The King's Grace: A Novel

Anne Easter Smith is no Sharon Penman, despite the superficial similarities in crafting epic-length historical fiction based on the events of the Middle Ages in England. In Penman's hands, the turbulent years that followed the defeat of Richard III at Bosworth and the gradual disappearance of the Yorkist cause as the Tudor dynasty brought peace and prosperity to England, could have been transformed into a lively book. Instead, the story of Grace Plantangenet's coming of age in this era ends up a rather limp read.

All that is known of the real-life Grace Plantagenet is her name, and that she was an illegitimate daughter of Edward IV who was some kind of attendant on his queen, Elizabeth Woodville, at the latter's death and funeral. On that basis, Smith has been free to imagine an entire life for Grace, revolving around the conspiracies of the early years of the Tudor reign that saw several serious rebellions against Henry VII's embryonic dynasty. Even as Henry's wife Elizabeth, daughter to Edward IV, gave birth to one child after another to carry the Tudor name into history, pretenders to the crown challenged the right of those children to inherit -- in the name of her vanished brothers, the famous Princes in the Tower.

That's a lot of literary luxury which Smith could exploit. But she manages to make the Tudors and the remaining Plantagenets feel like little more than the modern-day dysfunctional family (with the added twist that its head could not only lock you up in your room but take you out and behead you in public for misbehavior). Grace's rebellious streak -- she is willing to cling to her belief in the Yorkist cause long past the point when her half-sisters have given up -- doesn't gibe with what Smith portrays of her personality. How could a young woman willing to docilely wait on an ailing and cantankerous queen, shut up in a monastery, simultaneously be the same kind of person willing to challenge a king? And why is she so willing to believe in that cause in the first place? (The implicit argument that she will find an answer to her own crisis of identity is thin and unconvincing.) Smith never really provides any compelling rationale for Grace's apparent certainty that Perkin Warbeck is really her young half-brother Richard, while the later volte face is a bit laughable. Anyone who read Smith's previous book focusing on Margaret of York ([[ASIN:0743277317 Daughter of York: A Novel]]) will find that Margaret has gone from being a sympathetic, wise ruler to a rather manipulative power player who doesn't care who is hurt by her machinations.

It's unfortunate that this period of time seems to be lacking in good historical fiction. Sandra Worth's recent historical novel focusing on Elizabeth of York is downright bad; this, for all its faults, is reasonably true to history and (for those with an above average tolerance for unnecessarily florid language along the likes of "certes" and "spake") quite readable. It's just not nearly as good as it could be. For a sense of what this book could have been, I'd urge reading [[ASIN:0752445634 The King's Grey Mare]]. This novel focuses on Elizabeth Woodville, partly through the eyes of the same Grace Plantagenet who (in another parallel with Smith's book) falls in love with Richard III's illegitimate son, John of Gloucester. But Jarman's characters are richer and her writing far superior. A good book about Elizabeth of York is the somewhat dated [[ASIN:0854566309 Tudor Rose (Shadows of the Crown series)]], which should be reissued soon along with Margaret Campbell Barnes's other novels. When compared to the heroines of either novel, Smith's Grace Plantangenet looks, despite all her adventures, like a rather naive and slightly dim-witted young woman and her creator a writer who has yet to find a way to make her plots, characters and writing live up to their potential.

Grace Plantagenet about whom little is known historically has been fleshed out for this new story of intrique in the court of Henry VII, notably the claims of the faux pretender, Perkin Warbeck. Grace Plantagenet was the illegitimate daughter of Edward IV and half sister of Queen Elizabeth Consort of Henry VII as well as the "Princes in the Tower." Events are seen primarly through Grace's eyes as she ages from young girl to wife and mother. Grace Plantagenet lives in the household of Elizabeth, Consort of Edward IV--Elizabeth is presented in a more sympathetic light than in other Tudor era novels.

There are twists and turns in the plot and a rather unexpected ending. And a lot of romance: Grace is in love with her cousin John Plantagenet but eventually achieves a happy marriage with Tom Gower. There are occasional scenes of "bodice ripping" involving Grace and Tom.

One quibble, the word "Certes" is used on practically every other page when characters converse with each other. Certes meaning certainly back then. But it is an over used term.

Overall this is a good read and offers another point of view of the story of Perkin Warbeck.

It's an enjoyable read but, in my opinion, is not as well done as say a Sharon Kay Penman or some of the other historical fiction writers I read. I appreciate the effort to keep things historically correct. I probably will give another book from this writer another try.

I love historical fiction but I was a bit taken aback by the length of this book. It's a long but rewarding read built around a little known but real person Grace Plantagenet. Grace is the illegitimate daughter of King Edward IV. The author chose Grace as the central character in the book because little is known about her and this gave license for the author to create a fictional life that intertwined with real events and she did this well. Grace becomes involved in the life of Henry VII and the various pretenders to the throne. The book is a bit wordy but a satisfying read and I learned more about actual historical events than I expected. I highly recommend this book to historical fiction lovers.

Very well written, Anne Easter Smith creates a vivid portrait of 15th century England and all the terrors and wonders that accompanied it. The tale comes full circle, bringing back characters from Smith's previous two novels centered upon King Edward and his kin. It is at once heartfelt, gruesome, inspiring and frightening.

Ms. Smith has written a very readable book about the York dynasty and the Wars of the Roses. She does not stray from the historical facts, as other writers do at times. Her treatment of the characters is plausible. As is her conclusion about what may have happened to the Princes in the Tower. I enjoyed the book very much.

This historical fiction is seen through the eyes of Grace Plantagenet, the illegitimate daughter of Edward IV. This is a great premise for a book since history has recorded little information about Grace and the story can go any direction the author wants without refuting historical facts. I love books about this period in history and was excited to start this book, but I was not drawn in to this story at all.

Grace lives a sheltered life in a convent until she is thrust into the world of the royal court at an impressionable age. This young girl comes of age during the battle for the crown and learns how deceitful, complex and dangerous it is to have royal blood and ambitions for the crown.

There is some romance in this book but it doesn't permeate the entire book. Grace is in love with her cousin, John who is a Plantagenet and he involves her in the fight to get the crown back for the York family. The mystery of the princes in the tower intrigues Grace and together with influence from her cousin John she remains loyal to the York family while Henry VII is on the throne which sometimes endangers herself and her family. She has conflicting interests since her half sister, Elizabeth is the queen married to Henry VII.

When Perkin Warbeck appears claiming to be the long lost Prince Richard, Grace's interest in the story of the princes in the tower is renewed. The story sounds interesting, but unfortunately I was bored by this point in the book. This book spends too much time on Grace's life which is not that interesting.

Although Grace is a likeable, innocent heroine and I enjoy historical fiction, the writing didn't quite have that quality where I just couldn't put the book down. I appreciated the glossary in the back of the book to explain terms from the 15th century.

It was the cover that caught my eye in the bookstore, and when I read that Anne Easter Smith was tackling the issue of what ever happened to the missing princes in the tower, I knew I had to have this.

The protagonist of the book is Grace Plantagenet, an illegitimate daughter of Edward IV. She becomes involved in a mystery when the princes vanish in the tower and, many years later, a man named Perkin Warbeck appears claiming to be the long lost Prince Richard. Is he really the lost prince? Is he just an imposter come to claim the crown of Henry? I found the book to be well written and a good page-turner.

Enjoyed the history. Well researched and written

This novel centers around the little known historical figure, Grace Plantagenet, the half-sister to the well known Princes in the Tower. When in the late 1400s, a young man arrives on the scene, claiming to be one of the missing princes, a man going by the name of Perkin Warbeck. Grace finds herself in the middle of the intrigue and begins an attempt to find out the truth. Is he a prince or is he the pawn of the Duchess of Burgundy, Margaret of York? This lengthy novel uses Grace as the keystone to tell the curious historical details.