The Lute Player
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"'One of the most distinguished of English women novelists' THE DAILY TELEGRAPH; 'A natural storyteller whose characters are neatly and believably portrayed: whose prose is smooth and readable' THE NEW YORK TIMES; 'Has a deft chroniclers way with her characters' THE EVENING STANDARD."
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Out of the courts of twelfth-century England strode the legendary figure of Richard of England - leading his knights onto the Saracen battlefields - inspired by a vision of the Holy Land.Here is the story of the Soldier-King and the Third Crusade - of his strange, ill-fated union with Berengaria, Princess of Navarre - of his mother, the She-Wolf, Eleanor of Aquitaine who loved her son with a frantic, possessive pride. And, above all, here is the story of the minstrel whose life was linked with that of the King - the story of Blondel - the Lute Player...It follows the success of "The Concubine", "The King's Pleasure", and "Eleanor the Queen" published by Torque in September 2006, each has sold over 10,000 copies. Norah Lofts was a bestselling author. It has reviews also in women's weekly and monthly magazines, to include "Vogue", "Red", "The Lady", "Glamour" and "Woman's Own".
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a very fictional account of the finding of King Richard I by his lute player Blondin, who found him, so the story goes, by visiting castles in the area where he was supposed to be imprisoned by the Emperor of Germany. Richard, we are told had a good singing voice, and Blondin heard singing coming from a castle, and recognizing the voice as that of his sovreign, sang back to him and then got word to his mother Queen Eleanor that her son had been found. This is more fairy story than fact, but it is a pleasant fiction, and enjoyable, although not as good as her other novels.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I love all the stories of the Plantagenet kings, and this was one of the first I read, a gentle introduction into their world, maybe not historically correct but an easy read and I can still remember it, years on, so it cannot have been too bad !
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The Lute Player is told in several parts, with each part being told in the first person POV of one of the main characters, Blondel the Lute Player, Anna a fictional half sister of Berengaria and Eleanor of Aquitaine, Richard's mother. The story begins as Blondel finds his way to the Court of Navarre and home to Berengaria and Anna. Berengaria is in love with Richard (who is engaged to the King of France's sister), the hunchbacked Anna is in love with Blondel and Blondel is in love with Berengaria. Richard's engagement is eventually broken and desperate for more funds to finance his crusade, he agrees to marry Berengaria. The rest of the book details known history, the wedding on the way to the crusade, the third crusade itself and Richard's alleged preference for young boys, his being taken hostage on the way home from the crusade and his non-existent relationship with his wife.
I love reading medieval fiction and learning of the history of the times, but frankly I found this whole book to be quite boring and by the time it got to the crusade half way through I found myself skimming quite a bit, and the final third covering the last days of Richard and Berengaria were just one big snooze fest, at least for this reader. It could just be me; I've never been that fond of Richard I and Berengaria I found to be bordering on the TSTL category, almost, but not quite. I guess if you're a die hard fan of this ruler and want to learn more about him it might be worth your while, but I would recommend getting this one from the library first (as I did) and then buy it if you like it. 2.5 stars rounded up to three.
I love reading medieval fiction and learning of the history of the times, but frankly I found this whole book to be quite boring and by the time it got to the crusade half way through I found myself skimming quite a bit, and the final third covering the last days of Richard and Berengaria were just one big snooze fest, at least for this reader. It could just be me; I've never been that fond of Richard I and Berengaria I found to be bordering on the TSTL category, almost, but not quite. I guess if you're a die hard fan of this ruler and want to learn more about him it might be worth your while, but I would recommend getting this one from the library first (as I did) and then buy it if you like it. 2.5 stars rounded up to three.
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