least for the first part. It is a story based on fact that is full of details of daily life as well as the more momentous events of the time.
The story is told first person by Elizabeth Mortimer, someone I had not really heard of, although the men in her life are quite well known-Henry IV, Harry 'Hotspur' Percy, Owen Glyn Dwr and so on.
The beginning of the book was quite challenging as we are given historical fact after fact, and I often had to re-read to get it set in my mind.... Read Full Review
The past is normally written from the stance of the men involved, hence 'history'. 'The Queen of the North', should be called 'herstory', a new way of revisiting the past..
Anne O'Brien catches the atmosphere of the start of 15th Century Britain, the 'Dark Ages' extremely well and ensures that her readers are totally engaged in the plot.
The Lords of the Northern regions of England are not always friendly towards the new King. When called to fight on the King's behalf, not all of them respond. This scenario would seem to be only suitable for one type of tale, fights, battles and intrigue, leaving the reader to 'take sides', but Ms O'Brien very cleverly gives us a different slant.... Read Full Review
