Amazon.com: Customer reviews: My Lady Viper (Tales from the Tudor Court Book 1)

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My Lady Viper (Tales From the Tudor Court)

ByErin Davieson May 6, 2014

Tudor fiction. The phrase alone makes me cringe. Wolf Hall, The Other Boleyn Girl, The Autobiography of Henry VIII, The Sixth Wife, Secrets of the Tudor Court, Queen's Gambit… there are enough titles on the market that I could go on all day.

With so many options, it’s hard to imagine an author bringing something new to the table. Are there really angles that haven’t been tried, schemes that haven’t been woven, or characters who haven’t been featured? I know it sounds improbable, but such a distinction does not make something in and of itself impossible which leads me to E. Knight’s My Lady Viper.

Overflowing with intrigue, conspiracy, and romance, this book had me hooked from the first chapter and that isn’t easy for a skeptic such as myself to admit. Henry’s court comes vibrantly to life under Knight’s pen, drawing the audience into a refreshing original web a danger and deceit.

Anne Seymour’s divided loyalties and multiple alliances really appealed to me. The complexity of her situation built tension I’m entirely unused to seeing in this subgenre and conveyed a tangibly authentic degree of turmoil within the narrative.

The nontraditional love triangle was equally alluring. Anne’s emotional connections to Edward and Anthony are not clear cut or easy define and though they are remarkably different, both are passionate affairs that leave the reader genuinely absorbed in Anne’s romantic liaisons.

A brilliant illustration of a capricious monarch and the nest of serpents that surrounded him, My Lady Viper is an absolute must. Intricately detailed, cleverly constructed and utterly irresistible.

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12 people found this helpful

Well, it’s better than Philippa Gregory’s nonsense.

ByKelley buzbeeon September 7, 2014

It is always interesting when a writer picks a historical “villain” as a protagonist because the writer must balance between humanizing the character just enough so the reader doesn’t throw the book across the room in disgust, yet avoid making the character so cuddly that it is clear they have been “misunderstand all this time.” That cuddliness results in a story that makes no historical sense.

For the most part, I bought into the idea that Lady Anne Seymour, wife of Edward Seymour, was a tad misunderstood, because Wright made her case with a totally fictional horrible miscarriage of justice during Anne’s teens that explains a lot of her bitterness toward not only Surrey but her own parents. While it bothers me that an actual historical figure is so used in this manner, at the same time, Surrey was, by all accounts, arrogant and in his own words in his poems, his relationship with Anne was not your conventional love affair. Surrey shows great hostility to Anne, calling her a “wolf” (which with his knowledge of Roman literature was a sexual slur of the worse kind.) So, I can live with that. E. Knight makes her point.

What I disagree with is the writers’ need to have Anne repeatedly feeling remorse toward her victims. Anne was a product of her environment and her environment was the amoral court of Henry Tudor, a place and time filled with mendacity, moral corruption and compromise. Few in the inner circle of Henry VIII (with possibly the exception of Charles Brandon, the Earl of Sussex) were capable of an honest emotion lasting much longer than the dessert course. Loyalty was a commodity to be traded. These are people who baited bears for fun and threw their own virgin daughters at the King. I would much rather have seen Anne honestly revel in her abuse of her victims, or attempt to justify herself as skillfully as Hilary Mantel's Cromwell justifies his actions. E. Knight is a good writer but she’s stumbled a few times with this technique. She didn’t blow it, but she did stumble.

In fact, Knight admits in her postscript that she changed King Henry’s famous response to the midwife’s announcement that she couldn’t save both mother and child. E. Knight felt it made Henry more human. Sadly, the whole point of Henry Tudor’s life is the fact that he had no real empathy with anyone. He was a monster, charming sometimes, but still a monster. She should have stuck with the truth in that scene.

Please note that E. Knight is a writer of romance novels. This is a matter of taste which I happen to not share, but if you do, I suppose she handles this well.

A couple of historical inaccuracies bother me. The character kept eating food that just wasn’t available in England at that time. One example is the hot squash soup that made Anne sick that hot summer afternoon. Squash is from the New World, and even if introduced into Spain by that time, it couldn’t grow in England. If she’d has squash soup that summer, it would have been an imported delicacy and if I’d written the book, I would have make a point to call it rare and imported so someone couldn’t call me on it.

Another problem was the mention of the court of Versailles. This palace was the center of political power in France from 1682. The center of the French government during the Tudor period was the Louvre not Versailles. A small point but it bothered me.
All in all, this book is good and frankly not nearly as offensive as the utter nonsense put out by Philippa Gregory.

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Showing 21-30 of 167 reviews(Verified Purchases). See all 229 reviews

A good read!

ByP. Lynne Hutchinson January 10, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

It's always nice to find "yet another book about the Tudor court" to be surprisingly fresh and with an altogether new viewpoint. So possibly Henry the VIII had a tiny bit of humanity along with his sadistic tendencies and lack of empathy for anyone. Maybe he actually did care for someone. But, what was interesting was the author's ability to give you an insiders view of court intrigue and planning of every move, gesture, conversation. It must have been exhausting.

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She worked for the good of herself, her husband and the kingdom, in that order. Self denial was a way of life and a way to stay

ByKindle Customeron January 2, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

As historical novel for this period, it is accurate and holds your attentions. I would recommend it to anyone who follows this time period

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Good, but---

ByCocoon May 13, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Historically interesting but main character was not believable as being strong and extremely influencial at the court- and also portrayed as insecure.
Too many Court decisions were said to be at her advice to be believable

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Enough to make you like Henry V III

ByKindle Customeron September 7, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Little history and a lot of "who should I sleep with to improve my position". Boring

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A good read.

ByAKVon May 5, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

You feel as if you are an observer in King Henry's court! It's hard to put down and very enjoyable.

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completely untrue but a good read

BySara Knighton February 1, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I like my historical fiction a little more "historical" but the characters were pretty well fleshed out and the story interesting. A lot of the book was not edited correctly for Kindle & so words dropped off the beginning & endings of the printed lines which is always very frustrating - I don't understand the poor editing for Kindle editions that I have found so frequently. No book author would accept that.. A more sympathetic take on Anne Stanhope than a lot of other novels.

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Court goings on with Henry VIII

Byhbsmd45on November 19, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

this historical novel opened my eyes to previously aspects of English history. Specifically, Henry VIII, his wives and governance of England. I'm sure that most of the characters are fictional but the protagonist, Anne and Her husband Edward, real or not real, give an invigorating insight into the goings on in Henry's court. Somewhat trivial, but I found it a nice escape.

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Tudor Court Rules!!

ByK. Andersonon January 16, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Historical Fiction Fans unite. This book is about my favorite period in history. I was not disappointed In this book even though there was a lot of fiction. I learned a lot about characters who were minor players in other books I have read and I enjoyed every minute! I definitely will read other books in this series. (Tales from the Tudor Court)

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... long time to get into this book I usually like E. Knight's stories but was not impressed with ...

ByKindle Customeron September 25, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

took me a long time to get into this book I usually like E. Knight's stories but was not impressed with this or Prisoner of the Queen....

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Walking the deadly halls of Henry Vlll's court

Byrainbeauxon June 17, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Very much enjoyed the first person approach the author chose to share her character who believe was a viper possibly necessary to survive being a part of this court. Just enough suspense to keep the reader on tenterhooks as she maneuvers through one close call after another. Will not reveal the ending but think for those interested in the Tudor history this is an enjoyable read.