Blood or the crown? Royal families in fantasy
Being the heir to the throne in a fantasy novel is a dangerous business. It’s highly likely that someone is trying to kill you. And more often than not, it’s one of your own relatives.
Who gets to rule the kingdom is a subject of endless fascination in fantasy, and for good reason. Power, or the lack of it, is a great motivator. It’s rare to find an older son sitting on a throne, or waiting to ascend it, without also finding an ambitious younger son or scheming uncle preparing to stab him in the back. From Regal in Robin Hobb’s Farseer books to Prince Caspian’s uncle Miraz, fantasy literature is teeming with scheming relations for whom the lure of the crown is greater than the ties of blood.
Of course, characters like this have their roots in real-life events. In Britain alone there are several examples of usurping brothers within the history of the monarchy – though, history being history, the exact facts tend to be disputed. Two examples that have gone down in popular legend (however insecurely they may be rooted in real events) are Prince John’s attempt to take the throne from Richard the Lionheart, and Richard III’s murder of his nephews. Different factions within a family would sometimes fight back and forth over the crown for decades – for instance, the Wars of the Roses were set in motion by Henry IV deposing his cousin, Richard II, and continued for more than 30 years. So it isn’t as if the members of real royal families have always demonstrated a touching devotion to each other.
Yet whilst this idea of feuding siblings willing to do anything to gain power may be true to life, it’s a little depressing. I’d hope that sometimes blood outweighs the crown. And so in Darkhaven, I decided to turn the idea on its head.
At the start of the book the overlord of Darkhaven, Florentyn Nightshade, wants to disinherit his older child, Myrren, in favour of his younger child, Ayla – because Myrren hasn’t inherited the shapeshifting gift of their bloodline, but Ayla has. Yet in this particular family, the close bond of love between the two half-siblings outweighs any desire either of them has to take the throne. Myrren is willing to abide by his father’s decision because he believes it’s the best thing for the country; Ayla refuses on the grounds that it’s not fair to Myrren.
Even when Florentyn is murdered and Ayla is the only suspect, Myrren’s aim is to prove her innocence – not her guilt. That distinction lies at the very heart of the book. Though the investigation tests their relationship to the limits, leading each of them to doubt the other, they never quite stop believing in each other. Their shared loyalty keeps them strong. As someone with three younger half-siblings myself, I’d hope that this is a realistic alternative to treachery!
If you have any real-life historical examples of royal siblings who remained loyal to each other – or fantasy examples, for that matter – I’d love to hear about them.
——————
Le sang ou la courone ? Blood or the crown? Les familles royales en fantasy
Être l’héritier du trône en fantasy est assez dangereux. Il arrive souvent que quelqu’un veuille vous tuer. Et le plus souvent, c’est un de vos proches.
Celui qui gouverne le royaume est sujet à une grande fascination en fantasy, et pour de bonnes raisons. Le pouvoir, ou le manque de pouvoir, est une grande motivation. C’est rare de trouver un fils plus âgé assis sur le trône, ou attendant de prendre le pouvoir, sans trouver par la même occasion un plus jeune fils ambitieux ou un oncle complotant pour le poignarder dans le dos. De Refal dans Robin des Bois à l’oncle Miraz dand Prince Caspian, la lecture fantasy grouille de relations où le désire pour la couronne est plus grand que les liens du sang.
Bien sur ; les personnages comme cela ont leurs racines dans la vie réelle. En Angleterre seule, il y a plusieurs exemples de frères usurpateurs dans l’histoire de la monarchie – bien que, l’histoire étant l’histoire, les faits exacts sont discutés. Deux exemples sont rentrés dans la légende populaire (bien qu’ils puissent être tirés d’événements réels), la tentative du Prince John pour prendre le trône de Richard Cœur-de-lion, et le meurtre de Richard III par ses neveux. Différentes factions au sein de la famille peuvent parfois se battre en retour et convoiter la couronne pendant des années – par exemple, the Guerre des Roses a été mis en motion par Henry IV, détrônant son cousin, Richard II, et a continué pendant plus de 30 ans. Alors ce n’est pas comme si les membres des véritables familles royales ont démontré une touchante dévotion les uns envers les autres.
Bien que l’idée des enfants prêts à tout pour gagner le pouvoir existe dans la vie réelle, c’est un peu déprimant. J’espère parfois que le sang puisse gagner par rapport à la couronne. Alors, dans Darkhaven, j’ai decidé de garder cette idée.
Au début du livre, le dirigeant de Darkhaven, Florentyn Nightshade, veut deshériter son fils le plus âgé, Myrren, en faveur de son plus jeune enfant, Ayla – parce que Myrren n’a pas hérité du don de change-forme de leur lignée, mais c’est le cas d’Ayla. Pourtant, dans cette famille, le lien d’amour entre le frère et la sœur surpasse leur désire de prendre le trône. Myrren est d’accord pour accepter la décision de son père comme il croit que c’est la meilleure chose pour le pays ; Ayla refuse comme ce n’est pas juste pour Myrren.
Même quand Florentyn est tué et qu’Ayla est la seule suspecte, le but de Myrren est de prouver son innocence – pas sa culpabilité. Cette distinction se trouve au cœur du livre. Bien que cette investigation teste les limites de leur relation, les menant à douter l’un de l’autre, ils n’arrêtent pas de croire en l’autre. Leur loyauté les rend forts. Etant moi-même la plus jeune de trios enfants, j’espère que c’est une bonne alternative à la tromperie.
Si vous avez des exemples historiques de la vie réelle montrant des enfants loyaux – ou en fantasy par exemple, j’aimerai beaucoup en entendre parler.
——–
A.F.E. Smith is an editor of academic texts by day and a fantasy writer by night. So far, she hasn’t mixed up the two. She lives with her husband and their two young children in a house that someone built to be as creaky as possible – getting to bed without waking the baby is like crossing a nightingale floor. Though she doesn’t have much spare time, she makes space for reading, mainly by not getting enough sleep (she’s powered by chocolate). Her physical bookshelves were stacked two deep long ago, so now she’s busy filling up her e-reader.
What A.F.E. stands for is a closely guarded secret, but you might get it out of her if you offer her enough snacks.
Synopsis: Ayla Nightshade never wanted to rule Darkhaven. But her half-brother Myrren – true heir to the throne – hasn’t inherited their family gift, forcing her to take his place.
When this gift leads to Ayla being accused of killing her father, Myrren is the only one to believe her innocent. Does something more sinister than the power to shapeshift lie at the heart of the Nightshade family line?
Now on the run, Ayla must fight to clear her name if she is ever to wear the crown she never wanted and be allowed to return to the home she has always loved.
Tour homepage
www.afesmith.com/darkhaven-blog-tour
Buy links
HarperCollins
Amazon (global link)
Barnes & Noble
Google play
iBooks
Kobo
blodeuedd
I so wanna read this book! It sounds so awesome 😀
And fascinating subject too *thinks*
Loyalty. Gosh, no. I can only think of those who were not loyal. A Swedish kin was killed by his brothers by them poisoning his soup.
Jenny @ Supernatural Snark
Yay for blood trumping a crown! I love that Ayla nad Myrren remain loyal to each other even when power tries to come between them, it makes me want to pick this book up immediately. I love strong family relationships in books!
LilyElement
The book sounds good!! I also like the cover 😀
Brandi Breathes Books
The family vs power sounds like a strong premise for this fantasy world
Ramona
Feuding siblings and usurping brothers – certainly a rich historical domain to draw on 🙂 I do love the sound of this! Lovely review <3
kimbacaffeinate
This sounds so cool..thank you for sharing!
Betty W
I really enjoyed the synopsis! It’s great to have family loyalty as a key part of your book! Thank you for sharing!
Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum
This book totally caught my eye! And the author is so nice, she emailed to let me know her book was available on NetGalley when she saw I had expressed interest. I’ve already preordered this one 🙂
Wolkaiw
J’ai tenté de lire en anglais… j’ai arrêté au bout du 4e paragraphe car je trouve ça plus dur sur un ordi que sur du papier, mais je suis contente, dans l’ensemble j’ai presque tout compris 😀
Les histoires avec une confiance mutuelle sont généralement très belles, malheureusement je n’ai pas de livre de ce genre, abordant le trône, à te conseiller :/
Kara
L’histoire a l’air sympa et la couverture est trop belle ! je suis fan !
Mary Preston
A great post thank you. Loving this cover.
Melissa (My World...in words and pages)
I like the idea of the shapeshifter and the YOUNGER child inherited the trait, not the older. Neat! Thanks for sharing.