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The Exiled (War of the Roses #2)

by Posie Graeme-Evans (Goodreads Author)

3.78 of 5 stars 3.78 · rating details · 613 ratings · 33 reviews

In this windswept story set in the lusty fifteenth century, the enchanting Anne faces the challenge of raising her child in exile. Always resourceful, she flourishes as a merchant and is able to support her household. But the local businessmen aren't pleased about competing with a woman and her foes are multiplying around her, desperate to put her back in what they believe...more

Paperback, 407 pages

Published June 14th 2005 by Atria Books (first published March 14th 2005)

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Feb 27, 2012 Karla (Mossy Love Grotto) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-romance, monarchs-plantagenets, 3-stars

The second book of the Anne de Bohun saga continues...

Anne has gone to Brugge to live in exile, the secret of her birth father and her affair with England's King Edward IV putting her in danger of being used as a pawn by either Lancaster or York, whoever gets their hands on her. At loose ends with her life, she focuses her energies on partnering in trade with her guardian, merchant Mathew Cuttifer. Although her gender sets the English Merchants against her, she has an ally in the Duke of Burgund...more The second book of the Anne de Bohun saga continues...

Anne has gone to Brugge to live in exile, the secret of her birth father and her affair with England's King Edward IV putting her in danger of being used as a pawn by either Lancaster or York, whoever gets their hands on her. At loose ends with her life, she focuses her energies on partnering in trade with her guardian, merchant Mathew Cuttifer. Although her gender sets the English Merchants against her, she has an ally in the Duke of Burgundy and trumps all the guys in the upcoming influx of trade goods for the Duke's impending nuptials with King Edward's sister, Margaret. However, trouble follows Anne from the English court and she finds herself having to escape all kinds of danger.

It's a mystery to me why I've enjoyed this series as much as I have. Anne is the type of heroine that normally annoys me. She's beautiful, supernaturally talented (she has visions), makes men lust after her and queens plot jealous murder, and is overall perfect and innocent and catnip to everyone around her. Give me a bucket, I'm gonna frow up...

But like the eponymous heroine in Lily Cigar, Anne de Bohun is simply a good person. She has some human frailties, but she does her best with what she has to work with and tries to retain her honor and integrity no matter what. So even though both Lily and Anne crossed over into "Are you for real??" territory plenty of times, I thought they were both well-written examples of the saccharine heroine. Instead of wanting to punch Anne in the face, I wanted to see her stay safe and be happy, just for a little while.

That said, I thought this trilogy middle child lacked the pacing that the first one had. The first half of the book is mainly devoted to Anne's maneuvering around the trade guilds in Brugge, gambling on shipments of stuff from Italy for import before the ducal wedding and leaving the smartypants guys in the guild sitting on their thumbs. It was a good plot move to show Anne relying more on herself and taking chances to secure her position and that of her son in the big bad world, but I thought it went on too long before the intrigue and action started. But once Edward arrives to deliver his sister to the Duke, with angry wife Elizabeth not far behind, then the trashy connivery and fluff that made the first book so much fun really got cooking, and the last half of the book went down far more enjoyably.

The ending is bittersweet, just like Book 1, and it feels like little was accomplished or resolved (Edward's still shackled in wedlock, Anne can't risk staying in England), but the balance of fluff and angst and trash hit still hit the spot more often than it didn't.(less)

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Aug 04, 2011 Amanda rated it 3 of 5 stars

Pretty much immediately after I finished the first novel, The Innocent, I ordered The Exiled. I was entranced from the very first page by Posie Graeme-Evans' masterful, strongly woven prose filled with drama, elegance and unparalleled detail that makes this book go down easy.

The Exiled started out with an action-packed bang. Anne, after having gone into exile at the end of The Innocent, is now living in Burgundy with her foster mother Deborah and young son Edward. She hopes to live a peaceful li...more Pretty much immediately after I finished the first novel, The Innocent, I ordered The Exiled. I was entranced from the very first page by Posie Graeme-Evans' masterful, strongly woven prose filled with drama, elegance and unparalleled detail that makes this book go down easy.

The Exiled started out with an action-packed bang. Anne, after having gone into exile at the end of The Innocent, is now living in Burgundy with her foster mother Deborah and young son Edward. She hopes to live a peaceful life, but that's quickly shattered when sometime tries to kill her. Anne discovers that information about her mysterious birth has started to leak -as well as information about the possible father of her child.

Soon after, King Edward IV of England visits Burgundy for the wedding of his sister Margaret to the Duke of Burgundy. Anne plans a way to see him and explains to her passionate lover (and forbidden love) that young Edward is his son. Soon after, Anne is kidnapped, most likely by agents of Edward's jealous queen, and she is plunged into a new adventure where she must fight to keep her life and get back to her son.

After the kidnapping however, things started to go downhill. I really enjoyed the first half of this book even though it was a little bit slow, but it didn't stay on the same level throughout. I was also grateful that The Exiled wasn't nearly as steamy as The Innocent and just dripped with thick, well written plot full of political intrigue. Events slowly became more and more unbelievable, almost to the point that the plot felt conceded and drawn out. Action shifted to something of a bizarre soap opera between Anne, Edward and other characters that just made me yawn. Even though the plot is thicker here and revolves more strongly on political intrigue and action than romance (unlike the first one), it becomes so contrived that the historical part of this novel seems fictional. Fans of truly historical novels will wince at the highly illogical and unlikely events near the end of the book, while fans of pure fiction and romance/historical romance will just shrug it off.

I really wanted to like this book more, but it just wasn't as enjoyable as The Innocent. It has lovely, well-crafted writing, story-telling and plot but it becomes a prisoner of its own predictability and, compared to the last one, lack of creativity in plot. The most annoying part of The Exiled was that the ending was virtually the same as the first one. There are several unanswered questions (many still left over from The Innocent), it feels abrupt and made me look back at the rest of this book and think: what was really accomplished here? very little. It seems to me that Graeme-Evans wasn't sure how to continue her story and make it into a trilogy where each novel contained the same quality as the previous ones.

All in all, a bit of a disappointment after the last book, but still filled with beautiful prose and a semi-enjoyable plot. (less)

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Apr 11, 2011 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Exiled is the second novel in the War of the Roses series featuring Edward IV and Anne de Bohun.

In the first novel of the series, The Innocent, Anne worked her way up into the king's court as a servant and all-knowing medicine-woman attending the queen. Anne's gentle ways, intelligence and beauty caught the eye of King Edward IV, and the pair worked carefully to keep their love for each other a secret. In The Exiled, Anne de Bohun, now having full knowledge of her true identity and royal blo...more The Exiled is the second novel in the War of the Roses series featuring Edward IV and Anne de Bohun.

In the first novel of the series, The Innocent, Anne worked her way up into the king's court as a servant and all-knowing medicine-woman attending the queen. Anne's gentle ways, intelligence and beauty caught the eye of King Edward IV, and the pair worked carefully to keep their love for each other a secret. In The Exiled, Anne de Bohun, now having full knowledge of her true identity and royal bloodline, has escaped to Brugge, where she has established herself as a successful merchant and businesswoman. Much to Anne's dismay, she finds herself still in danger as several assassination attempts are made on her life, with Queen Elizabeth Grey as the prime culprit behind the attacks. Therefore Anne must be more cautious than ever, relying on her intelligence, wit, insight, and strategic abilities in order to survive; all while her love for King Edward IV burns as strongly as ever.

Posie Graeme-Evans once again creates an elegant, page-turning tale featuring a highly likable and admirable heroine. Anne de Bohun's character in The Exiled is much stronger, confident and has more panache; while hating Queen Elizabeth Grey is inevitable because of our loyalty to Anne. It never fails to amaze me how historical fiction authors can influence you to take certain sides of characters in specific novels; for example, it's amusing to read Philippa Gregory's The White Queen told from Elizabeth Grey's point of view as "the victim" and then reading The Exiled in which we passionately hate her. For it's setting in time and place, The Exiled causes Anne to stand out more than ever as one of the most memorable heroines in the historical fiction sub-genre.

As for Posie Graeme-Evans' writing style, her stories are so richly and intricately composed that you can vividly picture and imagine the setting perfectly. Whereas some historical fiction novels give you a detached glimpse into the lives of the figures in question, Graeme-Evans places you right there with them, making for an addicting and involved experience. The outside world will truly fall away when you read this series! I HIGHLY recommend all three novels.

The final book in the War of the Roses trilogy is called The Beloved (2006), with the alternate title being The Uncrowned Queen in the United States. Graeme-Evans has also written a stand-alone novel titled The Dressmaker (2010).

Visit http://dreamworldbooks.com for more book reviews.(less)

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Feb 03, 2010 Hautemonarchy rated it 3 of 5 stars

I didn't like this installment as much as the first. The supernatural stuff irked me to no end, it felt so random. I understand that people back then were rather superstitious but to write that Anne saw the image of the Sword Mother on several accounts was just plain weird. And of course, everyone is mesmerized by Anne's beauty...yawn. And I don't know why, but Edward just lost his appeal in this book for me. It seems like almost every time he shares the same page as Anne, he's always shagging h...more

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Dec 08, 2012 Sarah Wagner rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: england, historical-fiction, middle-ages

I read The Innocent a number of years ago and I always meant to continue this trilogy before now, but I only found the time recently. The Exiled picks up in the city of Brugge, where Anne, exiled after her adventures at the court of Yorkist King Edward IV, which included an affair with the king and the birth of an illegitimate child, has settled and begun to earn a living as a merchant. She must wrestle with the prejudice and envy of her fellow merchant, who do not care to trade with a woman, mu...more

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May 17, 2013 Amy rated it 2 of 5 stars

I did not realize this was the 2nd book in a series. So I didn't know that Anne was Henry VI's daughter or any of that until long after I feel like I should have. The plot was really hard to get into for me. I was about to put it down when Edward IV appeared on the scene and then it picked up. The parts with the wedding and immediately leading up to it and following were the best. After that I was just waiting for Edward to come on the scene again.

I'll echo the others with the warning that ther...more

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Nov 04, 2011 Sorcha rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011

Second in the series of Anne de Bohun, who in the previous book had been exiled from Englan by her lover King Edward. In the year since, she has given birth to their son Edward, and establieshed herself under patronage of a wealthy trader in Brugges. She uses her intellegience and gossip to build a fortune, but in doing so, engenders the ire of her growing list of enemies (including that of the Queen of England). Finally things come to a head, bringing her back into the sphere of the King....[re...more

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Oct 03, 2008 Lauren rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This is book two in Posie Graeme-Evans' Anne de Bohun trilogy. It picks up in the city of Brugges, about a year after the Innocent leaves off were our heroine Anne is living in exile. Anne is now a mother masquereding as the aunt of her illegitimate son Edward. While in Brugges, Anne shocks medieval socety and becomes a wealthy merchant. While Anne seeks peace in Brugges she is unable to find that peace. Like the Innocent, the Exiled is a bit unrealistic and lacks plausibility for some important...more This is book two in Posie Graeme-Evans' Anne de Bohun trilogy. It picks up in the city of Brugges, about a year after the Innocent leaves off were our heroine Anne is living in exile. Anne is now a mother masquereding as the aunt of her illegitimate son Edward. While in Brugges, Anne shocks medieval socety and becomes a wealthy merchant. While Anne seeks peace in Brugges she is unable to find that peace. Like the Innocent, the Exiled is a bit unrealistic and lacks plausibility for some important plot elements. It also includes some unnecessarily descriptive love scenes and too closely resembles a romance novel at times. However, it is an entertaining, quick and easy read.

The largest innacuracy is fairly crucial to the plot. Anne, as readers of the Innocent know, is not only the former lover of the English King Edward IV of the House of York, but she is supposedly the illegitimate daughter of mad King Henry VI of the House of Lancaster, whom Edward IV deposed in the not too distant past. Thus, although Anne is illegitimate, the fact that she fears becoming a poltiical pawn. It is not completely clear why the author thinks this is a problem - after all, Anne is illegitimate. Unlike Katherine Swynford's children with John of Gaunt, the fictional Anne de Bohun's parents were never married and Anne was never legitimated by the pope. Thus, Anne de Bohun and her children would not matter for succession. Similarly, her son Edward would be a non-entity in the succession because Edward is also illegitimate. Anyhow, in spite of this implausibility, somehow Anne is an important political pawn... However, as I said, the novel is entertaining and if you can suspend your disbelief related to this implausibility, the book is a fun read.

Ultimately, Edward IV arrives in Brugges with his sister Margaret and Anne must decide whether to rekindle her love affair with Edward IV and whether to return with him to England. This leads to another historical innacuracy - Duke Charles of Brugges, Margaret's husband, is described as a gallant and noble figure. He was in fact known to be a bit erratic in history, earning the nickname Charles the Rash. Ultimately, it is thanks to Charles that Burgundy became part of France.

This innacuracy is pretty minor however. In terms of Posie Graeme Evans' history of the Wars of the Roses, she does a pretty good job of explaining the complicated dynamic of the Houses of York and Lancaster. This particularly shines through in the conclusion of the trilogy - the Uncrowned Queen. The Exiled also does a great job discussing the merchant guilds, politics between France and England, and gives a general sense of the 15th century balance of power in Europe. Overall this book is a good read, as are the other two installments of the trilogy. (less)

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Jun 25, 2012 Rosemary Prawdzik rated it 3 of 5 stars

If you know much about Edward IV's reign and like fiction that stays true to what's known, you may not like this book. However, if you enjoy a good "story" and you like historical "romance" you will enjoy it.
It was entertaining enough to keep me reading - if for no other reason than to see where her story went vs. what really happened.

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Jan 21, 2010 Sharon rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction

This one was good historical fiction. I'm not at all familiar with Edward IV, so it was interesting to read about an unfamiliar era. It's the second of three novels, and I haven't read the first in the series, but I wasn't too at sea, always a plus. Minuses: No author's note: I always like to know where fact and fiction differ. Too much hocus pocus: While I generally enjoy fantasy literature, I do not like it mixed with history.

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Jun 09, 2013 Angie B rated it 5 of 5 stars

Fascinating story of life in the Middle Ages, intrigue and treachery among the Plantagenets. Also the struggle of women to have a voice, to be permitted run their own business, amid the power of the Merchant Guilds.

I like the writing style of Posie Graeme Evans, can't wait to read #3 in the trilogy.

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Nov 02, 2011 Ange rated it 4 of 5 stars

My sister gave me this trilogy to read and I must say I have thoroughly enjoyed the first of the series. Posie Graeme-Evans unique story telling has you captivated by this medieval love story following the life and love of Anne de Bohnn and King Edward. I will be starting The Exiled very soon.

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May 14, 2013 Mary rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was an AMAZING book! It was just as good as the 1st book. It is filled with passion and love. Reading this I feel Anne growing as a character. I'm starting to hate the Queen. She is acting like such a bitch, but sometimes I don't blame her.

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Jun 24, 2009 Ashlee rated it 4 of 5 stars

I am still loving the trilogy. The second book wasn't as good as the first book, in my opinion. There definitily is a lot going on and you have to keep up but it is a good read! I did really enjoy this book! I can't wait for the third one!

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Mar 01, 2012 Kylie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Couldn't wait to follow the story of Anne, the mistress of King Edward IV. Anne lives in exile in Brugge and has a big secret - she is the daughter of Henry V1, the king upsurged by the man she loves. Thoroughly enjoyed.

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May 14, 2011 Melanie rated it 1 of 5 stars

I will read just about anything but my favorite is historical fiction.

This book sucked. It is the first book I have every read that I did not finished. It was predictable, boring, and had a bad story line.

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Feb 01, 2011 Stephanie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: richard-iii-and-the-plantagenets

Enjoyable read. I'm getting better at looking past historical inaccuracies in books, but this one is so far off it's tough to overlook.

Both Edward and Elizabeth going to Brugge for Margaret's wedding, please! Also, was it necessary to mess with the birth order of their children?

95% fiction, 5% historical, lol!

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Apr 27, 2012 Annette McIntyre added it

I didn't like this book. It had a great idea for a plot, and then it got overwhelmed in a ton of minutia and the whole story didn't really hang together for me. I gave up about halfway through and have no plans on finshing it.

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Apr 12, 2013 Ronda Trevitt rated it 4 of 5 stars

Once you move past some historical inaccuracy and move to the wonder of story telling, this book is just as good as the first one in the series. The book is fiction not a history lesson, so keep that part clear. Posie certainly tells an intriguing story of love, lust and betrayal! I loved this as much as the first and can't wait to get to the last installment.

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Feb 27, 2011 Gaile rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: emery-s-2011-challenge, 16th-century

this one is second in a series and I will have to wait to finish the last book in the series before
posting a review. This series has to be read in sequence.

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Jul 20, 2009 Emma Louise rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: bought

Started but didn't finish. Didn't grab my attention. Glad it was very cheap.

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Dec 09, 2012 Carrie Robison rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: loved

Loved it just like the other two!

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Aug 07, 2011 Rachael McDiarmid rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Pure escapism and utter enjoyment

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Mar 31, 2011 Morgan rated it 1 of 5 stars

This book sucked. I am sticking with Phillipa Gregory for this time period historical fiction. It very much so made me want to vomit.

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Aug 27, 2011 Mirah W rated it 3 of 5 stars

I thought this was actually a bit better than The Innocent (book 1)...although with both books I felt the author could have gotten to the point a little quicker. I didn't feel like there was as much character development in this one...it was more like just following them around watching what they were doing. I probably will read book 3.

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Jul 06, 2007 Beth (moonivy) rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: historical fiction readers.

Read 7/5-7/6/07
The Exiled is the second book in a trilogy. Anne de Bohun, exiled and living in Bruges, continues to guilessly enchant any stray male that happens into her
line of view and in her spare time builds a wealthy merchant house. I liked this book, sarcasm aside. Recommended.

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Sep 04, 2012 Lizzie Bissett rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book was even better than the first (being a trilogy). Just as you think Anne de Bohun has escaped her captors and other terrors, a new one begins! I honestly thought she'd never see the king again! Can't wait to start the third one!!

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Apr 05, 2013 Katmac rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: yes

Recommended to Katmac by: any one who loves historical fiction

Excellent read, moving on to The Uncrowned Queen

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Sep 10, 2008 Jen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fluff, historical-fiction

An interesting story with lots of historical details -- although a bit slower than the first book. Beware of a few explicit passages (easy to see coming and skip!). Book 2 in a series of 3.

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Oct 27, 2008 Melissa rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Amy wilks

A noblewoman finds refuge in Brugge away from King Edward of England the father of her child. But their love does not keep them apart for long. Excellent story.

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About Posie Graeme-Evans

Posie Graeme-Evans has worked in the Australian film and television industry for the last twenty-five years as an editor, director, and producer on hundreds of prime-time television programs, including McLeod's Daughters and Hi-5. She lives in Sydney with her husband and creative partner, Andrew Blaxland.

More about Posie Graeme-Evans...

Books by Posie Graeme-Evans

The Uncrowned Queen (War of the Roses, #3)

The Anne Trilogy: The Innocent, The Exiled, and The Uncrowned Queen

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The Exiled (War of the Roses #2)

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