Customer Reviews

The Prince of Poison: A Novel

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

 

 

I waited about 18 years for this novel, the sequel to 'Shield of Three Lions' and 'Banners of Gold'. Unfortunately, it wasn't worth waiting 18 minutes for.

Kaufman seems to have given up on any kind of characterisation or description here. The characters are cardboard. I found the first two novels in the series rather silly, but they were extremely entertaining and brought the characters and their world vividly to life. Here, although the novel is narrated by Alix of Wanthwaite in the first person, we learn almost nothing about what she is thinking. It follows on directly after the end of 'Banners of Gold', when Alix's lover King Richard died and she grieved for him. Does she grieve here? Does she ever give him a second thought? Kaufman never tells us. What does Alix think about anything? We rarely find out.

Plot threads from 'Banners of Gold' are never tied up. Alix believed that her husband Enoch - furious at her relationship with the king - was trying to kill her. I looked forward to seeing this resolved. However, it's never even mentioned.

Considering that Alix's constant refrain in the early part of the novel is 'Enoch and England', the things she craves to see once more, there is precious little emotion when she finally meets her husband again. This should have been a powerfully emotional scene, but again Alix seems to feel very little. The complex relationship between Alix and Enoch is 'resolved' on the final page, in a deeply unconvincing manner.

I'm really puzzled by Alix's lack of feeling in this novel. In the first two, her narrative voice was strong and compelling. Here, she's a cipher whom we never get to know. It's very disappointing.

The historical timeline here is very compressed. We start with the immediate aftermath of King Richard's death, which occurred in April 1199. The novel ends shortly after the death of King John, in October 1216. However, there's no sense at all that over 17 years have passed - it seems to be about 5 or 6 years. Kaufman does not acknowledge this in her Author's Note. I find this unforgivable.

I'm not an expert in the early 13th century, but even I can spot some real howlers. There's a reference to the Duke of York, which is interesting, considering the title didn't exist till 1385. Even the Author's Note contains some gross errors: Kaufman correctly states that John's widow Isabelle married the son of her former fiance, who was betrothed to Isabelle's daughter. Kaufman writes 'there's no record of what happened to the daughter'. Umm, yes, there is; she married Alexander II of Scotland, a perfectly well-known fact.

Most of the novel is taken up with Alix's meetings with the barons and the Archbishop of Canterbury, endlessly discussing what the barons wanted to be included in the Magna Carta. This is an important historical document, but the never-ending debates on exactly what it should say become incredibly tedious.

Apart from negotiating over fish-weirs, Alix spends most of her time travelling, over improbably large distances. One journey takes her from Northumberland to London to Hereford to Wales to Edinburgh to Windsor to Northumberland! If you're unfamiliar with British geography, check a map to see how unlikely such a journey is.

On the subject of children, is it likely that a woman around 1200 would name her daughter 'Leith', which is the port of Edinburgh? Is it likely that Queen Isabelle could have committed incest with her own half-brother, and allowed him to father her children? Judging by the historical novels I've read recently, no man in the Middle Ages was the father of his children! I'm sick to death of it.

I'm also annoyed with the depiction of King John as a paedophile. It's stated that he married Isabelle when she was 8 years old, and consummated the marriage. In fact, Isabelle was 12 or 13, a perfectly normal age for a noblewoman to marry in 1200. This left a nasty taste in my mouth. Alix meets Isabelle at the time of Magna Carta, when the historical Isabelle was about 27, and describes her as a child. However, Isabelle also has 4 children by John. How can she be the mother of 4 children and be a child herself?

In conclusion, this novel is not worth anyone's time. There's no characterisation whatsoever, almost no description, almost no interior monologue, almost nothing of any interest. Only plot, and plot that usually makes no sense and doesn't go anywhere. I was so looking forward to this, and I read it to the end because I really wanted to find out how Alix's story ended, but this is by far the worst historical novel I've read in a very long time. Historical novel? Apart from the real historical people in it and references to castles, you'd never know it was set in the Middle Ages, thanks to the almost total lack of description.

A total waste of time.

The Prince of Poison is the last novel in the Alix of Wanthwaite trilogy. There was a huge publishing gap between the second and third books (over ten years I think) which can only be credited to what Pamela Kaufman says in her authors note-her husband died, and her son died of a brain tumor. If the author ever reads this review I would like to express my deepest sympathies on her loss.

I loved the first book of this trilogy, Sheild of Three Lions, and I was enthralled by the romance between Alix, a young, very vulgar and smart girl, and Enoch, a Scot in every way who takes in Alix as his brother (she was pretending to be a boy) and ends up going on crusade to protect her for the lascivious king Richard of the Lion Heart. And I was very angry in the second book, Banners of Gold, when Alix, told falsely that Enoch was dead, became King Richard's mistress because he needed an heir and was gay (sorry folks, but historical evidence confirms it) and she was the only woman he'd ever been attracted to. I was especially angry because at the end of novel Alix was pregnant for the second time with Richard's child (the first was miscarried and a girl), had just watched Richard die, had just been told Enoch was alive, and was being hunted down by the new king, John. It's a big cliffhanger I thought would never be resolved.

But now it has been. This novel picks up right where the last one left off. Alix manages to escape John-who wants to have sex with her and then kill her-and wanders around in the forest. Then she manages to find Bonel, her kind Jewish friend from Banners of Gold who's in love with her, and has her baby in a Jewish Commune. It's a boy, named Theo. Then she learns to cut jewels and a year later she and Theo head to England, Theo with Matilda de Bros (if you know the name you'll have a guess of what happens next) and Alix on a Viking ship.

But she's shipwrecked on England's shores-close to her home of Wanthwaite. She heads for home, determined to finds her husband Enoch, and when she gets to the castle she finds a wedding celebration. For Enoch. He thought she was dead.

Hurt but brave Alix chooses to ignore Enoch's marriage (she did after all, cheat on him) and head to London to pick up her son. But Enoch won't leave her, until she says she's going to get the crown jewels, which Richard left to her. So Enoch follows her-but Theo isn't in London anymore.

So begins the start of their seemingly continues trek across England, often with different people, but always Alix and Enoch-in their typical way ignoring the feelings between them and keeping a safe distance from each other. And always to try and contain the villainy of King John.

That's what this book is really about, the Magna Carta and the rights of the Barons of England.

This is a good book, not amazing, but very solid. My only complaints where that no sense of Time is in the novel, so its passage went unmarked and I had no idea how long something had been happening. I think the scope of the novel in real history was over ten years but I the story doesn't take nearly the time I think the real events took in history. I also, like many Americans, can not speak or read French or Latin, and would have appreciated an English translation for the conversations that took place in those languages. And I think the situation between Alix and Enoch was a little absurd toward the end of the book. You can't spend that much time with a person without at least figuring out if you hate them or love them or are uncaring towards them.

All in all, a semi-sold book and a nice ending to the trilogy. Four stars. I can't say I'll read this again, but I probably will check out Sheild of Three Lions again. I still think it makes a better novel as a stand-alone.

If you like this period in history check out Sharon Key Penman's "Here be Dragons" which is about John's daughter Joanna and the Magna Carta. Or "Lords of the White Castle" by Elizabeth Chadwick-about the life of one of John's Barons who forced the signing of the Magna Carta.

I was disappointed with the writing and editing. The whole book seemed rushed and did not at all approach the character development and depth in the Shield of Three Lions and Banners of Gold. I didn't feel connected with the characters as I did in the previous books. I have been waiting since I was fourteen for the conclusion to Alix's story and though I am pleased with the outcome, I was wholly disappointed with the book. In addition, misspelling and typos throughout.

I read Shield of Three Lions and Banners of Gold in 1988. I know the year, because my daughter had just been born. To wait so long for a sequel and have it turn out like this!

There is no adventure, no romance, no fun. It's mostly a big bore about the Magna Carta. We never get to see the big romantic reconciliation we wait for.

If you read the first two books, you are better off writing your own ending. I feel that Ms. Kaufman's heart just wasn't in this one. Sorry kiddo! But I will still read any new books you write.

I agree with the less-than-stellar reviews. This indeed appears as a rush job, and I'm sorry to write that, for I thoroughly enjoyed the author's previous works (_Shield of Three Lions_, _Banners of Gold_, and _The Book of Eleanor_). The characters who return to continue the story (Alix, Enoch, Bonel, et al) are a bit older, sadder, and very much the wiser. Interestingly, Alix is suddenly no longer the still-childish young woman we saw at the closing of _Banners_; in the opening pages of this story, she seems to have aged a decade.

Which brings me to the timeline of this novel. Another reader noted the confusing pace, leaving one to question just what events happened when. I tried to place certain events based on the age of Alix's children (her son by King Richard, daughter by Enoch) -- e.g., this child cuts a tooth when that key event occurs. Also confusing, as previously noted, is Alix's "til and fro" journey throughout Britain, a frantic attempt to obtain her son before the nasty King John can get his clutches on the young lad.

Regarding Alix's relationship with Enoch, throughout the book broad hints are dropped that they still care for each other. This is especially true on Enoch's part; recall in _Shield of Three Lions_, he told Alix he'd never leave her, "...[o]r my heart would breist [burst, break]." Even in _Banners_ there are signs he will not give up on Alix. (I still wonder what became of the Scot -- supposedly another MacPherson -- who told Alix he'd seen Enoch slain in battle. If Enoch got wind of that...)

And there are numerous questionable items, resulting in my raised eyebrow or even a spoken, "WHAT...?!" Yes, I agree with artistic license -- to a point. When a certain event takes place, e.g. Alix's being asked to take down notes during baronial meetings (these notes form the basis of Magna Carta), I had to question the plausibility of her actually being present at these meetings. Sure, it's a fine *idea* to have the lady present, but would/could that really happen in the early 13th century? Yet it again puts Alix in the midst of the you-are-there, history-making hot seat.

While this is a fascinating era to study, _Prince of Poison_ is a real let-down. I simply didn't get immersed in this story as I had with Kaufman's other works, especially _Shield of Three Lions_. Perhaps it would have been just as well to conclude _Banners of Gold_ with an epilogue, in which Alix reunites with Enoch -- a tense, and perhaps frosty, meeting, preferably with a tinge of hope.

This book is awful. The events are improbable, time sequences unrealistic, characterizations non-existent, and plot boring. Previous works by this author have been fine, but this book is totally disappointing.

This book broke my heart for all of the wrong reasons. The first two novels of Alix were brilliant. The author had a clear idea of where she wanted her characters to end up, she made it easy for us to love these characters, and I for one not only found them incredibly endearing, but was amazed at how they came alive. Not so with 'Prince of Poison'. The sense of urgency the author was attempting to create only made the whole plot feel rushed and forced. Once familiar characters slowly became unrecognizable, as when Enoch and Alix have a ridiculously tame confrontation. Overall one gets the impression that Kaufman could no longer be bothered with what happened to Alix, as she opened the many paths available to our heroine, but sadly resolved none of these. This all gives the impression the author did not know how she wanted the story to end, evident in the way Prince John's character changes so drastically from start to finish. Sadly, for me this book lost momentum long before the halfway mark, and spluttered to an undignified death several pages before 'The End'.

Shield of Three Lions: A Novel and Banners of Gold: A Novel, the first two novels featuring Alix of Wainthwaite, were delightly bawdy romps through the Crusades and the reign of Richard the Lion-Hearted. All the characters--the purely fictional as well as the historical ones such as Richard the Lion-Hearted and Elinor of Aquitaine--were depicted as utterly human and believable. And though author Kaufman didn't shy away from issues such as the treatment of Jews and the subjugation of women in the 12th century, the history never slowed down the rapid pace of the story or gave the sense that the characters were merely pawns being shoe-horned into an existing template.

Not so The Prince of Poison. Granted, the sombre events of the story don't make for many laughs. But rather than feel sorrow for or empathy with Alix, I was left with nothing but tedium. The characterisation and descriptions all seem bogged down by a sense of obligation, which makes me wonder why Kaufman felt compelled to write this book.

This book felt like the character needed to be pitied due to her inability to make good decisions.

I loved the first book, "shield of three lions" it was great! the second was also good, the third was good but not as great as the first two. I felt that the ending came fast and i thought it should have had a little more at the end like seeing leith..etc. But overall it was a nice book.