Review: La Reine Blanche by Sarah Bryson

 About five months ago I had the pleasure of reading and reviewing Ms Bryson's book The Brandon Men, so when I was offered a review copy of this new (paperback) edition of her book La Reine Blanche, I couldn't resist.

The Brandon Men, of course, contained a great deal of information about Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, who was Mary Tudor's second husband, so I thought there would inevitably be some crossover, but no, this book is about Mary, and what a character she seems to have been.

There is some background information provided, so we are given a brief overview of the reign of her father, Henry VII, necessary for context but also because it gives a chance to find out what we can about Mary's childhood.

I don't think I'd realised that she had been betrothed as a young child, perhaps because that marriage never actually took place except by proxy, though I did know about her marriage to the king of France. I enjoyed this section and reading how she established herself at the French court. It might have been daunting, even to one born to such a destiny, to be sent across the sea to marry a much older man, but Mary evidently made the best of it and settled in well.

Some of this portion of her life is detailed in The Brandon Men but Ms Bryson ensures that here the focus is on Mary, whereas in the other book of course it is on Brandon. Apart from a very brief precis of Brandon's career up to this point, there is no repetition. This is where the book really takes off, in my view, because this is where we are given so much information from Mary herself, in her letters. Her clever manoeuvring seems to have been innate, for it's clear that she really didn't have anyone advising her and yet she managed to steer her way out of a great deal of potential trouble, having married a commoner without her brother the king's permission. 

The analysis by the author of these and other letters is careful and considered, but Ms Bryson does not examine them so deeply that we lose Mary's voice to detailed explanation or theories. Throughout, the touch is light, which allows Mary to speak for herself.

I was interested to read that Mary and Anne Boleyn did not get along particularly well and it was fascinating to see Henry as a brother, rather than as we usually see him: as king and husband.

It is clear that Mary Tudor was an exceptional woman, with strong opinions but with a shrewd awareness of life at court and her position in it. That she took the chance to marry for love and kept her husband out of the Tower is a remarkable achievement. I wish there had been a happier ending for her but alas, no historian can change that.

A really good read and a book which I highly recommend.

[With thanks to Amberley Books for supplying a review copy]

La Reine Blanche is available at Amberley Books

Amazon

and all good book shops 

Review: Love with No Tomorrow - Mindelle Pierce

"Love at first sight. During the Holocaust. Bonds as strong as steel, forged in the flames of hate.

These are extraordinary stories of love affairs during the most dangerous, degrading, and deadly conditions of genocidal persecution. The extreme lengths to which two people will go to express their love, and the superhuman strength that is derived from such love, is the stuff of miracles and endless inspiration.

This little-known aspect of the Holocaust, seen through the eyes of those in love, is a unique contribution to our understanding of the best and the worst qualities of human nature. This book must be read by anyone who wants to know more about life and love enduring the most horrendous conditions one could imagine."

This is an incredibly moving collection of stories, highlighting the atrocities of the war with particular reference to European Jews, but focusing on the hope, love, and fortitude of these brave people. Sometimes the references are so prosaic - one man was captured four times and 'escaped' - and at other times graphic and distressing: one woman hid for days in a cesspool, where German soldiers fired upon her and her companions. One died, she survived but was grazed. The wound alone, infected with human sewage, could so easily have killed her.

The nature of the love these couples had for each other is entirely selfless. One woman saved the life of the mother of a man who had the power to put her name on Schindler's List. She asked for her 'husband' to be put on that list in her place. She ended up in Auschwitz.

Others risked their lives to free their loved ones and their families - in one case, 42 members of the family were saved. Frequently I found myself shaking my head in wonder at the bravery of what were ordinary - i.e. civilian - people.

The title of the book doesn't completely convey the truth, for almost without exception it transpired that these love stories did, indeed, have a 'tomorrow' although they couldn't have known it at the time. At times it was a little confusing as some stories were written by the author, and some by direct relatives of the subjects of particular chapters. When these opened with 'my parents' or 'my mother was born in...' it led to momentary confusion and some stories were better written and more engaging, if that is the right word, than others.

Of course, it is imperative that such stories are written down, talked about, and remembered, but inevitably some were more powerful than others and if I had any criticism at all it is that there might have been just a few too many included in the collection. 

But these people (whose photos are included) and their stories have stayed with me, long after I closed the book. We throw around words like resilient, resourceful, and survivor without perhaps thinking what they mean when used in such horrific circumstances. That any of these innocent people managed to stay alive in the face of such inhuman suffering is something of a miracle. That their love for one another flourished is uplifting. A remarkable collection of stories.

[I was sent a copy of this book by the publishers, with no obligation to review.]

Love with no Tomorrow is available

From Amberley Books

Amazon

and all good bookshops.