REVIEW: The Adventures of Alianore Audley by Brian Wainwright
Dear Mr Wainwright,
Your debut novel The Adventures of Alianore Audley is a brilliantly funny, subversive spoof that shouldn’t be missed.
Elizabeth Chadwick recommended this book on another list and it was well worth the effort to track down. I try to tell people to imagine a female Blackadder intelligence spy during the War of the Roses and they’ve got Alianore Audley. Smart as a whip with a dry, sarcastic wit, Alianore and her lord and master (who usually is smart enough to do just what she tells him) move through the tumultuous events surrounding the Lancastrians vs the Yorks vs the Tudors and somehow manages through stealth, bribery and blackmail to end up on top and unscathed. It makes trying to follow the plots, counterplots, battles, deceptions and intrigues that make up the Wars of the Roses actually fun. It’s absolutely hilarious but I do have to wonder if the anachronisms were a deliberate move on your part to see who’s paying attention and who’s napping while reading. B+.
~Jayne
I recall reading this at your suggestion. It was very funny. Alianore Audley is a perfect heroine.
Wasn’t this published by Jacobyte? I think I read it, and absolutely thought it was a hoot – had a great time. If it’s the book I’m thinking about, it’s well worth the read. Great prose and action. Fun all the way through.
Yes, it was and that’s where I got my trade paperback with a totally different cover. I paid trade prices and shipping
from Australia and thought it well worth the money. It’s now available at BeWrite in either trade paperback or (boo-hiss) a PDF ebook. I hate Adobe. But the price is right at only £1.00.