BOOK REVIEW: The Rogue Queen by Marcia Maxwell

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• ISBN-13: 9781507503416
• Publisher: CreateSpace Publishing
• Publication date: 1/9/2015
• Pages: 378

Blurb

In the year of grace 1308 Isabelle of France marries Edward II of England, becoming his Queen Consort. She soon discovers, however, that the king is not the man of her dreams but rather an unstable, erratic individual who prefers digging ditches and thatching roofs to running the country, coupled with a dangerous obsession for greedy and ambitious male favorites who do not like sharing the king's favors. Isolated and powerless in the English Court, Isabelle struggles to protect herself and her children as she slowly gains friends and allies. But how can she, a woman, prevent her adopted country from descending into the chaos of war between the barons and the king? And what is the meaning of the oubliette that haunts her dreams?

Filled with meticulously researched detail, The Rogue Queen recounts the incredible true story of one woman who refused to accept society's limited role for her as it brings to vivid life the people and events of fourteenth century England.

My Review

I was lucky enough to receive this book directly from the author in return for an honest review on my blog.

The Rogue Queen by Marcia Maxwell had me hooked from the very start, which is obviously the absolute best thing you can say about a book! I thought the research was well done, although the book seemed to have a bit of a different account of the lives of King Edward II and Queen Isabelle. That’s fine by me though, because the same book about historical characters, written by different authors, gets boring. I like to see a bit of a different twist on the lives of historical figures, to see an author’s different perspective of the lives of these fascinating people.

The author did an amazing job at describing the different scenes, as well as where they took place and the details of these places. I was really able to picture the different characters and scenes clearly through the author’s descriptions and clear writing style. She also did a great job at not bogging the reader down with pages and pages of details, there was an equal balance between descriptions, dialogue, and action. The only complaint that I have, would be that the dialogue is pretty modern, and that was a little off putting when reading a novel that takes place in the 1300’s. However, I was able to look past that, and overall enjoy the novel. Plus, I must admit that I have a soft spot in my heart of Ms. Maxwell, as she is a High School French Teacher, and I am a High School English Teacher, and we teachers must stick together these days!!

I give this novel a FOUR out of FIVE stars!

Meet the Author

Marcia Maxwell first stumbled upon Isabelle's story while editing a fourteenth century manuscript in Anglo-Norman French for her Ph.D. thesis at Michigan State University, which is not as dull as it sounds. Now living in the Pacific Northwest, when she's not writing she teaches high school French.

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