The Crown Rose [Hardcover]

Fiona Avery (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 5, 2005

This is the story of Isabelle of France, born heir to the throne, and the mystery of one man who enters her life at several key moments, becoming her icon, her soul's other half, and her destiny - a man who may in fact be much more than an ordinary man. His bloodline goes back to the Holy Land and he is far, far older than he appears.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Strong religious beliefs (orthodox and alternative) propel the action of Avery's first novel, a dazzling blend of French history and the fantastic. As a child, Princess Isabelle, heir to the French throne, has an intuition that her life will be different. At age nine, in the year 1234, she's sure she's "destined to do great things" after a mysterious stranger saves her from certain death by repelling a rabid dog with one word—a word that "held the power of the world." The Knights Templar, the fate of Mary Magdalene, holy relics of the early church and the Temple of Jerusalem all figure in a lively, credible story that compares favorably to Sara Douglass's Crucible series (The Wounded Hawk, etc.), also set in medieval Europe. The plot could have been a little better developed in places and at times the dialogue sounds more contemporary L.A. than 13th-century France, but overall this is a superior historical fantasy. (May 3)

From Booklist

This noteworthy historical fantasy is the first novel by an author who has sharpened her skills on short fiction and comics scripting. She has sharpened her knowledge of medieval France, too, to limn a vivid portrait of the "secret history" of the thirteenth century and Princess Isabelle, daughter of Louis VIII and his remarkable queen, Blanche of Castile. Isabelle has a vocation, but the road to fulfilling it is sown with many obstacles. She finds indispensable assistance in one Jean Benariel, who recognizes and supports her vocation, appears to be of Middle Eastern origin, and may be far older than he seems. As the revelations about Jean multiply, sage readers probably won't be surprised to learn that they have been deeply drawn into yet another fantasy based on the legend of the Holy Grail. Indeed, they will likely feel it is such a good one that they just must continue reading it to the end--and look forward to coming back for a possible sequel. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 454 pages
• Publisher: Pyr (May 5, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591023122
• ISBN-13: 978-1591023128
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,632,008 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A I-don't-want-to-put-it-down-but-I-can-if-I-must novel, November 27, 2005

By 

Tessa Sutherland "Reading-SF-does-go-with-Col... (California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Crown Rose (Hardcover)

A wonderful novel full of mystery, romance, history, and fantasy. Parts of it reminded me of "The De Vinci Code" with its religious undertones and controversial questions about Christ and the Church. The characters were fully developed and very rich, although I would have like more depth to the so-called 'bad guy.' Its research was well done and paints a fascinating picture of France in the thirteenth century. Too often historical novels are too historical and leave the reader with the bitterness of there being no conclusion to life other then death and life's sufferings. Although this novel is not the happily-ever-after type (how could it be and still be historical?) it does not leave you at the end feeling hopeless and angry at the futility of life, rather it leaves you sort of mistily happy and inspired to do something, anything, with your life. I was very disappointed when I found out that Fiona Avery has not written any other novels. Hope this helps.

P.S. Good book for teenagers with a little bit of patience. Nothing in it that a thirteen year old couldn't read, although intellectually it would be over their head.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A rich fantasy with a plot woven around actual events, August 8, 2005

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Crown Rose (Hardcover)

Take French medieval history, blend in a healthy dose of fantasy, and then trace the life of one Isabelle of France, born heir to the throne in 1240 and facing an unusual, changed destiny from a man who may be more than an ordinary mortal and you have The Crown Rose, a rich fantasy with a plot woven around actual events, blending elements of the real and fantasy. Over a year was spent researching the period - and it shows in a rich, detailed setting.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I've searched 10 years for a book this good!, April 23, 2010

By 

Bailey Kunkel "BaileyBoo" (Colorado, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Crown Rose (Hardcover)

The title pretty much says it all. Gripping plot, intriguing and personal characters, a medieval book with lots of juicy real-life bits (like, a window into regular medieval life, not just a plot of battle after battle). Just enough magical realism to add tingle, but without detracting from the believability of the story. The only thing missing would have been a touch more romance - I don't even like romantic scenes in novels, but this one had none at all! (Of course, given the context of the story, the abscence of the seemingly-inevitable love scene gives the involved characters such honor and respectability....oh fine, it's just how it should be!) Bottom line, its simply wonderful, and I wish she would write another one!