This book is a send up of The Wars of the Roses and its many and sundry characters, and if you are unfamiliar with the period it probably isn’t the book for you as most of the jokes will likely go right over your head. Those who have read up on this period and craving for more like Brian Wainwright’s hilarious The Adventures of Alianore Audley, you might want to consider giving this one a whirl.
This book pairs the infamous she-wolf Margaret of Anjou off with a most unexpected lover. I won’t spill the beans but what a delightful twist that was and what complications that arose from that relationship. Clark definitely seems to know her period and she pokes ample fun at everyone, adds delightful new spins to all the myths as well as a couple of ever so delightful swipes at one over-hyped historical fiction author currently writing about this period (see if you can guess),
“One day she’d use it to defeat those who stood against her. Like maybe by raising a mist to confuse them in a battle like has been suggested by at least one popular author recently but she probably just doesn’t get it, I mean, there’s people been writing this stuff for a long time, and researching and thinking and have moved on from the whole Wydeville witch thing, but she’s decided to resurrect all that Melusine nonsense and write about witches raising mists to confuse their enemies in battle which is what Elizabeth Grey, newly widowed widow and witch thought maybe she’d do one day.”
Oh and there’s ever so randy Edward IV,
“Ned was very pleased with himself for having found himself such a hot girl. Lizzie was pleased with herself because she was sure that Ned was more than he said he was. She had a sneaking suspicion that he might be the king in disguise!”
“Meanwhile, in Calais, the Earl of March was getting bored because he’d bedded all the women in Calais in the first week and there weren’t anymore. They fluttered around him like wanton butterflies, drunk with his beauty and sexual potency. They lifted their skirts and thrust their quivering bosoms in his face which pleased him a great deal.”
And let us not forget Margaret’s son Edward of Lancaster,
“In his mother’s the queen’s tent at the edge of the battlefield, Prince Edward was practising ordering people’s heads to be chopped off. He was getting good at it and couldn’t wait to do it for real.”
Last but not least young Richard of Gloucester, vilified by the Tudors,
“So, I have to hate her?” the frail and angelic® Richard or Dickon said frowning. “But Ned likes her and I am fiercely loyal to him and always will be!”
Honorable to the end, as well as always always always “frail and angelic® Richard or Dickon”.
All in all this was a hilarious send up of the period, and I was laughing my arse off for most of it (loved the A Very Neville Christmas chapter, including I’m Dreaming of White Rose Christmas). I did have some formatting issues on my kindle edition, especially an occasional large bold font where none should be, as well as some rather lengthy sentences that could use some judicious editing. A few of the jokes fell flat (at least for me), but otherwise a jolly good read and a big thanks to Brian W for mentioning it at Goodreads or I’d have missed all the fun.
FTC, an Amazon verified purchase.
At Home With A Good Book and the Cat 
Looks like it was worth the download, eh? Guess I’ll bite and hit the “buy” button, LOL.
Wish is was lendable, but at least the price is a lot cheaper than a ticket to a comedy show. Plus I think you’ll laugh more.
This sounds irresistible – I absolutely LOVED The Adventures of Alianore Audley! I am quite certain I have never laughed out loud so much reading a book.
Brian has quite a good sense of humor. He participates in the R3 group at Goodreads and he’s had me on the floor lol’ing quite often.
This sounds fun. Haven’t read The Adventures of Alianore Audley either but I ordered Within The Fetterlock.
Fetterlock is very good, but you need your thinking cap. Not a light read by any means.
Hey, you can’t comment on your “my thoughts on historical accuracy in novels” post, so I’m having to do it here. (Sorry for hijacking.)
I just got WAILED on on Goodreads because someone didn’t appreciate my review of “Her Mother’s Daughter: A Novel of Mary Tudor.” The person in the comments kept screaming — oh hell, I’ll just post the whole thing:
“Well, here’s the thing about historical fiction – IT’S FICTION! you sound upset that this book wasn’t more historically accurate or that the author didn’t spend more time making the story more complex. It’s a work for fiction! If you read any comments from the author regarding this book you would know she didn’t write it to convince anyone of anything, she wrote it as a possible theory about who Mary Tudor was and where she came from. Why can’t you be more open-minded about fiction?? This is not a biographical work, it’s a made up story. What’s so wrong about that? Sorry for being harsh, I just find negative reviews like this are most always nit-picky and unfair, especially when you compare a piece of fiction to a biographical work. It’s not going to be the same thing.”
Do you mind if I click the share button and/or link to your post about historical accuracy in novels? Because it sums up what I think better than I could ever say it.
Hi MAP, link away. I’ll mosey off to Goodreads to see what the fuss is.
Thanks for the backup Misfit! Y’all really went above and beyond — I really appreciate it. Considering that was one of my more moderately written reviews (I’ve really dragged some books through the mud on GR) it was somewhat shocking to get that kind of response to it.
No worries, and always glad to call out the troops. I think this reviewer was earnest in her thoughts, but in general the *IT’S FICTION* groups drive me nuts
Oh, and I posted your link on my blog. So that the uh…one person who reads it will appreciate it. 😉 (she will like it, though)