The captivating debut children’s novel from popular television historian Lucy Worsley is an exciting and charming glimpse behind the scenes of the Tudor court.

I would often wonder about my future husband. A knight? A duke? A stable boy?
Of course the last was just a wicked fancy.

Eliza Rose Camperdowne is young and headstrong, but she knows her duty well. As the only daughter of a noble family, she must one day marry a man who is very grand and very rich.

But Fate has other plans. When Eliza becomes a maid of honour, she’s drawn into the thrilling, treacherous court of Henry the Eighth…

Is her glamorous cousin Katherine Howard a friend or a rival?

And can a girl choose her own destiny in a world ruled by men?

How did I get the book? StorytellersInc Book Club

Genre: Historical Fiction

Review: I enjoyed this book, Eliza is an engaging narrator and I was halfway through the book before I even realised. The chapters are quite short and story follows Eliza from when she is twelve to when she is eighteen.

Much Eliza Rose is about Eliza’s life when she meets Katherine and what happens at the King’s Court; personally I found the beginning of the book more interesting. At twelve Eliza is an adult, ready to be engaged and aware of her responsibility, yet she also clings to her doll and has no idea of what wifely duties entail.

The ending of the book left me with mixed feelings. While part of me appreciates happy endings I felt that Eliza’s choice was at odds with what she had maintained was her duty throughout the entire book.

Recommend it?

Yes