In the annals of European history, one thing a royal personage avoided at all costs was killing off another royal. Mostly, they were kept in some tower somewhere until they succumbed to the circumstances – or, in many cases, provided such indisputable evidence of treachery that they could be dispatched without raising eyebrows, or guilt.
The King’s Grace, the third of Newburyport resident Anne Easter Smith’s historical novels that chronicle the last of medieval England’s Plantagenet dynasty, gives a creditable account of the case of two missing princes and one mysterious personage by the name of Perkin Warbeck.
As always, the case is presented through the eyes of a woman. A throwaway historical reference to Grace Plantagenet, “a bastard dawghter of Kyng Edwarde,” was the inspiration for The King’s Grace. Easter Smith logically concludes that if Grace was so honored as to be one of two mourners aboard the funeral barge of King Edward IV’s queen, Elizabeth Woodville, she must have been an intimate of Elizabeth. And, as no other reference to Grace survives, she is the perfect protagonist for Easter Smith’s tale: a virtual blank canvas.
Since Grace was a bastard of King Edward, the two princes in the tower would have been her half brothers. Logically, she would have had an intense interest in a man who appears some years after the princes’ mysterious disappearance and claims to be the younger, Richard of York.
Although Grace was an obscure historical figure, Perkin (presumably the man claiming to be Richard of York) was not. So, as in her previous novels, Easter Smith weaves fact with fiction and comes up with a creditable theory of what this Perkin Warbeck was – or was not.
Grace is what has become the cornerstone for Easter Smith’s books: a strong and intelligent woman who acts on her feelings, if not always with her head. She is a small figure caught up in court intrigue and the politics of royal upheaval.
Grace Plantagenet is a delightful character, written with true feeling; and the methodically researched story is compelling. As always, Easter Smith’s story is one of love, honor and character.
Other books by Anne Easter Smith: A Rose for the Crown: Paperback, 2006 Daughter of York: Paperback, 2008
The King’s Grace – a Novel by Anne Easter Smith
In the annals of European history, one thing a royal personage avoided at all costs was killing off another royal. Mostly, they were kept in some tower somewhere until they succumbed to the circumstances – or, in many cases, provided such indisputable evidence of treachery that they could be dispatched without raising eyebrows, or guilt.
The King’s Grace, the third of Newburyport resident Anne Easter Smith’s historical novels that chronicle the last of medieval England’s Plantagenet dynasty, gives a creditable account of the case of two missing princes and one mysterious personage by the name of Perkin Warbeck.
As always, the case is presented through the eyes of a woman. A throwaway historical reference to Grace Plantagenet, “a bastard dawghter of Kyng Edwarde,” was the inspiration for The King’s Grace. Easter Smith logically concludes that if Grace was so honored as to be one of two mourners aboard the funeral barge of King Edward IV’s queen, Elizabeth Woodville, she must have been an intimate of Elizabeth. And, as no other reference to Grace survives, she is the perfect protagonist for Easter Smith’s tale: a virtual blank canvas.
Since Grace was a bastard of King Edward, the two princes in the tower would have been her half brothers. Logically, she would have had an intense interest in a man who appears some years after the princes’ mysterious disappearance and claims to be the younger, Richard of York.
Although Grace was an obscure historical figure, Perkin (presumably the man claiming to be Richard of York) was not. So, as in her previous novels, Easter Smith weaves fact with fiction and comes up with a creditable theory of what this Perkin Warbeck was – or was not.
Grace is what has become the cornerstone for Easter Smith’s books: a strong and intelligent woman who acts on her feelings, if not always with her head. She is a small figure caught up in court intrigue and the politics of royal upheaval.
Grace Plantagenet is a delightful character, written with true feeling; and the methodically researched story is compelling. As always, Easter Smith’s story is one of love, honor and character.
Other books by Anne Easter Smith:
A Rose for the Crown: Paperback, 2006
Daughter of York: Paperback, 2008