Book Review: The Puritan Princess by Miranda Malins

 

Title: The Puritan Princess

Author: Miranda Malins

Publisher: Orion

Release Date: 4th April 2021 (Paperback Edition)

Synopsis: London, 1657

The youngest daughter of Oliver Cromwell, eighteen-year-old Frances is finding her place at England's new centre of power.

Following the turmoil of Civil War, a fragile sense of stability has returned to the country. Her father has risen to the unprecedented position of Lord Protector of the Commonwealth, and Frances has found herself transported from her humble childhood home to the sumptuous palaces of Hampton Court and Whitehall, where she dreams of a love match that must surely be found at court.

But after an assassination attempt on the Cromwell family, Frances realises the precarious danger of her position - and when her father is officially offered the crown, Frances's fate suddenly assumes diplomatic and dynastic importance.

Will she become a political pawn, or can Frances use her new status to seize control and further her own ambitions? 

Review: 

It's probably a terrible thing to say, but history to me has always felt like fiction. An elaborate ongoing epic drama that never ceases to entertain and impress. I used to spend hours thinking about conversations Henry VIII would have had and as I walk through London, imagine walking through the same footsteps. But tangent...

One of the first genres I started to read as an adult was Historical Fiction. I had loved History at school, gone on to study it at University and even went so far as to write a dissertation that attempted to look at how propaganda has created a negative impact on the character of Anne Boleyn in the 21st century media. I promise this is going somewhere. I immersed myself in these worlds so vividly brought to life by authors, even when extreme artistic licenced was used. But I also fixed myself in somewhat of a bubble, as does a lot of media. We love the Tudors it's an endless fascination, but I never seemed to go past Elizabeth. It wasn't like history suddenly paused for a bit and jumped three hundred years aged, it was just a bit of a grey area. I realised I hadn't read much historical fiction past that point and so when I picked up The Puritan Princess it was like meeting an old friend, who'd grown a few years and had a new story to tell, and I slipped into blissfully. 

First off the cover is beaUTIFUL, there's a softness to the text in a beautiful gold cursive font set against this royal blue, but all the while you're reminded of the omens within with the harshness of the hansmans noose. The crown to the throne never came easily eh. My English teacher once said my writing was quite flowery, she might have well had a point. So lets get into it!

Like much historical fiction in The Puritan Princess we see the history of Oliver Cromwell play out through the eyes of his family, specifically his daughter Frances and her struggle to make something of herself in a world where decisions were made about her not by her. Frances is in an interesting situation in that she, like her family, was not born into gentry they rose, and quickly to the highest position of power in England, during one of the most politically turbulent times in a period when all you had was political turmoil. This gives her a different edge almost immediately. She is not expecting of anything, she is adaption into a world that was not defined for her, but she is embracing. It grounded her as a character and always made you realise how different this time in history really was.

We get to understand the situations of the world on a macro and micro level seen and understood through Frances's eyes. I had never much through about Cromwell as a man, or as a father, as someone who would come to Hampton Court on weekends, starting the weekend trend! I don't know how factually true this is but I LOVE the idea or this origin. She is of course a bias opinion, naïve in her initial idolisation of her father:

But what I particularly liked about Frances' character was how headstrong she was right from the beginning. She saw the world around her, and drank it in, and wanted to advance herself on her own terms by carving her own way, early on she proclaims "We must start living our own lives. Today" which really hit me. This wasn't an opinion someone in her position could have but it was a girl I could get behind, someone I would worry for when the blueprint for the life of a 'princess'  played out. She was astute and carried this throughout questioning whether she is the keeper of burden for her fathers actions, whether she will be remembered in the same light as him or of her own accord. This lead to some really sensitive and touching moments that drew you through the politics and into the personal. 

We know where history is going, we know it does not end well from Cromwell. We're even given that in a harrowing scene set at Tyburn rights at the very beginning, but its the journey that we go on with Frances to get to that point that we care about. The love and the struggle, the political struggle of Cromwell  vs the Crown and the way in which this changing world constantly hangs on a political tightrope.  

This book reminded me why I enjoy historical fiction, the Historical Notes at the end brought me in as much as the novel and brought me closer to a period of history I had almost neglected.  

About the Author: 

Miranda is a writer and historian specialising in the history of Oliver Cromwell, his family and the politics of the Interregnum period following the Civil Wars. She studied at Cambridge University, leaving with a PhD, and continues to speak at conferences and publish journal articles and book reviews. She is also a Trustee of the Cromwell Association. Alongside this, Miranda works as a commercial solicitor in the City and began writing historical novels on maternity leave. She lives in Hampshire with her husband, young son and cat Keats. Her debut novel, The Puritan Princess, is published in 2020

Author's Website: https://mirandamalins.com/

You can also find Miranda on Twitter @MirandaMalins