Hugh and Bess

Not to be over dramatic, but this book came at the PERFECT time in my life. I literally JUST finished “Three Day Road” by Joseph Boyden, and while not being a BAD book, it was not an overly HAPPY one. And from the first sentence of Hugh and Bess I knew that it was going to be a delightful read. Which it totally WAS. I LOVED IT.

I really do not know much about Edward II, but interestingly enough I DID know about the standoff at Calais so parts of the book were very cool for that reason. What I LOVED about the novel is that each of the characters had a very distinctive VOICE. And Bess’s voice is so endearing, I liked her immediately. She is only 13 when we meet her, and she is a widow (thaaaat’s right.. I said WIDOW) and her show more parents have figured she had been widowing around long enough and it was high time for her to be married off.. again. Bess is not impressed, to say the least, especially when she finds out that her dear friend Joan is marrying her brother Will who is around their age, and Bess has to marry this old guy who is a whole 32 years old for heaven’s sake!
Eventhough this novel is set in the 14th century Bess's character is, in many ways, very typical of a any thirteen year old girl. For example how she is secretly annoyed at the fact the Joan has developed breasts long before she has.

"So why didn't you tell me? Don't you want to marry Will?"
"No."
"Why?"
"I have my reasons."
This had become Joan's favourite saying since she had started her monthly courses and developed those breasts of hers.

She is feisty, and outspoken, but also self conscious. All completely endearing qualities. Hugh, although relatively handsome, has a dark family history which horrifies Bess. But since she has no choice in the matter agrees to marry him.

Flashbacks to Hugh's past help us to understand his character and how it is vastly different to that of his distasteful and cruel father and Grandfather. He is a respectable and lovely man who is always trying to "do the right thing". We also learn of Emma, Hugh's first real love whom he will never be permitted to marry. A very respectable woman in her own right, who knows the rules of the court well enough to know she will never be married to Hugh, the only man she has ever really loved.

Throughout the story we are gently taken along as Hugh and Bess's feelings for one another grow, and we learn that their love is the stuff of fairy tales. That, which is to say, is not without its nightmares.

"Hugh and Bess" is a love story, and it is very well written and lovely to read. Personally, I could not put it down and read it in two days. And I will be ordering Higginbotham's other book "The Traitor's Wife" and then "The Stolen Crown" when it comes out. If this book is any indication of the story telling ability of the author than I know I will LOVE her other books as well. Historical fiction can be tricky. You need to have enough HISTORY to frame the story in it's place in time, but not TOO much and not TOO DRY to make it like a text book. Higginbotham's historical fiction blends the "historical" and the "fiction" perfectly. In fact, in my opinion, the mark of a great historical fiction novel is that you want to go on after you finish it and devour anything having to do with the family or historical persons portrayed in the book. Higginbotham's novel made me want to do that very thing. Also, the mark of ANY good book is at the very very end, when you finally close its cover , you actually sigh audibly as in "that was SUCH a great book."

RATING: 4.5/5 show less

Susan Higginbotham's Hugh and Bess is, at its heart, a love story. Forced to marry a man several years her elder, one who also happens to be the son of a traitor to the Crown, Bess de Montecute is less than pleased by her match with Hugh le Despenser. While willing to give his new bride a chance, Hugh's heart is already attached to another. Despite a less than promising beginning, Hugh and Bess gradually grow closer and realize their match was, in fact, a good one.

The strengths of Susan Higginbotham's novels rest with her attention to historical detail and solid character development. Hugh and Bess is no exception. While the primary focus of this novel is on the relationship between the title characters, key political, economic and show more social events of the period are skillfully woven into the story to provide context. The character development is also well done, especially that of Bess, who, over the course of the novel, grows from a sullen, spoiled child into a mature, compassionate and strong young woman.

Well-written and engaging, Hugh and Bess is sure to please fans of historical fiction, especially those interested in the medieval period. Although not necessary, I do recommend that anyone interested in this novel read The Traitor's Wife first, as it tells the story of Hugh's parents. show less

The author kept her reputation for fantastic research and world-building in this book. From the intimate of everyday life to the historical facts of the Black Death and the continuing life of the Despenser clan, Higginbotham made me live the period and kept me engaged throughout the entire novel.

I liked how three-dimensional Higginbotham makers her characters. She impressed me with her humanizing of figures that history likes to demonize n her previous book I read on the early Despensers. And while there aren’t any of those in this book, she still brings her current characters to vivid life in their own right.

I especially liked the third Hugh. Life has thrown a lot of crap his way, but he doesn’t brood and let it destroy the rest of show more his life. He pulls his family together and gives them a firm grounding for the future as their patriarch. He faces his obstacles with a great sense of humor and a vast reservoir of courage that I admired.

Great characters, world-building, and historical research make this another winner from Higginbotham. I liked the other book I’ve by her better, but this is a worthy read itself. Highly recommended for lovers of the genre. show less

Once again, excellent historical novelist Susan Higginbotham brings the fourteenth century to life, this time with the story of Bess de Montacute and Hugh le Despenser. She told the story of Hugh's parents in her previous book, The Traitor's Wife (which I reviewed in April, click the title or here to read my review) and she seamlessly picks up the threads for this part of the tale.

Thirteen year old Bess de Montacute is very unhappy to learn that her parents have chosen a husband for her. Her misery is complete when she learns that her intended husband is none other than Hugh le Despenser, whose father and grandfather were both executed as traitors. On top of that, he is twenty years older than she is. She detests him before they ever show more even meet.

For his part, Hugh has had a hard time of it. He was a prisoner for years after his father was killed and has done his best to show the King that he is loyal and worthy. His saving grace has been Emma, his childhood friend and lover for many years. She hasn't got the birth or wealth he needs to help him regain his family's lost place and so she refuses to marry him herself. With an aching heart, Hugh and Emma agree to sever their romantic relationship but remain close friends.

Though their marriage is frosty at first, Bess and Hugh gradually warm to each other and their growing relationship has a lovely tenderness to it. The many obstacles they encounter serve to draw them close together until neither can imagine why they had the feelings they both did at first.

This book is quite different from The Traitor's Wife , it is both shorter and less complicated. There are fewer outside characters and the tangles of court life are largely avoided. The stars of this story really are Hugh and Bess and their relationship, so the title is completely appropriate. The reader gets a rich, focused tale of complex emotional weight that is has a totally different feel than her first book did but is just as satisfying. I love Susan Higginbotham's books and am so looking forward to her next one! show less

In the novel Hugh and Bess, historical author Susan Higginbotham returns to fourteenth century England. In what is more of a continuation or sequel to The Traitor's Wife than a stand-alone novel, Higginbotham explores the life of Eleanor le Despenser's oldest son Hugh, heir to the Despenser family. As the son of a convicted traitor, Hugh must rebuild his family's reputation and take care of his younger siblings while navigating court games and ever-changing intrigues.

In particular, Higginbotham focuses her novel Hugh and Bess (okay, maybe it's more of a novella) on a love story between Hugh le Despenser and young Elizabeth "Bess," a well-to-do earl's daughter. After being widowed at the age of eleven, young Bess has been living with her show more family, waiting for her next husband. When the king suggests the match between Bess and Hugh le Despenser, her parents could hardly resist -even though the Despenser family is regarded as traitors and have a horrid past with the crown. Reluctantly, Bess marries Hugh, and finds that Hugh still has feelings for another woman. As Bess matures, she finds that marrying Hugh wasn't as detestable as she thought...

While the backbone of this story is a semi-steamy romance, Higginbotham also made sure there was plenty of room for history and oh-so-exciting court intrigue, as well as character development. Though young Bess starts out as a frivolous young girl, she grows in a mature and fascinating woman by the story's end. I became so interested in Bess, in fact, that I didn't want the story to end. She was still very young at the end and, as mentioned in the after word, Bess went on to do other things in her life, which could have been absolutely fascinating to explore. I really would have liked to see the story expanded into a heftier novel so it could stand apart from The Traitor's Wife more and give Bess more attention -though, of course, this would change the "love story" approach suggested by the novel's title, but it could be done and probably make the book even better.

It was also interesting to see a few flashbacks to events that took place during those documented in The Traitor's Wife to Hugh, though I thought it was just a tiny bit conceited -almost fit too perfectly together.

But I can't complain -Hugh and Bess is another lovely historical novel from Higginbotham! show less

After reading and loving The Traitor’s Wife, I eagerly anticipated Higginbotham’s sequel of sorts, Hugh and Bess. When it finally did arrive, I became so wrapped up in the soapy romantic drama that I dropped everything and finished it in a day. The story centers on a young Elizabeth de Montacute or Bess, the daughter of favored Earl and the much older, Hugh le Despenser, a wealthy (yet disgraced) Lord. Hugh’s grandfather and father were executed as traitors, and Hugh’s father was accused of adultery and sodomy with the former King. Hugh himself was imprisoned missing a near execution himself, but is now working hard to restore his family’s honor. Bess is understandably horrified at marriage into a family with such a show more reputation, and Hugh is honored by the match in theory, but he is in love with another woman. Can they find happiness in a marriage that neither sought and both are entering with reluctance?

At the heart of Hugh and Bess is a love story. Higginbotham manages to give Hugh and Bess an electric chemistry that compels throughout the historical drama. What makes the plot successful is Higginbotham’s tendency to ground the story in known facts then realistically elaborate the humanistic elements. For example, Bess begins the story at 13, and she reads and feels—13. This is a refreshing change from the tiny calculating power hungry seven-year-old cliché that dominates the historical fiction genre. Those who have read The Traitor’s Wife will be pleased as we get a few more glimpses of favorite characters. And this story takes care to fill in gaps in time, and show that story from different perspectives. You’ll want to read the Traitor’s Wife if you haven’t not because it is necessary for Hugh and Bess, but because it’s a great novel.

That said; the last few chapters seem to drag. We’ve moved on from a lot of the action, and not to spoil and plot lines, but the climatic challenges that face the couple, and the ensuing chapters read like and after thought. It was almost as if Higginbotham had fallen in love with her characters and was unwilling to let go. Also, having read The Traitor’s Wife, and other historical works of the time, I still found it hard to place some of the minor characters. It doesn’t help that the English nobility of the time only used a couple of family names repeatedly, ie, Elizabeth, Hugh, Edward, Isabella, Joan, William, etc… A little more guidance and more thorough introductions would have been helpful.

However by focusing on the romance, Higginbotham delivers a relatable historical fiction piece that transcends generations. If you (like me) just can’t get enough of these English court novels, I’m certain you’ll love Hugh and Bess. show less

Elizabeth de Montecute (Bess) is not a happy camper when she learns she is to be married to the son of the notorious Hugh le Despenser, lover to King Edward II. The fact that the son is nothing like the father does nothing to assuage her displeasure.

Now, Hugh is no more thrilled about the arrangement than Bess, but he’s a realist and when the king offers you an heiress and daughter of his closest advisors, you take it!

After the grisly execution of his father, the third Hugh le Despenser was imprisoned for a few years and then granted a release from King Edward III, whom he serves loyally. Hugh made a name for himself as a great fighter and led troops in some of England’s greatest victories, never once deviating from his lifelong show more mission of bringing back honor to the family name. His efforts are rewarded with the return of family land and the young and beautiful Bess for wife.

Hugh & Bess is a story of two people coming to terms with their fate and the journey along the way. One thing that really sets Susan Higginbotham apart as an author for me is her ability to bring her sense of humor to each character. And characters that can poke fun at themselves are my kinda people! If you’ve ever read her blog, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Another thing Susan is also brilliant at is dialogue, which seems to me the hardest part of writing a novel.

Hugh & Bess is a great historical fiction novel for pro or amateur and at 320 pages it’s an easy one-sit read! show less