Lady of the Knight by Tori Phillips

Although I'm not a big fan of humorous stories, I have a soft spot for charming and amusing heroes. Who could resist a hero with bells on his codpiece?

Lady of the Knight by Tori Phillips
(1999, Medieval) 3/9/08
Grade: 4

When Sir Andrew sees Rosie standing on a barrel, about to be sold as a prostitute, his heart goes out to her - and he recklessly bets that he can pass her off as a lady at the king’s feast. He finds that there is more to Rosie than meets the eye - and she finds that under the feathers and bells, there’s the heart of a true hero.

This was a cute and charming book that was a lot of fun to read. I loved Andrew, with his belled and tassled codpieces, who is quick to admire Rosie’s wit and quick mind, as well as her body. And Rosie gives as good as she gets, without being a “fiesty” cliche. The interplay between these two is a lot of fun to watch. However, I had a few quibbles. The main one is the lack of emotional depth, especially with Andrew. Although we get a few glimpses into his inner life - his regret over his late wife, the way he cares for his squires - but for the most part, it’s all surface. We don’t get a lot of his life and personality, other than his concern and love for Rosie. I wanted to know more, because he was such an appealing hero! Rosie’s background was also a romance novel cliche, and there were a few other historically questionable things - but for the most part, the story was great fun, and I enjoyed spending time with such a charming hero and heroine.

I'm always a bit disappointed by the romance novel insistence on secret nobility. I don't mean the characters' attitudes toward the lower classes - I know that's historically accurate, and I wouldn't want an anachronistic heroine who is best buddies with all of her servants. But when a thief, or prostitute, or serving wench, is pulled from the gutter and made over by a noble, he immediately sees her "inner nobility" because she's smart and kind and has a long straight nose. He can't help but think, she must be more than what she appears. And usually, she's secretly the daugher of a noble or the bastard of the king or something like that.

I know this comes from fairy tales - after all, the goose girl is always secretly a princess, isn't she? - and it also makes the happy ending easier, in the context of the period. But still, this "inner nobility" stuff always gives me a bit of a twinge - it's if the author is saying that someone without a drop of blue blood couldn't be smart and kind and pretty too. It must be her noble blood coming through. Ugh! Must be my egalitarian American blood coming through...