Interview: Eve Edwards (Author of The Lacey Chronicles)

Today Eve Edwards, author of The Rogue's Princess, the latest installment in the Lacey Chronicles, is at The Hiding Spot to answer a few questions. If you're anything like me, you'll be terribly jealous of Eve's answers because, as you'll come to find out, she lives in the Shire. Little does she know, we're all coming to stay for a week or so... It'll be like the opening of The Hobbit when all the dwarves come and devour the entire contents of Bilbo's pantry. :)

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The Interview

Did you have trouble writing any of your characters or specific scenes within the novel? Or, were any characters or scenes particularly easy to write? 

This book was really fun to write – I actually had very little trouble. I wrote it while sitting on a Tuscan hillside looking over at Florence in the distance. I did hit one hitch: I wanted to know more about early Puritanism for Mercy (the heroine) and her family but I was in Italy with no internet connection. And then a miracle happened: a friend who was staying with us, who is a professor of English literature at Warwick University, had in her bag an academic book on the subject. How weird was that! While my family went off doing the sights, I was in the sixteenth century, helped by the fact that I occasionally had to run out to drive the local goatherd off our washing (that felt very authentic!). 

Has the title changed or stayed relatively the same as your novel journeyed towards publication?

There’s a story to that. I wanted to call it something to do with the main male character – an actor or, as they said then, a player, but of course The Player’s Princess has a different meaning now and would suggest he wasn’t loyal to his lady. Actor is not very romantic so that was discarded. I then remembered the law at the time that called wandering theatre companies ‘rogues and vagabonds’ so thought the roguish word would nod to the theatre theme as well as hint at Kit’s playful sense of humour. It is also the book of the trilogy that looks at the ordinary people rather than the court so I liked the sense that you can find someone special at that level – your princess – without going to a palace. 

What book or author has most influenced you as a writer or in general?

That is an impossible question, oh cruel blogger! I read so much my brain is a lucky dip of influences that I could not dip in and find the most important one. When writing this book in particular, I was influenced by the fabulous non-fiction account of Shakespeare’s Globe: 1599 by James Shapiro. I hope that does as an answer! 

What jobs did you have on your way to becoming a writer/published author? Is there a certain work experience that has shaped your writing?

I’ve been a British diplomat, an academic and worked for a big international humanitarian and development agency called Oxfam. The diplomacy gave me an interest in the human side of politics – very important to the Elizabethan court. The most helpful though was the academic research (I have a doctorate from Oxford University in English Literature). These books are supposed to fun and romantic but I hope the reader also senses there is a foundation in historic fact supporting the story. 

If you had to pick a favorite word, what would it be and why? 

Serendipity – discovering something wonderful by mistake. That’s what writing historical fiction is like – always finding a glint of gold in the stream of events. 

My blog is dedicated to my personal hiding spot, books. Who, what, or where can be credited as your personal escape from reality? 

I have many but I like The Lord of the Rings for a good fantasy escape. I live five minutes walk away from the pub where Tolkien and C S Lewis swapped stories and my church is in the street where he wrote the book so I find the fantasy nicely entwines with my daily reality. If you can get over the Peter Jackson version, you’ll find the descriptions of scenery, especially the Shire, look like the countryside where I live. In fact, some of my relatives are part hobbit, I’m convinced of it ; )  

And may I wish you and all your followers a Happy New Year!

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Find out more about Eve Edwards and her books here! 

Review: The Rogue's Princess by Eve Edwards

England, 1586 

Mercy Hart, daughter of one of London's wealthiest and most devout cloth merchants, is expected to marry her equal in rank and piety. Certainly not Kit Turner, a lowly actor and playboy, who also happens to be the late Earl of Dorset's illegitimate son. But when a chance encounter throws them together, Kit instantly falls for the beautiful Mercy's charms . . . and Mercy can't deny the passion that Kit stirs within her. She seems ready to defy her father's wishes--ready to renounce her family and her family name for true love. 

Then Kit finds himself accused treason. 

Will Mercy have the strength to stand by him? Or will she succumb to pressure and break his heart? 

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I often read adult historical romance, but it wasn't until I read Eve Edwards' The Other Countess, the first in the Lacey Chronicles that I really liked YA historical romance. I quickly fell in love with Edwards' writing, which manages to stay surprisingly true to history while adding a contemporary undertone that seems to alleviate the dryness that can easily dissuade readers (like me) from picking up historically accurate novels.

This particular installment of the Lacey Chronicles focuses on Kit, the illegitimate brother of the three (legitimate) Lacey brothers: Will, Tobias, and James. The three brothers are introduced in the first book, but, not having read the second book, The Queen's Lady, this was my first real encounter with Kit.

Being illegitimate, Kit has lived a much different life than his brothers. He hasn't had the easiest life and, when the reader meets him, he's earning his living as an actor among the troupe that will eventually become the favorite of Queen Elizabeth I, Lord Chamberlain's Men. Though he does appear a bit flamboyant at the start, Kit definitely is more steadfast and serious than first appearances let on. though his love for the innocent Mercy might seem a bit improbable at first, he never wavers. My only issue with this is that the reader isn't really given a compelling reason for his devotion. The reader knows there's more to Mercy than prayers and minding her father, but Kit's love seems to be based solely on her pretty face and other... endowments.

Still, Kit does make some rather drastic changes to give Mercy what he believes she deserves. In ways, his transformation mirrors that of Orlando in As You Like It. At first, Kit only shows his love through flowery verses and complimentary words, but he eventually learns that real love takes means much more and takes steps to clean up his life and prove he's serious about Mercy. He doesn't give up things that are fundamental parts of his life that he loves (like the theater or his flashy fashion choices), but he give up rowdy nights at the tavern and stops squandering his money.

Mercy is an interesting character. Raised in a very strict Puritan household, she spends most of her days punishing herself for impure and rebellious thoughts. And she definitely has impure thoughts about the dashing Kit... She falls for him before she's aware he's an actor and, therefore, someone her father would never approve of and she's been raised to regard as un-Christian. Kit, his lifestyle, and her feelings challenge her upbringing and everything she's ever known. I was proud of Mercy for standing up to her father and following her heart to Kit, while still staying true to herself and her religion. 

Though religion plays a big part in understanding Mercy and her actions, it isn't overbearing. Instead it just feels natural and true to the time period. 

The Lacey Chronicles are set directly before Elizabeth I takes the throne and are pre-Shakespeare (though he does make an appearance or two in this book). It's time period I've always been fascinated with, and I find that Edwards does a phenomenal job at portraying this era realistically. The Rogue's Princess is a historical romance, but it also incorporates political and religious conflict in interesting ways, simultaneously entertaining and teaching.

Delacorte Books for Young Readers, January 2013, Hardcover, ISBN: 9780375989766, 272 pages.