The Prince of Poison
by Pamela Kaufman
For decades, Pamela Kaufman has entertained a loyal readership with the mesmerizing and often hilarious adventures of Alix of Wanthwaite, madcap medieval beauty. In Shield of Three Lions, the unflappable Alix braved the crusades dressed as a man to spar with the king of England over her birthright. Banners of Gold saw her taken hostage, drawn into a web of international politics, and entangled in the heartstrings of three different men. Now, The Prince of Poison finds Alix homeward bound at last, with a half-royal child in tow and an angry monarch on her trail.
Set amidst the pomp and savagery of twelfth-century Europe, the Alix of Wanthwaite trilogy renders a glorious mishmash of ruffians, peasants, troubadours, murderers, pretenders, barons, princesses, and popes in charming and disarming detail. Alix’s bawdy, free-wheeling narration wickedly lampoons historical notables like Richard the Lion Heart and Eleanor of Aquitaine, spinning the historical novel in a fresh direction.
This guide is designed to enhance your group’s discussion of Alix’s escapades in The Prince of Poison.
**From Publishers Weekly
This brisk if jumbled historical romance concludes the author's trilogy about Lady Alix of Wanthwaite, a 13th-century English noblewoman whom trouble seems to follow. Most pressingly, King John, the prince of the title, believes Lady Alix to be carrying the bastard son of his dead brother Richard the Lion-Hearted—i.e., the rightful heir—so John marks her and her unborn child for death. After biting the king's member at the climax of a highly improbable but winningly bawdy opening chase scene, Alix, who narrates, escapes back to England with the help of Norman Jews and has the baby—a boy, natch. Unfortunately her legal husband and true love, the Scotsman Enoch, has thought her dead, and remarried, and John is soon back on the trail of Alix and son Theo. Alix and Theo are separated, and John eventually tracks Theo down. John does not relent, but Alix has connections, and Enoch is never completely out of the picture. Kaufman, who lives in L.A., mixes sound historiography and vivid dialogue with implausible events; this follow-up to Banners of Gold gets good mileage out of genre conventions. *(Apr.) *
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
About the Author
Pamela Kaufman is the author of Shield of Three Lions, Banners of Gold, and The Book of Eleanor. She lives in Los Angeles.
Set amidst the pomp and savagery of twelfth-century Europe, the Alix of Wanthwaite trilogy renders a glorious mishmash of ruffians, peasants, troubadours, murderers, pretenders, barons, princesses, and popes in charming and disarming detail. Alix’s bawdy, free-wheeling narration wickedly lampoons historical notables like Richard the Lion Heart and Eleanor of Aquitaine, spinning the historical novel in a fresh direction.
This guide is designed to enhance your group’s discussion of Alix’s escapades in The Prince of Poison.
**From Publishers Weekly
This brisk if jumbled historical romance concludes the author's trilogy about Lady Alix of Wanthwaite, a 13th-century English noblewoman whom trouble seems to follow. Most pressingly, King John, the prince of the title, believes Lady Alix to be carrying the bastard son of his dead brother Richard the Lion-Hearted—i.e., the rightful heir—so John marks her and her unborn child for death. After biting the king's member at the climax of a highly improbable but winningly bawdy opening chase scene, Alix, who narrates, escapes back to England with the help of Norman Jews and has the baby—a boy, natch. Unfortunately her legal husband and true love, the Scotsman Enoch, has thought her dead, and remarried, and John is soon back on the trail of Alix and son Theo. Alix and Theo are separated, and John eventually tracks Theo down. John does not relent, but Alix has connections, and Enoch is never completely out of the picture. Kaufman, who lives in L.A., mixes sound historiography and vivid dialogue with implausible events; this follow-up to Banners of Gold gets good mileage out of genre conventions. *(Apr.) *
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
About the Author
Pamela Kaufman is the author of Shield of Three Lions, Banners of Gold, and The Book of Eleanor. She lives in Los Angeles.