The Queen's Promise

Broken Kingdom #1

by Brenda Rickman Vantrease

The enthralling story of two remarkable women caught up in the maelstrom of the English Civil War.

February, 1642. With the King and Parliament at loggerheads, England is rushing headlong into a brutal and bloody war. Caught up in the turbulence are two formidable women who face difficult and dangerous times ahead.

Forced to abandon her children and leave for foreign shores, the extravagant and unpopular Queen Henrietta Maria discovers that she cannot rely on the loyalty of her former friends and relatives in the royal courts of Europe. Meanwhile, her friend and former lady-in-waiting, the beautiful Countess of Carlisle, determines to remain loyal to the King, despite his craven betrayal of her lover and protector.

Separated from their menfolk, these two very different women determine to do what they can to survive in a world where brother is at war with brother, a world where no one can be trusted. But the war will change both their lives in ways they could never have imagined.

Genres: Historical Fiction, British Literature, 17th Century, Historical

352 pages, Hardcover

Published February 28, 2019

About the author

Brenda Rickman Vantrease (born in 1945) is a former librarian and English teacher from Nashville, Tennessee. She grew up and was educated in the Middle Tennessee area where she graduated with a B.A. in English from Belmont University in 1967. During the twenty-five years she served as an educator in Nashville, she earned a masters degree and a doctorate from Middle Tennessee State University. Brenda still resides in Nashville with her husband of 31 years.

Reviews

[Annette · Rating 3 out of 5]

1642, England is on a brink of the Civil War. A war between King Charles and the Parliament.

Catholic Queen Henrietta Maria of France is forced to leave England behind, as well as her husband Protestant King Charles I and their children. She arrives in the Netherlands to raise money for her husband by trying to sell crown jewels.

Meanwhile, her friend and former lady-in-waiting, Lucy Hay, Countess of Carlisle, remains in London and continues to entertain Court society.

There are many chapters introducing new characters, for example Sir Edward Hyde, Sir William Pendleton – a wool-merchant, Archbishop William Laud, but none of the characters in the whole story is well-developed. There are many characters and not much cohesion to the story. It feels as each character’s story just keeps going on and on without any connection or purpose to bring the story together.

If you are not familiar with this author, I highly recommend The Illuminator (Book I) and The Mercy Seller (Book II).

[Waverly Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was thrilled to find a historical novel written about the English Civil War since this is the time period I am writing about (and have been writing about for ten years). I knew the historical characters well so I was perhaps not as confused as other readers when the viewpoint bounced from character to character (I did have a little trouble at first with the less noble lady--Caroline Pendleton--whose story is really the most poignant, and perhaps the most typical--she loses her husband in the war and sets out to find him), Vantrease does an excellent job of offering many perspectives on the war, from Parliament's hero (Pym) to a printer who prints subversive literature on his printing press, from a Countess and former lady-in-waiting, Lucy Hay, to the Queen, Henrietta Marie, who is portrayed as a fierce supporter of her husband's rights but is viewed by most of the English people as a religious fanatic wanting to convert all of England to Catholicism. Vantrease does an excellent job of showing the real consequences of the Civil War for the majority of the English people whose cornfields were trampled by armies, whose food was gobbled up by hungry soldiers, for whom the wrong word said to the wrong person could end their lives. It's clear Vantrease knows and delineates the smallest details of life during this time period. I loved the epigraphs at the start of each chapter taken from political and religious literature, poetry, and ballads. It was a disappointment to have the book end with a cliffhanger, but I should have known since it was titled Volume 1, and, lucky for me, the second volume was already available.
What I learned as a writer: I was especially enchanted by the idea of using epigraphs. I'm not so sure my reading has been deep enough to find the gems that Vantrease features. I'm also blown away by her attention to detail. How does she do that? I’d love to see her research library.
How I found this book: A review in the Historical Novel Society magazine. I'm a big Vantrease fan now and slowly reading through her other novels.

[Kristina Aziz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly in the first few chapters of this book, Lucy Hay is goals. Unfortunately I did get lost several times in regards to who was who and on which side, but that would be on me for watching and reading so much historical fiction but never thinking to read in chronological order.

Overall though, it was a nice read and I would definitely get others that come from this author.

[Bethany Swafford · Rating 4 out of 5]

When King battles against Parliament, the women of England must decide where they stand. Queen Henrietta, hated by the kingdom for her devotion to her faith, seeks to find help for her husband. Lucy Hale is caught between the men in her life who support Parliament and her own experiences as a courtier. Carline, a newlywed, must protect her husband's estate when her husband is conscripted into the fight.

The story brings to light a time when the fight for power was fierce. For the most part, we see events through the eyes of the ladies named above, with occasional glimpses from a few men. The struggles of the time leap off the page.

The main struggle I had was with the large cast of characters. Although all of their stories intertwine, I found it difficult to keep each one straight.

Overall, I found it to be an interesting book and one I would recommend to fans of historical fiction.

I received a copy through NetGalley and am reviewing with my own opinion of my own desire.

[Anya Leonard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having read other books by this author before, I was excited to see what is in store for Charles and Henrietta. I really enjoyed the storyline of Caroline and Lucy Hay, but was severely dismayed to find that the book ends in a true Cliffhanger - not giving any sort of resolution to the story of Caroline in search of her husband! The writing was very well done, and it was clearly very well researched but I am not sure that I would have read it knowing what I do now - that I would be left emotionally invested in a few of these characters (for some reason Henrietta did not pique my interest at all?) but that I would be forced to wait until volume two came out to find out what becomes of them, I would recommend this book when the second in the series comes out, because I don't think I would want to be recommended this book by someone and then left in the lurch!
This ebook was provided by netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Sherry Sidwell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've very much enjoyed previous reads by this author centering around the slow buildup to the English Reformation, so upon discovering that she'd written other works focusing on the English civil war I fully expected to enjoy those too while maybe learning a little something about a period I'm a less familiar with.

That did not happen. It's hard to figure out who is who in relation to the coming civil war or really what the disagreement leading to the war is about without a lot of Googling. The story feels like it really can't decide whether we're supposed to find Queen Henrietta Marie scrounging around Holland to try to raise funds for her husband's war while the opposing side has official custody of her children sympathetic or the extravagantly wasteful treasonously religiously obstinate villain she's sometimes painted to be. The book also ends rather abruptly to be continued in another volume and I'm still honestly not sure what the queen's promise was supposed to be.

[Rebecca Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

England is being rocked by a civil war. King Charles is trying to keep his kingdom together. HIs wife does her best to help him out, but she is reviled by the majority of the English people. They do not like her Catholic faith, or the ties that she has to other countries.
As she leaves to try and gain support for the war her husband is waging, her children are left in the care of different families. Lucy Hay takes Princess Elizabeth and the youngest son, Prince Henry.
She once served the queen but retired from court. Now she must determine where her loyalties lie, and the time is quickly approaching for her to make a firm decision - no matter the cost.

Interesting read! There were some sections that seemed a bit slow, but overall I enjoyed the book. Looking forward to seeing what happens in the second installment!

[MBenzz · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a DNF for me. I really tried to get through this, but between the incredibly slow pace and trying to keep up with the NUMEROUS characters, I finally threw in the towel at the 47% mark.

I thought this story was going to focus on Queen Henrietta Maria and her friend Lucy Hay, the Countess of Carlisle, however there were so many background characters thrown into the mix that showed up sporadically, that I had a hard time remembering who was who, and what role they played in the story. You'd meet someone in, say, Chapter 3, then you wouldn't see them again until Chapter 8, yet you're expected to remember what little information was shared about them 5 chapters earlier.

While what I read was well written, I just couldn't get into it. I kept waiting for something big to occur, yet the story just plodded along with nothing really interesting happening. It took me almost three weeks to get through the 47% I did read, so I finally just stopped. I clearly wasn't into it, so I chose to move on. While this wasn't quite what I expected or enjoyed, I wouldn't discourage anyone interested in the topic from giving it a go. If you love all things Stuart, then you may enjoy this.

**I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Need to review my English history. Kind of boring. Ends abruptly with continuation in book two of series Broken Kingdom, volume Two.

[Heidi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't finish

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very disappointed. The Illuminator, The Mercy Seller, and Heretic's Wife were all excellent. The Queen's Promise was a slow read and the story never really caught fire.

[Michele Lawson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Finished it, but I won't continue the series. I never connected with the characters.

[Doris Vandruff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Queen Henrietta Maria and her friend, and lady-in -waiting, Countess Carlisle are separated because of war. Each woman is forced to go their separate ways. The Queen because she doesn't agree with the disagreement between the king and parliament. The Countess is siding with the king. Each woman is leaving their men behind. They are standing up for what each believes in. Their journey will take them to places unknown. They are also finding out what each one is made up in strength and courage and determination.
Very well written historical fiction. Written like you are right there, descriptive, entertaining and a pleasure to read.
5 Stars

[Debbi]

The Queen's Promise takes place during the war between the King and Parliament in 1642. But this is not a book about the battles of that war, but about the politics that led up to it, and two women doing their best to navigate the challenges and stay alive while doing so.

Henrietta Marie de Medici is Queen of England, but as a Frenchwoman she is not a popular one. Queen Henrietta flees England, leaving her two oldest sons in the hands of their father, King Charles, and her daughter and youngest son in the good hands of Lucy Hay, the Countess of Carlisle. Although Henrietta is out of England, she never stops working to raise funds and soldiers to support the royal cause. The life or death of monarchy in England is literally at stake. Lucy is loyal to Henrietta and King Charles, but also has connections with top leaders of the Parliamentary cause, some of whom would take the royal children and charge Lucy with treason if they could. How these two women walk the tightrope of politics, power and religion is what The Queen's Promise is all about.

Being a historical fiction buff, and not having seen many historical novels set in this time period, especially not with two women as the main characters, I found that the story was engrossing, well researched and well written. At times I felt it wandered a bit, but always came back to these two remarkable women. The Queen's Promise left me looking for answers about the fate of Lucy and Henrietta, and also others who have disappeared; I am looking forward to reading the next book in hope of finding out what happens!