An epic tale of the struggles of two star-crossed lovers, The First Princess of Wales is a fictional retelling of the historic relationship between Joan of Kent and Edward, the Black Prince of Wales.

As a young girl, Joan of Kent was sent to the court of King Edward III and Queen Phillipa. Immediately upon her arrival, the instant and life-long affair between herself and Prince Edward began. Plotting to avenge the death of her father, Joan quickly stirred up trouble with the Plantagenets and she became a pawn to the whims of the King and Queen to keep her from stirring up more trouble.

The First Princess of Wales covers 15 years of Joan's life as she faced the ups and downs of love and loss, arranged marriages, and her struggles with her ever-present feelings for Prince Edward, the one man which she feared could never be hers.

When I first began reading this door-stop of a novel, that familiar dread began to creep inside my thoughts. With a very slow beginning, thoughts of slogging through more than 600 pages of this monstrosity more closely resembled the challenge of climbing Mt. Everest. Thankfully, after laboring through the first 50 or so pages, the story took off and never looked back.

The author easily kept the story moving by minimizing mindless dribble and touched on the many important events that shaped this period in history as well as the lives of the main characters. The one pain point that stuck with me was the incessant accounting of clothing and fashion. While I understand the importance of fashion during this era and the need to keep the reader's mindset within the period, it quickly turned to overkill.

With the backdrop of an intriguing, if not historically accurate story, the author did do a wonderful job of embodying the characters' personalities that history would have us believe. Throughout the book, Prince Edward's words and actions reflected the chivalrous, honorable, if sometimes ruthless nature that earned him the moniker of the Black Prince. The same can be said of the plotting, conniving, even devious reputation of Joan.

With the long winter quickly knocking on our doors, grab a copy and a heated blanket and prepare to be sucked in by this unforgettable retelling of two individuals who must overcome daunting obstacles to realize their dreams.

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Publisher: Three Rivers Press (December 26, 2006)
ISBN: 0307237915
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