Lianne
Written on Jan 24, 2015
This novel pretty much follows Elizabeth’s reign, facing all sorts of issues from foreign invasion to religious and lay uprisings, traitors at court, and the question of Elizabeth marrying. Of course her reign and many of the political issues she had to sort out tied in to the question of her marrying in some way, and Elizabeth juggles this as best as she could, considering her options to keep everyone at bay but at the same time staying true to what she wants. Her struggle to rule in a man’s world was interesting, and at times frustating because of the society of the time, to read.
I also appreciate the author bringing out other aspects to Elizabeth not necessarily related to her queenship, but that as a young woman who wants love at her own terms, but also a young woman who grew up not knowing her mother and mourned for her, but who greatly desired to see her rehabilitated in the eyes of the people and in the histories.
While the story kept me engaged, it felt like reading a textbook at times, clinical in going through the scenes and bringing up one political incident after another. The will-they-won’t-they pull with Lord Robert, while it was interesting to read their dynamic and how politics kept coming in between them, after a while grew rather tedious to read, evoking frustration from me towards both parties.
In the end though, The Marriage Game was an interesting read. Readers of historical fiction and of the Tudor dynasty may find this novel interesting to check out.