Watch the Lady by Elizabeth Fremantle

Watch the LadyNarrated by Georgina Sutton and Roy McMillan

Watch the Lady is a fascinating piece of historical fiction based on the life of Lady Penelope Rich, the sister of Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex. Penelope is widely believed to have been the inspiration for Sir Philip Sydney’s famous sonnet sequence, Astrophel and Stella; and her life was an unconventional one, to say the very least. She was beautiful, possessed of a fine mind, took a keen interest in politics and, for a woman of the time, was able to live life on her own terms, sustaining a long-term relationship with a man to whom she was not married while at the same time retaining the favour of the queen, who was not a woman tolerant of any sort of impropriety among her ladies.

The story takes place in the later part of the sixteenth century, in the last twenty-five years or so of Elizabeth I’s reign. Penelope Devereux is the step-daughter of the queen’s favourite, Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester, who married Penelope’s widowed mother against Elizabeth’s wishes; and while Leicester managed to regain his position at court, Penelope’s mother did not and has been permanently banished. At eighteen, Penelope takes up a position among the queen’s ladies, and not long after that, is informed that she is to be married to Lord Rich. She is devastated by this news, having believed herself to have been betrothed to the handsome soldier-poet Philip Sydney, with whom she has fallen in love.

But that betrothal was long since broken, and now she can do nothing but submit to her step-father’s – and the queen’s – will that she marry Rich, whose wealth will go a long way towards filling her family’s empty coffers.

Already resentful at the queen’s treatment of her mother, this is another mark against Elizabeth in Penelope’s book; and it’s the beginning of an antipathy that will see Penelope making overtures of friendship to King James of Scotland long before he was named as Elizabeth’s successor, and in her taking part in Essex’s failed rebellion of 1601.

While the bulk of the story, especially in the early stages, is told from Penelope’s point of view, as the book progresses, we hear more and more from the Essex camp’s greatest rival, Robert Cecil, the son of Elizabeth’s chief advisor, Lord Burghley. Cecil plays a long game, watching and scheming over the years and waiting for his opportunity to bring down the ascendant Essex, whom he has hated since they were boys.

The story is rich in historical detail and Ms Freemantle brings Elizabeth’s court to life in vivid colour, with its atmosphere of back-biting, treachery and jostling for position. The principal characters are strongly drawn: Penelope – a shrewd, clever woman, is determined to do the best for the brother she loves; Essex – mercurial, headstrong and adored by almost everyone, is never content; Cecil, in the background, gradually gaining power and confidence, is desperate to win his father’s approval; Elizabeth, the ageing monarch who nonetheless maintains an iron grip on just about everything around her, but who, in refusing to name her successor, is responsible for much political unrest.

Ms Freemantle’s writing is excellent and her research has clearly been extensive. But this is no dry history lesson; the author writes a touching, intense and ultimately heart-breaking love story between Penelope and Sydney, and renders the listener on edge during the sequence of events which lead to Essex’s downfall. It’s a terrific story, and although I haven’t read or listened to anything by this author before, I intend to rectify that situation very soon.

The main reason I selected this title for review was because one of the narrators is Georgina Sutton, whose performance in Georgette Heyer’s The Corinthian (AG / AAR) I enjoyed very much. She has a mellow, slightly husky voice which is very attractive, and because it sits in the contralto register, she performs the male characters easily. Her portrayals of Penelope’s love-interests – Philip Sydney and Charles Blount – are both very good, sounding appropriately masculine and, in Sydney’s case, impassioned and romantic. Her husband, Lord Rich, sounds stuffy and, at times, menacing, and Elizabeth is often brusque, her tone bright and clipped with a hard edge that suits the imperious, ageing queen. Ms Sutton does an equally good job in her interpretations of Essex and Cecil (pronounced “Cicil”), conveying the former’s confidence and charm as expertly as his bouts of mania, and giving Cecil an air of quiet, authoritative calm.

Roy McMillan isn’t a narrator I’ve heard before, but he acquits himself creditably here, reading those sections of the story that are told from Robert Cecil’s point of view. His pleasant, cultured tones are easy to listen to, although I felt he could have slowed down just a fraction. While he portrays many of the same characters as does Ms Sutton, the majority of his narrative consists of Cecil’s thoughts and introspection. He differentiates well between the characters he performs, but I didn’t find his interpretations to be as colourful or engaging as his co-narrator’s.

That is a very minor reservation, however, because both narrators do a splendid job, and I’d certainly recommend Watch the Lady to anyone looking to enjoy a well-written and performed piece of Historical Fiction.

Caz


Narration: Georgina Sutton A- / Roy McMillan B

Book Content: B+

Steam Factor: You can play it out loud

Violence Rating: Minimal

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Watch the Lady was provided to AudioGals by Simon & Schuster for a review.

Below is the Simon & Schuster excerpt:

Below is the Penguin Audio (UK) excerpt – same book/narrators:

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