Tanzanite's Castle Full of Books

One of my favorite places from our 2009 trip was Tintern Abbey in southeast Wales.

The Favored Queen by Carolly Erickson.  USand UK  release September 27, 2011 (reposted with b&w cover).

From The New York Times bestselling author of The Last Wife of Henry VIII comes a powerful and moving novel about Jane Seymour, third wife of Henry VIII, who married him only days after the execution of Anne Boleyn and ultimately lost her own life in giving him the son he badly needed to guarantee the Tudor succession


Born into an ambitious noble family, young Jane Seymour is sent to Court as a Maid of Honor to Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s aging queen. She is devoted to her mistress and watches with empathy as the calculating Anne Boleyn contrives to supplant her as queen. Anne’s single-minded intriguing threatens all who stand in her way; she does not hesitate to arrange the murder of a woman who knows a secret so dark that, if revealed, would make it impossible for the king to marry Anne.

Once Anne becomes queen, no one at court is safe, and Jane herself becomes the object of Anne’s venomous rage when she suspects Jane has become the object of the king’s lust. Henry, fearing that Anne’s inability to give him a son is a sign of divine wrath, asks Jane to become his next queen. Deeply reluctant to embark on such a dangerous course, Jane must choose between her heart and her loyalty to the king.

Acclaimed biographer and bestselling novelist Carolly Erickson weaves another of her irresistible historical entertainments about the queen who finally gave Henry VIII his longed for heir, set against the excitement and danger of the Tudor Court.



Anne Boleyn:  The Young Queen to Be by Josephine Wilkinson.  Non-fiction.  US and UK release June 15, 2011.



As the chaos of war spreads out across Europe, Charles V extends his empire in a series of ruthless and aggressive moves. The Medici Pope has formed an alliance to drive Charles out of Italy for good.  Only England holds aloof from the great struggle that is to come. The 36-year-old Henry VIII presides over an opulent and glamorous court, thinking only of the woman with whom he has fallen in love.

In the midst of this politically sensitive and dangerous world, steps Richard Dansey, a young and ambitious jewel merchant, determined to break his mother’s stranglehold on the family firm after his father’s early death.  Richard’s reckless pursuit of jewels worthy of Henry’s wooing of Anne Boleyn, lead him across Europe to Venice and Rome. Obsessed with one diamond, but dangerously distracted by love, Richard finds himself thrust into the heart of the murderous politics of the Tudor court.

Thanks to the generosity of author D.L. Bogdan, I have two signed copies of her latest book, Rivals in the Tudor Court (released tomorrow) to give away!  To enter, please complete the following form by May 5, 2011.  You must be a resident of the US or Canada. 

About the book:
The death toll in Henry VIII's England can be counted in the thousands. No one was more aware of this than Thomas Howard, third duke of Norfolk. Relying on his indomitable force of will, cleverness, and sheer good fortune, Thomas Howard manages to be one of the king's only intimates to survive an unforgettable reign of terror. This impeccably researched companion piece to "Secrets of the Tudor Court" chronicles the ambitious duke's life, loves, and remarkable capacity to endure. Before he was the king's uncle, before he was his nieces' ultimate betrayer, Thomas Howard was a hostage at the court of Henry VII while his father was imprisoned in the dreaded Tower of London. There he would marry the queen's sister, his forever princess Anne Plantagenet. While he founded a dynasty, his career as soldier and sailor brought him acclaim and the trust of the Tudors. But when unspeakable tragedy robs him of family and fortune, Thomas must begin again. Abandoning notions of love, Thomas seeks out an advantageous match with the fiery Elizabeth Stafford, daughter of the duke of Buckingham. Clever, willful, and uncompromising in principle, the young duchess falls victim to a love she cannot deny. When Thomas takes on a mistress, the vulnerable Bess Holland, Duchess Elizabeth prepares to fight for all she holds dear. Only then does she learn she faces a force darker than anything she could ever have imagined, an obsessive love that neither she nor Bess can rival.

Empire:  Fortress of Spears by Anthony Riches.  UK release April 28, 2011. 

The Romans have vanquished the rebel alliance, leaving Calgus, Lord of the Northern Tribes, the prisoner of the chieftains he once led.  But the new Roman leader will not let them rest. He forms an audacious plan to capture Dinpaladyr, the Selgovaes' fortress of spears, and return it to the hands of a trusted ally.

Marcus Aquila - burning for revenge on an enemy army that has killed one of his best friends - is part of the select group of infantry chosen to go north with the Petriana cavalry and take the fort before the rebel army can reach it. He believes his disguise as Centurion Corvus of the 2nd Tungrians is still holding.

But he is just a few days ahead of two of the emperor's agents, sent from Rome to kill him. Pitiless assassins who know his real name, and too much about his friends.



The Anglo-Saxon Kings by Timothy Venning.  Non-fiction.  UK release April 30, 2011 (will be released in the US in July 2011).
The Anglo-Saxon era is one of the most important in English history, covering the period from the end of Roman authority in the British Isles to the Norman Conquest of 1066 in which the very idea of England was born. Starting off with an examination of the problematic textual sources and the historiography, Timothy Venning argues that is time to return to a more linear view of this period and to re-examine ideas about the Anglo-Saxon settlement of England. In The Anglo-Saxon Kings, the author examines the rulers of Anglo-Saxon England, those whom the sources tell us most about, beginning with the legendary leaders of the Anglo-Saxon invasion as Hengest and Horsa or Cerdic and Cynric and moving on through such figures as Æthelberht of Kent, who received the mission led by Augustine of Canterbury to re-Christianise England, Saint Oswald of Northumbria to Alfred of Wessex and his dynasty, the Viking invasions, and the last of the Anglo-Saxon kings, Harold Godwineson.

From our 2009 trip to Hampton Court:

One of the greatest mysteries of medieval England is “what happened to the princes in the Tower?” – the young sons of Edward IV who were last seen in the Tower of London during the reign of their uncle, Richard III. Although there are many who believe the boys were killed by anyone of a handful of people, there are some who think it’s possible that the younger prince, Richard, Duke of York, escaped and turned up a few years later to claim his crown from Henry (Tudor) VII.


That a golden hair young man claimed to be a lost prince is not necessarily a surprise; what is rather incredible is that so many people, including heads of state and the boys aunt, believed that the young man, also known as Perkin Warbeck, was the missing Duke of York. It is a fascinating story and one that has been touched on in one way or another by several historical novels over the years. In Pale Rose of England, Sandra Worth takes the story in a slightly different direction, focusing on his wife, Lady Catherine Gordon. (For clarity’s sake, I will refer to the young man as “Richard” since that is how he is known in the book).

A member of the Scottish nobility/royalty, Catherine Gordon was considered a great beauty in her day and it appears that marriage between her and Richard may have been a love match. Worth takes that and runs with it, creating a story that focuses on the pairs love for each other as they try and muddle through some especially difficult and challenging times. Of course not everyone believes Richard is who he says he is, but he gets enough encouragement to lead an invasion of England. It goes badly and Richard and Catherine are both eventually captured and made guests of Tudor hospitality, although Catherine gets the better deal as she is made one of the Queen’s ladies.

To make matters worse, King Henry is smitten with Catherine and tries to convince her to divorce her pretender husband (what he planned to do about his wife isn’t clear…), but she repeatedly refuses. Much of the book relates Richard and Catherine's separate lives at Henry’s court and the increasingly rare times they are allowed to see each other. The last third or so covers Catherine’s life following Richard’s execution for treason.

Pale Rose of England is heavy on the romance – not in the bodice ripping-heavy- breathing-quick-romp-in-the-hay kind of way – but on the tender words of love whispered in the dark and in stolen moments in corners. As such, it makes for a sweet romantic story as Catherine “stands by her man”, but at times, it’s a little too much. Even though there is not much known about Catherine (beyond a few basic facts), I enjoyed the personality and life Worth creates for her as it’s woven through that of Richard’s. Henry VII isn't a very nice man and takes a sadistic pleasure in the ultimate torture and humiliation he is able to inflict upon his rival.  It is only when his wife dies that he expresses some regret (mostly for how he treated her).  After Henry's death, I read through the rest of it rather quickly as Catherine retires to the country and marries twice – one a scoundrel and the other her knight in shining armor - and the reader is told the historical background as the years fly by.

An extensive Author’s Note is included which sets out some of the arguments for and against Richard’s claim and explains some of the plot choices Worth made. A partial bibliography and a family tree are also included.

Who cares what people think?:  “I do not worry about what people think. For I have found they don’t do it very often.” Catherine in her later years to a young courtier.





In case the FTC asks: The publisher sent me a copy for review as part of the Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tour.

Covers for upcoming releases:

The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory.  This is the UK cover - release date September 15, 2011.

Jacquetta, daughter of the Count of Luxembourg and kinswoman to half the royalty of Europe, was married to the great Englishman John, Duke of Bedford, uncle to Henry VI. Widowed at the age of nineteen she took the extraordinary risk of marrying a gentleman of her house-hold for love, and then carved out a life for herself as Queen Margaret of Anjou's close friend and a Lancaster supporter - until the day that her daughter Elizabeth Woodville fell in love and married the rival king Edward IV. Of all the little-known but important women of the period, her dramatic story is the most neglected. With her links to Melusina, and to the founder of the house of Luxembourg, together with her reputation for making magic, she is the most haunting of heroines.





The Other Countess by Eve Edwards.  Young Adult.  US release date July 12, 2011 (released in the UK in 2010).

England, 1582


Ellie—Lady Eleanor Rodriguez, Countess of San Jaime—possesses a worthless title, but her feisty spirit captivates the elite of the Queen's court—especially the dashing new Earl of Dorset.

William Lacey, Earl of Dorset, has inherited his father's title—and his financial ruin. Now Will must seek a wealthy bride and restore his family's fortune. If only he hadn't fallen for the beautiful but penniless Ellie. . . .

Sparks fly whenever Ellie and Will are together, but circumstances—and the conniving interference of others—threaten to keep them apart.

Eleanor of Aquitaine: Queen of two countries, mother of two kings, went on crusade to the holy land, helped sons rebel against their father, was locked up for sixteen years, lived for more than 80 years. With a resume like that, it’s no wonder Eleanor of Aquitaine remains a favorite of historical novelists and readers alike. Following up last year’s debut, The Queen’s Pawn (about Eleanor’s relationship with her son’s betrothed, Princess Alais), Christy English tackles Eleanor’s marriage to her first husband, Louis of France – a period of Eleanor’s life that is often overshadowed by her more well-known second marriage to Henry II of England.


As her father’s heir to the beautiful and rich lands of Aquitaine, Eleanor is quite the prize in the marriage market. She is beautiful and learns at any early age the power that beauty and charm can hold over men. She is also intelligent and capable and not quite satisfied to just rule the somewhat troublesome barons that make up Aquitaine’s court. She wants to be queen – of France. Her father promises to make it happen.

But being the Queen of France is not everything she thought it would be. Born a second son and originally destined for the church, Louis becomes heir to the French throne after his older brother dies. Louis is pious, quiet and has been taught to love God and the church above all other things - a lesson he learned all too well. Initially Eleanor is convinced that they can be happy, but she soon realizes she has a powerful rival for her husband’s affections – the church and its officials.

When the marriage fails to improve and Eleanor can’t produce a male heir (although as she points out, it’s not really something she can do by herself…) she begins to think the best thing to do is get a divorce and go back to Aquitaine. But then she meets Henry Plantagenet and everything changes…

The strength of To Be Queen is the obvious passion and admiration English has for her subject. Eleanor has an aura of self-confidence that makes her believe just about anything is possible and above everything else, to believe in herself. As a result, I admired Eleanor as well and at times felt sorry for her (but not in a pitying kind of way). There were also times I wanted to knock her upside the head and yell, “what were you thinking?!!!”. I found the relationship between Eleanor and Louis interesting and was intrigued as they tried to develop something meaningful only to see it all fall apart in the end for reasons that were really no ones fault.

There was something about the writing though that just didn’t quite work for me. In many ways it reminded me of the journalism 101 classes I took my freshman year of college – very short, simple sentences with very short paragraphs (many are no more than a sentence or two long). As a result, the story seemed rather choppy and it didn’t seem to flow very well which distracted me from the story and kept me from enjoying it as much as I think I would have otherwise.  I was also disappointed that one of the rumors regarding Eleanor having a relationship with another man while on crusade made its way into the story (but I won’t say which man it was…).

Still, despite the newspaper/tabloid feel of the way it is written, I enjoyed Eleanor and Louis story.

Worth the cost?  "To be queen one must rip ones heart out. "   Eleanor as she considers what she has to give up in order to be a queen.



In case the FTC asks: The author sent me a copy of the book to review.

Well, we’ve decided to shake up our lives and move…again.  This time to Washington DC in order for me to take a job there (I really do have the best husband in the world who is willing to criss-cross the country with me as I try to get where I want to be in my career). This move is going to happen a lot quicker than the last one did and if all goes as planned, we’ll both be there by mid-summer. I’ll have to be there sooner.


So… things may be a little quiet around here from time to time. I’m still going to be reading and putting up reviews and most weeks, I should be able to keep up with my regular features. The only thing that is going to go on hiatus for a few months is the bookmark giveaways (I'll still be doing the giveaway for April though). Once we get moved and settled in, I’ll start them back up again. For May, I will be having a giveaway to clear out some ARCs so I don’t have to move them - make sure you look out for that in a few weeks.

The winners of the To Be Queen Giveaway are:

Beth from the UK and
Joanne from Louisiana

Congratulations ladies!  I will be sending you an email shortly. 

A big "thank you" to Christy for generously providing two copies for the giveaway and for making it international.

Marathon:  Freedom or Death by Christian Cameron.  UK release August 18, 2011 (reposted with cover) The Sword of Damascus by Richard Blake.  UK release June 9, 2011; US release September 1, 2011  (reposted with cover)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A Kingdom Divided by Alex Rutherford.  US release July 5, 2011; released in the UK in 2010 as Brothers at War. (reposted with cover)  
Already an international bestseller, A Kingdom Divided continues the epic story of the Moghuls, one of the most magnificent and violent dynasties in world history.


India, 1530. Humayun, the newly crowned second Moghul emperor, is a fortunate man. His father, Babur, has left him wealth, glory, and an empire that stretches a thousand miles south of the Khyber Pass; he must now build on his legacy, and make the Moghuls worthy of their legendary forebear, Tamburlaine.

But, unbeknownst to him, Humayun is already in grave danger. His half brothers are plotting against him; they doubt that he has the strength, the will, the brutality needed to command the Moghul armies and lead them to still-greater glories. Soon Humayun will be locked in a terrible battle: not only for his crown, not only for his life, but for the existence of the very empire itself.



Revenger by Rory Clements.  US release June 21, 2011; released in the UK in 2010.  (reposted with new cover)

In his critically acclaimed debut thriller, Martyr, Rory Clements introduced readers to the unforgettable John Shakespeare, chief intelligencer to Queen Elizabeth I and older brother to Will.


Now, five years later, the Queen needs Shakespeare’s services once more. Not only is England still at war with Spain, but her court is riven by savage infighting among ambitious young courtiers.

Shakespeare is summoned by Elizabeth’s cold but deadly Privy Councillor Sir Robert Cecil and ordered to undertake two linked missions: to investigate the mystery of the doomed Roanoke colony in North America—Sir Walter Ralegh’s folly—and to spy on Cecil’s rival, the dashing Earl of Essex.

Essex is the brightest star in the firmament, the Queen’s favorite. But when Shakespeare enters Essex’s dissolute world, he discovers not only that the Queen herself is in danger, but that he and his family are also targets. With a plague devastating the country, Catholics facing persecution and martyrdom at the hands of an infamous torturer, and John’s own wife, Catherine, possibly protecting a priest—Shakespeare has his own survival to secure, as well as that of his fading but still feisty Queen.

Filled with the flavor and facts of a tumultuous time in English history, Revenger is a stunning novel of savage rivalries and reprisals from an author swiftly becoming a known master of historical suspense.


God's Jury:  The Inquisition and the Making of the Modern World by Cullen Murphy.  Non-fiction.  US and UK release January 17, 2012.

We think of the Inquisition as a holy war fought in the Middle Ages. But, as Cullen Murphy shows in this provocative new book, not only did its offices survive into the twentieth century, in the modern world its spirit is more influential than ever. Traveling from freshly opened Vatican archives to the detention camps of Guantánamo to the filing cabinets of the Third Reich, he traces the Inquisition and its legacy.


God’s Jury encompasses the diverse stories of the Knights Templar, Torquemada, Galileo, and Graham Greene. Established by the Catholic Church in 1231, the Inquisition continued in one form or another for almost seven hundred years. Though associated with the persecution of heretics and Jews—and with burning at the stake—its targets were more numerous and its techniques more ambitious.

The Inquisition pioneered surveillance and censorship and “scientific” interrogation. As time went on, its methods and mindset spread far beyond the Church to become tools of human face on a familiar but little-known piece of our past, and argues that only by understanding the Inquisition can we hope to explain the making of the present.

It's my pleasure to welcome Kate Quinn today who is going to fill us in on the "year of the four emperors".


So Who Are These Four Emperors Anyway?


Long before I started writing Daughters of Rome, I'd been hankering to write a book about the Year of the Four Emperors. For one thing, it's the name – like the War of the Roses or the War of Jenkin's Ear, it's an instantly fascinating combination of words to any bored history student looking desperately for passion and bloodshed between all the dry lists of dates and treaties. And the Year of Four Emperors benefits from an extraordinary cast of characters: not even Hollywood could have cast four more different men to wear the same crown. Let's take a look at the quartet of Emperors who lived, fought, schemed, died, and put their individual stamp on Rome during that tempestuous year of A.D. 69 . . .

Emperor #1: Our first contestant could be played by anybody's sour old uncle – the one who spends Thanksgiving complaining about the cost of everything and interrupting the children to tell them how rude they are. Emperor Galba was old, sour, cranky, and joyless, and he spent his brief reign pinching pennies, making rules, and presiding over the worst dinner parties the Imperial palace had ever seen. Rome under his rule was a gray, suspicious, cheerless sort of place – no wonder Galba was gone a week after New Year in January 69.

Emperor #2: Galba's successor could have stepped right out of an Oscar Wilde comedy, or maybe an episode of “Gossip Girl.” Emperor Otho was young, handsome, witty, and sophisticated; the sort of worldly metrosexual found today in Upper East Side bars sipping martinis, murmuring the latest gossip, and leaving with the phone number of every attractive woman in the room. Overnight he turned Rome into a trendy sparkling hot spot – lavish parties, beautiful people, and fun fun fun.

Emperor #3: The man who toppled Otho off his throne can be found today in any sports bar in America – the cheerful red-faced fat man who plows through pitchers of Bud and sprays nacho crumbs as he yells at the football game on TV. Emperor Vitellius had two great passions: Blues-faction chariot racing (translation: a Yankee fan) and food. Rome under his rule turned into an endless Superbowl party, complete with chips, dip, and “We're Number One!” chants. Unfortunately he got replaced by the man who really was Number One. Or rather, Number Four.

Emperor #4: otherwise known as “the one who lasted,” Emperor Vespasian skated in just under the wire a week before the year ended, and managed to stay Emperor for the next ten years. He was the dad everybody wishes they had: tough, thrifty, hard working, with a solid work ethic and an eternal glint of humor in the eye. Rome, after a year of swapping Emperors faster than Elizabeth Taylor swapped husbands, was delighted to just sit back and let Dad handle everything. Thus ended Year 69.

I gave Daughters of Rome four girls to go with the four Emperors listed above, and each one will find her zenith with one of them. One will become Galba's daughter-in-law and thus a future Empress – but we know that won't work out quite like she planned. Another girl will be Otho's Imperial hostess at the pinnacle of Roman society. A third will become Vitellius's special pet, even if she does root for the chariot-racing equivalent of the Red Sox to his Yankees. And the fourth girl just might become Empress herself. How will it happen?

Come read about the Year of Four Emperors with me, and find out.


So, if you would like to win a copy of Daughters of Rome, please fill out the below form by midnight, April 22, 2011.  Contest is open to residents of the US and Canada only.

I'm happy to welcome Sandra Worth today as part of her mini blog tour.  Sandra has agreed to answer a few questions and there's a giveaway at the end!

I’m always interested in how authors became writers. How did it come about for you?


It was quite accidental for me. The interest was always there—I had written and illustrated a book of fairy tales by the age of eleven and published some material. But writing a real book had to wait until “the time was right” (as I told myself). The years passed, and the timing was never right. Then came the accident. On a trip to England, I discovered a great miscarriage of justice. I drove my friends crazy talking about it all the time and they told me to write about it---probably to stop me from bothering them anymore! It worked. Writing took up all my free time from then on.

As the writer of historical fiction you must have an interest in history. Was there something in particular that sparked that interest?

Absolutely there was. A novel sparked my passion for history. Anya Seton’s KATHERINE. I adored Katherine de Roet, and fell in love with John of Gaunt, and began researching their descendants. KATHERINE was the key that opened the door to my discovery of the great injustice that planted me firmly on the side of the Yorkists in the Wars of the Roses.


Your first few novels are set during the reign of England’s Richard III. What drew you to tell Richard’s story?

The great injustice I alluded to above centered on Richard III—a king maligned by history for political purposes. He had a passion for justice and passed laws to protect the innocent. His legacy became the legal foundation of our democracy, but few know that. When I picked up my pen to write, THE ROSE OF YORK Trilogy on Richard III was born.


Your latest book, Pale Rose of England, takes place during the early part of the Tudor dynasty. Was this a natural progression in your story-telling or was there another reason for moving in this direction?

It was a natural progression. With PALE ROSE OF ENGLAND I felt I had covered the Wars of the Roses to its conclusion. After the death of “Perkin Warbeck”, the Tudors were firmly entrenched on the throne, and my story had concluded.


Do you have the opportunity to travel to the places you write about and if so, what has been your favorite place to visit?

I’ve been very fortunate to have made numerous trips to England and Belgium researching my novels. I think I’ve been everywhere that I’ve described in my books. For me, that’s a necessity. I have two places that linger in my memory. One is Bamborough Castle, a fortress on the North Sea, where John Neville was constable. The other is St. Michael’s Mount, a tiny island-fortress on the southern coast of England where the so-called “Perkin Warbeck” and his wife, Lady Catherine Gordon, spent the early—and hopeful—days of their invasion of England.


If you could be one person in history for a day, who would it be and why?

I’ve considered who I’d like to meet, given the chance in history, but this one is a new question for me, Daphne—right out of left field! To change places with someone in history is something I find frightening to contemplate. The lives back then were very difficult at best, and the endings were terrible. But--if I were to change places (for only one day, mind you!) it would be with one of my Byzantine ancestors before the Fourth Crusade, when they ruled an empire at the height of its success.


What do you like to read for “fun”?

Oh, I love good detective stories! Ed McBain was always a favorite, and THE HISTORIAN by Elisabeth Kostova is a recent favorite. It’s got detective story qualities, even though it’s historical fiction.


When you aren’t writing or doing research, what else do you like to do?

My husband and I love to travel. We visit museums, support the arts, attend the Symphony and the Opera. I really enjoy my garden, and lunching with my daughters, and I adore visits from my little grandchildren who are so wide-eyed about the world right now.


From your books, who is your favorite character? Your least favorite?

My favorite has always been John Neville, Lord Montagu (LADY OF THE ROSES), and my least favorite is the dreadful and vindictive Elizabeth Woodville whose antics as queen doomed the Plantagenet dynasty.


Can you tell us what you are working on next?

I would love to but I’m superstitious and feel it’s bad luck to discuss a work in progress. What I can say is that it’s set in a colorful era of “New Rome”, known in its time as the Byzantine empire.


Thank you Sandra!

Daphne, thank you so much for having me! It’s been a real pleasure.



Check out the other stops on the tour:
 
Monday, April 11th: Review & Giveaway at Bibliophilic Book Blog

Guest Post at Tina’s Book Reviews

Thursday, April 14th: Interview & Giveaway at Tanzanite’s Castle Full of Books
Review at Unabridged Chick

Monday, April 18th: Review at Broken Teepee
Review at Tina’s Book Reviews

Thursday, April 21st: Interview & Giveaway at Unabridged Chick
Review at Tanzanite’s Castle Full of Books

Monday, April 25th: Guest Post & Giveaway at Broken Teepee

Now for the Giveaway:
 
To enter, please complete the below form by midnight, April 22, 2011.  Giveaway is open to US residents only. 
 

New covers for a couple of upcoming releases:


To Die For by Sandra Byrd.  Release date:  August 9, 2011.  I think I like the other cover better (you can see it here).

To Die For, is the story of Meg Wyatt, pledged forever as the best friend to Anne Boleyn since their childhoods on neighboring manors in Kent. When Anne’s star begins to ascend, of course she takes her best friend Meg along for the ride. Life in the court of Henry VIII is thrilling at first, but as Anne’s favor rises and falls, so does Meg’s. And though she’s pledged her loyalty to Anne no matter what the test, Meg just might lose her greatest love—and her own life—because of it.


Meg's childhood flirtation with a boy on a neighboring estate turns to true love early on. When he is called to follow the Lord and be a priest she turns her back on both the man and his God. Slowly, though, both woo her back through the heady times of the English reformation. In the midst of it, Meg finds her place in history, her own calling to the Lord that she must follow, too, with consequences of her own. Each character in the book is tested to figure out what love really means, and what, in this life, is worth dying for.

Though much of Meg’s story is fictionalized, it is drawn from known facts. The Wyatt family and the Boleyn family were neighbors and friends, and perhaps even distant cousins. Meg’s brother, Thomas Wyatt, wooed Anne Boleyn and ultimately came very close to the axe blade for it. Two Wyatt sisters attended Anne at her death, and at her death, she gave one of them her jeweled prayer book—Meg.


The Maid by Kimberly Cutter.  Release date:  October 20, 2011. 
It looks like the original may still be on the UK version.

The girl who led an army, the peasant who crowned a king, the maid who became a legend


It is the fifteenth century, and the tumultuous Hundred Years’ War rages on. France is under siege, English soldiers tear through the countryside destroying all who cross their path, and Charles VII, the uncrowned king, has neither the strength nor the will to rally his army. And in the quiet of her parents’ garden in Domrémy, a peasant girl sees a spangle of light and hears a powerful voice speak her name. Jehanne.

The story of Jehanne d’Arc, the visionary and saint who believed she had been chosen by God, who led an army and saved her country, has captivated our imagination for centuries. But the story of Jehanne—the girl—whose sister was murdered by the English, who sought an escape from a violent father and a forced marriage, who taught herself to ride and fight, and who somehow found the courage and tenacity to persuade first one, then two, then thousands to follow her, is at once thrilling, unexpected, and heartbreaking. Rich with unspoken love and battlefield valor, The Maid is a novel about the power and uncertainty of faith, and the exhilarating and devastating consequences of fame.

Lili du Châtelet yearns to know more about her mother, the brilliant French mathematician Emilie. But the shrouded details of Emilie’s unconventional life—and her sudden death—are elusive. Caught between the confines of a convent upbringing and the intrigues of the Versailles court, Lili blossoms under the care of a Parisian salonnière as she absorbs the excitement of the Enlightenment, even as the scandalous shadow of her mother’s past haunts her and puts her on her own path of self-discovery.

Laurel Corona’s breathtaking new novel, set on the eve of the French Revolution, vividly illuminates the tensions of the times, and the dangerous dance between the need to conform and the desire to chart one’s own destiny and journey of the heart.


Outlaw by Angus Donald.  US release April 12, 2011; released in the UK in 2009.

In the tradition of Bernard Cornwell and Ben Kane, Outlaw is a rousing historical novel that mixes legend with fact to bring to life the time, the lives and the struggles of late 12th century England. As the Henry II struggles with his rebelious children and the conflict between the Saxon nobility and the Norman conquerors continues on as bloody as ever, there is a figure that has remained firmly fixed in the imagation of generations - Robin Hood, an outlaw and a renegade nobility determined to bring down the men who took his land, his family, and his position.


When he's caught stealing, young Alan Dale is forced to leave his family and go to live with a notorious band of outlaws in Sherwood Forest. Their leader is the infamous Robin Hood. A tough, bloodthirsty warrior, Robin is more feared than any man in the county. And he becomes a mentor for Alan; with his fellow outlaws, Robin teaches Alan how to fight - and how to win. But Robin is a ruthless man - and although he is Alan's protector, if Alan displeases him, he could also just as easily become his murderer...From bloody battles to riotous feast days to marauding packs of wolves, Outlaw is a gripping, action-packed historical thriller that delves deep into the fascinating legend of Robin Hood.


 
The Law of Angels by Cassandra Clark.  US release April 12, 2011; released in the UK in February 2011.
 
'So you see, my dear little goose, there's no need to plan revenge on those horrible men-at-arms as I'm sure you would like to because the angels will do it for you. That is their law. And none can escape their terrible punishment." Summer, 1384. The sun is hot and high, promising a fine harvest - but storm-clouds of insurrection are gathering over England. Lollard heretics, driven from their base at Oxford by the iron fist of the Archbishop Courtenay, now roam the land sowing sedition and a return to the bloodshed that swept over the country during the Great Rebellion seems certain. In the capital, the boy king Richard II is now seventeen; his uncle John of Gaunt still refuses to step aside for his ward. Hildegard of Meaux - sleuth, spy and now an abbess of the powerful Cistercian order - has found refuge from a world of violence and blood-feud at her new house in Yorkshire.
 
But by taking a bonded maid into the fold, Hildegard has made a dangerous enemy, an enemy who thinks nothing of destroying her little sanctuary to further his own ends. Meanwhile her own history, and her possession of a priceless relic, threatens to drag her into the schemes of traitors to the crown who seek to overthrow King Richard's regime - including the ruthless Henry Bolingbroke. And with portents in York that the end of days is imminent; signs expressed by death in fire, can even the resourceful Hildegard unweave the tangled skein of conspiracy? The latest installment in the critically acclaimed Hildegard of Meaux Mysteries, The Law Of Angels vividly recreates the conflicting worlds of Medieval England - a place where loyalty meets treason and murderous superstition.
 
 
In the Shadow of the Lamp by Susanne Dunlap.  Young Adult.  US and UK release April 12, 2011.  
 
It's 1854 and sixteen-year-old Molly would give anything to change her circumstances as a lowly servant in a posh London house. So when she hears of an opportunity to join the nurses who will be traveling with Florence Nightingale to the Crimea, she jumps at the chance. The work is grueling, the hospital conditions deplorable, and Miss Nightingale a demanding teacher. Before long, the plight of British soldiers becomes more than just a mission of mercy as Molly finds that she's falling in love with both a dashing young doctor and a soldier who has joined the army to be near her. But with the battle raging ever nearer, can Molly keep the two men she cares for from harm? A love story to savor, and a fascinating behind-the-scenes imagining of the woman who became known as "the lady with the lamp."


 
 
The French Queen's Letters:  Mary Tudor Brandon and the Politics of Marriage in the Sixteenth Century by Erin Sadlack.  Non-fiction.  US and UK release April 12, 2011.  
 
The life of Mary Tudor the French queen, younger sister of Henry VIII, has been chiefly defined by the scandal of her secret marriage to Charles Brandon after the death of her husband, Louis XII of France. Such limited focus has obscured Mary’s role as a political figure, one whom poets celebrated for bringing peace between England and France. In this biography, Erin Sadlack contends that Mary was neither a weeping hysteric nor a love-struck romantic, but a queen who drew on two sources of authority to increase the power of her position: epistolary conventions and the rhetoric of chivalry that imbued the French and English courts. By reading Mary’s life and letters within the context of early modern political culture, this book broadens our understanding of the exercise of queenship in the sixteenth century.


 
 
 
Delilah by Eleanor de Jong.  UK release April 14, 2011.
 
Maligned as the courtesan who revealed the mighty Samson's secret for money, Delilah has become synonymous with treachery. But behind the myth is a tale far more tragic…


From the moment they met, there was a fire in their relationship, with Samson pitted against Delilah's family. But Samson soon develops an overwhelming passion for Delilah; entranced by her beauty and passionate nature.

Meanwhile the Israelites and the Philistines are in a state of constant conflict, with Samson a seemingly unbeatable warrior. The Philistines are desperate to learn the secret behind Samson's power and enrol Delilah as a pawn to bring him down. Driven by misplaced anger, Delilah agrees to use her wiles to discover the secret of his strength.

But Delilah finds that Samson is far from the ogre that she had assumed. But a sequence of events have been set in motion which both of them are powerless to stop.  The consequences of her mistake have gone down in history and this wonderful novel is as alluring and beguiling as Delilah herself. The perfect treat for fans of Anita Diamant and Helen Dunmore.



Devil's Consort by Anne O'Brien.  UK release April 15, 2011; US release (as Queen Defiant) June 2011.

ENGLAND'S MOST RUTHLESS QUEEN. Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine, is a determined woman who plots and schemes an astonishing path between two equally powerful men in twelfth century Europe, a woman who can manoeuvre and manipulate to safeguard her own lands as effectively as any power-grasping lord. Eleanor is single-minded in her struggle to keep her inheritance intact, leading her to reject one husband and take another who will fulfil her desires. Eleanor intends to reign as Queen and is prepared to bring scandal down upon herself in pursuit of her ultimate prize. Hers is a story of power, political intrigue, passion and love.

Today's photos come from Bamburgh Castle which sits along the northeastern coast of England on the North Sea.  You can see more pictures from our visit to Bamburgh here.


This shot what taken from inside the gate looking back down the hill that leads up to the castle.