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Fiction
A selection of fiction novels written about or featuring the 'Dudley Women' and their families.
The Queen's Favourite: Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester (Tudor Court Book 1)
Author: Laura Dowers
Date: 2014
Amazon description:
"Hated by his country. Loved by England's queen.
Robert Dudley knows just how dangerous the Tudor court can be. His grandfather was beheaded by Henry VIII to enhance his popularity and Mary Tudor cut off his father’s head for attempting to make Lady Jane Grey queen. The Dudley family name is stained with treason and Robert must use every talent he possesses to survive.
When Elizabeth comes to the throne, Robert spies an opportunity to improve his family’s fortunes. They were childhood friends, and if Elizabeth is anything, she is resolutely loyal to her friends.
But her affection for Robert goes deeper than friendship, and soon, the whole of Europe is talking in whispers about the queen and her notorious horsemaster. Robert would love to fulfil his father’s dreams of becoming the power behind the English throne by marrying Queen Elizabeth, but there are a few obstacles he needs to remove, not least, his wife.
But his wife is not the only thing standing in his way. Elizabeth herself is proving difficult. She can’t make up her mind whether she should marry the man she loves or rule alone, and she’s keeping Robert, and England, guessing.
Robert’s patience is running out. He has to decide whether to stay by Elizabeth’s side and keep her love or seek a life of his own and risk losing her trust forever."
Formats Available:
Paperback
Kindle
Date: 2014
Amazon description:
"Hated by his country. Loved by England's queen.
Robert Dudley knows just how dangerous the Tudor court can be. His grandfather was beheaded by Henry VIII to enhance his popularity and Mary Tudor cut off his father’s head for attempting to make Lady Jane Grey queen. The Dudley family name is stained with treason and Robert must use every talent he possesses to survive.
When Elizabeth comes to the throne, Robert spies an opportunity to improve his family’s fortunes. They were childhood friends, and if Elizabeth is anything, she is resolutely loyal to her friends.
But her affection for Robert goes deeper than friendship, and soon, the whole of Europe is talking in whispers about the queen and her notorious horsemaster. Robert would love to fulfil his father’s dreams of becoming the power behind the English throne by marrying Queen Elizabeth, but there are a few obstacles he needs to remove, not least, his wife.
But his wife is not the only thing standing in his way. Elizabeth herself is proving difficult. She can’t make up her mind whether she should marry the man she loves or rule alone, and she’s keeping Robert, and England, guessing.
Robert’s patience is running out. He has to decide whether to stay by Elizabeth’s side and keep her love or seek a life of his own and risk losing her trust forever."
Formats Available:
Paperback
Kindle
The Queen's Rebel: Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex (The Tudor Court Book 2)
Author: Laura Dowers
Year: 2015
Amazon description:
"The queen’s hold on power grows weak and one young man is ready to take advantage.
1588. The Spanish Armada has been defeated, but Queen Elizabeth is stricken with grief, for her greatest favourite, the earl of Leicester, has died, and she feels so very alone. Her days are full of colour and life, but her nights are haunted by ghosts.
Enter Robert Devereux, earl of Essex, a handsome and charming young man, who Elizabeth hopes, will drive the ghosts away.
But Robert has plans of his own. He has his eyes on the future, and his future doesn’t include an old woman sitting on the throne of England. He’s looking forward to the day when a man once again wears England’s crown, and he’s going to do all he can to bring it about, even if that means turning traitor to his queen.
But Elizabeth is not as weak as Robert supposes. She has always been a survivor and is ready to fight to keep her throne.
Robert must succeed. In the dangerous world of the Tudor court, there aren't any prizes for coming second, only death at the hands of the victor."
Formats available:
Paperback
Kindle
Year: 2015
Amazon description:
"The queen’s hold on power grows weak and one young man is ready to take advantage.
1588. The Spanish Armada has been defeated, but Queen Elizabeth is stricken with grief, for her greatest favourite, the earl of Leicester, has died, and she feels so very alone. Her days are full of colour and life, but her nights are haunted by ghosts.
Enter Robert Devereux, earl of Essex, a handsome and charming young man, who Elizabeth hopes, will drive the ghosts away.
But Robert has plans of his own. He has his eyes on the future, and his future doesn’t include an old woman sitting on the throne of England. He’s looking forward to the day when a man once again wears England’s crown, and he’s going to do all he can to bring it about, even if that means turning traitor to his queen.
But Elizabeth is not as weak as Robert supposes. She has always been a survivor and is ready to fight to keep her throne.
Robert must succeed. In the dangerous world of the Tudor court, there aren't any prizes for coming second, only death at the hands of the victor."
Formats available:
Paperback
Kindle
Queen's Gambit
[Tudor Trilogy, Book 1]
Author: Elizabeth Freemantle
Year: 2013
Audible Narrator: Georgina Sutton
Amazon description:
"Meet the woman who survived Henry VIII in Elizabeth Fremantle's first novel, Queen's Gambit...
My name is Katherine Parr.
I'm 31 years old and already twice widowed.
I'm in love with a man I can't have, and am about to wed a man no-one would want - for my husband-to-be is none other than Henry VIII, who has already beheaded two wives, cast aside two more, and watched one die in childbirth.
What will become of me once I'm wearing his ring and become Queen of England?
They say that the sharpest blades are sheathed in the softest pouches.
Only time will tell what I am really made of..."
Formats Available:
Hardcover
Paperback
Kindle
Audiobook/Audible
Year: 2013
Audible Narrator: Georgina Sutton
Amazon description:
"Meet the woman who survived Henry VIII in Elizabeth Fremantle's first novel, Queen's Gambit...
My name is Katherine Parr.
I'm 31 years old and already twice widowed.
I'm in love with a man I can't have, and am about to wed a man no-one would want - for my husband-to-be is none other than Henry VIII, who has already beheaded two wives, cast aside two more, and watched one die in childbirth.
What will become of me once I'm wearing his ring and become Queen of England?
They say that the sharpest blades are sheathed in the softest pouches.
Only time will tell what I am really made of..."
Formats Available:
Hardcover
Paperback
Kindle
Audiobook/Audible
Sisters of Treason
[Tudor Trilogy, Book 2]
Author: Elizabeth Freemantle
Year: 2014
Audible Narrators: Georgina Sutton, Rachel Bavidge and Teresa Gallagher
Amazon description:
"Mary Tudor clings fearfully to the English throne.
Seeing the threat posed by her cousin, Lady Jane Grey, the Queen orders her execution. But what of Lady Jane's young sisters - Katherine and Mary? Cursed with royal blood, they must endure the perils of a Tudor court, closely observed by its paranoid Queen.
Entranced by the drama, intrigue and romance of court life, young Lady Katherine's desire for love leads her to make ill-advised and dangerous liaisons. Burdened with a crooked back, her younger sister, Lady Mary - the 'mouse' - is seen as no threat and becomes privy to the Queen's most intimate secrets. Yet Mary, who yearns to escape court dramas, knows her closeness to the Queen could be her undoing.
For the Queen is childless and in ill-health. If she should die, her fearsome sister Elizabeth will inherit the crown. Then Katherine and Mary will find court a maze of treachery and danger - where possessing royal blood is the gravest crime of all . . ."
Formats Available:
Paperback
Kindle
Audiobook/Audible
Year: 2014
Audible Narrators: Georgina Sutton, Rachel Bavidge and Teresa Gallagher
Amazon description:
"Mary Tudor clings fearfully to the English throne.
Seeing the threat posed by her cousin, Lady Jane Grey, the Queen orders her execution. But what of Lady Jane's young sisters - Katherine and Mary? Cursed with royal blood, they must endure the perils of a Tudor court, closely observed by its paranoid Queen.
Entranced by the drama, intrigue and romance of court life, young Lady Katherine's desire for love leads her to make ill-advised and dangerous liaisons. Burdened with a crooked back, her younger sister, Lady Mary - the 'mouse' - is seen as no threat and becomes privy to the Queen's most intimate secrets. Yet Mary, who yearns to escape court dramas, knows her closeness to the Queen could be her undoing.
For the Queen is childless and in ill-health. If she should die, her fearsome sister Elizabeth will inherit the crown. Then Katherine and Mary will find court a maze of treachery and danger - where possessing royal blood is the gravest crime of all . . ."
Formats Available:
Paperback
Kindle
Audiobook/Audible
Watch the Lady
[Tudor Trilogy, Book 3]
Author: Elizabeth Freemantle
Year: 2015
Audible Narrators: Georgina Sutton & Roy McMillan
Amazon description:
"THE QUEEN'S GODDAUGHTER. HER MOST TRUSTED MAID. ADULTRESS. ENEMY OF THE STATE. WHO IS THE REAL PENELOPE DEVEREUX? Penelope Devereux is a legendary beauty in the court of Elizabeth I, with a smile that would light up the shadows of hell. But it's not just her looks which have won her favour with the Queen wing; her canny instinct for being in the right place at the right time, and her skilled political manoeuvrings under the guise of diplomacy, have rendered her a formidable adversary to anyone who stands in her path. Including Elizabeth. For Penelope must secure the future of the Devereux dynasty at whatever cost. Even treason. And the Queen, a woman she holds responsible for the death of her father, the exile of her mother and her failure to marry the one man she ever truly loved, is just one more pawn in a deadly game. Walking the knife-edge of court, whilst ensuring that her reckless brother Essex remains the only star in the Queen's firmament - and out of the Tower - Penelope must plan for the inevitable succession of an ailing monarch. But her secret letters of friendship to a foreign King - one who has a strong claim to the English throne - could see her illustrious family in the gutter and her own head on the block. It would only take a single mistake, a slip of the tongue, an intercepted message for Penelope to become the architect of her downfall. In a world where sister is turned against brother, husband against wife, courtier against queen, the rules of the game are forever changing."
Formats Available:
Hardcover
Paperback
Kindle
Audiobook/Audible
Year: 2015
Audible Narrators: Georgina Sutton & Roy McMillan
Amazon description:
"THE QUEEN'S GODDAUGHTER. HER MOST TRUSTED MAID. ADULTRESS. ENEMY OF THE STATE. WHO IS THE REAL PENELOPE DEVEREUX? Penelope Devereux is a legendary beauty in the court of Elizabeth I, with a smile that would light up the shadows of hell. But it's not just her looks which have won her favour with the Queen wing; her canny instinct for being in the right place at the right time, and her skilled political manoeuvrings under the guise of diplomacy, have rendered her a formidable adversary to anyone who stands in her path. Including Elizabeth. For Penelope must secure the future of the Devereux dynasty at whatever cost. Even treason. And the Queen, a woman she holds responsible for the death of her father, the exile of her mother and her failure to marry the one man she ever truly loved, is just one more pawn in a deadly game. Walking the knife-edge of court, whilst ensuring that her reckless brother Essex remains the only star in the Queen's firmament - and out of the Tower - Penelope must plan for the inevitable succession of an ailing monarch. But her secret letters of friendship to a foreign King - one who has a strong claim to the English throne - could see her illustrious family in the gutter and her own head on the block. It would only take a single mistake, a slip of the tongue, an intercepted message for Penelope to become the architect of her downfall. In a world where sister is turned against brother, husband against wife, courtier against queen, the rules of the game are forever changing."
Formats Available:
Hardcover
Paperback
Kindle
Audiobook/Audible
The Last Tudor
Author: Philippa Gregory
Year: 2017
Audible Narrator: Bianca Amato
Amazon Description:
"Jane Grey was Queen of England for nine days. Using her position as cousin to the deceased king, her father and his conspirators put her on the throne ahead of the king’s half-sister Mary, who quickly mustered an army, claimed her crown and locked Jane in the Tower. When Jane refused to betray her Protestant faith, Mary sent her to the executioner’s block. There Jane turned her father’s greedy, failed grab for power into her own brave and tragic martyrdom.
‘Learn you to die’ is the advice that Jane gives in a letter to her younger sister Katherine, who has no intention of dying. She intends to enjoy her beauty and her youth and find love. But her lineage makes her a threat to the insecure and infertile Queen Mary and, when Mary dies, to her sister Queen Elizabeth, who will never allow Katherine to marry and produce a potential royal heir before she does. So when Katherine’s secret marriage is revealed by her pregnancy, she too must go to the Tower.
‘Farewell, my sister,’ writes Katherine to the youngest Grey sister, Mary. A beautiful dwarf, disregarded by the court, Mary finds it easy to keep secrets, especially her own, while avoiding Elizabeth’s suspicious glare. After watching her sisters defy the queen, Mary is aware of her own perilous position as a possible heir to the throne. But she is determined to command her own destiny and be the last Tudor to risk her life in matching wits with her ruthless and unforgiving cousin Elizabeth."
Formats Available:
Paperback
Kindle
Audiobook/Audible
Year: 2017
Audible Narrator: Bianca Amato
Amazon Description:
"Jane Grey was Queen of England for nine days. Using her position as cousin to the deceased king, her father and his conspirators put her on the throne ahead of the king’s half-sister Mary, who quickly mustered an army, claimed her crown and locked Jane in the Tower. When Jane refused to betray her Protestant faith, Mary sent her to the executioner’s block. There Jane turned her father’s greedy, failed grab for power into her own brave and tragic martyrdom.
‘Learn you to die’ is the advice that Jane gives in a letter to her younger sister Katherine, who has no intention of dying. She intends to enjoy her beauty and her youth and find love. But her lineage makes her a threat to the insecure and infertile Queen Mary and, when Mary dies, to her sister Queen Elizabeth, who will never allow Katherine to marry and produce a potential royal heir before she does. So when Katherine’s secret marriage is revealed by her pregnancy, she too must go to the Tower.
‘Farewell, my sister,’ writes Katherine to the youngest Grey sister, Mary. A beautiful dwarf, disregarded by the court, Mary finds it easy to keep secrets, especially her own, while avoiding Elizabeth’s suspicious glare. After watching her sisters defy the queen, Mary is aware of her own perilous position as a possible heir to the throne. But she is determined to command her own destiny and be the last Tudor to risk her life in matching wits with her ruthless and unforgiving cousin Elizabeth."
Formats Available:
Paperback
Kindle
Audiobook/Audible
The Other Boleyn Girl
Author: Philippa Gregory
Year: 2001
Audible Narrator: Vanessa Kirby
Amazon Description:
"This chance for us Howards comes once in a century…
1521. Henry VIII rules over a fashionable court alive with pageant and celebration, the lack of a son his only threat. When young Mary Boleyn arrives at court, she becomes his new mistress, an unwitting pawn in the ambitions of the powerful Boleyn and Howard families.
As Henry’s interest begins to wane, the Boleyns scheme to put forward Mary’s sister, Anne. Yet Anne Boleyn, newly returned from the French court, won’t agree to be Henry’s mistress – only his wife.
Pitting the king’s desperation for an heir against the advice of his powerful advisors, Wolsey and Cromwell, what follows will change the course of a country’s history."
Formats Available:
Paperback
Kindle
Audiobook/Audible
Year: 2001
Audible Narrator: Vanessa Kirby
Amazon Description:
"This chance for us Howards comes once in a century…
1521. Henry VIII rules over a fashionable court alive with pageant and celebration, the lack of a son his only threat. When young Mary Boleyn arrives at court, she becomes his new mistress, an unwitting pawn in the ambitions of the powerful Boleyn and Howard families.
As Henry’s interest begins to wane, the Boleyns scheme to put forward Mary’s sister, Anne. Yet Anne Boleyn, newly returned from the French court, won’t agree to be Henry’s mistress – only his wife.
Pitting the king’s desperation for an heir against the advice of his powerful advisors, Wolsey and Cromwell, what follows will change the course of a country’s history."
Formats Available:
Paperback
Kindle
Audiobook/Audible
The Virgin's Lover
Author: Philippa Gregory
Year: 2011
Audible Narrator: Perdita Weeks
Amazon description:
" sumptuous historical novel set in the court of Elizabeth I, from Sunday Times No.1 bestseller Philippa Gregory, the author of The Other Boleyn Girl.
Now I can be the queen that my mother intended me to be . . . the queen I was born to be.
1558. After years of waiting, Princess Elizabeth accedes to the throne of England.
But the country is divided, the restoration of the Protestant faith ignites opposition from the church and beyond, and court remains a treacherous place.
Many believe that Elizabeth must marry if she is to survive. For Robert Dudley, Elizabeth’s ascension is a glorious new dawn, and he quickly positions himself as the young queen’s favourite. Dudley is a man of powerful lineage; his father had been a kingmaker at the court of Henry VIII. But Dudley has many enemies, amongst them William Cecil, the queen’s most trusted advisor.
As powerful families vie for stakes in the emerging kingdom, Elizabeth must secure her own future."
Formats Available:
Paperback
Kindle
Audiobook/Audible
Year: 2011
Audible Narrator: Perdita Weeks
Amazon description:
" sumptuous historical novel set in the court of Elizabeth I, from Sunday Times No.1 bestseller Philippa Gregory, the author of The Other Boleyn Girl.
Now I can be the queen that my mother intended me to be . . . the queen I was born to be.
1558. After years of waiting, Princess Elizabeth accedes to the throne of England.
But the country is divided, the restoration of the Protestant faith ignites opposition from the church and beyond, and court remains a treacherous place.
Many believe that Elizabeth must marry if she is to survive. For Robert Dudley, Elizabeth’s ascension is a glorious new dawn, and he quickly positions himself as the young queen’s favourite. Dudley is a man of powerful lineage; his father had been a kingmaker at the court of Henry VIII. But Dudley has many enemies, amongst them William Cecil, the queen’s most trusted advisor.
As powerful families vie for stakes in the emerging kingdom, Elizabeth must secure her own future."
Formats Available:
Paperback
Kindle
Audiobook/Audible
My Lady Jane
Authors: Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows
Year: 2016
Amazon Description:
"In My Lady Jane, coauthors Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows have created a one-of-a-kind YA fantasy in the tradition of The Princess Bride, featuring a reluctant king, an even more reluctant queen, a noble steed, and only a passing resemblance to actual history--because sometimes history needs a little help.
At sixteen, Lady Jane Grey is about to be married off to a stranger and caught up in a conspiracy to rob her cousin, King Edward, of his throne. But those trifling problems aren't for Jane to worry about. Jane gets to be Queen of England."
Formats Available:
Paperback
Kindle
Year: 2016
Amazon Description:
"In My Lady Jane, coauthors Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows have created a one-of-a-kind YA fantasy in the tradition of The Princess Bride, featuring a reluctant king, an even more reluctant queen, a noble steed, and only a passing resemblance to actual history--because sometimes history needs a little help.
At sixteen, Lady Jane Grey is about to be married off to a stranger and caught up in a conspiracy to rob her cousin, King Edward, of his throne. But those trifling problems aren't for Jane to worry about. Jane gets to be Queen of England."
Formats Available:
Paperback
Kindle
Wolf Hall (Wolf Hall Trilogy 1)
Author: Hilary Mantel
Year: 2009
Audible Narrator: Ben Miles
Amazon Description:
"England, the 1520s. Henry VIII is on the throne, but has no heir. Cardinal Wolsey is his chief advisor, charged with securing the divorce the pope refuses to grant. Into this atmosphere of distrust and need comes Thomas Cromwell, first as Wolsey's clerk, and later his successor.
Cromwell is a wholly original man: the son of a brutal blacksmith, a political genius, a briber, a charmer, a bully, a man with a delicate and deadly expertise in manipulating people and events. Ruthless in pursuit of his own interests, he is as ambitious in his wider politics as he is for himself. His reforming agenda is carried out in the grip of a self-interested parliament and a king who fluctuates between romantic passions and murderous rages.
From one of our finest living writers, Wolf Hall is that very rare thing: a truly great English novel, one that explores the intersection of individual psychology and wider politics. With a vast array of characters, and richly overflowing with incident, it peels back history to show us Tudor England as a half-made society, moulding itself with great passion and suffering and courage."
Formats Available:
Hardcover
Paperback
Kindle
Audiobook (Audible)
Year: 2009
Audible Narrator: Ben Miles
Amazon Description:
"England, the 1520s. Henry VIII is on the throne, but has no heir. Cardinal Wolsey is his chief advisor, charged with securing the divorce the pope refuses to grant. Into this atmosphere of distrust and need comes Thomas Cromwell, first as Wolsey's clerk, and later his successor.
Cromwell is a wholly original man: the son of a brutal blacksmith, a political genius, a briber, a charmer, a bully, a man with a delicate and deadly expertise in manipulating people and events. Ruthless in pursuit of his own interests, he is as ambitious in his wider politics as he is for himself. His reforming agenda is carried out in the grip of a self-interested parliament and a king who fluctuates between romantic passions and murderous rages.
From one of our finest living writers, Wolf Hall is that very rare thing: a truly great English novel, one that explores the intersection of individual psychology and wider politics. With a vast array of characters, and richly overflowing with incident, it peels back history to show us Tudor England as a half-made society, moulding itself with great passion and suffering and courage."
Formats Available:
Hardcover
Paperback
Kindle
Audiobook (Audible)
Bring Up the Bodies (Wolf Hall Trilogy 2)
Author: Hilary Mantel
Year: 2012
Audible Narrator: Ben Miles
Amazon Description:
"By 1535 Thomas Cromwell is Chief Minister to Henry VIII, his fortunes having risen with those of Anne Boleyn, the king’s new wife. But Anne has failed to give the king an heir, and Cromwell watches as Henry falls for plain Jane Seymour. Cromwell must find a solution that will satisfy Henry, safeguard the nation and secure his own career. But neither minister nor king will emerge unscathed from the bloody theatre of Anne’s final days.
An astounding literary accomplishment, Bring Up the Bodies is the story of this most terrifying moment of history, by one of our greatest living novelists."
Formats Available:
Hardcover
Paperback
Kindle
Audiobook (Audible)
Year: 2012
Audible Narrator: Ben Miles
Amazon Description:
"By 1535 Thomas Cromwell is Chief Minister to Henry VIII, his fortunes having risen with those of Anne Boleyn, the king’s new wife. But Anne has failed to give the king an heir, and Cromwell watches as Henry falls for plain Jane Seymour. Cromwell must find a solution that will satisfy Henry, safeguard the nation and secure his own career. But neither minister nor king will emerge unscathed from the bloody theatre of Anne’s final days.
An astounding literary accomplishment, Bring Up the Bodies is the story of this most terrifying moment of history, by one of our greatest living novelists."
Formats Available:
Hardcover
Paperback
Kindle
Audiobook (Audible)
The Mirror & the Light (Wolf Hall Trilogy 3)
Author: Hilary Mantel
Year: 2020
Audible Narrator: Ben Miles
Amazon Description:
"England, May 1536. Anne Boleyn is dead, decapitated in the space of a heartbeat by a hired French executioner. As her remains are bundled into oblivion, Thomas Cromwell breakfasts with the victors. The blacksmith’s son from Putney emerges from the spring’s bloodbath to continue his climb to power and wealth, while his formidable master, Henry VIII, settles to short-lived happiness with his third queen, Jane Seymour.
Cromwell is a man with only his wits to rely on; he has no great family to back him, no private army. Despite rebellion at home, traitors plotting abroad and the threat of invasion testing Henry’s regime to breaking point, Cromwell’s robust imagination sees a new country in the mirror of the future. But can a nation, or a person, shed the past like a skin? Do the dead continually unbury themselves? What will you do, the Spanish ambassador asks Cromwell, when the king turns on you, as sooner or later he turns on everyone close to him?
With The Mirror and the Light, Hilary Mantel brings to a triumphant close the trilogy she began with Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies. She traces the final years of Thomas Cromwell, the boy from nowhere who climbs to the heights of power, offering a defining portrait of predator and prey, of a ferocious contest between present and past, between royal will and a common man’s vision: of a modern nation making itself through conflict, passion and courage."
Formats Available:
Hardcover
Paperback
Kindle
Audiobook (Audible)
Year: 2020
Audible Narrator: Ben Miles
Amazon Description:
"England, May 1536. Anne Boleyn is dead, decapitated in the space of a heartbeat by a hired French executioner. As her remains are bundled into oblivion, Thomas Cromwell breakfasts with the victors. The blacksmith’s son from Putney emerges from the spring’s bloodbath to continue his climb to power and wealth, while his formidable master, Henry VIII, settles to short-lived happiness with his third queen, Jane Seymour.
Cromwell is a man with only his wits to rely on; he has no great family to back him, no private army. Despite rebellion at home, traitors plotting abroad and the threat of invasion testing Henry’s regime to breaking point, Cromwell’s robust imagination sees a new country in the mirror of the future. But can a nation, or a person, shed the past like a skin? Do the dead continually unbury themselves? What will you do, the Spanish ambassador asks Cromwell, when the king turns on you, as sooner or later he turns on everyone close to him?
With The Mirror and the Light, Hilary Mantel brings to a triumphant close the trilogy she began with Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies. She traces the final years of Thomas Cromwell, the boy from nowhere who climbs to the heights of power, offering a defining portrait of predator and prey, of a ferocious contest between present and past, between royal will and a common man’s vision: of a modern nation making itself through conflict, passion and courage."
Formats Available:
Hardcover
Paperback
Kindle
Audiobook (Audible)
Lamentation (Shardlake Book 6)
Author: C.J.Samson
Year: 2014
Audible Narrator: Steven Crossley
Amazon Description:
"England, 1546. King Henry VIII is dying. Meanwhile, his Protestant and Catholic councillors are engaged in a final and decisive power struggle to control the government of Henry’s successor, eight–year–old Prince Edward. As heretics are hunted across London, the Catholic party focus their attack on Henry’s sixth wife, Matthew Shardlake’s old mentor, Queen Catherine Parr, and Shardlake is unexpectedly summoned to Whitehall Palace.
For the Queen has a secret. She has written a confessional book, Lamentation of a Sinner, so radically Protestant that if it came to the King’s attention it could bring both her and her sympathizers crashing down.
When the book inexplicably vanishes, and a single page is found clutched in the hand of a murdered printer, Shardlake must help the desperate Queen. His loyalty will drive him into a swirl of intrigue inside the palace, where Catholic enemies and Protestant friends can be equally dangerous, and the political opportunists, who will follow the wind wherever it blows, more dangerous than either . . ."
Formats Available:
Hardcover
Paperback
Kindle
Audiobook (Audible)
Year: 2014
Audible Narrator: Steven Crossley
Amazon Description:
"England, 1546. King Henry VIII is dying. Meanwhile, his Protestant and Catholic councillors are engaged in a final and decisive power struggle to control the government of Henry’s successor, eight–year–old Prince Edward. As heretics are hunted across London, the Catholic party focus their attack on Henry’s sixth wife, Matthew Shardlake’s old mentor, Queen Catherine Parr, and Shardlake is unexpectedly summoned to Whitehall Palace.
For the Queen has a secret. She has written a confessional book, Lamentation of a Sinner, so radically Protestant that if it came to the King’s attention it could bring both her and her sympathizers crashing down.
When the book inexplicably vanishes, and a single page is found clutched in the hand of a murdered printer, Shardlake must help the desperate Queen. His loyalty will drive him into a swirl of intrigue inside the palace, where Catholic enemies and Protestant friends can be equally dangerous, and the political opportunists, who will follow the wind wherever it blows, more dangerous than either . . ."
Formats Available:
Hardcover
Paperback
Kindle
Audiobook (Audible)
Tombland (Shardlake Book 7)
Author: C.J.Samson
Year: 2018
Audible Narrator: Steven Crossley
Amazon Description:
"Tombland is the seventh epic novel in C. J. Sansom's number one bestselling Shardlake series, perfect for fans of Hilary Mantel and Philippa Gregory.
England, 1549. Two years after the death of Henry VIII, England is sliding into chaos. The economy is in collapse, inflation rages and rebellion is stirring among the peasantry . . .
Since the old king’s death, Matthew Shardlake has been working as a lawyer in the service of Henry’s daughter, the Lady Elizabeth. The gruesome murder of Edith Boleyn – a distant relative in Norfolk – sends Shardlake and his assistant Nicholas Overton to the summer Assizes at Norwich. And then East Anglia explodes, as peasant rebellion breaks out across the country. The yeoman Robert Kett leads a force of thousands in overthrowing the landlords and taking over Norwich, England’s second largest city.
Now Shardlake must decide where his ultimate loyalties lie, as government forces in London prepare to march north and destroy the rebels. Meanwhile he discovers that the murder of Edith Boleyn may have connections reaching into both the heart of the Norfolk gentry and the rebel camp itself . . ."
Formats Available:
Hardcover
Paperback
Kindle
Audiobook (Audible)
Year: 2018
Audible Narrator: Steven Crossley
Amazon Description:
"Tombland is the seventh epic novel in C. J. Sansom's number one bestselling Shardlake series, perfect for fans of Hilary Mantel and Philippa Gregory.
England, 1549. Two years after the death of Henry VIII, England is sliding into chaos. The economy is in collapse, inflation rages and rebellion is stirring among the peasantry . . .
Since the old king’s death, Matthew Shardlake has been working as a lawyer in the service of Henry’s daughter, the Lady Elizabeth. The gruesome murder of Edith Boleyn – a distant relative in Norfolk – sends Shardlake and his assistant Nicholas Overton to the summer Assizes at Norwich. And then East Anglia explodes, as peasant rebellion breaks out across the country. The yeoman Robert Kett leads a force of thousands in overthrowing the landlords and taking over Norwich, England’s second largest city.
Now Shardlake must decide where his ultimate loyalties lie, as government forces in London prepare to march north and destroy the rebels. Meanwhile he discovers that the murder of Edith Boleyn may have connections reaching into both the heart of the Norfolk gentry and the rebel camp itself . . ."
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Kenilworth
Author: Sir Walter Scott
Year: 1821
Amazon Description:
"Kenilworth. A Romance is a historical novel by Sir Walter Scott, first published on 8 January 1821. Set apparently in 1575, Kenilworth centers on the secret marriage of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, and Amy Robsart, daughter of Sir Hugh Robsart.
Kenilworth is a novel of selfishness versus selflessness and ambition versus love.
The novel gives a fair depiction of the Elizabethan court."
Formats Available:
Paperback
Audiobook/Audible
Year: 1821
Amazon Description:
"Kenilworth. A Romance is a historical novel by Sir Walter Scott, first published on 8 January 1821. Set apparently in 1575, Kenilworth centers on the secret marriage of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, and Amy Robsart, daughter of Sir Hugh Robsart.
Kenilworth is a novel of selfishness versus selflessness and ambition versus love.
The novel gives a fair depiction of the Elizabethan court."
Formats Available:
Paperback
Audiobook/Audible
Innocent Traitor
Author: Alison Weir
Year: 2011
Audible Narrator: Patience Tomlinson
Amazon description:
"Lady Jane Grey was born into the most dangerous of times. Child of a scheming father and a ruthless mother for whom she was a pawn in a dynastic game with the highest stakes, she lived a life in thrall to political machinations and lethal religious fervour.
Growing up with the future Queen Elizabeth and her reluctant nemesis, Mary, she soon learned the truth of the values imparted to her by Henry VIII's last Queen, Katherine Parr. Her honesty, intelligence and strength of character carried her through all the vicious twists of Tudor power politics to her nine-day reign and its unbearably poignant conclusion."
Formats Available:
Paperback
Kindle
Audiobook/Audible
Year: 2011
Audible Narrator: Patience Tomlinson
Amazon description:
"Lady Jane Grey was born into the most dangerous of times. Child of a scheming father and a ruthless mother for whom she was a pawn in a dynastic game with the highest stakes, she lived a life in thrall to political machinations and lethal religious fervour.
Growing up with the future Queen Elizabeth and her reluctant nemesis, Mary, she soon learned the truth of the values imparted to her by Henry VIII's last Queen, Katherine Parr. Her honesty, intelligence and strength of character carried her through all the vicious twists of Tudor power politics to her nine-day reign and its unbearably poignant conclusion."
Formats Available:
Paperback
Kindle
Audiobook/Audible
The Marriage Game
Author: Alison Weir
Year: 2014
Audible Narrator: Julia Franklin
Amazon Description:
"It was an affair that shocked the world.
Elizabeth I is the most sought-after bride in Europe. But though she is formidably intelligent, brave and tempestuous, she is desperately insecure. The tragic events in her past mean she cannot give herself to any man, and yet she relishes the thrill of the chase, the lure of forbidden fruit.
And so, using sex and high-powered diplomacy, she plays what becomes known as the 'Marriage Game', dangling suitors to keep them friendly to her kingdom, while holding them off indefinitely.
But playing this tantalising game with the married Robert Dudley, the son and grandson of traitors, could cost her the throne…"
Formats Available:
Paperback
Kindle
Audiobook/Audible
Year: 2014
Audible Narrator: Julia Franklin
Amazon Description:
"It was an affair that shocked the world.
Elizabeth I is the most sought-after bride in Europe. But though she is formidably intelligent, brave and tempestuous, she is desperately insecure. The tragic events in her past mean she cannot give herself to any man, and yet she relishes the thrill of the chase, the lure of forbidden fruit.
And so, using sex and high-powered diplomacy, she plays what becomes known as the 'Marriage Game', dangling suitors to keep them friendly to her kingdom, while holding them off indefinitely.
But playing this tantalising game with the married Robert Dudley, the son and grandson of traitors, could cost her the throne…"
Formats Available:
Paperback
Kindle
Audiobook/Audible
Six Tudor Queens: Jane Seymour - The Haunted Queen
Author: Alison Weir
Year: 2018
Audible Narrator: Rose Akroyd
Amazon Description:
"THE WOMAN HAUNTED BY THE FATE OF HER PREDECESSOR.
Eleven days after the death of Anne Boleyn, Jane is dressing for her wedding to the King.
She has witnessed at first hand how courtly play can quickly turn to danger and knows she must bear a son . . . or face ruin.
This new Queen must therefore step out from the shadows cast by Katherine and Anne. In doing so, can she expose a gentler side to the brutal King?
JANE SEYMOUR
THE THIRD OF HENRY'S QUEENS
HER STORY
Acclaimed, bestselling historian Alison Weir draws on new research for her captivating novel, which paints a compelling portrait of Jane and casts fresh light on both traditional and modern perceptions of her. Jane was driven by the strength of her faith and a belief that she might do some good in a wicked world.
History tells us how she died.
This spellbinding novel explores the life she lived."
Formats Available:
Hardcover
Paperback
Kindle
Audible/Audiobook
Year: 2018
Audible Narrator: Rose Akroyd
Amazon Description:
"THE WOMAN HAUNTED BY THE FATE OF HER PREDECESSOR.
Eleven days after the death of Anne Boleyn, Jane is dressing for her wedding to the King.
She has witnessed at first hand how courtly play can quickly turn to danger and knows she must bear a son . . . or face ruin.
This new Queen must therefore step out from the shadows cast by Katherine and Anne. In doing so, can she expose a gentler side to the brutal King?
JANE SEYMOUR
THE THIRD OF HENRY'S QUEENS
HER STORY
Acclaimed, bestselling historian Alison Weir draws on new research for her captivating novel, which paints a compelling portrait of Jane and casts fresh light on both traditional and modern perceptions of her. Jane was driven by the strength of her faith and a belief that she might do some good in a wicked world.
History tells us how she died.
This spellbinding novel explores the life she lived."
Formats Available:
Hardcover
Paperback
Kindle
Audible/Audiobook
Six Tudor Queens: Katharine Parr - The Sixth Wife
Author: Alison Weir
Year: 2021
Audible Narrator: Beth Eyre
Amazon Description:
"Alison Weir, historian and author of the SUNDAY TIMES bestselling SIX TUDOR QUEENS series, recounts the story of Henry VIII's last wife - Katharine Parr, the queen who survived him.
---
A WOMAN TORN BETWEEN LOVE AND DUTY.
Two husbands dead, a boy and a sick man. Now Katharine is free to make her own choice.
The ageing King's eye falls upon her. She cannot refuse him... or betray that she wanted another.
She becomes Henry's sixth wife - a queen and trusted friend. But Katharine is hiding another secret in her heart, a deeply held faith that could see her burn...
KATHARINE PARR. HENRY'S FINAL QUEEN. HER STORY.
Renowned, bestselling historian Alison Weir reveals a warm, clever woman of great fortitude who rose boldly to every turn her life took."
Formats Available:
Hardcover
Paperback
Kindle
Audible/Audiobook
Year: 2021
Audible Narrator: Beth Eyre
Amazon Description:
"Alison Weir, historian and author of the SUNDAY TIMES bestselling SIX TUDOR QUEENS series, recounts the story of Henry VIII's last wife - Katharine Parr, the queen who survived him.
---
A WOMAN TORN BETWEEN LOVE AND DUTY.
Two husbands dead, a boy and a sick man. Now Katharine is free to make her own choice.
The ageing King's eye falls upon her. She cannot refuse him... or betray that she wanted another.
She becomes Henry's sixth wife - a queen and trusted friend. But Katharine is hiding another secret in her heart, a deeply held faith that could see her burn...
KATHARINE PARR. HENRY'S FINAL QUEEN. HER STORY.
Renowned, bestselling historian Alison Weir reveals a warm, clever woman of great fortitude who rose boldly to every turn her life took."
Formats Available:
Hardcover
Paperback
Kindle
Audible/Audiobook
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