The Fatal Crown

Historical fiction at its semi-best. It covers Empress Maud's life, focusing on the Englich Civil War between her and Stephen. Adding a pretext that could never be uncovered by archeology was a good idea (Maud and Stephen being the requisite lovers). The author actually carried it off quite well for the first third of the book. The middle third was average for the genre. The last third I was pushing myself through because I couldn't remember how that war ended (Stephen won, though the crown went to Maud's son and not Stephen's). It didn't put me to sleep, and I only skimmed occasionally. That's pretty good for this type of book. I did notice a few things that marked this as the author's first book, so I can overlook a lot. It was decent enough that I would go for her second publication and see how the writing improves. ( )