Review: "Girl on the Golden Coin" by Marci Jefferson

Hello all!

This review is horribly late. I've been so caught up in reading other novels and posting author spotlights (and interviews and reviews...) that I forgot to post my review of Marci Jefferson's "Girl on the Golden Coin", which in retrospect, is one of my favorite books this year.

"The Girl on the Golden Coin" is an excellent look at the life of Frances Stuart, the woman who would become the model for "Britannia" on England's coinage. I've always been enamored of her and even at one time thought of penning a novel about her myself. But since I do not like to trod over turned up ground, I moved on to other projects.

The novel opens when Frances is but a girl and a exile living in France. The English Civil War is raging and the Stuart family has been fractured by the fighting. Charles, the Prince of Wales, is a vagabond, moving from court to court throughout Europe, while his mother, Queen Henrietta Maria is living in France with her daughter Henriette. Frances' mother is attached to the Queen's household, so Frances grows up as a boon companion to the young princess. 

Some years later, Henriette is married off to Louis XIV's younger brother while still pining for the king. Frances unwittingly wins the King's heart, but loyal to her friend, refuses to become his mistress. And so begins her journey. In retribution for turning him down, Louis sends Frances back to England to serve in the court of the newly restored King Charles II. She is to become the King's mistress and use her influence to sway him in favor of France. Then begins the conflict. Frances is ill suited to political and court intrigues but is forced to play the game in an attempt to save her family's honor and to keep a past scandal secret. She handily charms the king and his court, becoming known as La Belle Stuart. But she is constantly conflicted by her loyalty to Queen Catherine and her growing feelings (and passion) for King Charles.

Ms. Jefferson's writing style is very engaging, atmospheric without sacrificing the pace of the novel. Some reviewers complain that the novel is too light. It is fiction, not a doctoral thesis on Restoration England. Jefferson accurately captures the many court personalities including King Charles and his Queen Catherine, his established mistress Barbara, Lady Castlemaine, and his brother the Duke of York. Frances' conflicted feelings for Charles seem to be sexual in nature at first, but she grows to love him, and is a better character for it. She never seeks to excel her own person throughout the novel and constantly makes sacrifices (including her own morality) for her family. If anything, Frances is probably a little too good, but she never comes off as an annoying martyr. 


My only quibble is that Frances' mother was not fully fleshed out, and their interactions suffer as a result. It's obvious the woman was very withdrawn but it would have been nice to know what was going on in her head (even if it were only through dialogue) especially since her secret is Frances' main motivation for acting as she does. But over all, the novel is nicely paced and engrossing with an interesting author's note to cap it all off. "Girl on the Golden Coin" is a recommended read. And I'm looking forward to Marci's next novel which is entitled "The Enchantress of Paris" and takes place in the Louis XIV's court. It's due out next August.

What I'm Reading

Hello folks,

I thought that it would be appropriate to detail what I've been up to and what I'm reading (or in some cases preparing to read). I have a whole host of books that are lined up on Netgalley waiting for me to read.

I'm currently reading "City of Jasmine" by Deanna Raybourn. I'm a huge fan of her Lady Julia Grey mystery series. Her standalone novels are equally good. I really enjoyed her first, "The Dead Travel Fast." I didn't get around to "A Spear of Summer Grass" but I'm familiar enough with the characters to determined that there are some mentions of them in "City of Jasmine." The novel follows Evangeline Starke (don't you just love that name?), a female aviatrix who is doing a press tour of sorts through Europe and the Middle East. A widow for over five years, she is quite distressed to discover that her dead husband is very much alive. I think I've already picked up on the husband has been up to and what he had to disappear but I love Raybourn's knack for sexually charged conversations between the hero and heroine. I really need to finish this one off soon! This book also released this past Tuesday, so fire up your Knidles and pick up a copy.

Next up is "Madam" by Cari Lynn and Kari Martin. This one I am reading and reviewing for the
Historical Novel Society so I won't post the review until May when it appears in the Historical Novel Review. But I will of course be posting here and on Goodreads then. New Orleans is the backdrop for this novel, and who doesn't love a good novel featuring ladies of the night plying their trade in New Orleans? The protagonist Mary Deubler is a back alley whore when the local government decided to create a formal red light district. Mary doesn't think she will belong amongst the high class clientele of "Storyville" but with a bit of grit and determination she eventually rises to become the famous Madam Josie Arlington. I read Lois Battle's "Storyville" a couple of years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it so I am looking forward to this novel as well.

I am also very excited about Marci Jefferson's "Girl on the Golden Coin" which released just a couple of weeks ago. I've been intrigued by Frances Stuart ever since I ran across her portrait while studying Peter Lely's Hampton Court beauties series. She's is seemingly the only woman to have resisted the powerful force that was Charles II, eventually eloping with her cousin. Some say that she was the only woman Charles ever truly loved and that he was devastated to learn of her marriage, but she eventually found her way back into his favor. And the golden coin? She was the muse that eventually appeared on English coins as "Britannica". Long time readers will know that I contemplated writing a book on Frances myself but decided against it once I learned that another author had recently released a novel featuring her. I read that one (Maeve Haran's "The Painted Lady") and enjoyed it. I'm very interested to see how Ms. Jefferson spins Frances in her novel as there are many disputed reports of on Frances's character.

Also in the queue to be read:

It's going to be a busy spring!

Happy reading and have a fantastic weekend!

My Ever Growing Historical Fiction Wish List

Hello dear and faithful readers!

I am busy working on some new reviews for you all, but I will admit that I have been felled by a recent spat of migraines. I've never had much of an issue with them before so this development is unfortunately requiring some medical intervention. The really sad part is that I am not overly anxious to be straining my eyes with reading. I'm about half way through "City of Jasmine" by Deanna Raybourn and a quarter of the way through "I Always Loved You" by Robin Oliveira, so I hope to finish both in due course. In the meantime I have been whiling the time away by re-watching Season One of "House of Cards" and then moving on to the newest season. I know some reviewers say it's affected with Kevin Spacey's breaking of the fourth wall, but I adore him. He really personifies callousness, unbridled ambition, and a sinister nature. In short--he's brilliant. Robin Wright is equally awesome as his calculated wife, Claire. Anyhoo, if you have haven't watched it, get Netflix and start watching. You won't be disappointed.

Now moving on, I always have a growing wish list of books I want to read, and I've luckily been able to put a dent in said list with the help of Netgalley. But I thought to share a few of my must reads for the coming months.

 

Girl on the Golden Coin by Marci Jefferson follows the riches to rags to riches life of impoverished noblewoman Lady Frances Stuart. She grows up in the court of Henrietta Maria, the deposed Queen of England but returns to England after the restoration of Charles II. Naturally she attracts the attention of the amorous king and must learn to survive in a court where power is everything and the king's mistress is truly queen. The novel is out now.

Fallen Beauty by Ericka Robuck follows three women, one of whom is the famous poet and openly bisexual Edna St. Vincent Millay. I adored Robuck's first novel Call Me Zelda so I'm definitely looking forward to reading this one. This novel releases on March 4th.

Inamorata by Megan Chance follows twin siblings Joseph and Sophie as they escape New York for Venice in hopes of finding a wealth patron for Joseph's budding art career. What they find is an infamous courtesan bent on luring Joseph into a tangled web of deceit and danger, and the man who had sworn to stop her. I really enjoyed Chance's An Inconvenient Wife when I read it a couple years ago and Inamorata sounds just as compelling. The novel releases July 8th.

Happy reading folks and stay tuned for an exciting announcement tomorrow!