The Agincourt bride is Catherine de Valois, daughter of Charles VI, the mad king of France. Her mother, Isabeau of Baveria, doesn’t care about her children and neglects them until she needs them for her plotting. So when Catherine is born, a wet nurse is needed immediately. Teen aged Guillaumette (Mette) has just had her first child, which does not survive. She is pressed into service to nurse the newborn Catherine. A bond is formed, like that between mother and child. Mette loves Catherine as much as she would her own child- in fact, sometimes it seems like she loves Catherine more than she does her own two children who are born later. She cares for Katherine- and two of her brothers- while she is a toddler, but they are split up when Catherine is sent to a nunnery to be educated. They do not meet again until Catherine is a teenager and is brought back to court to be used as bait for the English king, Henry V. Catherine has Mette brought back to court as her lady of the robes, giving her a post which allows her to be at court. As battles between Henry’s armies and the French forces rage (including the famous Battle of Agincourt where so many French knights were killed) and diplomacy goes back and forth, Catherine is one minute to be given to Henry and the next minute to have an uncertain future. She has to deal with her monstrous mother, and, worse, the Duke of Burgundy, a nasty piece of work if there ever was one. Catherine has few friends- everyone spies on each other- and Mette is the one person who knows everything about her. The story is written in first person by Mette, who knows how to read, write and do arithmetic because she was brought up in the family baking business. It’s written with a sense of distance from the subject, both in time and proximity. We get to watch Catherine grow and mature and develop an inner self that is like a slim blade of steel. Her family is incredibly dysfunctional; her mother declares her own son a bastard, her father is psychotic, another son has an eating disorder that kills him, and her mother allows Burgundy to do what he wishes with Catherine. Mette looks on with her middle class sensibility that allows us to see the nobility with no varnish of adoration. Interspersed are letters that Catherine wrote but never sent, showing us her heart. I enjoyed the book, although at times it seemed slow. I suppose that is necessarily so, as much of Catherine’s life is spent waiting to see what will be arranged for her. The book is dense with details that bring the time and people to life vividly, right down to the meals they ate and the clothes they wore. While this era – the early 1400s- is not as popular as the following Tudor era, the Tudors dynasty would have never existed had it not been for Catherine. The Agincourt Bride is the story of Catherine de Valois, princess of France (early 15th century). This novel is the first instalment in a series about Catherine’s life. The story however is not told from Catherine’s perspective, but from that of Guillaumette Lanière, her fictional nursemaid, affectionately called Mette. Mette is thrust into Catherine’s life just after Catherine is born. Mette becomes her wet nurse after her own child is stillborn. From there on, Mette plays an important role in Catherine’s turbulent childhood as surrogate mother and protector. Later in life, Mette becomes Catherine’s friend and trusted confidante. From the beginning, I was easily caught up in the story. Mette, a young commoner down on her luck, ends up moving from a poor bakery into the royal nursery (although it wasn’t exactly her idea). She gets to see what it’s like from the other side of the spectrum—and it’s not always so pretty. Even the royal children knew what it was like to want. Among other things, they were completely ignored by their parents (although, their father didn’t ignore them on purpose. He was insane. Literally). Mette, pitying the poor little things, becomes attached to them—especially to Catherine, “the child of her breast.”Most historical novels that I have read set in the 15th and 16th centuries have been told from the perspective of the main historical character. I found it interesting how this tale was told through the eyes of a trusted friend instead. Through Mette we see more than one side of things. She can be more objective about Catherine’s experiences but still also has an emotional stake in Catherine’s life that makes the reader feel involved. Furthermore, Mette notices things that the upper class might not notice, or, at least, take note of. For example, Mette’s descriptions show us what it was like to really live in those times—the poverty, the starvation, and the uncertainty that lingered after the battle of Agincourt. She also shows what went on in the day to day running of a castle, and what it was like being moved from place to place with the royal court at the whim of the King or Queen (in this case, Queen). The latter wasn’t glamorous or easy like it would seem from the eyes of the upper class. It was a heck of a lot of work—aristocrats don’t pack light. Nor do they pack (or unpack) themselves. On one move she asks one of the men if it was really necessary to take apart the princesses bed and drag it along (it was big). Weren’t there beds where they were going? Yes, there were but they, of course, weren’t good enough for France’s royalty. I really like the way that Hickson handled Catherine’s life. The relationship between her and Mette provided really good scope for the story. Hickson made me really care about Catherine and Mette. Their relationship was believable and warm—although separated a great deal in rank, their female companionship was quite true to form. While no one seemed to care what Catherine thought about things, Mette did. From their confidences we learn how Catherine was torn between her duty to her mother and her allegiance to her brother, the dauphin (i.e. the heir to the throne), and how both sides used her to further their cause. I also like how Hickson decided to turn her exploration of Catherine’s life into a series. Much of the historical fiction like this that I’ve read has told the entirety of the person’s life in one volume. This generally leads to both a long book and large jumps in time. The Agincourt Bride however, only tells of Catherine’s life up until she was about twenty, focusing largely on her late teen years.However, the villains in the story, mainly Queen Isabeau and the Duke of Burgundy, were a little flat, rarely receiving much attention or depth as far as character was concerned. However, this didn’t bother me too much. I honestly wasn’t overly concerned about them. It would have been nice to see a little more depth, but I was more concerned with the effect they had on Catherine and Mette, and that’s where attention was focused. I think that’s pretty understandable since the story is from Mette’s perspective and, because of her rank (or lack-there-of), she would not have spent much time around the Queen or the Duke. Therefore, she wouldn’t be able to provide much information about their characters. She would have to rely on what she could glean from Catherine, her impressions, and things she heard about them. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I got caught up in it right from the beginning, and had trouble putting it down! Hickson’s writing was clear and compelling, and so were her characters (mostly). I’m really looking forward to reading her next novel, The Tudor Bride, and learning more about Catherine’s story. If you have read and enjoyed Philippa Gregory, this book is right up your alley. Loved it.
What do You think about Oblubienica Z Azincourt (2014)?
Finished yesterday and looking forward to the sequel - The Tudor Bride - due out September-ish.
—aman
