Book Review: The Princeling

The Princeling, Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
3 roses

In the third book of the epic Morland family saga, Elizabeth I is on the throne and the very Catholic Morlands are having to adapt to the Protestant wave sweeping over England. Having not read the second book yet (oops) I was afraid I might be missing some vital points in the family story but I found I had no problem understanding where the family was at this point. That being said there were a few family issues that I think I would have understood better if I had read the second book in the series but I can still say that its not completely necessary to read all the books to keep up with the family.

The novel covers many years, starting at the beginning of Elizabeth I's reign. Being Catholic, many of the Morlands have issues with the New Religion that has come to England and that ends up causing some problems as some family members are more open to the new ideas. As in the first book, the issue of continuing the Morland name, power, and estate is the main thread that flows through the story and you see various matches and marriages made (or attempted) in order to secure the family fortune. Throughout all the dynasty issues the Morlands have various interactions with the English and Scottish courts, thus throwing them into the dangerous politics of the time.

This was a good read but I have to be honest when I say I enjoyed the first novel much better. To me, the characters here just were not as interesting or engaging as the original Morlands and I found that I really didn't care what happened to most of them. I liked the "matriarch" in this novel, Nanette, even though her own storyline wasn't really all that exciting. The entire situation involving the heir, John, and his time in Northumberland just seemed a bit far fetched and a bit unbelievable to me. Then there is the big mystery surrounding the birth of Nanette's adopted son, Jan, which is never entirely made clear for the reader (though you can pretty much figure it out by the end of the story). I actually liked Jan throughout most of the story, until he let his greedy wife Mary talk him into trying to steal the Morland inheritance. As for the rest of the family, they all kind of blend together (with a couple of exceptions), nothing really setting them apart or making their individual story lines that interesting. There is also more than one storyline that just seems way too far fetched for me. The surrounding historical parts of the story were not very attention grabbing either (though compared to the highly volatile Wars of the Roses that is the backdrop of the first novel, most will pale in comparison!). In the first novel the family's fortune and success was intimately tied with the monarch and so the historical part of the story and the fictional, family part of the story were closely entwined. You don't get that feeling in this novel. While the family is concerned what a new Protestant Queen will mean for their business and future, you just don't get the feeling that the two are closely connected. Perhaps if we had seen more of the family involved with the Queen and the interesting events at court there would have been more excitement to the story. One thing I did enjoy about this novel was how uncertain the family's future was; at some points it looked like the family dynasty was going to end. Of course we know it doesn't end (or there wouldn't be over thirty more books in the family series!) but it does add some nice tension to the story which keeps it from being somewhat boring.

It may sound like I didn't like this novel but I did enjoy my read and if I hadn't read the first novel (which I think was really wonderful) I most likely would not have had any issues with anything in this story. It was an easy and fast read and I am certainly still interested in reading on about this family and seeing how they evolve as England evolves and changes around them. I would recommend this novel to any readers but be warned: you will most likely not be able to just read one book about this family!


*Thank you to Sourcebooks for the advanced readers copy to review.

Book Review: The Founding

The Founding, Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
3.5/4 roses

After seeing this series mentioned on several blogs I finally decided to give it a shot; the first novel in this mammoth series is, after all, covering the Wars of the Roses, one of my favorite time periods. The series, which has 33-34 novels to date, covers the Morland family and shows them involved in various events throughout British history. This first book, aptly called The Founding introduces us to the first members of the family and shows us how they became wealthy and successful.

This was a rather fast moving story that covered events in the lives of the early Morlands from the 1430s up to Richard III's defeat at the Battle of Bosworth. There were some rather large gaps of time in between some chapters and that could throw some readers off but as the author was trying to fit quite a bit of story into a specific time frame, it is understandable. The various members of this family are shown at home, involved with the family sheep business, and at the Court of the various reigning Kings of England and their plot line is tightly entwined with the fortunes of these various Kings. The family is fiercely loyal to the Yorkist cause (thanks to Eleanor) and this greatly influences many of their actions and decisions. The author also has her opinions on events and people of this turbulent time period and some of that certainly shows in her writing. This is a fairly lengthy novel with many characters but I really didn't get a feel for any of them; there didn't seem to be much depth to most of them. Most of the characters were likable enough and I could find some sympathy for them but their individual personalities, their various motives, weren't really delved into too deeply. Eleanor is the one exception.

Eleanor is appalled at being forced to marry a mere "sheep farmer"; she is, after all, secretly in love with Richard, Duke of York.

This blurb from the back cover of the novel really nails Eleanor's personality. She is an orphan and a ward of the Beaufort family but has a very high opinion of herself. I really was not that fond of her, though there were some times where she was a bit more endearing. Throughout at least half the novel she is wrapped in this "holier than thou" attitude towards her husband, his family, and their business. She does eventually embrace her new life and helps them become very successful. Her "holier than thou" attitude then focuses on her children and grandchildren, expecting them to make wonderful and socially acceptable marriages. Her overbearing, domineering (and sometimes snobbish) ways do cause quite a bit of friction through the story. You have to admire her because she is such a strong and determined person (which is mentioned over and over and over) but at the same time she gets incredibly annoying sometimes with her bossiness and snobbishness.

All in all I enjoyed this novel, though I was not blown away by it. I always enjoy a new look at one of my favorite time periods and the characters were engaging enough that I do plan on reading further into this historical saga. Some readers could probably be irked at some of her historical "facts" but this is historical fiction so there is always going to be tweaks by the author to suite the story they are telling. While I enjoyed the overall novel there were bits and pieces that frustrated me (Eleanor being one of them), hence my 3.5/4 rating. I believe most readers will enjoy this story but be warned that you will most likely be sucked into the lives of the Morlands and feel compelled to see how they fair throughout the reign of the Tudors and beyond. I know I am!