daughter’s love. A monarch’s duty.On the road to greatness, one young woman must make an unthinkable choice.
For Princess Mary, life has never been simple, but through it all the love of her father, the Duke of York, has been a constant and reliable comfort. Despite his own loyalty to the Catholic Church, the Duke and his brother, King Charles II, raised Mary as a Protestant to protect her in a time of religious and political upheaval. In order to cement this safety and to ensure the stability of the family line, at age fifteen, Mary is married to her Protestant first cousin William, Prince of Orange.
However, in post-Restoration England, matters are rarely so simply settled. When Mary’s uncle, King Charles II, dies suddenly and without an heir, her beloved father is crowned James II. But a Catholic king is not the will of the people, and even Mary’s own husband is crying out for change. Can Mary take part in actions that will ultimately remove her own father from the throne and endanger his life? With family loyalty and the will of a nation at odds, what choice can a young princess make?
With emotional clarity and vivid historical detail, beloved author Jean Plaidy brings us into the court and behind the scenes as history unfolds—and the young princess and her groom become William and Mary—the legendary monarchs, and the only co-regents in the history of a nation.
This Jean Plaidy novel wasn't as interesting as her other ones. I found myself sometimes only reading this book just to get it done. It was rather disappointing for me, because I usually love Jean Plaidy's novels. The story of Mary II was sad - to be married to someone you don't love and leave everything you've ever known for some strange new land. Political marriages just kill me - I am SO thankful I did not live during that time. While is was sad that she was in a loveless marriage and had betrayed her father for the crown, I found the actual character of Mary rather dull and pathetic. She never stood up for herself and just went along with the flow. I guess she probably didn't have much of a choice otherwise, but still... it would have been nice to read that she put up a good fight at least once.
Rating: 2.5/5
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