Thanks to Tony Riches and Preseli Press for gifting me this for review.
What I really like about Tony Riches’s novels are that they bring to life people that have been lost or sidelined. Penelope Rich (nee Devereux) is a woman who had an incredibly interesting life and was sister to the executed Earl of Essex as well as stepdaughter to the Earl of Leicester, let relatively little has been written about her. Perhaps this is due to lack of sources and real knowledge, I’m not sure. This is the fourth book in the Elizabethan series, but they can also all be read as standalones.
Riches obviously has done his research and utilised what sources there are for Penelope’s life, utilising those of the people around her as well to bring together a full and rounded character in her own story. The previous three in this series have all centred around men, so it’s a pleasant change to have a female protagonist, and how her thoughts and actions differed from male counterparts.
Well-written and engaging to read, Riches really brings the later Elizabethan period to life, into the reign of the first Stuart king, James I. Although actual interactions with Elizabeth I are a little scarce, we see Elizabeth through Penelope’s eyes – how capricious and sometimes selfish she could be, controlling marriages and even the happiness of those around her. Seeing the Virgin Queen from an outsider’s perspective is almost more intriguing than from within the court, because Penelope had a very vaunted view of the queen, and we see how her view adjusts as she sees and learns more.
It’s a fascinating read about a woman who I’d only really read about with regards to her possible involvement in the Essex Rebellion of 1601. I knew nothing about her life in other areas at all, so this was really interesting for me. I think we often underestimate women in the past, thinking them vassals of men, but Penelope’s story shows that these women were far more complex and have stories of their own to tell.
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