What do you think?
Rate this book
Roses in the Tempest
In 16th century England, Isabella Launder little realizes the twists and turns her life is about to take as she surrenders herself to a small nunnery in order to forget her unrequited love of the courtier Thomas Giffard. She must learn--along with her sisters in Christ--the true nature of faith and survival, withstanding passionate jealousies, intrigues, and the emerging threats to the Church itself as one by one the monasteries are dissolved. Inspired by the true lives of Isabella Launder and Thomas Giffard and set amid the onrushing storm of Henry VIII's break with Rome, obsession opposes faith in this tale of a wealthy knight and the last prioress of Blackladies convent.
278 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 30, 2015
14 people are currently reading
135 people want to read
About the author
Jeri Westerson
47 books422 followersLos Angeles native JERI WESTERSON currently writes two new series: a Tudor mystery series, the King’s Fool Mysteries, with Henry VIII’s real court jester Will Somers as the sleuth and a Sherlockian pastiche series called An Irregular Detective Mystery, with one of Holmes’ former Baker Street Irregulars opening his own detective agency. She’s also written fifteen Crispin Guest Medieval Noir Mysteries, a series nominated for thirteen awards from the Agatha, to the Macavity, to the Shamus. She’s written several paranormal series (including a gaslamp-steampunk fantasy series), standalone historical novels, and had stories in several anthologies, the latest of which was included in SOUTH CENTRAL NOIR, an Akashic Noir anthology. She has served as president of the SoCal Chapter of Mystery Writers of America, president and vice president for two chapters of Sisters in Crime (Orange County and Los Angeles), and is also a founding member of the SoCal chapter of the Historical Novel Society. See JeriWesterson.com for discussion guides, book trailers, and more.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
April 26, 2015
Once more fangirling over Jeri Westerson! And she signed my copy of this book at the L.A. Times Festival of Books! Woo hoo! I made a point of making sure she was going to be there because I missed her last year.
Coherent review to come.
Okay, I'm coherent now. Somewhat.
Firstly, this book needs to be a movie. Netflix get to work! Now. Then again, Ms. Westerson's Crispin Guest novels need to be a miniseries like STAT. Hmm, need to work on the dreamcast.
Roses in the Tempest is that kind of immersive historical fiction novel that I hated to see end. I loved everything about it. Then again, I'm a Tudor/Elizabethan junkie anyway so this book hit all my happy spots (even if this one didn't treat Anne Boleyn fairly). Still, this unusual tale of friendship and love (which is based on a true story nonetheless) between two very unlikely people--Isabella Launder, the daughter of a yeoman landowner and Thomas Gifford, a courtier in the court of King Henry VIII kept me up until the wee hours of the dawn. Be warned, this love story as it were isn't a typical one since Isabella becomes a nun rather than marry a man she does not love or a man she cannot have. Thomas marries twice but is still very drawn to the outspoken Isabella who was the most authentic soul he'd ever known.
What I really loved was the other nuns at Blackladies priory, each of them with their own backstories and burdens. Strange as it might seem, I actually had a lot of sympathy for Dame Cristobell as the story progressed. These were strong women and self-sufficient who truly cared for the poor and who lived as close to poverty as was possible, despite Thomas and his family being their benefactors.
Unfortunately, this being set in the reign of Henry VIII and his break with the Catholic Church in order to put aside Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn, it means that Blackladies, like all of the abbeys and priors in England, will end us dissolved and their assets confiscated by the king. Isabella and her fellow nuns quickly learn to navigate the treacherous waters of Henry's rule, waters which have already drowned his closest friend and advisor, Sir Thomas More. Add to that, Isabella and Thomas--so near yet so far. Despite time and tide, theirs is a love that lasted through the tempests. It's a love that both struggle to understand.
Ms. Westerson is better known for her Crispin Guest series of medieval noir, but Roses in the Tempest brings her brilliant attention to detail and interesting characters to the realm of Tudor England.
By the way Ms. Westerson, I have absolutely no intent upon accepting a proposal from Bluff King Hal. I know how doing so is potential career suicide, lol.
Coherent review to come.
Okay, I'm coherent now. Somewhat.
Firstly, this book needs to be a movie. Netflix get to work! Now. Then again, Ms. Westerson's Crispin Guest novels need to be a miniseries like STAT. Hmm, need to work on the dreamcast.
Roses in the Tempest is that kind of immersive historical fiction novel that I hated to see end. I loved everything about it. Then again, I'm a Tudor/Elizabethan junkie anyway so this book hit all my happy spots (even if this one didn't treat Anne Boleyn fairly). Still, this unusual tale of friendship and love (which is based on a true story nonetheless) between two very unlikely people--Isabella Launder, the daughter of a yeoman landowner and Thomas Gifford, a courtier in the court of King Henry VIII kept me up until the wee hours of the dawn. Be warned, this love story as it were isn't a typical one since Isabella becomes a nun rather than marry a man she does not love or a man she cannot have. Thomas marries twice but is still very drawn to the outspoken Isabella who was the most authentic soul he'd ever known.
What I really loved was the other nuns at Blackladies priory, each of them with their own backstories and burdens. Strange as it might seem, I actually had a lot of sympathy for Dame Cristobell as the story progressed. These were strong women and self-sufficient who truly cared for the poor and who lived as close to poverty as was possible, despite Thomas and his family being their benefactors.
Unfortunately, this being set in the reign of Henry VIII and his break with the Catholic Church in order to put aside Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn, it means that Blackladies, like all of the abbeys and priors in England, will end us dissolved and their assets confiscated by the king. Isabella and her fellow nuns quickly learn to navigate the treacherous waters of Henry's rule, waters which have already drowned his closest friend and advisor, Sir Thomas More. Add to that, Isabella and Thomas--so near yet so far. Despite time and tide, theirs is a love that lasted through the tempests. It's a love that both struggle to understand.
Ms. Westerson is better known for her Crispin Guest series of medieval noir, but Roses in the Tempest brings her brilliant attention to detail and interesting characters to the realm of Tudor England.
By the way Ms. Westerson, I have absolutely no intent upon accepting a proposal from Bluff King Hal. I know how doing so is potential career suicide, lol.
June 9, 2015
...of friendship and love, of power and pettiness!
Jeri Westerson does it again! Another wonderful piece of writing. A novel that looks at the other side of Henry VIII's destruction of places of religion, the pettiness and politics involved. The real hardship for those religious folks who had been cloistered for many years and then torn from all they knew and forced back into a society that they had been apart from for so long.
Partly also a love story, of love known too late. A story of women as bargaining chips in the building of power and political alliances, and of enduring friendship. Isabella Launder is a woman of courage with a will of steel, daughter of a local yeoman farmer.
Sir Thomas Gifford is at first the arrogant courtier who is her friend, then a would be lover, would be husband, and lastly a long term supporter and friend.
I had little idea that some nunneries were so small. This one contained only four women and their servants and confessor. Neither did I realize that the roofs of the buildings were pulled off to stop the exiled from returning. (All those roofless religious ruins I've visited in England come even more alive for me after reading this.) Certainly at the end of the novel we see the spitefulness of the newly come to power at work.
The turning out of these women brought tears to my eyes, particularly as you remember the struggles they had to adjust to each other and grow together as a community. What a time of fear for these folk, fear of their future and welcome outside the walls they had long called home.
I loved the title: Roses in the Tempest. The allusion fittingly recalls and sums up so much. When I re-looked at the title, I thought about it for a time, and then simply said, 'Ah, Yes! ' And then I contemplated some more about roses, about the Tudor Rose, Henry and the religious tempest of the times that swept through England, the emotional tempest that their relationship brings to Thomas and Isabella, the simple pleasure of the rose growing strongly and surviving in Isabella garden, of Isabella's strength and fragility, and so much more.
I keep humming, 'Where have all the flowers gone, longtime passing, longtime ago,' as I think about this work. At some level the line from that song resonates for me with the fate of the religious at this time and the questions this novel brings into focus.
This time in English history of wholesale destruction of an important way of life comes alive under Westerson's magical pen.
Jeri Westerson does it again! Another wonderful piece of writing. A novel that looks at the other side of Henry VIII's destruction of places of religion, the pettiness and politics involved. The real hardship for those religious folks who had been cloistered for many years and then torn from all they knew and forced back into a society that they had been apart from for so long.
Partly also a love story, of love known too late. A story of women as bargaining chips in the building of power and political alliances, and of enduring friendship. Isabella Launder is a woman of courage with a will of steel, daughter of a local yeoman farmer.
Sir Thomas Gifford is at first the arrogant courtier who is her friend, then a would be lover, would be husband, and lastly a long term supporter and friend.
I had little idea that some nunneries were so small. This one contained only four women and their servants and confessor. Neither did I realize that the roofs of the buildings were pulled off to stop the exiled from returning. (All those roofless religious ruins I've visited in England come even more alive for me after reading this.) Certainly at the end of the novel we see the spitefulness of the newly come to power at work.
The turning out of these women brought tears to my eyes, particularly as you remember the struggles they had to adjust to each other and grow together as a community. What a time of fear for these folk, fear of their future and welcome outside the walls they had long called home.
I loved the title: Roses in the Tempest. The allusion fittingly recalls and sums up so much. When I re-looked at the title, I thought about it for a time, and then simply said, 'Ah, Yes! ' And then I contemplated some more about roses, about the Tudor Rose, Henry and the religious tempest of the times that swept through England, the emotional tempest that their relationship brings to Thomas and Isabella, the simple pleasure of the rose growing strongly and surviving in Isabella garden, of Isabella's strength and fragility, and so much more.
I keep humming, 'Where have all the flowers gone, longtime passing, longtime ago,' as I think about this work. At some level the line from that song resonates for me with the fate of the religious at this time and the questions this novel brings into focus.
This time in English history of wholesale destruction of an important way of life comes alive under Westerson's magical pen.
April 27, 2015
It is available in print and ebook!
March 27, 2016
(Note: This review was originally published on my blog https://elizabethannsalem.wordpress.c... )
(Disclosure: I won a copy of this book in a giveaway from Westerson’s July 2015 newsletter.)
Jeri Westerson is best known for her Crispin Guest “medieval noir” mystery series, which I discovered a couple of years ago. Having enjoyed those books very much, I was thrilled to hear that she had written a novel set in the Tudor period (which for me is utter catnip). Roses in the Tempest was one of Westerson’s early books, but wasn’t published until 2015, and I admit to being impressed that Westerson set the novel within the context of Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries. While most Tudor-set novels tend to focus on Henry, his wives, or his court, Westerson does a fantastic job of showing how Henry’s policies had real and often stark consequences for his people. The novel centers on two characters, Thomas Giffard and Isabella Launder. Thomas is the son of the local nobleman, who befriends Isabella, the daughter of a yeoman farmer, largely because she is the one person in his life who refuses to defer to him. Isabella eventually joins the Benedictine priory at Blackladies, and the novel traces Thomas and Isabella’s relationship as they cope with the changing circumstances of Henry’s reign.
Thomas and Isabella did exist in real life, although the full scope of their relationship has been lost to history. The novel alternates between Thomas and Isabella’s viewpoints—in tone and structure, it reminds me a great deal of Lindsey Davis’ Roman-set novels The Course Of Honour and Master and God (both were written after Roses…I just happened to read them immediately before it). Westerson does a fantastic job of conveying the emotional turmoil caused by Thomas and Isabella’s differing class positions, by the upheavals of Henry’s “Great Matter” and the formation of the Church of England, and by corrupt Tudor officials. My only real complaint with the story is that it ends abruptly and doesn’t quite feel satisfying for the reader. In the end, while Crispin Guest will always be my favorite Westerson character, I did enjoy the book quite a bit, and I’d be happy to see Westerson return to the Tudor period in future novels.
Source: Copy from the author
(Disclosure: I won a copy of this book in a giveaway from Westerson’s July 2015 newsletter.)
Jeri Westerson is best known for her Crispin Guest “medieval noir” mystery series, which I discovered a couple of years ago. Having enjoyed those books very much, I was thrilled to hear that she had written a novel set in the Tudor period (which for me is utter catnip). Roses in the Tempest was one of Westerson’s early books, but wasn’t published until 2015, and I admit to being impressed that Westerson set the novel within the context of Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries. While most Tudor-set novels tend to focus on Henry, his wives, or his court, Westerson does a fantastic job of showing how Henry’s policies had real and often stark consequences for his people. The novel centers on two characters, Thomas Giffard and Isabella Launder. Thomas is the son of the local nobleman, who befriends Isabella, the daughter of a yeoman farmer, largely because she is the one person in his life who refuses to defer to him. Isabella eventually joins the Benedictine priory at Blackladies, and the novel traces Thomas and Isabella’s relationship as they cope with the changing circumstances of Henry’s reign.
Thomas and Isabella did exist in real life, although the full scope of their relationship has been lost to history. The novel alternates between Thomas and Isabella’s viewpoints—in tone and structure, it reminds me a great deal of Lindsey Davis’ Roman-set novels The Course Of Honour and Master and God (both were written after Roses…I just happened to read them immediately before it). Westerson does a fantastic job of conveying the emotional turmoil caused by Thomas and Isabella’s differing class positions, by the upheavals of Henry’s “Great Matter” and the formation of the Church of England, and by corrupt Tudor officials. My only real complaint with the story is that it ends abruptly and doesn’t quite feel satisfying for the reader. In the end, while Crispin Guest will always be my favorite Westerson character, I did enjoy the book quite a bit, and I’d be happy to see Westerson return to the Tudor period in future novels.
Source: Copy from the author
July 26, 2015
This was a well-written novel set in the reign of Henry VIII and primarily based upon the Dissolution of the Monasteries. It is unusual in it's perspective as it is told from the viewpoint of two platonic lovers, Isabella Launder and Thomas Giffard. Isabella is the daughter of a farmer and Thomas the son of a lord and therefore a marriage between them is off the cards, causing Isabella to choose a nun's life over marriage to any other man.
I was pleased to find that the author chose to portray Isabella's decision in a positive light with no sense of martyrdom slapping the reader across the face. Rather the reader is encouraged to respect Isabella for her decision as it comes from a place of strength--she wishes to choose her own destiny--and she is not self-pitying with it in the slightest.
Thomas cannot seem to let Isabella go however and even though he marries and becomes a well-liked usher to Henry VIII, he still finds himself visiting the convent where Isabella has since become prioress and their relationship continues.
Although I really did enjoy the perspective of the Dissolution from a nun in a small and poor convent, for the most part I found the pace of the novel to be too slow and a little boring. Isabella's convent was so far flung from the court of Henry VIII that news of the events transpiring there took a long time to reach the convent and usually came by word of Thomas Giffard. This is no doubt how things actually were for such a backwater place as Isabella's convent, however it wasn't great for fictional purposes. The author did succeed in providing the novel with an eerie sense of what was to come but choosing to write of a place so far from the main stream of events just made the novel drag. I was desperate for something more to happen than just another visit from Thomas Giffard. Once the commissioners arrived and eventually did kick them all out the novel pretty much ended. Yes I did feel sympathy for their plight, but I could have felt a lot more ire than I actually did.
I was pleased to find that the author chose to portray Isabella's decision in a positive light with no sense of martyrdom slapping the reader across the face. Rather the reader is encouraged to respect Isabella for her decision as it comes from a place of strength--she wishes to choose her own destiny--and she is not self-pitying with it in the slightest.
Thomas cannot seem to let Isabella go however and even though he marries and becomes a well-liked usher to Henry VIII, he still finds himself visiting the convent where Isabella has since become prioress and their relationship continues.
Although I really did enjoy the perspective of the Dissolution from a nun in a small and poor convent, for the most part I found the pace of the novel to be too slow and a little boring. Isabella's convent was so far flung from the court of Henry VIII that news of the events transpiring there took a long time to reach the convent and usually came by word of Thomas Giffard. This is no doubt how things actually were for such a backwater place as Isabella's convent, however it wasn't great for fictional purposes. The author did succeed in providing the novel with an eerie sense of what was to come but choosing to write of a place so far from the main stream of events just made the novel drag. I was desperate for something more to happen than just another visit from Thomas Giffard. Once the commissioners arrived and eventually did kick them all out the novel pretty much ended. Yes I did feel sympathy for their plight, but I could have felt a lot more ire than I actually did.
July 4, 2015
Since Jeri Westerson's Crispin Guest series is one of my favorites ever, I wanted to try this new book, even though it takes place in a completely different period. Crispin's medieval adventures in sleuthing with a darker noir edge take place during the reign of Richard II, while the events of "Roses in the Tempest" begin with a youngish Henry VIII. So many people are fascinated with the Tudor monarch, mainly because he notoriously had 6 wives, several to whom he wasn't exactly nice. "Roses in the Tempest" places its emphasis on the effects Henry's desire for a new woman and a son had upon the people of the time and in fact, the entire course of history in England, and by extension, Europe. The story is told from the point of view of two main characters, both of whom are actual historical figures, Isabella Launder and a wealthy courtier, Thomas Giffard. Any student of history who has even lightly skimmed this era knows of the massive upheaval caused by Henry's hubris and self-indulgence. To be able to read a story where you feel you can actually experience the horror, disbelief and uncertainty of normal people just trying to wade through these catastrophic events is a unique and brilliant feat. I started the book slowly, but very soon, I was enthralled and completely captured by the story. This isn't a history book, but an expertly researched novel incorporating real people and real events. It's a fantastic mix which kept me mesmerized and feeling as though I were getting an insider's view to a period of which I previously only had a distant, though interested grasp.
May 23, 2015
If you are not familiar with Jeri Westerson and approach historical novels with any amount of trepidation, don't. There is no boring history bits that overwhelm the plot with this book. What you get here is an excellent historical novel that pulls you in from the first few pages. It is neither dry nor so stuffed full of irrelevant facts that you feel like you are reading a history text with some plot.
This book is very well written. I love how you get told two sides of the story, from the alternating viewpoints of Thomas Giffard and Isabella Launder, the two main characters. It is easy to forget that they, and the rest, are all real people, and not some creation of the author, they are that fully fleshed out in the book. The characters are full of life, which Jeri Westerson manages to do in all of her books, and the plot unfolds while you see the characters over the span of many years. This is artfully done and the writing just pulls you in. I didn't want to see this book end. This is a thoughtful and wonderful read and the book has a broad appeal.
This book is very well written. I love how you get told two sides of the story, from the alternating viewpoints of Thomas Giffard and Isabella Launder, the two main characters. It is easy to forget that they, and the rest, are all real people, and not some creation of the author, they are that fully fleshed out in the book. The characters are full of life, which Jeri Westerson manages to do in all of her books, and the plot unfolds while you see the characters over the span of many years. This is artfully done and the writing just pulls you in. I didn't want to see this book end. This is a thoughtful and wonderful read and the book has a broad appeal.
November 3, 2016
This is a story which captures the momentuous impact the reign of Henry VIII had on England and all of Europe in a moving way. Expertly researched, and based on real people, this book paints a picture of a time where all the social structures and infrastructures of a country were turned topsy-turvey. But the characters and story woven by author Jeri Werstson is so commpelling, I was swept alongl, feeling what it must have been like to be a strong woman in those times.
All the characters have their own stories and are allowed to develop, and I became caught up in their tales as well. This is a great read, one to be savoured, yet I ound I couldn't put it down. Now it's time to go read more of her Crispin "Medieval Noir" books. There are new worlds to explore.
All the characters have their own stories and are allowed to develop, and I became caught up in their tales as well. This is a great read, one to be savoured, yet I ound I couldn't put it down. Now it's time to go read more of her Crispin "Medieval Noir" books. There are new worlds to explore.
April 26, 2015
Jeri Westerson masterfully drew me in to the lives of Thomas Giffard & Isabella Launder. Unrequited love, courtly intrigue, the lives of the nuns at Blackladies... I devoured it all, and was sad to see the book end. All too often, historical fiction begins to take on the dryness of a textbook, with only a passing attempt at a story. This book doesn't do that. In fact, it engaged me and made me emotionally invested in what happened to these people.
December 6, 2016
I listened to the Audible version of this book. The narrator is excellent. This book is very interesting and well done, I have it on my TBR pile. I never knew that King Henry VIII abolished all monasteries and nunneries during his reign, leaving none at all. I love all of Jeri's books, and I look forward to whatever she writes about next. Thank you, Jeri, and the narrator, for some interesting car rides!
March 15, 2016
Wonderful love story!
Loved it from the beginning. Kept you guessing if they would ever be together. It showed how life was for the Catholics after King Henry renounced the Catholic Church. I would not have liked to live under the rule of a King during this period in time.
Loved it from the beginning. Kept you guessing if they would ever be together. It showed how life was for the Catholics after King Henry renounced the Catholic Church. I would not have liked to live under the rule of a King during this period in time.
May 27, 2015
4.5 stars. Great characters and plot. The author's attention to detail and historical accuracy makes the story come alive - sight, sound, and smell. An all-around great read.
June 28, 2015
Liked it. Always interesting to see the dissolution from a different perspective, this time a lord and a prioress.
July 24, 2016
Such a bittersweet story! I want to read it all over again.
July 8, 2015
4.5 stars! Two words: Everlasting love!
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews