Publisher: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Publication date: March 3, 2020
I received an ARC of this book from the author for a fair & impartial review
I am always excited when I have a historical fiction novel in my hands. Especially, if the story is based on real life persons and events. I visited Florence recently, and am reading books (nonfiction) about that city, its history and famous persons. Its history is also connected to the history of other city states and kingdoms in the peninsula that today is Italy.
Jane Ann McLachlan's historical novel
The Girl Who Tempted Fortune, is set in the Kingdom of Naples. I have not read much about this kingdom, although its history is closely connected to other European history. I was therefore pleased when I got the opportunity to read this book. The summary:
"In the royal courts of medieval Europe, where aristocrats vie for power and royal cousins battle over crowns, is it possible for the lowly daughter of a fisherman to dream of becoming mother to a monarch?
Impossible!
Yet Philippa of Catania, the daughter of a Sicilian fisherman, risks everything to ride the wheel of fortune to the dizzying heights of power. And in the most enlightened kingdom of all Christendom, the 14th Century court of King Robert the Wise and his beautiful and brilliant heir, Queen Joanna 1 of Naples, it might not be so impossible after all.
Follow the real story of Philippa of Catania as she defies the limits of birth and station on an unbelievable yet true journey to the heights of power and wealth in 14th Century Italy."
If it had not been for the prophecy her great grandmother once told, Philippa's mother might not have seen an opportunity for her to get away from her poor life.
"This girl will travel far from home and rise high above her station. She will be mother to a queen - ...". In 1298, prince Robert of Anjou is in Sicily to conquer the island for the Kingdom of Naples. His wife, princess Violante, accompanies her husband although she is pregnant. Once the labour starts, the local mid-wife, Philippa's mother, takes Philippa with her to help with the important birth. Philippa is hired as wet nurse to the child, Charles. She is herself a young mother and married to an older man. The course she has entered will take her away from her family and Sicily for a new life at the court of the king of Naples.
Philippa's story and events are told in different time frames; between autumn 1298 to summer 1302, and March to October 1346. The former years tell the story of Philippa's new life, her sorrows, her ambitions and her life dependent on the whim of royal people. The final year is told as present day, and related to the terrible events that is occurring. Under the strain of the situation, Philippa is looking back on her life, how it developed, and what was really the meaning of the prophecy.
I am not always fond of stories going back and forth. In the beginning, I was wondering why the author had chosen such a way of telling her story, when it could have been told chronologically. However, as the two time frames develop, I realised it adds another perspective to the story. As you read what is happening in 1346, the initial story unfolds and gives you the background you need. As the times turn bad in the city, so does the situation for Philippa and her family. Imprisonment and torture were standards in those days, and Ms McLachlan does not shy away from describing such events.
That is probably why this is such an excellent and interesting novel. There is history, a little bit of romance and politics, but above all the nitty gritty dealings of the day. It brings the real world into the story, which I found very thrilling. Making a check on the real history, I found that Ms McLachlan has obviously done a lot of research, and treated the facts with respect. All through the story she brings in various real life characters, making history alive, taking you to the Naples of the day. Above all, she has written an interesting account of a fantastic woman, who rose above her station. What a life she led, and what an ending. Wonderfully, written novel and highly recommended.
This is the second book of the Kingdom of Naples series. The first book is:
The Girl Who Would Be Queen. Each of the books can be read separately.
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