The Queen's Sorrow by Suzannah Dunn (Harper Press)

Dunn is the author of The Sixth Wife and her comfort in Elizabethan English history is obvious in The Queen’s Sorrow.

For once it is the much-maligned Queen Mary, rather than the sexier young Queen Elizabeth, that is the central character.

Written from the perspective of a visiting Spanish sundial-maker, the novel tries to give Queen Mary a depth of character and more sympathetic portrayal than has been traditional.

Unfortunately the stately and precise prose is less than exciting and Mary is much less attractive a subject than her over-described half-sister.

Rafael arrives in England already missing his family and disgusted by the filth and squalor of England.

He’s vaguely interested in a woman at the house he’s quartered in but his homesickness is overwhelming.

Rafael’s companion is irritating – a young man more interested in sex and booze than getting the job done – and his first meeting with Queen Mary is a disaster.

As Mary’s life begins its downward descent, Rafael finds himself more involved in English affairs than he had ever thought to be.

The Queen’s Sorrow is good historical look at a Queen who’s perceived as being the evil version of golden Elizabeth I.

However, the prose and too many historical details as well as a sort of ‘coldness’ to the personalities makes this a book that’s hard to love.

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