Review/Giveaway (autographed copy) Watch the Lady by Elizabeth Fremantle

The daughter of the Queen’s nemesis, Penelope Devereux, arrives at court blithely unaware of its pitfalls and finds herself in love with one man, yet married off to another. Bestowed with beauty and charm she and her brother, The Earl of Essex, are drawn quickly into the aging Queen’s favour. But Penelope is saddled with a husband who loathes her and chooses to strike out, risking her reputation to seek satisfaction elsewhere. But life at the heart of the court is not only characterised by the highs and lows of romance, there are formidable factions at work who would like to see the Devereux family brought down. It seems The Earl of Essex can do no wrong in the eyes of the Queen but as his influence grows so his enemies gather and it is Penelope who must draw on all her political savvy to prevent the unthinkable from happening.

Told from the perspective of Penelope and her brother’s greatest enemy the politician Cecil, this story, wrought with love, hatred and envy, unfolds over two decades in which we see the last gasps of Elizabeth’s reign, and the deadly scramble for power in a dying dynasty.

Paperback, 560 pages

Published June 9th 2015 by Simon & Schuster 

copy provided by publisher for honest review

*****

I didn't read the back cover of this book, Elizabeth Fremantle has become a favorite of mine with her 2 previous books, Sisters of Treason and The Queen's Gambit.  It was a given that Watch the Lady would be on my reading list. A big thank you to the publisher for providing me a copy not just for review but an autographed copy for one of my lucky readers.

The market is saturated with Tudor books, but Watch the Lady is a breath of fresh air. Taking placing during the final decades of Queen Elizabeth I's reign the author has taken a virtually unknown historical figure and woven a story teaming with the intrigues of court. Penelope Devereux was an unknown to me, it took all my willpower not to google her and get she story.  I am very thankful I resisted.  The daughter of Elizabeth's arch enemy Lettice Knollys, Penelope is a woman ahead of her time, she is strong, driven  and resourceful, but she is also vulnerable and sensitive.  It isn't hard to get to know her and the author stayed true to what is known  about her life.  It is evident the author has a passion for Penelope as it shows in her writing, she stayed true to what history has shared  and any deviations have been explained in the authors notes.

Elizabeth Fremantle has a writing style that makes it easy to get lost in her books.  This book is told from the perspective of both Penelope and Cecil with the changeovers being smooth and easy to follow.  Full of suspicion, forbidden love and much more - remember this is Tudor England with nar a dull moment about.  Coming it at 560 pages this isn't a quick read but well worth every page.

Watch the Lady is the 3rd book in Elizabeth Fremantles's Tudor series, but in no way do you have to read them in order.  They are definitely written as stand alones. 

Click on the covers to read my reviews of her previous books.

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The Tudor Vendetta (The Spymaster Chronicles #3) by C.W. Gortner

Upon the death of Mary I (Bloody Mary), Elizabeth I takes the throne and Brendan Prescott is called to aid the young queen amid a realm plunged into chaos and a court rife with conspiracy

London, 1558. Queen Mary is dead, and 25-year old Elizabeth ascends the throne. Summoned to court from exile abroad, Elizabeth’s intimate spy, Brendan Prescott, is reunited with the young queen, as well as his beloved Kate, scheming William Cecil, and arch-rival, Robert Dudley. A poison attempt on Elizabeth soon overshadows her coronation, but before Brendan can investigate, Elizabeth summons him in private to dispatch him on a far more confidential mission: to find her favored lady in waiting, Lady Parry, who has disappeared during a visit to her family manor in Yorkshire.

Upon his arrival at the desolate sea-side manor where Lady Parry was last seen, he encounters a strange, impoverished family beset by grief, as well as mounting evidence that they hide a secret from him. The mystery surrounding Lady Parry deepens as Brendan begins to realize there is far more going on at the manor than meets the eye, but the closer he gets to the heart of the mystery in Vaughn Hall, the more he learns that in his zeal to uncover the truth, he could be precipitating Elizabeth’s destruction.

From the intrigue-laden passages of Whitehall to a foreboding Catholic manor and the deadly underworld of London, Brendan must race against time to unravel a vendetta that will strike at the very core of his world—a vendetta that could expose a buried past and betray everything he has fought for, including his loyalty to his queen.

Paperback, 293 pages

Published October 21st 2014 by St. Martin's Griffin 

arc - netgalley

****

 One of the things that I loved about this book was that I had no clue what it was about.  Having read everything that this author has written it was just a given that this would be next.  Oh I knew is was the continuing story of Brendan Prescott, Queen Elizabeth was on the throne but other then that I had no idea.  That is part of the reason that I don't do play by play comments in my reviews.  I like the element of the unknown, discovering as I read and hope my readers do too.

After reading The Tudor Secret if anyone told me how this series was going to end I wouldn't have believed it.  With so many books available that take place during the reign of Queen Elizabeth this book brought something new and original. The plot I found intriguing and suspenseful.  Having read my fair share of mysteries I can't help trying to figure things out before it is revealed.  The Tudor Vendetta had me guessing, sure  that I've figured it out only to come upon more twists and turns, that kept me guessing right till the end.
 
Brendan Prescott is a likeable character, knowing his secrets and drive added much to this story.  I am not a fan of Robert Dudley's so the way he was portrayed here just confirmed my feelings.
 
The authors writing style is smooth and it wasn't hard to get lost in this story. With authentic historical details I found this to be a very entertaining read and am sad to see this series end.

Waiting on Wednesday: The Marriage Game by Alison Weir

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.
 
   This week I am waiting for: The Marriage Game by Alison Weir

         (the sequel to The Lady Elizabeth, will be published in the U.K. on 26th June 2014)

 

 The sequel to The Lady Elizabeth

Their affair is the scandal of Europe. From the time of her accession in 1558, the young Elizabeth I – already reinventing herself as the Virgin Queen – and her dashing but married Master of Horse, Lord Robert Dudley, cast caution to the winds in pursuing their passion for each other. Many believe them to be lovers in the fullest sense, and Elizabeth soon becomes aware of rumours that she is no virgin at all, and that she has secretly borne Lord Robert children.

The young Queen is regarded by most of Christendom as a bastard, a heretic and a usurper, yet many princes seek her hand in marriage. Knowing her hold on her throne to be desperately insecure, Elizabeth encourages them in order to keep them friendly towards England. And thus she plays what becomes known as ‘the marriage game’, appearing seriously to entertain these suitors while holding them off indefinitely. The truth is that she has no inclination to marry, bear children or render herself subservient to any man. The prospect of marriage is anathema to her, and she has deep and compelling psychological reasons for wishing to avoid it. It is the game of love that is the breath of life to her - the thrill of the chase, the lure of forbidden fruit. She plays this dangerous, tantalizing game with Lord Robert Dudley – but it is a game, she realizes - almost too late, that could ultimately cost her the throne.

For Robert is the son and grandson of traitors, and his growing intimacy with Elizabeth makes him deeply unpopular: he is distrusted by her more sober ministers – notably William Cecil - and resented by her courtiers, who think him inordinately ambitious, unscrupulous – and worse.

The notorious affair between Dudley and the Queen quickly gives rise to rampant speculation throughout Christendom that she is determined to marry him, and even that they are plotting the murder of Robert's sick wife, Amy. There is universal shock when Amy is found dead, lying at the foot of a staircase with her neck broken.

In telling the captivating, tempestuous, often hilarious and ultimately poignant story of this most extraordinary love affair, and the political intrigues and marriage negotiations that surrounded it, I have delved into the various mysteries that encompass Elizabeth’s relationship with Dudley.

Did they or didn`t they? Rivers of ink have been spilt in determining the answer to this question, and as a historian I have my own strong views about it – not necessarily those that prevail in The Lady Elizabeth! In The Marriage Game, Elizabeth has reinvented herself as the Virgin Queen, but Robert Dudley is determined to overcome her fears of intimacy and become her lover, if not her husband. The other crucial issue is, of course, the fate of Amy Robsart, and this novel offers a dramatized version of my own theory.

It is a book packed with all the colour and splendour of the Tudor court – and a story played out amidst the most famous events of the Elizabethan age, culminating with the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots and the defeat of the Spanish Armada. It is a poignant tale of love and loss, focusing on the highs and lows of Elizabeth`s long affair with Dudley and the dynamics that enabled it to last for so long. A wealth of source material has enabled me to bring Elizabeth, that feisty, formidable, witty and mercurial woman, to life – and to get inside her head and relive this most extraordinary and controversial of royal love affairs.

What are you waiting for? 

To Shield the Queen by Fiona Buckley

An accomplished debut set in 1560 at the Court of Queen Elizabeth I. Impoverished young widow Ursula Blanchard, whose mother had served Queen Elizabeth's mother, has agreed to join Elizabeth's Ladies of the Presence Chamber. Estranged from her own and her late husband's families, she leaves behind her faithful groom John Wilton and puts small daughter Meg in the care of nursemaid Bridget. Once at Court, Ursula grows quickly aware of gossip about the young, unmarried Queen and her Master of the Horse, Robin Dudley. 

Dudley's wife Amy is said to be dying (amid rumors of poisoning) at Cumnor Place, some miles away. Her death, of course, would free Dudley to marry the Queen--an unpopular idea in many high places. Meanwhile, Ursula has acquired a suitor of her own--the wealthy Frenchman Matthew de la Roche--but when Dudley asks her to move to Cumnor Place, to comfort Amy (and perhaps to stop the rumors), she readily agrees. The handsome salary will help to pay Bridget, her own maid Fran Dale, and newly rehired John Wilton. Ursula finds Cumnor Place a strange household where steward Forster rules with tightfisted authority, and she comes to believe that there is a plot on Amy's life. Events prove her right, but other plots are also afoot, one of them setting Ursula on a slippery path of self-denial and discovery. 

The pseudonymous Buckley, a British author who's written other non mystery fiction, maintains high suspense throughout a lively debut that's filled with vivid characters, religious conflict, subplots, and power plays. Ursula is the essence of iron cloaked in velvet--a heroine to reckon with. -- .

I really do not like cozy mysteries, so when this book was recommended to me I thought it sounded like something I would be interested in. Then I received it in the mail, saw the size and really wasn't impressed. I like a book with a good story, some history, strong characters and a mystery that has me thinking right to the end, plus I like a nice chunky size too.

So when the library had the audio for this, I gave it a go. Gotta say I loved it. Whether because it was audio verses the book I am not sure. The reader did a wonderful job, I was hooked right in. 

There is so much mystery surrounding Queen Elizabeth and Robin Dudley and when you add the sudden dead of his wife Amy, well Fiona Buckley wove a wonderful tale of mystery/suspense with some romance (not too much, just the right amount).

 I love Ursula Blanchard and can't wait to continue with the series.