Mistress of the Court (Georgian Queens)
2 journalers for this copy...
Received to review.
From Chapters:
Orphaned and trapped in an abusive marriage, Henrietta Howard has little left to lose. She stakeseverything on a new life in Hanover with its royal family, the heirs to the British throne.Henrietta’s beauty and intelligence soon win her the friendship of clever Princess Caroline and hermercurial husband, Prince George. But, as time passes, it becomes clear that friendship is the lastthing on the hot-blooded young prince’s mind. Dare Henrietta give into his advances and anger herviolent husband? Dare she refuse?Whatever George’s shortcomings, Princess Caroline is determined to make the family a success. Yetthe feud between her husband and his obstinate father threatens all she has worked for. As Englanderupts in Jacobite riots, her family falls apart. She vows to save the country for her children to inherit even if it costs her pride and her marriage.Set in the turbulent years of the Hanoverian accession, Mistress of the Court tells the story of tworemarkable women at the centre of George II’s reign.
From Chapters:
Orphaned and trapped in an abusive marriage, Henrietta Howard has little left to lose. She stakeseverything on a new life in Hanover with its royal family, the heirs to the British throne.Henrietta’s beauty and intelligence soon win her the friendship of clever Princess Caroline and hermercurial husband, Prince George. But, as time passes, it becomes clear that friendship is the lastthing on the hot-blooded young prince’s mind. Dare Henrietta give into his advances and anger herviolent husband? Dare she refuse?Whatever George’s shortcomings, Princess Caroline is determined to make the family a success. Yetthe feud between her husband and his obstinate father threatens all she has worked for. As Englanderupts in Jacobite riots, her family falls apart. She vows to save the country for her children to inherit even if it costs her pride and her marriage.Set in the turbulent years of the Hanoverian accession, Mistress of the Court tells the story of tworemarkable women at the centre of George II’s reign.
Henrietta Howard is poor and wife to an abusive husband. The only things she cherishes are her son, Henry, and her English last name. She uses that name to find a position with Sophia, the grandmother of King George II, while the family is still in Hanover, waiting for their opportunity to claim the throne. Unfortunately Sophia passes away before this happens, but Henrietta secures a position with her granddaughter in law, Caroline, the future Queen of England. When the family moves back to England, Henrietta finds herself a part of royal court. However she is still abused by her husband who serves King George I. When George I banishes Caroline and her husband from court, Henrietta chooses serving them over staying with her family.
I love, love, love British royalty historical fiction. But it has to be done right; historical fiction can get very dry. Thankfully this book was anything but! I've had a lot of luck with historical fiction recently and I'm happy that this book continued my streak. I was able to both learn more about George I/George II and be entertained by the characters and drama that encircled them.
It did take me a little time to get in to this book though. For some reason, I wasn't prepared for the story to be narrated by both Henrietta and Caroline so whenever the narration switched, I got confused about who was now narrating. Eventually I got in to the flow and was used to it.
There's a blurb at the end of the book from the author and it sounds like there are more books planned to shed light on other people in this time. I'd be interested in reading these!
I love, love, love British royalty historical fiction. But it has to be done right; historical fiction can get very dry. Thankfully this book was anything but! I've had a lot of luck with historical fiction recently and I'm happy that this book continued my streak. I was able to both learn more about George I/George II and be entertained by the characters and drama that encircled them.
It did take me a little time to get in to this book though. For some reason, I wasn't prepared for the story to be narrated by both Henrietta and Caroline so whenever the narration switched, I got confused about who was now narrating. Eventually I got in to the flow and was used to it.
There's a blurb at the end of the book from the author and it sounds like there are more books planned to shed light on other people in this time. I'd be interested in reading these!
Mailed today to Terra who won it in a HF swap.
Sorry I forgot to register this Lauren. Whoops!
