The First Princess of Wales The First Princess of Wales The First Princess of Wales (originally published as Sweet Passion's Pain) is a 1984 historical fiction novel by American author Karen Harper. Set during the 14th-century, it follows the romance between Joan of Kent and Edward, the Black Prince. Set during the reign of Edward III of England in the 14th-century, the novel follows the romance between Joan of Kent and Edward's eldest son, Edward, the Black Prince. "The First Princess of Wales" was written by American author Karen Harper and published as her third novel. Harper was inspired to become a writer by the
John of Gaunt scale and organisation to that of a monarch. He owned land in almost every county in England, a patrimony that produced a net income of between £8,000 and £10,000 a year. After the death in 1376 of his older brother Edward of Woodstock (also known as the "Black Prince"), John of Gaunt contrived to protect the religious reformer John Wycliffe, possibly to counteract the growing secular power of the church. However, John's ascendancy to political power coincided with widespread resentment of his influence. At a time when English forces encountered setbacks in the Hundred Years' War against France, and Edward