King’s Fool: A Notorious King, His Six Wives, and One Man Who Knew All Their Secrets by Margaret Campbell Barnes
Will Somers has no idea when he came to court with his merchant master that he would soon have the ear of a king. In “King’s Fool” Margaret Campbell Barnes elabortes on the known facts of real-life jester to Henry VIII, Will Somers. Somers served Henry through all of his wives, and even served in the courts of Henry’s three ruling children.
The scholarship in this book is definitely not the most up-to-date and there were a few things that seemed a bit off to me, but Barnes originally wrote this in the late 1950s, so she really can’t be faulted for not being up on what is current. I loved seeing all of Henry’s wives from the point of view of an intimate outsider and thoroughly enjoyed finally getting a full sketch of Will, even if much of it was purely speculative.
“King Fool” is a highly enjoyable book and definitely something to check out for fans of Tudor-era historical fiction. I hope to read more of Barnes’ work.
sounds like a great read…I don’t usually read much in the Tudor era…thanks for the review.
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I’d like to read more of her work too! I agree that looking at the wives from Will’s perspective was definitely interesting.
Meghan’s last blog post..Review: King’s Fool, Margaret Campbell Barnes
I read this book a while back when I was on my Tudor Era kick when we first moved to London and I was going to all the palaces. I did like this book quite a lot but I enjoyed Carolly Erickson’s version of Catherine Parr better.
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I just read and reviewed this one and really enjoyed it. Definitely a must read for any Tudor lover!
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I just saw a review on Amy’s blog yesterday and now yours. I’d really love to read this. The Tudor’s are my favorite.
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I’m not sure I’ve read any Tudor-era historical fiction. Glad you enjoyed it.
This is near the very top of my wishlist!
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I loved My Lady of Cleves and I am really looking forward to reading this one. Glad you liked it.
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I just posted my review of this book as well. I really enjoyed it!!
I linked to your review at the bottom of mine.
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This does sound interesting. I haven’t read too much set in this time period, but I would like to read more about it. Great review.
I enjoyed My Lady of Cleves and will have to give this one a try. Thanks!
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I really enjoyed this novel – especially her portrayal of Will and of Anne of Cleves. Clearly I’ll have to do some more reading in her backlist.
I’ve linked to your review here
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