The Dark Rose
Paul Morland is master of a wool-producing estate near York in the era of Henry VIII. He’s unhappily married and has only one son. He resents his half-brother Jack for his sibling’s many children and ease in social settings. Paul tries to find joy in the arms of his mistress, who gives birth to his illegitimate son. When Jack dies in an epidemic that also takes Paul’s wife and mistress, he has a change of heart and vows to educate and care for Jack’s children, including his half-niece, Nanette.
Nanette is sent to be educated in a prosperous household and later becomes lady-in-waiting to Queen Catherine. Once Anne Boleyn arrives at court, she and Nanette become close confidantes, and Nanette witnesses all the turbulence of the king’s many wives and the dangerous machinations of the royal court. At Morland Place, Paul is faced with financial ruin and the jealousy between his two sons, which will have tragic consequences. Through it all, Paul and Nanette share a forbidden attraction to one another that could destroy them both.
This is a sweeping saga that follows the entire reign of Henry VIII, full of religious turmoil and court intrigues. First published in 1981, the novel “tells” in many places, versus “shows,” and adjectives and adverbs abound, but once I got past my modern sensibility, I loved the historical detail and vibrant characters. Although long at 592 pages, I still didn’t want the story to end. The Dark Rose is one in a vast series on the Morland Dynasty.
