anna_ealasaid reviewed Poison Bed by Elizabeth Fremantle
Review of 'Poison Bed' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
A novel told in two (well, three) voices based on the historical figures Frances Howard and Robert Carr of the court of James I/VI.
Well-written, with the setting vividly-realised. I found the first part really compelling. But then it slowed down and my attention wandered - and then there was a big twist/reveal which should have come much later, with the second part becoming very repetitive and it was a struggle to finish.
The 'twist' rendered what was a complex moral and psychological situation into a tediously simple and unconvincing, and so was a massive disappointment. This would be more tolerable it has come right at the end (say as with Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace), but as it was I spent the second half of the novel mourning the much more interesting story it could have been.
I listened to the audio book, and both narrators were fantastic - hence …
A novel told in two (well, three) voices based on the historical figures Frances Howard and Robert Carr of the court of James I/VI.
Well-written, with the setting vividly-realised. I found the first part really compelling. But then it slowed down and my attention wandered - and then there was a big twist/reveal which should have come much later, with the second part becoming very repetitive and it was a struggle to finish.
The 'twist' rendered what was a complex moral and psychological situation into a tediously simple and unconvincing, and so was a massive disappointment. This would be more tolerable it has come right at the end (say as with Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace), but as it was I spent the second half of the novel mourning the much more interesting story it could have been.
I listened to the audio book, and both narrators were fantastic - hence the three rather than two stars.