Blanche d'Alpuget

The second instalment in Blanche d’Alpuget’s historical fiction quartet about Henry II and the House of Plantagenet takes as its subject the rise and fall from royal favour of Thomas ­Becket, chancellor of England and later archbishop of Canterbury.

Becket is best known for how he died. After fleeing to France when Henry attempted to strip him of his power in the church, Becket returned to England in 1170. Henry, frustrated at his continued rebellion and refusal to bring the church to heel, is rumoured to have said: “Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?” At this Henry’s knights took matters into their own hands, and killed Becket in his own cathedral.

The Lion Rampant covers only the period from Becket’s ascension as chancellor to his falling out with Henry.

Historical sources agree that Becket and Henry were dear friends for a time, and that Becket taught the king about opulence, iron will and financial management. The nature of their friendship, however, is what d’Alpuget is toying with when she makes Becket a predatory man with a predilection for young boys. It is however difficult to believe Becket's passion for Henry; and even more so, is Henry’s tolerance for Becket's constant inappropriate behaviour.

This Becket is sleezy, self-obsessed and venal. He is certainly not as I have pictured him - and nothing like the complicated and mesmerising Becket presented by Hilary Mantel and other authors writing of the period.

The elements of fantasy in the novel are also distracting. These include the presence of the Guardian (a ghost-like figure who appears to Henry when he requires guidance), a telepathic connection between Henry and ­horses, and witches who bring his half-brother Guillaume back to life after he is killed in battle. In interviews d’Alpuget has cited differences over the spiritual nature of the book as one that caused her to break with publisher HarperCollins and go the self-publishing route. I can understand why a mainstream publisher would find this approach - to say the least - problematic.

Fans of historical fiction will appreciate the richness and detail of d’Alpuget’s portrayal of everyday life, the animals and bedchambers and small acts of violence. All of these give the novel what the character of Becket lacks: substance and shadow.

I'm not sure I'll bother with the next instalments in this series.… (meer)

This is the first of a projected quartet of novels about the Plantagenet dynasty, and opens as the king and queen of France, Louis VII and his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine return from the Crusades in 1149. Unhappy in her marriage to the monkish Louis, Eleanor begins an affair with Geoffrey le Bel, Duke of Normandy. Geoffrey wants a spy in the French court and sees Eleanor as ideally placed to assist. Although Geoffrey and Eleanor’s affair becomes passionate, Geoffrey is clearly focussed on his main objective: to see his son Henry become King of England.

The author offered swashbuckling action, fantasy and swan knights (as in Lohengrin) - often on the same page. Some of the characters are simply not believable (like Aelbad); the telepathy thing was distracting and added little to the story; and there was a little too much focus on steamy sex scenes.

With a stronger editor, this book could have been great. At times, the writing was all over the place - more like a late draft, rather than the finished thing. I felt as though I was watching a TV saga loosely based on history, rather than reading historical fiction.

Having said that, I’m interested enough in Ms d’Alpuget’s depiction of Henry to read the second novel in the series.… (meer)