Today, I'm delighted to share my review of The Dartington Bride, by historical fiction author, Rosemary Griggs. It's a fascinating tale set during a time of religious upheaval across much of Europe, and one I'm sure you'll enjoy.
I'll be visiting Dartington Hall in September for The Historical Novel Society conference, and I'm looking forward to seeing the manor, and to meet Rosemary, in person.
The Dartington Bride is currently on blog tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club. Find other fascinating guest posts & excerpts HERE!
The Dartington Bride
Daughters of Devon
by Rosemary Griggs
The novel opens with young Roberda's father's faux pas – he has killed the king of France, Henry II. Accidentally, of course, during a tournament that he took part in on his king's orders. But little did everyone know what dramatic change the coming years would bring, as Queen Dowager Catherine de Medici plots revenge...
Roberda is five years young when her life changes dramatically: her family flees from Paris to their country manor in rural Normandy, and her father is exiled from court. When the young King Francis II dies shortly after, Catherine's hold over her younger son, now King Charles IX, is strong, and her quest for revenge remains her goal.
In the midst of this, Roberda's father turns protestant, and becomes a leader of the Huguenots – setting himself opposite the royal family. The Wars of Religion ensue, with many areas across France affected by religious fervour on both sides.
When Roberda is married to Gawen Champernowne, of Dartington Hall, it opens up a safe place for her, and for her family following the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre that swept across Paris, and soon beyond. She is happy to be married, but soon discovers that her husband doesn't seem to care much about her, or her involvement with French protestant refugees.
Will there be happy end for Roberda at Dartington Hall? Find out in the novel!
The Dartington Bride is a dramatic novel that sweeps you straight into the disastrous Wars of Religion. With Catholics pitted against emerging Protestants, peace seems elusive.
There is a thread of a growing sense of unease and danger that runs through the novel. Told from Roberda's point of view, we grow up with her amidst the chaos and uncertainty. Gone is the happy, carefree childhood, and instead we have marital tensions (e.g. between her parents and in Roberda's own marriage...), with the religious troubles always in the background.
Although I'm not a great fan of first-person narrative, I really liked the way Ms Griggs brought Roberda's thoughts and actions across. As a child, she is curious, inquisitive and stubborn, and even when she grows up, and beyond her wedding, she maintains her sense of determination.
Roberda's mother, Isabeau, is a strong-willed lady of a noble lineage, who is also strongly involved in politics, and her father, Gabriel, is portrayed as a self-assured, confident Huguenot leader who – at times – seems to have more lives than a cat!
The Dartington Bride is a riveting historical adventure – beautifully told, and with memorable characters who stay with you long after you finish reading about them – that has you turning the pages deep into the night. The sense of foreboding is palpable throughout, and we experience the tumultuous days of change, revenge, refuge, and opportunity first hand.
Based on the true story of Roberda Montgomery, and exquisitely set at magnificent Dartington Hall in Devon – her married home and refuge for her outspoken Protestant family – The Dartington Bride highlights realistically the plight of the nobility, and of ordinary people, who were caught up in a war that would continue to haunt France and Tudor England for many years.
A highly recommended read!
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1571, and the beautiful, headstrong daughter of a French Count marries the son of the Vice Admiral of the Fleet of the West in Queen Elizabeth’s chapel at Greenwich. It sounds like a marriage made in heaven...
Roberda’s father, the Count of Montgomery, is a prominent Huguenot leader in the French Wars of Religion. When her formidable mother follows him into battle, she takes all her children with her.
After a traumatic childhood in war-torn France, Roberda arrives in England full of hope for her wedding. But her ambitious bridegroom, Gawen, has little interest in taking a wife.
Received with suspicion by the servants at her new home, Dartington Hall in Devon, Roberda works hard to prove herself as mistress of the household and to be a good wife. But there are some who will never accept her as a true daughter of Devon.
After the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, Gawen’s father welcomes Roberda’s family to Dartington as refugees. Compassionate Roberda is determined to help other French women left destitute by the wars. But her husband does not approve. Their differences will set them on an extraordinary path...
Buy Link: Universal Buy Link~~~
About the Author:
Rosemary Griggs
Author and speaker Rosemary Griggs has been researching Devon’s sixteenth-century history for years. She has discovered a cast of fascinating characters and an intriguing network of families whose influence stretched far beyond the West Country and loves telling the stories of the forgotten women of history – the women beyond the royal court; wives, sisters, daughters and mothers who played their part during those tumultuous Tudor years: the Daughters of Devon.
Her novel A Woman of Noble Wit tells the story of Katherine Champernowne, Sir Walter Raleigh’s mother, and features many of the county’s well-loved places.
Rosemary creates and wears sixteenth-century clothing, a passion which complements her love for bringing the past to life through a unique blend of theatre, history and re-enactment. Her appearances and talks for museums and community groups all over the West Country draw on her extensive research into sixteenth-century Devon, Tudor life and Tudor dress, particularly Elizabethan.
Out of costume, Rosemary leads heritage tours of the gardens at Dartington Hall, a fourteenth-century manor house and now a visitor destination and charity supporting learning in arts, ecology and social justice.
Connect with Rosemary:
Thank you for hosting a stop on my blog tour and for this wonderful review. I'm thrilled that you enjoyed Roberda's story.
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome, Rosemary. What a wonderful novel! And I can't wait to visit Dartington Hall in September. See you then!
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