Spotlight: The Lost Boys of London by Mary Lawrence

The Lost Boys of London

A Bianca Goddard Mystery

by Mary Lawrence

Red Puddle Print

April 28, 2020

Historical Mystery

While her husband fights the Scots on behalf of King Henry VIII, Bianca Goddard earns her coin by concocting medicines that offer relief to London's sick. Some unfortunates, however, are beyond any remedies she can provide--like the young boy discovered hanging from a church dripstone. Examining the body, Bianca finds a rosary twisted around the child's neck. A week later, another boy is found dead at a different church. When Fisk, an impish acquaintance, goes missing, she fears he may become the third victim...

There are many villains who would prey on wayward, penniless boys. But Bianca suspects the killings are not brutal acts of impulse, but something far more calculated. In her room of Medicinals and Physickes, she examines the sole piece of evidence: a sweet-smelling, dark-stained cloth. If Bianca can unravel its secret, reputations and lives will be saved. But the expected hour of the next murder is approaching, and a single misstep may mean another boy is lost forever...

Praise for The Lost Boys of London:

"Lawrence's London is no fairy-tale setting, but her heroine is as plucky as they come."--Kirkus Reviews

"...a gripping mystery...filled with sharp details"--Foreword Reviews

"Bianca's strength and self-reliance are empowering and gratifying...an exciting and memorable historical whodunit."--Foreword Reviews

"The author has the Tudor language down to a gnat’s eyeball.--Rosepoint Publishing

"At the end of this series, we’re left with not just a superb set of mysteries, but with a clan who feel real to us, and whose futures matter"--Goodreads review

"...is confident and evocative"--Portland Press Herald

Excerpt:

The twists and turns of an inconstant king are as serpentine as the lanes and alleys of London’s Castle Baynard ward. At one end squatted massive St. Paul’s Cathedral. Licking the ward’s toes at the other ebbed the greasy, gray Thames. In between were four parishes and enough bread shops to adequately keep the inhabitants’ heads filled with guilt and their stomachs filled with gluten.
​
     This warren of tightly packed residences, ordinaries, mercers, stationers, chandlers, and cordwainers sat in unremitting penitence near the ominous cathedral, and never was their compunction more intensely felt than during the bleak days of this midwinter. The incremental gain of daylight was not enough to cheer the citizens. They didn’t notice they did not have to light their tallows quite so early, nor did the lengthening days remind them that spring would soon . . . spring. Nay, the winter felt interminable, as did its dark, shivering days.
​
     For England was at war.
​
     Harry had lightened his coffers by hiring German and Spanish mercenaries to aid his British soldiers in subjugating the Scots to the north and the French across the sea. He’d spent his money on fortifications along his southern coast and on growing his fleet of warships. Such is the price of hubris.
​
     Though King Harry grew in girth and petulance, he ignored signs of his diminishing health. His leg wound ulcerated, emitting a foul odor while his physicians scurried about trying different poultice wrappings, even cauterization, in an effort to offer the king some relief. Short of amputation (for who would dare mention, much less attempt it?) little could be done.
​
     So, Harry continued to plant apple trees in his orchard in Kent and busied himself with the politics of war. And the citizens of London, indeed of the entire realm, continued to labor and abide by the whims of their peevish king.

Blog Tour Q&A with Catherine Meyrick, Author of The Bridled Tongue

Please join me in welcoming Catherine Meyrick to Let Them Read Books! Catherine is touring the blogosphere with her newest release, The Bridled Tongue, and I recently had the chance to ask her a few questions about her story inspiration. I also had the pleasure of offering Catherine some editorial assistance, and I designed the cover! Read on and enter to win a paperback copy of The Bridled Tongue!

Death and life are in the power of the tongue.

England 1586

Alyce Bradley has few choices when her father decides it is time she marry as many refuse to see her as other than the girl she once was–unruly, outspoken and close to her grandmother, a woman suspected of witchcraft.

Thomas Granville, an ambitious privateer, inspires fierce loyalty in those close to him and hatred in those he has crossed. Beyond a large dowry, he is seeking a virtuous and dutiful wife. Neither he nor Alyce expect more from marriage than mutual courtesy and respect.

As the King of Spain launches his great armada and England braces for invasion, Alyce must confront closer dangers from both her own and Thomas’s past, threats that could not only destroy her hopes of love and happiness but her life. And Thomas is powerless to help.

‘People never forget. When the fancy takes them, they bring the old stories out and embroider them further.’

Hi Catherine! Thank you for visiting Let Them Read Books!

What inspired you to write The Bridled Tongue?

The spark was my own experience as the subject of gossip, a very long time ago. What struck me was the way a minor incident or slip of the tongue can be twisted, embellished and shaped into something else altogether. And while gossip, for us, is uncomfortable, I started thinking of how dangerous it was in other times, particularly if that gossip resulted in an accusation of witchcraft where normal evidential rules were set aside and the most dubious hearsay evidence could be enough to bring a person to the gallows. As the story is one of women living in the sixteenth century, I wanted to look at the corrosive effect on women’s relationships when they are valued mainly for their ability to produce healthy children and the poisonousness of favouritism in families.

Were the characters of Alyce and Thomas based on real historical figures?

Thomas and Alyce are entirely fictional, but I have drawn on elements in the lives of a number of contemporary men and women. Margaret, Lady Hoby, the author of the earliest known diary written by a woman in English, particularly interested me, and it is her industrious life I have used as a model for Alyce’s at Ashthorpe. Margaret began writing her diary as a religious exercise, and while it includes details of her religious practices, prayer and reading, it also provides a glimpse of the busy domestic life of a woman managing a large household and estate, often in her husband’s absence. It also gives a strong sense of the breadth of skills possessed by women in these positions, from entertaining guests, sewing, preserving foods and making sweetmeats, to pulling hemp, weighing and dying wool and spinning, as well as distilling medicinal salves and tinctures and treating the household, labourers and tenants, keeping the household accounts and managing the wider farm.

Guest Post + Excerpt: A Phoenix Rising by Vivienne Brereton

Please join me in welcoming Vivienne Brereton to Let Them Read Books! Vivienne just published her debut historical novel, A Phoenix Rising, and she's here today with a guest post about the inspiration for her novel, Thomas Howard, and an excerpt!

“If I have anything to do with it, we Howards will live forever.” 

Thomas Howard Charismatic head of one of the most powerful Houses in Tudor England. An indomitable old man approaching eighty: soldier, courtier, politician, a ‘phoenix’ rising from the ashes. After a calamitous period of disgrace, the Howards, renowned for their good looks and charm, are once more riding high at the court of Henry VIII.

Set against the backdrop of the extraordinary 1520 ‘Field of Cloth of Gold’, it is a tale of ambition, love, and intrigue, with Thomas at the centre of this intricate tapestry

Will Thomas’s bold vow be fulfilled? Danger stalks the corridors of the royal courts of Europe. Uneasy lies the head beneath a crown. Every other ruler - a fickle bedfellow…or sworn enemy.

 The action takes place in England, Scotland, and France. On either side of the Narrow Sea, four young lives are interwoven, partly unaware of each other, and certainly oblivious to what Dame Fortune has in store for them.

“Nicolas de La Barre laid his lute to one side, hardly bothering to stifle a yawn of boredom. Nevertheless, he couldn’t escape the fact he’d agreed to take on a new wife….”

Explosive family secrets are concealed behind the ancient walls of castles in three lands. But… “There are no secrets that time does not reveal.”

Fascinated by the Howard dynasty, I was drawn to the head of the family, Thomas Howard. His longevity was quite extraordinary in an era when most men did not live beyond their early fifties. The fact that he was grandfather to two Tudor queens (who both came to a tragic end in the Tower of London), Anne and Katherine, increased my interest. Who was this man who survived his first wife and then re-married her young cousin at fifty-four, his fertility showing no sign of waning? I think his rude good health and ability to father sons probably affected Henry’s decision to marry two Tudor women. After all, he needed sons and there was no shortage of Howard boys. Anne was a Bullen (Boleyn), but in Thomas’s mind, she was a Howard marriage pawn.

Thomas stands in the centre of A Phoenix Rising, intelligent, brave, plain-spoken, never losing his mental faculties, secure in his position as Lord Treasurer until the last two years of his life. All around him, like branches of a tree, are his various offspring and grandchildren. The series title is The House of the Red Duke, which is appropriate because it is just as much the story of his dynasty as his own. He appears in the book at intervals and is never very far away from the main action. I used a mixture of first person and third person for my characters, but Thomas was very definitely a first person! With his strong personality and presence on the page, he couldn’t have been anything else.

To give readers a glimpse into Thomas’s character, I have chosen a scene where he is on the rooftop of the Palace of Placentia in Greenwich, watching the stars with the young Henry VIII and Thomas More. We have to remember that with no electricity, and only the occasional flare of a torch, lantern, or candle, the nights would have been very dark indeed and the skies, a velvety tapestry of stars.

Blog Tour Excerpt: The Catherine Howard Conspiracy by Alexandra Walsh

The Catherine Howard Conspiracy

by Alexandra Walsh

Published March 28, 2019

Sapere Books

ebook, paperback; 468 pages

What secrets were covered up at the court of Henry VIII?

Whitehall Palace, England, 1539

When Catherine Howard arrives at the court of King Henry VIII to be a maid of honour in the household of the new queen, Anne of Cleves, she has no idea of the fate that awaits her.

Catching the king’s fancy, she finds herself caught up in her uncle’s ambition to get a Howard heir to the throne.

Terrified by the ageing king after the fate that befell her cousin, Anne Boleyn, Catherine begins to fear for her life…

Pembrokeshire, Wales, 2018

Dr Perdita Rivers receives news of the death of her estranged grandmother, renowned Tudor historian Mary Fitzroy.

Mary inexplicably cut all contact with Perdita and her twin sister, Piper, but she has left them Marquess House, her vast estate in Pembrokeshire.

Perdita sets out to unravel their grandmother’s motives for abandoning them, and is drawn into the mystery of an ancient document in the archives of Marquess House, a collection of letters and diaries claiming the records of Catherine Howard’s execution were falsified…

What truths are hiding in Marquess House? What really happened to Catherine Howard?

And how was Perdita’s grandmother connected to it all?

The Catherine Howard Conspiracy is the first book in the Marquess House trilogy, a dual timeline conspiracy thriller with a twist on a well-known period of Tudor history.

Buy on Amazon

Excerpt:

“There, her.” The queen pointed as her maids danced. She and the king had been married for two weeks and her English was improving each day. “The fox in the pretty gown. Who is she, Sir Edward?”
     “That’s Mistress Catherine Howard. We call her Kitty,” he replied as Catherine’s red hair gleamed in the morning light. “She’s my wife’s sister.”
     There was a small amount of pride in his voice. Catherine was an excellent dancer.
     “She has hair like a fox.” The queen laughed at her own joke and Edward smiled. He had never really noticed the redness of Catherine’s hair; a hood usually covered it. But here in the queen’s chambers, it was loose while she danced and it was a deep, luxuriant auburn. “You call her Kitty, like a cat?”
     “It’s a familiar name for Catherine,” he explained. “With so many Catherines, it makes it easier to distinguish her.”
     The queen smiled. “You ask your Kitty to teach me to dance,” she said. “Maybe the king, he like it.”
     A shadow drifted across her face, which was quickly replaced by her ever-ready serene and enigmatic smile. Edward beckoned to Isabel and after a brief, whispered conversation, she bobbed a curtsey and retreated.
     “My wife will arrange for you and Kitty to dance together every afternoon so she can teach you the steps,” Edward said.
     “Good, she has pretty ways, like a fox,” sighed the queen.

Blog Tour Excerpt + Giveaway: A Murder by Any Name by Suzanne M. Wolfe

A MURDER BY ANY NAME

BY SUZANNE M. WOLFE

Publication Date: October 9, 2018

Crooked Lane Books

Hardcover & eBook; 326 Pages

Genre: Historical Mystery

When a brutal murder threatens the sanctity of the Elizabethan court, it’s up to a hot-tempered spy to save the day.

The court of Elizabeth I is no stranger to plotting and intrigue, but the royal retinue is thrown into chaos when the Queen’s youngest and sweetest lady-in-waiting is murdered, her body left on the high altar of the Chapel Royal in Whitehall Palace. Solving the murder will require the cunning and savvy possessed by only one man. Enter Nicholas Holt, younger brother of the Earl of Blackwell—spy, rake, and owner of the infamous Black Sheep tavern in the seedy district of Bankside. Nick quickly learns that working for the Queen is a mixed blessing. Elizabeth—salty-tongued, vain, and fiercely intelligent—can, with a glance, either reward Nick with a purse of gold or have his head forcibly removed.

When a second lady-in-waiting is slain at Whitehall, the court once again reels with shock and dismay. On the trail of a diabolical killer, Nick and his faithful sidekick—an enormous Irish Wolfhound named Hector—are treading on treacherous ground, and only the killer’s head on a platter can keep them in the Queen’s good graces.

“Captivating… Fans of Fiona Buckley’s Ursula Blanchard and Kathy Lynn Emerson’s Rosamond Jaffrey will be delighted to add Wolfe to their reading lists.” ―Booklist

“[A] promising series launch… Fans of Elizabethan historicals will be satisfied.” ―Publishers Weekly

“An excellent series kickoff by Wolfe that cleverly highlights both the mystery and the many ills of Elizabethan times.” ―Kirkus Reviews

“In vivid passages, Suzanne Wolfe’s novel brings to the reader the light and dark of Elizabethan England, its squalor and splendor, filth and riches, intrigues and delights.” ―NY Journal of Books

AMAZON | BARNES AND NOBLE | BOOKS-A-MILLION | CHAPTERS | INDIEBOUND | KOBO

Excerpt:

Her mind wandering, she recalled the one event in her brief sojourn at court that had fulfilled all her romantic expectations. The lavish ball given annually by the queen at Hampton Court to celebrate the anniversary of her accession to the throne on 17 November 1558. The sumptuous ballroom had blazed with the flames of a thousand beeswax candles, shimmering off the gorgeous rainbow of jewels worn by the ladies and, most of all, by the queen herself. Cecily had been dazzled, so much so that Mary had had to give her an elbow to remind her to lift the queen’s cloth of gold train from under her feet so that Gloriana Regina did not faceplant on the gleaming floor in front of the entire court. Once safely settled on her throne, Elizabeth had dismissed the ladies-in-waiting to dance. Only the countess remained by the queen’s side, scowling in disapproval as the women ran joyously into the whirling, stamping, fray.

“Just look at the old battle-axe,” Mary hissed into Cecily’s ear as she dragged her onto the dance floor. “She looks like she just sat on one of those monstrous long hairpins she wears. She can’t bear anyone to have any fun. Bah!”

Cecily giggled then blushed to the roots of her hair as a young man gave her a low bow. Mary blew him a kiss but moved on, dragging her friend with her.

“That’s Sir Hugh,” Mary said. “You need to watch out for him. He thinks he’s God’s gift.”

Cecily glimpsed a hump-backed man standing in the shadows. His face was pale and his clothes dark. The deformity of his back made his head twist up at an angle so that he appeared to be craning his neck forward. His dark eyes were fixed on Cecily, an enigmatic smile on his lips. “Who’s that?” she asked, shivering despite the tremendous heat of the room.

“The Spider,” Mary said. “Sir Robert Cecil. He runs the spy network for Sir Francis Walsingham.”

Review: The Phantom Tree by Nicola Cornick

From the Back Cover:

“My name is Mary Seymour and I am the daughter of one queen and the niece of another.”

Browsing antiques shops in Wiltshire, Alison Bannister stumbles across a delicate old portrait – supposedly of Anne Boleyn. Except Alison knows better… The woman is Mary Seymour, the daughter of Katherine Parr who was taken to Wolf Hall in 1557 as an unwanted orphan and presumed dead after going missing as a child.

The painting is more than just a beautiful object from Alison’s past – it holds the key to her future, unlocking the mystery surrounding Mary’s disappearance, and the enigma of Alison’s son.

But Alison’s quest soon takes a dark and foreboding turn, as a meeting place called the Phantom Tree harbours secrets in its shadows…

My Thoughts:

I was drawn to this book for two reasons: one, that it features Mary Seymour, daughter of my favorite of Henry VIII's wives, and two, that it features time travel from the past to the future. From the very beginning, when Alison Bannister spotted Mary's newly discovered portrait in a gallery window (mistakenly identified as Anne Boleyn because of the initials on a box, which actually stand for Alison Banestre), I was hooked.

From there a delicious story unfolds of two poor orphaned girls of noble birth struggling to make lives of their own while being dependent upon the generosity of others--until Alison stumbles across a portal to the future. Both women are very well drawn and worthy protagonists: Mary, in the past, navigating the pitfalls of Tudor society and the ambitions of those who would use the dead queen's daughter for their own gain, and Alison in the present, desperately trying to find a way back to the past and the son she left behind yet increasingly finding herself torn between her new life and her old one. It was a joy to watch their lives unfold side by side yet separated by the centuries, and to watch Alison try to find the clues Mary left her. And, as a sucker for a good romance, it was also a joy to watch both women find love.

I was absolutely loving this book and couldn't put it down, but unfortunately I thought the resolution left a lot to be desired. While some things seemed to be too convenient, even "pat," if you will, others were too obscure. One storyline ends well, but the other was very unsatisfying. Actions that seemed very out of character led to tragedy, seemingly just for the sake of having a tragedy in the story. Also, a number of threads seemed to slip through the cracks. Hard to go into detail without spoiling anything, but foremost in my mind is why a certain character in the present day looked so much like a character in the past, yet the connection was never explored. And considering the Phantom Tree plays no role in the story, (and I had theories on what it would turn out to be and was disappointed), I don't know why it was chosen for the title.

Still, I was really loving it and felt sure this book was going to end up being a favorite until the ending left me feeling unsatisfied. And that's really the worst. But I am going to give it four stars because it was so good up until that point. And I do think it's worth a read for anyone who enjoys stories set in Tudor England, mysteries, and romance.

My Rating:  4 Stars out of 5

*Please Note: This review references an advance digital copy received from the publisher via NetGalley, and therefore the final published copy may differ. Though I received this book from the publisher, my review is voluntary and these are my honest and unbiased thoughts. I was not compensated in any other way for reviewing this book.

Blog Tour Q&A: Forsaking All Other by Catherine Meyrick

Please join me in welcoming Catherine Meyrick to Let Them Read Books! Catherine is touring the blogopshere with her debut historical novel, Forsaking All Other, and I recently had the chance to ask Catherine some questions about the joys and challenges of writing fictional characters in Elizabethan England. I also had the pleasure of designing the book's cover! Read on and enter to win a paperback copy of Forsaking All Other!

Love is no game for women; the price is far too high.

England 1585.

Bess Stoughton, waiting woman to the well-connected Lady Allingbourne, has discovered that her father is arranging for her to marry an elderly neighbour. Normally obedient Bess rebels and wrests from her father a year’s grace to find a husband more to her liking.

Edmund Wyard, a taciturn and scarred veteran of England’s campaign in Ireland, is attempting to ignore the pressure from his family to find a suitable wife as he prepares to join the Earl of Leicester’s army in the Netherlands.

Although Bess and Edmund are drawn to each other, they are aware that they can have nothing more than friendship. Bess knows that Edmund’s wealth and family connections place him beyond her reach. And Edmund, with his well-honed sense of duty, has never considered that he could follow his own wishes. Until now.

With England on the brink of war and fear of Catholic plots extending even into Lady Allingbourne’s household, time is running out for both of them.

AMAZON (KINDLE) | KINDLE (PAPERBACK) | BARNES AND NOBLE | KOBO

Hi Catherine! Welcome to Let Them Read Books!

What drew you to this time in England's history, and what makes it such a good backdrop for fiction?

While I have always read historical fiction and history, it was not until I started university and took a first-year subject in Early Modern British history (almost as an afterthought) that I discovered a love of the Elizabethan period. Lectures were an absolute joy and beyond the scholarship, the political machinations, the dates and the great men and women, I developed an intense sense that the people of the past were very much men and women just like us with similar hopes and dreams.

There is so much in the Elizabethan period that a storyteller can draw on – a period of exploration; great art, music and literature; the growth of the middling sort and a period of upheaval, both exciting and terrifying. Although there were no foreign invasions, the Elizabethans’ fears were very real, with multiple plots against Queen Elizabeth by her own subjects, as well as the close call that was the Spanish Armada. When Pope Pius V excommunicated Elizabeth in 1570 and absolved her Catholic subjects of their allegiance to her, many Catholics went from being able to quietly practise their faith, albeit by paying recusancy fines, to being seen as potential traitors with family relationships and friendships strained or even shattered. Life could be dangerous even for those who did not go seeking adventure. We know a great deal about this period but still there are gaps that permit the novelist’s imagination to take flight.

Were your characters inspired by real people of the time?

No, all the major characters are entirely fictional, though I have drawn on incidents in the lives of a number of roughly contemporary women as inspiration for Bess’s situation. Following the death of her first husband, Elizabeth ‘Bess’ Hardwick was denied her dower rights and therefore had no income to live on. It took several years of litigation for her to receive what was rightfully hers. Unlike Bess, she had the support of family and influential friends in this. Parents sometimes chose spouses for their children with scant regard for their children’s wishes. Although drawn from a slightly earlier period, Elizabeth Paston’s experience is an example of this. In 1449 she refused to marry the man chosen for her by her mother and so was kept under lock and key, unable to see anyone outside the household and forbidden even to speak with the servants. She was beaten once or twice a week. Elizabeth held her ground and the marriage plans eventually fell through. The story of Elizabeth Paston convinced me that although this was a time when duty and obligation were valued far more highly than personal wishes, people still wanted some say in their lives, some with more success than others.

Q&A with Tony Morgan, Author of Remember, Remember the 6th of November and 1617

Please join me in welcoming Tony Morgan to Let Them Read Books! Tony is celebrating the release of his new novel, 1617, follow-up to his debut, Remember, Remember the 6th of November, both centering on the infamous Gunpowder Plot and its repercussions--both real and imagined. I'm pleased to have him here today answering questions about his books and sharing his fascination with the Gunpowder Plot and this period in England's history.

From the back cover of Remember, Remember the 6th of November:

England in 1605… a country of religious tensions, concerns about terrorism, Europe and increasing government surveillance. A small group of conspirators led by charismatic Robert Catesby and Guy Fawkes plan regime change.

Remember, Remember the 6th of November is a thrilling retelling of the story of Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot – perfect for lovers of the books of C.J. Sansom and S. J. Parris.

Amazon  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Goodreads

Each year on November 5th the skies over the United Kingdom are lit up by a million dancing fireworks. As smoke rises from thousands of bonfires, groups of children toss an effigy of a man they call “the Guy” onto the top. But why?

These annual festivities celebrate the failure of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 to blow up Parliament and kill the Protestant king James I. The fact is the man placed onto the fire is no ordinary “Guy”. His name was Guy Fawkes. He was in a band of tightly-knit Catholic conspirators. Led by charismatic Robert Catesby, they planned for regime change in England.

These infamous events are the inspiration for a new BBC TV mini-series, Gunpowder, featuring Game of Thrones star Kit Harington as Robert Catesby. They also form the background for two historical novels written by UK author Tony Morgan, who lives near Guy Fawkes’s birthplace in Yorkshire in northern England.

Hi Tony! Thanks so much for visiting today!

There are lots of novels about the Tudors, what sparked your interest in their cousins and successors the Stuarts?

I almost stumbled into it by accident. I wanted to find out more about why we celebrate November 5th. The more I read, the more hooked I became. Terrorists, religious unrest, government surveillance, women attempting to make their way in a man’s world, there was so much to write about.

Your first book is called Remember, Remember the 6th of November; the obvious question is why the 6th and not the 5th?

I have to be careful here. I’m on spoiler alert! The story is set in the tense first week of November 1605. It focuses on King James, Queen Anne and the government on one side and the Gunpowder Plotters on the other. Catesby, Fawkes and their co-conspirators are finalizing their plans to blow up Parliament and kill the king. They also intend to start a popular uprising, kidnap the king’s daughter Princess Elizabeth, convert her to Catholicism and place her on the throne.

The main action runs past the 5th of November and into the 6th, hence the date of the title. The reason becomes clear in the final chapters.

There have been a few murmurings about the new Gunpowder series not sticking too closely to the historical facts. Did you take a similar approach?

For the majority of Remember, Remember the 6th of November the plot sticks closer to the facts than the TV series but of course both are works of fiction inspired by real events. Like the TV series I want people to understand the Plotters’ motives, even if we don’t necessarily agree with what they did.  

Near the end of the book, I began to deliberately divert the story from the truth. A key sub-plot focuses on an anonymous letter which warned Catholic Lord Monteagle not to attend Parliament. This was real and it was used to alert the authorities, but who sent it? Was it one of the Plotters or perhaps a government fit-up? There are lots of theories, but to this day nobody really knows, so I invented my own version. Based upon the request of a book club, the book includes a handy “what really happened” guide to clarify questions on the blurring between fact and fiction.

Walking in London in Search of Emilia Bassano Lanyer: Guest Post by Charlene Ball, Author of Dark Lady

Please join me in welcoming Charlene Ball to Let Them Read Books! I'm thrilled to have Charlene here today talking about her new book, Dark Lady: A Novel of Emilia Bassano Lanyer. Charlene embarked upon a walking tour to follow in her heroine's footsteps, and she's detailed some of the places she's visited below. Read on, and be sure to add Dark Lady to your shelves on Goodreads!

Emilia Bassano has four strikes against her: she is poor, beautiful, female, and intelligent in Elizabethan England. To make matters worse, she comes from a family of secret Jews. When she is raped as a teenager, she knows she probably will not be able to make a good marriage, so she becomes the mistress of a much older nobleman. During this time she falls in love with poet/player William Shakespeare, and they have a brief, passionate relationship--but when the plague comes to England, the nobleman abandons her, leaving her pregnant and without financial security. 

In the years that follow, Emilia is forced to make a number of difficult decisions in her efforts to survive, and not all of them turn out well for her. But ultimately, despite the disadvantaged position she was born to, she succeeds in pursuing her dreams of becoming a writer--and even publishes a book of poetry in 1611 that makes a surprisingly modern argument for women's equality. 

Amazon  ~  Barnes & Noble  ~  Goodreads 

Walking in London in Search of Emilia Bassano Lanyer

By Charlene Ball

“It’s not much farther,” I call back to Libby, who gamely follows me as I trudge under the massive structure known as the Barbican. We are following the London wall towards Aldersgate Street, where we will turn north towards the Charterhouse.

The beginning of my walking search for Emilia Bassano Lanyer, the main character of my novel DARK LADY: A NOVEL OF EMILIA BASSANO LANYER, begins back at Bishopsgate, one of the gates in the old Roman London Wall. Emilia was christened in St. Botolph’s Without Bishopsgate, a church just outside the wall. Here also, her father and her infant daughter Odillya were buried. This was the church that Baptista Bassano and Margaret Johnson, Emilia’s parents, attended. As a converso, or a secret Jew, Baptista would have outwardly conformed to the English Church.

The church has been redone over the years, so its interior walls are not those Emilia would have seen. Dark and shadowy, it looks more like a late 19th or 20^th century church than a Tudor-era structure.

From St. Botolph’s, we follow the Roman-built London Wall toward Aldersgate Street. In the late afternoon, clouds have massed overhead, and rain is beginning to fall. I stride along confidently, my only guide being the map in my head based on the A TO Z MAP OF ELIZABETHAN LONDON. This fascinating book, compiled from several Tudor-era maps, chiefly the Agas Map, was my reliable source for locations of streets, roads, and buildings while I wrote DARK LADY.

I have a great affection for the Agas Map, with its drawings of cows and sheep grazing, dogs and people walking along the roads outside the city (obviously not drawn to scale), archers shooting at targets, men fighting with staffs, and laundry drying on the ground, and in the City, tiny streets and drawings of box-like houses with pointed roofs. But the remembered Agas Map might not be the best guide for our trek through modern London.

Review: My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows

From the Back Cover:

The comical, fantastical, romantical, (not) entirely true story of Lady Jane Grey. In My Lady Jane, coauthors Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows have created a one-of-a-kind 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.

Like that could go wrong.

My Thoughts:

I've often thought Lady Jane Grey to be one of the more tragic figures in history, so I jumped at the chance to read this alternate version of how it should have happened by three young adult authors I admire. And I knew from the dedication page, when I read, "For everyone who knows there was enough room for Leonardo DiCaprio on that door," that this book and I were going to get along very well.

Sixteen-year-old King Edward VI is dying, and his biggest regret is that he's going to die a virgin. He hasn't even kissed a girl. His favorite girl is his cousin Jane, but he's just been convinced to sign off on her marriage to another boy. One from a family of unfortunate noses, but since Jane's nose is always in a book, perhaps she won't mind. Still, it sure would be nice if Edward could take a break from his nurses and councilors and just be a regular teenage boy for what little time he has left.

By the age of sixteen, Lady Jane Grey has been betrothed four times. None of them worked out. Now her dear cousin has gone and promised her to yet another boy of noble lineage, but she's pretty sure this one won't work out either. At least she hopes so since the as-yet-unseen groom's father and brother have the largest noses in the kingdom, and her betrothed is rumored to be quite the ladies' man. And he probably doesn't even like books. But alas, it figures this is the wedding that will actually take place, and wonder of wonders, her new husband turns out to be quite the handsome stud! Literally.

Gifford Dudley--call him G--is cursed. Every morning as the sun rises, he turns into a horse. Every evening as the sun sets, he turns back into a boy. Thus his conspicuous absence from court, even though his father is Lord Protector of the realm. He spends his days frolicking through the countryside and his nights dallying with every tavern wench and village maid he can get his hands on. If you believe the stories, that is. The truth is that while G is supposed to be making his father proud by "dalliancing," he's really off attending . . . poetry readings?! This whole getting married thing is really going to put a damper on his lifestyle.

I'm going to avoid any further description of what happens when these three get together since most of you already know what happened to Edward VI, Jane Grey, and Guildford Dudley, and I don't want to spoil any surprises as these writers turn history on its ear and give them the story they should have had. This book is just such a delight to read. And it throws all the rules of writing historical fiction out the window. For example, modern expressions and behavior in historical fiction have long been no-nos. But here, the authors never let the reader forget that they are writing in the 21st century, and it works. Oh, how it works! It works because it's hilarious. The authors occasionally insert their own opinions on anachronisms and some of the more outlandish historical details, modern expressions are sprinkled throughout with a Tudor twist, and if you're paying close attention, you'll find references to The Princess Bride and Game of Thrones too.

Blog Tour Guest Post: The Dark Lady's Mask by Mary Sharratt

Please join me in welcoming Mary Sharratt to Let Them Read Books! Mary is touring the blogosphere with her new novel, The Dark Lady's Mask: A Novel of Shakespeare's Muse, and she's here today with an awesome guest post about America's love for Renaissance fairs and our quest to recreate Merry England. Read on and enter to win a copy of The Dark Lady's Mask!

Shakespeare in Love meets Shakespeare’s Sister in this novel of England’s first professional woman poet and her collaboration and love affair with William Shakespeare.

London, 1593. Aemilia Bassano Lanier is beautiful and accomplished, but her societal conformity ends there. She frequently cross-dresses to escape her loveless marriage and to gain freedoms only men enjoy, but a chance encounter with a ragged, little-known poet named Shakespeare changes everything.

Aemilia grabs at the chance to pursue her long-held dream of writing and the two outsiders strike up a literary bargain. They leave plague-ridden London for Italy, where they begin secretly writing comedies together and where Will falls in love with the beautiful country — and with Aemilia, his Dark Lady. Their Italian idyll, though, cannot last and their collaborative affair comes to a devastating end. Will gains fame and fortune for their plays back in London and years later publishes the sonnets mocking his former muse. Not one to stand by in humiliation, Aemilia takes up her own pen in her defense and in defense of all women.

The Dark Lady’s Mask gives voice to a real Renaissance woman in every sense of the word.

American Renaissance Festivals and the Yearning for Merry England

by Mary Sharratt

When I was a student in the 1980s, I spent my late summer weekends in another realm. Donning a green gown I had sewn myself, I became a Renaissance woman, or a low-budget facsimile thereof, my cheap, silver-plated goblet hanging from my belt to save me from the indignity of drinking from a paper cup.

For three summers from 1983 to 1985, I was a performer at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival, in those days a much more low-key and grassroots affair than it is today. My character was a historically inaccurate hybrid between a village minstrel and a faery queen out of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  (I was trying very hard to channel Stevie Nicks.) I even spoke in a fake British accent, largely informed by Monty Python.

For the most part, I was unpaid, although I did earn minimum wage the summer I worked in the information booth. This involved giving directions and handing out site maps. The most exciting part was when some unsuspecting person asked the way to the restroom.

Leaping out from behind the counter, I’d grab my victim’s arm and race off, hell for leather, with them in tow. “Make way!” I’d yell, compelling the crowd to part for us. “Privy run!”

After depositing the blushing and winded individual in front of the plastic Portalet, I’d dash back to the information booth. As minimum-wage jobs went, it was far more amusing than fast food.
When I wasn’t working at the information booth, I played Elizabethan music on my violin, but this proved far less interesting for the paying crowd. The most enthusiasm I could drum up was some drunk guy asking me to play Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon.”

I soon learned to leave the violin at home and focus on street theatre, which is what most people seemed to be coming for. Having my picture taken with festival goers’ children who thought my dress was pretty. Joining my fellow peasants under an oak tree in the late afternoon. Sitting in the grass with floral garlands in our hair, we would sing ballads of such yearning that they would transport us to another time and place. This transpired late afternoon when everything seemed suffused in golden light. Such pastoral bliss! As a Reagan-era teenager, this was the closest I ever got to the Woodstock experience.

Book Blast! The Dark Lady's Mask by Mary Sharratt

The Dark Lady's Mask by Mary Sharratt

Publication Date: April 19, 2016

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Hardcover, eBook, Audio Book

Genre: Historical Fiction

READ AN EXCERPT.

Shakespeare in Love meets Shakespeare’s Sister in this novel of England’s first professional woman poet and her collaboration and love affair with William Shakespeare.

London, 1593. Aemilia Bassano Lanier is beautiful and accomplished, but her societal conformity ends there. She frequently cross-dresses to escape her loveless marriage and to gain freedoms only men enjoy, but a chance encounter with a ragged, little-known poet named Shakespeare changes everything.

Aemilia grabs at the chance to pursue her long-held dream of writing and the two outsiders strike up a literary bargain. They leave plague-ridden London for Italy, where they begin secretly writing comedies together and where Will falls in love with the beautiful country — and with Aemilia, his Dark Lady. Their Italian idyll, though, cannot last and their collaborative affair comes to a devastating end. Will gains fame and fortune for their plays back in London and years later publishes the sonnets mocking his former muse. Not one to stand by in humiliation, Aemilia takes up her own pen in her defense and in defense of all women.

The Dark Lady’s Mask gives voice to a real Renaissance woman in every sense of the word.

The Dark Lady’s Mask will be published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in April 2016 to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death.

Amazon (Kindle) | Amazon (Hardcover) | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble

Advance Praise

“An exquisite portrait of a Renaissance woman pursuing her artistic destiny in England and Italy, who may — or may not — be Shakespeare’s Dark Lady.” — MARGARET GEORGE, internationally bestselling author of Elizabeth I

“Perfectly chosen details and masterful characterization bring to life this swiftly moving, elegant story. As atmospheric and compelling as it is wise, The Dark Lady’s Mask is a gem not to be missed.” — LYNN CULLEN, bestselling author of Mrs. Poe and Twain’s End

“Mary Sharratt’s enchanting new novel, The Dark Lady’s Mask, is a richly imagined, intensely romantic and meticulously researched homage to lauded poet, Aemilia Bassano Lanyer, an accomplished woman of letters who many believe to be Shakespeare’s Eternal Muse. Sharratt unfolds a captivating tale, a compelling ‘what if ’ scenario, of a secret union that fed the creative fires of England’s greatest poet and playwright.” — KATHLEEN KENT, bestselling author of The Heretic’s Daughter

Spotlight: The King's Sisters by Sarah Kennedy

The King's Sisters

The Cross and the Crown Book Three

by Sarah Kennedy

Knox Robinson Publishing

December 8, 2015

Hardcover; 320 pages

Historical Fiction

The King’s Sisters continues the story of former nun, Catherine Havens. It is now 1542 and another queen, Catherine Howard, has been beheaded for adultery. Although young Prince Edward is thriving, and the line of Tudor succession seems secure, the king falls into a deep melancholy and questions the faith and loyalty of those around him. Catherine has found herself in a unique position as a married former nun. Now she is a wealthy widow. She has two children, a boy who has successfully joined the young prince’s household and a daughter who lives with her at Richmond Palace, home to Henry’s cast-off fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, now designated “The King’s Beloved Sister.” Catherine also enjoys the attentions of widower Benjamin Davies, and in the festive court atmosphere, she has furtively indulged her passion for him.

But England has changed again. Anne of Cleves hopes for reinstatement as queen―until questions arise about the finances of the houses she keeps. Catherine, as one of the king’s “reformed sisters,” is singled out, just as she realizes that she is carrying a third child. The King’s Sisters explores the Tudor court under an aging Henry VIII. He now has a son and heir, but his two daughters remain players in the political intrigues. The Cross and the Crown series follows the very private Catherine as she is thrust into the scheming. She is skilled enough to serve a former queen . . . but this may be the very quality that endangers her future.

Goodreads  ~  Amazon

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Sarah Kennedy holds a Ph.D. in Renaissance Literature from Purdue University and an MFA in Creative Writing from Vermont College. The author of seven books of poems as well as The Altarpiece and City of Ladies, books one and two in The Cross and the Crown series, she has received individual artist grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Virginia Commission for the Arts, as well as an award for scholarship from the National Endowment for the Humanities. She teaches at Mary Baldwin College in Virginia. Her website is http://sarahkennedybooks.com/.

Her second novel in the series, City of Ladies, is a finalist for ForeWord Magazine’s IndieFab Book of the Year Award in Historical Fiction.

Spotlight: Shakespeare's Rebel by C.C. Humphreys

Shakespeare’s Rebel
C.C. Humphreys

ISBN: 9781492609902
Pub date: October 6, 2015
Genre: Historical Fiction
Imprint: Sourcebooks Landmark

To be (or not to be) the man to save England

England’s finest swordsman and fight choreographer at the magnificent new Globe Theatre has hit rock bottom. John Lawley just wants to win back his beloved, become a decent father to his son, and help his friend William Shakespeare finish The Tragedy of Hamlet, the play that threatens to destroy him.

But all is not fair in love and war. Dogged by his three devils—whiskey, women, and Mad Robbie Deveraux—John is dragged by Queen Elizabeth herself into a dangerous game of politics, conspiracy, and rebellion. Will the hapless swordsman figure out how to save England before it’s too late?

Brimming with vivid periodic detail, Shakespearean drama, and irresistible wit, Shakespeare’s Rebel is a thrilling romp through the romantic, revolutionary times of Elizabethan England that will delight historical fiction fans and Shakespeare enthusiasts alike.

Excerpt:

John peered at the river traffic. Most of the boats were laden, passengers headed to the delights of Southwark or returning sated from them. But some boatmen were just commencing, and others sought easier fares than in the turmoil at the Stairs. He spotted one, placed finger and thumb to his mouth, whistled loud. The man looked up from his oars and both he and Ned waved frantically. They watched the bow put about, the vessel driven swiftly toward them. On the thrust-out jetty, a ladder went into the water and Ned sprinted to it—just as boots thudded onto the wooden platform behind them.

John turned back. Tomkins was bent holding on to his knees, breathing hard. The youth was upright, head tilted back with his now besmirched tangerine scarf raised to staunch the blood flowing from the nose. Only the third fellow was unwinded or unbloodied, and he now drew his dagger to pair with his rapier.

John heard the crunch of wood on wood as the wherry slid against the stanchions. “Board, Ned,” he hissed, drawing too. There was no time to untie his buckler. It would be two weapons to one—to six when the others recovered. He cut air as he took a high guard, the sound causing his drawn assailant to pause. Yet behind him, Tomkins had got his breath back enough to draw in his turn, while the bleeding youth dropped his scarf, let his blood flow, and drew as well. “Stay back, you curs,” he bellowed, hoping a touch of bravado and another slash would delay them. When he heard Ned’s cry, “I am aboard,” he swished again, turned and ran the few steps to the dock edge, saw the wherry at the ladder, its owner regarding the scene above him with alarm. “Cast off!” John yelled, just as he heard the approach of boots, swept around, sword cutting at eye level. All three men were before him.

Blog Tour Review: The Tapestry by Nancy Bilyeau

From the Back Cover:

In THE CROWN, Sister Joanna Stafford searched for a Dark Ages relic that could save her priory from Cromwell’s advancing army of destruction. In THE CHALICE, Joanna was drawn

into an international conspiracy against Henry VIII himself as she struggled to learn the truth behind a prophecy of his destruction.

Now, in THE TAPESTRY, Joanna Stafford finally chooses her own destiny.

After her Dominican priory in Dartford closed forever—collateral damage in tyrannical King Henry VIII’s quest to overthrow the Catholic Church—Joanna resolves to live a quiet and honorable life weaving tapestries, shunning dangerous quests and conspiracies. Until she is summoned to Whitehall Palace, where her tapestry weaving has drawn the King’s attention.

Joanna is uncomfortable serving the King, and fears for her life in a court bursting with hidden agendas and a casual disregard for the virtues she holds dear. Her suspicions are confirmed when an assassin attempts to kill her moments after arriving at Whitehall.

Struggling to stay ahead of her most formidable enemy yet, an unknown one, she becomes entangled in dangerous court politics. Her dear friend Catherine Howard is rumored to be the King’s mistress. Joanna is determined to protect young, beautiful, naïve Catherine from becoming the King’s next wife and, possibly, victim.

Set in a world of royal banquets and feasts, tournament jousts, ship voyages, and Tower Hill executions, this thrilling tale finds Joanna in her most dangerous situation yet, as she attempts to decide the life she wants to live: nun or wife, spy or subject, rebel or courtier. Joanna Stafford must finally choose.

My Thoughts:

I was very impressed with Nancy Bilyeau's debut novel, The Crown, and I absolutely loved the follow-up, The Chalice. So I could not wait to get my hands on the final book in the Joanna Stafford trilogy, The Tapestry. It's hard to review books that are part of a series without giving away spoilers from the previous books, so forgive me if my plot recap is a bit vague and I focus more on my overall impressions.

Review: Maid of Deception by Jennifer McGowan

From the Back Cover:

Beatrice Knowles is a Maid of Honor, one of Queen Elizabeth I’s secret protectors. Known for her uncanny ability to manipulate men’s hearts, Beatrice has proven herself to be a valuable asset in the Queen’s court—or so she thinks. It has been three weeks since the Maids thwarted a plot to overthrow the Queen, and Beatrice is preparing to wed her betrothed, Lord Cavanaugh. However, her plans come to a crashing halt as rumors of a brewing Scottish rebellion spread among the court.

Beatrice’s new assignment is to infiltrate the visiting Scottish delegation using her subtle arts in persuasion. The mission seems simple enough, until the Queen pairs Beatrice with the worst of the lot—Alasdair MacLeod. Beatrice cannot help but think that the Queen is purposefully setting her up for failure. But Alasdair could be the key to unlocking the truth about the rebellion….and her own heart. Caught in a web of ever-more-twisting lies, Beatrice must rise up among the Maids of Honor and prove what she’s known all along: In a court filled with deception and danger, love may be the deadliest weapon of all.

My Thoughts:

I really want to love this series. It has such a great premise and such great characters: five special maids-of-honor who serve as spies in Queen Elizabeth I's court while navigating political intrigue and affairs of the heart. But both this book and the first in the series, Maid of Secrets, fell a bit short for me. I like them, but I don't love them, for reasons I'll explain in a bit. But first:

Beatrice is the ice queen of the group, the consummate courtier, the only one actually born and bred to the position, and she carries it out with grace, poise, and indifference. But in this book we get to see the woman that lies beneath the facade. A woman whose family problems have forced her to seek salvation in an arranged marriage, a woman whose hatred for the queen is eclipsed only by her desire to best her, and the only way to do that is by succeeding in every difficult task the queen sets for her. But this time, the queen has gone too far. This time, the queen has ruined Beatrice's shot at stability by calling a halt to her wedding and secretly assigning Beatrice to get close to the leader of the Scottish delegation at court, Alasdair Macleod, in an attempt to uncover a Catholic plot against the queen. Charming the uncouth warrior and learning his secrets should be easy, and finishing this annoying assignment will bring Beatrice one step closer to her ultimate goal, but Beatrice is about to discover that there's something far greater at risk here than any conspiracy--her heart--and her own actions may result in her losing the only true chance at happiness she's ever had.

Spotlight: City of Ladies by Sarah Kennedy

City of Ladies, the second book in The Cross and the Crown series by Sarah Kennedy

Publication date: November 11, 2014
Knox Robinson Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-910282-09-0
Historical fiction

It’s midwinter in 1539, and former nun, Catherine Havens Overton, has just given birth to her second child, a daughter. The convent in which she was raised is now part of her husband's lands, lands that once belonged to Catherine's family. With a son, Robert, and her new daughter, Veronica, her life as the mistress of a great household should be complete.

But Henry VIII’s England has not been kind to many of the evicted members of religious houses. And in order to protect her old companions from the hostilities, Catherine has gathered about her a group of former nuns in hopes of providing them a chance to serve in the village of Havenston, her City of Ladies.

Catherine’s past haunts her. Her husband begins to suspect that Robert is not his child. Then the women of Overton House begin to disappear and one of them is found brutally murdered nearby. Seizing the moment, under the pretense of ensuring her safety, William forces Catherine to enter service at Hatfield House where the young Elizabeth Tudor lives.

Reluctantly, Catherine obeys, only to find herself serving not only the Protestant Elizabeth but also the shamed Catholic Mary Tudor. As the murders in Yorkshire continue to mount and her loyalty to the Tudor sisters grows more complicated, Catherine must uncover the secret of the killer and save her City of Ladies.

Praise for City of Ladies:

Sarah Kennedy reanimates lost perspectives of Tudor England in her second story of Catherine, a former nun displaced by Henry’s dissolution of the religious houses. With a scholar’s imaginative sympathy, Kennedy restores humanity to Mary Tudor and the vulnerable women sheltered by Catherine. With a poet’s sensual worldmaking, Kennedy conjures up the textures, temperatures, aromas, and emotions of daily life in a country undergoing dizzying upheavals of beliefs and convictions. In “City of Ladies” Kennedy takes her place with Daphne du Maurier, Anya Seton, Rosemary Sutcliff, and Hilary Mantel as writer of superb historical fiction. ~Suzanne Keen, author of “Empathy and the Novel”

Cover Reveal: The Tapestry by Nancy Bilyeau

I am so excited to take part in the cover reveal for The Tapestry, the third book in Nancy Bilyeau's Joanna Stafford historical mystery series! I loved the first two books (check out my reviews of The Crown and The Chalice),

and The Tapestry is one of my most anticipated titles of 2015!

Without further ado, here's the cover!

Publication Date: March 24, 2015

Touchstone Publishing

Formats: eBook, Hardcover

Pages: 390

Genre: Historical Mystery

Series: Joanna Stafford, Book Three

In THE CROWN, Sister Joanna Stafford searched for a Dark Ages relic that could save her priory from Cromwell’s advancing army of destruction. In THE CHALICE, Joanna was drawn into an international conspiracy against Henry VIII himself as she struggled to learn the truth behind a prophecy of his destruction.

Now, in THE TAPESTRY, Joanna Stafford finally chooses her own destiny.

After her Dominican priory in Dartford closed forever—collateral damage in tyrannical King Henry VIII’s quest to overthrow the Catholic Church—Joanna resolves to live a quiet and honorable life weaving tapestries, shunning dangerous quests and conspiracies. Until she is summoned to Whitehall Palace, where her tapestry weaving has drawn the King’s attention.

Joanna is uncomfortable serving the King, and fears for her life in a court bursting with hidden agendas and a casual disregard for the virtues she holds dear. Her suspicions are confirmed when an assassin attempts to kill her moments after arriving at Whitehall.

Struggling to stay ahead of her most formidable enemy yet, an unknown one, she becomes entangled in dangerous court politics. Her dear friend Catherine Howard is rumored to be the King’s mistress. Joanna is determined to protect young, beautiful, naïve Catherine from becoming the King’s next wife and, possibly, victim.

Blog Tour Review: The Queen's Exiles by Barbara Kyle

From the Back Cover:

1572. Europe is in turmoil. In the Netherlands the streets are red with the blood of those who dare to oppose the brutal Spanish occupation. A vengeful faction of exiled English Catholics is plotting to overthrow Queen Elizabeth and install her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots on the throne. But amid the unrest, one resourceful young woman has made a lucrative enterprise ...

Scottish-born Fenella Doorn rules like a queen over a privateer's haven on the Isle of Sark. Her success at salvaging crippled vessels affords her gold and security, and it is on one of these ships that she meets wealthy Baron—and privateer—Adam Thornleigh. Secretly drawn to him, Fenella can’t refuse when Adam enlists her to join him in war-torn Brussels to help find his traitorous wife, Frances—and the children she’s taken from him. 

But Fenella’s own bold actions have put a price on her head. Now Adam and Fenella’s lives are in peril as they race across Europe in an attempt to rescue his young ones, defend the crown, and restore the peace that few can remember.

My Thoughts:

The author includes a very helpful historical note at the beginning of this novel that orients the reader in time and place and sets the scene for a dramatic story unfolding against a backdrop that I don't think I've ever encountered before in historical fiction: that of wealthy English Catholic exiles living in the Spanish-occupied Netherlands. We usually get this time period from the other side of the Channel, in Elizabeth's court as she attempts to keep Protestantism on top and fend off a multitude of foreign threats, but here we get to see what the rest of the world was thinking and doing during her spat with Spain. I really loved the setting of this and the intrigue of a group of nobles in exile, cozying up to the Spanish to bring down Elizabeth. But before we get there, we begin on Sark, a quirky little Channel Island that really illustrates what life must have been like for the people who lived so far from the mainland and so close to the shores of the enemy during this tumultuous time in history. It is there that we meet our hero and heroine, Adam and Fenella.

Blog Tour Review: The Lost Duchess by Jenny Barden

From the Back Cover:

Emme Fifield has fallen about as far as a gentlewoman can.

Once a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth, her only hope of surviving the scandal that threatens to engulf her is to escape England for a fresh start in the new America where nobody has ever heard of the Duchess of Somerset.

Emme joins Kit Doonan's rag-tag band of idealists, desperados and misfits bound for Virginia. But such a voyage will be far from easy and Emme finds her attraction to the mysterious Doonan inconvenient to say the least.

As for Kit, the handsome mariner has spent years imprisoned by the Spanish, and living as an outlaw with a band of escaped slaves; he has his own inner demons to confront, and his own dark secrets to keep...

Ever since Sir Walter Raleigh's settlement in Virginia was abandoned in 1587 its fate has remained a mystery; The Lost Duchess explores what might have happened to the ill-starred Lost Colony of Roanoke.

My Thoughts:

I absolutely love reading about early America (having grown up a hop, skip, and a jump from Jamestown, England's first permanent settlement in the New World), and Jenny Barden is an author I've been wanting to read, so I jumped at the chance to read her second novel, The Lost Duchess, which is a stand-alone follow-up to her first novel, Mistress of the Sea. The Lost Duchess tells the story of Emme Fifield, daughter of a baron, dutiful lady-in-waiting to a demanding Queen Elizabeth. Her world is turned upside down when she is compromised by a treasonous lord, but her future brightens when Sir Francis Drake returns to court with tales of the New World and a handsome mariner in tow, Kit Doonan, both of which ignite Emme's curiosity and desire for adventure. As the queen's favorite, Sir Walter Raleigh, pleads his case for a return to the new land of Virginia, named in the queen's honor, Emme finds herself swept up in the plans, a pawn for spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham, who is keen to help England outwit Spain's plans for the New World. Traveling under an assumed identity with strict instructions of what to look for and what to report back to Walsingham, Emme sets out with Kit and a group of hearty souls prepared to make a new life in the New World, with no intention of ever actually going back to England.