Stolen Crown: The Secret Marriage That Forever Changed the Fate Of England [Paperback]

Susan Higginbotham's second major novel (I'm not counting the novella-length Hugh and Bess here) hearkens back to an older tradition of historical fiction, one associated with writers like Margaret Campbell Barnes, Jan Westcott or even Jean Plaidy, one characterized by a straightforward recounting of a straightforward series of historic events. That has its pros and its cons -- the "pros" including the fact that it's impeccably researched and detailed, the "cons" lying mostly in what isn't there, rather than what is.

At its heart, this is the story of a ill-fated trio: Harry, Duke of Buckingham by birth (but, with a Lancastrian background, kept out of the center of power); his friend, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, brother to the new Yorkist King, and the young Katherine Woodville, sister to the new Yorkist queen and chosen as Harry's wife by her new brother-in-law, the king. It's a tale of sharply divided loyalties -- not Kate's, as the cover seems to suggest, but rather those of Harry. For when, in 1483, King Edward IV dies unexpectedly leaving his 13-year-old son as heir, Harry is torn between his allegiance to his wife, and his vow to be a blood brother to Richard, who has ambitions of his own vis-a-vis the crown.

This would be a great introductory novel to read about the dramatic events of 1483 and why they proved so crucial to England's history. Higginbotham has a definite opinion of who the villains of the story are, and it's not the one that has dominated of late, making the tug-of-war over Harry's loyalties more compelling. Her portrayal of Richard III is a dramatic one; so much so, indeed, that I often felt that I would have loved to have been hearing the story as told by Higginbotham's Richard as a kind of anti-hero.

Because the one element of some newer works of historical fiction that is missing here, at least for me as a reader, was a fresh view of events. The story began to grab my attention only about halfway through; up until then, it was partly outside observers (the story is told alternately in the first person by Kate and Harry) narrating what they witnessed but rarely participated in, and partly love story. That's all fine, but historical novels that really command my attention are those where the narrators are also protagonists, directly or indirectly. Harry and Kate seemed pawns throughout of people and players greater -- and less naive and more unscrupulous -- than themselves. Ultimately, that was frustrating to me as a reader, especially since neither of them chose to view themselves as pawns (which would have made it more intriguing, as a psychological element.) I'm no fan of Philippa Gregory's research (and actually couldn't finish her book about Elizabeth Woodville, thanks to its repetitive and overly ponderous style, and the repeated use of witchcraft to rev up the drama at critical moments), but one of the reasons I greatly enjoyed The Other Boleyn Girl, or Vanora Bennet's Portrait of an Unknown Woman: A Novel was that both grabbed me with the whole world that the authors created for their main characters, and the way it made me think about the characters. There's nothing here that performed the same function for me.

In Higginbotham's first novel, by contrast, that extra element was there, in spades -- the idea of a niece and wife facing up to the consequences of her loyalty. Again, it was a Plaidy-esque tale, but one of an unfamiliar character from a period of time that has been written about less than the Wars of the Roses or the Tudors, and the fact that we had only one perspective. Here, we have two, and that didn't always work for me. In this case, I could quite happily have disposed of Kate's point of view and settled down to follow the whole saga through the eyes of Harry -- a Lancastrian heir trying to find his path in a Yorkist world -- or a more Machiavellian Richard.

That said, this is a well-researched novel (some of that research does make itself a bit too obvious sometimes, as when an anecdote has no purpose plotwise, but is still there) and one that is a good read. It's one of the better novels for those unfamiliar with the era and the characters; I'd recommend it highly to these readers, as it provides as unbewildering introduction into the complex relationships and events as possible. But for a reader who's already knowledgeable about the period, beyond the curiosity value of having the story told through different eyes and with different (quite intriguing) answers to the core questions, such as who killed the princes in the Tower, that lack of a factor X may be more of an issue. I was subconsciously looking for a theme -- was this the story of ambition? of what happens to the naive in periods of turmoil? of kings and queens vs pawns? but didn't find one.

Recommended to historical fiction afficionados.

This is an unremarkable entry in the current flood of titles pertaining to England during the time of the Wars of the Roses. The two narrators, Katherine Woodville and her husband, Harry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, were players during the merry-go-round of turmoil surrounding the battle for power between the houses of York and Lancaster for the throne of England at the end of the 15th Century. There are LOTS of historical figures included in the tale, and for those unfamiliar with at least the basics of the events of the period, I fear they will be hopelessly muddled by all the players and their inter-relationships. The bigger problem for me, however, is that I am not of the belief that Richard of Gloucester is the craven murderer depicted here. The debate rages between historians as to whether Richard was the blackguard portrayed by Shakespeare (and the view held by this author) or the more admirable Richard whose reputation has lately been restored by the Ricardians. Personally, I am more a proponent of this latter viewpoint. Consequently, I was quickly disenchanted with the protagonists due to the hatred and malice they displayed toward Richard and their efforts to bring him down. All that aside, however, I found the writing flat and unevocative and there is nothing here that hasn't been done before and better. Finally, I have a personal gripe with bad grammar and poor English which crop up all too often in this novel. "What if the queen dies and leaves Richard a widow?" Huh? Or "He asked to let the boy ride pillion behind Harry and I." Gadzooks! Don't know whether to fault the author, her editor or a failure to proofread, but one would hope mistakes of this sort be limited to message boards and not be made by professional writers. Just MO, but these lapses seem indicative of the fairly haphazard overall effort this novel represents.

This is another wonderful novel by Susan Higginbotham and it covers a very interesting and active period in British history - the Cousins War (or as we call it, the Wars of the Roses). Between the pages we get the story through the eyes of Katherine Woodville and her husband Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham. We see from both points of view their marriage as children, their time at Edward IV's court, their life at home, the birth of their children, and Henry's involvement with Richard III.

The first half or so of the novel really focuses on their lives and how they both grow and mature in a very turbulent time. The second half of the novel seems to focus more on Henry's involvement with Richard, Duke of Gloucester. Personally I liked the first half of the novel more because I really enjoyed watching Kate and Henry grow and come to love and care for one another. The scenes between the two when they were young were very sweet and touching. Higginbotham takes on some of the "rumors" about their marriage and shows how they could have been started and why. I thoroughly enjoyed how she weaved these into the story. The author also explores reasons why Buckingham rebelled against Richard and gives her version of "the truth" behind the mystery of the princes in the Tower, which seems believable. Richard III is not shown in a glowing light here but he is not made into a horrible monster (though Kate despises him). We see a more ruthless side of him but it just seems to make him appear more of a man of a time where you had to be a bit ruthless to survive.

As always in Higginbotham's novels, the writing is wonderful, there are fantastic details and descriptions, and great character development. The two main characters, Kate and Henry, are very believable and you can sympathize with them even if you don't agree with them. I really enjoy her writing - it is easy to read but I don't feel like I'm reading something for young adults. She is just very clear in her writing with good details and marvelous research but yet the reader is not going to get bogged down in the pages. While I enjoyed reading this book I have to say I personally enjoyed her previous two ("The Traitor's Wife" and "Hugh and Bess") much more, possibly because I felt there was more going on through out those novels. However, I am a huge fan of this author and I would recommend this book to anyone.

*Reviewed for Bookpleasures

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