ShortBookandScribes #BookReview – The Dark Rose by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles #MorlandDynasty
The Dark Rose by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles is book 2 in the Morland Dynasty, published by Sphere. I purchased my own copy.
Review of book 1 – The Founding
1501: the turbulence of Henry VIII’s reign brings passion and pain to the Morlands as they achieve ever greater wealth and prestige.
Paul, great-grandson of Eleanor Morland, has inherited the Morland estates, and his own Amyas is set to be his heir. But Paul fathers a beloved illegitimate son, and bitter jealousy causes a destructive rift between the two half-brothers which will lead to death.Paul’s niece, Nanette, becomes a maid-in-waiting to Anne Boleyn, and at the court of Henry VIII she becomes embroiled in the King’s bitter feud with Rome.
Through birth and death, love and hatred, triumph and heartbreak, the Morlands continue proudly to claim their place amongst England’s aristocracy.
The Dark Rose is book two in a long-running series that I’m only just at the beginning of but which I am absolutely loving. This one focuses on the descendants of Robert and Eleanor Morland from the first book, The Founding, and it’s their great-grandson, Paul, who is the main character, along with his niece, Nanette.
As the book is set during the reign of Henry VIII there is a great deal of turbulence in England. Nanette spends much of her time at court as one of Anne Boleyn’s ladies and her closest confidante (and we all know what happened there!). Paul meanwhile is back in Yorkshire at the family seat of Morland Place dealing with his son’s rash behaviour and his own unhappy marriage and love for another woman.
There is so much vivid and rich detail in this book and I never wanted to put it down. Cynthia Harrod-Eagles expertly merges life in the north where they are somewhat sheltered from the treachery in the south, with life in the royal court which provides the perfect contrast for the reader, taking in the major historical events of the era in a most accessible way.
This book is utter perfection in my opinion and I am hungry for more Morlands. Next up, book three – The Princeling.
Cynthia Harrod-Eagles was born in Shepherd’s Bush in London. She was educated at Burlington School, a girls’ charity school founded in 1699, and at the University of Edinburgh and University College London, where she studied English, history and philosophy.
She wrote her first novel while at university and in 1972 won the Young Writers’ Award with THE WAITING GAME.
Afterwards she had a variety of jobs in the commercial world, beginning as sales manager for the Coca Cola Company in Edinburgh, and ending up as pensions officer for the BBC in London, while writing during the evenings and weekends.
The birth of the MORLAND DYNASTY series enabled her to become a full-time writer in
1979. The series was originally intended to comprise twelve volumes, but it has proved so popular that it has now been extended to thirty-five.
In 1993 she won the RNA Novel of the Year Award with EMILY, the third volume of her Kirov Saga, a trilogy set in nineteenth century Russia, and she also writes the internationally acclaimed BILL SLIDER MYSTERIES.
Cynthia Harrod-Eagles still lives in London, and has a husband and three children. Apart from writing her passions are horses, wine, architecture, the English countryside, and above all music. She plays in several amateur orchestras, and is proud to sponsor the London Mozart Players.
Book synopsis and author information taken from the author's website.
