Genre: Historical Fiction
Published:
Pages: 209
The true adventure of young King Edward III. In The Boy King’s Tale, two entwined love stories, young and old, lead to betrayal, murder and the near overthrow of a kingdom in this epic story of son and bride, mother and lover, in the extraordinary tale of the earliest days of one of England’s most revered kings, Edward III. Parts of the story have been glimpsed before, the folly of a king and the beautiful queen who raised an army to defeat him and place her young son on the throne in his place, but here is told of the queen’s plot with her lover to murder her son and his young queen bride, to place their infant prince on the English throne that they might rule in absolute power. The dark and twisted world of medieval politics, war, glory, love, sex and romance, and the fate of the future are in the balance on one fateful night when rescue or death was held on the turn of a confession to a faceless monk. Told by English court poet, Geoffrey Chaucer, as one of his tales, on the day death bells toll from the steeples of Westminster.
I received a copy of this audiobook through Netgalley. This is my honest review.
This story was told as a story within a story, much like The Princess Bride, it just uses a very well known English author as the main storyteller. It seems to tell the true story of King Edward III, but I don't know enough of British history to even begin to guess at how accurate the story is. I'm also not really sure what was gained from writing the story as if it were being told by Chaucer.
All that aside, I was absolutely engrossed in the tale. The intrigue of court and a woman conspiring against both her husband and her son in an attempt to wield her own power over the land. It honestly felt like she was just up there conspiring to kill everyone who might possibly be against her and her new man.
The narration was mostly pleasant, although I did have a small issue with the opposite gendered voices feeling a little bit like caricatures, but only slightly as there wasn't a real heavy emphasis on them.
Overall I give The Boy King's Tale 3.9743 out of 5 stars. - Katie
Michael January is a writer for film and television as well as a travel writer and photographer. His "Favorite Castles" book series is in its fifth edition with "Favorite Castles of Germany" and "Favorite Castles of Switzerland" as well as England, Wales and the Castles of Ireland. He regularly writes of historical connections and has followed in the literal footsteps the Romantic writers. "The Secret Memoirs of Mary Shelley: Frankenstein Diaries - The Romantics" was his first historical novel. Next followed the WWII adventure and love story of pilots in the Battle of Britain, "Aces". He also appears in the screenwriting documentary and companion book from Harper Collins "Tales From The Script: 50 Hollywood Screenwriters".
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