Genre: Historical Fiction
Release Date: October 2015
Publisher: SilverWood Books
Set in the thirteenth
century, the kingdoms of England and France are struggling over territory as
the powerful Angevins threaten the French king. In regions far from Paris local
fiefdoms disregard all authority.
The Tangled Queen is the
story of the little known and very young Isabella of Angoulême who was abducted
by King John in 1200. She became his second wife and queen consort, aged 12. He
was the most reviled king in English history and his lust for her led to the
loss of Normandy and the destruction of the Plantagenet Empire, which then
brought about the Magna Carta.
Isabella came of age in
England, but was denied her place in court. Her story is full of thwarted ambition,
passion, pride and cruelty. She longed for power of her own and returned to
France after the death of John to live a life of treachery and intrigue…
EXCERPT
Excerpt
from Isabella of Angoulême: The Tangled Queen Part 1.
Isabella
smiled and yawned – it was time these chattering girls left. She dismissed
them, haughty and impatient. Away they sped, some calling back to Isabella,
jokes and remarks full of innuendo for her future. She frowned; this was not
the way to treat a future queen.
‘Agnes,
help prepare me for bed.’
Agnes
closed the chamber door, unlacing the back of Isabella’s dress, folding the
glorious red and gold silk into the large chest. Tomorrow Isabella would wear
the blue gown, the splendid blue and silver fabric showing wealth and also
loyalty. If red and gold had shown the power and wealth of the Taillefers, then
the blue would mark their obedience and fealty.
Early
the next morning Agnes was busy preparing a scented bath. Precious rose oil,
drop by drop, turned the hot water cloudy. And then she was busy mixing the
rosemary wash for Isabella’s hair. She would wear her hair loose today, and her
small gold guirland.
Isabella
woke up and saw Agnes looking at her, long and thoughtful, ready to make her
stir, but she was already throwing back the covers and standing and stretching.
Agnes nodded and together they moved to the bath, and Isabella slipped into the
milky, perfumed water and rubbed the rosemary wash into her hair. She felt the
water running down her back and shivered. Then she was being briskly dried by
Agnes, who was determined to treat Isabella to the most thorough of
preparations.
Her
mother Alice entered the room and the three of them unfolded the wedding gown
and dressed Isabella. Her chemise was soft and light, the dress heavy and
cumbersome. Arranged within it, held within it as if caged, her face pale but
proud, she moved to the window and looked down onto a courtyard full of people,
horses, carts and wagons. A procession was moving through the crowd, with a
stately canon and an even more stately bishop in the centre. The clergy were
intent on their walk to the cathedral. Isabella clutched Agnes in a sudden
fear. Then she rested her head on the window and took a deep breath. It was her
wedding day.
ABOUT ERICA LAINE
I was was born in 1943 in
Southampton and originally studied for the theatre. I moved with my family to Hong Kong in 1977
and worked and lived there for 20 years, writing English language textbooks for
Chinese primary schools and managing large educational projects for the British
Council.
Since living in S W France
I have been very involved with a local history society and have researched many
topics, the history of gardens and fashion being favourites.
Isabella of Angoulême
began in 2011 at a writing workshop run by Philippa Pride, the Book
Doctor. The story of this young queen
was fascinating and although she appears as a character in some other
historical novels I wanted to concentrate on her entire life and her importance
to the English and the French and the role she played in the politics of power.
Part Two is being written now and my head is more or less permanently in the
thirteenth century.
Interview:
Where are you from?
I was
born in Southampton, have lived and worked in London and Hong Kong and now I
live in South West France. I am retired now but busy with writing, gardening
and just being!
Tell us your latest news.
I am just recovering from having a new
knee, which means the garden is neglected but the writing will not be. And at
the end of June I am going to the St Clementin Literary Festival in the Deux Sevres
to speak about Isabella. Alison Morton author of the alternative history novels
about a new Rome is going to be there and so is Lemn Sisay the poet. It will be
great fun and very exciting for me. In September I am attending the Historical
Novelists Society conference in Oxford and among the speakers are Tracey
Chevalier, Fay Weldon and Melvyn Bragg. A great line-up is promised.
When did you first consider yourself a
writer?
When I first held a copy of Isabella
of Angoulême, and then saw the book on Amazon with reviews, which meant a lot
to me. And when people bought from me directly asked for them to be signed and
liked the book.
What inspired you to write your first book?
Discovering this 12th
century woman who had lived so near to where I live now and finding out about
her life. She had a story I wanted to tell.
Do you have a specific writing style?
I probably am a little formal but this
is because I am trying to write historical fiction so I avoid short forms. Some
of the vocabulary can be of the time but it musn’t be obscure. I am trying to
give a flavour of the 12th/13th century without using
lots of pretend archaic language.
How did you come up with the title?
The crowns and thrones of England and
France had been all mixed up since 1066 and Isabella was very tangled into the
plotting that went on.
Is there a message in your novel that you
want readers to grasp?
It is not really a message novel but
some readers have said how it brought home to them how powerless women were
then compared to now.
How much of the book is realistic?
Quite a lot, the everyday medieval
life of a castle and a court is real, the descriptions of the clothes and food
are real, the power struggles are real. The dialogue has had to be created but
often reflects what was documented at the time. Many encounters are created but
the facts are true. The character of Isabella was slandered by contemporary
chroniclers but I have tried to write her as someone who was created by her
experiences and times. She was a difficult person!
Are experiences based on someone you know
or events in your own life?
Not really, I have tried to avoid
bringing 21st century attitudes and opinions to the book as people
thought so differently then. The
Church was all important, women were pawns to be used to forge alliances.
What books have most influenced your life?
Anything by the Brontes, Gone with the
Wind, The Book Thief, Norse sagas, all of Hilary Mantel and the Dimsie
schoolgirl books by Dorita Fairlie Bruce, which I read over and over again.
Very dated but their world was real to me when I was 7.
If you had to choose, which writer would
you consider a mentor?
Margaret Irwin who wrote a trilogy
about Elizabeth 1st and blended fact and story brilliantly.
What book are you reading now?
Exposure
by Helen Dunmore
Are there any new authors that have grabbed
your interest?
Anthony Doerr who won the Pulitzer
Prize in 2015 with All the Light We Cannot See, my book for the desert island.
What are your current projects?
Isabella of Angouleme Part 2 where she
is back in France, a widow but looking to make her mark as she could never do
in England. And remarrying and making trouble!
What would you like my readers to know?
That I enjoy history so much now it is
part of my life. I think as you get older history becomes more and more important. When you are young you live in the present
and look to the future, as you age looking back to your own history happens
whether you like it or not. And then looking back into a country and nation’s
history and how all have influenced others is fascinating.
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2 ECOPIES OF THE BOOK
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