My Search and Research for The Irish Princess by Karen Harper *giveaway*

Karen Harper’s historical novel, THE IRISH PRINCESS, tells the true story of a woman who belonged to the Fitzgerald family of old Ireland, a family known as “The Uncrowned Kings of Ireland.” Gera Fitzgerald’s story of loss, love, rebellion and reconciliation, set in Ireland and Tudor England, is out in time for St. Patrick’s Day—Erin Go Bragh! And, the author says, the real-life hero is in the tradition of the swashbuckling heroes like Errol Flynn, Russell Crowe and Johnny Depp—and certain Liam Neeson.

My Search and Research for The Irish Princess

It’s a special challenge to research and bring to life a woman who actually lived, especially if most of the clues to her character must be found in her relationship with better known figures. I’m getting to be veteran at such hide-and-seek research. My novels THE LAST BOLEYN (Mary Boleyn), THE FIRST PRINCESS OF WALES (Joan of Kent), SHAKESPEARE’S MISTRESS (Anne Whateley) and THE QUEEN’S GOVERNESS (Katherine Ashley) were all novels I call faction, a blending of fiction and well-researched fact. Travel to historic sites, interviews with experts, and good old library (now on-line too) research may take years, but I love to look for that little revealing nugget of gold.

In Gera’s case, my search for her started with a trip I took to Ireland when I didn’t even know about her. But I fell in love with the Kildare County countryside, the charm of Dublin and the people. And I wondered how long the Irish love/hate relationship with the English went back.



Elizabeth I coronation



Then, in researching Queen Elizabeth I for another novel, I found that for many years she had an Irish woman in her court, a beautiful redhead, who apparently was a good friend. Yet I learned that they frequently argued; the queen once even sent this woman, Elizabeth Fitzgerald, nicknamed Gera, “to the Tower for plain speaking to the queen.” However, Gera was soon released and back in Elizabeth’s good graces. And Gera was married to the Lord High Admiral of England.



How unusual! Elizabeth had a lot of trouble with the Irish. Besides, beautiful women made her nervous when she wanted to be the most lovely woman at court. Of course, the Virgin Queen had many songs and poems praising her, but Gera Fitzgerald had been honored at a young age by the poet Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, in a poem dedicated to “The Fair Geraldine.” (Geraldine she’s named…Her beauty of kind; her virtues from above; happy is he that can attain her love!”) Such adulation cannot have gone over well with the queen. And to take someone back who has argued with her? What gave here?



Edward Clinton



As I delved deeper into Gera’s life (mostly through books about her father and half brother, both Earls of Kildare), I found she had a long love/hate relationship with a sea captain, Edward Clinton, who later became Lord High Admiral of the English navy. Before she wed him, they evidently had a long and turbulent relationship. Ah, the perfect swashbuckling hero. So then I searched for information about him, even read his will. I studied the part of England he came from and found information on the ruins of his homes.

I corresponded with the caretakers of Maynooth Castle in Ireland where Gera grew up. As I studied her family in Irish history books, the necessary trials and tribulations for a plot found me: most of the Fitzgerald men, including her brother and uncles, were executed (yes, beheaded!) by King Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth’s father. The plot thickens because of Gera’s marriage to Edward Clinton, this dashing figure who worked for Gera’s enemies. I located two paintings of Clinton and two of her. What must be the motives and power of this woman who stares defiantly out from these two still extant portraits (and later, from the cover of my book?)

Another example of digging out details: After many turbulent, but happy years of marriage with her English admiral (Gera once even took his place as ship’s captain and arrested a pirate!) her husband’s handwritten will shows how much he loved and trusted her, so much so that her stepson was really upset at the power and decisions the Irish spitfire was entrusted with. And so, from little telling details are characters born, plots laid and novels written.



Elizabeth Fitzgerald, "the Irish Princess"







Another painting of Elizabeth



I hope Gera and Edward Clinton, Queen Elizabeth and the villain King Henry leap right off the page for readers, because that was what they did for me when I researched and wrote of their lives. I have studied Henry Tudor for years, but never concentrated so completely on his final years and the mysteries surrounding his death. A secret back room was his death chamber? His royal will was never signed? In his final hours he swung between lucidity and the belief he was talking to Jane Seymour? Thank you, Gera Fitzgerald for being a treasure of a heroine whom it was worth the effort and time to dig out of the past.

So this St. Patrick’s Day, I will dance a jig for Gera just as she loved to do with Elizabeth Tudor, who could have been her enemy but became her lifelong friend.

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NYTimes and USA TODAY bestselling author Karen Harper also writes romantic suspense for Mira Books, most recently a trilogy set in Amish country, DARK ROAD HOME, DARK HARVEST and DARK ANGEL. You can learn all about Karen and her impressive backlist at her website.

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GIVEAWAY:

Thanks to Karen's generosity, we have two copies of The Irish Princess to give away to two of our readers. To participate just follow the rules:

- the contest is open to the US & Canada only
- leave a comment and don't forget to include your email address
- one entry per household
- closes February 15 at Midnight GMT

Good luck to everyone!

The Poyson Garden by Karen Harper

The letter came in secret, with a pearl eardrop from an aunt long thought dead, resurrecting the forbidden past. Banished by her spiteful half sister, Queen Mary, to Hatfield House in the English countryside, twenty-five-year-old Princess Elizabeth cannot refuse the summons. The Boleyns are in grave danger. And Elizabeth, daughter of Anne Boleyn, is marked for death by a master poisoner whose reign of terror may have royal sanction.


With her few loyal retainers, Elizabeth escapes to Kent. Here, in her ancestral Hever Castle, now held by the Queen's loyalists, Elizabeth seeks to unravel the plot against her. And here, in the embrace of intrigue and betrayal, the princess must find a brilliant, powerfully connected killer-before the killer finds her....

I was a bit wary of an historical mystery featuring Queen Elizabeth I as an amateur sleuth. I have no trouble with fictional detectives but believing in real people is a bit different as I discovered when I tried to read a book featuring Jane Austen as a detective. Sadly that was also a problem here.

Princess Elizabeth, living is Hatfield at her sister’s command, receives a letter of her aunt Mary, long thought dead, who asks her to come and visit because there's something she must tell her. The message is that there is someone plotting against all Boleyns, and especially against Elizabeth, and planning their deaths.

First of all the action supposedly takes place in 1558 when Elizabeth is about 25 years old but from the descriptions I would say she sounded more like a teenager to me, someone young, a bit adventurous... definitely not a 25 year old. It might be that my idea of Elizabeth is more of a majestic figure, aware of her possible power but difficult position while her sister is alive. So this part might definitely be my problem with imagining real people as sleuths (at least so far I haven't found one that I liked.

Then the mystery plot, the fact is that we are told that there is some mysterious figure making attempts on the Boleyn's lives but I thought the whole lot of secondary characters was more interesting than the villain. I was never all that curious to find out what was really going on and that was a good thing because when the whole truth is revealed I felt the motive was a bit weak. The whole book is plot driven so we don't really get to know the characters all that well, they are too busy running around detecting - I suppose we may know more in future books - and we don't have a real sense of the period for the same reason.

I think I would probably have enjoyed it more if it was just a light mystery with some fictional character as the main detective. As it was I was constantly thinking whether Elizabeth I would actually behave that way or not... of course if you don't have a problem believing in historical figures as detectives you'll probably enjoy it more than I did.

Grade: 3.5/5

Mistress Shakespeare by Karen Harper, Narrated by Anne Flosnik

Anne Whateley was a childhood friend of William Shakespeare. They fell in love and got married in secret. Then he was forced to marry Anne Hathaway because she was pregnant. The other Anne, Anne Whateley was devastated but went on with her life. She worked for her father and then, after his death became a business woman in her own right.

The next time she happened upon Will Shakespeare he convinced Miss Whateley that it was her that he truly loved and she became his mistress. They sold his plays together and Shakespeare became a household name.

Spanning a half a century, in Elizabethan history, this book is a love story of WillShakespeare and "the other Anne"

There is very little known about Will Shakespeare but there was a discrepancy on his marriage certificate. Harper took this little discrepancy and turned it into a very enjoyable novel. It is well written and character driven. I especially liked that Harper made Anne a strong female character, able to take care of herself and not rely on Will's income.  She captures this time in history well.

I listened to the audio version of this book and Anne Flosnik's narration added to my enjoyment of the book. This is the first Karen Harper novel that I have read but it won't be the last.

4/5

Why I Love the Tudors by Karen Harper

I have so many reasons I am an Tudormaniac that I’m not sure I can explain them all, but let me start with the obvious. For years, their lives have been my bread and butter. They are my favorite (almost my only) topic for my historical novels and a historical mystery series. Books I’ve written about them (with Elizabeth Tudor always involved) include THE FIRST BOLEYN, a book about Mary Boleyn written 20 years before Philippa Gregory’s THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL. (And with a very different take on the Boleyns.) I’ve also authored the nine-book The Queen Elizabeth I Mystery Series with Elizabeth as the amateur sleuth. Her Grace has also appeared at different stages of her life in Mistress Shakespeare; a novel I just completed, The Irish Princess; and she’s a key figure in my current release, The Queen’s Governess. In short, Elizabeth Tudor is my favorite historical figure with her totally dysfunctional family right beside her.

How did I catch Tudormania? Perhaps because I had an English pen pal in sixth through eighth grade and she used to send me photos of her (then) young Queen Elizabeth II. Perhaps because I fell in love with England on my first trip there thirty-six years ago and have since visited many Tudor sites again and again. Maybe because I studied and taught Brit Lit for years and did my Masters Thesis on one of Shakespeare’s plays. But I think it is mainly because when I read biographies of the royal Tudor women (or the writings by Gloriana herself,) I see amazingly admirable and powerful women, especially Henry’s wives and daughters, who stood strong and fought back against male dominance in that era. It is also the fascination of seeing how “absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

In THE QUEEN’S GOVERNESS, the heroine is Katherine (Kat) Champernowne Ashley, a woman who began in rural obscurity but managed to obtain a fine education and learned the hard way to survive the dangers of the Tudor court, first to save herself, then, as governess, to rear and protect her young charge, Elizabeth. Kat has a wonderful love story of her own and one of the few good marriages Elizabeth observed close up.

Anne Boleyn, to whom Kat was a confidant, was beheaded when Elizabeth was only three, so her governess also became what we would call her foster mother. (The book begins with Kat being forced to witness Anne’s beheading.) In the novel, Elizabeth says, “Anne Boleyn gave me life, but Kat Ashley gave me love.”

By the way, Thomas Cromwell, the subject of Hilary Mantel’s WOLF HALL, the 2009 Man Booker Prize, is a key figure in my novel. Cromwell, one of many fascinating Tudor personalities, brought Kat to court; she wrote to him more than once asking for funds to clothe the then bastardized Elizabeth. I was excited to see that Mantel also admires Cromwell, although, of course, he suffered from that “absolute power corrupts” disease, a problem we’ve seen with some of today’s political leaders, entertainment and sport figures.

I also love the Tudors because they are just so over-the-top. Six wives? (“Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived.”) The “Defender of the Faith” throws that faith out of his country? A Virgin Queen, a woman ruling without a man and yet one of the greatest rulers the world has ever known? Deceit, divorce, and bloody death on a grand scale? All that is Tudor through and through and yet it also sounds ripped from today’s headlines.

As a writer of not only historical novels but contemporary suspense books, the truth about my Tudormania is that I don’t choose my settings and characters as much as they choose me. I can’t explain this appeal; it happens to me in my contemporary novels too, where I often set books in the two sites I know and love best (after Tudor England,) South Florida and Ohio Amish country. Please visit my website http://www.karenharperauthor.com/ to see what I mean.

The exciting thing about Kat Ashley is that, as far as I can tell, no one has previously written a story from her point of view, and Kat has a lot to say about the Tudors. As do I, I hope, in future I-love-the-Tudor-novels.

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Karen Harper is the author of several historical fiction books, among them Mistress Shakespeare, The Last Boleyn or even The Queen Elizabeth I Mystery series. Her new book, The Queen's Governess will be released today (21th January). You can visit Karen Harper's website and learn all about it!

The First Princess of Wales - Karen Harper

I was fortunate enough to receive a copy of this book from the author. I've been very curious about the Fair Maid of Kent after reading bits about her in other books and was quite happy to find a book where she is the main character.

The daughter of a disgraced earl, she matched wits with a prince.

It is the fourteenth century, the height of the Medieval Age, and at the court of King Edward III of England, chivalry is loudly praised while treachery runs rampant. When the lovely and high-spirited Joan of Kent is sent to this politically charged court, she is woefully unprepared for the underhanded maneuverings of her peers.

Determined to increase the breadth of his rule, the king will use any means necessary to gain control of France—including manipulating his own son, Edward, Prince of Wales. Joan plots to become involved with the prince to scandalize the royal family, for she has learned they engineered her father's downfall and death. But what begins as a calculated strategy soon—to Joan's surprise—grows into love. When Joan learns that Edward returns her feelings, she is soon fighting her own, for how can she love the man that ruined her family? And, if she does, what will be the cost?

It tells the story of Joan, starting as a young girl preparing to go to court, till her marriage to Edward, the Black Prince at 33 and covering her two previous marriages.

I found this Joan an interesting character even if a bit too lively at times, too self assured for someone so young. As soon as she reaches Kind Edward II's court she becomes a favourite with Princess Isabella and Queen Philippa and she immediately catches the eye of Edward, The Black Prince. Joan's mother tells her on her deathbed that the king is responsible for the death of her father and Joan decides then and there that she will have her revenge.

Despite that her attraction to the Prince grows and soon they are being noticed by others which leads the Queen to arrange a marriage for Joan. First she is betrothed to Thomas Holland. As that doesn’t seems to stop her and the prince the Queen in desperation marries her to another man. That will make for an interesting tangle and the Pope must be consulted to decide to which of them is she really married. We follow Joan's marriage to Thomas Holland and exile in France and her subsequent reunion with Edward that leads to their marriage after her husband dies.

I did like reading the story but I have to confess that I regretted some lack of historical detail to really make me feel like I was visiting the medieval world. I wanted to know more of Joan besides her attraction to Edward. I never thought Joan's first marriage to be of royal initiative but I'm sure things could have happened as described. The age of the characters also seems a bit off in the beginning but as they grow up it it's not noticeable anymore. It reads very well as a romantic story even if Edward is at times a bit too aggressive in his pursuit of Joan, there's a lot of melodrama going on with these two before they reach their happy ending.


Posted also at Aneca's World