Title: Royal Mistress
Author: Anne Easter Smith
Publisher: Touchstone
Publication Date: May 7, 2013
How Acquired: Through Net Galley
What it’s About: Jane Lambert, the quick-witted and alluring
daughter o...
Title: Royal Mistress
Author: Anne Easter Smith
Publisher: Touchstone
Publication Date: May 7, 2013
How Acquired: Through Net Galley
What it’s About: Jane Lambert, the quick-witted and alluring
daughter of a silk merchant, is twenty-two and still unmarried. When Jane’s
father finally finds her a match, she’s married off to the dull, older silk
merchant William Shore. Marriage doesn’t stop Jane from flirtation, however,
and when the king’s chamberlain, Will Hastings, comes to her husband’s shop,
Will knows King Edward will find her irresistible.
Edward IV has everything: power, majestic bearing, superior
military leadership, a sensual nature, and charisma. And with Jane as his
mistress, he also finds true happiness. But when his hedonistic tendencies get
in the way of being the strong leader England needs, his life, as well as those
of Jane and Will Hastings, hangs in the balance. Jane must rely on her talents
to survive as the new monarch, Richard III, bent on reforming his brother’s
licentious court, ascends the throne.
My thoughts: I’ve had a lovely couple of days spending
time with my favorite Plantagenets thanks to Anne Easter Smith. I read and reviewed Anne’s last book QUEEN BY
RIGHT about Cecily Neville, the Duchess of York, which I enjoyed, so I was
eager to dive back into this world that I have loved ever since I saw THE LION
IN WINTER in high school. Jane Shore,
Edward IV’s last mistress, was someone that I had heard of, but knew very
little. At first when I started reading the novel, I thought that it was just
going to be another harlot with a heart of gold story. You know, “she sleeps with the King, but she’s
a really good person who helps the poor,” type of thing but Jane’s story is
much deeper than that.
When the book opens, Jane Lambert is on the verge of
spinsterhood. She’s twenty-two and still
unmarried which was highly unusual at that time. Her father is bit of an asshole; he adores
her younger sister Isabel but treats Jane like she’s a nuisance. He expects absolute obedience, and prefers
women to be seen and not heard. Jane however is quick-witted, intelligent and
not afraid to speak her mind. There’s a telling scene with her mother Amy who
shares her story with Jane, that once she too was outspoken and feisty, until
basically Jane’s father beat it out of her.
She tells Jane that one day she too will learn to keep silent. How awful but also probably how common was
that in the 15th century when educating a woman was seen as a waste
of time. The fact that Jane can actually
read makes her something of an anomaly.
She’s also gorgeous, petite with an hour-glass figure, and
wavy blonde hair. She’s the type of
woman who men gape at on the street, while their women glare. It’s not Jane’s
fault that she’s a pocket Venus but most men don’t see much past her pretty
face. Jane is also a bit of a romantic,
she wants true love which she thinks she’s found with Thomas Grey, Marquess of
Dorset until she discovers that he’s not only married, but that he’s lied about
who he is.
Since she can’t marry the man that she loves, Jane settles
for marriage to William Shore, a much older silk merchant who is eager to get
in good with her father. She’s
determined to make her marriage work but William won’t cooperate, or more to
the point, a certain part of Will’s anatomy won’t cooperate. As I read further into the book, I
experienced a range of emotions towards Jane.
I liked her enormously for her sense of fun, her optimism, independent, and
most of all her loyalty to her friends, her King, and Will Hastings. When she
has the opportunity to help her friend Sophie as well as others in her
community, she does. On the other hand, Jane was also naïve, stubborn, and headstrong.
The novel details the last few years of Edward IV’s reign as
well as the first two years of Richard III’s reign. Although the book is
