Tanzanite's Castle Full of Books: New This Week

New This Week - December 26, 2010

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Every Sunday Tanzanite highlights books that will be released during the upcoming week. She hopes you will find something you will enjoy!

A Royal Likeness by Christine Trent. US and UK release December 28, 2010. As heiress to the famous Laurent Fashion Dolls business, Marguerite Ashby's future seems secure. But France still seethes with violence in the wake of the Revolution. And when Marguerite's husband is killed during a riot, the young widow travels to Edinburgh and becomes apprentice to her old friend, Marie Tussaud, who has established a wax exhibition. When Prime Minister William Pitt commissions a wax figure of Admiral Nelson, Marguerite becomes immersed in a dangerous adventure - and earns the admiration of two very different men. And as Britain battles to overthrow Napoleon, Marguerite will find her loyalties under fire from all sides. With a masterful eye for details, Christine Trent brings one of history's most fascinating eras to life in of a story of desire, ambition, treachery, and courage.

Richard III by David Hipshon. Non-fiction. This appears to have been released in the US a week or so ago ahead of schedule, but I thought I would go ahead and list it anyway. It was released in the UK last month. Despite reigning for only a relatively short period of time, Richard III is one of England’s most controversial monarchs. His life and rule has inspired a huge amount of literature, not least Shakespeare’s great play, and controversy still surrounds his seizure of the throne in 1485, the mystery of the disappearance of the Princes in the Tower, and his defeat and death at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.

This new biography takes a nuanced view both of Richard III’s reign and of the controversies surrounding it, exploring them in the wider context of the period. Defining Richard’s character as central to the analysis of his actions, David Hipshon emphasises the need to separate the man himself from the caricature that has so often been painted.
Incorporating new research and previously unpublished material, this book is a must-read for all those interested both in Richard III as king, and in the development of the English monarchy and society at the end of the medieval era and the beginning of the early modern period.

The Queen of Last Hopes by Susan Higginbotham. US release January 1, 2011; UK release January 31, 2011.
A man other than my husband sits on England's throne today.
What would happen if this king suddenly went mad? What would his queen do? Would she make the same mistakes I did, or would she learn from mine?
Margaret of Anjou, queen of England, cannot give up on her husband-even when he slips into insanity. And as mother to the House of Lancaster's last hope, she cannot give up on her son-even when England turns against them. This gripping tale of a queen forced to stand strong in the face of overwhelming odds is at its heart a tender tale of love.
Award-winning author Susan Higginbotham will once again ask readers to question everything they know about right and wrong, compassion and hope, duty to one's country and the desire of one's own heart.

The Reluctant Queen by Freda Lightfoot. US release January 1, 2011; released in the UK in September 2010. A brand-new historical novel from a well-loved storyteller - Sixteenth-century France. Gabrielle d’Esrées’ one wish is to marry for love, but her mother sells her as a mistress to three different men before she catches the eye – and the heart – of Henry of Navarre, King of France. Henry promises to marry her, but Gabrielle’s difficulties have just begun . . . for Henry’s wife will only divorce him if he promises not to marry Gabrielle. Is the love of a king enough to secure her both the happiness and respectability she craves and a crown for their son as the next dauphin of France?

The Young Elizabeth by Alison Plowden. Non-fiction. UK reissue January 1, 2011; will be reissued in the US in May 2011. Elizabeth I is perhaps England's most famous monarch. Born in 1533, the product of the doomed marriage of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Her mother was condemned as a witch and after her death, Elizabeth was disinherited and finally imprisoned by her jealous half-sister, Mary. Her childhood was one of fear and danger, she was aware from the outset that the eyes of the world were upon her and that to survive she would have to rely on her own judgement and strength of character. Many tried to use her for their own ends, however she rose out of the shadows and on the death of her sister, she became Gloriana - England's most iconic queen. Alison Plowden's portrayal of this young woman at turns frail and feisty, is a triumph of narrative history.