I am excited to say I am part of the blog tour for The Stone Rose by Carole McGrath for Accent Press today. Thank you for the copy of this book and my invitation to the tour.
London, 1350. Agnes, daughter of a stonemason, is struggling to keep her father’s trade in a city decimated by plague. And then she receives a mysterious message from the disgraced Queen Isabella: mother of King Edward III, and widow of Edward II. Isabella has a task that only Agnes can fulfil. She wants her truth to be told.
Much has been whispered of the conflicts in Isabella and Edward’s marriage. Her greed and warmongering. His unspoken love for male favourites. But as Agnes listens to Isabella, she learns that she can be of help to the queen – but can either woman choose independence, follow her own desires, and survive?
The sweeping third instalment of Carol McGrath’s acclaimed She-Wolves Trilogy: the gripping series exploring the tumultous lives and loves of three queens of England – and of three women who lived in their shadow.
Based on the extraordinary true story of the female stonemason who carved a queen’s tomb!
The Stone Rose by Carol McGrath is the third book in the She-Wolf trilogy. A historical fiction trilogy that has been meticously researched and written so well that I found utterly so hard to tell where the fiction started and the facts ended.
I found myself totally immersed in Queen Isabella’s reign and her life too. The daughter of the king of France married to Edward II, she knows her role as Queen Consort well. We are shown how this regal woman lived and the times she lived in so vividly that I was in her world throughout.
I have always been a history nerd and this is a series that has spun its magic for me. Carol McGrath has the skill of being an exceptional storyteller while weaving the historical details deftly throughout the story. Her character building breathes life into historical figures from so long ago so they become vivid and so relatable.
This is not just a story of Queen Isabella, but also of a female stonemason, Agnes who is inspired by a real historical figure of that time. She is contacted by Isabella and tasked with an immense job for a woman of that time.
Carole McGrath has done a great job of humanising these characters. Isabella is a Queen from hundreds of years ago but she feels like a living and breathing woman as I turned the pages to find out more. A brilliant ending to the She-Wolves Trilogy .
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About the Author
Carol McGrath is the author of the acclaimed She-Wolves Trilogy, which began with the hugely successful The Silken Rose and continues with the brand new The Damask Rose. Born in Northern Ireland, she fell in love with historical fiction at a young age, when exploring local castles, such as Carrickfergus, and nearby archaeological digs – and discovering some ancient bones herself.
While completing a degree in history, she became fascinated by the strong women who were silenced in record, and was inspired to start exploring their lives. Her first novel, The Handfasted Wife, was shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists’ Association Awards, and Mistress Cromwell was widely praised as a timely feminist retelling of Tudor court life. Her novels are known for their intricacy, depth of research and powerful stories.
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