Book Review: Lady Hotspur
Listen, as long as Tessa Gratton wants to keep rewriting Shakespeare plays with more ladies and queer folx, I’m going to keep buying them. I thought The Queens of Innis Lear was going to be a one-off, but here we are and overall, I was not disappointed.
Lady Hotspur is a retelling of Shakespeare’s Henry IV, so if you’re familiar with that play, you’ll know the bulk of the plot. Hal used to be a knight in the service of her prince, Banna Mora, until her mother revolts and overthrows the king of Aremoria. Now Hal is a prince, unsure how to react to the responsibility of her new station. Banna Mora, no longer the heir, must carve a place for herself in the world, and unfortunately that means setting herself against Hal, who she does not believe fit to rule Aremoria. And caught between them is Lady Hotspur, who struggles between her love for Hal and her sense of duty toward her country and her friends. A war for Aremoria is coming.
An upfront disclaimer: you don’t have to read The Queens of Innis Lear, but it really really helps. Most of the promo material I’ve seen emphasizes that this is not a sequel…but it kind of is. Elia and Morimaros appear in some flashbacks, and Ban is actually a character in this story, sent back by the earth saints to aid Hal. There are many, many references to the events of Queens., and you’re just not going to get the same amount of enjoyment out of the story if you don’t read it first.
Now, to Lady Hotspur.
The story is centered on Hal, Hotspur, and Banna Mora, each of whom is a heroine in her own right. Banna Mora is the cast-out heir who has trained all her life to be the ruler of Aremoria. She’s bright and ambitious, even somewhat ruthless, and her story becomes infinitely more interesting when she goes to Innis Lear with Rowan. She’s a remarkably good fit for the island; she has echoes of Gaela and Regan in her, but with less irrational hatred. Her conflict with Hal is easy to understand — Hal simply does not behave as a prince should, and Banna Mora worries that Hal will make a poor ruler.
It was refreshing in Queens and it’s refreshing here that being a Strong Female Character does not preclude traditional depictions of femininity. Banna Mora is both warrior and mother, lover and fighter, and she does not have to choose between them. Of the central characters, Mora was definitely my favorite.
Hotspur shoulders the heavy burden of carrying the plot. She’s caught between Hal and Mora and unsure who she should choose. Hal is her lover and Hotspur can’t ignore the prince’s magnetism, but she agrees with Mora that Hal does not comport herself as a prince should and, moreover, does not approve of the new queen (Celeda, Hal’s mother) and her choices. Like Mora, Hotspur is very empathetic and well written. We feel her pain as she distances herself from Hal, her cautious curiosity at the prospect of marriage to Mora’s brother. Like both Mora and Hal, Hotspur is a warrior with a fiery personality, but she has her quieter moments too, including some surprising tenderness with her new husband.
And then there’s Hal. Oh, Hal. Hal is…difficult. To be honest, I didn’t much care for her. She doesn’t handle her ascension to royalty well, by any means, and she frequently comes off as petulant and whiny. Her horror at an arranged marriage is understandable enough, but her descent into drink and debauchery is irresponsible and frustrating. Yet because this is a retelling of Henry IV, you know that Hal will end up on the throne. Perhaps the most frustrating thing is how easy it feels for Hal to flip the switch and go from embarrassment to asset once she decides to set her mind to it. It feels unearned by the narrative, happening as it does over the course of a winter in Innis Lear that sort of skips by.
I(f you guessed that kingship/queenship and the right of rulership is a deep and recurring theme in Lady Hotspur, then you have guessed correctly.)
Despite Gratton’s obvious focus on the core trio, there’s a highly interesting cast of secondary characters who are, in many regards, even more interesting than the main characters. I particularly appreciate the depictions of softer masculinity contained within the novel, and especially embodied in Rowan (Mora’s eventual partner), Connley (Mora’s brother and Hotspur’s partner), and Echarmet (Hal’s betrothed).
Rowan is compared often to his female family members, as the heir to the throne of Innis Lear. He’s a wizard and a warrior both, and he is not afraid to be tender with his loved ones. He’s also bisexual. Connley, meanwhile, is repeatedly referred to as a witch. He is quiet and sensitive, but also very brave. Echarmet comes from a matriarchal society, and through him we gain a window into what that looks like. The respect he has for women is highly endearing.
You may have guessed this already, but holy POVs, Batman! Lady Hotspur pinballs between characters faster than you can say “Falstaff,” and I’m truly not convinced they were all necessary. Echarmet, in particular, could have been avoided as a POV to trim out some of the fluff.
Because this is a long book. I’m not normally the type to care about that, but this is a book where you feel the length. It takes its sweet time to get moving and dabbles with flashbacks and asides. It’s not necessarily bad, but it’s definitely not as tight as The Queens of Innis Lear felt.
It also feels a lot more obviously like Shakespeare than Queens. The dialogue, in particular places, has that arch Shakespearean quality that makes it sound like it was almost lifted verbatim from the play. The scale feels bigger and more grand, and it feels more political. Whether or not this is a good things depends on your opinion toward Shakespeare (though I doubt you’re considering reading this book if you hate Shakespeare).
That said, when the conclusion comes, it comes with a fury. I can honestly say that the final battle did not end how I had expected it to go, which was a pleasant surprise.
I continue to love the world Gratton has crafted to house these retellings. This is one of the major things that distinguishes her retellings from the originals (other than the obvious gender bending at play here). The island of Innis Lear was cleaved from Aremoria centuries ago by the original wizard Lear, and it more or less ended Aremorian magic. Innis Lear, meanwhile, has more magic than it knows what to do with, star magic and rootwater magic. This history has a deep impact on the plot.
Aside from the stars and the roots, which were well covered in Queens, we also see more of the earth saints here, as well as some unique magic like a dragon (!). This book also deals a little more in spirits and ghosts, as a certain ghost with a particular tie to the name Connley appears early on...
This review is getting wildly long, so I’ll wrap it up by saying this. If you enjoy Shakespeare retellings and you’re all in on queer characters and cool magic, you should definitely check Lady Hotspur out (though read Queens first). The beginning is a little slow, but the payoff is worth it.
Grade: 4/5 stars
Memorable Quote:
“The dragon reared onto its hind legs and turned its massive, long head to put one eye toward her; that eye was a swirl of orange-and-pink fire, the inner landscape of a mountain’s hot heart. Mora felt it as her own heart flared to life.
What do you want, Banna Mora? the dragon intoned again. Its mouth opened and black teeth shone sharp and tall as her, the tongue a flicker of living moonlight.
...
When your whole world burns, you must learn to breathe fire.”
