I am delighted to be taking part in the blog tour for the brilliant new book by historical fiction author Tracey Warr. Check out the review below and check out the details of all the other stops on the blog tour in the banner above.
CONQUEST: DAUGHTER OF
THE LAST KING
BY TRACEY WARR
This is the
first book in the Conquest trilogy by Tracey Warr and it centres around a
number of real historical figures most notably Princess Nest ferch Rhys
daughter of the last independent Welsh King; Rhys King of Deheubarth. Nest is
captured from her home by Normans invading her
lands and held hostage at Cardiff Castle
Although
the book is peopled with a large cast of characters the relationships are well
delineated by the author so that readers don’t become confused and joy of joys
there are maps, family trees, historical notes and even a floor plan of Cardiff
Nest is an
absolutely fascinating character torn between two cultures and eventually
between the love of two men. The book also features letters and journal
extracts from other characters; Faithful Knight Haith and his sister Benedicta and
Gerald FitzWalter a faithful friend to Nest adding further insight and details
about court life and the ongoing fighting between the Normans and Welsh and especially amongst the Normans themselves. This
book offers fantastic insight into the lives of women of the period; the
frustration of being kept in the dark about events, the lack of control, the
insistence on bearing a son and heir and the constant reminders that a woman’s
greatest currency is in her ability to bear children.
There is a wonderful quality to Tracey's writing, every character and setting really leaps off the page and I can imagine this book making a fantastic film or television series.
This is a
wonderful novel brilliantly researched and told in a fantastic page turning
style it will appeal to fans of Carol McGrath, Joanna Courtney and Patricia
Bracewell. I thoroughly enjoyed it and cannot wait for the next instalment.
Thanks so much to Natalie at Impress Books for the chance to read the book and take part in the blog tour.
Conquest is available from Impress and published on October1st.
Hallo, Hallo Lisa!
ReplyDeleteMy tour stop was today for #Conquest and I happily linked to your review on mine! I was trying to track down the bloggers on the tour card and add links as I found them! :) I also wanted to visit the other bloggers, as I was so wicked excited for this tour! It's the first I've hosted with Impress Books and I've been smitten with their novels, since I first read Almodis which introduced me to Warr!
I loved how we both highlighted the central arc of the narrative moving between Nest and the journals left behind to cross integrate the rest of the evolving sphere of the novel's setting, period of history and the goings on of the central characters. It was quite an interesting cross section of interest and forethought of how a novel can be told.
I found the whole scope brilliantly writ, same as you, and nothing felt muddled at all. As you said, it's a large cast and the setting is evolving in scope too, even though set at distinctive places of interest for the most part.
Lovely to visit with you, today! Nice to know those of us who love Historicals are finding Impress Books!
Hi Jorie, Thank you so much for linking to my review. I checked out your blog and I love it.
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