The King's Mistress: A Novel [Hardcover]

"When had I a choice to be other than I was?"

This quote foreshadows the constant barrage of wangst in store for you when reading The King's Mistress by Emma Campion. This is a historical fiction of the life of Alice Perrers, who's regarded as one of the more infamous ladies ever to keep royal company. She was the longtime companion of Edward III, whose rule was once considered glorious but was later encompassed in fiscal and political scandal. The above statement is inserted at the start of each section of the book, reminding you how poor Alice was ever a victim of powers beyond her reckoning. Might as well have been Gwen Stefani singing, "I'm just a girl... in the world..." It would have been interesting to see her as she's been portrayed: a woman surviving by her wiles in the shark-infested waters of the royal court, instead of as a helpless leaf blown in the storm winds.

Our heroine was born Alice Salisbury, simply the bestest daughter ever. She's pious, humble, loves her father, honors her mother, cherishes her family, rescues kittens, feeds the homeless, cures the sick, negotiates peace treaties (lol)... and blossoms into such a flower that of course, her own mother is utterly jealous of her. This thing wasn't written in ink, it was High Fructose Corn Syrup.

This fairy tale is delivered in four purple-tinted segments: Part I/An Innocent Encounters The World- Where Alice comes of age and her father arranges a marriage for her to a widowed merchant, Janyn Perrers, whom its discovered has complicated ties to the scandalized Queen Mother Isabella, who helped overthrow her husband the king and set her son, Richard III, upon the throne. The Perrers family fortunes are intricately bound to the royals, but with privilege comes peril, so much so that Janyn ensures her safety by placing her in the Queen's service. What choice does she have? Her husband wills it!

Part II/The Queen's Handmaid- Alice becomes established in Queen Philippa's retinue and comes to be noticed by Edward III, king of England. As Philippa's health declines, the queen is driven to seek an amiable companion for her husband, someone she can trust... What choice does she have? The King & Queen desire it!

Part III/The King's Mistress- Alice and Edward form a deep, abiding relationship, and she even bears him children and he bestows lavish gifts of land, jewels and whatnot upon her. What choice does she have- the king made her take them! Yet the more she becomes a fixture in Edward's life, the more she is targeted by the differing factions at court. What choice does she have? She's but a commoner at court!

Part IV/Phoenix- In the wake of the king's passing, the nation is left in some difficulty from Edward's excesses and a scapegoat is needed. What choice does she have? She's but a woman alone who's blamed for leading their beloved king astray, taking the realm down with him! Yet Alice manages to rise somewhat from the ashes of her ruination.

There are two overwhelming problems with this story. One, the character of Alice is an uber MarySue- an embodiment of author's wish fulfillment whom every man must possess and every woman either admires or despises, and of course any characters that dislike this person are obviously up to no good. Alice is so much this she could almost be her own trope. The author has clearly fallen prey to what seems to be a trend in historical fiction- falling completely in love with the character and somehow trying to redeem them through fantasy instead of simply telling their story. Alice is so overflowing with compassion that at the end of the book she can even forgive everyone who's ever wronged her. Campion even goes so far as to give Alice a new life with another man while admitting to having no evidence that they ever did anything more than conduct business together- can't have a fairy tale without a happy ending, right?

Two, nothing much happens. For a person so embroiled in political scandal and panned by history Alice is spectacularly uninvolved in events; Campion always keeps Alice on the periphery, supplying the true love and support her man needs until she's swept along by the tides of fate simply because she's there. Beginning with her own arranged marriage to Janyn, we're given exposition-delivered intrigues filtered through Alice's limited perspective, all making for very dull reading. For someone constantly in the eye of the storm, she's often caught unawares despite constantly being warned about what's happening (But what choice does she have? She is unused to such manipulations, even after living at the palace for almost twenty years!). Yet with every step you're expected to cry with her pain and laugh with her joy, except you won't. You'll just want it to be over with. Despite a few insights into the social mores of the times, I suggest you don't even start.

Emma Campion states that she wrote this book to satisfy her curiosity about Alice Perrers who is painted in history as "an impudent harlot of low birth" who through manipulation finds her way into being the Mistress of King Edward III. But Campion states that she wanted to give Alice Perrers a voice in stating what really happened.

I was transfixed by the story from the opening line, "When had I a choice to be other than I was?" That line alone caught my attention. It made me want to delve into the book and find out whether or not Alice Perrers did have choices in her life, or was she the `victim' of chance.

Through the superb writing of Campion the life of Alice Perrers and the court of King Edward the III and Queen Philippa comes alive. You as the reader are drawn into the story through well written dialogue and word pictures that help you feel the pain, grief, agony and joy of each individual through the twists and turns of their lives.

Alice finds herself as a wife, mother, widow, confidante to the Queen and eventually the Mistress to King Edward III. But unlike what you expect of a mistress who shares the bed of the King and nothing else, Alice finds herself becoming the full-time companion to the King and someone that he comes to rely upon for her expertise in business affairs.

The story is written in the time frame of 1350 to 1380. During this time England experiences a season of "the plauge" and many people succumb to the deadly disease. The King's court is not immune to this illness nor is Alice's family of origin. All experience the heartbreak of death, some more than others.

What impressed me through this novel was the fact that I came to see Alice Perrers in a very good light. She impressed me as someone who fell in love easily, but never waivered from that love. She was loyal to those she loved. She was faithful through the good times and the bad.

I think I found myself as Campion did, if Alice Perrers was such a bad person (according to some historians), i.e. just an opportunist, then why did she stay with King Edward until the end when she could have formed any number of other unions that would have benefited her.

I wish all of history was written in such an intriguing fashion. It would certainly make learning about past times much more enjoyable.

Thank you Emma Campion for your research and excellent writing skills and bringing such a wonderful story to life.

Enjoy reading this great novel!

The book jacket suggests Campion seeks to put a more human face on the reviled commoner, Alice Perrers, mistress to Edward III and lady-in-waiting to Philippa of Hainault. Although the author makes a valiant attempt to flesh out a figure spoken of with disdain in nearly every historical account, I found it difficult to empathize with this protagonist and her endless rationalizations for behavior that led to court gossip. As the wife of wealthy merchant, Janyn Perrers, Alice is content until she learns that her husband's family has entered into an agreement with Edward's mother, Isabella, the dowager queen. It is the unfolding of this mystery that propels the novel, the threads of Janyn's family promise binding Alice to the royal family for protection after her husband's mysterious disappearance.

A woman of great appetite and beauty, it is not surprising that Alice becomes Edward's mistress, even with the tacit permission of an ailing Philippa. While it is unusual that a commoner should enjoy such elevated status, rather than a lady of royal blood, Campion's Perrers seemingly has only the best interests of her children at heart when accepting the king's lavish gifts. Court life is never easy for the fairer sex, their lands and titles ripe for plunder by ambitious noblemen and Perrers is no exception. Protected by Edward while he is alive, the raptors close in to get their revenge on the woman who has risen above her status and served as the right hand of the king after the death of the queen. Alice is suddenly vulnerable, made to wed William Wyndsor after the king's death, a most unhappy and strife-riddled union.

While Campion adds emotional texture to Perrers' tale and turn the memory of a courtesan into a lady of elegance and grace, there is no way to ascertain the truth of the matter. Did Perrers bear Edward three children? Yes. Did she wear the dead queen's jewels in public, outraging the crowds and inciting her detractors? Yes. Did she seek to secure property for her daughters by Edward? Most certainly. Alice's commoner status brought her grief a more royal concubine might have averted through well-placed friends in the court. Unfortunately, I found this novel one of the most tedious historical fictions I have read of late, from Alice's confusion at the loss of her beloved husband to her stunning naiveté in Edward's court, not to mention the endless scenes of lovemaking with the decrepit king and her willingness to hide his increasing frailty from the public. No doubt Perrers resorted to what any woman might to insure her protection after the king's death, used cruelly by his royal offspring and the nobles with their own agendas. The 14th century was not kind to women, Alice trading on her youth and beauty to secure her fortune. Luan Gaines/2010.

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