 First edition (original title) | |
| Author | Karen Harper |
|---|---|
| Original title | Sweet Passion's Pain |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Historical fiction |
| Publisher | Zebra Books |
Publication date | 1984 |
The First Princess of Wales (originally published as Sweet Passion's Pain) is a 1984 historical fiction novel by American author Karen Harper. Set during the 14th-century, it follows the romance between Joan of Kent and Edward, the Black Prince.
Set during the reign of Edward III of England in the 14th-century, the novel follows the romance between Joan of Kent and Edward's eldest son, Edward, the Black Prince.
The First Princess of Wales was written by American author Karen Harper and published as her third novel. [1] Harper was inspired to become a writer by the Anya Seton novel Katherine , as well as her many visits to English historical sites. [2] After publishing her first novel in 1982, Harper left her job teaching British literature to become a professional author. [3] [4]
Near the time of the novel's publication in 1984, Harper was in part inspired by the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer, particularly when the newly married couple appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace together. Later, however, Harper felt the romance between Edward and Joan in her novel better resembled the "longtime, sometimes secret love between Prince Charles and Camilla", as the author felt both couples faced opposition from their respective families. [5]
The novel was first published in 1984 as Sweet Passion's Pain by Zebra Books before being re-released as The First Princess of Wales. [1] [6] Three Rivers Press published it in paperback in December 2006. [7] In a 2006 review, Publishers Weekly praised the author for "breath[ing] a lust for life into history's distant icons" and for "keep[ing] the tension taut as she weaves together the many subplots into a first-rate epic. Love prevails in a grand fashion at the end." [6]
Princess of Wales is a title used since the 14th century by the wife of the Prince of Wales. The princess is a likely future queen consort, as Prince of Wales is a title reserved by custom for the heir apparent to the British throne, and earlier the English throne. When the title was first recorded it was not connected to the English throne; it developed in an independent Wales when it was held by Eleanor de Montfort, the wife of the native prince of Wales Llywelyn ap Gruffydd. As of 2024 Catherine, née Middleton, is Princess of Wales.
Joan, Countess of Kent, known as the Fair Maid of Kent, was the mother of King Richard II of England, her son by her third husband, Edward the Black Prince, son and heir apparent of King Edward III. Although the French chronicler Jean Froissart called her "the most beautiful woman in all the realm of England, and the most loving", the appellation "Fair Maid of Kent" does not appear to be contemporary. Joan inherited the titles 4th Countess of Kent and 5th Baroness Wake of Liddell after the death of her brother John, 3rd Earl of Kent, in 1352. Joan was made a Lady of the Garter in 1378.
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Margaret Wake, suo jure3rd Baroness Wake of Liddell and Countess of Kent, was the wife of Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent, the youngest surviving son of Edward I of England and Margaret of France.
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Marguerite Marie Alibert, also known as Maggie Meller, Marguerite Laurent, and Princess Fahmy, was a French socialite. She started her career as a prostitute and later courtesan in Paris, and from 1917 to 1918, she had an affair with the prince of Wales. After her marriage to Egyptian aristocrat Ali Kamel Fahmy Bey, she was frequently called princess by the media of the time. In 1923, she killed her husband at the Savoy Hotel in London. She was eventually acquitted of the murder charge after a trial at the Old Bailey.
Works cited