The King's Concubine: A Novel of Alice Perrers Paperback – Illustrated, June 5, 2012

This has become one of my top ten historical reads of all time. Anne O'Brien has created a heroine who is wholly unique, unusually strong and an equal match for any man. Alice Perrers (who has not been treated kindly by history) is neither beautiful nor well born, but she dreams of a grander life than taking a nun's habit and eventually finds herself in the court of Edward III and Philippa. The author manages to make the reasons for her being there and becoming Edward's paramour very believable. Even though it's easy to see why others may not have looked kindly on her because of her business mind and influence over Edward, Alice becomes a likeable and relatable character.I devoured this and stayed up late into the night to finish it. Highly recommended!

I had not heard about Alice Perrers before this book. The story was told quite well and I kept wondering what would happen next — I especially liked the nuances of the characters, everyone had some good and bad in them.As a graphic designer, my only gripe is with the cover... it shows a beautiful concubine, when the whole appeal of Alice's unique story is that she is actually considered ugly (an unlikely heroine in historical fiction novels, if just for that mere fact). I wish the cover reflected this, currently it does not do the story justice and actually added to my confusion as I was reading.

THIS STORY OF A STRONG AND INTELLIGENT WOMAN WHO WAS NOT OF THE NOBILITY WAS VERY INTERESTING. I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT AND LOOK FORWARD TO READING OTHER BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR.

History is written by the victors. Most of what has been said of Alice Perrers (and Katherine Swynford, John of Gaunt's longtime mistress) was written by men. In Medieval times, women were not of value, unless it was to make advantageous alliances between wealthy families. Anne O'Brien gives a different view of a woman who was castigated by contemporary critics as an avaricious, conniving bitch. In "The King's Concubine" Alice Perrers is finally given a voice. Let's face it, what woman in those times would not have taken advantage of the opportunities that Alice was given? Ms. O'Brien gives brilliant life to all of the characters (some most unflatteringly). Anyone who loves historical fiction should love this book! Alice comes across as a woman completely aware of her faults, but she makes no excuses for them. She was a strong woman (not acceptable in the time period in which she lived) who was smart enough to make her way.

The story centers around Alice Perrers, who becomes the mistress of King Edward, her rise from poverty to a rich woman, then her fall from grace. This book does bog down in the middle, which is one reason I gave it 3 stars, but I also found myself having no feeling toward any of the characters, as a matter of fact I found it hard to get "into their heads" or "put myself in their shoes" which IMO means the author should have spent a little more time developing them.All in all, it's not a bad book, but what I found interesting, was the author answers questions regarding the story at the end of the book, which fills in some of the gaps you wonder about within the book. If you like historical fiction it's worth the time to read it, but I would say wait until it hits the $4.99 range in price.Short Review:Good story line + lack of character development = A good but not great read

I enjoyed this novel of Alice Perrers, mistress to Edward III. She is portrayed as being a very strong and determined woman who came from nothing and rose to be an influential figure at the King's court. She seemed to have been very business-minded, as by the end of Edward's life she had invested in so much property that she was decidedly land-rich. However her aloofness with the rest of the court, and her determination to be a woman of independant means, caused her to have a lot of enemies. Without a man to protect her she was completely vulnerable, and after Edward's death she came under attack. However the marriage she had earlier made became worth it's weight in gold, as her husband battled for her rights. It made me realize just how difficult it was to be a woman at that time; completely dependant on men for their livelihood.I feel as though the author did a wonderful job of introducing the court of Edward III to the reader, and that this novel would be easy for any-one to read even if they didn't have prior knowledge of the era. We are given a good portrait of Queen Philippa, who is shown as a kind woman that had a deep affection for her husband. She suffered from dropsy, and the author gives us a good idea of what this was and how one would have suffered from it (Queen Elizabeth I is said to have suffered from this ailment also). We are also introduced to Edward's son John of Gaunt, who was a very influential and important figure during his nephew, Richard II's, early reign. He is not portrayed as the nicest person in this novel, which is probably how he seemed to many. However after reading Anya Seton's 'Katherine' about Gaunt's mistress and later wife I came to know him in a much softer light through the eyes of the woman who loved him. That's why I love historical fiction; it shows us history through many different perspectives.The only reason I gave this novel four stars instead of five was because the last few chapters really dragged and I started to be eager for it to end. This was a shame really, as I greatly enjoyed the rest of the novel.