It is the beginning of the eighteenth century and William of Orange is dying. A private battle rages at court for the affections of a childless queen, who must soon name her successor—and thus determine the future of the British Empire. This final novel of the stuarts from jean plaidy weaves larger-than-life characters through a dark maze of intrigue, love, and destruction, with nothing less than the future of the British Empire at stake.
Anne is sickly and childless, the last of the Stuart line. Plain abigail seems the least likely challenger to Sarah’s place in her highness’s affections, but challenge it she does, in stealthy yet formidable ways.
Royal Sisters: The Story of the Daughters of James II A Novel of the Stuarts Book 5
Intrigue and political drama run high as the sisters struggle to be reconciled with each other--and with the haunting memory of the father they have exiled. But at the heart of the plot is a deep betrayal: the defection of the daughters James loves, Mary and Anne. Both raised protestant according to the wishes of England, Mary's husband, the sisters support Protestant usurper William of Orange, who lusts after the British crown.
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The Murder in the Tower: The Story of Frances, Countess of Essex A Novel of the Stuarts Book 3
But when the cunning and beautiful Frances Howard comes to court, a very dangerous liaison changes everything. But not until robert finds himself ensnared in one of Frances’s plots—imprisoned in the Tower of London and accused of murder—does he learn at last what she is truly capable of. Her attempts to rid herself of an unwanted husband, and later to ensnare a lukewarm lover, have led her deep into the world of spell-makers and poisoners.
. This is a woman to underestimate at great peril.
The Three Crowns: The Story of William and Mary A Novel of the Stuarts Book 4
Raised under the protestant guardianship of her uncle King Charles, James’s daughter Mary finds herself at fifteen facing a marriage to the Dutch and Protestant William of Orange, long prophesied to be destined for the throne. When an empire is at stake, king charles ii has fathered numerous bastards, one woman stands between the past and the future In post-Restoration England, but not a single legitimate heir.
But can she follow her calling to rule britain without losing the love of her father? Captivating in its historical detail, and unforgettable in its dramatic depiction of relationships between monarchs and families, lush and sweeping in its scope, The Three Crowns is the singular story of the only joint sovereigns in British history.
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Royal Road to Fotheringhay: A Novel A Novel of the Stuarts Book 1
Her nation was controlled by a quarrelsome group of lords, the Earl of Moray, a fire-and-brimstone Calvinist preacher, and by John Knox, including her illegitimate half brother, who denounced the young queen as a Papist and a whore. She spoke only french and was a devout Catholic in a land of stern Presbyterians.
But mary’s flight from Scotland led not to safety, but to Fotheringhay Castle. Mary eventually remarried, hoping to find a loving ally in the Scottish Lord Darnley. Once home, the queen of Scots discovered she was a stranger in her own country. The haunting story of the beautiful—and tragic—mary, Queen of Scots, as only legendary novelist Jean Plaidy could write it Mary Stuart became Queen of Scotland at the tender age of six days old.
So mary was sent away from the land of her birth and raised in the sophisticated and glittering court of France. In haste, she married lord bothwell, the prime suspect in her husband’s murder, a move that outraged all of Scotland. Her husband, died after only two years on the throne, always sickly, and there was no place for Mary in the court of the new king.
The Sixth Wife: The Story of Katherine Parr A Novel of the Tudors Book 5
Dangerous court intrigue and affairs of the heart collide as renowned novelist Jean Plaidy tells the story of Katherine Parr, the last of Henry VIII’s six queens. Queen katherine was able to soothe the King’s notorious temper, and his three children grew fond of her, the only mother they had ever really known.
She had hoped to marry for love and had set her heart on Thomas Seymour, the dashing brother of Henry’s third queen. Courtiers envious of the queen’s influence over Henry sought to destroy her by linking her with the “radical” religious reformers. A thoughtful, well-read lady, she was known at court for her unblemished reputation and her kind heart.
But among her intellectual pursuits was an interest in Lutheranism—a religion that the king saw as a threat to his supremacy as head of the new Church of England. Henry viii’s fifth wife, katherine Howard, was both foolish and unfaithful, and she paid for it with her life. Henry raged that katherine had betrayed him, and had a warrant drawn up for her arrest and imprisonment.
The Loves of Charles II: The Stuart Saga A Novel of the Stuarts Book 7
Court intrigue and affairs of the heart weave together in this unforgettable page-turner. As king, charles ii throws himself into the gaiety of court life, becoming a patron of the arts and a consummate lover of women. For many years, his “untitled queen” is a bold and sensual older woman—Barbara, Countess of Castlemaine—whose husband is routinely paid to look the other way.
Charles is determined not only to restore the monarchy but also to revive a society that has suffered under many years of Puritan rule, when everything from theater to Christmas festivals was illegal. He first secures a strong dynastic alliance by marrying Catherine of Braganza, plain Portuguese princess who falls in love with her handsome husband and brings him great wealth, a shy, but can never give him the son he longs for.
. But when the politically ambitious lady castlemaine becomes too powerful, she is replaced by Louise de Kéroualle, a baby-faced French noblewoman who may have been sent to Charles’s court as a spy.
The Courts of Love: The Story of Eleanor of Aquitaine Queens of England Book 5
. In 1137, eleanor became duchess of Aquitaine, at the age of fifteen, the richest province in Europe. I was a woman who considered herself their equal—and in many ways their superior—but it seemed that I depended on them, while seeking to be the dominant partner—an attitude which could hardly be expected to bring about a harmonious existence.
Eleanor of aquitaine was revered for her superior intellect, extraordinary courage, and fierce loyalty. A union with louis vii allowed her to ascend the French throne, yet he was a tepid and possessive man and no match for a young woman raised in the Courts of Love. When i look back over my long and tempestuous life, I can see that much of what happened to me—my triumphs and most of my misfortunes—was due to my passionate relationships with men.
She was equally famous for her turbulent relationships, which included marriages to the kings of both France and England. As a child, eleanor reveled in her beloved grandfather’s Courts of Love, where troubadours sang of romantic devotion and passion filled the air.
The Captive Queen of Scots: Mary, Queen of Scots A Novel of the Stuarts Book 6
. Set against royal pageantry, religious strife, passion, heartbreak, and bloody uprising—and filled with conspiracies, and fascinating historical detail—The Captive Queen of Scots is an unforgettable tale of the intense rivalry between two powerful women of noble blood. . A catholic in a land of stern protestants, Mary finds herself in the middle of a revolt, as her bloodthirsty subjects call for her arrest and execution.
In disgrace, she flees her scottish persecutors for England, where she appeals to Queen Elizabeth for mercy, but to no avail. After her husband, lord darnley, suspicion falls on Mary and her lover, is murdered, the Earl of Bothwell.
Three Maids for a Crown: A Novel of the Grey Sisters
The grey sisters experience love, triumph, and tragedy in Tudor England in the second novel from Ella March Chase. Sixteen-year-old jane grey—the “nine-Day Queen”—is a quiet and obedient young lady destined to become the shortest reigning English monarch. And finally, lady mary grey is a dwarf with a twisted spine whose goal is simply to protect the people she loves—but at a terrible cost.
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For a Queen's Love: The Stories of the Royal Wives of Philip II A Novel of the Tudors Book 8
Power-hungry monarch, obsessive monster—who could love such a man? set against the glittering courts of sixteenth-century Europe, cold-blooded murderer, the Spain of the dreaded Inquisition, and the tortured England of Bloody Mary, For a Queen’s Love is the story of Philip II of Spain—and of the women who loved him as a husband and father.
His first marriage, brought him tragedy and a troublesome son, a romantic union with childlike Maria Manoela, Don Carlos. But history is seldom what it seems, and in the hands of beloved author Jean Plaidy, murderer, we hear another side to the story of Philip II—the most powerful of kings who was at once fanatic, father, husband, and lover.
Philip was a dark and troubled man, who, like many royals, had been robbed of his childhood.