The Book of Roses is a trilogy of novels taking place in a fictional medieval kingdom that follows the life of Elizabeth, a lowborn servant girl who desires nothing more than a full purse, a warm hearth, and a house to call her own. As events beyond her control push the kingdom toward war and social upheaval, Elizabeth struggles to support herself after she earns the ire of Sir Edward, a troubled young knight whose sense of honour struggles to win out against his violent impulses. Along with Kaylein, a fallen noblewoman who dedicates herself to the church, and Isaac, the rebellious son of a ruthless count, Elizabeth’s life leads her through the trials and tribulations of a feudal kingdom balanced on the brink of chaos and order.
About five years ago, I dipped into the world of historical fiction when I picked up a copy of Ken Follet’s classic The Pillars of the Earth. It didn’t immediately captivate me, but as I read on I found myself getting engrossed in the masterful way Follet blends day to day human drama with the social structures and challenges of a period setting. I would never have thought I could get so invested in medieval church politics and land ownership disputes!
But that’s really the key to any dramatic story – it isn’t the nuances of the setting or plot, but the way the reader invests in them through their attachment to the characters. If you like the protagonists and want them to succeed, you start caring a whole lot about things that might have seemed mundane to you before. Trade guild disputes are much more engrossing when your favourite character’s livelihood hinges on the outcome.
Immediately after finishing Pillars of the Earth, I set about devouring historical fiction hoping to find more stories like this. Unfortunately, nothing quite hit the same spot. Short of Follet’s sequels, it didn’t seem like there was much medieval fiction that struck the same balance of high drama and day to day life. The genre has a tendency of either focusing on specific historical figures or world-changing events (usually politics and war). Neither of these things appealed to me as much as the narrative of original characters living their lives against the backdrop of history. It isn’t the Battle of Hastings that captivates my interest — it’s the story of the farmer who wakes up one morning to the sound of soldiers marching across their field.
So, short of endlessly combing bookshelves for a story that scratched the itch Pillars of the Earth left behind, I decided to write my own. You’ll probably recognise a lot of the DNA if you’re familiar with Ken Follet’s work! I originally envisioned this as a single novel titled Elizabeth of Rosepath, but as I rushed through my first draft it quickly became clear that the scope of the narrative was too large for a single book. The complete story eventually turned into The Book of Roses, comprising three novels titled Elizabeth of Rosepath, A Heart in the Hills, and The Embers of Daylight.
The first draft was very rough, in no small part due to the speed at which I was writing and my attempts to adopt a more straightforward, no-nonsense tone. The Book of Roses was my first foray into the world of medieval fiction, and as such I ended up making various concessions to ease myself into it, the most obvious being its wholly fictional setting. Not having studied history before, I didn’t feel confident setting the story in a real place or time, but I still wanted to evoke the feeling of Europe in the high middle ages. Many of the historical details are based on research of the period from 1100-1300AD, though they draw from a multitude of cultural sources.
But as I said before, history isn’t really my primary interest when it comes to storytelling; it’s the characters and their personal conflicts that drive the narrative. When it comes to fiction, I enjoy the romanticisation of history — the harrowing drama of a dark age combined with the wholesome warmth of humanity persisting in spite of it. This was what kept me writing as I worked through my drafts of The Book of Roses. It’s a story about injustice and cruelty, freedom and hope, sacrifice and destitution, family, romance, faith, and belonging. All the juicy conflicts that keep me turning the pages when I’m glued to a good novel!
After many cuts and edits, the first two books are finally finished and ready to publish, with the third (and two additional novels based in the same setting) coming later in 2024. If you’re a fan of historical fiction, medieval drama, low fantasy, or stories that focus on little people fighting on through life-changing events, give the series a look! It might just be your thing.
The first novel will be available as a free ebook, which you can download here.
Image by pvproduction on Freepik.
Kelly River 