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The First Princess of Wales: A Novel | 
 enlarge | Author: Karen Harper
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $3.95
You Save: $11.00 (74%)
New (32) Used (43) from $1.51
Avg. Customer Rating:  20 reviews
Sales Rank: 202359
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st Pbk. Ed
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 624
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.3 x 1.5
ISBN: 0307237915
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780307237910
ASIN: 0307237915
Publication Date: December 26, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
The daughter of a disgraced earl, she matched wits with a prince.
It is the fourteenth century, the height of the Medieval Age, and at the court of King Edward III of England, chivalry is loudly praised while treachery runs rampant. When the lovely and high-spirited Joan of Kent is sent to this politically charged court, she is woefully unprepared for the underhanded maneuverings of her peers.
Determined to increase the breadth of his rule, the king will use any means necessary to gain control of France—including manipulating his own son, Edward, Prince of Wales. Joan plots to become involved with the prince to scandalize the royal family, for she has learned they engineered her father’s downfall and death. But what begins as a calculated strategy soon—to Joan’s surprise—grows into love. When Joan learns that Edward returns her feelings, she is soon fighting her own, for how can she love the man that ruined her family? And, if she does, what will be the cost?
Filled with scandal, court intrigue, and prominent figures of the Medieval Age, The First Princess of Wales has at its center a wonderful love story, which is all the more remarkable because it is true. Karen Harper’s compelling, fast-paced novel tells the riveting tale of an innocent girl who marries a prince and gives birth to a king.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 15 more reviews...
 The First Princess of Wales November 23, 2008
An unsual story of enduring love in historical fiction would seem very rare in those times and even today. It has my hearty recommendation.
 Nauseating November 17, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
You know, I don't really feel like it's even fair for me to be reviewing this book since I didn't even make it through the first 40 pages ... but if you're like me and vapid, cliched, romance-novel style prose really turns your stomach, save your money. This book is truly awful. Before I even reached the end of the second chapter, I got to hear about how the heroine's "wayward blond locks" "tumbled in natural curls," was twice reminded of her "wheat colored" hair (it must be very important to the storyline to remember this fact), oh and let's not forget how her dress accentuated "the swell of her high, firm breasts." And of course she soon spies a brave knight and notes how his "muscular chest, shoulders and arms stretched his black, leather gambeson taut under the fine hauberk of dark chain mail molded to his body." Seriously, I'm not making this up. After I read that little gem I flipped ahead and asked myself if I could really stomach another 574 pages of such tripe and then promptly tossed the book in the garbage.
Equally annoying was the author's habit of jumping from one character's head to another without warning, mid page (which I suppose in her defense was a much more common practice back in the 80s when this book was written), and her decision to spell out one character's Scottish accent ("I truly doan' think ye'll be seein' too many knights who'd wed wi' a lady to give her free rein like some willful palfrey, lassie ...") which I found so irritating I didn't even bother to read any of that character's lines.
I don't know, maybe the book gets better but I really didn't want to waste any time finding out. Maybe a true romance novel connoisseur would appreciate this book in a way that I am not able to. But as for my personal tastes, I like to see prose that is a little more original and a little less nauseating.
The Pretender September 1, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
With an avid interest in British history, I eagerly ordered this book because not many books have been written about Joan of Kent. To my great disappointment, I was delivered a cheap romance. The characters were shallow and incoherent. The plot was predictable, moving from one lurid sex scene to another, all of which were boringly the same.
To classify this book as a "historical" novel does a great disservice to customers of Amazon since the book had little to do with history. Anyone expecting a work on par with the writings of Sharon Penman, Edith Pargeter, Roger Mortimer or Jean Plaidy will feel let down by this book.
Couldn't even finish it, unfortunately August 23, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I join the ranks of those who didn't care for this book. I got about halfway through and finally decided not to waste any more time. The dialogue was trite, to say the least, and the plot nonexistent. I was looking for historical fiction, but this book really belongs in the Romance section. The Black Prince and the rest of the Plantagenets are fascinating characters, and they deserve better.
A Rollercoaster Romance June 25, 2008
This book holds you tight for an emotional rollercoaster ride as you look inside the lives of Joan of Kent and Edward, Prince of Wales. Their story is one that at times makes you want to cry and at other times it sweeps you away with its whilwind romance. This book has challenged me emotionally but is much loved and close to my heart.
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