The Crown begins in Tudor England during the reign of King Henry VIII at a critical moment when the King is caught in the drama of the need for a male heir. He has to decide whether to end his long marriage to Queen Katherine of Aaragon, his Spanish wife of many years, or to bend to the will of the powerful Catholic Church and maintain a marriage which has not given him his promised heir to the throne. Joanna Stafford, our heroine in the novel, has become a maid in waiting to the aging Queen. Unfortunately for Joanna, the Queen has given her a great commission and a promise to her that Joanna feels committed to keep. At a tender age she has entered as a novice to the order of Dominican nuns to fulfill the Queen's wishes. Joanna is not just any young novice as she has valuable ties to the English court, being a daughter of the Howard family. These ties prove quite interesting in the course of her goal to find an ancient holy relic which may save the day for the religious orders of the day.
The story begins with an insight into Joanna's personality as she risks everything to rush to the aid of a cousin who has been tragically accused of treason and must be punished by the rule of the King. Since she has taken the vows of the postulate she is under orders to obey the rule of the Order of Dominican Nuns, but she puts family and principle above the need to obey the Order and watches in anguish as her cousin is taken to her death.
There, she finds her own father present in the crowd that wants the death of the young traitor to the Crown and watches as he tries to assist the young victim in her time of anguish. She cannot understand why her father is present for this tragedy, but she finds herself assisted by a kind bystander who becomes a very important part of her life, Geoffrey. Finally, a very important vistor arrives to set her upon a quest to find a legendary crown that well could spell the course of history for the Roman Catholics who are being forced to relinquish their lifestyle while Henry VIII decides his own fate regarding his long Catholic marriage. This famed visitor wants her to find the legendary crown so that he can use it to his advantage and as a form of security to make certain that our heroine does her job he has taken her father prisoner and has tied him to the rack promising her that upon finding the crown her father would be released and saved from a certain death. Joanna, knowing that the Convent is probably already dismayed with her conduct, agrees to return to the Convent where she is supposed to find the legendary crown...Thus, the fun begins...Joanna returns to the convent with companions Brother Richard and Brother Edmund who are also compelled to spend their days at this religious site.
The Athelstan crown is a revered relic with a very dubious but powerful history. It has the power to imbue powers to the head that wears it, but superstition running rampant makes it appear that the crown destroys those who wear it who are not worthy of the act. Young Joanna is quite sincere in her desire to find the crown to release her father from prison, save his life, and possibly save the entire religious community despite the fact that several known kings who have worn it died under mysterious circumstances.
Through Joanna's efforts to find the crown, we meet with some of England's most famous and celebrated royals. The study of the family in England, the problem that King Henry's VIII war with the Church, and the fall of the monasteries and religious communities is deftly examined in this story of a young novice seeking an elusive crown hidden somewhere within the convent walls.
Most fascinating in this novel of young women who for one reason or other have decided to join the religious life is the depth of understanding as to why young women determined to seek a spiritual life enter the convent instead of the luxury of the court life. During a trip to Stonehenge, Joanna enjoys insights into the massive blocks of stone that made her think of the nuns in the convent. I thought that that was a most interesting and unique explanation of the arrangement of the famous stones.
An interlude in which Joanna meets not only Anne Boleyn but her brother George is a most telling and sordid look at the kind of power that Anne had on the famous King whose lusts were quite well acknowledged. It appears that the author has a unique sympathy even for the English king.
The Crown is an excellent presentation of the problems of the English Catholics at the time that King Henry VIII was asserting his authority over the church. One cannot help but have sympathy for the displaced religious community whether Catholic or not. The famous crown which traces back to Charlemagne is a fascinating cause for Joanna to become a problem for the nuns but a potential saviour to the relgious community. The ending is a bit of a surprise when Joanna finally realizes her goal....a book well worth reading, as well woven as the tapestries which Joanna examines for clues to the whereabouts of the crown...a real winner for Nancy Bilyeau.
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