Finished late last night: FIGURES IN SILK by Vanora Bennett, 2009.
Fine, smoothly written narrative, with plenty of period details, set during the period after the Wars of the Roses. The story concerns the Lambert sisters, Isabel and Jane, each of whom becomes the mistress of a king. Jane, who marries and divorces Will Shore, becomes the mistress of King Edward IV. Isabel becomes unknowingly acquainted with Richard of Gloucester, just before her marriage to Thomas Claver. Later, they meet again under other circumstances, and she eventually becomes Richard's mistress. The majority of the story follows Isabel, who, after her husband's untimely demise, chooses to apprentice herself to her mother-in-law, the hard-nosed silkwoman Alice Claver. Isabel has ambitions to break the Lombards' hold on the silk making industry in England and to found her own silk making house. To that end, she establishes connections and forms a network which eventually leads her to ask King Edward for the funds and assistance to set her plans in motion.When Edward dies suddenly, leaving the English throne to his young son, and England is thrown into the turmoil of Richard III, Isabel's life changes dramatically and completely, as does Jane's. I enjoyed Bennett's previous book Portrait of an Unknown Woman very much, but found this novel to be rather slow going and almost tedious in spots. In my opinion, Jane was the more interesting character, and I would have liked more of her story. I did enjoy Bennett's portrayals, however brief, of both Elizabeth Woodville and young Elizabeth of York. A good read, just not as good as I had hoped it would be.