Customer Reviews

The First Princess of Wales: A Novel

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Ever since reading in another novel that she was married at 12 and then became a bigamist at 13, I've been interested in Joan of Kent, so naturally when I heard about this book I pre-ordered it. As it turned out, I need not have been so enthusiastic-this is really nothing more than a cheesy romance novel that really, even isn't even a romance novel since the male lead (Edward the Black Knight, Prince of Wales, never became king) insists throughout the book on practically raping the female lead (Joan of Kent).

The back cover of this book says that Joan, in this novel, is plotting to get even with the King of England, Edward III, for her father's death, which he failed to prevent and may have encouraged (her dad was hung for treason which he was not guilty of). I would just like to say that this is not a major plot point, in fact, this is a thought, not a plan, or a plot, that Joan has, for a little while. It is a not a major part of the book. The vast majority of the book is spent with Joan or Edward moping about in various places because they aren't together. That really is the book. Really, that's it, except for two war scenes and one peasant uprising (which was interesting.)

This is supposed to be a romance, but as a wise woman once wrote, it is not a romance novel in any way if the romance in question involves rape. And in the novel there are just too many references too Edward wanting to "tame" Joan or Edward getting what he wanted from Joan whether or not she was willing to give it to him. Ultimately she does always capitulate, and I am aware that Edward's attitude is completely normal for the age he lived in, but this is a novel that is supposed to be romantic to contemporary readers and I find it offensive the author considers Edwards's actions to be romantic.

And Joan! She is such a pain! Every time she actually made a choice and stuck to it some man, usually Edward, would ride by and talk her out of it, or just kiss her, and all of her convictions would melt away. I mean lady, grow a backbone! On top of this the book gives no feel for the time period at all. I mean none. For a book that does read "Katherine" by Anya Seton.

The other thing in this book that bothered me was Joan's age. In real life Joan was 2 years older than Edward. In this book, which starts when Joan goes to court, no mention is made of her age, but it is implied that she has reached puberty. At court where we meet Edward it is implied by his living situation (alone with buddies) and sexual actions (whores and all!) that he is at the youngest a middle teenager. Yet later we learn Edward and Joan were born about the same time. Then, at Joan's wedding, we learn that her older brother John, who is five years older, is 20, and it has been five years since she went to court. This makes her fifteen, meaning she was ten when she went to court and Edward started to try to seduce her (ick!) This number also works well with the real life numbers of married first at 12, and so on. But two and a half years later her brother John's age is still listed as being 20! I know this isn't a big deal but it just drove me nuts and kept me from enjoying the rest of the book-not that this book has much to enjoy.

What I did like was that Princess Isabella in this book wasn't an old, unattractive, hag who some young man who forced to marry, she was a beautiful woman who waited for the right man, he just happened to be ten years younger.

So for the annoying characters, the plot that consists of moping around all of England and some of France, a prince who doesn't care about consent and some seriously annoying time discrepancies, this book gets 2.5 stars from me. I can't say I recommend it.

Aside from the shallow, fatuous characterizations, the gratuitous borderline-rape sex scenes, the anachronistic dialogue, and the utter lack of historical verity it was not a bad read. If you are looking for a realistic depiction of Joan of Kent or fourteenth century England, you will be sorely disapointed.

Ms. Harper was unable to even accurately portray Joan's honours and dignities, refering to her as the "Duchess of Kent" and stating that her husband, Thomas Holland, did not assume the titles by her right. The Holland-Salisbury case and the consequeseces of the death of Edmund of Woodstock are grossly distorted. The historical continuity is preposterously inaccurate, as are the names and relative ages of Joan's siblings and children.

As for the unwarranted copulation and the vapid, desultory female characters, anyone who has previously read Ms. Harper's work will not be surprised. Despite all of these severe flaws, I found this book easy to read and not unenjoyable. Consider it as a beach read or on a commute.

Formerly published as "Sweet Passion's Pain", this historical novel takes place in the mid-fourteenth century, as Joan of Kent meets her destiny in the court of Edward III. Learning belatedly of her father's death at the very hands of the Plantagenet's who now control her future, Joan is caught in a web of palace intrigue and her own confused emotions. Unwittingly she falls in love with Edward, Prince of Wales; over the next few years she resists the ties that the prince so readily accepts, realizing she will never be accepted as his wife. In any case, Edward III's Queen Philippa has her own ideas, sensing the attraction between Joan and her handsome son, marrying Joan off quickly to a Knight of the Garter whose estates are in the border lands of France.

At times hopelessly in love with the prince and unable to resist his skillful seduction, Joan vacillates between helpless infatuation with Edward and rage at the disservice to her family, periodically embarking on missions of revenge that unerringly fail to yield the desired results. These small rebellions always backfire and more often than not she is saved from her own impetuous nature by the prince. Yet Joan persists, traveling dangerous terrain to confront her heart's tormentor, even in the midst of war and peasant uprising that puts them both at great risk. Considering the consequences of these foolish adventures, Edward is the essence of patience, constantly intervening on Joan's behalf.

Although Joan of Kent begins her quest for parity as a very young woman, she persists into adulthood, making the same foolish decisions over and over until she accepts the inevitability of her fate, bound to the Prince of Wales.

The historical narrative gives perspective to the constant threat of war with France during this tumultuous era, as England struggles for dominance in Europe, Joan but a peripheral figure in history's great unfolding drama. Yet Joan claims her place in the royal family line, finally at the side of her beloved as his wife, the first Princess of Wales. Filled with treachery, family betrayals, court intrigue, troubadours, chivalry and the drama of forbidden love, Joan's future is secured by a determined prince who has more faith in their future than she. Luan Gaines/2006.

With an avid interest in British history, I eagerly ordered this book because not many books have been written about Joan of Kent. To my great disappointment, I was delivered a cheap romance. The characters were shallow and incoherent. The plot was predictable, moving from one lurid sex scene to another, all of which were boringly the same.

To classify this book as a "historical" novel does a great disservice to customers of Amazon since the book had little to do with history. Anyone expecting a work on par with the writings of Sharon Penman, Edith Pargeter, Roger Mortimer or Jean Plaidy will feel let down by this book.

You know, I don't really feel like it's even fair for me to be reviewing this book since I didn't even make it through the first 40 pages ... but if you're like me and vapid, cliched, romance-novel style prose really turns your stomach, save your money. This book is truly awful. Before I even reached the end of the second chapter, I got to hear about how the heroine's "wayward blond locks" "tumbled in natural curls," was twice reminded of her "wheat colored" hair (it must be very important to the storyline to remember this fact), oh and let's not forget how her dress accentuated "the swell of her high, firm breasts." And of course she soon spies a brave knight and notes how his "muscular chest, shoulders and arms stretched his black, leather gambeson taut under the fine hauberk of dark chain mail molded to his body." Seriously, I'm not making this up. After I read that little gem I flipped ahead and asked myself if I could really stomach another 574 pages of such tripe and then promptly tossed the book in the garbage.

Equally annoying was the author's habit of jumping from one character's head to another without warning, mid page (which I suppose in her defense was a much more common practice back in the 80s when this book was written), and her decision to spell out one character's Scottish accent ("I truly doan' think ye'll be seein' too many knights who'd wed wi' a lady to give her free rein like some willful palfrey, lassie ...") which I found so irritating I didn't even bother to read any of that character's lines.

I don't know, maybe the book gets better but I really didn't want to waste any time finding out. Maybe a true romance novel connoisseur would appreciate this book in a way that I am not able to. But as for my personal tastes, I like to see prose that is a little more original and a little less nauseating.

I join the ranks of those who didn't care for this book. I got about halfway through and finally decided not to waste any more time. The dialogue was trite, to say the least, and the plot nonexistent. I was looking for historical fiction, but this book really belongs in the Romance section. The Black Prince and the rest of the Plantagenets are fascinating characters, and they deserve better.

I picked this up not knowing what to expect and found that I liked it a lot. In fact, it only me a day and a half to get through the whole thing.

I found it to be informative and fun. It has inspired me to find out more about Joan of Kent and that whole time period. I hope that others read it and give it a chance. I think that you'll like what you find.

Now to find her other books and hope that they are as good.

So what that some of the ages of the major characters don't add up. The love story is true and the author's creation of Joan's and Prince Edward's characters and relationship with each other is very believable. Prince Edward was arrogant and self assured just as a prince in his time should be. What woman wouldn't enjoy the attention, desire, and eventually, the love of a most beloved prince. I have to warn those fans of true historical novels, such as those of Sharon Kay Penman, that this is more of a romance novel. But, it is still a fun read.

If you like historical fiction but aren't that particular about the historical accuracy of it, you'll like this book - especially if you also like romances. Aside from all the historical inaccuracies, which others have already pointed out (and there are more that haven't been pointed out), it is a quick read. The characters are interesting and the plot moves quickly. But, all in all, it really reads a bit more like a romance novel than a historical fiction novel.

I had a really hard time deciding what rating to give this book. While I generally liked the characters and thought the plot was good, I found myself getting frustrated by the way the author portrayed Joan as so wishy-washy. It's not that I feel she should have grown a backbone and acted more like a 21st century woman, it's that the author wrote her with such a temper, but one that easily dissolved every time the Prince was around. Almost without exception throughout the 400+ page book, Joan took everything the Prince said the wrong way and reacted accordingly. I just have a hard time believing that she'd react in some of the ways that the author had her react - though to Harper's credit, she did always provide a reason in Joan's history for her interpretation of the Prince's actions, and her own overreaction.

There's a lot that's still not known about Joan of Kent, and while the author doesn't seem to have stuck all that closely to the things that did happen (like why didn't she have Joan and Edward get married twice, here, like they did in real life?), she has done a good job of filling in the gaps, explaining the back-story that influences who Joan is and why she acts and reacts as she does.

The novel is full of 14th century Court intrigue, the back-story of the execution of Joan's father, her rise to Duchess, plotting, friendship, love, betrayal, adventure, it's all in there. Overall, a good read, but like I said - more a romance novel than a historical novel.

First, a disclaimer - I didn't finish _The First Princess of Wales_ - I just couldn't. I ordered it after taking a Shakespeare class on "the Henriad" and was looking forward to meeting the characters in a new context. The first sentence made me gulp - and the second was worse: "The lush blossoms and tend crops of fertile Kent gilded the May morning breeze with their mingled aromas, and the nightingale songs floated from the nearby forest depths unutterably sweet." Apparently, Ms. Harper has never met a noun that she felt didn't cry out for an adjective, or a verb that didn't beg for an adverb. Skip this badly written piece of fluff!