Crown in Candlelight

By Rosemary Hawley Jarman

Katherine of Valois, raised amidst the madness and lechery of the French court, wed to a conquering English king, Henry V, and now alone and afraid in a world of treachery and violence. Owen Tudor, incredibly handsome and gifted, a poet and singer by nature, a warrior by necessity, and now a man ready to risk life for love. Theirs was a passion too perilous to reveal and too fiery to be long restrained or concealed...

• Language: English
• Publisher: The History Press
• Release date: Feb 29, 2008
• ISBN: 9780752499376

Reviews for Crown in Candlelight

[leser_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

My favorite medieval love story is that of Katherine of Valois and Owen Tudor. So when I saw the synopsis of this novel, I was eager to read it. I must say Jarman's writing exceeded my expectations. She knows her period well, conveying both the corruption of the French court of Charles VI and the mystical power of Owain Glyn Dwr (Glendower)'s Wales. Katherine is neglected and abused, and carries the memory of her elder sister Isabelle as a protection of sorts; Owen is launched into battle with the backing of Hywelis, a maiden who to me embodies the rooted connection of Owen and Wales.This novel swirls thematically around two poles - the Battle of Agincourt in its glorious senseless waste, and the union of Owen and Catherine (Owen Tydier as the author calls him, and Cathryn, as he calls her). These two sequences form the heart of the novel, and both are ramblingly breathlessly told.The descriptive work is lush and densely lyrical, worth reading slowly. It is hard to see a work topping this novel to tell this tragic and beautiful love story