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The Knight and the Rose
He is her only means of escape…Lady Johanna FitzHenry is trapped. Her arranged marriage to Sir Fulk de Enderby—a veteran of the wars against Robert the Bruce—keeps her tethered to this brutal man, who sees her only as a means to her father’s fortune. But now a daring scheme offers her a slim, but precious, chance at freedom: a complete stranger who, for his own desperate reasons, is willing to swear to the court that she was wed to him first...
…But who is he?
Though the ploy goes according to plan, her mysterious rescuer leaves many questions unanswered. He is a tall, attractive man who goes by the name of Gervase de Laval and claims to be a poor scholar. But Johanna’s attempt to discover the true identity of her hired husband will sweep her into the highest echelons of the English court—and into a dangerous passion she has never known before…
…But who is he?
Though the ploy goes according to plan, her mysterious rescuer leaves many questions unanswered. He is a tall, attractive man who goes by the name of Gervase de Laval and claims to be a poor scholar. But Johanna’s attempt to discover the true identity of her hired husband will sweep her into the highest echelons of the English court—and into a dangerous passion she has never known before…
464 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
12 people are currently reading
274 people want to read
About the author
Isolde Martyn
26 books54 followersIsolde has always had a great love of history, and writing historical fiction is a wonderful way to share her enthusiasm.
THE MAIDEN AND THE UNICORN, isolde's debut novel, won a Rita for 'Best First Novel' in the US and the inaugural 'Romantic Book of the Year Award' in Australia. Since then, she has written seven historicals and has just finished an Elizabethan novel .
Isolde has a History Honours degree from the University of Exeter, UK, with a specialization in Yorkist England, a lifelong interest, and she has worked as a university history tutor, research assistant and archivist. She was a senior book editor with a major international publishing house before taking up writing fiction full-time.
She feels community history is very important and she is a former chair of the Richard III Society in Sydney and a co-founder and currently Chair of the Plantagenet History Society of Australia (that's the era 1100--1500)
Her new book COUNTRY TOWN, a history picturebook for children, has been a long term project. It tells the story of an imaginary country town in Australia and how it changes decade by decade, and has been lovingly brought to life by illustrator Louise Hogan.
This is a very different venture from Isolde's historical novels but it's a project that has been chugging along in the background for quite a while. Isolde researched almost every town in Australia for EVENTS AND PLACES. She also edited the READER'S DIGEST MOTORING GUIDE TO AUSTRALIA.
THE MAIDEN AND THE UNICORN, isolde's debut novel, won a Rita for 'Best First Novel' in the US and the inaugural 'Romantic Book of the Year Award' in Australia. Since then, she has written seven historicals and has just finished an Elizabethan novel .
Isolde has a History Honours degree from the University of Exeter, UK, with a specialization in Yorkist England, a lifelong interest, and she has worked as a university history tutor, research assistant and archivist. She was a senior book editor with a major international publishing house before taking up writing fiction full-time.
She feels community history is very important and she is a former chair of the Richard III Society in Sydney and a co-founder and currently Chair of the Plantagenet History Society of Australia (that's the era 1100--1500)
Her new book COUNTRY TOWN, a history picturebook for children, has been a long term project. It tells the story of an imaginary country town in Australia and how it changes decade by decade, and has been lovingly brought to life by illustrator Louise Hogan.
This is a very different venture from Isolde's historical novels but it's a project that has been chugging along in the background for quite a while. Isolde researched almost every town in Australia for EVENTS AND PLACES. She also edited the READER'S DIGEST MOTORING GUIDE TO AUSTRALIA.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
July 22, 2017
The good:
- The characters are attractive and believably fleshed-out. Geraint especially, he is a darling.
- The ambiance feels authentic and true to the period.
- Same about the language, it's not too faux old-fashioned as to be tiresome or hard to understand.
- The plot also is believable, as it does sound like something people of the time could've resorted to doing given the restrictions imposed on women in the era. That this was inspired by a real case, as the author explains at the end, makes it better.
- The romance is neither sugary-sweet nor scorchingly intense, thus appealing to middle-ground readers. It's also mired in a larger historical event, so it doesn't look like the whole story revolves round it.
- The second half of the book is much better in structure and storytelling than the first half, and more enjoyable.
- A big secret wasn't hard to guess for me, but it grew organically from the plot, so it worked well in context.
- The cover of my copy is discreet and lovely, for a change.
The bad:
- The start is slow, which in itself isn't so bad as a million books surely start the same way, but by the middle of it, it's still slow. That can be bad, because this is a chunkster of a book, and whilst a snail-paced beginning can be forgiven in big books, if it drags for this long, readers either quit or are so impatient as to be predisposed to judge the later parts less favourably.
- Overdescriptive storytelling. The author has done her research, it shows. But she overdoes it: detailed build-up to make the setting authentic is fine, but too much isn't good neither for the story nor for keeping readers trudging forth. Seems like the writer needs better self-editing or beta-readers more willing to tell her to cut on her wordiness.
- This needed better time and scene management. The first half of the book has pages and pages devoted to scenes that don't feel strictly necessary, and several chapters can take place on the same day. That feels like the book drags on and on, and since the second half is faster-paced, the imbalance is noticeable. To tighten up the plot in the first half and eliminate or merge chapters placed on the same day would've been an improvement, and also helps to cut chances that the last parts read like rushing to the finish line.
On the whole, I liked this book a lot. That it had fictional protagonists instead of the more common real-life figures was also a welcome feature.
- The characters are attractive and believably fleshed-out. Geraint especially, he is a darling.
- The ambiance feels authentic and true to the period.
- Same about the language, it's not too faux old-fashioned as to be tiresome or hard to understand.
- The plot also is believable, as it does sound like something people of the time could've resorted to doing given the restrictions imposed on women in the era. That this was inspired by a real case, as the author explains at the end, makes it better.
- The romance is neither sugary-sweet nor scorchingly intense, thus appealing to middle-ground readers. It's also mired in a larger historical event, so it doesn't look like the whole story revolves round it.
- The second half of the book is much better in structure and storytelling than the first half, and more enjoyable.
- A big secret wasn't hard to guess for me, but it grew organically from the plot, so it worked well in context.
- The cover of my copy is discreet and lovely, for a change.
The bad:
- The start is slow, which in itself isn't so bad as a million books surely start the same way, but by the middle of it, it's still slow. That can be bad, because this is a chunkster of a book, and whilst a snail-paced beginning can be forgiven in big books, if it drags for this long, readers either quit or are so impatient as to be predisposed to judge the later parts less favourably.
- Overdescriptive storytelling. The author has done her research, it shows. But she overdoes it: detailed build-up to make the setting authentic is fine, but too much isn't good neither for the story nor for keeping readers trudging forth. Seems like the writer needs better self-editing or beta-readers more willing to tell her to cut on her wordiness.
- This needed better time and scene management. The first half of the book has pages and pages devoted to scenes that don't feel strictly necessary, and several chapters can take place on the same day. That feels like the book drags on and on, and since the second half is faster-paced, the imbalance is noticeable. To tighten up the plot in the first half and eliminate or merge chapters placed on the same day would've been an improvement, and also helps to cut chances that the last parts read like rushing to the finish line.
On the whole, I liked this book a lot. That it had fictional protagonists instead of the more common real-life figures was also a welcome feature.
October 31, 2014
So I snagged this one at (shameless plug) 2nd and Charles, my new favorite used book store, because the word "Knight" grabbed my attention. I do love medieval stories.
The premise: Johanna FitzHenry is married to a man who beats her. When her father has a stroke (they didn't call it that back then but you'll recognize the symptoms), her mum can finally call her home. And hubby lets her go, cuz he's still waiting on a big chunk of her dowry and he expects her to make sure daddy coughs up before he croaks.
Mum has other plans. She's encountered a pair of injured rebels, escaped from a disastrous battle against Edward II, and they're on the run from men sent to hunt them down. Mum blackmails the hero to pretend he secretly wed Johanna years ago, then ran off to play soldier, leaving her to the mercies of her father. The story they'll put about is that, despite her protestations that she was already married, her, father beat and starved her until she traded vows with the abusive guy. Conveniently, the stroke rendered Da mute and pretty much paralyzed, so he can't rat them out.
The idea is to get the church court to back Jo out of the abusive marriage. Then the stranger/rebel can run off again, and whenever it's convenient, Jo can announce that her "hubby" is dead (eaten by a rhino, farted his guts out, whatever). At that point, Jo's plan is to join a convent. Cuz she's totally sworn off men.
Geraint, a/k/a Gervase de Laval/de Velindre/de ?
…has lots of reasons to resist the blackmail. This guy's secrets have secrets, and the longer he stays in one place, the more likely he'll be discovered. Which would not be good.
The story is set against and embroiled in the whole Despenser controversy, and the author does a good job knitting the story around that mess.
(Let's just say that people who offended royals didn't die comfortably. )
While the story is chock full of details and language that keeps it feeling quite historically authentic, it may be too much so. The period terms and such occasionallydraw too much notice to themselves. For example, unless you start this story with a lot of knowledge of Medieval weaponry, you're going to wonder what the hell a "flail" is after awhile, and then if you're like me you'll have to go look it up so you can guess what a flail wound might look like. I'll give you this one:
And who knew chastity belts had teeth?
There'll be a lot ( LOT ) of stuff like this. I'm enough of a geek that I liked this, but some might be put off by it.
There's a pretty good mystery, and plenty of bad guys and danger, so this book almost hit the trifecta for me. Unfortunately the period stuff might have been a bit OTT—the characters' sometimes stilted language made it hard for me to connect with their emotions, so the romance part was just so-so. I'll give it 3.5.
The premise: Johanna FitzHenry is married to a man who beats her. When her father has a stroke (they didn't call it that back then but you'll recognize the symptoms), her mum can finally call her home. And hubby lets her go, cuz he's still waiting on a big chunk of her dowry and he expects her to make sure daddy coughs up before he croaks.
Mum has other plans. She's encountered a pair of injured rebels, escaped from a disastrous battle against Edward II, and they're on the run from men sent to hunt them down. Mum blackmails the hero to pretend he secretly wed Johanna years ago, then ran off to play soldier, leaving her to the mercies of her father. The story they'll put about is that, despite her protestations that she was already married, her, father beat and starved her until she traded vows with the abusive guy. Conveniently, the stroke rendered Da mute and pretty much paralyzed, so he can't rat them out.
The idea is to get the church court to back Jo out of the abusive marriage. Then the stranger/rebel can run off again, and whenever it's convenient, Jo can announce that her "hubby" is dead (eaten by a rhino, farted his guts out, whatever). At that point, Jo's plan is to join a convent. Cuz she's totally sworn off men.
Geraint, a/k/a Gervase de Laval/de Velindre/de ?
…has lots of reasons to resist the blackmail. This guy's secrets have secrets, and the longer he stays in one place, the more likely he'll be discovered. Which would not be good.
The story is set against and embroiled in the whole Despenser controversy, and the author does a good job knitting the story around that mess.
(Let's just say that people who offended royals didn't die comfortably. )
While the story is chock full of details and language that keeps it feeling quite historically authentic, it may be too much so. The period terms and such occasionallydraw too much notice to themselves. For example, unless you start this story with a lot of knowledge of Medieval weaponry, you're going to wonder what the hell a "flail" is after awhile, and then if you're like me you'll have to go look it up so you can guess what a flail wound might look like. I'll give you this one:
And who knew chastity belts had teeth?
There'll be a lot ( LOT ) of stuff like this. I'm enough of a geek that I liked this, but some might be put off by it.
There's a pretty good mystery, and plenty of bad guys and danger, so this book almost hit the trifecta for me. Unfortunately the period stuff might have been a bit OTT—the characters' sometimes stilted language made it hard for me to connect with their emotions, so the romance part was just so-so. I'll give it 3.5.
May 1, 2021
God, was this book long. I think it could have been a 5 star read if only it had like 100 pages cut. The premise was interesting, the characters quite compelling, but it just dragged.
August 20, 2018
Surprisingly lovely and equal parts history novel and romance. If you love medieval stuff, give this a try.
January 21, 2016
I was about two-thirds of the way through this book, when I thought, "Wow! This is is like the "Gone of the Wind" of medieval tales". In actuality, we just have star-crossed lovers, an unlikely and reluctant pairing. With all of the twists, turns and drama it equals medieval soap opera. ...not always predictable and it takes a bit of reading in the beginning to become fully engaged in the characters and be drawn into the continuing saga.
This book is not for everyone. Written by an Australian (therefore using non-American English spelling) and incorporating many, many words of the Medieval period, not to mention sophisticated words not often used in "everyday English", one could sit with an online dictionary and look up a word at least every 2-3 pages. ...if I had done this to start, I may have retained a few words and by the middle of the book have gained some momentum and an increased vocabulary. However, I just inferred the meanings of some words and glided over the others, rather enjoying the story and details in spite of the vocabulary stumbling blocks.
Very nice detail here compared to other stories in the genre. So much so, as I read, I was "seeing the movie" in my head.
Another nice thing about this book is that it was really more about romance and the overall story than a story written around sex, romantic or otherwise. To be blunt, while there are sex scenes, they are not peppered throughout the entire story with the main characters going at each others like rabbits once they discover their appetites for each other. For those who enjoy "bodice-rippers", I doubt this book will engage you.
I'm giving this book five stars, but not the five stars that indicate you'll buy the book and want to read it again and again. I've read lengthy books like "Little Women" that I enjoyed and would have given five stars to as well and yet was satisfied with just one reading. I think in the world of historical romance reading in the medieval niche, this book is a "sleeper" in that it is really good, but largely undiscovered. Only time and perhaps Goodreads readers will popularize it - or not.
This book is not for everyone. Written by an Australian (therefore using non-American English spelling) and incorporating many, many words of the Medieval period, not to mention sophisticated words not often used in "everyday English", one could sit with an online dictionary and look up a word at least every 2-3 pages. ...if I had done this to start, I may have retained a few words and by the middle of the book have gained some momentum and an increased vocabulary. However, I just inferred the meanings of some words and glided over the others, rather enjoying the story and details in spite of the vocabulary stumbling blocks.
Very nice detail here compared to other stories in the genre. So much so, as I read, I was "seeing the movie" in my head.
Another nice thing about this book is that it was really more about romance and the overall story than a story written around sex, romantic or otherwise. To be blunt, while there are sex scenes, they are not peppered throughout the entire story with the main characters going at each others like rabbits once they discover their appetites for each other. For those who enjoy "bodice-rippers", I doubt this book will engage you.
I'm giving this book five stars, but not the five stars that indicate you'll buy the book and want to read it again and again. I've read lengthy books like "Little Women" that I enjoyed and would have given five stars to as well and yet was satisfied with just one reading. I think in the world of historical romance reading in the medieval niche, this book is a "sleeper" in that it is really good, but largely undiscovered. Only time and perhaps Goodreads readers will popularize it - or not.
March 21, 2018
Great historical romance with the emphasis on historical. I just love the medieval images Isolde Martyn is able to conjure with her wonderfully written characters, settings, and historical facts. I loved the use of real historical facts and figures woven with the fictional storyline. I haven't read this in quite awhile and forgot some of the really unique twists in the story and some plot devices that I don't think I've seen in any other "romance" books that I've read. It is well written and a very fast read because the story flows so well.
P.S. After I posted this review I noticed that the dates here were very messed up...I did not start it on April 29th and finish in November..but I could only change the finished date.
P.S. After I posted this review I noticed that the dates here were very messed up...I did not start it on April 29th and finish in November..but I could only change the finished date.
February 4, 2015
this was one of the first romance novels I read when I was in high school and I remember falling so madly in love with Gervase de Lavel - to a point where I'd like to think he ruined my love life for a good while because I couldn't find a guy like him ha ha.
I only remember good things about this book, so will read it again and let you know if it was as good as I remember!
I only remember good things about this book, so will read it again and let you know if it was as good as I remember!
May 29, 2009
There were moments when this book went too slowly for me, but by the end, I was desperate to figure out the hero's secret! I was surprised.
November 17, 2024
I took a very long time to finish this book. The story moved very slowly, and it didn't help that the male lead was sexist and arrogant in every scene he had with the female lead, except for the last third of the book his sexism let up a little. This is classified as historical romance, but there was hardly any romance until the last 20-something pages - in a book that is 448 pages long. I was immensely disappointed with not just the male lead but how the author chose to tell their story. It was not romantic, for the most part I was frustrated by how the male lead was written. If his great secret was so important to how he treated the woman he loved, why not write more about his tortured feelings regarding her? I could not find any sympathy for him by the end, I just felt sorry for the female lead having had to deal with him. I didn't like him and I didn't see why the female lead was in love with him. I made myself finish this book because I was hoping for a bit more romance in the latter half, and it never came. When Gervase finally revealed his secret to Johanna, it was too late for me to find any pleasure in their "romance". I cannot give this book a higher rating because it brought me no joy at all except when I finally finished it and could say with my whole chest that I didn't enjoy any of it. I refuse to waste more time analyzing why it was so unsatisfying, I think I've said more than enough seeing how many hours this book made me waste on it when I could have been reading something better. As a writer, I seek to finish reading books even when they irk me, so I can better learn what I don't want to write in my own stories. It was clear the author did a lot of research, but I think she should have spent just as much time making her hero more sympathetic and focusing less on the cliff hanger aspect of making him an asshole page after page after page, pushing Johanna to her absolute limit so we would have to keep reading to learn just when he might let up and be a bit more palatable for a change. That change didn’t happen until the last 20 pages.
December 31, 2024
This was an interesting read. On one hand, the characters were all well fleshed out and it was clearly, meticulously planned and researched. However, it was much too long in places and the twist at the end just seemed out of place, given the stakes. It was also a little jarring to switch between points of view every few sentences, even if I got used to it; it's not a thing I enjoy in books.
Nonetheless, a solid read and I might look out for more books of hers in the future.
Nonetheless, a solid read and I might look out for more books of hers in the future.
June 25, 2017
Enjoyable
I found the language and the history quite captivating and enjoyed the book on the whole. For me it lost pace about three quarters of the way through and did border on a little too long and too slow. This was a shame as the romance was beautifully set up and the portrayal of women was excellent.
I found the language and the history quite captivating and enjoyed the book on the whole. For me it lost pace about three quarters of the way through and did border on a little too long and too slow. This was a shame as the romance was beautifully set up and the portrayal of women was excellent.
July 10, 2022
I loved it. So much historical detail - I could have looked so many things up but the story gripped me and I didn’t want to pause my reading! I do agree with other reviews that some parts of it move slowly but the end is sure fast and covers a lot of political intrigue in a short period of time (four years after the main part of the book).
July 5, 2023
I adored the writing here and will definitely be reading more of this author. My problem, though, is that there seemed too much subplot that didn’t really add much if anything to the main story, Otherwise this would be a 5 easily.
June 14, 2022
that’s my baby (Isabella of France) and I’m proud
June 27, 2022
I found this book randomly on a library shelf as a teenager and I've read it many times since. It is one of my favorite books.
July 22, 2023
More 3.75 but oddly still very much enjoyed.
I seem to have a knack for historical romances these days
I seem to have a knack for historical romances these days
January 26, 2024
The conflict made the story, but for all our sakes, he could have trusted her a little. She would have understood.
October 2, 2008
I loved this book! it was castle time (come on , who hasn't thought about living in the medevil days?) and awesome! There are pretty scandolous love scenes, so if that bothers you, you may not want to read some parts but I loved this book! I intend to buy it. It made me cry at the end, not very end, but close to the end...so awesome.
November 29, 2016
In audio
This style of writing really appeals to me. I find myself drawn in by the characters and even though it is fiction, the knowledge that many of the characters actually lived and historical events did occur within the story makes it seem so real.
The authors notes are also quite interesting especially on the languages spoken and research into acts of divorce during these times.
This style of writing really appeals to me. I find myself drawn in by the characters and even though it is fiction, the knowledge that many of the characters actually lived and historical events did occur within the story makes it seem so real.
The authors notes are also quite interesting especially on the languages spoken and research into acts of divorce during these times.
October 30, 2014
Read this one a few years ago, bought from a local book & music exchange shop that sadly has closed down (sob sob
October 31, 2015
So many twists and turns near the ending…enjoyed and will read another by Martyn.
May 31, 2016
Hated the 'Hero'
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews