Elizabeth St.John (1)

In Ms. St. John's trilogy, she shares her relative’s history, drawn from family diaries and at least one history written by an ancestor. This follows the lives of three main female characters and their clandestine activities on both sides of the battle of England throughout the English Civil War as families separated by opposing allegiances. Ms. St. John brings history to life and, what astonishing metaphors. To history lovers, I highly recommend this series.

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.… (altro)

I relished reading this story. I knew that I would love it so I read slowly to savor each paragraph. There was alot of plot movement in each paragraph which made the book a fast read. The Afterward explains how the author decided to write about these characters. Our Elysabeth Scope is one of the author's ancestors. Elysabeth's maiden name was St. John and our author performed extensive research not only genealogical but also historical about her ancestors. She gives the reader an alternative interpretation as to what happened to those two princes. No one really knows what happened to them so the ideas presented in the novel are plausible.

Because of her family connection to the characters, Elizabeth St. John presented them in a personal way. Family drama is exposed up front and close, especially with Elysabeth Scope's half-sister Margaret Beaufort. If you know Margaret's history, you know that she lived every day maneuvering around the changing politics of her day so that she and her son, Henry Tudor, come out on top. I see this novel not as historical fiction, which it is, but more so with family drama as the genre. I don't know if family drama can be a genre but the novel shows us one big dysfunctional family where every family member has their own desires and will manipulate every other family member for supremacy.

So what is the godmother's secret? Read the book and find out.… (altro)

The Godmother's Secret by Elizabeth St.John is the story of "The Princes in the Tower". Lady Elysabeth Scrope after attending the birth of Edward V, heir to the throne of England, Lady Scrope is tasked with being the person to protect Edward from the avarice of his family. Because she is a female, she has restrictions on what she can and can't do with the prince. She knows that she will do all she can to protect the future King of England.

After Edward's father, dies, Edward is to be crowned the King. Duke of Gloucester, and the Duke of Buckingham have other plans. Edward (Ned) and his brother are put in the Tower of London to 'protect' them. Lady Scrope has no trust in the two Dukes. She feels that they are doing what they are for nefarious reasons.

Margaret Beaufort is Lady Scropes sister, and she desperately wants her son Henry Tudor to be the next king and she will do what she can to see that this comes to fruition. Thus, the War of the Roses. After the boys were put in the Tower, Ned thought he was just in the Tower for safekeeping and to get ready for his coronation. That does not happen as we know, and King Richard III is put on the throne. He tells Lady Scrope that he is 'protecting the boys' from anyone who wishes them ill.

Margaret Beaufort will do whatever she can to see that her son is on the throne. After Richard is killed in the Battle of Bosworth. Edwards sister is Elizabeth of York, marries Henry Tudor and this puts an end to the War of the Roses. So, what happened to Edward and his brother Dickon? No one really knows, bones were found somewhere in the Tower, but they have not been tested so will we ever know? I like to think that Lady Scrope was able to spirit the boys away and they lived long and happy lives away from the machinations of the court. But will we ever know what actually happened to the boys? Will the bones that were found going to be tested? We may never know but I like to think that they grew up happy and had great lives even if not on the throne as was Edwards destiny

I am a huge fan of historical fiction and The Godmother's Secret for me is one of the best I have read. Elizabeth St. John did a humongous amount of research to try to keep the novel true to history. The characters leapt off the pages and you could almost believe that the reader was right there in this treacherous time in English history.

Of course, I will be giving this novel 5 stars, truly deserves more but that is all I can do. I do plan on reading more by Elizabeth St. John. If you are a fan of historical fiction and this period, then go read this book! You won't be disappointed.… (altro)

I liked the book but didn't love it. It started off very slow and then picked up only to drop off again and then escalated again until the end. It took me a very long time to connect with the main character Lucy and found I was more connected to her sister-in-law Anne. At times, there was unnecessary repetitiveness but I thoroughly enjoyed the healing remedy recipes between each chapters - very unique and interesting.

I will read the second book in the series but will read something in between first.… (altro)