38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great King Harry!, February 2, 2001
Although historical fiction has always been very popular, I don't
believe that this kind of fiction--recreating a real human being's
life--has ever come into vogue as much as it has in the last
twenty-five years or so. Just in the last year I have read several of
them, including Margaret George and Nigel Tranter, and I'm sure
there are dozens more that I don't even know about. Even Ronald
Reagan's life has been fictionalized, and he hasn't even had the
good grace to pass on yet!
Normally, a writer of historical
fiction will research a particular period of time, create their own
characters, put them in place, and let them go. This personalized
kind of thing--putting a voice to a known historical figure--seems to
me to be a much more difficult task. First of all, you have to stick
to the known facts. As much as you think you know, there is always
going to be somebody out there who knows more than you, and who will
gleefully hammer you if you get something wrong. Secondly, you have
to be bold enough to use your imagination when there are gaps, and at
the same time to do so in such a way that these suppositions fit in
with things which are known. For example, Henry was known to frequent
what were considered to be lower-type establishments in his youth. It
is unlikely that he smoked opium, or engaged in homosexual conduct, to
give just a couple of bizarre examples of the way history is often
distorted. Lastly, while conforming to these strictures, you have to
do the normal things that fiction writers do; you know, like creating
character, and sustaining a compelling narrative.
Ms. Giardina has
chosen to complicate matters for herself further by fictionalizing the
life of no less a personage than Henry V, who must rank very high on
the list of well-known English monarchs. A lot of people know about
him. Oh, and one other thing: Henry V has already been done. What
was the name of that guy? The playwright?
Indeed, this is what
this book appeared to be after the first 100 pages or so: a
novelization of the great Shakespeare plays: Richard II, Henry IV part
I and II, and HenryV. But no. It is so much more than this.
Clearly, Ms. Giardina did her own research, probably utilizing many of
the sources used by the great one. It is her own project completely,
from her recreation of historical events, to her imagination of
fictional situations, and to the motivations of her characters. And
she makes them all come delightfully alive.
The plot itself is
more than you could want for intrigue and adventure. It starts with
Henry, (his nickname is Harry) as a boy. He is held hostage by
Richard, and expects to die when his father, Henry Bolingbroke, usurps
the crown. As prince he serves under his father, who despises him,
and spends years in an effort to subdue a rebellion in Wales. He
finds a girl there, starving and alone in an empty hut with her dead
mother. She will become his only true love. As a young man, and
under the care of his father's lieutenant, he discovers a plot
against his father, and escapes in the middle of the night on
horseback. He earns glory by being made a captain in his father's
army and defeating these enemies at Shrewsberry, only to learn later
that his promotion was made by those who expected and hoped he would
be killed. Eventually, his own father plots against him, the
archbishop plots against him, and other supposed allies plot against
him. And then there are those who favor the legitimate heir! Even
after he becomes king, the intrigue doesn't end. Uneasy lies the
head which wears the crown!
But that's the historical stuff. As
to the made-up stuff, most of which occurs during Henry's early
life, Giardina succeeds as well. She wisely avoids the temptation to
recreate Shakespeare's bumpkins and clowns. No Falstaff will you
find here, and smart for her not to try. But her own creations are no
less compelling, and equally believable. Henry falls in love here,
meets true friends here, and learns duplicity here. He forms a bond
with the commoners which serves him later on, making him the kind of
king he becomes.
Shakespeare's Henry is a great nationalist,
appealing to the glory of England. Other versions paint him as a
megalomaniac, arrogant, and angry that the French don't give him
his due. Giardina's Henry is motivated by wanting to do good. He
recognizes the suffering of the peasants, and feels it is his duty to
make life more bearable for them. This is his motivation for the
French invasion. France, torn by civil war, was being ripped to
pieces by raping and pillaging bands of soldiers. Henry, having
brought peace to Wales through benevolent leadership, feels it is his
duty to bring his vision across the sea. He tries, and despite great
hardship and primarily through the force of his own will, he achieves
his greatest success at Agincourt.
But victory is often elusive, and
Giardini gives us no easy answers. Henry is a conflicted, sensitive
man, and constantly doubts himself. He recognizes that both his
actions and inactions result in the death of innocents. He despairs
when he sees that the small good he accomplishes is so easily
undone.
This is a terrific book. If you are looking for adventure,
it is here. If you are looking for a solidly researched history, it
is here. If you are looking for fine literature, it is here.
Ms. Giardina should be commended. This is historical fiction at its
best.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent historical fiction from a wonderful writer., April 20, 2000
By A Customer
Good King Harry was Giardina's debut novel but I didn't read it until after I had finished, and fallen in love with, her outstanding second historical novel, Storming Heaven and its sequel, The Unquiet Earth. I'd read that she'd made Henry V the subject of her first novel because she didn't think anyone wanted to read about hillbilly coal miners. I could understand that, but what really puzzled me is what a daughter of the Appalachian coalfields would find so interesting about British royalty.
I borrowed Good King Harry from the public library mainly out of curiousity and by the end of the first page, realized that this too was one I needed to acquire for my collection.
The answer to my question was of course, that Henry V was the beloved King of the commoners - Good King Harry. As with Giardina's other works, her talent for bringing history to life and her ear for language are flawless.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A very enjoyable book to read, February 22, 2000
By A Customer
I whipped through this book and really enjoyed it. I have not seen many books that give us an idea of what Henry V was like as a child, a lovr, a soldier. a man, and finally as a fallible and human king.
Now, to counterbalance it a little (since the author really DOES tend, in my opinion,to indulge in a little hero worshipping of Henry), I am reading Edith Pargeter's "A Bloody Field at Shrewsbury" which gives different and more favorable views of Henry IV and Henry "Hotspur" Percy.
For another view of the world as it was at this time, one might also try the Stewart trilogy by Nigel Traneter, focusing on Scottish (and by necessity, French, Irish and English) politics of the day. Nigel Tranter books get five stars from em every time!
You will, however, get your money's worth from this book and enjoy it very much.
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