Fourteenth-Century (and Late Thirteenth-Century) England

Will The Cup of Ghosts Be Your Cup of Tea?

6 Comments / Books and Book Reviews, Fourteenth-Century (and Late Thirteenth-Century) England / By /

I’m not generally a fan of mysteries, except for those of P. D. James, but if it’s about Edward II, I’ll buy it, so naturally I eagerly awaited The Cup of Ghosts by the amazingly prolific Paul Doherty (not only does he manage two or three novels a year, he’s a school headmaster). It’s the […]

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A Disappointing Look at a Controversial Queen

2 Comments / Books and Book Reviews, Fourteenth-Century (and Late Thirteenth-Century) England / By /

Thanks to Alianor, who sent me a photocopy, I just finished Alianor by Maureen Peters. (It’s not every day you get to write a sentence like that.) This is a 1984 historical novel about Eleanor of Provence, Henry III’s queen. It’s easier to find in the UK than in the US, apparently, but whether it’s

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Please Stop Dissing Eleanor de Clare’s Mum

10 Comments / Fourteenth-Century (and Late Thirteenth-Century) England / By /

As today is Mother’s Day, I couldn’t resist posting about Joan of Acre, mother of the heroine of The Traitor’s Wife, Eleanor de Clare. Joan’s taken some hard knocks at the hands of novelists lately, and this is a Mother’s Day plea on the poor lady’s behalf. The most detailed account of Joan’s life that

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A Refreshing Look at a King’s Favorite

5 Comments / Books and Book Reviews, Edward II / By /

I finished The Lord of Misrule by Eve Trevaskis today, about Edward II and Piers Gaveston, told in the third person mainly from the viewpoint of Gaveston. I can’t add much to Sarah Johnson’s recent review of it except to point out that I found it historically accurate and carefully researched, the more so because

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