The Agincourt Bride
Joanna Hickson
Harper, Aug 19 2014, $14.99
ISBN: 978000744697
In fourteen years of marriage to “Mad King” Charles VI of France,
Queen Isabeau already has given birth to four boys and five girls when a sixth
worthless female Catherine pops out. Royal
nursery boss Madame La Bonne is pleased that the fifteen years old Parisian
baker’s daughter Guilliamette Dupain gave birth to a stillborn. Given no choice, Mette becomes Catherine’s wet-nurse.
Over the years Princess Catherine keeps Mette at her side during
her childhood and into adulthood. Though
a commoner, Mette guides the child through the chaotic courts of her insane father
and her ambitious brother King Charles Dauphin; both whom plan to marry her off
to forge an alliance. The powerful Duke Philippe
of Burgundy also has an agenda for this princess. However, after the forces of Henry V win at
the Battle of Agincourt, Catherine becomes either a greater asset or liability
for the ambitious plotting to use her or get rid of her. Only Mette, risking her life, protects her
until the royal sibling must choose between two monarchs, her brother the
French King and English King Henry V.
This is a vivid historical biographical fiction tale that brings
to life early fifteenth century France (at court, in Paris and the countryside)
and to a lesser degree England through the eyes of Catherine’s prime
confident. Though not for the casual
reader as the storyline can be overwhelming in the depth of background, The
Agincourt Bride is a very fresh entry in the often told tale of Catherine of
Valois (see The Forbidden Queen by Anne O’Brien
and The Queen's Secret by Jean Plaidy). The pleased audience will return for the
continuation of Catherine’s saga (see The Tudor Bride; not yet published).
Harriet Klausner
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