Blurb
ALL’S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR…
The Welsh Marches, 1301
Strong-willed heiress Johane de Geneville is married to Roger Mortimer, Earl of March, at just fifteen years old.
Soon Johane finds herself swept up in a world of treacherous court politics and dangerous secrets as her husband deposes Edward II and rules England alongside Queen Isabella.
Yet when Roger is accused of treason, she is robbed of her freedom and must survive catastrophic events in her fight for justice – with her life, and her children’s, hanging in the balance…
Will she pay for her husband’s mistakes, or will she manage to escape from a terrible fate?
My Review
The story of Roger Mortimer and his dangerous affair with Queen Isabella is unforgettable, but I always wondered about his poor wife, neglected and abandoned. No longer! This is Johane’s story, married to a stranger because she was an heiress, loved, abandoned, then nearly condemned because of her relationship with the declared traitor. And it’s quite a story. Guilt-ridden because her two sisters were shut away in a convent so there would be no division over her father’s estate, it seemed she had no say in her duties either as a wife or a mother. At first, her husband was indifferent to the point of rudeness, but gradually Roger came to declare his love for her and she reveled in their marriage. That is, until he was arrested for treason, having participated in a rebellion against King Edward II and his favorite, Hugh Despenser, who coveted his Welsh estates. Johane eventually got caught up in the disgrace, shut up for five years in a far-away castle with four of her younger daughters. But this was only the first of many misfortunes that happened to our protagonist. Although Mortimer escaped from the Tower and execution, he ultimately ended up in the arms of the queen, intent on reviving his fortune with Isabella’s willing assistance. And from that, there was no return.
‘I see what is in your mind.’
‘I imagine that you do. Are you surprised? Every wagging tongue in the country knows that your return and your victory rests on the Queen’s favour.’ And I almost lost my temper, as I had promised not to do. ‘Are you her lover? They say that you are. Do they lie? Is there truth in the rumours that reach me every day, whispered behind hands?’ I recalled Maud’s announcement. ‘Have you indeed committed a monstrous adultery?’ There, it had been said between us.
His reply was immediate, without regret. ‘Yes. I am guilty of all of that, if it is guilt that you wish to apportion.’
And so the humiliation began. Johane showed amazing resilience throughout, and although she railed against her unfaithful husband, she never lost her dignity. I really wanted to clobber Mortimer because of the way he abandoned her, but even more frustrating was the way he willfully caused his own destruction. The young King Edward didn’t come out smelling like a rose, either, and his justified anger toward Mortimer encompassed the betrayed wife. But our Johane stood up to him as well, taking quite a risk in the process. This is a sad story, though you couldn’t help admiring the lady and her spunk.
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