As a lifelong fan of Tudor stories, I was looking forward to finding out some of the Seymour family backstory. The prologue even opens with Jane Seymour looking at her proposed crest and thinking about forgotten "common" female ancestors. I found the ultimate exposition of that backstory rather underwhelming, though. I kept expecting for a big reveal about someone's character or destiny, but there was nothing unexpected at the end. I also kept waiting for the stories of Jess the shepherd and Isabel Seymour to interact in a way that would deeply affect the fate of the Seymour family or the estate, but again, it just kind of fizzled out. Overall, I loved the idea, but didn't find the execution as enlightening as I'd hoped.

Although the social conditions were interesting in this novel and the characters were pleasant enough, I did not feel the pull of the historical tale as I have in previous books I have read by Joanna Hickson. Sadly, it felt somewhat lacking for me, but it was readable.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Joanna Hickson/HarperCollins UK for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

An unusual and very measured introduction to the history of the Seymour family.
Queen Jane is awaiting the birth of the long anticipated Prince of England. She is shown a coat of arms designed for her own personal use. The Royal arms of England and France, the Seymour badge of joined golden wings, the Beauchamp coat of arms, from marriage, but no reference of her grandmother, as she was not of noble birth. We are then introduced to that grandmother, Isabel Williams, born in Bristol, her father was an exporter of cloth to Ireland, and he imported wine from Andalusia. These riches were invested into property in Bristol.
Through his business contacts, he arranges a marriage to a young John Seymour, who has expectations of running the large family estate in Somerset.
Upon their marriage, they move to Hatch Beauchamp, later, following the death of John’s father, they move to Wolf Hall as John takes over the Wardenship of Savernake Forest.
Running in parallel to the main story, we meet Jess, who looks after her father’s flock. She is distrusted by the locals as she misses church due to lambing needs and also wears trousers and other male garments. There are whispers of Witchcraft due to the family living close to the stone circles at Avebury, in Wiltshire. One day, a young man begs shelter from a storm, his name is Adhelm or Addy, he has aspirations to be an archer, but is willing to learn how to be a shepherd, he becomes rather taken with Jess and her quiet way of life.
These two different stories collide, as both Jess and Addy end up at Wolf Hall, where they are offered employment and have a front row seat to all the political machinations that are part of the Seymour story.
Set against the background of war with France, the wool trade, fights over a young boy King, and political reforms over voting rights, John Seymour puts family advantages first, without considering if and how these decisions could affect his family. Can Isabel keep her family safe from powerful parties at Court?.
The first of a planned trilogy, starts off quite slowly as we are gradually introduced to the central characters, it is a slow burner, but there is so much research evidently done, but carefully used, it doesn’t read like like a dry history lesson. The Seymour men seem to have been rather self absorbed, wilful, hot tempered and occupied with ideas of titles and advancement at Court, whether by deeds in battle, or knowing the right way to jump.
I liked the political themes, the voting rights issue was an eye opener, the story of our essential wool trade and how the war with the French affected farmers and others in that business was well explained. I like the character of Isabel, and her efforts to keep the peace at home, not an easy job.
I am looking forward to the next book in this series, it promises to be a very good read.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers HarperCollinsUK for my advanced read, freely given in return for my honest review. A 4 star rating. I will leave copies to Goodreads and Amazon UK upon publication.

I would like to thank Netgalley and HarperCollins UK for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

It was interesting to see Jane Seymour’s ancestors, and I’m interested in reading the rest of the series.
But, this novel feels a little disjointed by itself, with no real ending.

An enjoyable read and I would read the next in the series. The book highlighted the lives of people in the 15th century and the danger of religious suspicion. I couldn’t read the chapter about the wolf hunt , especially as it was a means to John Seymour’s ambitions.

A pleasant novel! Some details about social conditions in the 15th century were really interesting. The characters were likable and also relatable. The novel reveals a light story which proved pretty predictable. The end is a cliff hanger which is understandable since this is book one in a series of three novels. Overall, a nice and easy read.
I have received a digital copy of this novel from NetGalley and I have voluntarily written an honest review.

Slow to get into at first and It took 42% of the book to connect the two side by side stories together,
Once that happened the book did vastly improve.
Had not read any books by Joanna Hickson before, and I am to believe this is part of a trilogy - which would explain the ending.
Overall I enjoyed the book and would definitely read another book by the author.

The House of Seymour by Joanna Hickson is historical fiction, set in fifteenth century England and tells the stories of two women with very different lives. Isabel Williams is the daughter of an ambitious business man who marries her off to John Seymour, Lord of Wolf Hall Manor and a man whose ambition is only slightly greater than his callousness and cruelty, not just to Isabel but to every one around him. Jess is a shepherdess, a young woman doing a job usually done by men, and this marks her out in her small minded community as someone different, perhaps even dangerous, perhaps even a witch, a rumour that his not helped by her choice of canine companion. The two women form an unlikely friendship but one that lasts.
This is something of a strange one, the book is described as book one of a trilogy, but even with that in mind the ending is far too abrupt and I found it rather unsatisfying. It did not wrap things up well enough to work as a stand alone and yet it did not leave me excited to read the next book. I enjoy historical fiction and I think the author did a good job of depicting the period in a way that will bring it to life for the reader. I thought the explorations of the dangers that women faced was really well handled, but I struggled to connect with the characters and that made me less invested in their stories than I had hoped which made the pacing of an already slow book feel even slower. I have read other books from this author and enjoyed them much more but this one did not work so well for me.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Jess and Isabela born same era different backgrounds but there's a connection or there will be. A Shepherdess and a Lady of the manor

When a distant cousin arrives Jess's life changes but not as much as when he goes. Isabela life changes when she marries John Seymour to see how well it's a wonderful book to read and discover with twist and turns from beginning to m to the end where actions have consequences but not always predictable.. This game from 2 sides of the track is intriguing as well as historical the young King Henry VI sits on the throne but under the guiding hand of his Uncle the Lord Glouster his Protector

This is an interesting tale a wonderful read and I want to highly recommend it to you. There are great characters some not so wonderful that you'll want to hate or dislike. But the 2 hero's you will love every page.brings then closer to your heart, 2 great characters, plus plenty more to follow if you like historical sagas you'll love this it fantastic.

This is a sublime historical fiction read from Hickson. I enjoyed reading about the earlier members of the Seymour family, people I had not read much about before so it was interesting learning about their lives. Isabel proves to be a remarkable woman who is incredibly strong during very tough times. As always with Hickson I thought the people were brought to life brilliantly and even though we might know their ending, this was still a gripping read.
I also thought the characters that Hickson has imagined are excellent and based on possible people and lives that would have existed. Initially I was unclear why Jess had been included so prominently but I ended up really liking her and her story with Addy brought some added warmth to the read.
Another area where Hickson excels is evoking the time. It was like I was transported back to the fifteenth century with the characters, everything felt so real.
I really loved this read and cannot wait for another read from Hickson.

A fictionalised account of the lives of John and Isabel Seymour, ancestors of Henry VIII's wife Jane Seymour. Well-researched and filled with historical details, but overall bland with a repetitive writing style, extremely slow and uneventful plot, and very surface level engagement with the characters. Not one for me.

Really interesting to read about the 15th c and the Seymour family that was Jane Seymour’s ancestry. Some strong women and power wrangling, not too much different to now.

Two very different women’s lives and travails. The story alternates between shepherdess Jess (with her faithful Dog Star) living on the South Downs and Wolf Hall doyenne Isabel Seymour, married to John. It’s set in the sixteenth century, when Henry VI is a child, England is ruled by a regent and there are constant wars with France. This is a superstitious age, when unconventional women could be charged with witchcraft and lives were often short and brutal. There’s a strong sense of time and place and good descriptions of the two women’s homes, journeys and the towns and countryside they live in. Well-written and engrossing with a useful glossary at the end.

The House of Seymour by Joanna Hickson

Really enjoyed this . We obviously know the connection between these 2 families but this time we are a generation before and I liked the fact we find out more those around the family as well .

When Isabel Williams is betrothed to John Seymour, Lord of Wolf Hall Manor, she hopes that love and respect will come, despite his cold streak of ruthless ambition.
Jess the shepherdess tends her flock on the wild spaces of Avebury close by, dismissing those who believe it is work for men. Forced to flee after falling under suspicion for the disappearance of a young man, Isabel’s offer of life with the growing Seymour family is the only refuge available to her.

Great characters,and,a lovely to immerse yourself in plot , I could,almost imagine myself as a bystander looking in , so a great accolade to the author.

Wolf Hall was in Burbage which is very near to Marlborough in Wiltshire and Avebury is 12/15 miles away , so at least a 5/6 hour walk so not sure how some of the characters would have the interactions they did , but I still very much enjoyed reading it .

This was a really good piece of historical fiction with strong storyline, interesting and realistic characters and strong female characters
The pacing was nice and even and the writing was very good. Recommended for historical fiction lovers!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc