In First of the Tudors lezen we vanuit Jasper Tudor en zijn fictieve nicht en geliefde Jane (Sian) Hywel. Zo verweeft ze telkens een historisch en fictief perspectief met elkaar. Met veel respect voor de echte geschiedenis en feiten, maar ook met veel talent om een mooi verhaal te schrijven. Joanna Hickson weet heerlijke historische verhalen te schrijven. Zeker wanneer hij het hoederecht krijgt over zijn neefje Henry Tudor. Maar de Rozenoorlogen staan voor de deur en de loyaliteit van Jasper zal zwaar op de proef gesteld worden. Jasper krijgt de titel van Earl of Pembroke en de opdracht om de grens met Wales, het land van zijn vader Owen, te beschermen. Edmund wordt zo Earl of Richmond en mag trouwen met Margaret Beaufort, de enige erfgenaam van de Beaufort landgoederen. Die heeft nood aan vertrouwelingen nu de hertog van York zijn beleid in twijfel in trekt. Jasper Tudor en zijn broer Edmund zijn halfbroers van koning Henry IV Plantagenet. There will be a lot more trouble ahead for Lancaster and Tudor, and I’m looking forward to read about these events in The Tudor crown. The ending might come a bit sudden, but I think it was no bad choice to stop at this particular point during the Wars of The Roses. But luckily Hickson has promised that we will also see more of Jasper, Jane and their daughters. I’m curious to see how her character will develop as Hickson’s next novel ‘The Tudor Crown’ will feature Margaret and her son Henry as main characters. Compared with other books, were she’s portrayed as a bad and too pious woman, she was more balanced and mysterious in First of the Tudors. I found the representation of Margaret Beaufort interesting. But he also needed to make hard choices, his allegiance with Warwick is a perfect example of that. He’s the perfect brother, lover, friend…. Jasper might be a bit too soft represented at times. I in particular liked Jasper’s relationship with his brother the king. It’s weird to think of the Tudors as ‘the winning dynasty’ if you look where they started at the beginning of the conflict. Also, we get a fair insight into the Welsh customs and politics at the time, which I didn’t know a lot about beforehand. This book is about the Wars and the Roses as much as any other set in this time period but it was the first time I read about Jasper Tudor’s involvement. I was happily surprised to meet Mette and her family again at the beginning of this book. I could immediately relate to Jane, as was the case with Mette in her Catherine of Valois books. In this book we meet Jasper Tudor and his fictional Welsh niece Jane Hywel. She always intertwines a real historical figure with a fictional perspective. Joanna Hickson guarantees a solid historical novel with respect for the historical facts. And during the Wars of the Roses that proves quite a challenge. But the death of his brother grants him a lifelong task: keeping his young nephew Henry, with a taint of royal blood, safe. When Edmund marries Margaret, Jasper falls for his Welsh niece Jane (Sian) Hywel. Edmund is also given the wardship of the young heiress Margaret Beaufort and Jasper is tasked with keeping the Welsh border safe. But Henry is in need of people he can trust and he brings his brothers to court and bestows an earldom on them both. Jasper and Edmund Tudor are half brothers to king Henry IV, their parents being queen Catherine Of Valois and the Welsh squire Owen Tudor. The book has an author's note and a Glossary with words more unusual to todays reader as well as Welsh names and words and a variety of maps of the Tudor family tree and other areas. There is obviously some artistic license with the relationship between Jasper and Jane, but he did reportedly have a mistress and at least three daughters (illegitimately) during his life. First of the Tudors mentions many of the events of that period but from a Lancastrian POV. Penman back in 2016 which is the other side of the coin. I read The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon K. You have to remember when reading this how marriages were conducted in a very different way and the fact that Jasper's brother Edmund married a thirteen year old girl and impregnated her before he died smacks of child abuse in this day and age, but was fairly normal back then, however, it is still disturbing to read. This is his story as much as it is his mistress's story. He has a mistress with whom he has two daughters. Jasper Tudor mostly has guardianship of his nephew Henry except for the times he is exiled. It was a very uncertain time in the monarchy when the crown was being passed back and forth like pass the parcel. It tells the story of Jasper Tudor, brother to Edmund Tudor and Uncle to Henry (the future Henry VII) If you enjoy reading about the Tudors then what better place to start than more or less at the beginning.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |