Book Review: In the Shadow of the Crown by Jean Plaidy

Pages: 406
Published: May 18, 2004 (originally 1989)
Publisher: Broadway Books
Received: Own
Rating: 3.5/4 out of 5 stars

Oh Mary. This is not a happy story, though it is one sympathetic to Mary. Plaidy starts the book when Mary is a beloved child and all is more or less well between her parents Katherine and Henry VIII. Anne Boleyn comes on the scene early on though, and of course it's all downhill from there.

In typical Plaidy style, this is pretty much a rundown of events, complete with repetitive phrases, non-fiction-ish narrative, and thinly developed characters. All of which I'm ok with.

I already know this story and have read the events of Mary's life through multiple other books, so I'm not sure at this point how In the Shadow of the Crown would come across to readers unfamiliar with Mary's history. I didn't come across any cringe-worthy inaccuracies and the events seemed pretty balanced with good pacing though, as often seems to be the case, more focus on her pre-queen years.

The queen years were where I was truly gutted and Plaidy broke out of her play-by-play style and actually developed a character for Mary. This part was so hard to read because Mary is so hopeful and in love, and her husband and court are not at all nice to her. Watching her continually make a fool of herself, when all she wanted was someone to finally love her, was painful to read. My heart broke for her as she pinned her hopes on her husband, kingdom, and dreams for a child and then it broke further as she eventually came to terms with the realities of these situations. This part was well done.

Bottom line

Plaidy has proven to be a solid historical fiction choice, and this was one of  her better books. Mostly it's typical Plaidy, but she slowly grows Mary as an individual with the final chapters solidifying Mary as one of Plaidy's more richly drawn historical figures.

Definitely recommended for Mary fans, but also for historical fiction fans in general who don't mind Plaidy's drier style.

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Book Review: The Lady in the Tower by Jean Plaidy

Pages: 393
Received: Own
Goodreads

Ok, so my own bias affected my ability to love this book. See, I don't like Anne Boleyn, or, rather, I love her as a villain. I liked her in the Showtime version. Sultry, confident, clever, cruel, ruthless, cunning, social climbing, manipulative, and yet still a victim of her horrible family.

I did not like Jean Plaidy's interpretation as a sweet, good, reluctant lover of the king, left pining for a quiet life with another man. She was so judgmental of her sister Mary for sleeping around both the French and English courts. Which, yeah, I get that, but I don't want Anne to be the judgy moral prude sister. The only thing Plaidy retained was Anne's quick temper, and even that seemed muted.

I did like that we got to spend some time with a young Anne during her time in the French court. Her perspective of the French king and Mary Tutor (sister of Henry) was fun to read.

Plaidy is also always good for her historical recounting, often coming across more like narrative non-fiction than fiction with the main character taking a significant part of the narrative to recount the historical goings on of the time. I can see how readers could get really bored with this style of telling not showing, but I actually like it.

What I don't like about her writing style are the constant repetitions. If all these repeated points and phrases were removed, you probably could eliminate almost 100 pages!

All in all, I liked some things and Jean Plaidy is still a solidly ok historical author that I will continue to read. But, my gosh, her portrayal of Anne was just not something I could get behind.

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