Daughter of York: A Novel
Smith's plodding second historical novel (afterA Rose for the Crown) opens in 1461 with 15-year-old Margaret of York mourning the deaths of her father, Richard, duke of York, and brother Edmund, recently slain in battle against the Lancastrians. Eldest brother Edward raises an army of his own, routs King Henry and Queen Margaret and marches into London, where he's crowned king. The novel's heroine falls in love with the married Sir Anthony Woodville, and their romance evolves slowly and passionately, though she is later married off to Charles, duke of Burgundy. Margaret's new husband takes no pains to please her in bed or out of it, and she never bears any children. She keeps busy with court intrigue, though, as it falls to her to maintain the alliance between her husband and brother Edward. Smith's sincere attempt to breathe life into two-dimensional historical personages is bogged down by superfluous detail and stilted dialogue.(Feb.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.