Blog Tour: At the Mercy of the Queen by Anne Clinard Barnhill

Author: Anne Clinard Barnhill
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Date of Publication: January 2012


At the innocent age of fifteen, Lady Margaret Shelton arrives at the court of Henry VIII and quickly becomes the confidante of her cousin, Queen Anne Boleyn. But she soon finds herself drawn into the perilous web of Anne’s ambition.

Desperate to hold onto the king’s waning affection, Anne schemes to have him take her guileless young cousin as mistress, ensuring her husband’s new paramour will owe her loyalty to the queen. But Margaret has fallen deeply in love with a handsome young courtier. She is faced with a terrible dilemma: give herself to the king and betray the love of her life or refuse to become his mistress and jeopardize the life of her cousin, Queen Anne.

When I read the synopsis for this book, I thought it looked pretty interesting.  I will admit up front, that my knowledge of the history of the time period is very weak. So, I can't attest to accuracy of the historical facts intertwined within the story. I was looking forward to reading this book, but unfortunately it fell short for me.   I did like the concept.  Any peek into the past can be interesting and informative.   I also did like Madge and really felt for her situation.  Being forced into something you don't want to do is just not something that would be appealing to anyone. 

So, what happened? I just had a hard time connecting with the story.  The language and dialect that was used kept the story from flowing for me.  I also didn't really feel the relationship and love between Madge and Arthur.  I'm not sure when they really fell in love or why.  It has gotten great reviews so far, so I think that lovers of this type of story will want to read this one.  I just wasn't for me.

About the author:

Anne Clinard Barnhill has published short stories, poetry, a memoir and hundreds of articles and book reviews over the last twenty years. This is her first novel. Barnhill has taught writing in a variety of venues and been keynote speaker for numerous events. She lives in North Carolina.

Tour Schedule:  http://hfvirtualbooktours.blogspot.com/2011/12/anne-clinard-barnhill-on-tour-for-at.html
Link to Anne Barnhill's Website:  http://www.anneclinardbarnhill.com/
Anne Barnhill on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/acbarnhill
Anne Barnhill on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/acbarnhill
Twitter Event Hashtag: #MercyOfTheQueenVIrtualTour