The Murder in the Tower: The Story of Frances, Countess of Essex

The book is based on the life of a young courtier, Frances Howard, and her loves. She starts out as a likeable passionate young woman, but as she grows and becomes seemingly a selfish evil woman, there is no sympathy for her. I did find sympathy for Robert Carr, the man she fell in love with when she was a married woman. Robert Carr caught the King James' eye when he fell from his horse as a young man, and quickly shot up in the ranks with titles and favoritism from James. He is portrayed as a pretty boy who really didn't deserve the posts he had since he had to have another man, Thomas Overbury, secretly do most of the work for Robert Carr. Once Thomas realizes that Robert wants to marry Frances Howard, he is incensed. He has no respect for Frances, so she decided to take matters into her own hands. There was a small storyline with the King's son, Henry, and a bit on the royal family but not an incredible amount. The story was excellent!

Based on a specific odd incident during the reign of James I of England, this book has less historic significance than most of Ms. Plaidy's novels but the protagonists are interesting and the ending satisfactorily combines poetic justice for the wicked countess with compassion for and satisfactory endings for her unfortunate dupes. As in the best of Plaidy, these people come to life.