This is a wonderfully juicy historical novel so convincing that it's difficult to believe it is the author's first. Just as the newly crowned Elizabeth I is about to become amorously involved with a power-hungry nobleman, an old friend of her mother's appears, shriveled and decrepit, bearing a tome written in the hand of the new queen's mother, Anne Boleyn. The friend had promised Anne that she would deliver the diary to Elizabeth when she reached maturity. Orphaned at age three, Elizabeth grew up knowing almost nothing of her notorious mother but what official history put forth: that she was an adulterer and traitor and deserved to die. From her mother's diary, she learns the truth, the inside scoop on the lusty, unstable King Henry, the good and pious Queen Katherine, scheming Cardinal Wolsey, high-minded Thomas More, King Francis I of France, Emperor Charles of Spain and others. Elizabeth learns, too, of her mother's life-from her youth, through her tempestuous courtship and marriage to Henry VIII, which ended with her being beheaded. Elizabeth thus becomes acquainted with the mother she had never really known at precisely the moment when she most needs a mother's advice. She picks up valuable survival skills along the way-two of which, concerning the treachery of men and the unreliability of courtiers, deeply impress the young queen and help explain the mystery of why she never wed. Painting vicious court intrigue, national and international politics and the role of the Reformation, Maxwell brings not only the two queens but all of bloody Tudor England vividly to life. (Apr.)
Robin Maxwell's debut novel introduces Anne Boleyn and her daughter, Elizabeth: one was queen for a thousand days, the other for more than forty years. Both were passionate, headstrong women, loved and hated by Henry VIII.
At the beginning of Elizabeth's reign, her mother's private diary is given to her by a mysterious lady. In reading it, the young ruler - herself embroiled in a dangerous love affair - discovers a great deal about her much maligned mother.
Through Anne's writing, Elizabeth finds an echo of her own dramatic life as a powerful young woman at the center of England's male establishment and, with the knowledge gained from it, makes a resolution that will change the course of history.
“A wonderfully juicy historical novel so convincing that it's difficult to believe it is the author's first. . . . Maxwell brings . . . all of bloody Tudor England vividly to life.” - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“An historical fiction classic. Beware: this is truly addictive reading.” - Michelle Moran, author of Madame Tussaud
“Dazzling. Historical fiction at its finest.” - C. W. Gortner, author of The Confessions of Catherine de' Medici
Robin Maxwell's debut novel introduces Anne Boleyn and her daughter, Elizabeth: one was queen for a thousand days, the other for more than forty years. Both were passionate, headstrong women, loved and hated by Henry VIII.
At the beginning of Elizabeth's reign, her mother's private diary is given to her by a mysterious lady. In reading it, the young ruler - herself embroiled in a dangerous love affair - discovers a great deal about her much maligned mother.
Through Anne's writing, Elizabeth finds an echo of her own dramatic life as a powerful young woman at the center of England's male establishment and, with the knowledge gained from it, makes a resolution that will change the course of history.
“A wonderfully juicy historical novel so convincing that it's difficult to believe it is the author's first. . . . Maxwell brings . . . all of bloody Tudor England vividly to life.” - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“An historical fiction classic. Beware: this is truly addictive reading.” - Michelle Moran, author of Madame Tussaud
“Dazzling. Historical fiction at its finest.” - C. W. Gortner, author of The Confessions of Catherine de' Medici
Editorial Reviews
Product Details
BN ID: | 2940172269820 |
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Publisher: | Brilliance Audio |
Publication date: | 09/18/2012 |
Edition description: | Unabridged |
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