Title: The King’s Mistress
Author: Emma Campion
Publisher: Crown
Publication Date: July 6, 2010
Hardcover: 464 pages
ISBN: 978-0307589255
Genre: Historical Fiction

From the Publisher:

History has not been kind to Alice Perrers, the notorious mistress of King Edward III. Scholars and contemporaries alike have deemed her a manipulative woman who used her great beauty and sensuality to take advantage of an aging and increasingly senile king. But who was the woman behind the scandal? A cold-hearted opportunist or someone fighting for her very survival?

Like most girls of her era Alice is taught obedience in all things. At the age of fourteen she marries the man her father chooses for her, dutifully accepting the cost of being torn from the family she holds so dear and losing the love of her mother forever. Despite these heartbreaks Alice finds that merchant Janyn Perrers is a good and loving husband and the two settle into a happy life together. Their bliss is short-lived, however, unraveled the dark day a messenger appears at Alice’s door and notifies her of Janyn’s sudden disappearance.

In the wake of this tragedy, Alice learns that her husband kept many dangerous secrets–secrets that result in a price on her own head and that of her beloved daughter. Her only chance to survive lies in the protection of King Edward and Queen Philippa, but she therefore must live at court as a virtual prisoner. When she is singled out by the king for more than just royal patronage, the stakes are raised. Disobeying Edward is not an option, not when her family is at risk, but the court is full of ambitious men and women, many of whom will stop at nothing to see her fall fron grace. The whispers and gossip abound, isolating Alice, who finds unexpected solace in her love for the king.

Emma Campion paints a colorful and thrilling portrait of the court of Edward III–with all of its extravagance, scandalous love affairs, political machinations, and murder–and the devastating results of being singled out by the royal family. At the center of the storm is Alice, surviving by her wits in this dangerous world where the choices are not always of her own making. Emma Campion’s dazzling novel shows that there is always another side to the story.

My Review:

Alice Perrers, born Alice Salisbury has historically been categorically vilified and author Emma Campion decides to take a different look at the life of Alice in her novel, The King’s Mistress. Campion takes a completely different approach from other accounts I have read and makes Alice out to be a charming and sweet woman beginning in 1355 with a desire to be a good daughter and marry well to help her father, a successful merchant. At the age of 13, she pledges to marry Janyn Perrers, but at the extreme displeasure of her mother. A good portion of the novel focuses on her marriage to Janyn as well as textiles, which makes sense, as she is the daughter of a wealthy merchant. The fabrics and styles add to the time period, yet I would have preferred less fabrics and more depth into the characters. Janyn mysteriously disappears and Alice soon requires the assistance of King Henry III and Queen Philippa. Those familiar with this time period know approximately what will occur, those not will be surprised, so I shall not divulge anything other than that this novel contains mystery, intrigue, love, scandal and dangerous secrets. Campion goes to great lengths to reshape the public’s opinion of Alice. Campion’s writing style is fluid, descriptive, mysterious as well as entertaining, yet I could not quite buy Alice as she is written in this novel. The King’s Mistress is an interesting read and for those, like me, interested in historical fiction, this is another take on King Henry’s mistress, Alice Perrers. I would suggest reading other novels about this complicated woman to get a more complete sense of this infamous woman. I found The King’s Mistress to be a delightful read and as wrong as this may sound, I discovered I prefer the more scandalous version of Alice Perrers than the version Campion offers, yet I would recommend The King’s Mistress to those who enjoy historical fiction. I would have liked to have been discussing this book while I read it, so I would recommend it as a discussion group choice.

About the Author:

Emma Campion did her graduate work in medieval and Anglo-Saxon literature and is the world’s foremost scholar on Alice Perrers. She lives in Seattle.

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I received a complimentary copy of The King’s Mistress by Emma Campion from TLC Book Tours to be a part of this tour and offer my honest review of the book. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned book.