An Involuntary King: A Tale of Anglo Saxon England

A friend of mine sent me An Involuntary King because she knew I was interested in the early medieval period since I often portray a Saxon archer at Society for Creative Anachronism events. I don't read much fiction, so I saved the book for a restless night figuring it would help me doze off. Was I ever wrong! I ended up reading all night and all the next night too, sneaking in a few paragraphs all though my work day in between. Each time I was ready to set it aside and go to sleep the next paragraph ripped that idea to shreds and I read on. Just when it seemed to get predictable it turned a corner toward the unexpected. That is really hard to do when the prologue starts by telling you the hero lives to old age and surrenders to King Offa (the first unifier of central England) becoming Earl Lawrence instead of King Lawrence. Each new threat makes one wonder how in the heck is he going to survive this? Yet none of it is farfetched and it never relies on implausible miracles. Things work out realistically if not predictably. Everything said about character development and lovability in the other reviews is on target except one reviewer's dislike of Josephine. If you have ever loved a stuck-up blond from a distance for whom you would throw your best cloak in the mud so she could cross over dry, then you experienced Josephine. What's not to love and yet dislike a little because you know she will always be out of your reach. I thoroughly identified with Elerde, Rory, Shannon, and all the rest who could only do her bidding and drool.

This is a tale of a fantastical Saxon kingdom in an England which so dis-unified that it is broken into a number of small kingdoms, some allied and some antagonistic to each other. The tale of the involuntary king of one of them, Críslicland, reads as a curious amalgam of a historical novel, in some places absolutely dripping with authentic 8th century atmosphere and detail -- and at other places almost a never-never land, splotched here and there with anachronisms, mostly to do with characters' names. The explanation for this is a fairly simple one - the original stories of the matter of Crislicland were created by the then-teenaged author and a friend years ago, and their creations, characters and adventures were colored by their various juvenile obsessions. It is a long and sprawling story, with many diversions and characters - heroic and villainous or something in between and a labyrinthine plot reminiscent of the Arthurian legends, of a time when a king was expected to take a personal lead in fighting wars as well as administering his kingdom. Lawrence, the title character, never expects to find that responsibility fallen on him. He is a younger son, barely old enough to serve his father and his older brother, the expected heir to the throne, in a relatively minor capacity. He is the `spare' so to speak - but a turn of treachery brings him to a degree of authority that he did not expect. But he is a king's son, and with some skills as a soldier and leader; and among his friends are those who will advise him, in his early uncertainty. Chief among those is the woman that he is betrothed to marry - who becomes one of his most loyal and fearless champions - Josephine, his queen and mother of his own children. These characters and handful of others, like the pair of wandering bards are the most strongly drawn; no wonder, for these were the ones who developed early on, especially the ambiguous character of the foreign mercenary who loves the one and hates the other, allies himself with Lawrence's enemies... and yet proves to be a trusty friend to Josephine. For all of this, only two characters are historical people - all the rest are creations. It is a satisfactory read, overall; but anachronistic names for certain characters did detract somewhat from the 8th-century atmosphere.

An Involuntary King is the best kind of story, a rich, exciting, medieval saga that skillfully blends adventure, romance, and history. Lawrence, son of Arneth, King of Crislicland, was never meant to be king. When tragedy foists that unexpected honor onto him, he fights to master his own feelings of unworthiness and prove himself worthy of the Crown and to become not just a good king, but a great king, strong, beloved, and wise. This novel charts the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of his reign, the bloody battles to hold his kingdom and vanquish his foes; his marriage to the passionate and lively Josephine, whose beauty draws admirers as honey does flies, and more than once leads to trouble, and much, much more. With a vibrant cast of characters who seem to spring to life right off the page, An Involuntary King is from start to finish a delight to read!

The thing that most attracts me to a book -- or causes me to put one down -- is character development. I want to feel that the characters are real people, not just cardboard cutouts acting out a part in the book's plot. This book satisfies that demand, not just with the title character (Lawrence, the involuntary king), but with characters at every level of the story. Of course, we get to know best the main players in this novel - Lawrence and his queen Josephine, the sultry mercenary Elerde, the bards Shannon and Rory. Each of these characters is driven by motivations that seem to rise logically from his/her life experiences -- and by the end of the book, each of them has changed in some way. I have to admit that I didn't care for Josephine too much early on in the book; however, by the end, she had (IMO) matured enough that I could have at least a grudging respect for her. Most books, however, will flesh out the main characters. I think one of the strengths of Hawthorne's book is that she has taken care to make the secondary characters and even the bit players reasonably well-rounded. There are a couple of villains who are motivated well enough to be truly creepy and not cartoonish (seeing them dispatched to their worthy ends is quite gratifying, ha ha). I really appreciate the way Hawthorne portrays the common people of the story - the barmaids, the healer, the rogue thieves. It gives a sense of the world in which the story takes place, a world Hawthorne has obviously studied. My main caveat would be that this is not a "bedtime story" - there is far too much going on to think it will relax your mind before sleep (there were a couple of times I had strange dreams all night after reading the book!). The war scenes are also not for the squeamish (although they give a good idea of just what battles must have been like in that time). I enjoyed the book, and I'm pleased to have King Lawrence, Rory, Shannon, and yes, even Queen Josephine now wandering about in my mind, mingling with other memorable characters in the "cocktail party" of my imagination.