This is the second of Elizabeth Chadwick’s two novels about Jeanette of Kent. If you haven’t read the first, The Royal Rebel, it’s not essential, particularly if you’re already familiar with this period of history, but I would still recommend it so that you can enjoy the whole of Jeanette’s story. The first book introduced us to Jeanette (usually called Joan, but I’ll stick with the name Chadwick uses in the novel), a granddaughter of Edward I, and took us through her nine year struggle to get her secret marriage to Thomas Holland, a knight in the royal household, officially recognised and declared valid.
The Crownless Queen begins in 1361 with Jeanette, now thirty-four years old and a mother of four children, awaiting news of Thomas, who is in Normandy on military duty. Sadly, when news eventually arrives, it’s the last thing she wants to hear – Thomas has caught a fever and died. Jeanette is heartbroken but understands that due to her position and wealth, she’ll be expected to marry again, so when the king’s eldest son and heir – Edward, the Black Prince – makes her an offer of marriage, she accepts. Edward’s father isn’t pleased and believes he could have made a better match, but Jeanette and Edward have been close friends since childhood and there’s genuine love and affection between them.
All of this happens very early in the book, so there’s a lot more to follow including Edward and Jeanette’s time in Aquitaine, where Edward has been sent to govern; the lives of their two young sons and of Jeanette’s children from her previous marriage; Edward’s mysterious illness which shortens his life; the death of Edward’s father, King Edward III, and the accession to the throne of the young Richard II at the age of only ten. Most of this is written from Jeanette’s point of view, but we do occasionally see things from the perspective of other characters such as Edward himself and Jeanette’s eldest son, Tom Holland. I enjoyed watching Tom grow up and mature into a young man, learning to love and respect his wife Alys FitzAlan, to whom he is married while they are both still children. Tom’s brother John (referred to as Johan in the book) enters the service of one of the king’s younger sons, John, Duke of Lancaster – better known today as John of Gaunt – and would later marry John’s daughter Elizabeth. Their story is told in The King’s Sister by Anne O’Brien – one of the things I love about reading historical fiction is the way so many books by different authors overlap and intersect providing different angles and approaches.
Chadwick has a real talent for bringing her characters to life, so even if you already know what happens, it’s still possible to become emotionally invested in the story. We know from history that Edward would die a year before his father and would never become king, but that doesn’t make the story any less interesting or the descriptions of his long illness and Jeanette’s despair any less tragic. We also know that it would be their son Richard who would come to the throne instead; child characters can be difficult to get right, but Chadwick does a good job of showing the flaws already present in the young Richard’s character that would make him an unpopular king later on, such as an obsession with the outward symbols of power and wealth.
Another aspect of this book I loved was the relationship between Jeanette and her brother-in-law John of Gaunt, beginning with suspicion and disapproval, but developing over the years into a friendship based on mutual trust and respect. Although John is married twice over the course of the novel, first to Blanche of Lancaster then Constanza of Castile, his affair with Katherine Swynford is also touched upon and apparently John and Katherine are going to be the focus of Chadwick’s next novel, which I’m already looking forward to!
Thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK for providing a copy of this book for review via NetGalley.
Book 19/20 of 20 Books of Summer
She Reads Novels 
Elizabeth Chadwick’s books are always good!
Yes, I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read by her so far!
It sounds like Chadwick is moving on to some more ‘well-known’ women if the next book is about Catherine and John, after this duology of Joan Of Kent. I still need to read the first part, but her story is fascinating.
Yes, Joan of Kent’s story is interesting even though she’s a better known historical figure than some of the women Chadwick has written about. I definitely recommend reading the first book.
I’m always wondering about the Chadwick books you review, because I read one of hers, A Place Beyond Courage, and I didn’t think the story was very integrated with itself, more like a series of incidents. I also didn’t like how she treated some of the characters, and I thought that John FitzGilbert was probably actually an awful man, not the great guy she made him out to be. I know you liked that book more than I did, so I haven’t really been able to make up my mind to try another one by her.
I haven’t actually read A Place Beyond Courage yet, although I’ve read The Greatest Knight which is about John FitzGilbert’s son. Maybe you would like these two books about Joan of Kent better as spreading the story across two volumes means it has more time to develop without jumping too quickly from one incident to another. It could just be that she’s not the right author for you, though.
I found myself drawing conclusions about FitzGilbert that the author wasn’t drawing. It was kind of weird.
I’ve wanted to read Chadwick since forever! Do you have any recommended starting point? Or I could perhaps start with the Royal Rebel
The Greatest Knight is considered her best book so is probably a good place to start, but I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read by her. Her Eleanor of Aquitaine trilogy which begins with The Summer Queen is great as well and another good starting point.
Ive seen things set around this period of time but I’m not sure if it’s ever covered this particular story, although bits of it definitely sound familiar. I still think I’d enjoy this one even if it isnt entirely new to me though as like you said its always interesting to see how different authors approach the same bit of history and it tends to be such a fascinating time period to explore too. I hope you enjoy the next one about the brother-in-law too.
I think this period of history is fascinating – the Tudors get so much attention in fiction, it’s nice to see authors writing about earlier periods as well. I’m sure you would find this one interesting, even if you were already familiar with parts of the story.
Glad you enjoyed and found this interesting. I read about Joan in The Shadow Queen by Anne O’Brien. 👑😊
I do really enjoy Elizabeth Chadwick’s books but don’t read them often enough to be up to date. I recently had The Royal Rebel out from the library but had to return it unread.
Thanks for sharing your review with the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge!