Saturday 17 January 2009

Book review - The Lady in the Tower by Marie-Louise Jensen

Eleanor Hungerford’s mother has been imprisoned under a false accusation for four years. Even in this prison, her life is in danger as her food has been poisoned. Her only chance is Eleanor, who smuggles food to her, keeping her alive. But Eleanor’s father has arrived back to the castle, bringing with him almost the entire court, including the King, for a grand tournament. This makes Eleanor’s job much harder. However, once she discovers that she is to be married and move away, preventing her from sending food to her mother, and also stumbles upon another plot to poison Lady Hungerford, she decides that their only chance is to run away before the wedding.

This book is set at the time of Henry VIII and is apparently based on a true story. I love the setting because the society that they live in, as well as their particular situation, makes it so difficult for Eleanor and her mother to escape. Jensen has clearly done her research well, only a couple of minor details felt wrong. The two main characters were well written and their interactions were lively and amusing. However, occasionally she uses characters to dump information for the reader. The little brother often announces random info and the mother’s first letter went along the lines of, ‘I watched you out of the window. I have been here, locked away in this tower, for four years. It is horrible.’ Which was annoying, but mostly in the first few pages to set the scene, so if you carry on reading, it stops quite quickly.

Despite these problems, I really, really enjoyed this book. As I think about it analytically, I can see small faults, but somehow these don’t really matter. The writing had a perfect balance of tension, romance and action, and I cared enough about the characters to overlook the problems. For me, this is very rare. Normally I’d be pulled right out of the action, but the writing had me so hooked that I noticed these things, but didn’t even really care about them. It’s only fair to point out that I only noticed these things because I have studied Tudor history extensively and I can honestly also say that this was one of the best representations of Tudor society that I have ever read. Jensen’s writing is captivating and the story is engaging. Definitely worth getting, and I hope to read a lot more from this author.

20 comments:

  1. I LOVED THIS BOOK - it is really emotional and very good, i recommend it for teens . THE END PART IS THE BEST ! :D

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  2. I bought this book without really wanting it (3 for 2 offer at waterstones) after reading it I was really glad I did buy it, it was great :)
    I then got my sister to read and she hardlyever reads books. She didn't put it down and read it in less than a day! -Literally just over 4hours.
    Now I really want to find another book for her to read on her holidays this summer. I need suggestions for a book similar to this set in around the same time.
    Help.
    thanks.

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  3. I bought mine 3 for 2 at Borders and was surprised by it too! Hmm, I don't know what age exactly you want, which makes it harder. You could try Meg Cabot's 'Nicola and the Viscount' though it's set at a later date and for a slightly younger audience.
    Similar books though they're set much later are Eva Ibbotson's historical books.
    A good book set in the same time is Mary Hoffman's 'The falconer's knot.' I've reviewed it here, so you can see whether it suits you - http://aboutbooksforteens.blogspot.com/2009/05/book-review-falconers-knot-by-mary.html

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  4. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this book it is wicked
    =] =] =]

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  5. I hardly ever read because it's hard to find a book that I like but this book was perfecto! I couldn't put this book down! I completely recommend this book! =D

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  6. I enjoyed the story but there were a lot of inaccuracies about the people concerned that really bugged me. It's very disappointing when you get interested in the characters to find out that the author's statement that she's been accurate with facts is misleading.

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  7. It is very good however I feel the end is way too
    mushy

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  8. i wanted to read more when i had finished the book

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  9. hello this is one of my favourite books my other favourute book is between the two seas by the same author

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  10. I love this book! i love reading anyway, but this has got to be my favourite book ever! I would reccomend this book to anyone, its so good!

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  11. omigod this book was so good wanted to read more. recommened to everyone =-)

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  12. This book was very good i wish we had a little more knowlege about Eleanor's future maraigge with Lord Stanton . I loved the historical basing

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  13. I really loved this book! Especially when she jousts in her cousins place and then she tells her riding teacher it was her... It was so sweet =3
    The mother annoyed me a bit though. She was a bit of a nuisance really. :)

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  14. I LOVE this book <3
    it was really great I'm hoping to buy it soon .
    :)

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  15. OMG This book is amazing. I was crying at the end because I wanted to read more!!
    No other book has every captured me like this, I really would recommened tis book to anyone who wants a very very good read!!

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  16. lord stanton sounds fit! ;)

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  17. the book makes you wish you were right there!!and that the story would go on and on

    love it!!
    go eleanor!!

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  18. I read this book as I love this genre. This was really well written and you really sympathise with Eleanor and her mother.

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  19. It's great! Excelent story line and great ideas and research.

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  20. I LOVE THIS BOOK :) i actually picked it from the bookshelf randomly, as i had nothing else to read, but i found i couldn't even put the book down for even a second!i was sad when i finished it though, but i liked the ending especially :)

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