If You Loved "The Castle in the Glen", Discover "The Mortimer Affair"

There’s something irresistible about historical fiction when the past refuses to stay buried.

You enter a different century, meet people whose lives were shaped by completely different rules, and suddenly you're watching relationships, secrets, power and ambition unfold against a world where one decision can change everything.

That’s what makes The Castle in the Glen such an intriguing starting point for readers who enjoy historical stories filled with mystery, family secrets and complicated relationships. Rhys Bowen's novel follows a writer investigating a decades old crime connected to a powerful Scottish family, blending historical mystery, romance and suspense.

But if that combination of history, secrets, powerful families and women caught in complicated circumstances is what draws you into a story, I have another historical fiction book you may want to discover.

📖 Meet The Mortimer Affair

The Mortimer Affair: Joan de Joinville’s Story by Alice Mitchell takes you much further back in history, into the turbulent world of fourteenth century England.

And this time, the story isn't about uncovering a mystery from the past.

The woman living through the history is the one who knows the truth.

Joan de Joinville is fortunate enough to inherit her grandfather's lands instead of being sent to a nunnery.

But fortune has other plans for her.

Her marriage is arranged with Roger Mortimer, the young son of a powerful Marcher family.

What begins as an arranged marriage unexpectedly becomes a love match.

Joan and Roger build a family and eventually have twelve children.

But while Joan's world is shaped around family, Roger's ambitions are taking him into the dangerous world of medieval politics, warfare and royal power.

And that's where everything begins to change.

⚔️ Love, Power And A Husband Who Changes

Roger Mortimer becomes valuable to the young King Edward II and becomes involved in the political struggles surrounding the king and his favourites.

Then Piers Gaveston is murdered.

Hugh Despenser the Younger rises in influence.

And Roger finds himself facing a powerful enemy.

Eventually Roger leads a failed rebellion against the King and is imprisoned in the Tower.

But Joan's story doesn't simply continue alongside his.

She suffers because of his choices too.

Her wealth and status are threatened.

Her family is placed in danger.

And she is imprisoned alongside him, enduring hardships she never chose for herself.

This is where The Mortimer Affair becomes particularly compelling to me.

Because behind the political history is a woman trying to survive the consequences of decisions made by people with considerably more power than she has.

👀 And Then Roger Escapes

When Joan learns that Roger has escaped the Tower and returned to England at the head of a conquering army, she believes that perhaps her suffering is finally coming to an end.

But it isn't.

It's only the beginning of another chapter.

Roger's ambitions grow.

His relationship with Queen Isabella changes the balance of power.

And Joan watches as the man she once loved descends further into avarice and cruelty.

Eventually, history will condemn Roger for regicide.

But Joan knows something history doesn't.

Only Joan knows the truth.

And that single idea gives the story a fascinating tension.

Because when you're reading historical fiction, you often know how history remembers the people involved.

The more intriguing question is what history may have missed.

🏰 If You Love Historical Stories Where The Past Holds Secrets...

That's the connection I'd make between The Castle in the Glen and The Mortimer Affair.

Not that they're the same kind of book.

They're not.

One is a modern historical mystery involving a writer investigating an old crime in Scotland. The other is a medieval historical novel built around Joan de Joinville's life and her relationship with Roger Mortimer.

But both can appeal to readers who enjoy stepping into another period and discovering how power, relationships, family, secrets and ambition shape people's lives.

If you enjoy historical fiction where the setting isn't merely decoration but fundamentally changes what the characters can do, who they can trust and what they must endure, The Mortimer Affair deserves a place on your reading list.

❤️ For Readers Who Love Historical Women And Complicated Lives

Joan's story also gives the novel an especially personal dimension.

She isn't simply watching history happen from a distance.

She's living through it.

She's a wife.

A mother.

A woman whose fortunes are tied to a powerful man's ambitions.

And when those ambitions spiral out of control, she has to find the strength to endure what follows.

That makes this more than a story about medieval politics.

It's a story about love, loyalty, survival, family, betrayal, power and the price of ambition.

📚 Should This Be Your Next Historical Fiction Read?

If what you enjoyed about The Castle in the Glen was the feeling of entering a world filled with old secrets, complicated relationships and powerful families, The Mortimer Affair offers a completely different historical setting while giving you another deeply personal story to uncover.

This time, travel from the misty Scottish Highlands to medieval England.

Leave behind the twentieth century and step into the world of kings, queens, castles, warfare and political ambition.

And meet Joan de Joinville.

A woman whose life became intertwined with one of the most controversial men of her time.

A woman who endured what history left behind.

And a woman who, according to the story, knows the truth that history never recorded.

🔎 Looking For Your Next Historical Fiction Book To Read?

If you love historical fiction, medieval history, powerful families, historical romance, women in history, royal intrigue, political ambition and stories inspired by real historical figures, add The Mortimer Affair: Joan de Joinville's Story to your TBR.

You may come for the history.

You may stay for Joan's story.

Discover The Mortimer Affair and uncover the story only Joan knows.