Hugh and Bess

Once again, excellent historical novelist Susan Higginbotham brings the fourteenth century to life, this time with the story of Bess de Montacute and Hugh le Despenser. She told the story of Hugh's parents in her previous book, The Traitor's Wife (which I reviewed in April, click the title or here to read my review) and she seamlessly picks up the threads for this part of the tale.

Thirteen year old Bess de Montacute is very unhappy to learn that her parents have chosen a husband for her. Her misery is complete when she learns that her intended husband is none other than Hugh le Despenser, whose father and grandfather were both executed as traitors. On top of that, he is twenty years older than she is. She detests him before they ever show more even meet.

For his part, Hugh has had a hard time of it. He was a prisoner for years after his father was killed and has done his best to show the King that he is loyal and worthy. His saving grace has been Emma, his childhood friend and lover for many years. She hasn't got the birth or wealth he needs to help him regain his family's lost place and so she refuses to marry him herself. With an aching heart, Hugh and Emma agree to sever their romantic relationship but remain close friends.

Though their marriage is frosty at first, Bess and Hugh gradually warm to each other and their growing relationship has a lovely tenderness to it. The many obstacles they encounter serve to draw them close together until neither can imagine why they had the feelings they both did at first.

This book is quite different from The Traitor's Wife , it is both shorter and less complicated. There are fewer outside characters and the tangles of court life are largely avoided. The stars of this story really are Hugh and Bess and their relationship, so the title is completely appropriate. The reader gets a rich, focused tale of complex emotional weight that is has a totally different feel than her first book did but is just as satisfying. I love Susan Higginbotham's books and am so looking forward to her next one! show less

The author kept her reputation for fantastic research and world-building in this book. From the intimate of everyday life to the historical facts of the Black Death and the continuing life of the Despenser clan, Higginbotham made me live the period and kept me engaged throughout the entire novel.

I liked how three-dimensional Higginbotham makers her characters. She impressed me with her humanizing of figures that history likes to demonize n her previous book I read on the early Despensers. And while there aren’t any of those in this book, she still brings her current characters to vivid life in their own right.

I especially liked the third Hugh. Life has thrown a lot of crap his way, but he doesn’t brood and let it destroy the rest of show more his life. He pulls his family together and gives them a firm grounding for the future as their patriarch. He faces his obstacles with a great sense of humor and a vast reservoir of courage that I admired.

Great characters, world-building, and historical research make this another winner from Higginbotham. I liked the other book I’ve by her better, but this is a worthy read itself. Highly recommended for lovers of the genre. show less

Susan Higginbotham's Hugh and Bess is, at its heart, a love story. Forced to marry a man several years her elder, one who also happens to be the son of a traitor to the Crown, Bess de Montecute is less than pleased by her match with Hugh le Despenser. While willing to give his new bride a chance, Hugh's heart is already attached to another. Despite a less than promising beginning, Hugh and Bess gradually grow closer and realize their match was, in fact, a good one.

The strengths of Susan Higginbotham's novels rest with her attention to historical detail and solid character development. Hugh and Bess is no exception. While the primary focus of this novel is on the relationship between the title characters, key political, economic and show more social events of the period are skillfully woven into the story to provide context. The character development is also well done, especially that of Bess, who, over the course of the novel, grows from a sullen, spoiled child into a mature, compassionate and strong young woman.

Well-written and engaging, Hugh and Bess is sure to please fans of historical fiction, especially those interested in the medieval period. Although not necessary, I do recommend that anyone interested in this novel read The Traitor's Wife first, as it tells the story of Hugh's parents. show less

Not to be over dramatic, but this book came at the PERFECT time in my life. I literally JUST finished “Three Day Road” by Joseph Boyden, and while not being a BAD book, it was not an overly HAPPY one. And from the first sentence of Hugh and Bess I knew that it was going to be a delightful read. Which it totally WAS. I LOVED IT.

I really do not know much about Edward II, but interestingly enough I DID know about the standoff at Calais so parts of the book were very cool for that reason. What I LOVED about the novel is that each of the characters had a very distinctive VOICE. And Bess’s voice is so endearing, I liked her immediately. She is only 13 when we meet her, and she is a widow (thaaaat’s right.. I said WIDOW) and her show more parents have figured she had been widowing around long enough and it was high time for her to be married off.. again. Bess is not impressed, to say the least, especially when she finds out that her dear friend Joan is marrying her brother Will who is around their age, and Bess has to marry this old guy who is a whole 32 years old for heaven’s sake!
Eventhough this novel is set in the 14th century Bess's character is, in many ways, very typical of a any thirteen year old girl. For example how she is secretly annoyed at the fact the Joan has developed breasts long before she has.

"So why didn't you tell me? Don't you want to marry Will?"
"No."
"Why?"
"I have my reasons."
This had become Joan's favourite saying since she had started her monthly courses and developed those breasts of hers.

She is feisty, and outspoken, but also self conscious. All completely endearing qualities. Hugh, although relatively handsome, has a dark family history which horrifies Bess. But since she has no choice in the matter agrees to marry him.

Flashbacks to Hugh's past help us to understand his character and how it is vastly different to that of his distasteful and cruel father and Grandfather. He is a respectable and lovely man who is always trying to "do the right thing". We also learn of Emma, Hugh's first real love whom he will never be permitted to marry. A very respectable woman in her own right, who knows the rules of the court well enough to know she will never be married to Hugh, the only man she has ever really loved.

Throughout the story we are gently taken along as Hugh and Bess's feelings for one another grow, and we learn that their love is the stuff of fairy tales. That, which is to say, is not without its nightmares.

"Hugh and Bess" is a love story, and it is very well written and lovely to read. Personally, I could not put it down and read it in two days. And I will be ordering Higginbotham's other book "The Traitor's Wife" and then "The Stolen Crown" when it comes out. If this book is any indication of the story telling ability of the author than I know I will LOVE her other books as well. Historical fiction can be tricky. You need to have enough HISTORY to frame the story in it's place in time, but not TOO much and not TOO DRY to make it like a text book. Higginbotham's historical fiction blends the "historical" and the "fiction" perfectly. In fact, in my opinion, the mark of a great historical fiction novel is that you want to go on after you finish it and devour anything having to do with the family or historical persons portrayed in the book. Higginbotham's novel made me want to do that very thing. Also, the mark of ANY good book is at the very very end, when you finally close its cover , you actually sigh audibly as in "that was SUCH a great book."

RATING: 4.5/5 show less

Set in the 1300s, Hugh and Bess by Susan Higginbotham is a great historical novel about 2 people brought together by fate and there lives under the rule of Edward III.
Elizabeth de Montecute (Bess) is not happy when she learns that she is to be married to Hugh Le Despenser whose father, Hugh Le Despenser the second, was the lover to King Edward II and who was executed in a very gruesome manner along with his grandfather. Young Hugh after the death of his father had to spend sometime in prison under King Edward III, but was released later on and served the King loyally since then. Hugh is always trying to prove himself and that he is nothing like his father and when the King suggests he marries Bess, daughter and heiress of the King's show more closest confidants, Hugh is not pleased but would never let this opportunity pass either.

I loved every art of this story. I think I loved Hugh, inspite of him loving and leaving Emma. But I think what I loved most was "watching" Bess grow from slightly spoilt girl of 13 to a women who was loving, caring and well aware of her duties as a wife of one of the greatest Knights who has led England to many victoreis.

I loved Susan's style of writing, it is smooth, it flows like the calm river and there are no ripples that I can really talk of. There was not even one phase where I was bored. I was reading this book every waking/feeding/ semi-waking hour I could find with Aarya :). I definitely want to read more of her books. And my sister is escited to get to read this book as well.

If you have not got around reading this one yet, you most definitely are missing out on a great historical fiction novel. Susan Higginbotham definitely has found an ardent fan in me. show less

After reading and loving The Traitor’s Wife, I eagerly anticipated Higginbotham’s sequel of sorts, Hugh and Bess. When it finally did arrive, I became so wrapped up in the soapy romantic drama that I dropped everything and finished it in a day. The story centers on a young Elizabeth de Montacute or Bess, the daughter of favored Earl and the much older, Hugh le Despenser, a wealthy (yet disgraced) Lord. Hugh’s grandfather and father were executed as traitors, and Hugh’s father was accused of adultery and sodomy with the former King. Hugh himself was imprisoned missing a near execution himself, but is now working hard to restore his family’s honor. Bess is understandably horrified at marriage into a family with such a show more reputation, and Hugh is honored by the match in theory, but he is in love with another woman. Can they find happiness in a marriage that neither sought and both are entering with reluctance?

At the heart of Hugh and Bess is a love story. Higginbotham manages to give Hugh and Bess an electric chemistry that compels throughout the historical drama. What makes the plot successful is Higginbotham’s tendency to ground the story in known facts then realistically elaborate the humanistic elements. For example, Bess begins the story at 13, and she reads and feels—13. This is a refreshing change from the tiny calculating power hungry seven-year-old cliché that dominates the historical fiction genre. Those who have read The Traitor’s Wife will be pleased as we get a few more glimpses of favorite characters. And this story takes care to fill in gaps in time, and show that story from different perspectives. You’ll want to read the Traitor’s Wife if you haven’t not because it is necessary for Hugh and Bess, but because it’s a great novel.

That said; the last few chapters seem to drag. We’ve moved on from a lot of the action, and not to spoil and plot lines, but the climatic challenges that face the couple, and the ensuing chapters read like and after thought. It was almost as if Higginbotham had fallen in love with her characters and was unwilling to let go. Also, having read The Traitor’s Wife, and other historical works of the time, I still found it hard to place some of the minor characters. It doesn’t help that the English nobility of the time only used a couple of family names repeatedly, ie, Elizabeth, Hugh, Edward, Isabella, Joan, William, etc… A little more guidance and more thorough introductions would have been helpful.

However by focusing on the romance, Higginbotham delivers a relatable historical fiction piece that transcends generations. If you (like me) just can’t get enough of these English court novels, I’m certain you’ll love Hugh and Bess. show less

Hugh le Despenser has an unfortunate family background. His once proud name has been brought down by the scheming of the two previous Hugh le Despensers, who are both executed for treason while he is barely a young man. Had he not held the castle where he last saw his father alive, he, too, would have been executed. Instead, he spent four years inprisoned by Queen Isabella and Lord Mortimer. It was only after the execution of Lord Mortimer that Hugh was able to win his freedom from King Edward III. He had his freedom, but not much else. His family had been brought low and it was an uphill battle for him to gain the trust of first his tenents and then his King. Knowing the background of his family, 14 year-old Elizabeth Montacute, show more daughter of William Montacute, Earl of Salisbury, was not at all happy at her parents decision to make a match between her and the much older heir to the Despenser family. Hugh loves his childhood friend and long-time lover Emma, but he has to marry someone from the nobility in order to have any chance to regain his family's status. Can he find a way to make Bess happy and, more importantly, will Bess let him?

After reading historical fiction taking place in Tudor England, I found myself tracing England's royalty backwards and the story of the Despenser family is anything if not memorable. Both the Elder and the Younger Hugh were depicted as vile people. Although the story in this novel takes place after both of their executions, Higgenbottom wrote Hugh the Younger to be a good father and a good man who just made some poor choices in the political arena as well as in his personal life. He may have made his bed, but he was a man who would be loved and missed by his family. Hugh the Younger was given much more depth, making it possible for me to put myself in the place of his children and family. I wanted the Hugh of this novel to suceed financially and in love. My heart broke for him when he had to let Emma go, but I held out hope that he could melt Bess' icy heart. I was rooting for the Despenser family throughout.

Hugh and Bess is a delightful love story. Amidst the tragedy of the Despenser family and the arranged marriages of King Edward's court, two unlikely people find love. It's been a long time since I've enjoyed a love story so much - let alone one taking place in medieval England. Although you know that there is conflict and scheming among people of royal courts, it was refreshing to read a novel about people who wanted the most they could make out of life, but through loyalty and chivalry. Higginbothom made the relationship between Hugh and Bess come alive while painting a picture of where they lived and the places they visited. The scene with Bess and Hugh at Tewkesbury Abbey, pictured above, before their wedding was especially vivid. From that moment, it became a "must see" location if (hopefully when) I visit England. This novel will appeal to lovers of historical fiction as well as romance. With England's vast and intriguing history, I'm so glad that Higginbothom chose to champion Hugh and Bess le Despenser. show less