A marriage of fortune by Anne O'Brien

The Paston family of Norwich live in difficult times. It is 1467 and the family, Margaret Mautby Paston, and her sons, Sir John and Jonty are struggling to hold on to nearby Caister Castle, a disputed inheritance from Margaret’s cousin Sir John Falstoff which cements their rather shaky position as landed gentry. Eldest daughter Margery, 20, is under pressure to marry into wealth and influence as her older brothers seem disinclined, more interested in court life, free of their mother’s marriage machinations. Margery however is more interested in the family’s bailiff, Richard Calle, ‘tall and fair, lithe and graceful' p. 9 a loyal and intelligent man she has known since childhood but a man of the merchant class without land. When it seems Margery is to be sent away to be boarded out in London to a respectable family where she might encounter a suitable husband the couple secretly make marriage vows 'per verba de praesenti' and consummate the marriage in bed. Her mother Margaret is incensed and when the couple refuse to deny their marriage Richard is dismissed and Margery turned out of the house. All this at a time in British history of instability and lawlessness as the houses of Lancaster and York battle a series of civil wars for control of the British throne. The story follows the women’s lives against this backdrop as they strive to hang on to what they have and to protect their positions and families in troubled times from the point of view of some of the main players; Margaret, her sister Elizabeth, whose Yorkist husband died on the battlefield against Lancaster (another disputed inheritance for the Pastons), Margery and Sir John’s betrothed, Mistress Anne Haute, the Queen’s cousin, a match approved by his mother but which he seems disinclined to formalise. There is a family tree at the beginning to help the reader keep abreast of the relationships and there is a family tree of the Royal Houses of Lancaster and York. Disappointingly there are no dates on either chart. The story follows these women’s lives from 1467 to 1484 through times of turbulence and change.

Lovers of women’s historical fiction will enjoy this addition to this much written about period of British history. The dialogue aims at an archaic expression and there is some reference to the clothing and fashions popular at the time. I really struggled to finish this book; at nearly 500 pages it might have been better to limit the scope either with fewer characters or a shorter timeframe. I have not read O’Brien’s previous book featuring the Pastons The Royal Game which might have made me more invested in the characters. Not quite a bodice ripper ‘my heart leapt in joy and fear beneath the confines of my gown’ p.28 but an interesting insight into the machinations of women in a male dominated society.

Themes: British history, Wars of the Roses, Social standing, Family, Marriage.

Sue Speck