Welcome my latest TLC Book Tour for Girl of Many Crowns by D. H. Morris. I received a free review copy of this book from the publisher for this stopover.
I was not paid for this review and all opinions, thoughts and rants are completely my own.
About The Girl of Many Crowns
Publisher: New Classics Publishing, LLC (September 1, 2024)
The Girl of Many Crowns is the true and inspiring story of Judith, the first princess of France, who is a pawn in a complex political game of chess as her father, King Charles, tries to hold on to his kingdom. King Charles, grandson of Emperor Charlemagne, is beset on every side by Vikings, rebel lords, and greedy neighboring monarchs. He marries 12-year-old Judith to Aethelwulf, the aging King of Wessex, for political advantage. When she is widowed less than two years later, he arranges a second marriage for her. But, when Judith refuses to marry a third time at her father’s command, King Charles imprisons her in one of his palaces.
Baldwin Iron Arm is a powerful knight from Flanders who pledges loyalty to King Charles and his family. As the companion of Judith’s brother, Louis, he fulfills his oath by protecting King Charles’ family from Vikings, rebel lords, wars, and assassination plots. He is conflicted when he must choose between obeying the king and rescuing his daughter Judith from her imprisonment.
About the author:
A native of San Diego, California, D. H. Morris has lived on four continents and traveled through many countries. She has four children and eleven grandchildren and currently lives with her husband in Kansas City, Missouri. She graduated from Utah State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre and Choral Music education and pursued graduate work in English at USU and law at the University of Utah. She is also a published playwright.
As a descendant of Judith and Baldwin, the author discovered their intriguing story while doing a genealogical project. This journey inspired her to spend years researching everything about the 9th Century – including food, politics, travel, war, education, clothing, jewelry, religion, holidays, marriage customs, and medicine. She loves talking about this remarkable time in history when the European countries we know today were just being formed and fighting for their very existence.
What I thought…
A Girl of Many Crowns is definitely historical fiction. At times, it is a little too much history. I realize that background is needed as we are talking about 9th century France (and England and Denmark). At times I just wanted more about Judith and Baldwin sooner. I would have preferred the tale start with her marriage to the elderly Aethelwulf with a few flashbacks.
Although Judith’s fate (as a woman and a pawn) was wrapped up with her father and brothers’ histories, I would have preferred just Judith’s perspective.
The Food
Honestly, I was too busy trying to keep track of all the characters, history and intrigue. Food did not play a vital role in the novel. I did find a few medieval French recipes here though. The Chicken with Fennel dish sounds intriguing but I would probably modify it a bit.
Thanks again to TLC for the opportunity to read this book. I did learn a lot of history. 🙂
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