Peeking Between the Pages

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Book Review: The Traitor’s Wife by Susan Higginbotham

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The Traitor’s Wife by Suan Higginbotham was fantastic! The mark of a great book is when you breeze through 500 pages in a matter of days and are completely riveted by the story along the way. This novel is rich in history and detail. The amount of research that went into the making of this novel was huge and it shows. Susan does an amazing job of weaving all the historical details in with a fictional tale of how things may have been around these events in history.

This novel takes place in 14th century England and is told from the point of view of Eleanor de Clare who is the grandaughter of King Edward I and a favorite neice of King Edward II. As a young girl she is married to Hugh le Despenser and luckily for her it is a good match. Throughout their marriage there are many children born and Eleanor remains with her head in the clouds in regards to her husband’s extra curricular activities both in business and in love. Turns out that Hugh le Despenser was quite the troublemaker in his time what with his piracy and trying to cheat people out of what was rightfully theirs. In all fairness to him though he appeared to be a loving husband and father.

King Edward II, while being a weak King, is portrayed in such a way that you can’t help but like him. In the beginning of the book we learn he is intimately involved with Piers Gaveston, a man he has known since boyhood and called a brother. He eventually marries Queen Isabella and goes on to have children of his own but always stays loyal to Piers. In the end, Piers ends up to be the beginning of the end for King Edward II. Piers is considered a huge threat to all in the kingdom as he seems to control Edward II in everything and ultimately he is killed. Edward is devastated but soon enough good old Hugh le Despenser catches his eye and even though he adores his neice Eleanor and Hugh does love his wife, they too end up carrying on an intimate relationship for many years. Again, King Edward II is led astray by his emotions and this time this does culminate in his end and Hugh’s also.

At this point Queen Isabella and Mortimor have control over the throne. Young Edward III is the ruler but he isn’t the one having the say over things; his control seems to be in name only. Isabella orders that Eleanor and her family be imprisoned. While there Eleanor’s daughters are taken away to be nuns and while she isn’t treated badly, she is daily harassed about her husband Hugh and the manner in which he died. Also while there, Eleanor becomes acquainted with the next man she is to marry, William Zouche. Eventually Eleanor is freed only to be imprisoned again over theft. Finally though she manages to marry William and you’d think all would be well but she manages to get herself into a pickle there too with another man.

I love how this book was written. The only thing a little hard to follow at times was the multitude of characters but thankfully the author gave us a nice character list at the very beginning of the book which was extremely helpful and I found myself referring to it more than once. You’d think with a novel of this scope that it would be difficult to succeed at making the characters likeable and sympathetic but Susan Higginbotham certainly managed quite well. I felt invested in these characters-Eleanor, her kids, her family, Edward II and even Piers and Hugh. She made them real to me and she made me care. Eleanor, at times, really made me mad. How could she not know what her husband was up to when he’d disappear for weeks at a time or longer? Was she truly that naive? Even taking her obvious blind love with regards to her first husband Hugh into account, Eleanor was a very strong woman. She went through a lot being imprisoned and living with such uncertainty in her time and yet she fought through it and came out even stronger.

For me, this was my first taste of this time period. I had not read anything on King Edward the II or III before and I am hooked now. I devoured all the historical detail of this one and want more. I truly appreciate all the hard work that must have gone into amassing the facts that are portrayed in this novel. I love how Susan Higginbotham took those facts and gave them to me in a story that brought the court of King Edward II to life in all it’s glory and treachery. This was a fast paced novel for me that has plenty of romance, intrigue, scandal, murder, betrayals and plenty of hanky panky to keep everyone happy. I would definitely recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about this time period or for those historical lovers out there; even those just looking for a good and entertaining read! I really look forward to delving into and enjoying more of Susan Higginbotham’s work.

Thanks to Paul at Sourcebooks for the opportunity to read this novel and participate in Susan’s blog tour. You can visit Susan’s website here and her blog here. You can buy this book here in the US and here in Canada.

Be sure to check out the other stops on Susan Higginbotham’s blog tour:
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Comments

  1. Great review, very thorough and enthusiastic. Wasn’t the book wonderful though? I loved it as well.

  2. That was a rave review! How could any of us not want to read it? I will admit, it isn’t the first genre I would pick up, but I know that with a good author, any time period is a good read. Awesome review!

  4. I have seen it around, and sure it has sounded good, and after your happy review I sure want to read it more 🙂

  5. Oh what a fantastic review!!! This is another one on my list…your reviews are so enticing! Come visit me, I have something for you =)

  6. I enjoy this time period and I can see what you mean about this book being a page-turner. Wow! I’m wanting to read more after your glowing review.

  7. I love this time period and your review was fantastic! Makes me feel the urgent NEED to read this!!!!

  8. Have you seen the old cover for this book? It is ugly…would have never made me pick it up ever!! So glad they revamped it!! because I feel that I would have missed out on a good read and your review totally confirms that!

  9. I am on this tour as well. I will be posting tomorrow. Thanks for another great and enthusiastic review.

  10. That’s a really nice review Dar! I haven’t read any historical fiction until now but I plan to start soon.. Once I “get into” the genre, I shall definitely give this a shot!

  12. This sounds so good, I hadn’t realized just how interesting royal/historical books could be until watching The Tudors made me seek out some authors like Plaidy and Gregory. Thanks for the great review!

  13. So glad to hear you loved this book. I’m reading it now, and I’m hooked. I haven’t read anything about this period either. I’ll be posting my review on Friday.

    –Anna
    Diary of an Eccentric

  15. I’m sure Susan gets tired of me saying this but THE TRAITOR’S WIFE is one of my favorite historical fiction novels!

  16. I haven’t read anything from this time period either. I’d really like to give Susan Higginbotham’s work a try. Great review!

  17. Loved your review & cannot wait to read the book, all the blogs I visit have really enjoyed it

  18. What a thorough review–even though it isn’t a genre I would normally pick up, you have piqued my interest.

    I have left you an award at my blog for you to pick up! Enjoy…
    *smiles*
    Kim

  20. Wonderful review, Dar! You’ve definitely got me interested in this one. I love those big books that I can breeze through as if they were only about 200 pages. 🙂

  21. I’m glad you mentioned that you weren’t familiar with this time period, because as I was reading your review, I was thinking, “I know nothing about these people!” This sounds like a really interesting book!

  22. Great review! I’ve been seeing lots of positive reviews on this book so it has definitely piqued my curisoity! Will have to check out this book. Thanks, Dar!

  23. I am not that familiar with this time period either and it sounds like a great fictional account of the time. I enjoy reading historical fiction and need to add this one to the wish list.

  24. You know, I started a non-fiction book on Queen Isabella a few months ago and never finished it. This sounds much more appealing!

  26. Character lists are always very helpful (I find myself making them occasionally when the author doesn’t provide one). This too sounds like a good story though I know next to nothing about King Edward II’s rule.

  28. I was just talking to a girlfriend yesterday about historical fiction/romance type books and I wish I had read your review before just now because I would have told her YOU HAVE TO READ THIS (I’ll see her tonight and be sure to tell her then). Sounds really great (and too many characters is one thing, but nice to have a list…). 500 pages makes me break out into sweat–you need to pass some of your courage my way. 🙂

  29. Great review! I have read a lot of good things about this book, and really want to read it. Thanks for posting this.

  31. Susan, your welcome and thanks for a great book!

    Lilly, the book really was great. I'm glad you liked it as well.

    Sandy, thanks 🙂 I love historical fiction so I do think that makes a huge difference when a review is written. It's one of the first genres I'll pick up if given a choice.

    Kristina, thanks:) I always like to entice readers and am always happy when somebody enjoys what I've written. Thanks a bunch for the award!

    Ti&Staci, I hadn't read anything on this time period before so for me that was an added bonus.

    STaci, I did see the cover and thank goodness they redid it. This one is great!

    Serena, thanks:) I enjoyed your review as well.

    Ramya, you really should try a historical novel. I'd be interested to see your take on one.

    Julie, I bet you'd like it. I'm thinking of having a giveaway for my copy one of these days soon.

    Joanne, I liked historical novels before The Tudors but I definitely think that the show has brought more people to the genre too. I still need to read something by Plaidy. I know the library has a lot of hers and Amazon does. Sadly, Chapters does not.

    Anna, yes, hooked is a good word. It's a fast read once you get going with it. Your review was great and I'm glad you liked it too.

    Lynn, I agree. It's one of my favorites and I doubt an author ever tires of hearing that. lol.

    Kathy, thanks:) I saw a few giveaways on the blogs and I think I may put mine up soon so keep a look out.

    Kim, thanks for the award!

    Wendy, I know what you mean. When 500 pages breezes by I know I've read something good.

    Trish, I find with historical novels I like when they're chunkier. I don't know why. It just seems they need it to fully develop a story.

    Everyone else, thanks for the comment love.