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I Serve: A Novel Of The Black Prince (2009)

by Rosanne E. Lortz(Favorite Author)

3.65 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0979214548 (ISBN13: 9780979214547)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Anno Domini

review 1: The title of this book is somewhat misleading. "A Novel of the Black Prince" could just as accurately read "A Novel of Geoffroi de Charny" or "Story of a Chivalrous Knight." The story is not really about Edward of Woodstock and does not cover the entirety of his life, though he is a character. That being said, I did enjoy this novel and found John Potenhale to be a believable man of his times (mid 1300's). In fact, the historical accuracy of events, attitudes, and impact of Christian beliefs on people's behavior to be the most impressive aspects of this novel. I may not have learned all that I hoped about the Black Prince, but I did learn a fair amount about Charny which helped to make up for it. The author's excellent descriptions of the battles at Crecy and Poitiers also... more helped make this a 4-star book for me. The most significant thing keeping me from rating it even higher is the style of writing which at times takes away from the flow of the story. The writer occasionally uses words that seem to be chosen for their ability to demonstrate the author's impressive vocabulary rather than because they are best suited to the sentence. This I could overlook though, as I don't mind being forced to learn a new word now and then. The more awkward aspect of the writing was the narrative style. As I would be reading along, the story flows in a first person style until a phrase such as "your husband" or "as you must know" would jolt me out of the story and remind me that the entire book is supposedly a monologue being given by Potenhale to Charny's wife. Then the final chapter drops this style and goes to third person. In my opinion, a standard first person narrative would have better served the novel and avoided the strange reminders of how the story was being told. Despite these minor negatives, this is a compelling story that is definitely a worthwhile read for any lover of British history.
review 2: From My Blog...[return]I adore historical fiction and I am delighted to come across a novel set in the medieval era. I Serve by Roseanne Lortz does not disappoint, she brilliantly captures the era and offers up an intriguing look at Edward, Prince of Wales, also known as the Black Prince, eldest son of King Edward III and Sir John Potenhale. Written in a manner that takes the reader back to the 1300s and the Hundred Year War, I Serve, offers the reader a fast paced historical novel replete with chivalry, honour, war, and the dreaded plague. As the novel proceeds, the reader learns more about the time period, the codes of chivalry, the toll the war takes and the struggles faced by many, especially Sir John Potenhale, as to where their allegiance should be placed. Lortz writes a superb novel with vivid imagery, wonderful characters, as well as descriptive and distinct time period prose. The inner struggle of the characters, especially that of John Potenhale, are masterfully written and one can understand and sympathise with his inner turmoil. I highly recommend I Serve to anyone who enjoys historical fiction or who is new to historical fiction. less

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