Blog Tour: The Crown - Nancy Bilyeau + giveaway

I am taking part in the virtual blog tour of Nancy Bilyeau's book The Crown. And I asked Anachronist to review the book. At the end of this review there is a giveaway of this book.

An aristocratic young nun must find a legendary crown in order to save her father—and preserve the Catholic faith from Cromwell’s ruthless terror. The year is 1537. . .

Genre: Historical fiction

Pages: 448

Publisher: Touchstone

Published: Jan 2012

Review by Anachronist

What I liked:

First of all let me tell you that after finishing Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel not so long ago I was really curious about this one as it concerned a similar period, only some years later – after the death of Jane Seymour, the queen number three. I wasn’t disappointed. My enjoyment was even enhanced by the fact that Ms Bilyeau presented the events as seen by the supporters of Catherine of Aragon and the Catholic Church, for whom Thomas Cromwell and his allies, closing the convents and confiscating their properties, were evil incarnated. It is always nice to hear the other side of the conflict.

Joanna Stafford was certainly a great heroine – loyal in her friendship, consistent, intelligent and curious enough to break and tweak the rules of her convent while searching for the truth. Her mother was a lady –in – waiting of Catherine but Joanna, after one horrible day at the court, preferred to enter the convent instead. At the end of the book it is explained how horrible her first experience really was. I found it a nice touch, showing that any royal court was a nest of vipers, a very demanding and dangerous place especially for a young girl. I would compare it to working for a big international concern – a lot of stress, plenty of traps, murky, merciless rivalry, no guidelines whatsoever.

Some secondary characters were a bit flat but I liked Edmund, the Dominican friar. His problems were interesting, I’m just sorry we weren’t shown more of him.

The plot was filled with excitement, intrigue and espionage; small wonder the book, although not exactly short, was a quick, entertaining read, especially telling a story of a rather unknown medieval king, Athelstan, and his precious regalia. I fully enjoyed the fact that the novel was very well-researched, at least for such an amateur historian like me. I especially liked the description of Stonehenge and a strange pilgrimage of monks to that place. I also liked the convent life and the theme of messages hidden in tapestries.

What I learned:

Athelstan or Æthelstan ( c. 893 or 894 – 27 October 939), called the Glorious, was the King of England from 924 or 925 to 939. He was the son of King Edward the Elder and the grandson of Alfred the Great . Æthelstan's success in securing the submission of Constantine II, King of Scots, at the Treaty of Eamont Bridge in 927 through to the Battle of Brunanburh in 937 led to his claiming the title "king of all Britain". According to William of Malmesbury, Athelstan had also the kings of the North British (meaning the Welsh) submit to him at Hereford, where he exacted a heavy tribute from them. His reign is frequently overlooked, with much focus going to Alfred the Great before him; however, it was of fundamental importance to political developments in the 10th century - Athelstan was the first King of a unified England from 927 A.D. Although he established many alliances through his family, he does not appear to have married or had children, although there is an uncorroborated allusion to an illegitimate daughter. (from Wikipedia)

What I didn’t like:

After finishing the reading I must say I felt a bit cheated. First of all, the tension started to ease too soon for me and at the end it kind of disappeared completely, even before I found the answer to all the mysteries. Mind you, the book is dubbed into a religious thriller. It was especially strange as it finishes with nothing less but a cliffhanger – we are not exactly sure what the future holds for Joanna and her fellow ex-nuns and ex- friars. Cliffhangers, contrary to the popular belief, don’t make me more curious; if anything, they make me twitchy and angry; in this case the ending was especially disappointing because I suspected something totally different, like a marriage of the main character with one of her suitors. Speaking about romance…I might be wrong but personally I didn’t feel the author handled it well. Let me explain.

First we get a very strong and a very promising beginning, then the whole thing, along with the guy in question, is forgotten for most of the book, then the author resurrects it all a bit superficially just to allow it to fizzle into nothingness. It was mean – if there are plans for a sequel (what author doesn’t plan a sequel nowadays) Ms Bilyeau could have at least hinted at it. In short I would prefer the novel ending in a more conclusive manner and its romantic thread executed in a different style (but you know me – I am rarely pleased when it comes to that).

Final verdict:

Despite my romance problem and a rather equivocal ending it was a nice book, especially if you like the Tudors and 16th century in England. I enjoyed reading it and I would recommend it for fans of historical thrillers.

                                                           The tomb of king Athelstan

GIVEAWAY:

1 copy of The Crown

1. US only

2. Ends Feb 29

3. Just go ahead and tell me if you are entering. That's it.

Tour Schedule:  http://hfvirtualbooktours.blogspot.com/2011/12/nancy-bilyeau-on-tour-for-crown-january.html

Nancy Bilyeau's Website:  http://www.nancybilyeau.com

Nancy Bilyeau on Twitter: @TudorScribe

Tour Event Twitter Hashtag:  #TheCrownVirtualBookTour