Review: What Love E’er Meant by Janet Wertman

A new queen must prove she deserves the throne God gave her, while the path everyone insists will secure it might cost her everything

Against all odds, Elizabeth Tudor has become Queen of England. Determined to fulfill what she sees as a divine responsibility, she sets out to heal a country ravaged by religious discord, war, and debt – and vindicate the legacy of Anne Boleyn, the mother who did not deserve her fate.

But Elizabeth’s crown is not fully secure: to the Catholic world, her cousin Mary Stuart is the rightful Queen of England and there are rumblings to put her there. Shoring up defenses requires that Elizabeth challenge France’s control of Scotland and Spain’s dominance on the seas, as well as calm internal strife. Above the din of menace, one question dominates all others: who will she marry?

William Cecil, her trusted Secretary of State, urges her to secure an alliance through a strategic match. Robert Dudley, the love of her life, pressures her to choose him. And Mary herself presents a cautionary tale. In the end, Elizabeth chooses not as a woman but as a queen, and learns the sobering truth of sovereignty: to rule is to stand alone.

What Love E’er Meant, the searing second volume in the Regina Trilogy, captures a young queen’s struggle to balance love and power, duty and desire…and the profound cost of choosing crown over heart.

My Review

This novel begins at the beginning of Elizabeth’s reign. It’s interesting to see this young, spirited, vulnerable princess step into her destiny. She has had a tough upbringing so far and has learned many bitter lessons that will direct her behavior in the future, especially as concerning love and restraint. Especially restraint. With Robert Dudley at her side, she appreciates the closeness and excitement he brings, but is more than ever aware that her position cannot be compromised. And with all of her council calling for her to choose a husband, she is driven to distraction because marriage is not what she wants. Not yet. Possibly not ever. If she did decide to marry, why not Robert? She knows he is nobody’s favorite except hers:

Elizabeth glared at her former governess. “You know nothing improper has ever happened. My life is one of duty. Robert Dudley’s company is one of the few things that calms me. He distracts me, makes me laugh. He makes me happy.”
“It should be a husband who makes you happy, and you will never have an honorable marriage if you continue like this.”
Honorable. As if Elizabeth were the beggar in the equation instead of the monarch. “I have always said I do not intend to marry.”
“Intentions change. Politics change,” Kat said. “But reputations remain. And Robert Dudley’s bad name will tarnish yours.”

This goes on and on, especially when Dudley’s wife dies under mysterious circumstances and all the fingers point at him. Interestingly, in most of the other books I read, Amy Dudley’s untimely death marks the end of Robert’s romance with the Queen; she couldn’t possibly survive the scandal. But in this book, that doesn’t happen and he still keeps on hoping after the dust has settled. Is this more accurate? Intriguing, but hard to say. Meanwhile, we see what a mess Mary Queen of Scots makes of her life when marrying for “love”, and Elizabeth takes her cousin’s troubles to heart. She couldn’t have envisioned a more appropriate warning. The whole marriage question takes over as prime importance in this novel, and I found myself hoping she would take the proverbial plunge. But of course, history will have its say!

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Meet Janet Wertman

Janet Wertman’s critically acclaimed, character-driven historical novels reflect a passion for the Tudor era she had harbored since she stayed up late at age eight to watch The Six Wives of Henry VIII and Elizabeth R.

Her Seymour Saga trilogy (Jane the Quene, The Path to Somerset, The Boy King) took her deep into one of the era’s central families – and now her follow-up Regina series (Nothing Proved and What Love E’er Meant out now, Forever Gloriana to come) explores Elizabeth’s journey from bastard to icon.