Notorious

The Medieval DeWarenne Trilogy #3

by Virginia Henley

Lady-in-waiting to Queen Isabelle, Brianna de Beauchamp, betrothed to an aristocrat, longs for something more and finds it in the arms of Wolf Mortimer, a darkly sensual man who draws her into a dangerous game of courtly intrigue.

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Historical, Historical Fiction, Medieval, Fiction, British Literature

597 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2007

About the author

Virginia Syddall was born on December 5, 1935 in England, where her father, Thomas Syddall, taught her to love history. She obtained a degree in History in the University. In 1956, Virginia married Arthur Henley. They moved to America, and now they live most of the year in St. Petersburg, Florida, and they spend the hot summers in Ontario, Canada, where they have their two adult children and three grandsons.

Virginia Henley is a New York Times bestselling writer of historical novels. Her work has been translated into fourteen languages. She is the recipient of more than a dozen writing awards, including a Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award, a Waldenbooks' Bestselling Award, and a Maggie Award for Excellence from the Georgia Romance Writers.

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Notorious, the sequel to Infamous, is set in the 1320s and claims to be the romance of Brianna de Beauchamp -ludicrous modern name, there - and Wolf Mortimer. Many of the characters in Notorious were real people in fourteenth-century England.

I say 'claims' because Brianna and Wolf disappear from the narrative at regular intervals, while Henley focuses on the story of Edward II and his wife Isabella, and their lovers. Here, Notorious becomes deeply unpleasant, and readers may become deeply dismayed, as I did, at the endless references to Edward II as 'unnatural' and 'perverted' because he loves men. He's also portrayed as highly feminised and weak, a horrible and offensive stereotype of a gay man. Queen Isabella's adultery with Mortimer is acceptable, however, because her lover Mortimer is so ultra-manly. And heterosexual. The blatant double standards and endless, countless, numerous statements that Edward II is 'unnatural' and 'perverted' and disgusting because he loves men, and Henley's statement in her author's note that his supposed murder by red-hot poker (which no modern 14th-century historian accepts as truth) was 'ingenious', made me feel sick. How do books with such disgustingly homophobic attitudes get published?

The characters are not medieval English people, as they're said to be, but modern Americans, who think, act and talk American. Brianna has freedoms that no medieval noblewoman could ever have dreamed of. The overall impression is one of modern American characters dashing round England and Scotland in fancy dress.

In Notorious, any resemblance to real fourteenth-century England and real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. I laughed out loud at the presence of the earl of Warwick in 1327, when historically he died in 1315. Notorious is not even an interesting romance, as the 'hero' Wolf is a creep who uses his gift of second sight to spy on Brianna while she's undressing, and Brianna herself is whiny and spoilt. Her catchphrase "I shouldn't - but I shall!" gets even more irritating than her mother Jory de Warenne's "I've quite made up my mind!" in the prequel Infamous.

Anyone looking for a well-written, sexy romance with accurate historical detail will be wasting their time.

[Tetty Marlinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

#139 for 2018
Genre: Historical Romance

[Gwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

C'est un Henley, mais de la part de l'auteur je m'attendais à meiux !

Le héro et l'héroïne sont bien moins présent pas rapport à ceux des tomes 1 et 2 qu'on a plaisir a retrouver dans ce dernier tome.
Même si Brianna et Wolf sont personnages bien décrit, fait... et qu'on apprécie; j'ai trouvé leur histoire moins piquante, attrayante que celle des parents de brianna ou celle de son oncle. Elle est à la limite d'être un élément secondaire.
Leur relation manque du sel qui faisait que j'avais aimé les 2 autres livres.
Pour celle, comme moi, qui avait apprécié le personnage de Rickard de beauchamps et espérait le revoir et bien ici c'est le cas ! Et ici je trouve que ces sentiments, sa manière d'être, son comportement notamment vis-à-vis de son père et de Jory (sa belle-mère) sont plus décrits et l'on voit comment leur relation ont évolué.
En tout cas l'ambiance, l'atmosphère du livre et de l'époque sont très bien décrites; ça n'était pas une partie pour les nobles avec un roi manipulable et les combats que les nobles ont du mener pour arranger les choses et parfois contre le roi lui-même.

Ce tome m'a donné envie de voir si les comtes de warwick avaient vraiment existé, et c'est le cas, or il n'a jamais épousé de femme prénommé Marjory et son fils ainé ne s'apelle pas Rickard...
A éviter pour l

[Bettye McKee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brianna de Beauchamp and Roger "Wolf" Mortimer

Brianna, the daughter of Marjory de Beauchamp, is betrothed to her cousin, Lincoln Robert de Beauchamp. Brianna goes to court to serve as Lady-in-waiting to Queen Isabelle. King Edward II is a most unworthy ruler, giving all of his attention to his lover, young Hugh Despencer.

The barons unite against the Despencers. Some are killed, some are imprisoned for treason, and some are in hiding. Roger Mortimer, being assured of a pardon, surrenders and, along with his two sons, is imprisoned. Brianna and Isabelle devise a way to communicate with the prisoners and ultimately help them escape.

I love Ms. Henley's historical novels. She absolutely brings dry history to life and allows her readers to live inside it. Sometimes there are so many characters on the page that the reader would benefit from a program to refer to, but this story involves England, Scotland and Wales with references to Ireland and France.

[Vanessa Eden Patton · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good book but pretty much every De Warren book following 'A Year and a Day' was not as good as the last. It was a fun light read but I have to say, when I read this book I did not like the way Lincoln Robert was portrayed . He is Lynx De Warrens son for god sakes !

[Cordelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

OUTSTANDING

As usual, another great 👍novel. Ms. Henley has always been in my top 5 favorite authors. She has never disappointed me with her exceptional writing in this genre. I always look to read anything she writes.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another amazing book written by Virginia Henley. I'm in love with all things De'warrene and am sad to let them go.

[Susan Ross · Rating 1 out of 5]

Since this book is classified as historical romance that's what I tagged it. It's not. It's historical fiction concentrating on the English king, his homosexuality, and the political intrigue between him, his lover, and the English and Scottish nobility. There are some unromantic sex scenes thrown in. 90% of the book does not involve the romance between Brianna and Wolf at all. And most of their relationship happens during dreams that Wolf controls with his Celtic powers. I skimmed the book after a few chapters so I could just concentrate on the main romance. I shouldn't have bothered. There wasn't much.

[Judith Sherrod · Rating 4 out of 5]

Notorious

Typical English lords,ladies,kings and queens. All jockeying for a larger piece of the power our as well as the wealth pie, with lesser lords and ladies playing a part in the outcome. Good storyline though.

[Coral · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favourite Henley. The first two thirds reads more like historical fiction, and the last third goes full bore into the romance and leaves all the other plot points dangling.

[Louise E. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story.

[Marisela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the series ,I’m actually said it ended

[Alma Mcmahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was more Historical Fiction then HR but as I enjoy the history I gave it 4 stars. I don’t recommend it if you don’t like English history.

[Karen Darling · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wasn't feeling this.

[Nicole alphAbet]

Summer Pile

[Paranormal Romance · Rating 1 out of 5]

Times are perilous to her father and the rest of the barons under Kind Edward's rule. The weak-willed man has surrendered his sanity and basically relinquished control of England over to his gay lover. This evil man has begun stripping the titled Barons of their land and as such they have come together to start an uprising-either the King's lover be banished or it's war.

The heroine's father welcomes his allies to his keep and with them comes the handsome Roger Mortimer. Young and inexperienced, she becomes enraptured with the older man. He is everything a man should be; kind, handsome and charming. His son, however, is everything a man shouldn't be. Every encounter she experiences with the arrogant Welshman sets her teeth on edge and gets her back up. She hates the man, she'll have nothing to do with him, she vows. But he always seems to be underfoot. The pressure of the Barons sees the King's lover exiled and a measure of peace comes over the land. She's always known she will marry the man of her dreams and she believes she's found that perfect man.

After a brief courtship she accepts his betrothal yet informs him that they will not marry under she is 18 years old and that he'll have to wait a full year to call her wife. He is disappointed by this but if the heroine knows anything it is her own mind. During this year's wait, the heroine decides to experience freedom from her parents. She's called to be lady in waiting to the queen and eagerly accepts. There she meets the Queen, a shy, timid and horribly beaten woman (not physically but mentally). The shame of first having a husband that doesn't love her and worse yet, to have that husband love another man, has made her shy away from conflict and avoid her husband at all costs. It's when the heroine is at the castle that the King reverses the ban on his lover and brings the evil man back to England. The King uses his wife unmercifully to gain the right to bring war to the resting Barons and the heroine is right in the middle of it. She advises the queen and is a good friend but she can't stop the King from making an outcast of the handsome older Roger Mortimer and his equally hansom yet arrogant son. Indeed, she sneaks messages to the hero, warnings of what to come and when the hero's father is imprisoned and sentenced to death for Treason, the heroine is devastated.

It's this tragedy that brings the hero and heroine together-united under one cause. The hero may not be the most gentlemanly man but his powers of Sight allow him to see the future and he knows that the heroine was always meant to be his. Indeed, she may not know it but they were together through everything. The hero was present when she accepted marriage from another man. The heroine was present when the hero also drowned in the freezing river. They've shared intimacies far deeper than she could ever know and finally she begins to see the truth of her own feelings. She begins to see that the perfect man was in front of her all along.

I didn't like this book. Not because it was badly written because indeed it had a certain flow and charm to it. I didn't like it because it was an historical fiction not a historical romance. True it HAD romance, but this was far from the focal point of the story. In fact, I've venture to say the even the heroine wasn't the true heroine, rather the plot and story mostly focused on the Queen. The heroine was just present throughout the whole turmoil. The hero's screen time was far smaller and the actual pages that were focused on the hero could be under 100 pages. Them together as either enemies or lovers were even fewer. As such, I found myself reading a political drama and that's not something that interests me. This book was not at all what I was expecting and as such I found myself extremely

[Sarah (is clearing her shelves) · Rating 2 out of 5]

11/10 - This is really 2.5 stars. Most of those 2.5 stars come from the fact that Notorious was continuing the story begun in A Year and a Day. I do like a book that's part of a series which continues the story of a previous couple - I like to read that they're still married with a whole ton of kids and still love each other, even if they're old in the present book. Unfortunately, that continuation of Jane and Lynx de Warenne and Jory's story was the only saving grace for this book. The main story of Jane and Lynx's son Lincoln and Jory's daughter Brianna, who doesn't really want Lincoln because she wants new character Wolf Mortimer, was a real disappointment. The story doesn't follow Brianna and Wolf enough, it seemed to be more focussed on Queen Isabel's relationship with King Edward (who was rumoured to be gay). Because of the lack of story following Brianna and Wolf they had very little time for their relationship to develop logically. When they did finally have sex near the end of the book it didn't feel natural or passionate, it felt like there should have been at least another 100 pages to continue the development of their relationship before they were thrown together. If it hadn't been for the appearance of characters from Henley's from previous book I would never have known that it was a Henley book. There didn't seem to be anything between Brianna and either of the two men in her life and that's unlike Henley, her other books that I've read are absolutely full of passion as well as a great historical plot and the occasional historically accurate character. This was a disappointing example of a Henley book that I wouldn't recommend.

[Elizabeth Perez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a complete train wreck. That being said, it's an entertaining train wreck. The author is completely sexist and homophobic. As other reviewers have mentioned, Edward II is constantly denigrated for being gay, which makes him weak and unable to govern competently. A man's wife is fat after birthing about ten children, which makes her terrible and cheating on her acceptable.
The movement of the characters, not to mention the dialogue, is absurdly anachronistic. The main character just jumps on her horse and ends up in another county constantly. No preparation, no description. She's just now at this or another castle. And the author only uses about four adjectives. If you take sip of wine every time the word 'decisively' is used, usually incorrectly, you will be drunk by page 50.

But that's what made this book so much fun. It's a 14th century Kardashians. Or for the Harry Potter fans, it's like reading the infamous fan fic, My Immortal, except set in Medieval England. If you accept the ridiculousness of, for example, the hero having psychic powers that have no limits or consequences just because he's part Welsh, this book is straight-up fun. I recommend getting it on audio. Listening to the poor narrator describe how all of Isabelle of France's political and marital problems can be fixed with a make over is amazing.

[Elis Madison · Rating 2 out of 5]

Brianna de Beauchamp, daughter of Guy and Jory Infamous is betrothed to Lincoln Robert de Warrenne, son of Jane and Lynx (see book), when she meets Wolf (yeah, lot of animal names in this story) Mortimer, son of Roger (as in the Roger who eventually dethroned Edward III and “rogered” Queen Isabella). As seems to happen in these books, they initially annoy the crap out of each other.

But that’s really their secret lusts bursting to get out. You can guess the rest of the story, which is centered around Brianna, who is a lady in waiting to Isabella, whose husband Edward II is busy “rogering” Hugh Despencer.

Oh, and Wolf has the second sight. So he knows everything before it happens. Which means WE know everything before it happens. Not a lot of dramatic tension in this book. Still it was a fun history lesson about England during Edward’s various conflicts with the marcher barons (though after seeing the liberties taken in some other books by Henley, I’m taking this one with a pretty big pinch of salt). 2.5 stars.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Viriginia Henley she has a captivating voice on page! This book wasn't one of her best but only because you didn't get to focus too much on the main characters, she spent pages and pages focused on the turmoil of the time that I wasn't following Wolf and Brianna's story, it took so long before they finally where aloud to hook up only after six encounters. This just seemed really out of the norm for Henley's normally steamy, action packed, charisma with the characters where you understand the emotions normally plow over both characters drawing them together and their is nothing they can do about it because Henley has choreographed the relationship to perfection, in this book it seems I'm following the backdrop of the play not the main characters.

[Janine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brianna is the daughter of a mighty earl and his lovely wife. Before she is to be married, she joins the court as one of the queen's ladies. She befriends Queen Isabelle, who has been the victim of King Edward's manipulative lover Hugh. Together they must free Roger Mortimer from the Tower of London so he can gather an army to depose of King Edward. In order to do so, Brianna must risk herself by helping Roger's son, Wolf. In the end, she loses her heart to Wolf.

[Charity · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just finished this book last night. I've done a couple of others by this author and I'd forgotten how much HISTORY she involves in her books. Usually I like to learn the History but there was just so much that it sort of ruins the whole "love story" line going on. Overall it was okay. I guess if you want to know more about King Edmund in the 1300's and what kind of wimp he was - then this is the book for you.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. It held my attention however there almost too much going on. I understand that part of the story needed to be there to set the scene but it detracted from the main characters. I love Jory and Guy and glad to see their love remained strong. As with Lynx and Jane. The next generation I just did not feel the same connection too. Don't get me wrong it's a good read just not as good as book #2

[Manang Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wolf and Brianna's story seems to be overshadowed by the compelling Roger Mortimer and Isabella. I was so fascinated with the elder Mortimer that I had to do further research on the actual events. There's a good book written by Ian Mortimer (not related) that I'm currently reading, "The Greatest Traitor: The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer, Ruler of England 1327-1330

[Pamelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book rather well. It has lots of intrigue and rich historical detailing. The main characters and supporting characters felt real and dimensional. There is one homosexual intimacy scene that caught me by surprise. So be advised.

[Gardavson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable book. I like this author. It is not a series book but it follows story lines created first in "A Year And A Day" and "Infamous". I recommend reading these books first.

[Flitterkit · Rating 3 out of 5]

not bad at all, a bit predictable, however the story was nicely fleshed out.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for a mindless read, but nothing to write home about. Liked "Infamous" better.

[Trish · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy Virginia's historical fiction. The history is interesting combined with strong female characters and a bit of racey romance. Good combo.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Henley always weaves a great story. The plot takes place during the 1300s Great Britain when Edward II ruled England. A lot of court intrigue...and great romance!