G1100 Book Review of Brandon Tudor Knight by Tony Riches
Author: Tony Riches
ISBN: 9781790733163
Publisher: Preseli Press
Type of book: The Tudor family, King Henry VII, King Henry VIII, princess/commoner marriage, 1505-1537, work, family, duty, loyalty, alliances, marriages, sacrifices, debts, Queen Catherine, Anne Boleyn, Bessie Blount
Year it was published: 2018
Summary:
From the author of the international best-selling Tudor Trilogy:
Handsome, charismatic and a champion jouster, Sir Charles Brandon is the epitome of a Tudor Knight. A favourite of King Henry VIII, Brandon has a secret. He has fallen in love with Henry’s sister, Mary Tudor, the beautiful widowed Queen of France, and risks everything to marry her without the King’s consent.
Brandon becomes Duke of Suffolk, but his loyalty is tested fighting Henry’s wars in France. Mary’s public support for Queen Catherine of Aragon brings Brandon into dangerous conflict with the ambitious Boleyn family and the king’s new right-hand man, Thomas Cromwell.
Torn between duty to his family and loyalty to the king, Brandon faces an impossible decision: can he accept Anne Boleyn as his new queen?
Characters:
Main characters include Charles Brandon, King Henry VIII and Mary Tudor. Charles Brandon is best described as a talented and enterprising young man who doesn't have the noble blood, but is resourceful and seems to live beyond his means numerous times. He is extremely dedicated to his job and to the nation, taking his oath as a knight very seriously. King Henry VIII is also drawn well although I couldn't help but compare him to King Henry VIII in Margaret George's novel. Mary Tudor is loyal and devoted to Brandon and is often caught between her brother and her husband. I also enjoyed gaining more knowledge about Thomas Cromwell and Cardinal Wolsey. I was a bit surprised to learn that the tale stopped in 1537 and honestly thought I would witness King Henry VIII's six marriages from behind-the-scenes.
Theme:
The lesson I got from the book is the importance of family for support and that its more worth it than work
Plot:
The story is in third person narrative from Charles Brandon's point of view and it is chronological. A lot of the focus on the story is of Brandon trying to control King Henry VIII's mistakes as well as his efforts for the kingdom of England. I think I also would have liked there to be more about his family and children, although I understand that he is too busy to see them. The story is definitely well-researched and well-told and it fills up the gaps of King Henry VIII's life nicely, and it also helped me understand a bit more about the succession and the mention of the nine day queen.
Author Information:
(From HFVBT)
About the Author
Tony Riches is a full-time writer and lives with his wife in Pembrokeshire, West Wales. After several successful non-fiction books, Tony turned to novel writing and wrote ‘Queen Sacrifice’, set in 10th century Wales, followed by ‘The Shell’, a thriller set in present day Kenya. A specialist in the history of the early Tudors, he is best known for his Tudor Trilogy. Tony’s other international best sellers include ‘Warwick ~ The Man Behind the Wars of the Roses’ and ‘The Secret Diary of Eleanor Cobham’.
For more information please visit Tony’s website and his blog The Writing Desk. He can also be found on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.
Opinion:
I only know of Charles Brandon for his marriage to King Henry VIII's sister, Margaret, and that information I received from reading Margaret George's first novel, THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KING HENRY VIII, thus it was nice to have the background story of the man who was unafraid to reach to the top and to marry a princess with him being a commoner (a trope I'm really attracted to...) The whole tale is of the sacrifices that Charles Brandon is forced to make to be in King Henry VII as well as his son, King Henry VIII's good graces, and those sacrifices are many. I really enjoyed the tale and looking into the background of the famous couple.
This is for HFVBT
Blog Tour Schedule
Thursday, February 28
Review at Passages to the Past
Friday, March 1
Feature at CelticLady’s Reviews
Review at Locks, Hooks and Books
Monday, March 4
Interview at Passages to the Past
Tuesday, March 5
Review at Donna’s Book Blog
Wednesday, March 6
Guest Post at Encouraging Words from the Tea Queen
Thursday, March 7
Feature at T’s Stuff
Friday, March 8
Excerpt at The Book Junkie Reads
Monday, March 11
Guest Post at On the Tudor Trail
Tuesday, March 12
Review at Hisdoryan
Feature at To Read, Or Not to Read
Wednesday, March 13
Review at For the Sake of Good Taste
Thursday, March 14
Excerpt at Myths, Legends, Books & Coffee Pots
Friday, March 15
Review at Coffee and Ink
Review at A Darn Good Read
Sunday, March 17
Review at Historical Fiction with Spirit
Monday, March 18
Review at Maiden of the Pages
Review at Svetlana’s Reads and Views
Tuesday, March 19
Review at The Tudor Enthusiast
Review at Just One More Chapter
4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)
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