Book Launch: Penelope - Tudor Baroness (Book Four of The Elizabethan Series)

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A Life of Love and Scandal

I became intrigued by the story of Penelope when I was researching my book about her brother, Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex.  I was impressed by her resilience, yet had many questions about this Elizabethan noblewoman who seems to get away with living life on her own terms. 

Lady Penelope is one of the most beautiful and sought-after women in Elizabethan England. The daughter of the queen's nemesis, Lady Lettice Knollys, Countess of Essex, she becomes the stepdaughter of Robert Dudley when he marries her mother in secret. 

Penelope's life is full of love and scandal. The inspiration for Sir Philip Sidney’s sonnet Astrophel and Stella, she is inevitably caught up in her brother Robert's fateful rebellion.

A complex and fascinating woman, her life is a story of love, betrayal, and tragedy. Discover how Penelope charms her way out of serious charges of treason, adultery, and forgery, and becomes one of the last truly great ladies of the Tudor court.

A maid of honour to Queen Elizabeth, Penelope outlives the end of the Tudors with the death of the old queen and the arrival of King James, becoming a favourite lady-in-waiting to the new queen, Anne of Denmark.

“This is the story of a woman who lived life on her own terms, and one that will stay with you long after you finish reading it.”

Book Launch: The Waterfront Lass, by AnneMarie Brear

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Wakefield 1870: On the banks of the River Calder, Meg Taylor struggles to care for her younger siblings and sick mother whilst her father is away working as a boatman on the canals. The slums where they live are rife with disease, and Meg longs for a different life, away from the grinding poverty, but she'll never leave her family.

But with the canals slowly dying as trade moves to the railways, and with Meg’s father stubbornly holding onto the past, Meg fears her family’s future is going to get even bleaker. If only there was a way she could save them….

Christian Henderson is tired of the greed of his wealthy family. He sees the poverty around him and wishes he could do more to help the proud working-class people he meets. People like Meg Taylor, whose courage he so admires.

From the moment he meets Meg, Christian is captivated – Meg might be poor, but she is proud and spirited!

Meg’s dreams of being with a man like Christian are fantasy. How can a lass from the waterfront be with a wealthy man such as he?

And worse, if she follows her heart to be with him, what will happen to the family she loves?

Praise for AnneMarie Brear:

'AnneMarie Brear writes gritty, compelling sagas that grip from the first page.' Fenella J Miller

'Poignant, powerful and searingly emotional, AnneMarie Brear stands shoulder to shoulder with the finest works by some of the genre’s greatest writers such as Catherine Cookson, Audrey Howard and Rosamunde Pilcher.'

'Mesmerising from beginning to end.' Lizzie Lane

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About the Author

AnneMarie Brear was born in a small town in N.S.W. Australia, to English parents from Yorkshire, and is the youngest of five children. From an early age she loved reading, working her way through the Enid Blyton stories, before moving onto Catherine Cookson’s novels as a teenager. Living in England during the 1980s and more recently, AnneMarie developed a love of history from visiting grand old English houses and this grew into a fascination with what may have happened behind their walls over their long existence. AnneMarie now lives in the Southern Highlands of N.S.W. Australia. Find out more from her website https://annemariebrear.com/ and find her on Facebook and Twitter @annemariebrear

Historical Fiction Spotlight: The Image of the King, by Julie Maxwell

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England, 1648. King Charles I is a prisoner on the Isle of Wight. He has lost the civil wars. He now stands to lose his head. Escape is imperative - but it seems increasingly impossible.

No one proves more enterprising than the king's spy-mistress Jane Whorwood. Yet no one poses more of a threat to his image as a family man.

The plot against Charles soon takes a new and elaborate turn. For the first time in history, a head of state will be impeached by his own subjects and put on trial for his life. But how can a king possibly be tried for treason?

John Milton watches as the coup d’etat unfolds. Betrayed by former allies, Milton is determined never to get involved in politics again.

So is it providence or a mere conspiracy of circumstances when his cousin John Bradshaw is appointed the King’s Judge?

Oliver Cromwell has decided on Bradshaw. But he has also decided on Milton. A writer is needed to reconcile the nation to regicide and reply to the royal memoir The Image of the King.

As the propaganda wars intensify toward their tragic climax, the monarch is not the only one in mortal danger. Belatedly Milton discovers just how far the royalists will go to defeat their opponents.

Praise for The Image of the King:

'An intricately organised, subtly ironic perspective on a tumultuous historical period' Craig Raine.

"What was really great about the book was the characters around Charles and the intriguing conspiracies to get his release. The plot twist at the end was completely unexpected. Brilliant stuff."  Five-Star Amazon Review 

"The Image of the King is a thrilling tale of the Civil Wars' battle for hearts and minds. Through the eyes of King Charles I and the failing eyesight of John Milton, we watch politics and propaganda slide out of control until lives and afterlives lie on the line. Impeccably researched and engagingly told, The Image of the King will entertain and educate in equal measure." Miranda Malins, author of The Rebel Daughter.

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About the Author 

Julie Maxwell was born in Southall in 1975 and took a First in English at Christ Church, Oxford. She received a Gibbs Prize and a Charles Oldham Shakespeare Award. Subsequently she gained a Distinction in the M.Phil. in Shakespeare studies, and was elected a Senior Scholar of Christ Church to work on her D.Phil. thesis about Renaissance drama. She also held British Academy/A.H.R.B. Studentships and taught English at Trinity College, Oxford. In 2003 she was elected the Weston Junior Research Fellow in English Literature at New College, Oxford, where she wrote 'You Can Live Forever', her first book. She also drafted a monograph about Ben Jonson and religion, which is nearing completion. She was offered a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship at Liverpool but instead defected to Cambridge as a Fellow and Lecturer in English at Lucy Cavendish College. She has now returned to Oxford. You can find Julie on Twitter @JMaxwellAuthor

Historical Fiction Spotlight: Shadow of Treason (The Queen's Intelligencer Book 3) by Peter Tonkin

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Redriffe, London, Wednesday 27 April 1603: A gunpowder mill explodes, causing death and destruction. A passer-by becomes involved in helping victims but is recognised and arrested – for he is a wanted man.

The arresting officer is Spymaster Robert Poley, Queen Elizabeth’s Chief Intelligencer under Francis Walsingham and now King James’s under Robert Cecil. The fugitive is the Catholic Robert Catesby.

Catesby is imprisoned. On his release, he secretly begins to recruit a group of desperate associates. Some form of a plot - and an act of violence - is afoot.

Poley turns his attention towards the conspirators. His intelligencers target an expert in gunpowder and explosives. His name? Guy Fawkes.

And so a desperate game of cat and mouse unfolds as Poley races to discover exactly what the conspirators are planning. Gunpowder, treason and plot.

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About the Author

Peter Tonkin attended the Queen’s University, Belfast, 1969 – 75, where he studied with Seamus Heaney, Paul Muldoon, Bernard MacLaverty and Ciaran Carson; and directed Ciaran Hinds in Hamlet.  He published his first novel, Killer, to international acclaim in 1978.  Since then he has divided his time between writing and teaching.  He has published 52 other novels including the Master of Defence series of Elizabethan murder mysteries and the 30-book Mariner series of action-adventure-thrillers.  Since retiring from teaching, he has been preparing a series of thrillers set in Ancient Rome.  He is pictured here preparing to attend a Literary Evening at Trinity College, Oxford, of which he is a Benefactor. Find out more at Peter's website https://petertonkin.com/ and follow him on Facebook and Twitter @petertonkin50

 

Historical Fiction Spotlight: Servant of Death (The Armillary Sphere, Story of Lady Jane Rochford Book 6) by G. Lawrence

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Summer 1540: Cromwell has fallen and Jane Rochford, once his spy, is free to serve her new Queen and friend, Catherine Howard. 

Sworn to protect and shelter the young Queen from enemies past and present, Jane must toil through the perils of the Tudor court so Catherine might survive her dangerous husband, and escape into a better life afterwards.

But the past is coming for Queen Catherine and for Jane, and Death, cheated once, will not be cheated again...

Servant of Death is Book Six of The Armillary Sphere, Story of Lady Jane Rochford by G. Lawrence.

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About the Author

Gemma Lawrence is an independently published author living in Cornwall in the UK. She studied literature at university says, 'I write mainly Historical Fiction, with an emphasis on the Tudor and Medieval periods and have a particular passion for women of history who inspire me'. Her first book in the Elizabeth of England Chronicles series is The Bastard Princess (The Elizabeth of England Chronicles Book 1).Gemma can be found on Twitter @TudorTweep

Historical Fiction Spotlight: Pirates and Patriots: A Tudor naval adventure by David Field

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England, 1554;  Fifteen-year-old Francis Drake is realising his dream of sailing on the open seas. After training with his cousins William and John Hawkins in their naval business, he takes his first commission upon the Bonaventure.

But when disaster strikes the ship and Francis saves the men with his quick-thinking, he makes an enemy of the captain, who threatens to charge Francis with mutiny.

Francis must seek a new path to make his fortune and he joins with the Hawkins brothers to search for glory in foreign lands.

But trading on the world stage is already being dominated by Spanish and Portuguese explorers and so Francis must act quickly if he wishes to make his mark.

And as one Tudor queen makes way for another, and Spanish relations grow ever tenser, Francis Drake may soon be needed to help save his country from the threat of war...

Pirates and Patriots is the first Tudor novel in The New World Nautical Saga Series – historical adventures set during the reign of Elizabeth I and beyond.

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About the Author

David Field was born in post-war Nottingham, and educated at Nottingham High School. After obtaining a Law degree he became a career-long criminal law practitioner and academic, emigrating in 1989 to Australia, where he still lives. Combining his two great loves of History and the English language he began writing historical novels as an escape from the realities of life in the criminal law, but did not begin to publish them until close to full time retirement, when digital publishing offered a viable alternative to literary agencies, print publishers and rejection slips. Now blessed with all the time in the world, his former hobby has become a full time occupation as he enjoys life in rural New South Wales with his wife, sons and grandchildren to keep him firmly grounded in the reality of the contemporary world. Find out more from David's website https://davidfieldauthor.com/ and find him on Facebook and Twitter @DavidFi32735940  

Blog Tour Spotlight: Lucy by Vicky Adin

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Emma’s curiosity is piqued by a gutsy young climate change campaigner with an antique trinket box full of women’s rights badges, but tracing their history pushes her to her limit.

Struggling to recover from Covid-19, Emma is terrified of developing a chronic and incurable condition and becoming a burden. She tries to ignore her fears and keeps working. She has clients who rely on her. Paige is a spirited environmentalist whose wealthy father tries to curb her enthusiasm. 

But she is intent on making her mark on the world in spite of him. Emma is torn between untangling the mysteries of Paige’s legacy or saving herself when exhaustion threatens everything she cares about.

In 1892, twenty-one-year-old Lucy, a dedicated suffragist is determined women shall win the right to vote this time. Since her mother died, she has grown up in the glow of her father’s benevolence. Winning the franchise has become her raison d'être, greater even than her love for Richard. 

She goes canvassing and is ambushed by a man who undermines her confidence. Conflicted between winning the vote or safeguarding those she loves, she redoubles her campaign efforts. But a moral dilemma puts her future in jeopardy.

A compelling tale of Lucy the suffragist and the courageous women who fought for their right to vote (Book 3 in The Art of Secrets series, dual-timeline sagas about finding your roots).

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About the Author

Vicky Adin’s passion is writing inter-generational sagas inspired by early immigrant women’s stories in New Zealand, linked by journals, letters, photographs, and heirlooms. As a genealogist and historian, Vicky has combined her skills to write heart-warming novels weaving family life and history together in a way that makes the past come alive. Vicky Adin holds a MA(Hons) in English and Education. She is an avid reader of historical novels, family sagas and contemporary women’s stories and loves to travel. Find out more at Vicky's website www.vickyadin.co.nz and find her on Facebook and Twitter @VickyAdin