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The Confession of Piers Gaveston
The history books tell us that Piers Gaveston was many arrogant, ambitious, avaricious, flamboyant, extravagant, reckless, brave, and daring, indiscreet, handsome, witty, vivacious, vain, and peacock-proud, a soldier and champion jouster, the son of a condemned witch, who used witchcraft, his own wicked wiles, and forbidden sex to entice and enslave King Edward II, alienate him from his nobles and advisors, and keep him from the bed of his beautiful bride Isabelle. Edward's infatuation with Gaveston, and the deluge of riches he showered on him, nearly plunged England into civil war.Now the object of that scandalous and legendary obsession tells his side of the story in The Confession of Piers "Mayhap even now, when I have only just begun, it is already too late to set the story straight. My infamy, I fear, is too well entrenched. Whenever they tell the story of Edward's reign I will always be the villain and Edward, the poor, weak-willed, pliant king who fell under my spell, the golden victim of a dark enchantment. There are two sides to every coin; but when the bards and chroniclers, the men who write the histories, tell this story, will anyone remember that?"
190 pages, Paperback
First published July 21, 2007
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January 9, 2014
The Confession of Piers Gaveston, Brandy Purdy's first novel, was self-published with iUniverse in 2007 and is 181 pages long. The novel is narrated in the first person by Piers himself, in modern English with the occasional word like 'mayhap' thrown in, and reminds me in countless ways of Chris Hunt's 1992 novel Gaveston, a much longer, insightful and, for all its excessively purple prose, a far more accomplished work. I knew I wasn't going to get on well with Confession when in the very first scene we see Piers Gaveston's mother Claramonde de Marsan being burned alive as a witch - an invention of 300+ years later - and shortly afterwards are introduced to a Piers who is lowborn and destitute and has an uncle who's an innkeeper. Let us remember at this point that a) Piers Gaveston's father and grandfathers historically were among the leading barons of Béarn, and b) that Edward I himself placed Piers in his son's, the future king of England's, household as his companion. By 1300 standards, the likelihood of him doing such a thing if Piers hadn't been of noble birth are so minute you'd need a powerful microscope to see it. I also groaned out loud on page 2 when Edward II is addressed as 'Nedikins', a nickname to which the unfortunate reader is subjected throughout, and called His Most Christian Majesty, as though Edward was a king of France. Piers is, tediously and improbably, a Goddess-worshipper, a frequent cliché in novels featuring him (e.g. the Chris Hunt one, Sandra Wilson's Alice) based on the entirely false story that his mother was burned as a witch, and presumably on the statements of various contemporaries that he had bewitched the king and "was accounted a sorcerer." Although he died excommunicate because he had returned to England after being perpetually banished, there's no reason to think Piers wasn't as much a devout Christian as anyone else at the time.
Early in the novel, when he is only nine years old, Piers' body is sold to a lodger by his "unscrupulous innkeeper" uncle - a baffling character to anyone who knows anything at all about late thirteenth-century history - and he thereafter chooses to become a "boy-harlot." This may be trigger-ish for some readers. Child sex abuse and child prostitution are not topics that I personally want to read about, and frankly I didn't expect to find them in a novel about Piers Gaveston. "My rapist had opened my eyes to my allure, and my value. The Goddess gifted me with great beauty, the kind that inspires awe and takes the beholder's breath away...". The novel is pretty well just about Piers' sex life, and his life as a prostitute, and how he has sex with lots of men and women, then has more sex, and just when you think he might actually do something interesting or different, meets someone else and has lots more sex. As a few readers will know, this is par for the course in a Purdy novel; there are people who'll never look at Tudor history the same way again after reading her scene involving Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard and a jar of honey. Edward II and Piers also have lots of sex, including in a carriage on the way from Dover to London after Edward arrives back in the country with his new wife, Isabella. There is a scene where Piers leaves his new wife Margaret's bed on their wedding night to sleep with Edward, which scene also appears in Chris Hunt's novel about Piers. Piers is so seductive in Confession that even men who normally only fancy women find themselves lusting after him, which is also - like so much else in the novel - reminiscent of Chris Hunt's Gaveston (pretty well all the men in that one fancy Piers too). Piers insists on telling the reader frequently and at length how cold and empty all the paid-for sex makes him, a "practised tart" as we are told over and over, feel. Diddums. No doubt this makes some readers feel sympathy and empathy with him, but it just made me feel impatient and bored. "Practised tart," indeed, a man who in reality was lord lieutenant of Ireland, regent of England, jousting champion and so on. Although the fact that Piers did have a life outside the bedchamber is occasionally mentioned, we see nothing at all of his abilities and experiences as a soldier, jouster, military and political leader, earl, estate manager. It's all just about his sex life and how about beautiful and seductive he is and how horrible it is that no-one, including Edward, loves him for himself and not his physical attributes (Edward "was too blinded by my beauty to actually see me" is a typical refrain).
The characterisation of Edward II in Confession, a "feckless, addle-pated king" and a "buttercup blonde [sic]" (pp. 5, 14), appears to have been taken straight from the Big Book Of Horrible Dated Gay Caricatures. He sobs constantly, he pouts, he sighs, he yelps, he wails, he stamps his foot and throws silly tantrums, he swoons, he shrieks, he behaves like a teenage girl with a crush. I find it offensive. Edward in general is deeply selfish, shallow and unpleasant throughout, and a wholly unlikeable character who doesn't change or develop at all. Piers claims to genuinely love him, though it's hard to see why. Piers himself also comes across as a stereotype, the bisexual man willing to have sex with anything that has a pulse, who preens, flirts and simpers. I may be in a minority here, as there are plenty of positive reviews of the novel online, but I don't see any depth to Purdy's creation of Piers Gaveston, don't find his relationship with Edward plausible or interesting, don't feel any sympathy or liking for any of the characters, don't see Piers' wit, don't see anything at all that makes me think this is in any way a realistic retelling of Piers' and Edward's story.
An Amazon review of the novel states: "Some of the scenes in the novel seem almost unbelievably melodramatic - such as Edward abandoning his bride on their wedding day for his male lover's company and actually giving him the jewelry that had been a wedding gift from the queen's father - but these are all documented historical events! Brandy Purdy's depiction of them is insightful and accurate, outrageous though it may seem that a king would behave that way." It is emphatically not 'accurate'; Edward and Piers didn't meet again until almost two weeks after Edward's wedding to Isabella, and Edward did not give Isabella's jewels to Piers, an invention of many centuries later (I am more sick than I can adequately express of that wretched myth). Purdy has Eleanor de Clare marrying Hugh Despenser in 1318 after he has become her uncle's favourite, a dozen years after she actually did. Edward, naturally, abandons Isabella when she's pregnant in 1312 to save Piers, even though he didn't really.
I asked myself if I'd like the novel more if it weren't about Piers Gaveston and Edward II, but about an invented king and his invented promiscuous lover. In all honesty I probably wouldn't dislike it quite as much as I do, but I'm afraid I'm really not a fan of Purdy's overly melodramatic writing style, with breathless italics and countless exclamation marks!!! on just about every page. On page 52, for example, twenty-two words are written in italics and there are twenty exclamation marks. Page 61 has sixteen exclamation marks and fifteen words in italics; page 147 has twenty-one exclamation marks and no fewer than thirty-four words in italics. On one page. I find it tiring and tiresome to read. There are some things I do like in the novel: Piers' attempts to be kind and affectionate towards his innocent young wife Margaret de Clare - even though he does abandon her on their wedding night to sleep with her uncle - and his love for his daughters Joan (with Margaret) and Amy (with a woman named Sarah). A lot of the description is very well and vividly done, and Piers as 'unreliable narrator' is at times skilfully done and Purdy makes good use of her choice to write in first person. But it's a shame to see a fascinating man like Piers Gaveston written as little more than a lovelorn prostitute with so many of the fascinating events of his life skated over or ignored altogether, and a shame to see a novel perpetuating unpleasant stereotypes about gay and bi men's behaviour. OK if you want a quick salacious read, but Confession has precious little to do with history.
Early in the novel, when he is only nine years old, Piers' body is sold to a lodger by his "unscrupulous innkeeper" uncle - a baffling character to anyone who knows anything at all about late thirteenth-century history - and he thereafter chooses to become a "boy-harlot." This may be trigger-ish for some readers. Child sex abuse and child prostitution are not topics that I personally want to read about, and frankly I didn't expect to find them in a novel about Piers Gaveston. "My rapist had opened my eyes to my allure, and my value. The Goddess gifted me with great beauty, the kind that inspires awe and takes the beholder's breath away...". The novel is pretty well just about Piers' sex life, and his life as a prostitute, and how he has sex with lots of men and women, then has more sex, and just when you think he might actually do something interesting or different, meets someone else and has lots more sex. As a few readers will know, this is par for the course in a Purdy novel; there are people who'll never look at Tudor history the same way again after reading her scene involving Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard and a jar of honey. Edward II and Piers also have lots of sex, including in a carriage on the way from Dover to London after Edward arrives back in the country with his new wife, Isabella. There is a scene where Piers leaves his new wife Margaret's bed on their wedding night to sleep with Edward, which scene also appears in Chris Hunt's novel about Piers. Piers is so seductive in Confession that even men who normally only fancy women find themselves lusting after him, which is also - like so much else in the novel - reminiscent of Chris Hunt's Gaveston (pretty well all the men in that one fancy Piers too). Piers insists on telling the reader frequently and at length how cold and empty all the paid-for sex makes him, a "practised tart" as we are told over and over, feel. Diddums. No doubt this makes some readers feel sympathy and empathy with him, but it just made me feel impatient and bored. "Practised tart," indeed, a man who in reality was lord lieutenant of Ireland, regent of England, jousting champion and so on. Although the fact that Piers did have a life outside the bedchamber is occasionally mentioned, we see nothing at all of his abilities and experiences as a soldier, jouster, military and political leader, earl, estate manager. It's all just about his sex life and how about beautiful and seductive he is and how horrible it is that no-one, including Edward, loves him for himself and not his physical attributes (Edward "was too blinded by my beauty to actually see me" is a typical refrain).
The characterisation of Edward II in Confession, a "feckless, addle-pated king" and a "buttercup blonde [sic]" (pp. 5, 14), appears to have been taken straight from the Big Book Of Horrible Dated Gay Caricatures. He sobs constantly, he pouts, he sighs, he yelps, he wails, he stamps his foot and throws silly tantrums, he swoons, he shrieks, he behaves like a teenage girl with a crush. I find it offensive. Edward in general is deeply selfish, shallow and unpleasant throughout, and a wholly unlikeable character who doesn't change or develop at all. Piers claims to genuinely love him, though it's hard to see why. Piers himself also comes across as a stereotype, the bisexual man willing to have sex with anything that has a pulse, who preens, flirts and simpers. I may be in a minority here, as there are plenty of positive reviews of the novel online, but I don't see any depth to Purdy's creation of Piers Gaveston, don't find his relationship with Edward plausible or interesting, don't feel any sympathy or liking for any of the characters, don't see Piers' wit, don't see anything at all that makes me think this is in any way a realistic retelling of Piers' and Edward's story.
An Amazon review of the novel states: "Some of the scenes in the novel seem almost unbelievably melodramatic - such as Edward abandoning his bride on their wedding day for his male lover's company and actually giving him the jewelry that had been a wedding gift from the queen's father - but these are all documented historical events! Brandy Purdy's depiction of them is insightful and accurate, outrageous though it may seem that a king would behave that way." It is emphatically not 'accurate'; Edward and Piers didn't meet again until almost two weeks after Edward's wedding to Isabella, and Edward did not give Isabella's jewels to Piers, an invention of many centuries later (I am more sick than I can adequately express of that wretched myth). Purdy has Eleanor de Clare marrying Hugh Despenser in 1318 after he has become her uncle's favourite, a dozen years after she actually did. Edward, naturally, abandons Isabella when she's pregnant in 1312 to save Piers, even though he didn't really.
I asked myself if I'd like the novel more if it weren't about Piers Gaveston and Edward II, but about an invented king and his invented promiscuous lover. In all honesty I probably wouldn't dislike it quite as much as I do, but I'm afraid I'm really not a fan of Purdy's overly melodramatic writing style, with breathless italics and countless exclamation marks!!! on just about every page. On page 52, for example, twenty-two words are written in italics and there are twenty exclamation marks. Page 61 has sixteen exclamation marks and fifteen words in italics; page 147 has twenty-one exclamation marks and no fewer than thirty-four words in italics. On one page. I find it tiring and tiresome to read. There are some things I do like in the novel: Piers' attempts to be kind and affectionate towards his innocent young wife Margaret de Clare - even though he does abandon her on their wedding night to sleep with her uncle - and his love for his daughters Joan (with Margaret) and Amy (with a woman named Sarah). A lot of the description is very well and vividly done, and Piers as 'unreliable narrator' is at times skilfully done and Purdy makes good use of her choice to write in first person. But it's a shame to see a fascinating man like Piers Gaveston written as little more than a lovelorn prostitute with so many of the fascinating events of his life skated over or ignored altogether, and a shame to see a novel perpetuating unpleasant stereotypes about gay and bi men's behaviour. OK if you want a quick salacious read, but Confession has precious little to do with history.
July 23, 2017
Ok, so in all honesty, I pretty much expected a medieval erotic novel in which Piers Gaveston would have had sexy scenes with Edward II (and, potentially, his wife, his mistress and other imaginary characters). That would have been a pleasant, if not really serious read. It was not. It was not pleasant, and while I got all the sex scenes I could have wanted (and much, much more) it was not sexy either. In fact, I felt dirty afterward and ended up saying rosaries in my bath, crying (metaphorically, at the very least.).
All jokes aside, I'm really, really not ok with the author's treatment of child abuse. It's not Purdy's only book where sexual molestation against children is used as a plot device and I'm really not comfortable with it. This particular book probably lost a star because of that, another one for spreading the oldest, shittiest, most worn off myths against Piers Gaveston (no, his mom was not a witch and no one thought so during his own lifetime. stop it), another one for his very weird interpretation of the relationship between Piers and Edward (what's up with romance/porn novels with couples with the most unhealthy dynamics possible? also, "Nedikins"? Litterally what the fuck was that nickname??) and the other one just for the sentence: "My rapist had opened my eyes to my allure, and my value. The Goddess gifted me with great beauty, the kind that inspires awe and takes the beholder's breath away...". I will never not be nauseated by the fact that someone imagined, typed out and publish those words.
Seriously tho, if you want to read a novel about a guy who developped hypersexuality after numerous childhood traumas and his obsessive boyfriend who acts like a 13 years old girl and happens to be a king, that's the perfect book for you. Personnally, I wanted to read a book about Piers Gaveston and Edward II and don't be fooled, their names may have been used, but those characters has nothing to do with them. Nothing at all.
All jokes aside, I'm really, really not ok with the author's treatment of child abuse. It's not Purdy's only book where sexual molestation against children is used as a plot device and I'm really not comfortable with it. This particular book probably lost a star because of that, another one for spreading the oldest, shittiest, most worn off myths against Piers Gaveston (no, his mom was not a witch and no one thought so during his own lifetime. stop it), another one for his very weird interpretation of the relationship between Piers and Edward (what's up with romance/porn novels with couples with the most unhealthy dynamics possible? also, "Nedikins"? Litterally what the fuck was that nickname??) and the other one just for the sentence: "My rapist had opened my eyes to my allure, and my value. The Goddess gifted me with great beauty, the kind that inspires awe and takes the beholder's breath away...". I will never not be nauseated by the fact that someone imagined, typed out and publish those words.
Seriously tho, if you want to read a novel about a guy who developped hypersexuality after numerous childhood traumas and his obsessive boyfriend who acts like a 13 years old girl and happens to be a king, that's the perfect book for you. Personnally, I wanted to read a book about Piers Gaveston and Edward II and don't be fooled, their names may have been used, but those characters has nothing to do with them. Nothing at all.
January 4, 2014
Well... it wasn't as bad as I'd heard but there was something lacking. I've always been fascinated by the story of Edward II and his favorite, Piers Gaveston ever since I read Christopher Marlowe's play and watched Ken Russell's brilliant take on it. I've always wondered just how these two men functioned in a time where such relationships were frowned upon by Church and State. And while I derived no new insights to the mystery that was Gaveston, it was an engaging read. Unfortunately for the author, my benchmark for historical fiction is pretty high and this read less like historical fiction and more like a salacious tell-all. No one, save Gaveston's fictional nurse Agnes and his loyal bodyguard Dragon, are especially likeable. It seems that Edward II was seriously hung-up on Gaveston (then Hugh Despenser) to the point of being incompetent. Most certainly one can sympathize with Edward considering his father Edward Longshanks was known as "the hammer of the Scots " and probably not a very loving father.
Piers Gaveston was more than likely a complex character, but don't expect that complexity with this book.
Piers Gaveston was more than likely a complex character, but don't expect that complexity with this book.
September 2, 2023
Yikes. Well, this certainly lived up to its unfavourable reviews. Any semblance of historical accuracy went out the window on page one, instead it was all tawdry rumour, caricature-esque characters, and the purplest prose imaginable. Two stars is being generous.
June 12, 2011
Piers Gaveston, favorite of King Edward II, is writing his memoirs for his lover. Piers recounts his atrocious beginnings. As a small child, his mother is burned at the stake for witchcraft while his father soldiers for Edward I. Piers is the youngest child and witnesses his mothers death. He bears the scars both mentally and with burned hands that he suffered while trying to free her. Raised by Agnes, his faithful maid and Dragon, his stoic bodyguard, Piers makes a life for himself selling his body to anyone willing to spend coin or provide housing. After being noticed while soldiering, he is sent to be a companion for the Prince. The King hopes that Piers will provide Edward with courage and gumption. The two boys become fast friends, but soon their relationship changes.The prince falls in love with his companion and is soon love sick. Piers tries to practice discretion, but the bonny Prince will hear nothing of it. He flaunts his new love and showers Piers with expensive presents. While Piers loves the glamor and luxury, he hates the feeling of being bought. When the King discovers the unnatural longings between the boys, he is furious and demands Piers banishment. Edward is inconsolable and Piers somehow manages to convince the King to let him stay with Edward. Time passes and Edward is made King. Edward showers Piers with even more luxery, breeding hate from the noblemen in England. The noblemen soon become so enraged with jealousy for Piers that they demand his exile. Edward agrees to the separation, but takes the seperation badly. He writes lovelong letters to Peirs, his parrot, signing them Lovelorn Ned. Soon Piers is back. Upon his arrival back at court, he is surprised to learn that he has been created the Earl of Cornwall and is betrothed to Margaret de Clare, niece to Edward. Edward celebrates Piers return and soon plans an extravagant wedding for his favorite and his niece. When the wedding takes place, Edward is fearful that Piers will love Meg more than himself and throws a temper tantrum. Piers is left to comfort not only his thirteen year old bride, but the king himself. Once satisfied that Piers' love is secure, Edward goes on as usual, showering Piers with gifts. When Edward leaves to collect his bride, he leaves Piers as his regent. This infuriates the nobles again. When Edward returns with Isabelle, Piers is horrified at the coldness of the new queen. Isabelle quickly learns the nature of the relationship between Edward and Piers. To complicate matters further, Edward gives Piers Isabelle's jewels. To avenge herself, Isabelle educates Meg on the real relationship between her uncle and her husband. While Meg doesn't understand this, she accepts it and soon moves to their country estate to be away from court gossip. Once again, Piers is facing exilement. He convinces Edward to send him to Ireland to rule there as regent. There things go well for Piers. He competently rules as regent, disarming rebels, striking peace between the warring Irish and spends time with his bride. When he is recalled, he is cautious. But upon arrival, he finds Edward as he once was. After winning a joust, he announces Meg's pregnancy, sparking another jealousy fit from Edward. But the pregnancy is short lived, Meg miscarries after a fall. Piers is once more in the good favors of the King and time passes. The noblemen of England present Edward with a list of grievances, one being Piers. Once more, Piers is exiled. He bounces around Europe, but soon returns to England for the birth of his daughter. While there, Edward arrives and pronounces that all the lands that were taken from Piers are restored. Piers is furious, knowing that this will be the death of him. Soon Piers is on the run and is soon besieged by the noblemen. He surrenders to the kind Earl of Pembroke. But his safety is short lived when he is captured by the Earl of Warwick. Warwick tries him and has him executed. Edward is broken hearted and devastated.
I had never really been exposed to the story of Piers Gaveston. I was aware that Edward had a special relationship with Piers and then Hugh Despenser, leading to Isabelle's alliance with Roger Mortimer. Brandy Purdy breathes life into a long forgotten man. Piers has been long standing in history's forgotten men, but Brandy picks him up and gives him a voice. I find Piers to be a humble and understandable man, who was fated to be tied to Edward. I can understand Piers love of luxury and his inability to cut ties with his King and lover. I felt bad for Piers, who was loved but felt like a favored trinket instead of a lover and friend. A appreciated Brandy's details to all of the opulence that surrounded the King and Piers. The depth of detail about their clothes, jewelry, finery is very expressive. I can just imagine Piers strutting as a little peacock. I imagine that no woman ever wore finer clothes or more expensive jewelry that Piers. While this book does speak of the love between Piers and Edward, it is a historic look at a man that once was a powerful and haunting force.
I had never really been exposed to the story of Piers Gaveston. I was aware that Edward had a special relationship with Piers and then Hugh Despenser, leading to Isabelle's alliance with Roger Mortimer. Brandy Purdy breathes life into a long forgotten man. Piers has been long standing in history's forgotten men, but Brandy picks him up and gives him a voice. I find Piers to be a humble and understandable man, who was fated to be tied to Edward. I can understand Piers love of luxury and his inability to cut ties with his King and lover. I felt bad for Piers, who was loved but felt like a favored trinket instead of a lover and friend. A appreciated Brandy's details to all of the opulence that surrounded the King and Piers. The depth of detail about their clothes, jewelry, finery is very expressive. I can just imagine Piers strutting as a little peacock. I imagine that no woman ever wore finer clothes or more expensive jewelry that Piers. While this book does speak of the love between Piers and Edward, it is a historic look at a man that once was a powerful and haunting force.
May 4, 2014
Tawdry and unfulfilling; a gay “Harlequin Romance”. If the intent here was to give us empathy towards her subject, Purdy missed entirely. I think she intended for Gaveston to appear beautiful and witty and faultless, but he really came over as vain, superfluous, and kind of dumb. Thankfully it was a short read.
Not only was the history fraudulent, but also the science and linguistics; after all it’s supposed to be Gaveston’s journal. Page 82: "it would protect us from the pox so that we might enjoy the whores of London without peril." Edward II came to throne in 1307, almost 200 years before syphilis appeared in Europe and 300 before first use of the word ‘pox’.
Not only was the history fraudulent, but also the science and linguistics; after all it’s supposed to be Gaveston’s journal. Page 82: "it would protect us from the pox so that we might enjoy the whores of London without peril." Edward II came to throne in 1307, almost 200 years before syphilis appeared in Europe and 300 before first use of the word ‘pox’.
April 5, 2014
I wanted to read this novel since I saw it listed on Smashwords when I first started self-publishing in 2011...
Well, it was worth the wait. It's a deeply personal and quite plausible look at a very strange figure in English history, the homosexual lover of an English king who was absolutely hated by the nobles of the court--and finally killed by them.
Purdy's account gives psychological insight into why Gaveston behaved the way he did, putting much of the blame on foolish, infatuated Edward and exploring Piers's conflicted, insecure, charismatic nature. By the end of the book, this shrewd and cynical character has indeed become lovable.
Well, it was worth the wait. It's a deeply personal and quite plausible look at a very strange figure in English history, the homosexual lover of an English king who was absolutely hated by the nobles of the court--and finally killed by them.
Purdy's account gives psychological insight into why Gaveston behaved the way he did, putting much of the blame on foolish, infatuated Edward and exploring Piers's conflicted, insecure, charismatic nature. By the end of the book, this shrewd and cynical character has indeed become lovable.
June 10, 2013
characterization was a little over the top. There are explicit codpiece ripping scenes.
However, I am glad that the author, Brandy Putty, attempted to get to the other side of the story. Edward II does not come off well; though. I was expecting a "Heavens to Murgatroyd!" from either Piers or the King.
However, I am glad that the author, Brandy Putty, attempted to get to the other side of the story. Edward II does not come off well; though. I was expecting a "Heavens to Murgatroyd!" from either Piers or the King.
July 29, 2014
This little book was fabulous. It really packed a punch and gave a whole different slant on edward II that I'd never considered before. It spurred my interest int he period, and touched my heart too. A wonderful read.
December 6, 2007
[to be reviewed for HNS Feb. 2008:]
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews