After reading 'The Irish Princess', I started to read Karen Harper's latest book 'Mistress of Mourning'. Something drew me to this book, mainly because it was based in early Tudor times and it was full of suspense. This was based when Prince Arthur married Catherine of Aragon and later the mystery surrounding his death. I didn't think there was any mystery to his death but later I learned what if he was poisoned so that his healthier, younger brother could be king.
Actually, there are two mysteries in 'Mistress of Mourning'. The other mystery is the well known mystery of what happened to the Princes in the Tower. Karen Harper explores one of the possibilities of what happened to the two princes.
The book is narrated by both Queen Elizabeth of York and a woman candlemaker Varina Westcott. Varina took over the Westcott candlemaker shop after her husband died and makes these beautiful angel candles. However, these angel candles are somewhat forbidden by the candlemaker guild. In order for her to sell these candles and have her brother be a part of the guild, she would have to marry her suitor Christopher Gage. I didn't really like her suitor by the way he makes Varina feel like she needs him to make it in this man's world.
Varina meets Queen Elizabeth of York because of those angel candles. The queen's people, one of them being Nick Sutton tells that Varina is needed in the palace for a special project for the queen. It turns out, the queen wanted wax figures of her recently deceased children and her brothers. A weird request but it's from a mourning mother's heart that can not let go of the dead.
The story picks up when Prince Arthur suddenly dies. As a close confidant of the queen, Varina and Nick set out to Ludlow Castle to make sure that the funeral arrangements are made but also to see if there are any clues of what really happened to the prince. Before this, Varina already had a close encounter with some mysterious figure who wanted to do harm. Some where in the shadows lurks a figure who wants to do harm to the Tudors and anyone with close access to the royals. You kind of have a clue of who it could be just from Nick's descriptions of his mortal enemy.
A lot of twist and turns keep you glued to this book as Varina and Nick try to unravel the mystery of what really happened to Prince Arthur. Within this mystery, Queen Elizabeth of York asks her husband Henry Tudor VII if he can inquire of what happened to her brothers. Queen Elizabeth of York can not let go of the guilt that she felt when she told her mother to let Prince Richard join their brother King Edward Vin the tower.
If you ever wonder why kind of marriage Henry Tudor and Elizabeth of York had, it turns out that they truly loved one another and I'm surprised how Queen Elizabeth of York goes against any Yorkist in the realm. Even though Henry Tudor did have a bad temper, he would actually do anything for his faithful, loving wife.
I thoroughly liked this suspense filled novel. It explores the conspiracy of Prince Arthur's death and what may have happened to the Princes in the Tower, which I think there are not that much historical fiction books out there (well, maybe for the Princes of the Tower). You also have two interesting characters who try to make a living in the Tudor era. They would lay out their lives for the queen and her family as the mystery becomes more dangerous as you turn each page.
