A Triple Knot by Emma Campion
Set in the England of the Middle Ages, this is the true story of a couple in love who refused to be parted by political forces and differences in rank. Joan, Countess of Kent, the niece of King Edward III of England, was very unusual for her era.
Joan, who was considered quite a beauty in the middle ages, fell in love for all the right reasons with Sir Thomas Holland. He was, unfortunately, much older than she, and he was also below her in rank. This match was challenged, and she was forced into a second, loveless marriage to another nobleman who was chosen by the men in her life who used her as a political tool. Her second husband and her cousin, The Black Prince, all refused to allow her to return to Sir Thomas, who was, in reality, her legal husband.
This novel depicts her prolonged emotional, political, and legal struggles with both her second husband and with her cousin, the heir to the throne, Edward, the Black Prince, neither of whom wanted her to return to Sir Thomas because both of them wanted her.
The characters are richly developed and complex. The setting is described in exquisite detail and at a careful pace, which builds suspense as Joan fights to claim the legitimacy of the marriage to her one true love. While history has conflicting accounts of Joan’s affections, Emma Campion does an outstanding job to portray an image of Joan that will leave even non-historical readers clamoring for more.
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