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The King's Grace: A Novel
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
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About this ebook
The bestselling author of A Rose for the Crown and Daughter of York takes a young woman that history noticed only once and sets her on a quest for the truth about the murder of two boys and a man who claims to be king.
All that history knows of Grace Plantagenet is that she was an illegitimate daughter of Edward IV and one of two attendants aboard the funeral barge of his widowed queen. Thus, she was half sister of the famous young princes, who -- when this story begins in 1485 -- had been housed in the Tower by their uncle, Richard III, and are presumed dead.
But in the 1490s, a young man appears at the courts of Europe claiming to be Richard, duke of York, the younger of the boys, and seeking to claim his rightful throne from England's first Tudor king, Henry VII. But is this man who he says he is? Or is he Perkin Warbeck, a puppet of Margaret of York, duchess of Burgundy, who is determined to regain the crown for her York family? Grace Plantagenet finds herself in the midst of one of English history's greatest mysteries. If she can discover the fate of the princes and the true identity of Perkin Warbeck, perhaps she will find her own place in her family.
All that history knows of Grace Plantagenet is that she was an illegitimate daughter of Edward IV and one of two attendants aboard the funeral barge of his widowed queen. Thus, she was half sister of the famous young princes, who -- when this story begins in 1485 -- had been housed in the Tower by their uncle, Richard III, and are presumed dead.
But in the 1490s, a young man appears at the courts of Europe claiming to be Richard, duke of York, the younger of the boys, and seeking to claim his rightful throne from England's first Tudor king, Henry VII. But is this man who he says he is? Or is he Perkin Warbeck, a puppet of Margaret of York, duchess of Burgundy, who is determined to regain the crown for her York family? Grace Plantagenet finds herself in the midst of one of English history's greatest mysteries. If she can discover the fate of the princes and the true identity of Perkin Warbeck, perhaps she will find her own place in her family.
Author
Anne Easter Smith
A native of England, Anne Easter Smith has lived in the United States for more than forty years. She was the features editor at a newspaper in New York State and now lives in Newburyport, Massachusetts, with her husband, Scott. You can visit her website at AnneEasterSmith.com.
Read more from Anne Easter Smith
Queen By Right: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Royal Mistress: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Rose for the Crown: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Daughter of York: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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Reviews for The King's Grace
Rating: 3.8666666444444444 out of 5 stars
4/5
90 ratings11 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Excellent story. New favorite historical fiction author!
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In the questions for discussion she asks Why Elizabeth Woodville agrees to the marriage of Bess & Henry if she is such a loyal Yorkist. Anne Easter Smith seems to have forgotten that Elizabeth's first husband died fighting for the Lancaster side. Elizabeth was on the side that would benefit her the most.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Another excellent effort by Anne Easter Smith. It gave a deeper view of an almost unknown character in history. While it is not as good as A Rose for the Crown it is still worth the read and ties in with the other 2 books in the series.
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Grace Plantagenet, bastard daughter of King Edward IV of England is only mentioned once in history - in a account written first hand about the small party seen escorting the Dowager Queen Elizabeth Woodville’s funeral barge. This lack of the Grace’s historical background provides the author, Anne Easter Smith, complete control over her heroine, which is quite unique in a historical fiction novel (if it’s a GOOD historical fiction novel, that is!).Grace spends the first 11 years of her life in an abbey, when one day Dowager Queen Elizabeth Woodville summons her to court. England is in much turmoil at this time - King Edward IV is dead and the marriage between he and Elizabeth has been declared invalid and their children made bastards, based on the facts now coming to light of Edward’s previous betrothal. Edward’s brother, King Richard III wears the crown, the two York princes and heirs to the throne are in the tower for “safe keeping” and Henry Tudor is threatening to invade.When Henry Tudor succeeds with his invasion and King Richard III dies in battle, the Tudor Dynasty is born. Edward and Elizabeth’s daughter, Bess, reluctantly marries the usurper and surprisingly they end up very happy together. They will eventually produce four children: Arthur, Mary, Margaret and the infamous, Henry VIII.As his hold on the crown is not very secure, Henry is constantly fearful and paranoid. He suspects Elizabeth Woodville of plotting against him and sends her to Bermondsey Abbey. Grace accompanies her out of respect and feelings of gratitude, although she never thought she’d be once again in an abbey. This part was really interesting to me – we get to see a softer side of the formidable Woodville woman and even though she’s every bit of a Royal snob, she is a real human being underneath and I actually grew to like her a bit! The proper and moral Good Queen Bess and her less than moral, impetuous sister, Cecily bring amusing moments to the novel and provide a sense of family among the siblings. Grace is the diplomat between these two very strong personalities. Stories of a young man calling himself Richard, the lost duke of York, begin reaching England. No one knows what to believe – is it the lost prince or a boatman’s son from Tournai named Perkin Warbeck (sp) pretending to be Richard? And if he is just a boatman’s son, how does he know French & Latin? Grace’s inquisitive nature takes her on a mission to find out the truth – for her and for her family. In the end, nothing is quite what it seemed to be.Not only is The King’s Grace about the mystery of Perkin Warbeck, but of Grace - a girl who is trying to find her own path in life and the obstacles she overcomes to get there. Sweet natured and one for the underdogs, Grace is a pleasure to read about and I truly enjoyed this story. I’m no expert on The Princes in the Tower, so I can’t really comment on Smith’s explanation of the Perkin/Richard debate, but her conclusion doesn’t seem too out there and was believable for me. And the happy ending was a nice change of pace from your usual historical fiction ending.
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great read!!!!!!
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I enjoyed this a great deal more than Daughter of York, but neither title lives up to the original volume in the series, A Rose for the Crown. Nonetheless, this was an engaging read with a strong mix of historical fiction, romance, and intrigue.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Like all Anne Easter Smith's book, this one is certainly worth a read. I like the fact there is a tie with Anne Easter Smith's other books. The author has picked a good subject for her book. Although history acknowledges that Edward 1V did have a illegitimate daughter, little has been said on the subject. This gives the author room her her creativity. I loved the way she developed the character of Grace. If one closed their eyes, you could imagine her standing in front of you. She also brought to life Grace's half sister Cecily and Bess.The author description of the life and times of the period in history she is writing about also gives me a vivid pictures regarding court and rural life during the early Tudor reign.Thank you, I loved the book!
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Not very well written, but the story of poor Perkin was interesting. I got tired of Grace being described as petite with tiny hands.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A good read, in the vein of "A Rose for the Crown", and "The Crimson Petal and the White".
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This ties in with Anne Easter Smith's other books Rose for the Crown and Daughter of York in that the major characters in those books are lesser characters in this book. It isn't really necessary to read the others before reading this.The main character in this novel is Grace Plantagenet, an illegitimate daughter of Edward IV, about whom almost nothing is known. Also very important in the story is Perkin Warbeck/Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, the alleged son of Edward IV who gave Henry VII a number of uneasy years. This latter part is based largely on Anne Wroe's fascinating book The Perfect Prince.The novel is very good, excellent in some regards, but falling short in others. Grace and her favorite half-sisters, and her step-mother Elizabeth Woodville are vividly rendered and their lives are presented in great and evocative detail. This was fascinating. Some parts of the plot are a little difficult to swallow. One might think that Edward IV's children would be just a trifle more resentful of Uncle Richard. Grace is wildly, dangerously devoted to some of her rebellious male relatives, and she takes incredible risks for them. One has to wonder why, then, she makes so little effort on behalf of the male relative who is close at hand--Edward, Earl of Warwick, imprisoned in the Tower. Grace visits him once in maybe ten years, and no-one else in this supposedly close family spares a thought for him. Where is Arthur Plantagenet, Grace's half-brother, the most famous by-blow of Edward IV, and one who was part of the Tudor political landscape? Grace is also supposed to be fascinated by puzzles, which is another explanation for her risky behavior; beyond one example, Easter Smith only tells us this, we don't see Grace dealing with other conundrums. Easter Smith also cannot decide how many half-sisters Grace had: five or six. Her editor needed to put a little more work into this.With these reservations, this is still a much better than average historical novel, set in a popular period, and worth reading.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This ties in with Anne Easter Smith's other books Rose for the Crown and Daughter of York in that the major characters in those books are lesser characters in this book. It isn't really necessary to read the others before reading this.The main character in this novel is Grace Plantagenet, an illegitimate daughter of Edward IV, about whom almost nothing is known. Also very important in the story is Perkin Warbeck/Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, the alleged son of Edward IV who gave Henry VII a number of uneasy years. This latter part is based largely on Anne Wroe's fascinating book The Perfect Prince.The novel is very good, excellent in some regards, but falling short in others. Grace and her favorite half-sisters, and her step-mother Elizabeth Woodville are vividly rendered and their lives are presented in great and evocative detail. This was fascinating. Some parts of the plot are a little difficult to swallow. One might think that Edward IV's children would be just a trifle more resentful of Uncle Richard. Grace is wildly, dangerously devoted to some of her rebellious male relatives, and she takes incredible risks for them. One has to wonder why, then, she makes so little effort on behalf of the male relative who is close at hand--Edward, Earl of Warwick, imprisoned in the Tower. Grace visits him once in maybe ten years, and no-one else in this supposedly close family spares a thought for him. Where is Arthur Plantagenet, Grace's half-brother, the most famous by-blow of Edward IV, and one who was part of the Tudor political landscape? Grace is also supposed to be fascinated by puzzles, which is another explanation for her risky behavior; beyond one example, Easter Smith only tells us this, we don't see Grace dealing with other conundrums. Easter Smith also cannot decide how many half-sisters Grace had: five or six. Her editor needed to put a little more work into this.With these reservations, this is still a much better than average historical novel, set in a popular period, and worth reading.
Book preview
The King's Grace - Anne Easter Smith
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