Product Description

The story begins in 1450, when civil unrest sweeps England and the struggle for the crown is at its peak. Deep in a western forest, a baby is born. Powerful forces plot to kill both mother and child, but somehow the newborn girl survives. Her name is Anne.

Fifteen years later, England has a charismatic young king, Edward IV, and the country has begun to wake from the nightmare of the War of the Roses. When Anne is brought to London to be a servant in the household of a wealthy merchant, her unusual beauty soon provokes jealousy, lust and intrigue. But Anne has one special quality that saves her: her knowledge of herbs and healing. News of her remarkable gift spreads and she is brought to save the life of Edward’s ailing queen.

And so Anne comes to live in the royal palace, and it is here she finds her destiny: to be loved by the king himself.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #45892 in Books
• Published on: 2005-03-14
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

Review
‘Historical fiction gallops to new heights in this debut tale of intrigue, lust and betrayal.’ (Woman’s Own on THE INNOCENT )

‘The reader is taken on a galloping ride through the Middle Ages and the shaky reign of Edward IV, the love of Anne’s life. There’s lust, conspiracy and impressive historical detail to set the scene.’ (Daily Telegraph, Sydney on THE INNOCENT )

‘Court intrigue, forbidden love, bags of incident and a glorious package, the first in a trilogy. Obvious comparisons are made to Philippa Gregory but it is younger and a great deal sexier. I loved it.’ (The Bookseller on THE INNOCENT )

‘This racy tale comes alive with its colourful and often sumptuous descriptions and intriguing plot . . . I can’t wait for the next one.’ (Australian Women’s Weekly on THE INNOCENT )

Synopsis
The story begins in 1450, when civil unrest sweeps England and the struggle for the crown is at its peak. Deep in a western forest, a baby is born. Powerful forces plot to kill both mother and child, but somehow the newborn girl survives. Her name is Anne. Fifteen years later, England has a charismatic young king, Edward IV, and the country has begun to wake from the nightmare of the War of the Roses. When Anne is brought to London to be a servant in the household of a wealthy merchant, her unusual beauty soon provokes jealousy, lust and intrigue. But Anne has one special quality that saves her: her knowledge of herbs and healing. News of her remarkable gift spreads and she is brought to save the life of Edward's ailing queen. And so Anne comes to live in the royal palace, and it is here she finds her destiny: to be loved by the king himself.

About the Author
Posie Graeme-Evans was born in England but travelled all over the world with her parents, a novelist and an Australian spitfire fighter pilot. Posie has worked in the Australian film and television industry for the last 25 years as an editor, director and producer on hundreds of prime time television programmes including the number one drama series McLeod'sDaughters and the worldwide pre-school phenomenon Hi-5. Posie has two daughters, both named Emma, and a son Julian. She is currently the Director of Drama for the Nine Network, and lives in Sydney with her husband and creative partner, Andrew Blaxland.

Customer Reviews

An enjoyable, light read
I really liked 'The Innocent'. It was a light read but enjoyable with just enough intrigue and romance to keep it moving and I wanted to keep turning pages to see what would happen next. I really liked Anne too, but at times I feel she was just a little bit too 'nice'. There's nothing wrong with being nice, but at times I wished she had a little bit more dimension to her.

Sometimes I felt that her beauty was overplayed though. Everyone she meets, and I mean EVERYONE, is struck dumb by her beauty and even if someone is in a foul murderous mood, one glance at Anne and they're turned into a blithering idiot who is willing to do her bidding no matter what. It's a bit overdone.

My only other complaint is that I feel the reveal of her parentage was a bit rushed and it just seemed a bit thin. There's no argument or questions or queries or doubt from anyone...it's quite a big deal when it comes, but the response is usually just "Oh really? OK then." Given the circumstances I'd have liked a little more effort rather than blind acceptance.

I'd recommend the book though, especially if you like a good costume drama, it's easy to get into and as long as you're not put off by quite rough sex scenes, it's a good book.

I'm looking forward to the second and third books.

Enthralling and startlingly different!

On first reading I thought: 'fiction has never been so fabulous!'

This is so absorbing, and the writing and composing of various scenes throughout the narrative are so cleverly done, one is enthralled from the outset! With such deep and intricate detail, one cannot find this in any way tedious whilst being extremely descriptive. This sort of writing creates far more 'reality' to be enjoyed in a way that leaves the reader wanting more, and as this is the first in a trilogy, was no bad idea!

I had to pinch myself at times to prove that none of this was really happening - so vivid were the incidents and characters. After just the first two chapters I just knew I would have to read all three of this wonderful trilogy without a doubt.

Many reviewers I see have had cause to comment on the raunchy and explicit sex scenes - sometimes in a way as if these did not take place in medieval times. One forgets that sex has been a part of everyone's life since the beginning of time, and therefore has always been a 'creative' part of most people's existence. The scenes may have been 'racy' to say the least, but have been cleverly done, and woven in beautifully with the plot, and anyone who reaches the finale of this first book and is not carried away with the marvellous scenes that take place in the confines of the palace and the most unlikely of settings, must be reading with their eyes firmly closed!

Great stuff!

Delightful
I am an avid reader, and saw this in my 'page' due to the price i decided to give it a go..
I have enjoyed every single page.
The book has received some criticism due to the ranchy sex scences, i do agree that they are not needed - however it does break the book up, and show that even though the book is set in 1400's marital relations are still marital relations. Although Aveline's mistreatment is cringeworthy, the tenderness between anne and the king can only make people jealous of the lack of that kind of feeling in their own lifes!
Anne is a lovely character, sometimes authors struggle with heroines, making them either too soft and silly or too harsh to understand. However Annes strength is admirial without being too much.
I really did enjoy the book, and i think the triology are well worth reading!