After reading quite possibly every book ever written about Henry VIII and his wives, and Charles II and his wife and mistresses, I decided it was time to move on to a different branch of the Royal family. This was my first introduction to George IV and Maria Fitzherbert. Because of this, I can't comment on the accuracy of this story, but given that it's Historical Fiction I'm sure there's a lot of 'fluff' thrown in to make the story more enjoyable.
'Fluff' aside, I really enjoyed this book. This is my third or fourth Diane Haeger book, and she has yet to disappoint me. She made Maria and George come alive this book, and I really had a clear understanding of just how deeply they cared for one another. It was frustrating at times that Maria didn't seem to understand that George did the things he did to protect her. I know he promised never to deny their marriage outright, but the King (his father, George III) gave him no options. He HAD to give a definitive yes or no answer as to whether or not he and Maria were married. Yes meant almost certain arrest for Maria since it was illegal for them to marry (due to her being a Catholic), and no meant breaking his promise to Maria. It got a little irritating at times that she constantly played the 'wounded dove'. You'd think she would be a little more understanding considering all that George had done and risked for her.
By the end of the book though, I had to side with Maria. George never seemed to learn that all Maria wanted was for him to talk to her. Instead of constantly going behind her back and scheming to protect her, if he had just come to her with their problems, they could have worked together to solve them. It was very sad to see an end to such a great love affair.
My only complaint with the book was time. It was very difficult to distinguish how much time had passed between chapters, which made some important events have much less of an impact. For instant, during their first separation, I thought they'd only been together for a couple years...turns out it was closer to 10 years. Well...that makes Maria's extreme grief a little more appropriate. Ms. Haeger got better about it towards the end of the book, but the first 2/3 your kind of on your own, which is difficult for those such as myself who are unfamiliar with the story. I always wonder why authors of historical books can't just put the current year at the beginning of each chapter...is adding those four little numbers really that difficult?
Overall though, I really enjoyed this.I think I'm gonna try Ms. Plaidy's 'Sweet Lass of Richmond Hill', as recommended by another reviewer. I'd like to read a second opinion of this this fascinating story of the Prince of Wales and his secret Catholic wife.
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AChats27
Really enjoyed this novel
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 9, 2017
