The Mistress Of Normandy
Susan Wiggs
Mira,
Jul 29 2014, $7.99
ISBN: 9780778316367
In 1414 Westminster, King Henry V honors peasant
soldier Enguerrand Fitzmarc for saving his life and that of his brother the
Duke of Clarence from the religious fanatical Lollard assassins and for war
heroics by naming him a knight the Baron of Longwood. However, he also learns how diabolically
clever the monarch is as his estate is in Normandy where his paternal roots
will help since he speaks French; additionally his chosen bride Lady Lianna who
rules there.
Irate Lianna learns that the King sent an
outsider from across the Channel to be lord of her and her land as her
husband. She refuses to bow down to
anyone even the monarch’s anointed. When
Lianna and Rand meet in the nearby woods; they are attracted to each other
until she learns his identity. Though
she loves Rand, Lianna, feeling betrayed, rejects him. While he struggles to earn the trust of the
fiery female he cherishes, enemies of the English plot to kick the English off
the continent starting with killing the pair and other Henry loyalists.
This “revised” version of 1991 The Lily
and the Leopard (don’t know how much was refreshed) is a winning medieval
romance though the changing relationship between the lead couple is typical of
the subgenre. Still Susan Wiggs (see
Tudor Rose Trilogy) provides a satisfying historical starring two resilient resolute
personalities clashing over love and leadership until a mutual deadly enemy
threatens both of them and the locals they cherish.
Harriet Klausner
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