Passage to Pontefract

I positively loved this book - may be my favorite so far in the saga/series and I am sad as I am almost done with it. This is the story of Richard II who succeeded his father Edward III to the throne. His reign started out somewhat strong but only because of his youth and the people loved him for it, however, he was an extravagant King and was more into his wardrobe, his favorite, and his Queen then ruling. It was no surprise he struggled so. As always Jean Plaidy keeps you engaged and brings the characters to life. Truly my favorite author of historical fiction of this time period!

As with the previous books in the Plantagenet series, the author tries to cover the lives of nearly everyone involved during the period covered. Because of her need to pack everything in, events are rushed over, which leads to lots of "telling" and a lack of "showing".

That said, this is a marked improvement on the previous novel in the series. Characterisation is better, and – despite a lot of reported speech – there is some quality dialogue exchanges, which helps bring the characters to life.

Edward III’s sons, Richard II, the future Henry IV, and various others are all interesting historic personages. The author does a pretty good job at breathing life into them.

What spoils things, however, is Jean Plaidy’s trait of repeating show more info to an annoying extent, including references to events in previous books in the Plantagenet series.

The main repetitive theme in this book is John of Gaunt’s frustration at not being Edward III’s firstborn. This is really forced down the reader’s throat. Just when you think the theme’s been dropped, it starts up again with John’s brother Thomas of Woodstock, who’s even further from the crown.

On the whole, I found this to be on of the better books of the Plantagenet saga, though like all the others, it has the potential of being much better. show less