The Girl King (2011) is set during the 12th century reign – known as the
Golden Age – of Tamar the Great – the female king of Kartvelia (Georgia). It begins in 1177 in Tbilisi in her father’s court when she is 17
years old, and spans almost 30 years of her reign from 1184 to her death.
Ivan Orbeli renounces the ageing King (George III) Giorgi Bagrationi and
plans an attack. Tamar is sent to the mountains for safety and her 14-year-old
sister Susa is sent to a monastery with her mother Burdukhan. In the mountains
Tamar befriends Zakari Mkhargrdzeli and Davit Soslani, son of Jadaron the ruler
of Osset lands.
Betrayed by people close to her, with people changing allegiances, Tamar is
fearless and resourceful. Her father defeats Orbeli, killing him in battle, but
dies later, aged and sickly. Will people honour Tamar as king? Not a band of
men who want to overthrow her. Aunt Rusudan begs Tamar to make peace: ‘Child,
you think being king is about destroying your enemies … it’s about preserving
your kingdom.’ Rusudan then convinces Tamar’s enemies that the unwed Tamar
would need a husband, who would become the most powerful man in the kingdom –
not king, but quite.
Tamar is spoilt for choice: ‘I have driven every bachelor between the two
seas into a frenzy of passion … if the pox had stolen away my nose, they’d
still be in raptures over my beauty. You know what they love.’ She consults her
best friend, poet Shota Rustaveli, for advice. He answers, ‘Thrones are
lovable.’
Others suggest a northern man for her husband – more north than the mountains
– such as a Russian. Lord Yuri Bogoliubsky, ‘ruler of Vladimir, Suzdal, Rostov
and the great cities north of Kiev’ is available for consideration. Tamar
orders Soslani and Zak to bring her some lion cubs from Shirvan – is this
a test or a distraction? Shota Rustaveli – later in life – pens an epic poem
(probably the longest poem in history) about The Knight in the Panther’s Skin.
So who does Tamar choose?
Clothier mainly focuses on the pursuit of love – the big decision – and the
choice between the love for a man or the love for a country – and she does this
entertainingly and amusingly.
‘History is trumped by story-telling’ the author says. Clothier confesses
in the Historical Notes that she has been speculative in parts, fused real events
together, and made a chronological switch in timelines. Despite the literary liberties,
this is a fast-paced interesting story that is well-told, whether you know the
true history of Tamar the Great or not.
Tamar the Great (circa 1160-1213) was Georgia’s equivalent of England’s Queen
Elizabeth I (1533-1603) and poet Shota Rustaveli (circa 1172-1216) was Georgia’s
equivalent of William Shakespeare (1564-1616) – except 400 years earlier. So
readers of historical fiction and medieval history will enjoy this fairly
accurate story of love, war, loyalty, and heroism in the picturesque countryside
of Kartvelia – modern day Georgia.
MARTINA NICOLLS is an international
aid and development consultant, currently living in Georgia, and the author of:- The Shortness of
Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet
(2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).
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