THE KING'S MISTRESS

Campion’s novel is an intriguing look into the story of Alice Salisbury, a mistress of King Edward III of England. While Salisbury has been described as a wicked woman who was greedy and conniving, Campion’s elaborate novel strives to moderate this view. Donada Peters narrates with confidence in a crisp, articulate style. Her voice is regal and elegant but perhaps better suited for a story about an actual queen rather than the first-person narration of an extremely young lady-in-waiting who found herself a bewildered mistress to the king. Although Peters’s narration is enjoyable, a less mature-sounding narrator would have enhanced Campion’s desire to show Salisbury as young, naïve, and historically misunderstood. A.R.H. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2011]