Review: What Love E'er Meant by Janet Wertman
What Love E'er Meant
Regina, Book #2
by Janet Wertman
A new queen must prove she deserves the throne God gave her, while the path everyone insists will secure it might cost her everything.
Against all odds, Elizabeth Tudor has become Queen of England. Determined to fulfill what she sees as a divine responsibility, she sets out to heal a country ravaged by religious discord, war, and debt – and vindicate the legacy of Anne Boleyn, the mother who did not deserve her fate.
But Elizabeth’s crown is not fully secure: to the Catholic world, her cousin Mary Stuart is the rightful Queen of England and there are rumblings to put her there. Shoring up defenses requires that Elizabeth challenge France’s control of Scotland and Spain’s dominance on the seas, as well as calm internal strife. Above the din of menace, one question dominates all others: who will she marry?
William Cecil, her trusted Secretary of State, urges her to secure an alliance through a strategic match. Robert Dudley, the love of her life, pressures her to choose him. And Mary herself presents a cautionary tale. In the end, Elizabeth chooses not as a woman but as a queen, and learns the sobering truth of sovereignty: to rule is to stand alone.
What Love E’er Meant, the searing second volume in the Regina Trilogy, captures a young queen’s struggle to balance love and power, duty and desire…and the profound cost of choosing crown over heart.
Review:
Having enjoyed Nothing Proved (find my review HERE), the first in Janet Wertman’s compelling series on Queen Elizabeth I of England, I couldn’t wait for the next instalment.
What Love E’er Meant is a worthy sequel, outlining – as the title suggests – mainly one of Elizabeth’s biggest challenges throughout her long reign: the thorny subject of marriage.
Being in love with a married man as a king’s bastard daughter is one thing; being in love with a married man as Queen of England is playing with fire. And it provides Elizabeth with a challenge early on in her reign.
The novel begins with the news Elizabeth and her supporters have been waiting for – the death of her half-sister, Queen Mary. Relieved and terrified at the same time, Elizabeth faces her changed status with bravery. No longer need she be afraid for her life. But immediately, her newly appointed counsellors home in on the one topic the furthest on her mind. She should consider marriage. After all, she is a woman, and everyone knows women are incapable of ruling on their own!
But her past has taught her to be wary of men, and their promises. Her mother – Anne Boleyn – suffered the ultimate fate at the hands of her beloved Henry VIII. But also Mary’s treatment following her marriage to Philipp of Spain left a mark on Elizabeth.
So whilst she dithers and delays, she enjoys the company of her favourite: Robert Dudley, her Robin. When his wife Amy falls ill, he grows more hopeful of a union with Elizabeth, yet when Amy finally dies, in somewhat suspicious circumstances, Elizabeth is not as elated that the love of her life is free to wed. Her counsellors, and her people, hate him for his family’s past treason. And is he really in love with her, as he claims time and again? Or just after the throne?
Ms Wertman’s close, intimate portrayal of Elizabeth allows us to see the woman behind the façade of tough queenship. We see Elizabeth at her most personal – both with Robin, and in her relationship to her scheming cousin, Mary Stuart. The author shows us the queen from a side she hides from her courtiers and counsellors. A vulnerable woman at the zenith of power, but unable to follow her heart. The risk is too great.
Much of the novel focuses on her interactions with Robin – their late night card games; dancing the outrageous La Volta; enjoying wild rides in the countryside. Dudley comes across as pushy at times – and we understand Elizabeth’s reluctance perfectly. Once married, would he still adore her? Or would he – or any other of her many suitors – try to wrest power from her hands, and turn her into nothing more than a ceremonial figurehead?
In What Love E’er Meant, Ms Wertman has again excelled herself at introducing the Elizabethan era in exquisite detail of daily life at court. We accompany Elizabeth on her grand tour; we watch her at her haughtiest best; but we also see her torn between duty and emotion.
But most of all, we meet a young to middle-aged queen who could never risk following her heart – as it would tear everything she’d achieved apart. What Love E’er Meant shows a vulnerable woman behind the stark royal façade. And perhaps we now understand her ultimate decision – never to marry – a bit better.
I’m looking forward to the next instalment in this utterly enthralling series.
A highly recommended read.
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