The Marriage of Meggotta

Rating:
Summary: Sad, but Beautiful
Review: I just finished reading this book, which I found very entertaining, well-written, and thoroughly researched, with characters that stay with you after the book is returned to the shelf.
The aftermath is sad, the more becuase it is true, but the love shared by Richard and Meggotta is one of a kind.
I highly recommend it!

Rating:
Summary: A grim, but very worthwhile read
Review: I picked this book by accident in the library, and found myself unexpectedly and whole-heartedly enthralled by it. Set in the time of Henry III, it describes a true Romeo and Juliet story of Margaret (Megotta) who falls in love with her father's ward Richard. They plan to marry, but when the king's displeasure is turned toward the family, they are forbidden to do so, for Richard is a politically-important pawn of great wealth. Richard and Margaret defy the king and marry, but how long can they keep it a secret, and what can they hope for?

One of the things that makes the story so emotional and moving to read is that it is a true story. Richard, Megotta and all the others really lived. They are not just shadowy imaginings of an author. They are both very young, not even teenagers, when their love affair takes place, and Ms Pargeter treats this topic with sensitivity. After all, this is consistent with a society where girls often became mothers at twelve. The story IS touching, deeply romantic and tragic, but never maudlin or mawkish.

The youthful love story of Richard and Megotta is contrasted with the adult story of Simon de Montfort and the king's sister (excellently portrayed in Sharon Kay Penman's "Falls the Shadow") There's more to it then love, however. Ms Pargeter describes the chilling atmosphere at the court of Henry III and the ruthless power-play behind the scenes. It is a place which will make an average modern dictatorship appear benign by contrast. As in her "Bloody field by Shrewsbury" and the Gwynedd brothers quartet, Ms Pargeter created a spell-binding book.

I really recommend it, but advise the readers to have the kleenexes handy. I was not able to stay dry-eyed by the end.