The Traitor's Wife (edition 2009)

Wow, this book took forever to read.

This book is ostensibly about Eleanor (de Clare) le Despenser. Eleanor de Clare is the grand-daughter of Edward I, favorite niece of Edward II and becomes the wife of Hugh le Despenser (who becomes the lover of Edward II). This book starts when Eleanor is 13 and ends at her death, and mostly involves the reign of Edward II and later, Queen Isabella and Roger Mortimer.

I didn't/don't know much about the reigns of Edward I/II/III, so I am glad I read this (and spent hours crawling through Wikipedia to learn more), but I wouldn't necessarily recommend this book to anyone.

Higginbotham clearly did her research, unfortunately, she spent more time on naming characters (full names, pet names, the ever-changing claim-names) and not enough time on character development *or* descriptions.

I feel like the novel would have been better with a whole lot more people and a lot more descriptions of the scene and life at the time. Because of the huge cast of characters and the complexity of court life and politics at the time, I spent quite a bit of time confused, and not really enjoying the story.

The story *did* get better after Eleanor's husband died, but then, there was a lot less going on.

I dunno.. plenty of good history, too many characters and no characterizations, too much confusion, and no one was developed well enough for me to really care about anyone.

I think I was supposed to like Eleanor, but she mostly baffled me. Without a sign of her supposed attraction to her King Uncle, she discovers he is her husband's lover! and throws off her clothes to sleep with him. Wha? Random stuff like that pops up everywhere. There's no motivation, there's no sense of purpose or sympathy, and the main character is pretty unbelievable (for such a shrewd woman, she sure does miss a lot).

Meh. I didn't hate it, but I wouldn't tell anyone else to try it out. At least I got a good history lesson out of it. ( )

Wow, this book took forever to read.

This book is ostensibly about Eleanor (de Clare) le Despenser. Eleanor de Clare is the grand-daughter of Edward I, favorite niece of Edward II and becomes the wife of Hugh le Despenser (who becomes the lover of Edward II). This book starts when Eleanor is 13 and ends at her death, and mostly involves the reign of Edward II and later, Queen Isabella and Roger Mortimer.

I didn't/don't know much about the reigns of Edward I/II/III, so I am glad I read this (and spent hours crawling through Wikipedia to learn more), but I wouldn't necessarily recommend this book to anyone.

Higginbotham clearly did her research, unfortunately, she spent more time on naming characters (full names, pet names, the ever-changing claim-names) and not enough time on character development *or* descriptions.

I feel like the novel would have been better with a whole lot more people and a lot more descriptions of the scene and life at the time. Because of the huge cast of characters and the complexity of court life and politics at the time, I spent quite a bit of time confused, and not really enjoying the story.

The story *did* get better after Eleanor's husband died, but then, there was a lot less going on.

I dunno.. plenty of good history, too many characters and no characterizations, too much confusion, and no one was developed well enough for me to really care about anyone.

I think I was supposed to like Eleanor, but she mostly baffled me. Without a sign of her supposed attraction to her King Uncle, she discovers he is her husband's lover! and throws off her clothes to sleep with him. Wha? Random stuff like that pops up everywhere. There's no motivation, there's no sense of purpose or sympathy, and the main character is pretty unbelievable (for such a shrewd woman, she sure does miss a lot).

Meh. I didn't hate it, but I wouldn't tell anyone else to try it out. At least I got a good history lesson out of it. ( )

If you like meaty historical fiction, this book will not disappoint. It is not a quick read, but an involved work of literature that brings to life Eleanor le Despenser, a character from history that I had known nothing about. I had to google the Despensers and Edward II, of course, to learn what I could about them. Very interesting events in the history of England, which the author brings to life skillfully and pretty accurately. Of course she liberally interprets her version of events, but historical fiction: it is what it is and I love it! ( )

Newcomer Susan Higginbotham takes on the tumultuous British medieval era, where any man claiming to be king must spend his life fighting to keep his throne and at any moment anyone -even his own wife -can turn against him. The period is expertly explored through the eyes of Eleanor de la Clare, a wealthy earl's daughter who is married to Hugh le Dispenser, heir to one of the most power and influential families in the realm, as well as a close friend to King Edward II. Though Eleanor and Hugh are cold to one another at first, they grow to love one another passionately. Amid a backdrop of betrayal, lust and always-changing court intrigue, Eleanor bears Hugh several children and remains his faithful wife as he goes off to war and serves his king...even though he is unfaithful to her, even in ways considered scandalous by many in the time period.

Eleanor and the Dispenser family's rise to power, however, becomes their downfall. Edward's Queen Isabella invades England with an army and an ambitious lover and forces Edward to flee and declares her and the former king's young son, Edward III, as king, though she installs herself and her lover as regents until the young king comes of age. This shift in power blows Eleanor's world apart -both her husband and her father-in-law are declared traitors and executed, while Eleanor must now fight with the crown to protect her children, her wealth and her own life. Eleanor's struggle is portrayed in a compelling, beautiful and highly researched hand that make the characters, especially the powerful Eleanor, come alive.

Even though I was on vacation when I read The Traitor's Wife, I was constantly drawn back to the compelling world of Eleanor le Dispenser. I couldn't wait to get back to my hotel room in the evening so I could sneak just a few more pages before dozing off to sleep. Between plane rides and pre-bedtime reads I devoured the entire book in just a few days and was eager to read more immediately after the final page. Even though I admit the first half of the book (before Hugh dies) is somewhat slow, boring and reads like a soap-opera style historical romance, the story picks up in the second half, and weaves the quasi-soap opera romance into enthralling politics, intrigue and pure history. ( )

This book by Higginbotham was an excellent read. I am not a fan of historical novels but do read them and this is an excellent read. You are grabbed by the characters and pulled through the novel. There are some hard times for the characters and some good and the characters are believable and interesting. Glad I read it.

J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the 'Isms'" ( )