Book review: A Woman of Noble Wit by Rosemary Griggs

Dramatised life of a Devon wife during the turbulent Tudor era and her romance with the dashing privateer Walter Raleigh.

Story

Devon 1527.  Katherine Champenowne, daughter of well-connected but impoverished Devon gentry, is married off at thirteen to the son of a moody local landowner. She knuckles down to her duties, learning to run the house and providing heirs. Then on a chance voyage, she glimpses seafarer and privateer Walter Raleigh and is smitten. Fate later provides the chance for her to be with her love, yet rising tensions between Catholics and reforming Protestants incite violence and danger even in Devon, putting Katherine and her extended family at risk.

Setting

The author is highly knowledgeable about Tudor History, and the Champenowne family is only one step away from the royal machinations of Henry VIII, Edward VI and Queen Mary. London courtly infighting has serious implications for distant counties, not least the ports of Dartmouth and Plymouth. The historical context is evoked in detail: I had no idea how much violence was wreaked between Catholics and Protestants in cities like Exeter. 

Rosemary Griggs clearly delights in the natural beauty of Devon, and her descriptions of woodland and coastal landscapes take you down shady lanes and into rocky coves. Sixteenth century cities of London and Exeter are accurately depicted. Domestic detail, especially of Tudor fashions, foods and customs, is carefully described.

Characters

Katherine narrates almost all the book and combines a strong sense of her wifely duty with a wilder, outspoken streak, visible when she is riding her horse or out at sea. Her first husband, Otho, is distant and obsessed with matters military. Occasional chapters from his point of view show some reasons for his behaviour, yet I lacked sympathy for him. Walter, on the other hand, who has more chapters in the second half of the book, is a true romantic hero, risking his life for his reformist beliefs yet utterly devoted to his beloved Katherine.

My opinion

Whilst the story of the Tudor royal court is very familiar, I was not aware that Henry’s struggle to get an heir and the rule of “Bloody Mary” had such reverberations in Devon. The first half of the novel is very much rooted in matters domestic, with a quiet pace. While this was a fascinating insight into the daily life of the great houses of Devon, and the pressures on women to produce an heir, I felt the novel really picked up in the second half, once Katherine and Walter are together and the external environment becomes more dangerous. Walter’s scenes are action packed and full of peril, while poor Katherine is mostly stuck at home receiving news from her extended family.

A Woman of Noble Wit will appeal to Tudor enthusiasts, and particularly those with a special interest in Devon. Certainly sparked my interest in revisiting Dartmouth.

The author has written two other novels in the "Daughters of Devon" series.

Author website: https://rosemarygriggs.co.uk/

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