Review: The Lost Duchess by Jenny Barden

We all know there is a ton of historical fiction out there that takes place in Elizabethan England….typically in the court.

The market is simply flooded…so how do you create a new and different take on a saturated topic?

Well you take your Elizabethan heroine out of the court!

Emme Fifield is a lady in waiting to Queen Elizabeth.

Her life is pretty much wrapped up in the treacherous court and all she has is a good reputation and name.

Well all that changes when she is ruined by a lord who will stop it nothing but to have her. Her reputation and future prospects are a disaster.

Just when she thinks her life at court is over, Sir Francis Drake and his mariner, Kit Doonan, arrive from the new world they bring the promise of adventure.

Soon Sir Walter Raleigh begs leave to return to Virgina and Emme soon finds herself going with him. Though she is traveling under and assumed name with an alter motive.

Sir Francis Walsingham is known in court as the spymaster, he makes the arrangements for Emme to follow them to the new world and report back to him.

Emme embarks on a thrilling adventure full of romance, mystery, intrigue, and adventure on the high seas! What I found most exciting about this novel was the exploration into what might have happened to the ill-fated colony of Roanoke.

This was a new and exciting twist for me in the ‘Tudor lit’ genre. I loved getting out of the traditional court setting and exploring the vast unknown in the new world.

I especially loved the Roanoke island theories in this novel. It’s such a great mystery in history and I loved that the author brought this strange event into the story line.

It’s always fun to speculate and explore theories for some of histories greatest what ifs. So I loved this novel for that! The authors attention to the historic details was second to none! This was not just a novel with a new twist on history or just a great setting, it also had great central characters.

Emme is a mixture of strength and vulnerability that is endearing in this adventure novel. She is brave and bold but she isn’t so strong that it becomes a tragic flaw in here character. The reader gets to see he develop into a strong leading heroine while maintaining approach ability. Readers will easily identify with her and enjoy her throughout the novel.

Likewise, Kit has his own unique, complex back story. I will say that I would have liked to know more about him and would liked to have seen Kit’s back story explored in more depth but overall it satisfied the reader.

Interestingly enough, the love story between Kit and Emme wasn’t the central point in the story. The story wasn’t just about them falling in love, it was more about what they meant to each other.

The setting only highlighted that tender love story. I thought the love story and setting work together hand in hand making this story more rich and complex than just a simple ‘romance’.

This novel has a lot to love and the drama that unfolds is engaging and I appreciated the attention to details. If you are looking for something a little more exotic and a unique than traditional Tudor era historic fiction, then you’ve found the right novel!

Love, adventure, and history culminate and make this novel a truly refreshing read bringing new life and story into a genre that’s dominated with courtly tales in Elizabethan England….this a something new you will want to add to your TBR list!

I reviewed this book as part of The Lost Duchess virtual book tour hosted by Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours. Be sure to visit the other blog stops on the tour for interviews and giveaways!

Challenge/Book Summary:

Book: The Lost Duchess by Jenny Barden

Kindle Edition, 448 pages
Published November 7th 2013 by Ebury Digital
ASIN B00DW4LBKE
Review copy provided by: Publisher as part of the HFVBT book tour in exchange for an honest review

This book counts toward: NA