Excerpt, Review, & Giveaway: Uprising (The Fitzjohn Duology #1) by J.E. Rizzo
- Merissa
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
Book details:
Uprising
by J.E. Rizzo
(Fitzjohn Duology, #1)
Publication date: September 1st 2026
Genres: Adult, Historical
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Only a daughter of two worlds can save England’s future.
England, 1381 AD: Blanche Fitzjohn is an outcast in her small coastal village. Not only is she the illegitimate daughter of John of Gaunt, the man responsible for her neighbors’ over-taxation, but she possesses strange abilities: hearing sound from miles away and smelling people’s emotions.
She takes solace in her studies with the local wisewoman and in her friendship with Geoff, a groom at the local manor. Until the day Henry of Lancaster, Blanche’s half-brother, brings her news of an arranged marriage to Sir Thomas Prescott, Constable of the Tower of London. Although she smells cruelty on him, Blanche agrees to marry Thomas in the hopes that her influence may help better the lives of Geoff and all England’s villeins.
But soon, the peasants’ discontent turns to revolt. Though her heart is of the people, Blanche’s nobility makes her an enemy to the rebels. To save herself and Henry from the executioner’s ax, Blanche must use every power at her disposal, even those she once considered a curse.
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My hair hangs loose, and I close my eyes, letting the breeze pull and twist it around my shoulders. The air feels like a living thing this morning, a persistent presence that refuses to be ignored. It blows from the west, but the sounds, the thrum of voices and marching feet, come from England’s opposite coast, from Essex and Kent.
The Tower sits on the easternmost point of London, by the city’s Postern Gate. I breathe in, letting the fresh air move into my lungs. I envision it moving to my brain.
Turn toward the east, Blanche. The voice whispering in my ears is Eldridge’s.
I obey, holding the breath within the cavities of my head. I exhale.
The wind picks up, and shifts, carrying the sounds to me.
They ride the wind’s back, soaring atop a flock of wild geese. The birds take me as the wind whips cold in my eyes, my ears. I spread my arms like wings; I’m one of them.
The voices and marching come from two places. I look to the northeast and listen to the first group. With my eyes still closed, I see their feet, tired and caked with mud, yet strong. They trample the earth. They’ve come so far, united by a determined purpose. They have some horses, but not many. They don’t need them.
“Three miles,” I whisper.
How many people? Eldridge asks.
I close my eyes and cock my head.
“Twenty thousand, maybe five and twenty,” I tell her, eyes still closed. I turn to the southeast. It’s harder to hear. “This group is farther away.”
I breathe in, as before, and out. The wind shifts so that it blows directly from the noise, carrying the thrum of human beings.
Entranced, I walk to the Salt Tower at the southeastern corner of the wall. The wind builds and my cloak flies behind me, hair whipped in a mad tangle.
“Eight miles,” I say.
The sky lightens to violet at the horizon, trimmed with deep blue. At the very edge of my vision, stars still wink and sparkle. I look out over the river, my river, as it rolls in the wind, toward the sound.
“They’re over the river.”
Yes, Blanche, yes. Eldridge’s voice, old and cracked, echoes in the wind. How many?
I close my eyes to listen, but then—
“Blanche!”
The wind drops to nothing more than a breeze, and I turn.
Henry’s boots ring atop the stone wall. A second figure runs a step behind, a taller, older man dressed in royal livery. He overtakes Henry.
“Geoff!”
“Blanche!” He grips my forearms. “What’s wrong?”
He pulls me to his chest. My heart jolts as his warm body presses against mine. Henry skids to a halt beside us and stares, eyes wide with shock. Geoff releases me and steps back with an embarrassed cough.
I look down at my cloak, gaping open to expose my thin shift. I gasp and draw it closed before tugging the hood over my hair. I must look like a madwoman.
“Lady Prescott,” Henry cries, “are you all right?”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Why did you summon me? What’s wrong?”
“Do you hear it?” I ask him.
“Hear what?”
“The marching.”
They shake their heads.
“They’re coming, Henry, the rebels. I’m sure of it. They’re right outside the city.”
4.5 out of 5 (Outstanding)
UPRISING is the first book in The FitzJohn Duology, and I loved every word! I can't wait to read the second book, as Dandy, Geoff, Henry, and Joan have all captured my imagination. I'm not too fussed by Thomas, as he's not exactly endeared himself to me, but I still want to see where his path takes him.
The writing is smoothly paced and gripping; I simply did not want to put it down. It is an interesting time in British history, and I loved seeing names I recognised in what felt like a realistic version of events. Yes, I know it's fiction, but you can clearly see the research that has gone into this story.
It was an incredible read, with plenty of ups and downs that will keep you turning the pages. Absolutely recommended by me, with 4.5 out of 5 outstanding stars. Bring on book 2!
** The same worded review will appear elsewhere. **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian
J.E. Rizzo is a life-long history fanatic and writer of historical fiction whose work can be found in Vanity Fair, The Boston Globe, The Guardian, The Tudor Times, Tudor Life Magazine, Scary Mommy, and Ultrarunning Magazine. Additionally, her article, Past and Precedence: Abortion Law in the Middle Ages and Its Use to Overturn Roe v. Wade, won History Inquiry’s Medieval History Writing Challenge. Rizzo’s debut novel, Uprising, Book One of the Fitzjohn Duology, is forthcoming from Literary Wanderlust, and tells the story of Blanche Fitzjohn, a fourteenth century neurodivergent woman whose perceived disabilities become superpowers during England’s peasant uprising of 1381.
By day, Rizzo works in Human Resources—a field offering more than ample opportunity to observe the follies and fancies of humankind. Before her career in HR, Rizzo worked as an opera singer, a professional baker, and a dog walker. These days, when not writing she can be found running ultramarathons through the forests and mountains of New England, knitting, reading, sewing, baking, or performing any number of (what some might call) old-lady hobbies. She also keeps busing caring for her two children and forty-seven houseplants, making her husband carry heavy things and cook her gourmet meals, and rehabilitating her rescue dog and semi-feral ginger cat.
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