- Paperback: 459 pages
- Publisher: Broadway Books (24 May 2011)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0307589269
- ISBN-13: 978-0307589262
- Product Dimensions: 20.3 x 13.2 x 2.7 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 5,808,662 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
[a] touching and beautiful story --Catholic Herald
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Book Description
The beautifully written and compelling tale of Alice Perrers - the infamous mistress of 14th-Century King Edward III.
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
44 of 45 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The King's Mistress is an enormous book, in terms of both physical size and scope. Covering the period from 1355 to the 1380s, this novel is the story of Alice Perrers, mistress to King Edward III. Upon her marriage to Janyn Perrers, Alice finds that her husband has connections to the Dowager Queen Isabella, a woman who once incited rebellion against her husband. After her husband's disappearance, Alice enters the royal court, valued by Queen Philippa for her knowledge of textiles, capturing the attention of King Edward in the process. It's pretty amazing, too, how closely Alice's life parallels that of Troilus and Criseyde--in fact, she even suggests that Alice was in some part the inspiration for Chaucer's poem.
Alice sort of has a Bad Reputation, fabricated by her enemies at court and fostered over the years. Certainly in Emma Campion's Owen Archer mysteries (written as Candace Robb), Alice really doesn't come off very well, so it was interesting to me to witness how the author handles her narrator in this book. In The King's Mistress, Alice comes alive, as an outsider in an atmosphere where she has many enemies. From her early marriage to Janyn Perrers up through her death, Alice narrates her story, proving herself to be a strong, courageous woman, even though she had few options.
It's a long book--nearly 550 pages and a large trim size, and it's taken me a while to finish. It's a tough novel to categorize, primarily because it's so huge in scope. There's some fabulous character development here, as Alice grows from being a naïve young wife to the canny mistress of a king, feared and detested by all. And yet, it's clear that she doesn't have many options--as she says over and over, when had I a choice to be other than I was? From the moment she catches the King's eye, purely by accident, she also catches the enmity of other people at court, not the least of which is the King's son, John of Gaunt.
And yet this novel isn't a "woe is me" whine-fest about how other people are jealous of her; instead, Alice comes across as a woman who didn't want the life into which she was pushed. At the same time, though, I'm led to wonder about Alice's behavior: she's not totally an innocent in all this, flattered by and welcoming of the King's attention. Alice is a complicated character, at once a loving mother and shrewd lover, companion, and business partner to King Edward. It's a well-researched novel, too. It seems as though the author does expect her reader to know about John of Gaunt's affair with Katherine Swynford (it's referred to several times in passing), but since they're more or less minor characters, it doesn't matter so much. It's a shame that this book isn't more widely available; it's excellent and I highly recommend it.
Alice sort of has a Bad Reputation, fabricated by her enemies at court and fostered over the years. Certainly in Emma Campion's Owen Archer mysteries (written as Candace Robb), Alice really doesn't come off very well, so it was interesting to me to witness how the author handles her narrator in this book. In The King's Mistress, Alice comes alive, as an outsider in an atmosphere where she has many enemies. From her early marriage to Janyn Perrers up through her death, Alice narrates her story, proving herself to be a strong, courageous woman, even though she had few options.
It's a long book--nearly 550 pages and a large trim size, and it's taken me a while to finish. It's a tough novel to categorize, primarily because it's so huge in scope. There's some fabulous character development here, as Alice grows from being a naïve young wife to the canny mistress of a king, feared and detested by all. And yet, it's clear that she doesn't have many options--as she says over and over, when had I a choice to be other than I was? From the moment she catches the King's eye, purely by accident, she also catches the enmity of other people at court, not the least of which is the King's son, John of Gaunt.
And yet this novel isn't a "woe is me" whine-fest about how other people are jealous of her; instead, Alice comes across as a woman who didn't want the life into which she was pushed. At the same time, though, I'm led to wonder about Alice's behavior: she's not totally an innocent in all this, flattered by and welcoming of the King's attention. Alice is a complicated character, at once a loving mother and shrewd lover, companion, and business partner to King Edward. It's a well-researched novel, too. It seems as though the author does expect her reader to know about John of Gaunt's affair with Katherine Swynford (it's referred to several times in passing), but since they're more or less minor characters, it doesn't matter so much. It's a shame that this book isn't more widely available; it's excellent and I highly recommend it.
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
In this novel Alice Perrers, a merchant's daughter who became mistress to the much older Edward III, tells her own story. I can't argue with Emma Campion's decision to take a revisionist approach to Alice, who has gone down in history as ambitious, grasping and greedy. Mistresses were often demonised and blamed for all the ills of the country: it was, in fact, one of their functions to be a scapegoat and divert criticism which would otherwise fall on the king or queen. And there is evidence that Alice has been maligned. But unfortunately, I felt Emma Campion went too far in her attempt to rehabilitate Alice Perrers. Her version of Alice is so bland I found it hard to take any interest in her. Campion goes to great lengths to exonerate Alice from any wrong-doing: for example, her first marriage to merchant Janyn Perrers is portrayed as a happy union, with Alice completely content with her domestic duties and devoid of ambition (although not business sense). This doesn't square very well with her becoming the king's mistress, so it is made clear both that her husband orders her to join the court against her will and that he is distancing himself from her. But Alice is also shown as feeling some attraction to King Edward - I think because a totally loveless relationship would have seemed distasteful. Then later on even Queen Philippa makes it clear that she approves of Alice becoming Edward's mistress - in fact she all but throws her into his arms. The author makes every effort to put Alice in a good light but I felt it had the effect of leaching colour, conflict and plausibility from the story.
It takes Alice nearly 300 pages to reach the King's bed and up till that point the plot is dominated by some cloak-and-dagger machinations which I didn't find at all convincing. Unfortunately, the pace doesn't pick up once she becomes a royal mistress. There is far more narrative than dramatisation and while I felt a good deal of the accounts of Alice's movements, day-to-day activities, clothes and dreams could have been cut, elsewhere opportunities for dramatisation and character development were missed. With a couple of exceptions (Queen Philippa; King Edward) the characterisation doesn't go very deep.
Why three stars rather than two? The writing felt stilted at first but flowed better as the book went on. A great deal of research obviously went into it and there's lots of luscious detail, especially about clothing. I enjoyed the depiction of Alice's life as a lady-in-waiting to the Queen, which was vivid and realistic. I also liked the way Alice's relationship with King Edward was treated, and this is, after all, the heart of the book. There's a moving account of Edward's slide into dementia, and with his death, Alice's troubles are just beginning. The last section of the book picks up the pace as she is hounded by Parliament and threatened with marriage to a man she loathes and fears.
But overall a frustrating read as I felt it could have been so much better.
It takes Alice nearly 300 pages to reach the King's bed and up till that point the plot is dominated by some cloak-and-dagger machinations which I didn't find at all convincing. Unfortunately, the pace doesn't pick up once she becomes a royal mistress. There is far more narrative than dramatisation and while I felt a good deal of the accounts of Alice's movements, day-to-day activities, clothes and dreams could have been cut, elsewhere opportunities for dramatisation and character development were missed. With a couple of exceptions (Queen Philippa; King Edward) the characterisation doesn't go very deep.
Why three stars rather than two? The writing felt stilted at first but flowed better as the book went on. A great deal of research obviously went into it and there's lots of luscious detail, especially about clothing. I enjoyed the depiction of Alice's life as a lady-in-waiting to the Queen, which was vivid and realistic. I also liked the way Alice's relationship with King Edward was treated, and this is, after all, the heart of the book. There's a moving account of Edward's slide into dementia, and with his death, Alice's troubles are just beginning. The last section of the book picks up the pace as she is hounded by Parliament and threatened with marriage to a man she loathes and fears.
But overall a frustrating read as I felt it could have been so much better.
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I'm not going to give you a long summary of this book - quite simply..........BUY IT!! It's a big book with a big story - but it was enthralling and despite it's 500 or so pages - i couldn't put it down. I read it cover to cover - non stop and have enjoyed every single word.
I can not wait for her next book.
I can not wait for her next book.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A gripping story!
If you like historical drama with a bit of romance then try The King's Mistress by Emma Campion. I was captured in the period from beginning to end and eventually had to put... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Gill
Good
The book was good, I enjoyed reading it, however, I personally felt it could have finished a lot sooner than it did.
Published 11 months ago by Yosh
Interesting but slightly annoying
I enjoyed this book once I got over my annoyance at its style. The book is packed with comments like "She looked on me with a confusing mixture of coldness and sorrow, as if the... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Catherine Barnard
A Sad and moany story!
Having read other books about this period, I found out a great deal about Alice Perrers that I hadn't been aware of before. Read more
Published 13 months ago by catlover1
Debut, First Person Historical Novel - surprisingly fabulous
I actually finished this book a couple of weeks ago. I was quite ill at the time, so didn't get a chance to write a review.
I loved this book. Read more
I loved this book. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Stardreamer
AMAZING!!!
I dont know what i could write that would do how brilliant this book is justice.It is now my fave book ever i read it last year and i read alot of different types of books but this... Read more
Published 15 months ago by sugaspicekiki
Great stuff even if a little far fetched
I did find the relentlessness of all the bad things that happen to poor Alice a bit over the top, although clearly some of them are fact. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Dr. Sarah Jordan
A bit too much sugar for my tastes
Daughter of a wealthy London merchant, Alice catches the eye of Janyn Perrers and the two marry despite her mother's rather irrational objections. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Misfit
the king's mistress
I am a big fan of historical fiction (particularly romance-based historical fiction, which this is) and this is one of the best historical books iv read recently. Read more
Published 23 months ago by princesspeach
Superb!
Emma Campion's portrayal of Alice Perrers,the mistress of King Edward 111, made for an excellent read. Read more
Published 23 months ago by trishwosere
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