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The Plantagenets #6
The Sun In Splendor
The Wars of the Roses are at a decisive stage.
On the battlefield, the tide appears to have turned against Edward IV and his Plantagenet dynasty is under threat. At court, his new wife and her ambitious family are undermining his power and advancing their own positions.
For those wearing the white rose of York, the future looks bleak.
For Bess Bourchier, lady-in-waiting to the Queen, friend to the King and wife to his cousin, it is a time of conflicting emotions: of love, of shame, of hope. From her position at the heart of the court, Bess bears witness to an extraordinary period of English history: a time when families were split, loyalties were tested and when supporting the wrong claimant to the throne was all too easy.
The Sun in Splendour is the final book in Juliet Dymoke’s epic chronicle of the Plantagenet dynasty during one of the most turbulent and exciting times in English history.
For fans of Sharon Penman and Elizabeth Chadwick.
On the battlefield, the tide appears to have turned against Edward IV and his Plantagenet dynasty is under threat. At court, his new wife and her ambitious family are undermining his power and advancing their own positions.
For those wearing the white rose of York, the future looks bleak.
For Bess Bourchier, lady-in-waiting to the Queen, friend to the King and wife to his cousin, it is a time of conflicting emotions: of love, of shame, of hope. From her position at the heart of the court, Bess bears witness to an extraordinary period of English history: a time when families were split, loyalties were tested and when supporting the wrong claimant to the throne was all too easy.
The Sun in Splendour is the final book in Juliet Dymoke’s epic chronicle of the Plantagenet dynasty during one of the most turbulent and exciting times in English history.
For fans of Sharon Penman and Elizabeth Chadwick.
282 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 1980
About the author
Juliet Dymoke
34 books25 followersJuliet Dymoke was born at Enfield in Middlesex and educated at a boarding school in the country. During the war she worked for The Canadian Army Medical Records and at that time married Hugo de Schanschieff who was then serving as an air gunner in he Royal Air Force.
It was while her husband was away in the R.A.F. that Juliet Dymoke turned her attention to writing and also to work on scripts for various films companies. She has published several books for children but counts historical novels with "more fact than fiction" as her particular field. She has travelled all over the British Isles in the course of her research, as she makes a special point of authenticity. Among her main interests are music, television drama and "anything to do with the countryside".
It was while her husband was away in the R.A.F. that Juliet Dymoke turned her attention to writing and also to work on scripts for various films companies. She has published several books for children but counts historical novels with "more fact than fiction" as her particular field. She has travelled all over the British Isles in the course of her research, as she makes a special point of authenticity. Among her main interests are music, television drama and "anything to do with the countryside".
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 6, 2016
A surprisingly good take on the Wars of the Roses that doesn't have as protagonist any of the usual suspects but a woman few probably know of.
The story opens with young girl Elizabeth Tilney, affectionately called Bess, at Grafton House on the day Edward of York is expected to arrive to wed Elizabeth Woodville, the marriage that'll cost him his throne later ahead and the enmity of Richard, Earl of Warwick. That's not your common date to start a novel set in this period, is it? Women fretting over a wedding, not quite the auspicious opening scene.
And yet, it works. When the young king arrives, despite Bess is promised to one of his men, Sir Humphrey Bourchier, she falls head over heels for charming Ned, a girlish infatuation that'll shape her life for years to come, as she'll eventually become one of the bunch of one-time mistresses Edward IV will take, and suffer a bit of a disillusionment once she realises it's one-sided and settle into a companionable married life until premature widowhood ends it. Eventually, she'll be married for convenience a second time to Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, the heir of Jocky Norfolk, one of Richard III's trusty intimates, thus becoming the grandmother of two of Henry VIII's unfortunate wives descended from her children by him: Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard.
Narrating the story through the eyes of a girl kept mostly outside the politicking and the warring contributes to give the novel a very intimate feel, very domestic and feminine, but despite her place on the sidelines of history, Bess is not kept out altogether either due to her friendship with the Woodvilles pre and post their meteoric rise to power, her own brief liaison with Edward, her role as his queen's lady-in-waiting, her first husband's closeness to the king and her second's closeness to the Duke of Gloucester. Using a character who's not a member of the York or Lancaster circles by blood isn't unusual in HF, nor is it to use a fictional relative or fictional bosom chum as narrator, but this is the first time I've read a novel telling the tale through a woman who's not a Plantagenet nor remotely linked to them by familial ties, and more uniquely she has a foot on both the 2 major factions: the Woodvilles and the Yorks, and later on the Tudor camp. I very much liked this detail, it provides a bit of a balanced view on the normally cats-and-dogs relationship between Ned's family and Elizabeth's family that's the norm in fiction; and though Bess isn't written to be "likable" precisely in the sense of being dashing and arresting, she endears herself to the reader through her loyal and unassuming personality.
Dymoke's writing is perhaps what I liked best, it's tight and flows smoothly. It isn't heavy but crisp, devoid of bumps for the most part. Can't say whether it's because it was well-edited or Dymoke's writing is always like that, this being the only book I've read of hers, but certainly not the last. That the novel is short, maybe more correctly classified as a novella, also helps because the author doesn't aim to tell a long tale or to cover a large timeframe; this ends with Thomas Howard returning home from imprisonment after the defeat at Bosworth, and since Dymoke is covering a quarter of a century in this much pages, she seems to have thought well what to skip and what to write about. Not one for biting larger chunks than she can chew, this woman.
I'm adding this to the precious few Wars of the Roses novels I've liked, and would recommend fellow readers interested in Plantagenet history to read it.
The story opens with young girl Elizabeth Tilney, affectionately called Bess, at Grafton House on the day Edward of York is expected to arrive to wed Elizabeth Woodville, the marriage that'll cost him his throne later ahead and the enmity of Richard, Earl of Warwick. That's not your common date to start a novel set in this period, is it? Women fretting over a wedding, not quite the auspicious opening scene.
And yet, it works. When the young king arrives, despite Bess is promised to one of his men, Sir Humphrey Bourchier, she falls head over heels for charming Ned, a girlish infatuation that'll shape her life for years to come, as she'll eventually become one of the bunch of one-time mistresses Edward IV will take, and suffer a bit of a disillusionment once she realises it's one-sided and settle into a companionable married life until premature widowhood ends it. Eventually, she'll be married for convenience a second time to Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, the heir of Jocky Norfolk, one of Richard III's trusty intimates, thus becoming the grandmother of two of Henry VIII's unfortunate wives descended from her children by him: Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard.
Narrating the story through the eyes of a girl kept mostly outside the politicking and the warring contributes to give the novel a very intimate feel, very domestic and feminine, but despite her place on the sidelines of history, Bess is not kept out altogether either due to her friendship with the Woodvilles pre and post their meteoric rise to power, her own brief liaison with Edward, her role as his queen's lady-in-waiting, her first husband's closeness to the king and her second's closeness to the Duke of Gloucester. Using a character who's not a member of the York or Lancaster circles by blood isn't unusual in HF, nor is it to use a fictional relative or fictional bosom chum as narrator, but this is the first time I've read a novel telling the tale through a woman who's not a Plantagenet nor remotely linked to them by familial ties, and more uniquely she has a foot on both the 2 major factions: the Woodvilles and the Yorks, and later on the Tudor camp. I very much liked this detail, it provides a bit of a balanced view on the normally cats-and-dogs relationship between Ned's family and Elizabeth's family that's the norm in fiction; and though Bess isn't written to be "likable" precisely in the sense of being dashing and arresting, she endears herself to the reader through her loyal and unassuming personality.
Dymoke's writing is perhaps what I liked best, it's tight and flows smoothly. It isn't heavy but crisp, devoid of bumps for the most part. Can't say whether it's because it was well-edited or Dymoke's writing is always like that, this being the only book I've read of hers, but certainly not the last. That the novel is short, maybe more correctly classified as a novella, also helps because the author doesn't aim to tell a long tale or to cover a large timeframe; this ends with Thomas Howard returning home from imprisonment after the defeat at Bosworth, and since Dymoke is covering a quarter of a century in this much pages, she seems to have thought well what to skip and what to write about. Not one for biting larger chunks than she can chew, this woman.
I'm adding this to the precious few Wars of the Roses novels I've liked, and would recommend fellow readers interested in Plantagenet history to read it.
July 1, 2021
Nice book 4.5 stars
This book tells the story from the moment Edward IV marry Elizabeth Woodwille until the war of two roses is over, the book takes Bessy one of Elizabeth's lady in waiting as the main character, she is related to the family and being an important woman in the court she will witness the political issues and the personal affairs, the books that I have read about the subject always bring woman like Elizabeth Woodwille or Margaret Beafourt as main character so this one is different and refreshing because is a woman connected with all the characters involved but without being the affected part, in general is well researched and well written keeps the story interesting and follow the known facts most of the time, telling the story of this war in a decent and simple way , the book tells part of Bess story as a medieval lady and married woman, in some point she becomes mistress of Edward IV but there is not a long lasting love unfortunately, in general this book presents the marriages of this period as something plausible nothing like a sweet fairy tale as most of the recent books, men in this book are ambitious and selfish, Edward always concerned about his pleasures it doesn't mean he is a bad person is just a man of his time, irresponsible in many moments and definitely not a charming prince, George duke of Clarence is ambitious to the death and brings all type of ladies to his house even in front of the poor Isabel Neville who often is sent to sleep away while he used their bed with other ladies but she never stops loving him, it seems that all this ladies are ok with this type of life what was heartbreaking but realistic, Richard III is presented in a positive way but still is not over romanticized, is ambitious too but moderate, his marriage with Anne is the only marriage where can be found love and loyalty but this relationship is not the main thing so thankfully we don't have a cloying romance impossible to believe, the episode of Anne being a maid has the classic version but of course with Bessy in it , she is the middle of everything what in some point stops being plausible but is well done and works , for example she is friend of Richard and Anne so she can see how they like each other since they are children and get to love each other so when the time comes and they can marry they happy go to enjoy a life together but life will not end well for them as we well know.
In general is a good version of the events so many times told, the novel has the perfect touch of fiction and facts what I appreciate a lot, and the view to all the characters involved has the perfect touch and good balance is not focus in anyone so that made this book good enough.
This book tells the story from the moment Edward IV marry Elizabeth Woodwille until the war of two roses is over, the book takes Bessy one of Elizabeth's lady in waiting as the main character, she is related to the family and being an important woman in the court she will witness the political issues and the personal affairs, the books that I have read about the subject always bring woman like Elizabeth Woodwille or Margaret Beafourt as main character so this one is different and refreshing because is a woman connected with all the characters involved but without being the affected part, in general is well researched and well written keeps the story interesting and follow the known facts most of the time, telling the story of this war in a decent and simple way , the book tells part of Bess story as a medieval lady and married woman, in some point she becomes mistress of Edward IV but there is not a long lasting love unfortunately, in general this book presents the marriages of this period as something plausible nothing like a sweet fairy tale as most of the recent books, men in this book are ambitious and selfish, Edward always concerned about his pleasures it doesn't mean he is a bad person is just a man of his time, irresponsible in many moments and definitely not a charming prince, George duke of Clarence is ambitious to the death and brings all type of ladies to his house even in front of the poor Isabel Neville who often is sent to sleep away while he used their bed with other ladies but she never stops loving him, it seems that all this ladies are ok with this type of life what was heartbreaking but realistic, Richard III is presented in a positive way but still is not over romanticized, is ambitious too but moderate, his marriage with Anne is the only marriage where can be found love and loyalty but this relationship is not the main thing so thankfully we don't have a cloying romance impossible to believe, the episode of Anne being a maid has the classic version but of course with Bessy in it , she is the middle of everything what in some point stops being plausible but is well done and works , for example she is friend of Richard and Anne so she can see how they like each other since they are children and get to love each other so when the time comes and they can marry they happy go to enjoy a life together but life will not end well for them as we well know.
In general is a good version of the events so many times told, the novel has the perfect touch of fiction and facts what I appreciate a lot, and the view to all the characters involved has the perfect touch and good balance is not focus in anyone so that made this book good enough.
August 26, 2019
I enjoy historical fiction. Juliet Dymoke’s has an engaging storytelling style that always makes me want to go and do my own research about the main players in her books.
That said, don’t read this book for the romance for you’ll be disappointed. This features the life of a noblewoman during the 1400s. It couldn’t have been that great from our post-feminist perspective.
There is also rampant infidelity among the nobleman in this story. It seems it was acceptable and even normal, which enraged and saddened me in equal measure.
However, I enjoy Dymoke’s books because she makes history so interesting. It is, after all, a story of individuals and their relationships with one another.
That said, don’t read this book for the romance for you’ll be disappointed. This features the life of a noblewoman during the 1400s. It couldn’t have been that great from our post-feminist perspective.
There is also rampant infidelity among the nobleman in this story. It seems it was acceptable and even normal, which enraged and saddened me in equal measure.
However, I enjoy Dymoke’s books because she makes history so interesting. It is, after all, a story of individuals and their relationships with one another.
March 19, 2017
The Sun in Splendour (The Plantagenets series)
This last book in this series was my favorite! If your a history buff you will like these books. The characters flow easily and the author takes you back in time with her words of Knights and damsels in distress, good Kings and bad Kings! This is a heavy read just because of so many different characters whose own names change with new titles, so following the family tree could be a challenge. I was surprised the book didn't have a glossary for that. I really appreciated just the history of these stories and the natural flow of the storylines.
This last book in this series was my favorite! If your a history buff you will like these books. The characters flow easily and the author takes you back in time with her words of Knights and damsels in distress, good Kings and bad Kings! This is a heavy read just because of so many different characters whose own names change with new titles, so following the family tree could be a challenge. I was surprised the book didn't have a glossary for that. I really appreciated just the history of these stories and the natural flow of the storylines.
January 17, 2009
Wars of the Roses
March 15, 2026
A nice book, about one of my favourite historical periods. What I like about the book:
1) a good choice of the main character - Elizabeth "Bess" Tylney. I like reading about people who don't appear in books very often but who are related to the other characters and events;
2) nobody is perfect, all characters have their good and bad sides;
3) Elizabeth doesn't take part in all possible events, doesn't know everything and doesn't influence the course of history - for example, she doesn't know what exactly happened to the Princes in the Tower; for me, it's a big plus, it looks realistic;
4) a rather positive portrait of Bess' husband, Thomas Howard, which is unusual in historical fiction.
What I don't like:
1) it's sometimes too dry, you can't feel emotions, especially the last part;
2) I'd like to see more interactions between Bess and her second husband's family, between Thomas and children. The author writes only some sentences, but, in my humble opinion, it would add more dimensions to the story.
All in all, it's a well-recommended read for fans of the late medieval England.
1) a good choice of the main character - Elizabeth "Bess" Tylney. I like reading about people who don't appear in books very often but who are related to the other characters and events;
2) nobody is perfect, all characters have their good and bad sides;
3) Elizabeth doesn't take part in all possible events, doesn't know everything and doesn't influence the course of history - for example, she doesn't know what exactly happened to the Princes in the Tower; for me, it's a big plus, it looks realistic;
4) a rather positive portrait of Bess' husband, Thomas Howard, which is unusual in historical fiction.
What I don't like:
1) it's sometimes too dry, you can't feel emotions, especially the last part;
2) I'd like to see more interactions between Bess and her second husband's family, between Thomas and children. The author writes only some sentences, but, in my humble opinion, it would add more dimensions to the story.
All in all, it's a well-recommended read for fans of the late medieval England.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 21, 2017
Different take
The author, Juliet Dymoke, has taken a fresh approach to the Plantagenet reign by presenting it from the perspective of Lady Howard. A good read.
The author, Juliet Dymoke, has taken a fresh approach to the Plantagenet reign by presenting it from the perspective of Lady Howard. A good read.
August 12, 2019
Plantagenet line
Fantastic read as usual. Surprising how big and varied the line actually was. Brilliantly written and shockingly brutal. Dymoke is amazing.
Fantastic read as usual. Surprising how big and varied the line actually was. Brilliantly written and shockingly brutal. Dymoke is amazing.
August 20, 2022
This book is about my husband's 15th great grandmother.
January 17, 2017
Great series
I enjoyed the entire series. I am not sure why, but the 5th book dragged somewhat. This and the rest were highly compelling. If you love English history, I highly recommend.
I enjoyed the entire series. I am not sure why, but the 5th book dragged somewhat. This and the rest were highly compelling. If you love English history, I highly recommend.
February 9, 2008
I read this book years ago and I still dream pieces of it. Amazing I would dream in old english language when reading it.
July 10, 2010
Love Plantagenets and Tudors.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews