This Scepter’d Isle

If you accept the idea that the Elves of Celtic legend were real and interacted with the mortal world, then the “Doubled Edge” series is faithful to the actual facts of Tudor history. The Elves of the Bright Court draw their power from human happiness, the Dark Court thrives on human misery. The series begins with both courts foreseeing three futures — one in which a king deadens the joy in England, but does not bring actual misery, one in which a queen brings terrible misery and one in which a queen brings joy and creativity. In some way, the third foreseeing is linked to a red-haired royal baby. Since both courts see the same three futures, each tries to bring about the one that best suits their needs and to keep the other court at bay.

This is the first book of four in this series and covers the period from Henry VIII’s early infatuation with Anne Boleyn to her death. The human character that this volume revolves around is Henry Fitzroy, King Henry VIII’s illegitimate son, who somehow is important to the survival of the red-haired babe. The Bright Court Elf assigned to protect him, Denoriel, is one of two sets of twins whose lives become intertwined as the series goes on. The book ends with an attempt by the Dark Court to abduct the “red-haired babe” (now revealed as the future Elizabeth I) after Anne’s death. The attempt fails, but both Denoriel and Fitzroy are seriously injured. They are taken to an Elven healer and both require a prolonged period of healing. Denoriel’s absence from the mortal world can easily be explained, but Fitzroy must apparently die in the mortal world to allow him to be healed and live on.

This is one of the neat ways the plot is reconciled with “real world” happenings throughout the series. The reader is so drawn into the fictional history that books describing the actual history of the period seem to be incorrect. An occasional reality check is in order if the reader can put the book down for that long.

Ms Lackey has taken Middle Ages history and made it come alive, introducing Underhill, elves magic, and making it all seem real. Good elves, bad fairies,al interwoven with history. a fantastic read.

excellent book. Anew genre? Historical fairy tales? going to start the second in the series win as I already had it in paperback

Excellent !!! I could not put it down. If you have not read this series you’re definitely missing something. It’s not only very entertaining but will give you some historical information on England regarding Henry VIII’s reign and his heir(s). Like I said I really loved this series. Thank you to the authors for the lovely gift of storytelling and for sharing it with the rest of the world.

this alternate history (or really an alternate ‘explanation’ for the reasons behind the history of England) book is absolutely amazing. This whole series is mindblowingly awesome. a MUST read

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