Author: Anne O’Brien
ISBN: 9780008225421
RRP: $32.99
Publication Date: 21st May 2018
Publisher: HQ Fiction – GB
Copy: Courtesy of the Publisher
Anne O’Brien is a Sunday Times bestselling author with a passion for history and a list of historical romances under her belt. She is not an author I have read before I think it might be time to change that.
Her latest release is Queen of the North and set in 1399. A meticulously researched tale that places actual people and events at the centre of an epic novel and allows the unspoken parts of history to be interpreted by the imagination of the author.
The path to the throne has never been straightforward, throughout history there have always been betrayals, lies, plots and conspiracies; not to mention assassination attempts.
Opinion is often divided as to who is the rightful king, because it’s not always who is sitting on the throne.
Elizabeth Mortimer believes her eight-year-old nephew is the rightful king but many are against the idea of a child-ruler. This opinion makes Elizabeth a traitor so she needs to keep her plans, and her activities, a secret to save her own skin.
A tale of betrayal, lies, deception and treason that sets Elizabeth on a quest to turn history on its head.
Anne O’Brien can be found on Faceboook, Twitter and her Website
Queen of the North is published by HQ Fiction and is available now from Angus & Robertson Bookworld, Booktopia and where all good books are sold.
Thanks to HQ Fiction 20 of our Beauty and Lace Club Members will be reading Queen of the North so please be aware there may be spoilers in the comments below.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
As a lover of Historical Novels I really enjoyed this book. I find they are a great way to learn about times in history as although the personal conversations and such are imagined the key points and events in history are there to learn from.
This book based in the late 100’s through the early 1400’s follows Elizabeth Mortimer and her desire to be Queen and remain so. As a child her marriage was prearranged to ensure the unity of the Mortimer and Percy families. Her marriage to the man dubbed Hotspur suited them both but was a marriage with love. Another true love for Elizabeth was the son that they would have together.
Life in this time in history is never certain and the book shows us the struggles that the more privileged families must go through to maintain their status. It was all about marrying the right person and befriending those that can help you to maintain or further your wealth and status and once you are there you must fight to hold on to it as at any moment those you trust could turn on you and it could be swiftly taken away.
If you love Historical Romance then im sure you will love this book. To add to my enjoyment as i read I used google to find each of the castles mentioned in the book which really helped me in seeing the scenes in my mind as I read.
My thanks to Harper Collins & Beauty & Lace for this opportunity to read Queen of the North By a great author Anne O’Brien
If you love history & the struggles of royal families back in time than I think you should enjoy this book of Elizabeth Mortimers fight to try & maintain her status & that of her son whilst also knowing who to trust
Heavy going at first but once into the storyline I found it really enjoyable but as I said only if you are into royals & history
I recommend to any history buffs out there
Interesting and unique. Based on relatively unknown true people and events in the 15th Century and told from the perspective of a female. It’s a little tricky with multiple people having the same name, but what can you do when that’s what they did back then. I got used to it.
Queen of the North by Anne O’Brien is Historical Fiction at it’s best.
Intrigue, murder, plots and treason abound in the pages.
We follow Elizabeth Mortimer, born of the Plantagenet bloodline and the upheavel
of 1399 with King Richard II ruling.
When exiled Henry of Lancaster returns to Englad to reclaim his rightful inheritence,
oaths are made, oaths are broken.
Anne O’Brian has written with an eye for detail
She has meticulously researched the history of succesion to the Throne,
and the lengths they whom believe they are entitiled to it will go too to achieve their goal.
Queen of the North is not a light read,
but lovers of Historical Fiction will engross themselves in the pages.
Normally a lover of royal history I was so excited to receive this book and eagerly dived in to read.
I was unfortunately bitterly disappointed. The love story between Elizabeth and Henry was fascinating with their continued arguing and their continual power battle ever though that loved each other fiercely. Unfortunately that is all I got from this story, and was more eager to finish it, then I was to start.
Normally a lover of this genre, I won’t be too quick to choose another one of the same.
I did enjoy this book, although it did take a little to get into, but I think that was more getting used to the style of writing that comes with a historical novel. I was not able to binge read early on as the information was a lot to digest and I found that sometimes I couldn’t finish a chapter without needing a little break, but definitely a great read and one I would happily recommend to anyone who likes their history.
Thanks Harper Collins and Beauty and Lace for giving me the chance to read Queen of the North.
I used to be a big reader of Historical novels but haven’t read one for quite a while. I have not read any of Anne O’Brien’s novels so it was good to read something different.
I sometimes found the language or tone of the language a bit hard to follow and, although I found the historical story of the dynasties interesting, I thank goodness for the family timeline graph at the beginning!
Narrated by the female protagonist Elizabeth who has a more noble bloodline than her husband Henry Percy, she tells the drama and stories of medieval times with wit and intelligence. The future of their bloodline and kingdom rests on the shoulders of Elizabeth’s 8 year old nephew but Henry does not think the kingdom should be ruled by another child-king. The characters are based on true historical facts although not much is known about Elizabeth and her role so the author has needed to make Elizabeth a smart noble woman, who’s story should be told.
There seems to be almost too much happening at once at times then gaps of not much happening at all so I found it sometimes hard to keep going, wondering if that part of the story was finished or not. I feel this novel is for true historical fiction lovers, particularly those who really enjoy royal historical fiction and maybe know a little of the period. It has all the right mixes – politics, wars, overthrows and so on but I found it too confusing at times and I kept having to re-read parts!
This book gives great historical insight into the Lancaster and Plantagenet royal feuding all whilst following the lives of Elizabeth Mortimer and her family.
If you love historical fictions of this era, then this is the book for you. Unfortunately I found it to drag out a bit too long in parts of the novel for my liking.
Thank you Beauty and Lace Book Club and Harper Collins for the opportunity to read and review Queen of the North by Anne O’Brien.
This historical novel is set at the end of the 14th century and beginning of the 15th century in England and focuses on Elizabeth Mortimer, a woman who carries within her veins both Mortimer and Plantagenet blood. Marriages in those days were negotiated to further blood lines and land claims, and so before she had yet attained her womanhood Elizabeth was married to Henry Percy, a young man only a few years her senior, in order to solidify the Percy claim to the lands in the North of England.
For those familiar with English history this was the period that would eventually lead to the War of the Roses. It was a time of treachery, treason and plots, and yet also a time of chivalry. Cousins plotted against each other based on who they considered had the greatest claim to the throne, and the man who pledged loyalty and fought by your side today could just as easily switch sides and fight with your enemy tomorrow. An unsuccessful uprising against the current King resulted in painful and public executions, backing the winning side resulted in titles and land.
The tale begins with the return from exile of Henry Bolingbroke, cousin of both Elizabeth Mortimer and the reigning king, Richard II, and the decision of Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, father of Sir Henry Percy (also known as Harry and Hotspur) to commit the Percy’s to support Henry Bolingbroke to depose King Richard II.
Despite his assertions that he will support the claim of the best person to the throne, it quickly becomes clear that Henry of Bolingbroke considers that he is that best person, ascending the English throne as King Henry IV after the successful removal of Richard. To Elizabeth this is an anathema, she considers that her nephew Edmund Mortimer, son of her eldest brother Roger (who Richard had executed for treason) had a much stronger claim to the throne as a blood descendant of King Edward III. However no one, it seems will support the claim of another potential child king, until King Henry IV makes one demand too many of his loyal retainers, with treasonous and treacherous results.
I love historical fiction, the ability to weave a story around known facts is an impressive skill but like others who have reviewed this work I admit to having struggled to become immersed in this work of O’Briens. Some of it is clearly not her fault, the insistence of families to use the same names for each generation makes following who’s who very difficult, the plethora of Henry’s and Edmund’s and all their interrelationships makes following the plot an intense brain exercise. However it does seem that at times O’Brien over complicated the tale herself with the level of description and the usage of language that seems unwieldy nowadays.
This is an intense tale of a bloody period within English history which is recommended to those who enjoy historical novels, with the caution that it is by no means an easy read. I give it 3.5 stars.