Customer Reviews

Crown in Candlelight

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm hoarding my copy of this undeservedly out of print novel. Jarman tells the story of Katherine of Valois, wife of Henry V, hero of Agincourt, and her later passionate love affair with the Welsh bard Owen Tudor, ancestor of the Tudor dynasty. Jarman's skill at weaving atmosphere and color brings Katherine's childhood to chilling life, as the daughter of a lunatic King and a cruel, amoral mother. She brings her usual scrupulous historical accuracy to the novel, and her gift for portraying characters of greath depth is always evident. The actual historical figures spring to life: Plantagenet and Valois royalty, Welsh patriots and bards, as well as a fascinating array of mystics, witches, crossbowmen, peasants and nobles. Jarman's novels are as finely detailed and vividly colored as the tapestries from the period she portrays. Her portrayal of Katherine--sensitive, vulnerable, passionate, amid the turbulence and danger of the decaying Middle Ages--is memorable. This is a fine historical novel, and well worth searching for.

Quite simply, "Crown in Candlelight" is one of the very best historical novels I have ever read. I do not know why it is out of print. In any event, it is well worth searching out.

"Crown in Candlelight" tells the story of the love between Katherine of France, daughter of the mad king Charles VI and widow of the hero of Agincourt, Henry V; and Owen Tudor, her Welsh servant who was also a poet and musician. These two are not rendered as cardboard "romance novel" cutouts. Katherine grows and evolves from being an abused child and lonely young woman used as a marital pawn, to being a strong, passionate wife and mother; and Owen goes from being a shallow womanizer to devoted husband to Katherine and father to their sons. Owen and Katherine are wonderful, sympathetic characters and you will be rooting for them all the way.

Jarman also hews very, very closely to actual historical detail (all the main characters and most of the minor ones actually lived!) and brings the 15th century in all its glamour and squalor to life. With one major and a few very minor exceptions, the events in this book actually happened (as closely as they can be reconstructed). One thing that is played for drama in the book, but did not actually happen - Humphrey Duke of Gloucester did not send Katherine to Bermondsey as punishment for marrying a Welshman; Katherine actually retired to Bermondsey to die of metastatic breast cancer. However, that is really the only falsified event in the book. (Incidentally, for an English or French woman to live with or marry a Welshman in that time period was equivalent to a white woman marrying a black man in the 1950's.)

Buy, beg, borrow or steal a copy of this book, sit back and enjoy! I had tears in my eyes at the ending - yes, the lovers led tragic lives but remember, their great-great-granddaughter was Elizabeth I, so they triumphed in the end!

I am really surprised that I picked a winner in this book. I got it through a Month of the Book club because I am fascinated by any tidbits of Henry the Fifth. Little did I know how wonderfully written this book is! Too bad it is hard to find a copy of this book because I really think people should shoot this on to the top of the bestsellers list!!

For those of you who do like history and historical fiction based on true facts ... I would recommend that you run and get a copy of this book. It's wonderfully written and you will be enrapatured by the author's story.

People often has mistaken notions about royalty especially in the middle ages. Jarman points out that not all is cake and jewelry for royals, especially for royal princesses who later become queens. This book is about Katherine, Henry V's bride, who later spawned the Tudor dynasty. This book takes Katherine through her rough and lonely childhood. She is the daughter of a mad king of France and a perverted queen, always caught in the middle of the tug-of-war between her parents. Then it details her marriage to the king of England who comes over to reclaim England's ancient claims on lands in France. Then after the king died and while as queen mother of Henry VI, she finds love again with Owen Tydier, later named as Owen Tudor.

What a fanastic read through the cobblestones of historical reading! It just makes me want to read more on English and French royalty. I would definitely hate to be a royal ~~ it's not easy as it sounds. But hey, it's like a glimpse into the past and one can dream, right?

I recommend this book highly! I hope that you'll be able to find a copy of this book. It's one that is full of surprises and you can't help yourself reading it all in just a few days.

2-15-02

The story centers around the life of Katherine of Valois. But while Jarman has an attractive writing style, she romanticizes Katherine's story.

She remains true to the basic historical outline; that is, Katherine was neglected during her youth. She was the child of a schizophrenic father and a self-possessed mother. She married King Henry V as was expected of her. After his death, she fell in love with Owen (Owain) Tudor and had several children by him, including the future Henry VII's father. But it's unlikely there was anything more than a royal pact (and perhaps respect) between Henry and Katherine. Jarman would have you believe there was passionate love.

Without a basic familiarity with the history of the times, some parts of the story might be hard to follow. On the other hand, if you are looking for a fictional love story based on historical events, then you might like this book. The writing is certainly first-rate.

I found a copy of this historical novel in my mother's attic. What a find! Rosemary Hawley Jarman's attention to historical detail is amazing. Plus, it's gripping reading -- the (real-life) passionate love affair between a dowager queen and a welsh page/musician. I recommend this book wholeheartedly.

Katherine of Valois was born in 1401, the youngest daughter of King Charles VI of France (Charles the Mad) and his wife Isabeau. Katherine was married to King Henry V of England, and then to Owen Tudor. From these two unions descended the royal houses of Lancaster (King Henry VI) and Tudor (King Henry VII).

The novel opens in France where Katherine has been brought up more by her sister Isabella (the widow of King Richard II) to detest the usurping Lancastrian king (Henry IV) and to dread the prospect of marriage to his son. A shift of scene takes us to Wales, and the home of Owen Glyn Dwr (the last Welshman to be styled Prince of Wales). His godson, Owen Tudor, defies him to join Henry V's invasion of France.

After the Battle of Agincourt and as part of the Treaty of Troyes, Katherine is married to Henry V in 1420.

This is really the beginning of Katherine's story: her love for Henry until his untimely death (in 1422) is followed by her love for Owen Tudor. The history looms over this story: the annexation of Wales and the invasion of France provide a rich and at times complicated setting for what can be read as essentially romance in an historical setting. Sometimes, truth is stranger than fiction. I found it took me a few chapters to start to enjoy this novel: while the Valois detail is necessary scene setting, it was far less familiar to me than the history of Owain Glyn Dwr and Henry V.

This novel was first published in 1978, and was republished in 2008. If you are interested in this period of history, or in well-written romance in an historical setting, and you enjoy comparatively complicated stories, you may well enjoy this novel.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Magnificent. There should be more than five stars available for a book as well done as this.

I am amazed that anyone could read CROWN IN CANDLELIGHT and not give it the five stars available. The characters spring to life, fully realized, and with very different voices, and the writing is mesmerizing and atmospheric. Plus, unlike so much other modern writing in the field, it is historically accurate.

The love scenes are romantic and an object lesson in how such scenes should be written, instead of the embarrassing overly clinical crud of "what goes where" that has me fast forwarding through so much modern historical fiction.

I cannot imagine any other author bothering to try to write about Katherine d' Valois and Owen Tudor. It has been done, and done magnificently, by Jarman.

I really fell in love with Jarman's style. It's very flowing and lyrical; I'd never read anything by her before. It's a very fine historical novel. I was only a little disappointed at times with the character of Owen Tudor, who was a selfish bastard (per the author's characterization), but that only made the novel more realistic. Putting aside my strictly personal disappointment with aspects of Owen's character, it is the growing love story between Owen Tudor and Princess Katherine, and the tender description of her marriage to Henry V, which are wonderfully realized and well-written. Why isn't this novel still in print?? It deserves to be!

and I ended up loving it. Crown in Candlelight is a beautifuuly written book. Flowing, transporting, rich with detail, and some great battle scenes. It was a little heavy on the romance in parts for my taste, but then Owen and Katherine must have loved each other very much to make the choices they did. I learned a lot from this book as well, and it set me to researching Henry V and Agincourt, knowledge I am now grateful to have. I also loved the narrative style of this novel. The narrative shifts, but more smoothly than in any book I have ever read. It really works for this story. Rather than being abrupt or in distinct sections, the narrative shifted seamlessly from one character to another in a very natural way. This was an all-around excellent book, engaging and heart-breaking. I had had We Speak No Treason sitting on my to-read shelf for a year, and after reading this Crown in Candlelight I couldn't wait to read former. (Which I also loved in a very different way.)

Wow, Rosemary Hawley Jarman has covered a whole lot of history in 'Crown in Candlelight' and not being familiar with a majority of the events detailed it was at times overwhelming for this reader.

I was very interested in the story of Owen ap Meredyth ap Tydier and his love affair with Queen Katherine of Valois, Jarman gives the reader that and much more.

She begins this history lesson in France when Katherine is a young girl, then moves to Wales when Owen is a young man so we get a sense of each character's history and background. We learn about Katherine's marriage to King Henry V and Owen's service to the king. The last portion of the book deals with Owen and Katherine's love affair and the events that unfold during the end of their lives.

I'm glad I read this book, I feel like I know just a little bit more about the relationship between Owen and Katherine. But honestly this was not an easy read for me. Someone with a greater familiarity with the historical figures and events will likely enjoy this more that I did.

I found myself struggling with the varied settings. I was just getting into the characters in France and then Jarman moved us to Wales. Once I was getting used to Wales she moved to England. It gave a start-stop rhythm to my reading that was less than ideal. I also wasn't crazy about the portrayal of Owen's love and was a bit turned off by some of the details of his love affair with Katherine. Anytime "honey" is mentioned as a euphemism in a love scene you can bet that I'm cringing or rolling my eyes.

I really enjoyed the very end of the book and not being familiar with the history I was completely surprised by the events that unfolded. The family tree that was included in my copy was very helpful and I found myself constantly referring to it. This book made me want to read more about Henry V and Henry VI. If you can recommend something (other than Plaidy) please feel free to post a comment, Thanks.