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!
Political intrigue, plots, and changing allegiances are the background to the historical novel, Queen of the North by Anne O’Brien. The book provides some interesting insight into medieval times, where a nobleman’s backing of the ‘right’ side could mean fame and fortune or on the flip side, death and dishonour. (… a lot like modern day politics…)
Set in the north of England, where border battles with the Welsh and Irish were common, Queen of the North, follows the fortunes of the powerful Percy family as they back Henry of Lancaster when he ousts King Richard II from the throne. It is told from the point of view of feisty Elizabeth Mortimer, a noblewoman of superior royal stock to the Percy family that she has married into.
From the start Elizabeth is torn between her role as a dutiful wife showing loyalty to her in laws and their alliances, and the royal claims of her two young nephews, Edmund and Roger Mortimer. Much of the drama early in the book is provided by Elizabeth’s spirited interactions with her husband Harry ‘Hotspur’ Percy, as she tries to persuade him of the righteousness of the Mortimer boys’ royal claim to the throne.
Elizabeth and her younger brothers’ championing of the Mortimer claim ultimately leads to tragedy. And we are very clearly shown how being on the ‘wrong’ side of medieval politics stripped nobles of power, position and honour in a very public way.
Well researched and well written, Queen of the North is a sad but entertaining read about the political power struggles of medieval life.
I received this book from the Beauty & Lace Book Club in exchange for my honest review.
If you don’t know your 14th/15th Century English history (which I don’t), just be advised that the family trees at the beginning of the book do contain some major spoilers (unless you manage to avoid looking at the Death Dates).
I started off not liking this book at all. The 4 page prologue is only there to explain the title of the book, and as such, is completely unnecessary. It is badly written and does no favours for the main character (I did not warm to her at all). It also contains some interesting imagery, such as, “The sable lining of my cloak felt chill, like a cold cat, against my throat”. Cold cats? But aren’t all cats warm? Little things like this bother me, and if I had picked this book up from the library, it would have been going back the very next day.
I read on. So confusing – why does everyone have to be called Henry? (not the authors fault, they are all historical figures).
By page 22 I was very surprised to find myself enjoying the story. I now understood the main character (Elizabeth), maybe not totally embraced her as a long lost sister, but I liked her. I had my Henrys sorted out from my Harrys from the Authors clever use of various titles and nicknames to distinguish one from the other. This book was looking more promising. There were one or two other strange descriptions that jarred on me, like “I worried at it, as I would worry over a length of knotted embroidery thread until all was smooth, fearing all the time that nothing would ever be smooth again”. Ummm… Political plotting and possible treason against the King (even though it could mean death to everyone that you ever loved), it’s just like unknotting embroidery thread….Errrr…..not really.
Despite this, I ended up loving the book. The two main characters, Elizabeth and Harry, are well drawn and feel very real to the reader. I was fascinated by their married life and their personal ups and downs more than I was by the political intrigue. They fought and disagreed, and yet they never stopped loving each other. A great read and an insight into what it must have been like to be intelligent and well-connected female in a very male dominant world.
Queen of the North – By Anne O’Brien
Elizabeth is a stubborn and head strong character. Her Mortimer ties control her loyalties, even at the expense of her husband’s family. Treason, plotting, changes of allegiance and tragedy feature paramount throughout the book, culminating in a read that was captivating due to the nature of the story but not in the way it was told.
Though it is not a book that is reluctantly put down, it merits a good historical tale, describing the powers that hover over the crown in that era, from the point of view of a close family member of the true heir, infact being the heir herself if women of that time could inherit the throne.
The story itself felt very rushed and contained little detail. It was difficult to develop any relationship or sympathies with the character and felt as though I was being kept at a distance. Still, it warranted an interesting read based on its historical value.
Initially I found “Queen of the North” a book that was a little heavy going for me and I think it was the old-fashioned language that took a while for me to get used to but the way Anne O’Brien wrote this book and the vivid descriptions actually made me feel like I was really living at that time period.
I loved the setting in the North-East of England as I was born and raised in this area and many of the names of people and places were familiar to me.
This is the story of Elizabeth Mortimer wife of Harry Hotspur son of the Earl
of Northumberland around the 15th century.
She lived in a time when ambition ruled and the family name was everything.
Elizabeth was brought up with a strong sense of the Mortimer claim to the throne so was determined to make sure that her family was kept in the royal line.
So much goes on in this story – murder, treachery, betrayal, family disputes, love and sadness and so many twists and turns that had me on edge.
‘
I was in awe how Anne O’Brien combined both fact and fiction together to bring together this remarkable and gripping novel.
Thank you to Harper Collins and Beauty and Lace for giving me the opportunity to read and review this amazing book.
I tried and tried to get into this book, but I just couldn’t go more than a few pages without wanting to take a break. The writing was lovely and the author has an amazing imagination . But the book just wasn’t something that captivated me and held my attention.
I’m so happy I had the opportunity to read this, and I’ll continue trying to fall in love with it
I have always enjoyed medieval drama and think Anne O,Brien more than adequately researched and portrayed the historical element of this story. Once I could get my senior’s head around following the lineage of characters I found this book interesting but not particularly enjoyable. For me, although Elizabeth was .endearing as she showed conviction and strength in a male dominated society, I did not find the other characters appealing or vibrant. I think as a historical drama the book has main elements of fact and the combination of fiction does lift the heaviness of the history, but personally I found it was all a bit too confusing. Nevertheless I am sure this book will appeal to the historical minded and those who don.t mind some brain stress while reading.
I am going to do my best to give an honest review.
I found this book was well written and had a lot of detail. Almost too much, some description bordering on unnecessary for the plot line. I found it to be interesting and well researched, however it didn’t hold my attention, in that all encompassing, can’t put down sort of way. I feel someone more into a detail and highly descriptive story line would enjoy this more than I.
I find it hard to keep reading this book, having to almost force myself to pick it up at times. Do’t get me wrong. It could be someone’s favourite book. But it’s just not mine at the moment. I will however, continue trying to read and enjoy the book.
I found parts of the book peaked my interest, while others I had to almost skim read due to the almost unnecessary amount of description and detail. I also found the characters a little confusing, trying to remember which Henry is speaking, and which is the one listening, due to no fault of O’Briens, histories just sucky that way.
Overall a pleasant book. I would recommend to history geeks and people slightly older then I.
thanks for your honesyy, That’s what its all about
It had been awhile since I had read a historical novel and initially it took a bit to get my head back into this genre. I love the use of the family tree to help assist the reader work out who is who in this novel as I used it as a reference point many times.
Queen of the North by Anne O’Brien is a highly descriptive historical novel set in 1399 when England’s crown is under threat. The novel is written and based around Elizabeth Mortimer who married into the Percy Family to Henry or known as “Hotspur” he is one of the many Henry’s in the story.
What I love about historical fiction is that it often leaves you wanting to research the characters more to gain more knowledge about this time, Often as is always the case marriages were based on alliances and politics but often family loyalty runs deep which is the case for Elizabeth. In her eyes there is only one rightful king and that is her 8 year old nephew Edmund but she loves her husband Henry dearly.
The novel follows the politics and ambitions of who should be sitting on the throne, it starts with King Richard II only just holding on with Henry of Lancaster back to reclaim is place on the throne. Meanwhile Elizabeth works to get her nephew on the throne.
Queen of the North will appeal to fans of historical fiction thank you to Beauty and Lace and HQ Fiction for the opportunity to read and review this novel.
Queen of the North by Anne O”Brien was not what I expected it to be. I knew from the start it was historical fiction with all the essential elements to make it an exceptional read, intrigue, murder, ambition, power, deceit and family ties. But, somehow it feel short of my initial high expectations and I had trouble wanting to continue at times much to my disappointment. Thank you Beauty and Lace Book club and Harper Collins Publishers for the opportunity to read this novel.
Thankyou to Beauty and Lace and Harper Collins Publishers for the opportunity to read Anne Obrien’s Queen of the North.
The book is set in England in 1399. The historical events have been extensively researched.
The story is told by Elizabeth Mortimer, of royal blood , who is married to Sir Henry Percy, known as Harry Hotspur.
It is certainly apparent that if you were King in these times, it is very hard to remain King! Treason and plots from everywhere!
I would have been lost with out the Family Tree pages at the front of the book, as I needed it to sort out who was who.
I found it hard to get into the story until halfway through the book . By then I was quite interested in the outcomes in Elizabeth’s life. Certainly not easy years for a woman to live through!
You certainly need to be a lover of historical novels to enjoy this book.