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Product Description
Book Description
A grand-scale historical novel from the national bestselling author of Mistress Shakespeare.
Born into a first family of Ireland, with royal ties on both sides, Elizabeth Fitzgerald-known as Gera-finds her world overturned when Henry VIII imprisons her father, the Earl of Kildare, and brutally destroys her family. Torn from the home she loves, her remaining family scattered, Gera dares not deny the refuge offered her in England's glittering royal court. There she must navigate ever-shifting alliances even as she nurtures her secret desire for revenge. From County Kildare's lush green fields to London's rough-and-tumble streets and the royal court's luxurious pageantry, The Irish Princess follows the journey of a daring woman whose will cannot be tamed, and who won't be satisfied until she restores her family to its rightful place in Ireland.
Born into a first family of Ireland, with royal ties on both sides, Elizabeth Fitzgerald-known as Gera-finds her world overturned when Henry VIII imprisons her father, the Earl of Kildare, and brutally destroys her family. Torn from the home she loves, her remaining family scattered, Gera dares not deny the refuge offered her in England's glittering royal court. There she must navigate ever-shifting alliances even as she nurtures her secret desire for revenge. From County Kildare's lush green fields to London's rough-and-tumble streets and the royal court's luxurious pageantry, The Irish Princess follows the journey of a daring woman whose will cannot be tamed, and who won't be satisfied until she restores her family to its rightful place in Ireland.
About the Author
Karen Harper is a New York Times– and USA Today–bestselling author whose novels, both historical and contemporary, have been published worldwide. A former college and high school English instructor, Harper now lives in Columbus, Ohio, and Naples, Florida, and frequently travels around the country to promote her books and speak about writing.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars (19 customer reviews)
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Well-written, interesting historical, Feb 27 2011
By Debbie - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Irish Princess (Paperback)
"The Irish Princess" is a historical novel set in 1533-1559 in Ireland and England. The story appeared to be very well-researched, and the author said she kept true to the facts about Elizabeth "Gera" Fitzgerald and simply filled in with fiction what history didn't record. The author did an excellent job of weaving historical details into the story without ever slipping into a history lecture. The vivid setting and historical details brought the story alive in my imagination.While it seemed like there was always something momentous happening, this novel did have the somewhat slower pacing typical of historicals. There was some suspense created by wondering if Gera and Edward would ever be able to marry each other and the danger of death to anyone who misstepped at court.
The characters were complex and interesting. Gera sometimes took foolish risks, but her age and anger made them understandable. I liked how Edward didn't "rescue" her so much as act as a sympathetic and tempering force in her life. I liked how Gera apologized to him for being a bitter woman during the years she plotted revenge.
There was a minor amount of "he cursed" style bad language. There were no graphic sex scenes. (And, though beautiful, Gera didn't try to seduce anyone.) Overall, I'd recommend this well-written and interesting historical novel.
I received this book as a review copy from the publisher.
Reviewed by Debbie from Genre Reviews
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
super Tudor biographical fiction, Feb 5 2011
By Harriet Klausner - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Irish Princess (Paperback)
For the first tens of her life, Elizabeth "Gera" Fitzgerald is happy as her family is caring and loving and the patriarch a powerful lord in Ireland especially in County Kildare. Her idyllic childhood ends when King Henry VIII who also rules over Ireland orders Lord Fitzgerald to give an accounting of his seditious activities. Fitzgerald's denial is ignored as the monarch locks him away in the Tower where he dies.The King proclaims the extended Fitzgerald family as traitors to the throne for their activities in support of a free Ireland; this leads to the execution without a jury of peers' trial of Gera's uncles, her older brothers and several other males. The family arrives in London to beg for clemency and pledge their loyalty to Henry. Raging, but concealing her feelings about the ruthless monarch, Gera plots to kill His Highness even if it means her execution. While feeling a sense of sisterly camaraderie with Henry's estranged daughters and controlling her attraction to Lord Clinton as sixteen year old she marries Lord Browne to gain easier royal access; Gera waits for the right moment to cut the royal throat as she doubts he has a heart.
This is a super Tudor biographical fiction of the "Fair Geraldine", immortalized in a sonnet when she was ten years old. Her goals were killing Henry for murdering her family and to regain their noble standing stripped away by the ruler. The story line provides a fresh perspective to the deadly politics at the court of King Henry VIII starting with a terrific prologue as fans of the Tudor period will appreciate The Irish Princess who refused to back away from her own objectives.
Harriet Klausner
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Could have been so much better, Mar 13 2011
By Amanda - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Irish Princess (Paperback)
I was actually disappointed in this one. After reading Karen Harper's The Queen's Governess, I found myself a fan of her approach to history and how she brought the past to life. Though I wouldn't say Harper is my favorite historical author out there, I enjoyed reading here and wanted to read more. So, of course, I put The Irish Princess on hold as soon as it popped up at the library. But when I got it, however, I soon found that it just wasn't that good. Perhaps I had over hyped it in my mind or I was expecting something different, but I could just never get fully engaged in this book.The Irish Princess tells the story of Elizabeth Fitzgerald (aka Gera), the daughter of a high-ranking Irish Earl who is king of Ireland in all but name. Gera and her people have long been oppressed by Henry Tudor and the British. When Gera's father dies, she and her family are captured and she is sent to live with the Grey family -sort of distant cousins. Gera finds herself thrown into the political webs of the Tudor court, complete with drive to kill Henry Tudor himself.
The Irish Princess felt like a run-of-the-mill Tudor novel. Though it seemed like Harper's goal was to give a different view of Henry VIII's reign through the eyes of an unknown historical figure and tell here story. Instead, I felt like I was reading a brief history of Henry VIII's reign from the vantage point of a very minimal side character and, even though some interesting things do happen to her, mostly in the romance department, I never felt like the story was fully about her. Perhaps I'm just Tudor-mania-ed out, but I really didn't care about re-counting all of Henry's wives, yet again, and hearing about the family Tudor drama.
Sadly, I felt like Gera's story just wasn't compelling enough to keep me going. While she had some interesting motivations and a unique past, she didn't really seem like she was moving toward much of a future. I'm not sure if it was Gera or Harper, but I felt like there was little direction for much of the novel. Plus, I feel as though Harper's writing quality had dropped here.
Not great, but not horrid. I'd give Irish Princess a pass.
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