1. Myself, My Enemy
The daughter of Henry IV of France, Princess Henrietta Maria, becomes a pawn in a political strategy to stabilize relations between two countries when her father marries her to Charles I of England. Sent abroad, she finds herself living in a Protestant country that views her…
2. Queen of This Realm
Jean Plaidy presents Elizabeth I’s life as a first-person retrospective, beginning with the insecurity that followed the execution of her mother, Anne Boleyn. The young Elizabeth grows up under Henry VIII’s unpredictable rule, survives the dangerous politics of Edward VI and Mary I, and eventually inherits…
3. Victoria Victorious
In this unforgettable novel of Queen Victoria, Jean Plaidy re-creates a remarkable life filled with romance, triumph, and tragedy. At birth, Princess Victoria was fourth in line for the throne of England, the often-overlooked daughter of a prince who died shortly after her birth. She and…
4. The Lady in the Tower
Anne Boleyn returns to the English court after years in France and quickly attracts the attention of Henry VIII. Her family hopes that royal favour will advance their fortunes, but Henry’s determination to end his marriage to Catherine of Aragon transforms Anne from a courtly fascination…
5. The Courts of Love
Eleanor of Aquitaine grows up in one of the wealthiest and most sophisticated courts of medieval Europe, surrounded by the poetry, ceremony and political expectations of ducal Aquitaine. Her inheritance makes her marriage a matter of international importance, first carrying her to the French throne as…
6. In the Shadow of the Crown
Princess Mary grows up as the cherished daughter of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon, educated for the possibility that she may one day inherit the English throne. Intelligent, devoutly Catholic and conscious of her royal status, she appears secure until her father’s determination to end…
7. The Queen’s Secret
Katherine of Valois was born a princess, the daughter of King Charles VI of France. But by the time Katherine was old enough to know him, her father had come to be called “Charles the Mad,” given to unpredictable fits of insanity. The young princess lived…
8. The Reluctant Queen
In 1470, Anne Neville is used by her father, Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, to secure a new Lancastrian alliance. She is betrothed to Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, even though her affections lie with his Yorkist rival Richard, Duke of Gloucester. The arrangement places…
9. The Merry Monarch’s Wife
Charles II is restored to the English throne, and his court is lively and even scandalous. The country is eager for succession to be clear and certain: The next king will be the son of Charles II and his queen, Catherine of Braganza. Yet Catherine, daughter…
10. The Queen’s Devotion
Princess Mary, elder daughter of the Duke of York, grows up in a royal family divided by religion. Although her father remains a Catholic, Mary and her sister Anne are raised as Protestants, making the princess’s private loyalties inseparable from the political struggle over the future…
11. The Rose without a Thorn
Katherine Howard grows up in the household of her grandmother, the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, where limited supervision and the behaviour of older companions expose her early to relationships she does not fully understand. Her beauty and Howard connections eventually bring her into the Tudor court.…