Book Review: The Tudor Conspiracy by C.W. Gortner

The Tudor Conspiracy by C.W. Gortner
Book 2 in the Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles
Paperback, 352 pages
St. Martin’s Griffin
July 16, 2013
★★★★½☆

Genre: Historical Fiction - Thriller

Source: Received for review from publisher as part of Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tour

Winter 1554. Brendan Prescott, spymaster to the Princess Elizabeth, has discovered that he is connected to the Tudors by blood as well as allegiance. Though his secret is known only by a few, it could be his downfall as he is called to London to protect the princess.

Accompanied by his young squire Peregrine, he reluctantly leaves his sweetheart Kate behind - but in the city he discovers that no one is quite what they seem. What fate does Queen Mary intend for her sister? Is Robert Dudley somehow manipulating the princess, even though he is locked in the Tower? And should Brendan trust the alluring Sybilla, Mary's lady-in-waiting, who professes to be on his side?

As he tries to unravel the mysteries of the Tudor court Brendan's life will be put in danger many times, and along the way he learns more about his own past.

If you remember, when I wrote my review of The Tudor Secret in February 2011, I crowed, “Best Book of 2011!”. While this may not be my #1 favorite of 2013, it will inevitably be within my top 5 reads this year (it will be hard to beat out my love for Roses by Leila Meacham which I read a few months ago). I’m always slightly hesitant when reading the second book in a series – especially when I really enjoyed book one – but I am pleased to say that there is no sophomore slump here.

While the plotline of this novel deals primarily with the Wyatt Rebellion, which I didn’t previously know much about, the heft of the emotional plotline is the backstory of our hero, Brendan. He learns a lot about himself throughout the span of these pages and really has to grapple with emotions and various questions of conscience. These events will change him as a character is some ways I’m sure.

There was great drama and pacing of the novel – which is a strength which the author does well. While we do get to spend time with some of the favorite characters from the prior novel, more time is focused on some newer characters. I was sad about this in some ways, but the characters are well developed and I enjoyed them just as much.

My only complaint was that at times it was difficult to remember which of his two identities, Brendan was at any given time; and further, who knows him as which name. I would hazard that the author found this to be a challenge as well. At one point, Queen Mary refers to Brendan as “Mr. Prescott” when all along she and 95% of the court have only known him as Daniel Beecham (pg. 74). As neither Brendan nor any of the other characters reacted to this incorrect name, I’m assuming that it wasn’t meant to be some sort of revelation.

Overall a great second book in this series and I can’t wait for more. Gortner makes the Tudor court once again new and exciting!

Author C.W. Gortner has written several biographical novels as well as book 1 in the Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles, The Tudor Secret. You can visit the author’s website or blog for additional information about the book. If you would like to preview the story before reading it, why not try out this excerpt of the book?

My reviews of other books by this author:

• Confessions of Catherine de Medici
• The Queen’s Vow
• The Tudor Secret

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Paternoster Row Legacy

You can follow along with the rest of the blog tour by visiting the HFVBT website or on Twitter with the following hashtag: #TudorConspiracyTour.

 

Copyright © 2013 by The Maiden’s Court

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Guest Post by C.W. Gortner

I am excited today to welcome C.W. Gortner to The Maiden's Court today!  His newest book, The Queen's Vow, released just a couple of days ago and I have to tell you - it's an awesome read.  Check out my review here.  Stay tuned at the end for a giveaway of the book and embroidered purse.  Read on, my friends!

Isabella of Castile: An Embattled Princess 

Guest Post by C. W. Gortner, author of

The Queen's Vow

When most of us think of Isabella of Castile, we tend to see the staid image of her later years—the somber, driven queen characterized by extreme piety. This image is partly true and partly the result of subsequent praise and criticism heaped on her by historians.

It cannot be denied that religion had a defining role in Isabella’s life. Like most of her fellow sovereigns in Europe, she was Catholic and believed Catholicism was the only true faith. And in her later years, as she endured personal tragedy, she turned increasingly for solace in her faith. But she had once been young and vibrant; and while doing intensive research into her tumultuous rise to the throne for my new novel, The Queen’s Vow, to my delight I discovered an Isabella we rarely see— a passionate princess, who overcame significant odds to be queen.

Though it may seem impossible in hindsight, at the time no one believed Isabella was destined for greatness. Her father King Juan died when she was a child; as the daughter of a royal widow, she and her younger brother were sent from court to reside in the stony isolation of Arévalo, a castle set in a rural area that was also impoverished. Isabella was educated, but it was rudimentary, designed to prepare her for marriage. She did not benefit from the breadth of opportunities that other Renaissance princesses would enjoy; indeed, she was not even taught Latin, the language of international diplomacy, and it was a handicap that she so regretted later as queen, she determined to remedy it.

Yet she possessed something innate that could not be taught: intelligence and a keen sense of her own self. These qualities served her in the stead of a broad education, as she discovered when she was thrust into danger while still in her teens, after being summoned to her half brother King Enrique’s licentious court. At court, depravity was a way of life. Enrique’s vivacious queen, Juana of Portugal, was almost certainly adulterous and set on corrupting young Isabella, who posed a threat to her own daughter. Isabella withstood numerous assaults on her honor with admirable stoicism; even when accused of treason, she did not waver in defense of her stance. We tend to forget she was only sixteen when she confronted that maelstrom of intrigue that might have cost her her life. It is undeniable testament to her integrity that she managed to overcome a situation that would have undone a lesser princess.

Isabella truly displayed her strength of character when she became heiress of Castile. Surrounded by opportunists, each seeking an advantage, she stood alone at a treacherous crossroads, where she could have taken a step in any direction but the right one, leading to her downfall. No queen had successfully ruled Castile for long; no one at the time, save perhaps Isabella herself, believed a queen could. She had few trusted friends to turn to for advice, and none had political standing. Without formal training as a future ruler, at eighteen years of age, Isabella might have done any number of things to put herself in jeopardy; instead, she alone devised a solution that displayed astonishing maturity, one that would maintain her prestige and attempt to resolve the civil war that had devastated Castile. Her decision would cost her later, but she never regretted it. For Isabella, the right way was almost always more important than the easy one.

The story of this embattled princess who was unexpectedly propelled to the throne is fraught with peril, intrigue, and twists of fate that no writer could make up; it is a story of resiliency and indomitable pride, of a woman who was determined to rule with greatness and ended up transforming the world. It is also a story that has rarely been told.

I sincerely hope you enjoy The Queen’s Vow.

Thank you for spending this time with me. To find out more about me and my books, please visit me at: www.cwgortner.com

You can follow the rest of the blog tour at Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours or on twitter with the following hashtag: #QueensVowVirtualTour

Now for the giveaway.  I have one copy of The Queen's Vow by C.W. Gortner up for grabs along with a beautiful embroidered purse.  It is open to residents of the USA and Canada.  The last day to enter the giveaway is June 30th.

Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

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Book Review: The Queen's Vow by C.W. Gortner

The Queen’s Vow by C.W. Gortner

ARC, Hardcover, 400 pages

Ballatine Books

June 12, 2012

★★★★½☆

 

Genre: Historical Fiction

 

Source: Received from the publisher for review as part of Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

“No one believed she was destined for greatness—until she became one of history’s most powerful and controversial queens. 

Young Isabella is barely a teenager when she is thrust into danger. Suspected of treason and held captive, she treads a perilous path, until, at age seventeen, she finds herself heiress of Castile, the largest kingdom in Spain. Plunged into a deadly conflict to secure her crown, she is determined to wed the one man whom she has vowed to love yet is forbidden to her—Fernando, prince of Aragón. 

As together they unite their two realms under "one crown, one country, one faith," Isabella and Fernando face an impoverished Spain beset by enemies. With the future of her throne at stake, Isabella resists the zealous demands of the inquisitor, Torquemada, even as she is seduced by the dreams of an enigmatic navigator named Columbus. But when a violent, treacherous battle against an ancient adversary erupts, it will test Isabella’s resolve, her courage, and her tenacious belief in her destiny . . . . 

From the glorious palaces of Segovia to the battlefields of Granada and intrigue-laden gardens of Seville, The Queen’s Vow sweeps us into the tumultuous forging of a nation and the complex, fascinating heart of the woman who overcame all odds to become Isabella of Castile.”

I have been a fan of Gortner’s work since I picked up my first read of his, The Confessions of Catherine de Medici. He has a talent of taking maligned or misunderstood women and making them approachable characters whom readers can identify with and attempt to understand their choices. His novel of Isabella of Castile is no different. Isabella is remembered by history as the Spanish queen who re-incited the Inquisition, the mother of Catherine of Aragon and Juana la Loca, and the queen who financed Christopher Columbus’ American expedition. In The Queen’s Vow we are treated to an Isabella who does all of these things, but whom we also see grow up and who struggles with her decisions.

 

Right from the first pages we meet a young Isabella that we can identify with and grow up with. We feel what it is like to grow up maligned from the court that you belong to and see your livelihood stripped away. We can identify with the heat of a first love. As time goes on we get to know her husband, Fernando of Aragon, and even later her brood – Isabel, Juan, Juana, Maria, and Catalina. I most enjoyed getting to know her family who I didn’t know too much about. In all the novels I have read I have always found Fernando distasteful, however here I found myself enamored by him – despite his flaws. We get to really know her oldest two children the best, Isabel and Juan, whom you don’t read much about.

 

While we don’t know the thoughts that went through Isabella’s head while making some of her most important decisions as queen, I find Gortner’s take on it fully plausible. Most people have some qualms about major decisions they make and I can absolutely believe that Isabella might have had doubts about some of her most definitive decisions. If nothing else, his choices fit in well with the characters he created. You really feel that Isabella is a real person who has flaws.

 

While I enjoyed all the aspects of this story of Isabella’s life, I most enjoyed reading about the Reconquista and especially how she wanted to be out at the battlefield. She was truly a strong Queen, regardless of how we may feel about her decisions regarding the Inquisitions. I cannot wait to have the chance to read The Last Queen, about her daughter, Juana, as a continuation of this storyline.

 

Gorter is an author whose work I know I will always enjoy.

 

Author C.W. Gortner also has written The Last Queen, The Confessions of Catherine de Medici, and The Tudor Secret. You can visit C.W.’s website or blog for additional information about the book. If you would like to preview the story before reading it, why not try out this excerpt of the book?

 

You can also watch the book trailer below.

 

My reviews of other books by this author:

• The Confessions of Catherine de Medici
• The Tudor Secret
• The Tudor Conspiracy

 

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Ageless Pages Review
• The Redheaded Reader

 

 

You can follow the rest of the blog tour at HFVBT or on Twitter with the hashtag #QueensVowVirtualTour.

 

Here are some choices for purchasing the book: Amazon, B&N, RJ Julia (my fav indie bookstore).

 

Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

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