The Follies of the King

The first half of the book is a little slow and unappealing, but it gets better as it goes along, with the last two chapters being especially engaging.

My main criticism, as always with Jean Plaidy, it the amount of repeated information. The most annoying of which in this novel being the queen’s need of a son.

The author did a good job with making Edward II go from someone I had no sympathy for to someone I had the utmost sympathy for by the end of the book. I’m familiar with the king's history, but through this fictionalised account, emotion comes through far more than in any biographical account.

Won’t give anything away, but will say the ending is one of the best this author ever concocted. It’s definitive in its own right, show more while leaving the reader – this one, anyway – keen to read the next in the Plantagenet saga. show less

When Edward I dies in 1307, he leaves his work half-done. The Scots, to whom he has been a fearful enemy, have come together under the charismatic leadership of Robert the Bruce and promise to undo Edward’s many recent gains. His barons are powerful men, mindful of the power granted to their class during the reign of Edward’s despotic grandfather John, and unwilling to risk losing it again. Governed by character, they have led where Edward leads because he is a powerful, honourable, impressive and dynamic king. But his death leaves England with a king of a very different type: his son, also called Edward. Edward II is 23 at the time of his father’s death and yet has failed to acquire any of the trappings of adulthood. Flighty, show more immature and easily swayed, he has since boyhood been in thrall to the dazzling Piers Gaveston, son of a Gascon knight. And, of all the things Edward I’s death might mean to Edward II, the foremost is that the exiled Gaveston can finally come home. With this recall, young Edward sets in motion a series of tragic consequences that will lead to unrest, treason, murder and civil war...

For the full review, please see my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2019/05/07/the-follies-of-the-king-jean-plaidy/ show less

This is the 8th book in the series and although I enjoyed the book it is not the most gripping of books in the saga. I have read several others regarding Edward II, actually they were not historical fiction, and I found them more engaging than this. This was somewhat surprising to me as I love Jean Plaidy and was expecting, being it historical fiction, it would be more "juicy" and in fact it was not. I found that I could not connect with any of the characters, which again is surprising as Jean Plaidy finds a way for you to feel some kind of emotion for all of them. I have already started Book #9 and am enjoying it so much more.