THE EXILED [Paperback]

POSIE GRAEME-EVANS (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: HODDER (2004)
• ASIN: B000S6BLXQ
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,736,005 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm passionate about history, particularly European history between, say, the end-ish of the first millennium up until the 1480's. I get bored with the advent of the Tudors (they invented the public service. Can't bring myself to love them for that!)

Landscape moves me - particularly unpeopled landscapes - but I also adore architecture though I tend to lose interest around the Baroque and come back in again, briefly, for Georgian Architecture, then again for the Arts and Crafts movement and the 1920's.

My idea of heaven is to drive around countryside that's unfamiliar to me in Spring or Autumn, through fields and little towns with no particular agenda in mind.

Interestingly the only time my husband, Andrew, and I fight is when one of us is trying to navigate the other in unfamiliar territory - but provided we can stop somewhere beautiful that night, eat something delicious and drink good wine, alls right with the world by morning.

Andrew likes to take pictures, I don't especially. When I'm thinking of a story, its often enough for me to stand and look at something. I try to fix what it feels like to my senses, what it smelt like, for instance; was there sun, was it raining, was it cold? And, that's often enough for the process to begin: the story process.

And whilst story and factual research is a delicious process for me, I'm convinced that human beings are much the same under the skin and always have been - though language, culture, circumstances and environment will always be different.

Family is very important to me. Both my nearest kin and then, also, the extended runners of the family vine that stretch back and forward through time.

Family has taught me that love is possible though it ain't always easy. I see myself as a buoyant pessimist: that helps. The pessimist in me always has a plan B, C and D (I hope!) if things go wrong - television production teaches you that as a failsafe; but the optimist bit makes me hopeful about the future. I've been a lucky woman and I'm deeply grateful for that.

If I have a credo it's one word. Persist. Rudyard Kipling's poem "IF" sums that up for me - each phrase hits like a hammer of truth. And, on the wall of my writing room is another piece of writing that never fails to move me, particularly when I'm feeling defeated or cast down. "Today I put on the sinews of the sky, Flames of the sun, Moon's glitter, fire's astonishment..." and so it goes on. To me, it's all about the acquisition of strength when you need it most.


Warm best wishes,

Posie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Awesome second effort..., August 26, 2005

By 

CoffeeGurl - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Exiled: Anne Trilogy Book Two (Paperback)

I couldn't wait to read the sequel to The Innocent. The Exile is even better than the first effort because it illustrates the struggles of a woman trying to make it in a man's world. This Medieval story picks up where The Innocent left off. Anne de Bohun flees to Belgium and tries to make ends meet and is able to find some success as a merchant. However, the local merchants don't want to compete with the likes of her. Meaning that she is a woman and the businessmen don't want her establishment to flourish. So they will use whatever machinations they have at their disposal, and they find the perfect way to blackmail her: her child. Her son is the loving result of an intense affair with King Edward IV. King Edward isn't aware of his offspring's existence and Anne would like to keep it that way. To make matters worse, someone wants her dead. There are more twists throughout the novel.

For those who had complained about The Innocent reading like a romance novel, this one has very little romance in it. The story concentrates more on Anne's conflicts and struggles to get ahead. The most fascinating part of this novel is the backdrop of the merchant world in 15th Century Belgium. This part of the novel seems very well researched and I enjoyed the backdrop of a country that has been quite obscure to me. Anne's inner conflicts are quite remarkable as well. She is a great character -- a fighter to the end. Her love for King Edward is as strong as ever and she doesn't know if she'll ever see him again. I'd like more development in that area and I hope to see more of them in future novels. The language of the novel is rich and lyrical. Posie Graeme-Evans is an awesome author. I enjoyed The Exile very much and I look forward to another offering of what I hope will be an outstanding series.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty solid read, July 19, 2005

By 

Tara (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Exiled: Anne Trilogy Book Two (Paperback)

I hadn't read the first novel in the series before I read this one, and didn't feel that it was necessary to do so in order to appreciate this book. It was an intriguing read, with a surprising ammount of suspense and mystery. I enjoyed the flavor of the novel, and felt that Graeme-Evans wrote a period piece quite well.

A decent balance of good writing, mixed with a bit of romance and adventure made for a quick read, although I felt that the ending was a bit abrupt. I suppose that this is because she is going to write another book in this series to finish off the story, so perhaps this is a means to keep her readers wondering what happens next. Regardless, the book was quite good, and I would reccommend it to any of my female friends - it is a bit too romantic for it to appeal to both genders, I think.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I can't wait for the next installment in this series!!, December 25, 2005

By 

Stone Agliano "Lawyer with a passion for history" (Tampa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Exiled: Anne Trilogy Book Two (Paperback)

The first book in this series, The Innocent, sent me straight to the store to buy the second book, The Exiled, before I had even finished the first book. I could not wait to see what happened to the main characters. I await the final installment of this wonderful historical fiction series. Yeah!