The King's Favourite

by Marjorie Bowen

THE WAXEN WOMAN Three men sat in a boat on the Thames, proceeding along the rough river towards Chelsea. Two were rowing; the third, whose white beard was blowing in the October wind, sat at ease holding in his hand the figure of a small waxen woman. The oarsmen proceeded slowly against the fast-running tide, while the old man, comfortably dressed in a furred mantle, busied himself with the small waxen image that he was shaping precisely and delicately to the likeness of a naked woman. Out of his pockets fell the ends of pieces of silk, satin, laces and braid that were intended to clothe the little creature; now and then the old man glanced up at the quickly-changing sky. "A bold, inspiring day," he remarked to one of his companions, a dwarf. "Fine, intemperate weather, eh, Franklin?" The other replied on a note of sad complaint

Genres: Historical, Historical Fiction

390 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1937

About the author

Marjorie Bowen (pseudonym of Mrs Gabrielle Margaret V[ere] Long née Campbell), was a British author who wrote historical romances, supernatural horror stories, popular history and biography. Her total output numbers over 150 volumes with the bulk of her work under the 'Bowen' pseudonym. She also wrote under the names Joseph Shearing, George R. Preedy, John Winch, Robert Paye, and Margaret Campbell. As Joseph Shearing, she wrote several sinister gothic romances full of terror and mystery. Many of these stories were published as Berkley Medallion Books. Several of her books were adapted as films. Her books are much sought after by aficionados of gothic horror and received praise from critics.

Bowen's alcoholic father left the family at an early age and was eventually found dead on a London street. After this, Bowen's prolific writings were the chief financial support for her family. She was married twice: first, from 1912-16, to a Sicilian named Zefferino Emilio Constanza, who died of tuberculosis, and then to one Arthur L. Long. Her first novel was The Viper of Milan (1906), after which she produced a steady stream of writings until the day of her death on 23rd December 1952. Her last, posthumous, novel was The Man with the Scales (1954).

Reviews

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book from NetGalley for a fair review and see that it will be archived almost immediately. A republished book which needs a few editing corrections but essentially is a good read.I appreciate being able to read this book for NetGalley and perhaps 3.5 Stars will work for it, although I cannot do that here.

I actually knew nothing about Frances Howard and at first thought that SHE was "The King's Favorite" so I need to be even more careful with book choices. The book cover at Endeavor Press is nice but quite different than this one at Goodreads so I will use another picture for my blog.

Was Frances guilty? Guilt of something surely but perhaps not murder? She was so very YOUNG after all! She was surely manipulated by a mother who used her for her own purposes and had her own histrionic issues. Frances was a child who was not only encouraged in, at least using her looks and personal attributes for personal and family gain, but in a liberated fashion.

I was sorry for her and still unsure about what was or was not done to all of these people. Prince Henry's death? Goodness..for that I must read further books, although it seems to have been from Typhoid..

They had a daughter Anne who was born when her parents were imprisoned and who later married William Russell Earl of Bedford and they had 7 children, 6 of whom lived to adulthood.

I enjoyed the book and do recommend to those who like this period, which surely is underrepresented in fiction.

[Maxime · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review
I am a real fan of Historical fiction however the Stewarts time period is relatively unknown for me.
I found this book very interesting no matter what the period it always astounds me the level of court intrigue and just how much the women were used as pawns in a very dangerous game of chance driven by powerful houses. A great read and it makes me want to find out more about this interesting period of history.

[Meghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this time period and I quite enjoyed this book. It was not one I had come across before I saw it on Netgalley, but I'm glad I grabbed it. Francis was a intriguing character for me. I'm still not sure exactly what I think about how the story played out (but I don't want to ruin anything for anyone!). Overall I think it needed a few more edits to it, but I found it a good read.

**I received a copy from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for a review**

[Mrs Kelly Mitchell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Proof reading needed.

A decent enough story sadly marred by proof reading errors on nearly every page. An edit would be beneficial to this book.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The final book I want to talk about here is The King’s Favourite by Marjorie Bowen (originally published in 1938 under the pseudonym George R Preedy). The King of the title is King James I of England and VI of Scotland – and the Favourite is Robin Carr, a young man who catches the King’s eye when he falls and breaks his leg in the tilt yard. Henry Howard, Earl of Northampton, sees his chance to gain influence at court by pushing his pretty, seventeen-year-old great-niece Frances into an affair with Robin. But Howard is not the only one who is plotting and scheming; Robin’s friend, Tom Overbury, is also keen to encourage the romance between Robin and Frances in the hope of gaining more power for himself.

Nobody expected the two to actually fall in love, but that is what happens. With his plans thrown into disarray, Overbury finds himself caught in the middle of another plot – but this one is directed at himself. The King’s Favourite is based on real events from history, but I was unfamiliar with the details of this particular story. My lack of knowledge meant I had no idea what was going to happen and could enjoy this as a suspenseful true crime novel before looking up the facts after I’d finished and comparing them with Marjorie Bowen’s version.

While the plot (after a slow start) is an exciting, dramatic one, the characters are not particularly strong and not at all sympathetic either! I can’t say that I liked any of them – although I was interested to see that the astrologer and physician Simon Forman plays a prominent part in the story. I remember being intrigued by his appearances in Sally O’Reilly’s Dark Aemilia, so it was good to learn more about him here.

I see that there have been several other novels written over the years that also deal with the Overbury case, including one by Rafael Sabatini (The Minion) which I’m now very interested in reading. The TBR continues to grow!