In a sentence from the publisher: First published in 1959 by world-renowned historical novelist Margaret Campbell Barnes, King's Fool is a remarkable insider tale of the intrigue, ruthlessness, and majesty of the Tudor court.
King's Fool is the story of Will Somers who had the good fortune to be unable to contain his humor the first afternoon he met the King. The King, being King Henry the VIII was greatly amused and invited him to be his jester.
Being the king's jester gave Will the opportunity to make fun where others were forbidden to. But he also earned the ear of the king and used his unique friendship with him to spread kindness to many in the country earning him a good reputation. He served at the King's side through all of his wives and up until his death and this story is told through his eyes...in some ways the eyes of someone observing not completely on the inside.
I liked this book because I really loved the character of Will. He loves his childhood love faithfully, he has strong character, and he often thinks of others. Having said that, there were times when the history seemed a bit dry and other times where I was glad to know the basic history as it wasn't really explained! This short book covers a lot of time and therefore never goes into any depth. Having said that, I did enjoy reading it.
If you enjoy books set in this time period you might enjoy this one. Published by Sourcebooks and available now.
Rating: 3.75/5
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Review: The King's Fool by Margaret Campbell Barnes
Posted by Amy at 2:00 AM
Labels: Book Reviews, Historical Fiction
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8 comments:
Seems like a consensus among all the reviews I've read and my own - Will's character is definitely the best part of this book!
I read the Margaret George book that featured Will Somers and became interested him. I am a Tudor fan, so I'll likely pick this one up at some point.
I was looking forward to reading this because I so enjoyed My Lady of Cleves, but I'm happy that I didn't run right out and get it. It seems that maybe I won't like this one quite as much and I am not willing to face that disappointment yet.
I definitely want to read this one. Thanks for the review.
This sounds like something I would enjoy. I know a lot about this time period, so the lack of info won't be a problem. But, I always wish they'd give more or have an Endnote or something. That's where I enjoy getting my background information.
Happy LOST Day!
I'm still looking forward to reading this - especially since you liked Will so much.
Great review. I liked this one more then you did.
I wondered about this one but I'm still not sure I want to read a book about Will although this is my favorite period in history.
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