Command of the King - Hardcover

Another genre romance from Lide, this one more tied to the history books than her recent salt and heather-scented Tregaran duo since it concerns events during the early part of Henry VIII's reign. Here, in fact, it's 1512 when Lide raises the curtain on her downy-skinned Devonshire heroine, Philippa de Verne, daughter of a Yorkist traitor and just about to be married off to an elderly solicitor so that her wicked stepfather can steal her land. Coincidence throws her into the arms of one Richard Montacune, a Northumbrian lord returning from the wars in France. He saves her from a rape attempt; she offers up her lips, which he accepts while refusing to help her run away. Abscond she does, nonetheless, to Henry's court, where she plans to plead for the king's help. Instead, she lands in the middle of a Yorkist riot--where guess who shows up to rescue her again? (``Why, Lord Montacune, such a coincidence....'') Next, she winds up in the entourage of the king's sister, Princess Mary, a self-indulgent chit bent on resisting marriage to Emperor Charles. The princess has Philippa make her case before the king, resulting in another rape attempt, this one royal. Philippa's liaison with Mary continues to cause trouble in France when the princess marries Louis, elopes with an English duke after the French king's death, and finally betrays Philippa while trying to escape Henry's wrath. But all's well that ends well, since Montacune appears to fight for and win his lady fair at the lists. Surprisingly labored, characterless, and coincidence-plagued. In earlier books Lide's won the day out of sheer romantic panache. Not this time. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Philippa de Verne is the spirited heroine of Lide's turbulent new novel set in England during the early part of Henry VIII's rule. After her mother's death, Philippa's heinous stepfather tries to force her to marry Master Simeon, an odious, boorish village lawyer three times her age. Philippa runs away, and on a country road collides with Richard Montecune, a mercenary soldier returning with his troops from battle. He becomes her mentor and lover as she naively makes her way to the king's court to win back her land. When she reluctantly becomes part of the inner circle of the king's vapid sister, Princess Mary Tudor, Phillippa must learn to survive the tenuous, tedious and treacherous world of court politics. The dense but quick-moving plot involves intrigue, espionage, betrayal and many misunderstandings. Lide's ( The Legacy of Tregaran ) eye for detail is impressive, she is a strong storyteller, and her historical research is evident but not obtrusive.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.