The Serpent and the Pearl

This book FINALLY came to me at the library and I read it in less than five days.  This is Kate Quinn's first novel about the Borgia's, who live in Rome in the Holy City.  I had read about this family in other books, so I was interested in her novel.  The year is 1492 and this book focuses on three main characters:  Giulia Farnese, a beautiful girl with floor-length golden hair; Leonello, a dwarf and her bodyguard with revenge in mind; and Carmelina, a feisty cook with a mind full of secrets.  Giulia is wed to the handsome and young Orsino Orsini.  She is just 18 and excited to be wed to someone so young and also handsome, but discovers not long after that the wedding is just a sham.  Her mother in law Madonna Adriana had made a deal with Cardinal Borgia that Giulia would become his mistress.  Giulia fights this and is not happy to meet this Cardinal.  He is certainly older, a swarthy Spaniard already with a litter of bastards.  Rodrigo charms her with his charismatic and sensual personality, and also generous nature.  Giulia's family already seems to have written her off, and her husband has left her living alone with her mother in law, Joffre and the cooks and servants.

Boredom seems to give way, and Giulia gives in to the Cardinal. Giulia also has became fast friends with one of the Pope's children, Lucrezia.  They all live in the house together, passing the time.  Not long after, the Pope dies and Cardinal Borgia is enclosed to help select the next Pope.  Cardinal Borgia, her Cardinal, is elected as Pope.  He goes by the name Pope Alexander VI, after Alexander the Great. Giulia fears she will now be set aside, but unlike his predecessors who hid or housed their concubines separately to maintain a modicum of dignity, he brings Giulia to live with him.  She has a daughter  named Laura just 9 months after he becomes Pope, but is kept with the last name Orsini.  Soon people keep a distance from Giulia, calling her whore while noting her fashion and copying it.  Giulia is happy with her situation and the Pope dotes and lavishes jewels on her.  There comes a time when his passion for her seems to wane, and Giulia follows Lucrezia to Pesaro to help her set up her new household as wife to Giovanni Sforza.  Lucrezia is still young but has become very beautiful, and is the apple of her father's eye.  Giulia is like a second mother to her, and very caring. 

Giulia hears that the Pope's eye is wandering, but hoping to make distance and the heart grow fonder she stays away.  Soon word reaches her that her brother is dying, so she rushes home to his bedside, opposite of the Pope's wishes for her to return to Rome.  She has just missed his death, but stays for some time with her daughter.  She beings corresponding with her husband Orsini, and starts thinking about life with him and settling down.  Giulia's cook Carmelina has come along, she loves her tourtes and biscotti and feisty nature.  She also loves Leonello, her little dwarf bodyguard who was hired by Cesare Borgia to protect her.  The three are an unlikely pair, but very interesting to read about.  The peace isn't kept long, however, as the French are invading and close nearby.  Giulia finally decides to return to Rome and her Pope, but her party is waylaid and captured by a brigand of French soldiers.  Her imperious manner is all that keeps them safe, and Leonello's knife throwing skills.  Three of her soldiers and several of theirs die.  They are taken to Montefiascone where the French army is camped.  The book ends with Leonello dying from wounds inflicted on him after protecting his mistress, and Giulia preparing to meet with the General to discuss terms.

My Thoughts:  During this book, it switches between the viewpoints of Giulia; Leonello and how he came to seek revenge and escaped prison to become Giulia's bodyguard, and Carmelina the cook and how she tries to escape her past.  All stories are interesting and tie together here and there.  We are left wondering if Carmelina will be discovered, if Leonello will seek justice and find out who has been murdering the girls and who killed his friend, and if Giulia and the whole group will escape the French army.  The book is exciting, interesting and riveting.  I really enjoyed it and look forward to The Lion and the Rose to continue the story.  The Borgia's are an interesting family because they dominated the Renaissance, and seemed so corrupt.  They have been accused of greed and even incest.  Although, Rome and the church were already corrupt long before Borgia became Pope.  Benefices and pardons were sold, vows of chastity ignored, and illegitimate children sired by men of the church.  Giulia's husband Orsini was well rewarded for marrying Giulia and stepping aside; this was done sometimes for mistresses of powerful men.  Leonello and Carmelina are fictional characters, but great additions to the story.  Leonello provides a friendship with Giulia and also the main source for the murder mystery going on around Rome.  Carmelina is great because she describes the food and it's so mouth watering to read about.  Giulia seems like she was a very nice person, one who got to know those around her and protected them.  I would definitely recommend this book.

I, Jane: In the court of King Henry VIII

When I saw this book at the library, I wasn't sure if I wanted to read about Jane Seymour.  She was the third wife of King Henry VIII, and from what I've read about her she seemed fairly boring.  I thought I may as well give it a shot- I've been reading three other books at the same time which means none of them are pulling me in very well.  I read this book in just a few days, I really enjoyed it.  Jane was born to a quiet father and strict mother in Wiltshire at her home of Wolf Hall.  She had two brothers, Edward and Thomas, and a sister younger than her that was beautiful where Jane was plain.  She was teased as a young girl for being quiet and plain.  Having a harsh and strict mother that was not very loving, she often felt loveless.  Her mother Margery was very beautiful, and her mother had an ancestral connection to King Edward III.  She believed this gave her the right to find connections for her children at court.  Jane's brother Thomas was very handsome and close to her.  Her mother had several miscarriages and children that died young.  Jane would help with them; she also loved to read religious works, finding comfort in them.  At a young age, her father at his wife's ambitious pushing, was able to send Edward and Jane to France as part of the bridal retinue of Mary Tudor.  Jane was only nine and very shy and plain.  She saw King Henry VIII from a distance, and at the French court she met Mary and Anne Boleyn.

She quickly finds that she does not like Anne Boleyn, for her teases her and goes out of her way to make her look stupid.  The relationship between them is set early on, which is important to Jane's story.  She is sent back after only a month or so, when King Louis wants his new bride to send home her English women.  Jane goes back to the quiet countryside, where she has made friends with her neighbor William Dormer.  They don't meet often, but he is kind to her and very handsome.  Her brother Edward slowly rises at court, much to her parent's happiness.  Their cousin Francis Bryan, who is a close friend to the King, tries to help Jane escape her lonely life.  Her sister Elizabeth is getting married soon, and her brother Thomas also wants to join the court life.  Jane is called to serve Katherine of Aragon, the King's wife.  She goes to court a bit smarter, and once again sees Anne Boleyn.  She soon discovers that the good queen is declining in popularity, and this Anne Boleyn is bewitching King Henry right in front of the court.  Jane grows to dislike Anne even more as she watches the poor queen bear all in stoic and brave silence.  Jane learns loyalty, honesty and that blending in the background is not so bad after all.  The queen values her service and knowledge of spiritual matters.

Jane's brothers soon tell her she has to abandon Katherine, the queen, to serve Anne Boleyn.  It was obvious that it was time to pitch in with the winning side.  Jane reluctantly did as she was told, while trying to stay loyal to her queen.  She sees her sister married and again runs into William Dormer.  He tells her he desires marriage and that he has never forgotten her, and he will ask his parents for permission to wed.  Jane is home again, and soon there is hope she will finally be married.  Her parents had resolved that she would be their caretakers for life.  William meets his parent's displeasure, for they are richer and think themselves far greater than the Seymour's, her father being a sheriff and all.  William doesn't have to the heart to tell Jane, and is soon married off.  Jane is told the news by Francis Bryan, her cousin who has befriended and looked out for her.  Her heart hardens even more, and she withdraws into herself.  Her brothers call her back to court to serve Anne Boleyn, and she is surprised that her name is accepted.  Once again at court, things are much changed. 

The King is heavier and seems unhappy, Anne has delivered the King a daughter Elizabeth but no son yet.  The King had broken off with Rome and started a new church, for which he had been excommunicated for.  Many, including his close friend Thomas More, had been killed for not supporting his new marriage.  The good queen, left alone in the country without her daughter, had passed away.  Jane comes to court at this time, and sees Anne flaunting her happiness at her rival's death.  The court all wears yellow, and Jane is glad with all her training to blend in the background once again.  She meets up with William Dormer again, and it's hard for her to see him married.  He seeks her out to explain what had happened, but she pretends not to care.  It is not long before the King sees Jane and seeks her out for talk.  He likes her plain manner, knowledge of spiritual books, and her loyalty and soft manner.  Anne Boleyn had become quite shrill and flirtatious with many men, and was wearing the King out.  Jane was someone he looked to for comfort, and she readily gave it to him.

Her brothers watch her closely and start to guide her in this new relationship.  It seems everyone had underestimated her, as the King becomes driven to Jane.  Anne Boleyn watches this haughtily, but is soon powerless as she has miscarriages and produces no son for the King.  Jane is driven by her unfulfilled desire to be married and loved, and her hatred for Anne Boleyn.  She does it in memory of the good queen she served, and seeks to be a comfort to the King.  Things happen quickly, most of which Jane has no knowledge or power over.  Anne Boleyn is found guilty of treason, adultery and even incest with her brother.  The day she is beheaded with a French sword, Jane is busy picking her wedding clothes.  About 18 months later, she gives the King his long for desired son.  Edward IV, his legitimate heir and son.  What Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn could not do in 28 years, Jane had done.  She passed away less than two weeks after his birth, from child bed fever.

My Thoughts:  The basis of this book was from a book written by Life of Jane Dormer, written by the daughter of William and Mary Dormer.  The love connection between William and Jane as well as her growing hatred for Anne Boleyn really shaped her in this book.  A lot of books portray Jane as plain and quiet, but what history has shown me multiple times is that the quiet ones often have ambition and passion but just hide it well.  Jane's quiet demeanor brought about bullying as a child, but later served her very well in catching King Henry VIII.  He wanted the opposite of Anne Boleyn, and that was her.  She gave him his long desired son, a legitimate heir, and even though she died not longer after childbirth, the king was buried next to her upon his death.  With Jane, I think the King was able to find peace again and happiness.  After everything he did to put aside his wife of over 20 years, Katherine of Aragon, and all the people that died and the changes in religion...he was not a well man.  His leg sore was also grieving him, and Jane seems to have calmed that all down for him.  She had served Katherine, and was able to talk to him of his first wife.  Even though it seemed hard to believe, Jane seems to have fallen in love with the King.  I always believed she had to be ambitious somewhat to want to be Queen, but women couldn't always control everything.  If the King wanted you, he would have you.  It is sad of course things didn't work out with William, and that she died so young.  I thought it was a good book, and that the author explained very well how Jane went from being an old maid to the Queen of England.  I enjoyed reading about her and figuring her out, and finding out more about her family.

The White Princess

The White Princess follows after The White Queen in the Cousins' War series, and tells the story of Elizabeth of York.  Henry Tudor has picked up the crown off the field and has won the battle of Bosworth.  Richard III, her king and lover, has been killed.  She is commanded to marry Henry Tudor to unite the Yorks and Lancasters and end a war that has divided the country for two decades.  He is her enemy, it does not start as a happy marriage.  Henry refuses to marry her until she has proved to be fecund, and so until she is pregnant he does not marry her.  Elizabeth's mother still dreams of a missing heir, her son Richard of York.  Elizabeth's brothers were sent to the Tower by their uncle Richard, and from there had either been murdered or had disappeared.  This sets the tone for much of their marriage; Elizabeth will always be divided between love for her family, country, her dead lover Richard III and her brother who could still be alive somewhere; and her new husband.  Elizabeth is now a Tudor, and under the rule of her husband King Henry VII and his very imposing Lady Mother.

Much of their marriage and Henry's reign, he is constantly looking for shadows and plots of a boy of York that would come back to claim his throne.  Since no bodies were found, no one can be sure if the boys are dead or not.  Elizabeth is patient and queenly, bearing her burdens for the most part quietly.  She has three sons and three daughters, one daughter that dies in infancy.  Many plots arise with pretenders to the throne, and King Henry is able to squash them one by one.  He can't always trust those around him, as many change sides.  His own mother in law, Elizabeth's mother, is always quietly conspiring with Margaret of Burgundy.  Her mother is placed in Bermondsey Abbey after being found complicit in an uprising, but she continues to plot and reign there like a Queen until her death.  Elizabeth misses her mother greatly and now has to face the court without her.  There comes word of a pretender that has already been called Richard Duke of York and has been housed in Ireland and then France.  Henry sends spies everywhere to watch for this man and to report back to him.  He is said to be married with a son and to already have the approval and recognition of many of the other monarchs.

This new pretender, yet another, has put incredible strain on King Henry and Elizabeth.  He is always suspicious of those around him, even her, and stressed and impatient.  His mother is constantly praying for their cause, the cause that she had worked her entire life for.  To put her son on the throne and see him reign peaceably.  Many at court leave to follow this pretender, to support him.  Henry has not the York charm of Elizabeth and her family; he does not make the people easily like him.  He also taxes them heavily to support these plots and his armies.  He is willing to forgive the traitors at first, but then becomes more vengeful as time goes on.  Elizabeth finds this hard to watch in her husband, his bloodthirstiness and suspicious nature.  She is tired of being questioned about her loyalties and hearing about pretenders.  Her son Arthur will be the next King of England, so she fights with her husband the King, and for her son.  She is not even crowned Queen until after she has Arthur, and even then her mother in law always keeps the best rooms. 

By this point, this boy, this pretender, has fooled his aunt the Duchess of Burgundy, the Holy Roman Emperor and the court in Portugal as well as Scotland and France.  He knows how to read and write in four languages, he has good penmanship, dances well and knows how to hunt and joust and hawk.  He has an easy grace and charm about him, much like the York family.  When Elizabeth learns of this, she begins to believe he could really be her brother.  Eventually he makes his way to England, and is captured by King Henry's men.  He is brought to court as the King's friend and companion, not as a traitor.  Elizabeth soon discovers why, because Henry has fallen in love with this pretender's wife, Katherine Huntly.  Elizabeth is threatened by the King that if she should recognize or acknowledge this boy in any way, she will be declared a traitor along with her family.  Elizabeth has to watch this boy come to court and not even blink.  She has to watch her husband fall in love with another woman.  When Henry sees how the people receive him, lovingly and not as a traitor, he sets a fire to try and kill him.  When that does not work, he sets a trap for him to escape.  Then he has the reasons to arrest him in the Tower.

From there it isn't long before Henry has entrapped him; he has him beat so badly his good looks are no longer there or familiar.  He has lost his charm and the people will forget him, another pretender.  He is housed in the Tower above Elizabeth's cousin Teddy, who has been there a long time.  Henry lets them say and go about as they please, and let anyone visit them.  In so doing this, people start to tell the men they will help them escape.  They take the bait, and both pay with their lives.  This pretender, named Perkin Warbeck or the boy, is hanged until dead.  Elizabeth is almost positive he is her brother, but she can do nothing for him.  She cannot jeopardize her son Arthur's throne.  He is already betrothed to Katherine of Aragon, and the Spanish monarchs demand this pretender be killed before they will send their daughter.  Elizabeth mourns quietly along with Perkin's wife, Katherine Huntly.  Both men were killed for the crime of being a son of York, and her mother's hope is now gone.  The book ends with Henry asking for Elizabeth's forgiveness.  For killing her brother, for imprisoning her mother, for loving Katherine Huntly and much more.

My Thoughts:  I enjoyed this book and read it very quickly.  I always enjoy her books and I wanted to read more about Elizabeth of York.  History seems to have pushed her behind King Henry VII and his formidable mother.  Since she didn't seem to be quite so outspoken or as ambitious as her mother, history seems to let her fade.  Even though she may have been poised and quieter, doesn't mean she didn't have that ambition burning inside her.  I can't imagine what it must have been like to marry her lover's enemy, to wonder if he or his mother had killed her brothers.  To be divided between her mother and husband, always trying to keep the peace.  To behave well so her son Arthur could inherit the throne, while also hoping her brother Richard was still out there alive and well.  She sounds like an incredible woman, one of strength, poise and dignity.  Of course I wonder if she really was Richard's lover, her uncle.  That is hard to swallow, but is possible.  I believe these books are so popular because it is about a cousins' war, about families divided.  And the great mystery of whether the pretender Perkin Warbeck was really Richard Duke of York after all.  Elizabeth was mother to Arthur and Henry, who would one day be King Henry VIII.  Grandmother to Queen Elizabeth, a woman monarch.  An incredible start to the Tudor generations.

Song of the Nile

I was excited to read this book by Stephanie Dray, a new author for me, about Queen Cleopatra's daughter Selene.  I had read about her before in Michelle Moran's Cleopatra's Daughter.  Therefore I chose to skip her first novel Lily of the Nile where Selene is taken from Egypt after her parent's death, and taken to Rome as a trophy with her brothers.  I don't have much time to read, so I wanted to read something new about her.  This book follows Selene from Rome to Mauritania, where she is finally made a Queen and marries Juba, her childhood scholar.  They build their palace and a lighthouse to look like Alexandria, or what she remembers of it.  Selene's mother Cleopatra had killed herself with a snake bite after Octavian's armies invaded.  Her mother was famous both for her beauty, ambition and wit but also for her relationships with Julias Caesar and Marc Antony, her father.  Selene was a Ptolemaic princess, of Greek and Rome heritage. Her fraternal twin Helios by this point had disappeared, many assumed dead.  Selene had one last surviving brother, Philadelphius.  He was being kept back in Rome as a sort of blackmail for her good will. 

It was the emperor's sister Octavia that had convinced Octavian to let them live and raised them with other orphans.  Her kindness had spared Selene's life but not those of her other brothers.  Octavian had a fantasy of having his own Cleopatra, and seems to have had an obsession with Selene.  Selene also was smart and played her cards well; she pledged her loyalty to Augustus aka Octavian.  In Mauritania, Selene makes herself a capable ruler.  She brings about great harvest for Rome and wants to build a temple to her god, Isis.  She has a daughter not long after and in the book it is Augustus's baby, forced on her before she left Rome with her new husband.  It seems her relationship with Juba was platonic for some time, and she ruled capably without him when he traveled. 

Throughout the novel she is obsessed with finding her twin Helios, and of having Augustus restore her to Egypt's throne as Queen.  She wants to live for her dead parents and siblings, for the Ptolemaic dynasty.  She visits Augustus in Rome a few times, hoping he will grant her her greatest wish.  Along the way, she decides she is happy to be Queen of Mauritania, where her daughter was born and where Juba is.  She finally returns to reign with Juba, and they reconcile and make a son together.  Isis is a central belief to her; she was worshipped as the ideal mother and wife, and patroness of magic and nature.  Isis is often depicted as the mother of Horus, the hawk-headed god of war and protection.  Her headdress was a throne and she listened to the prayers of all. Selene sees her brother but whether in spirit or the flesh isn't clear.  She remains allies with Rome and they name their capital Caesarea.  She went by Cleopatra Selene and had many coins minted with images of her choice.  She isn't well written about, probably fading in the background after her mother. 

My Thoughts:  By the time Selene married Juba II of Numidia, she was actually the last living sibling.  Helios and Philadelphius were already dead, but in the book the author chose a different viewpoint.  The bond between twins is strong, as it shows in this book with Selene and Helios.  She feels him when he is near and sees him on several occasions.  After such powerful and well known parents, and such a tragic end, I'm not surprised Selene's life seems to have faded in history.  I'm sure her deepest desire was to return to Egypt and be restored to her parent's throne, but it seems she created a kingdom of her own in Mauritania where hopefully she was happy.  She seems to have known how to play Augustus, becoming his ally and living safe fully with a generous dowry.  She must have had some of her parent's spirit to have made it through what she did.  I enjoyed the book, but the worship of Isis and the parts where she displayed her magic were a bit sci fi for me.  Overall though, a great book that I would recommend.  I look forward to her next one in the series.

A Secret History: A Novel of Empress Theodora

This was the first book of several I had on hold at the library that came available, and I was excited to read it.  I heard about this book on Kate Quinn's Facebook page, and she has a remark on the front page.  This novel took me to sixth century Constantinople, to the life of Theodora.  She had a hard life for some time following the death of her father.  He had worked for the Greens at the Hippodrome, training bears.  The Hippodrome was the main arena of entertainment then; chariot races and circus acts.  The Greens and Blues were the main 2 factions and had political power to support or topple emperors.  Her mother remarried not soon after.  During this time there weren't many choices for a woman to make money.  Because of their address they weren't able to get the widow handouts, so Theodora and her older sister Comito took to begging.  The Greens just jeered them even though their father had worked for them, so the Blues took them in.  Their step father was given a job.  Her mother drank a lot which took up a lot of their money, and their little sister Anastasia was still starving.  Sometimes parents would mutilate their child because they usually received more when begging on the streets.  Their stepfather cut off Anastasia's ears, not long after he left the family and the little girl died, probably from an infection and malnutrition.

Theodora and Comito took to the stage at a very young age.  An actress was no better than a prostitute, because they often took their clothes off or were courtesans at the same time.  Theodora served as Comito's assistant, until she earned her own role.  She was good at being a comedian as well as taking off her clothes.  To make more money, both girls had also become courtesans.  During her career Theodora met a rival named Antonina, who later became her best friend.  Despite her attempts to not conceive, she gave birth to a daughter at age 18.  Her sister Comito had kicked her out because Theodora got in the way of her love life.  Antonina found her in labor on the streets, and took her and her daughter in.  She saved her life and helped to watch her daughter so she could go back to work.  Theodora's mother eventually came to find her and moved in as well.  They lived in an upper apartment for some time, Theodora acting and Antonina using her "skills" on men and her mother babysat.  It was well for a woman to find a patrician to fund them to live with them, a patron.  She met a man named Hecebolus, and he wanted to take her to Pentapolis in North Africa to begin his role as governor there.  She took the risk, leaving behind her daughter and took off.  The lovers didn't last long and he abandoned her.  She had no money and no way to get back to Constantinople.

Theodora managed to get herself to Alexandria in Egypt, where she met an important person in her life, Severus.  At this time there was much unrest in religion.  The Emperors had been trying to force religious unity throughout the empire.  Christians in a few areas believed in Monophysitism whereby Christ had only one nature. But the Orthodoxy insisted upon by the emperors held that Christ had two natures; one divine and one human.  Refugees fled to Alexandria as the dissent continued.  Severus was the Patriarch of Antioch, and he took her under his wings.  He taught her and she became a Monophysite, leading a more spiritual life.  It was the first time in many years she didn't have to sleep with men for money.  In the book it says she had Hecebolus's child, a boy, and that Severus helped her to live while she recovered.  She traveled some time later to Antioch where she met a dancer named Macedonia.  She finally arrived back in Constantinople in 522.  She decided after her spiritual time to lead a better life for her children.  She spinned for work, and Antonina helped her with her children.  Her mother had passed away while she had been gone.

Her destiny was soon coming with the help of Macedonia; she met Justinian, nephew to the emperor Anastasius.  He fell in love with her quick wit and knowledge.  She hid that she had a son from him, for fear what he would think of a possible threat to his heirs or throne.  After the passing of Anastasius and a bill that would clear the way for a patrician to marry an actress, they were married.  She was his mistress first then he raised her to a patrician.  Her daughter came to live with them, and her son stayed with Antonina.  Theodora was crowned along with Justinian, he loved her very deeply and valued her.  She was a very capable empress, helping to stem the Nika riots.  She helped Justinian to rebuild and reform Constantinople.  They built aqueducts, bridges, and more than 25 churches, the best of which was the Hagia Sophia.   In spite of Justinian being Chalcedonian, Theodora founded a Miaphysite monastery and supported the religion all her life.  The plague hit and took almost 10,000 people a day, and Justinian barely survived.  The throne was not without its troubles or enemies. 

Belisarius was a general of Justinian's, and one Theodora disliked.  He made mistakes among many victories, and funneled a lot of treasure and money into his own accounts.  Justinian turned a blind eye to his faults because of his usefulness.  She had matched him up with Antonina when her husband died, so she could have wealth and close ties to Theodora as empress.  Antonina cheated on him with her godson and it was widely known.  At this time, Theodora found out that her friend Macedonia, who had helped her so much in her life to finding Justinian, had allied with her worst enemy John the Cappadocian.  He had found out she had a son and was blackmailing her in exchange for not telling Justinian.  He had also formed his own political party and had spread vicious rumors about Theodora, and he was also implicated in the murder of the Bishop of Cyzius.  She discovered that John wanted her out of the way and so she set a trap for him.  It worked and he was imprisoned until after her death, stripped of his titles and wealth, which were given to his daughter Euphemia.  Theodora was smart and knew she couldn't make such a blatant attempt on the life of her husband's favorite.

Macedonia had told Theodora that her son had died on a boat, but then she found a man his age with an amulet she had had sent to him.  He pretended to be her son, until she found out he wasn't by Antonina.  Macedonia and John's devious plot was uncovered, and Antonina and Theodora cut out Macedonia's tongue and beat her to death.  It was said she was cut to pieces and dumped in the ocean.  Theodora had been deeply betrayed by a close friend, and mourned the loss of her son.  She found out later that Justinian had known about her son all along.  The book flashes years ahead to when Theodora's daughter is married and has a son, and her niece, Comito's daughter, is being married.  They had founded a new dynasty through their siblings, because they never conceived a child together.  Theodora died at the age of 48 from cancer.  She was always faithful to Justinian and they had loved deeply.  Her influence on Justinian was so strong that after her death, he worked to bring harmony between the Miaphysites and the Chalcedonian Christians in the Empire, and he kept his promise to protect her little community of Miaphysite refugees in the Hormisdas Palace. 

My Thoughts:  There was so much to this book once Theodora became empress, that I couldn't include everything.  I skimmed over her enemies and the Nika revolts because I am trying to be concise....trying.  Theodora was certainly a capable empress and ruthless when it came to her enemies.  It is most sad to me that she kept it a secret she had a son, because it shadowed her entire life.  It is not known whether she actually had a son or not but in the book she did.  Justinian never remarried after her death, some say because of how much he loved her.  This was a good book, one historical lovers will enjoy.  There is violence, sickness and sexual promiscuity so be cautious when reading it.  I enjoyed the book because I always enjoy a love story and seeing a woman come from the street to power.  The main historical sources for her life are the works of the contemporary Procopius, scribe for General Belisarius.  One work portrays her as courageous and influential, another shrewish and whoreish.  The third flattered her beauty and piety, so his record has to be taken with a grain of salt.  I love how this author filled in the historical gaps as well as took her own take on Procopius' Empress Theodora.  Theodora did pass some laws that were helpful to actresses, women that were raped or seeking a divorce on the grounds of infidelity.  She was well known for her piety and beauty.

Books Coming Out!

This comes out July 23rd and I'm so excited!  This is her 5th book and will be about Elizabeth of York, daughter of The White Queen.  Also, starz.com will start premiering White Queen on August 10th.  It is already showing in the UK on BBC. 

This comes out July 16th by C.W. Gortner.  So excited for this one also!

This is out now, and is a novel about Empress Theodora.  This is a new author for me and I can't wait to read it.

This comes out August 6th, and I am so excited to read it!  These are my top favorite authors and their books are addicting.  She has written about Rome and now this one is about The Borgias.  The Lion and The Rose will follow as a sequel not long after.

Not sure when this is available in the US but excited to get it this year I hope.

Michelle Moran is working on her 6th book, about Lakshmi, a Hindu goddess of wealth.  I cannot wait for this to come out also.

Royal Harlot

This book follows Barbara Villiers Palmer in London during the time of English Interregnum.  Their monarch Charles had been executed in 1649 as a tyrant and this time of Cromwell government would last for 11 years.  The family of Stuart remained in exile in mainland Europe and this is where Charles the younger was until he could claim the throne.  Barbara was a Royalist as was her husband Roger Palmer.  They supported the monarchy and wanted Charles to come and claim the throne.  This period of time was governed by military and parliamentary rule by Puritans.  Oliver Cromwell was the parliamentarian hero of the English Civil War and General.  He became the creator of the New Model Army and for which these 11 years would be known as Cromwell government.  Any members that were willing to work with Charles were no longer part of this government.  This became known as the Rump Parliament, and they declared themselves as leaders of the nation.  Monarchy was abolished and religious reforms took place.  Cromwell's defeat of Ireland as well as Catholic threats made him popular.  But the Rump Parliament was not doing so well, and it was disbanded.  Shortly after another attempt, he declared himself the Lord Protector.

In 1658, after dissolving Parliament once more, Cromwell passed away.  His son Richard took his place, but did not do well.  Parliament and the Army did not support him.  With some tussles back and forth, within two years the Prince of Wales had landed on shore.  Barbara was a key person during this time, having been sent by her husband Roger and their other Royalist friends with gold coins sewn into her petticoats to support him.  They began an affair that would change her life forever.  Charles took his throne in 1660 on his 30th birthday as King of England, Scotland and Ireland.  The people were ecstatic at this change.  He practiced religious tolerance and tried to pass acts such as that between Catholics and Protestants.  Charles kept Barbara a secret until he married Catherine of Braganza, so his happy return would not be sullied with scandal.  The court was bawdy and Barbara was at the center.  She gave him 5 children and he gave her the titles of Countess of Castlemaine and Duchess of Cleveland.  She was beautiful, witty and controversial.  The people called her the royal harlot and spread gossip and malice constantly about her.

The couple were not loyal to each other and each took other lovers.  Barbara was his closest friend and mistress for ten years.  She finally left court for overseas when he seemed to have tired of her and had taken up with the actress Nell Gwynn.  As is usual at court, religion was a big issue and Parliament always fighting against the King.  When it was found out his brother and heir was Catholic, because his wife had given him no children, the people rebelled.  Charles dissolved Parliament in 1681 and ruled alone until his death in 1685.  He converted to Catholicism on his deathbed, whether his choice or not no one knows.  Barbara reconciled with her husband Roger in Paris until his death.  She had enough wealth to support herself and her children.  She died at age 68 of dropsy.  She was well known for being a harlot and is one of the most reviled woman in history.  Charles II is known as the "merry monarch" for having a happy and immoral court.  He ruled during the great Plague and Fire.  He was succeeded by his brother James II who only ruled for three disastrous years.

The book was interesting because I hadn't read much of Charles and nothing of the Countess of Castlemaine.  She was indeed greedy, ambitious and beautiful.  I did not like her because of her wantonness and for making the Queen's life miserable as her rival.  Whether or not I like her matters little, because only she knows who she truly was like and not everyone who made a name for themselves was nice.  That is why I have a quote that says "Well Behaved Women Rarely Make History." (lol).  At least she did care for her children and provided well for them.  If is interesting to me how someone like Anne Boleyn was beheaded for supposedly committing adultery, whereas Charles and Barbara did constantly with no repercussions.  It is likely because Barbara was not Queen but just a mistress.  Barbara did not have loving parents and was often let to do whatever she wished at a young age.  Her mother did not rule her strictly and she was passionate at a young age.  Which likely led her to a discontented marriage and then to being the King's mistress.