Fortuna's smile

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Fortuna's smile is a historical novel by Rebecca Gablé . It is the first novel in the Waringham saga and her literary breakthrough. It was first published in 1997.

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England 1360 to 1399 : The twelve-year-old Robert of Waringham, known as Robin, attends St. Thomas' convent school. His father, who was about to be executed for treason, allegedly commits suicide and his family loses their property. Although Robin was given the opportunity to continue attending school, he escaped and returned to Waringham, where he worked as a horse servant . He quickly notices that he is different from the others: He has a very special feel for horses. The stud is run by Conrad, who takes Robin under his wing. The new Mr. Waringhams is Geoffrey Dermond, the former best friend of his dead father. Because he feels obliged to his old friend, he wants to turn Robin into a knight . But in the process Dermond comes into conflict with his son Mortimer, who sees himself threatened by Robin in his position as future earl . Mortimer bullies Robin wherever he can behind his father's back. Conrad's right-hand man, Stephen, also makes life difficult for Robin because he still had an account to be taken with Robin's father.

Robin's only support is his sister Agnes, his supposed half-brother Isaac and later Mortimer's cousin Alice Perrers (the king's mistress). Later, Robin takes care of the deaf and mute foundling Leofric and teaches him to read and write. When Dermond dies, things turn dangerous for Robin. Dermond bequeaths his father's sword to Robin and his mother's jewels to his sister. He states in his will that he wishes Robin were his son. So Robin sets out with Leofric to try his luck at another place.

On the way, the refugees are surprised by Mortimer, but Robin is able to overcome him. In the next town he gives his prisoners as escaped serfs to the sheriff and takes Mortimer's place as Earl of Waringham. He embarks with Mortimer's dispatches (from the Duke of Lancaster) to France to deliver them to his liege lord, the "Black Prince" . Here he also meets the Duke of Lancaster , a younger brother of the Black Prince. He proves his courage in a few battles. When he is called to a vote on the fate of a French knight, he shows honor, but spoils it with the Black Prince. When he later decides to enter Lancaster's service, an inattention by Leofric, who accompanies him to France as his squire, reveals Robin's true identity and Robin is supposed to be hanged as a con man. The Duke of Lancaster, however, rescues him and takes him into his service. Robin and Lancaster are now linked by a friendship that will last until the end of their lives. Robin and Leofric become Lancaster's bodyguards over time. Robin not only succeeds in proving his father's innocence with Lancaster's help, but is also knighted and given an estate in the north of England. Waringham, however, remains in Mortimer's possession.

His new estate, Fernbrook, is shabby. With a lot of energy, Robin and several companions from Waringham set up a flourishing horse breeding business and marry the daughter of the neighboring Earl of Burton. Because her eldest daughter Anne has clairvoyant abilities, there is a conflict with her mother (who was raised in a convent and abhores everything supernatural) and a close bond between Robin and Anne. His son Edward is born. Robin travels several times to France and Spain at the side of his liege lord to fight in the Hundred Years War .

Once when he returned from the war in Fernbrook, he met his brother-in-law, who was in dire financial straits, the heir of his late father-in-law. He has taken over the estate in Robin's absence and only with great difficulty is Robin able to drive him and his men away.

The next few years will also be turbulent. In London he experiences the revolutionary attempt of Wat Tyler and John Ball at the side of his liege lord . He almost loses his life while protecting Lancaster. For his son Henry he becomes a friend and teacher. When Robin returns to Fernbrook, he finds his brother-in-law there again. His pregnant wife is on the run, but dies after giving birth to their son Raymond. With difficulty, Robin manages to regain his property again. His brother-in-law is executed. Through Lancaster's work in the background, Robin becomes the new Earl of Burton and rises to the high nobility. Robin can also rebuild the run-down Burton.

Robin falls in love with Blanche, the wife of his old adversary Mortimer, and begins an affair with her. Because Mortimer left England after a coup against King Richard's supporters , they can both marry. Robin adopts Mortimer, Blanche's son. The two have two more daughters and a son John, who will play the lead role in The Guardians of the Rose . After Henry's son of Lancaster ascended to the throne, Mortimer carried out an attack on his son and was found guilty of high treason and sentenced to death. Eventually Robin Waringham gets back and his eldest son Edward becomes Earl of Burton. In 2007, another part of the Waringham saga, The Game of Kings , appeared in which the third generation of the Earls of Waringham now have to cope with the English throne in the turmoil of the War of the Roses between the noble houses of Lancaster and York .

Remarks

Robin's father and Geoffrey Dermond also make several appearances in Gablé's book The King of the Purple City (2002), which appeared later but is set before it in chronological order. The Guardians of the Rose (2005) is the direct sequel to The Smile of Fortuna . Again, you can meet Robin of Waringham and his sons Edward and Raymond. But the main role is played by his youngest son with Blanche, John of Waringham. The third volume, The Game of Kings , was published on August 24, 2007 , making Fortuna's Smile the first part of a trilogy, which was expanded to include a fourth part in 2011 with the appearance of The Dark Throne , and a fifth part in 2015 with The Palace of the Seas was added. The volume Teufelskrone , published in 2019, represents the sixth part of the series, but plays chronologically before The Smile of Fortuna .

In a large survey by ZDF for the best books of all time ( Our Best ), The Smile of Fortuna reached number 77. The book is now available in various editions and editions, as a hardcover by Lübbe (1997) and as a paperback by Bastei Lübbe (for the first time 1999), as well as a special edition for the Bertelsmann Club (2001) and the Bechtermünz-Verlag (1999). A new edition of the hardcover was published by Ehrenwirth in 2001 . In November 2011, an unabridged version of the novel based on the original manuscript was published - initially only as an e-book by Lübbe-Digital - under the name “Director's Cut”. For technical reasons, this had to be shortened by around 300 pages in 1997 and was not found again until the beginning of 2011. In 2014 it was also published in a print version. The Waringham series is also available as an audio book, first read by Martin May and later by Detlef Bierstedt . In the second part, Rebecca Gablé also reads part of the work in alternation with Martin May. The audio books were published by Lübbe Audio .

The main characters

All historical persons are marked with a *

Waringham:

  • Robert of Waringham, called Robin
  • Agnes, his sister
  • Isaac, his friend and maybe his brother
  • Conrad, the Waringham stable-master
  • Maria, his wife
  • Elinor, her daughter
  • Stephen, Conrad's right-hand man
  • Geoffrrey Dermond, Earl of Waringham
  • Matilda, his wife
  • Mortimer, Geoffrreys and Matilda's son
  • Blanche Greenley, his wife
  • Mortimer, Mortimer's and Blanches son
  • Alice Perrers *, Matilda's niece and lover of King Edward III.
  • Leofric, orphan, Robin's squire

Fernbrook and Burton:

  • Oswin, groom
  • Gisbert Finley, Robin's cousin
  • Thomas, Joseph and Albert, his brothers
  • Giles, Earl of Burton
  • Giles, his son
  • Joanna, his daughter and Robin's wife
  • Anne, Edward and Raymond, their children
  • Christine and Isabella, Joanna's sisters
  • Hal, the groom
  • Mathew the blacksmith
  • Francis Aimhurst, Robin's squire
  • Tristan Fitzalan, youngest son of the Earl of Arundel * and also Robin's squire

London, knighthood, church and nobility:

Plantagenet

expenditure

literature

  • Eva Rosenburg: The medieval novel between fact and fiction. “The smile of Fortuna” by Rebecca Gablé , in: Christian Rohr (Ed.): Everything heroic, cruel and dirty? : Medieval reception in popular culture . Vienna: Lit, 2011, pp. 73–87

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ In what order should you read your novels? . Author's website. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
  2. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original dated June 6, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.gable.de
Works by Rebecca Gablé


Historical novels
Waringham series

The Smile of Fortuna  (1997) • The Guardians of the Rose  (2005) • The Game of Kings  (2007) • The Dark Throne  (2011) • The Palace of the Seas  (2015) • Devil's Crown   (2019)

Helmsby series

The Second Kingdom  (2000) • Job's Brothers  (2009)

Otto the Great series

The Head of the World  (2013) • The Strange Queen  (2017)

Others

The King of the Purple City  (2002) • The Settlers of Catan  (2003)

Detective novels

Jagdfieber  (1995) • The colors of the chameleon  (1996) • The last Allegretto  (1998) • The Florian Principle  (1999)

Community works

The Seven Heads  (2004) • The Twelfth Day  (2006)

Non-fiction

Of perplexed people and lions hearts  (2008)

Audio books

Reliquary blood / judgment of God