Let's hear it for multidimensional characters!
I laughed, I cried, I thought deeply, it moved me. ( )

4.5* ( )

Granddaughter of a royal prince, Elizabeth Mortimer has Plantagenet blood flowing through her veins so her dynastic marriage to Harry Percy, son of the Earl of Northumberland, is no surprise. Percy, known as Hotspur, is an able soldier and has been loyal to King Richard II despite his inept governance. When Elizabeth's exiled cousin Henry Bolingbroke lands in Yorkshire ready to take back his inheritance Hotspur and his father pledge loyalty and back Henry of Lancaster to the throne. Even when Richard is found to have died in captivity the Percys support Henry. Elisabeth, however, is interested in the rights of her nephew, Edmund of March, who technically is the heir to the throne. Even when a failed coup sees Hotspur killed, distraught Elizabeth cannot see how her family ties may have destroyed her marriage ties.
Once again Anne O'Brien has found a historical figure about whom much and yet little is known. Elizabeth Mortimer was closely linked to the politics of the throne through blood and marriage and her O'Brien has given her a voice. In common with O'Brien's other works this fictionalisation comes with a heavy dose of romance which can be irritating at times but the machinations and complexity of medieval history are carefully contextualised and handled well. It is hard to write a convincing novel about real characters in history and O'Brien's books are on the 'populist' end of the scale but are also a really good read. ( )