I've read some of Tracy Borman's nonfiction, so I wanted to give this fictional trilogy a try. Lady France Gorges was a real person, but little is actually known about her life, leaving plenty of room for a novelist. Frances is imagined as a talented herbalist, which places her life in danger after the death of Queen Elizabeth I. The new king, James I, is determined to root out witchcraft and Frances soon finds herself labeled a witch. She escapes death by luck, but shortly afterwards she discovers the man she's become fond of is part of a treasonous plot against the king. The schemes and sense of danger help to propel the plot forward and made for highly enjoyable reading. This novel is a must-read for historical fiction fans. ( )

Ridiculously wordy and too ambitious in theme. This book should have been divided into 2 novels: one dealing with the plight of women & witch-hunting, & the other, the Gunpowder Plot. I found myself skimming huges swathes of overly descriptive prose. It felt like it hadn´t been edited at all. ( )

https://icedteadiaries.blogspot.com/2018/08/the-kings-witch-by-tracy-borman.html ( )

In 1603, Queen Elizabeth the First died, with Frances Gorges by her side, easing her death with her herbal knowledge. Frances was then allowed to ‘escape’ from court for a year, spending her time at the family estate, tending the garden and making up remedies. Then her highly placed uncle forces her to return to court, to be the Lady of the Bedchamber to Princess Elizabeth, daughter of the new King James. This is a tense position to be in; James is a witch hunter and the women with the arts of healing and herbs are pretty much considered to all be witches. James is also very anti-Catholic, and pretty much only listens to his young, male favorites. Frances has no desire to play the court games of currying favor; she takes her job of being companion and maid to the princess seriously and the only courtier she trusts is Thomas Wintour, who may not be what she thinks he is... .it’s a time of unrest in general and her own position and life are put in danger when she heals Queen Anne of a fever, bringing her to the attention of Robert Cecil, the Lord of the Privy Seal. She accidentally becomes involved with the Gunpowder Plot, a plot to unseat James that most of us Yanks only know about as a yearly event in the UK to blow off fireworks on Guy Fawkes Day.

The book is well written; I felt a great deal of sympathy for Frances. The court was a dangerous place, and the author skillfully creates the claustrophobic air that would have existed. I loved the attention to detail. This book is the first of a projected trilogy, so there is no conclusion to Frances’s story, but a chapter in her life is definitely over. I have no idea what happened to the real Frances, so an air of suspense still exists. Four stars. ( )

Lady Frances knows herbs and plants, which she can put to good use as a healer. She would much rather spend her time at her parents estate than at court. Elizabeth 1st has now died and James 1st is on the throne. For healers like Frances it is a dangerous time as the King wants to rid the land of witches.

I really wanted to like this book. It's historical fiction which I enjoy and has a theme of witchcraft. I really wanted to get lost in the time period but was struggling with the book.

May contain mild spoilers.

The story was very slow. I was plodding along waiting for the interesting parts. The story did take about two hundred pages for me to have a little interest. The first part for me was too descriptive with the plants, herbs and what clothing people were wearing. When Frances is in danger because of being healer and with the witchcraft theme I did beging to enjoy the book. The story then takes a turn and Frances is now involved with the gunpowder plot and the witchcraft seems to be forgotten.

I felt this book was overlong. There is plenty of history in the story and I would say very well researched. I did find myself skipping pages which were just descriptions of the plants, smells and surroundings. I'm sorry I couldn't gel with this book but I found it a hard slog. ( )