Title: For the King’s Favor
Author: Elizabeth Chadwick
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication Date: September 7, 2010
Paperback: 544 pages
ISBN: 978-1402244490
Genre: Historical Fiction
A Bittersweet Tale of Love, Loss, and the Power of Royalty
When Roger Bigod arrives at King Henry II’s court to settle a bitter inheritance dispute, he becomes enchanted with Ida de Tosney, young mistress to the powerful king. A victim of Henry’s seduction and the mother of his son, Ida sees in Roger a chance to begin a new life. But Ida pays an agonizing price when she leaves the king, and as Roger’s importance grows and he gains an earldom, their marriage comes under increasing strain. Based on the true story of a royal mistress and the young lord she chose to marry, For the King’s Favor is Elizabeth Chadwick at her best.
My Review:
In For the King’s Favor by Elizabeth Chadwick, the reader is brought back in time to medieval England when King Henry II is on the throne after his sons led a rebellion against him, supported by their mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine. Chadwick begins in 1173 and ending in 1199 with the remarkable lives of Roger Bigod and Ida De Tosney. In 1173 Roger Bigod, heir to the earldom of Norfolk, turns against his father and allies with King Henry II, giving his step-mother Gundreda the ammunition needed to hopefully make one of her sons heir to Norfolk, and soon begins an almost twenty year battle over who is to inherit. In 1178, young heiress Ida De Tosney is brought before King Henry the II as one of his wards and becomes his chosen mistress at the young age of fifteen. Chadwick creates a masterfully written narrative alternating between the lives of Roger and Ida with deft skill until the two are finally allowed to marry. Thankfully that is not the end of the tale, but I shall not tell more, the book is too good for spoilers. I was quite literally unable to put this book down. Chadwick manages to capture every emotion possible in the reader, describes 12th century England exquisitely down to the smallest detail of embroidery threads, and recreates for the reader a beautiful love story as never told before. Chadwick’s characters are carefully and brilliantly crafted and one finds it quite easy to love Ida, honor and respect the wisdom and kindness of Hodierna, adore Juliana, root for Roger and cringe at the mention of Huon or his mother Gundreda, even though it is easy to understand the bitter and cruel woman she has become. For the King’s Favor is a brilliant work and one that I would highly recommend to any reader who enjoys extremely well written historical fiction.
About the Author:
Elizabeth Chadwick lives near Nottingham with her husband and two sons. She is the author of 18 historical novels, including The Greatest Knight, The Scarlet Lion, A Place Beyond Courage, Lords of the White Castle, Shadows and Strongholds, the Winter Mantle, and the Falcons of Montabard, four of which have been shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists’ Awards. Much of her research is carried out as a member of Regia Anglorum, an early medieval re-enactment society with the emphasis on accurately re-creating the past. She won a Betty Trask Award for The Wild Hunt, her first novel. For more information, please visit http://www.elizabethchadwick.com/.
I received a complimentary copy of For the King’s Favor by Elizabeth Chadwick from Sourcebooks. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.
I don’t read much historical fiction, but it’s a genre I feel like I need to explore more. I keep hearing that Chadwick’s work is top notch so she sounds like an author I should try.
I do not think you will be disappointed. This one in particular reads just as well as a fiction novel, and it is Chadwick’s ability to write historical fiction in such a manner as to allow readers to fall into her book is just one of the reasons I believe she is such an extraordinarily talented author. Chadwick details take the reader back the the 12th century and while I adore Historical Fiction, this one does not require a degree in history to understand what is happening (although I adore that type as well!).
I am reading this book right now, although it is the UK edition (titled The Time Of Singing). I agree about the emotionalism and the ability to write memorable characters. She is one of the very few mediaeval historical fiction authors whose research I trust enough to be able to relax and enjoy the story.