• Publisher:   Atria
• Number Of Pages:   406
• Publication :   2005-06-14
• ISBN-10 / ASIN:   0743272226
• ISBN-13 / EAN:   9780743272223

The year is 1450, a dangerous time in medieval Britain. Civil unrest is at its peak and the legitimacy of the royal family is suspect. Meanwhile, deep in the forests of western England, a baby is born. Powerful forces plot to kill both mother and child, but somehow the newborn girl survives. Her name is Anne.

Fifteen years later, England emerges into a fragile but hopeful new age, with the charismatic young King Edward IV on the throne. Anne, now a young peasant girl, joins the household of a wealthy London merchant. Her unusual beauty provokes jealousy, lust, and intrigue, but Anne has a special quality that saves her: a vast knowledge of healing . News of her extraordinary gift spreads, and she is called upon to save the ailing queen. Soon after, Anne is moved into the palace, where she finds her destiny with the man who will become the greatest love of her life -- the king himself.

This is a work of romantic historical fiction that takes place in fifteenth century England. A young, barely conscious, and very pregnant gentlewoman is fleeing through the forest with another gentle woman. It all proves too much for the pregnant woman and she dies in the forest, but not before giving birth to a baby girl. The child is left with Deborah, a wise woman and healer who lives in the forest. Named Anne, the child is taught to read and write Latin and do sums by a local priest, while Deborah teaches her domestic skills. When Anne is nearly fifteen, she is placed into service in the household of a wealth London merchant, Matthew Cuttifer, to attend his wife, the Lady Margaret. It is the Cuttifer household that Anne's fame as a skillful herbalist and healer take hold. When The King, himself, Edward IV, hears of Anne's skills, she is summoned to his castle to assist the Queen through the rigors of childbirth. It is through her service in his household that the King takes note of Anne's charms. Before Anne knows it, she finds herself permanently ensconced in the palace. It is there that she awakens to love, as Edward IV has more than a platonic interest in her. It is also there that she discovers her true origins. This knowledge changes her life and conflicts her, as events occur that take on new meaning in the context of her new found knowledge. Fleeing her old life with all of its intrigues and dangers, she hopes to start a new one. This is an interesting, fairly well-written work of romantic historical fiction that is steeped in period detail. It is the first in a trilogy of books. I enjoyed it and expect that I will be reading the remainder of the trilogy.

The Innocent is the first of a trilogy based on a fictitious lover of King Edward IV. The writing is not stellar and the sex scenes, while riveting, tended to embarrass me. All the same I read this and the subsequent two books in the series with great zeal and enjoyment and I was sorry when the last book drew to a close. We become fond of the characters in Posie Graeme-Evans trilogy and it's sad to say goodbye to them even though their speech, thought patterns and beliefs do not accurately reveal those of people in their position during the Medieval Period. Because of the quality of the writing I cannot imagine rereading them at a future date as I have with books whose presentation is more artistic and possesses more veracity. All the same, while I wouldn't recommend them to friends because it is hard to know a person's tolerance for mediocre writing, I wouldn't tell them NOT to read them either. Of the three The Innocent is the most poorly written but it's worth struggling through to become intimate with the characters that are better developed and more believable in the next two books. I gave it four stars because I fell so in love with Anne, King Edward IV, Deborah, Medieval London and Bruges and the author successfully allowed me to inhabit their lives.

Be aware! Spoilers are marked! After many years of delving into Tudor history, I've recently been exploring the years during the Wars of the Roses. I find the advent to the Throne of the House of York quite fascinating. These were tumultous years, when indeed a "nobody" whose only claim to the throne came from a tenuous, illegitimate Plantagenet connection, could found a dynasty and become grandsire to one of Britain's greatest monarchs. Unfortunately, we are all aware that it has recently become the fashion to use this fascinating history as mere backdrop for blazing bodice-rippers which have a closer connection to "Sweet Savage Love" than to anything written by Alison Weir. Without the psychological verisimilitude of SSL, that is. I can understand a well-written historical novel which chooses to speculate about the lives of characters during that era - creating characters, creating theoretical romances, etc. And while I am not a big fan of the titillating sex scenes, they don't necessarily have to put me off. Here are some of what I consider the main problems of this book which I can describe without spoilers: 1. The book gives absolutely NO "scaffolding," so to speak, to the so-called "true love" between Edward VI and Anne (the protagonist). Their relationship, for most of the book, consists of a few soulful looks and some breast grabbing. Rather, the content of the book made ME more aware of what a good match Elizabeth Wydville was for Edward. Both were strategists and both had been around the block a few times. How could Edward find a soul-mate in an untried, innocent teenage girl? Edward was, in the words once used to describe a former President of the United States, "a hard dog to keep on the porch." Why would a so-called sensible girl think that, of all the comely young maidens in the land, SHE was the king's truest love? 2. The characters were two dimensional. How disappointing to be able to predict what would happen to whom. And the entire role of the doctor in the book was very confusing. Supposedly he was a bad person who deserved to be punished, but for what? Sure, he pandered a bit to the king. So did they all. And his medicine was more dangerous than helpful. Also typical of the time. 3. The "love scenes"(read "sex scenes")don't read as true. In my eyes, they all seemed to start when he'd grab her and pull her into a bedroom, molest her a bit, then he'd get distracted and she'd escape. Even at the conclusion of the book, when she supposedly has a "reason" to deny Edward, her feelings of loyalty to someone who was a complete stranger to her seem misplaced. And after all this, when she does make her final decisions about what to do with herself and with Edward, her decision is thrown off with a quick and inexplicable phrase. 4. Not only are the characters shallow in and of themselves, but they are anachronistic. They make decisions based upon 21st century reasoning. True 15th century Britons would find this book very perplexing. 5. I personally did not find the "historical" details so well researched. I myself could create a better ambiance set in the 15th century off the top of my head. If you wish to read an exciting, titillating book in which a young woman at first sight and discovers a secret which gives her the power to challenge kings as their equal, you may enjoy this book. If you think that reading about characters who are "just like you" but live in the past makes good historical fiction, this book is probably for you. ***SPOILERS NOW*** In my opinion, the main premise of this book, which is that a young woman finds "true love" with Edward IV (and this deep understanding of each other comes from a few soulful glances while she serves his wife) but must give up this love because the secret of her birth has been exposed. The secret? That she is the "love-child" of Henry VI and one of his wife's waiting women. (During this period of the Wars of the Roses, there were two anointed Kings who battled for the throne: Henry VI who lost the throne and Edward IV who was the son of the Duke of York and who won the crown in battle.) Graeme-Evans reveals this secret to us as a deus ex machina so that Anne will be forced to deny her love with Edward and go into exile. Why must she go into exile, you wonder? After all, not only is she illegitimate and a woman, but even the proof she has as to her identity and birth are flimsy and basically depend upon the word of two women, one lowborn. Well, according to Graeme-Evans, this dubious ancestry puts her teenage protagonist on a par with Edward IV and any other ruling monarch! As soon as Anne and her cohorts become aware of her birth, an aura of regal bearing envelops this callow girl so that she is endowed with the inborn power to make Dukes cower and a reigning, anointed king to view her as his equal. So much his equal, that in order for him to keep his throne, her existence is a threat which must be diminished one way or another. Now isn't it funny that a few short years later the children of Edward IV and Elizabeth Wydville are disqualified from ruling because his pre-contract with Eleanor Butler taints them with illegitimacy? It was very common for kings to keep their illegitimate children within the family structure, ennobling them and ensuring their futures; while these children were never seen as serious heirs to the throne. And the British were very opposed to the idea of a Queen Regnant. They had had some unpleasant experiences with Queen Isabella and Queen Marguerite (Henry VIs wife), thank you very much. In addition to this, in order to gain the throne, it was basically necessary to raise an army and champion them to victory. NOT skills taught to a young girl raised in a forest by a "wise woman." It's hard enough to think of Anne de Bohun speaking to Edward IV as an equal while looking in his face - but as Joan of Arc? Not likely. I find the reviews written by people who said that they "learned a great deal about history from reading this book" very sad.

Where do I start with this book? Well, recently I've had a problem with not finding a book that can hold my interest. I think I went through about four or five books before I found this little gem. It not only held my interest, but I was so hooked that I read it in two days. I even put down the other book that I was reading to read Posie Graeme-Evans' The Innocent. I wouldn't say the book is amazing, but it definitely caught my attention. The Innocent follows the life of the mysterious Anne. She was born in the forests of England in the 1450s in the midst of a bloody civil war. Fifteen years later she enters the house of Sir Matthew to work as a servant for his wife, Lady Margaret. It isn't long, however, until Anne is pulled into the politics and escapades of the household and is forced down the path to adulthood. After Anne uses her knowledge of to help Lady Margaret, word spreads to King Edward IV, and she is brought to his household to help the queen through the labors of childbirth. It isn't long, of course, until the king takes special notice of Anne and sets out to take her innocence. Even though this book does take a little while to pick up steam, when it does -it's pretty steamy. I was a little surprised by the inclusion of so many sexual comments and scenes because it didn't really seem like what I signed up for after reading the back -but at least most of them seemed to serve a purpose (if slightly overdone). The story particularly picked up in the final third of the book when the focus shifted from romance to political intrigue. I've always been a bigger fan of that than romance, so I was on the edge of my seat when it finally happened. The real star of this novel, however, was the pure, effortless skill woven into Graeme-Evans' prose. It was very easy to read, had short, manageable chapters and details so vivid I could see everything. I was particularly amazed by the writing in this book. Even though the plot and characters weren't amazing, Graeme-Evans is able to convey crystal-clear scenes with astonishing details (this woman definitely did her research!) and just enough words to get the point across without taking away from the plot. However, there are a few small issues that keep this novel from being great. First, some of the characters become a little inconsistent in throughout the novel and tend to be a little flat -of course, this isn't too noticeable, but would definitely help strengthen the novel. It also seems like it takes a long time to get to the plot that was originally advertised with the book, so I felt a little bit like I had to wade through too much before I got to what I was expecting. Overall, The Innocent is an enjoyable, though improbable, historical romance novel that is something of a cross between Ken Follett Pillars of the Earth and Philippa Gregory's Tudor Court novels set in the 15th century. It'll appeal to history lovers and readers who appreciate good world building and intricate detail. An enjoyable and fun read that'll keep you going and leave you wanting more.

I work in a major bookstore in Australia and it was by chance that i came across this book whilst putting stock out. The cover itself caught my eye, and being a fan of historical fiction, i decided to give it a go. The fact that the author is Australian didnt escape my notice either- support local talent lol. The only thing i knew about the author was that she co-wrote a popular tv series called McCleods Daughters, and i thought she was another one of those people that dabbles in all professions- tv, singing, dancing, writing etc etc. Needless to say i was shocked to discover how easily i fell into the story itself. Her writing is very descriptive, but doesnt go overboard and make you feel like your reading a text book, and the story itself has all that you would hope for- romance, mystery, intrigue, deception, courage etc etc. The story focuses on a "peasant" girl called Anne, who is sent to work for a merchants wife in London by her foster mother. Anne has had a rather upbringing, learning from a young age about the power of herbs and believing in a greater diety, not neccessarily God. Her talent for healing is noticed by King Edward, the young handsome man who won his throne after the War of the Roses, and when his frail Queen is close to death, he calls on Anne to save her. A mutual attraction develops between the King and Anne, and eventually grows too powerful to ignore, putting them both in danger as political factions aim to bring the King down anyway they can. Information is discovered about Anne that could lose Edward his throne and ruin all that is between them, and the book ends on a cliffhanger as Anne leaves England, but is it forever? The story is absolutely absorbing, i finished the book in half a day. I loved the suspense emotion that the author created- i was scared when she was scared, i was happy when she was happy, and at times i was so reluctant to change the page in case something bad happened! There were times when i considered stopping the book at happy times, simply because i didnt know what i would do if bad things happened. I grew rather fond of the characters as well. The book has copped alot of critiscism for the sex scenes and the violence, however i think that it adds to the book, when you are as in depth in the book as i was, it seems natural that such things are in it and it added to the emotions and overall storyline as well. All in all i truly believe this is a five star, intense, beautiful book, and book two and three in the series are brilliant as well. The author has done alot of research in the period and has provided beautiful detail, which overall enhances the story itself. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Read if you like Philippa Gregory, Alison Weir, Karen Harper, Robin Maxwell etc.

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