A TUDOR HISTORICAL NOVEL
One not about any of the six wives! Henry had plenty of other relatives, most of whom, given his short-lived dynasty and shaky right to the crown, the always insecure Henry had executed throughout his reign in order to secure his throne.
'A very readable account of a fascinating woman who dared to stand up to Henry VIII and survived. It is thoroughly researched, admirably written and the author's love of the Tudor period shines through.'
REVIEW FROM HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
Can you imagine what it must be like to be the little sister of infamous English king, Henry VIII? Remember, this is the king who went on to have six wives, two of whom he had beheaded. And although the teenage Mary Rose is his favourite sister (he even named his famous ship after her), his shifting alliances and ruthless desire to have his own way, made him push the young and lovely Mary into a hateful state marriage with the ailing and ancient King Louis XII of France.
But, a reluctant Mary Rose, as strong-willed as Henry and passionately in love, for the first time, with champion of the lists Charles Brandon, doesn't give in easily. Before agreeing to the match, after a relentless campaign to get her to say yes, by her loving brother, Mary Rose extracts a promise from Henry. A promise she is determined he will keep.
At the French court, Mary Rose is pursued by the witty, charming, but debauched Francis, Louis's heir, who, even at the young age of twenty, is a practised seducer. Between the awful conjugal embraces of her sickly old husband and the persistent and unwanted attentions from Francis, Mary is in a desperately unhappy situation. But then, her ailing husband dies, and the lusty Francis is elevated to the French throne and absolute power.
Mary Rose thought her situation BEFORE her husband's death was difficult, but then she hears rumours of her kingly brother's plans for her future. And they do not include keeping the promise he made to her. Trapped in an impossible situation, caught between a lustful Francis and the ruthless self-interest of her older brother, the spirited Mary Rose makes a fateful decision aware, even as she does so, that she is taking her very life in her hands.
Geraldine Evans’s Rafferty and Llewellyn cozy mystery series is also available on kindle:
Amazon.com: Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #61,558 Paid in Kindle Store
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#24 in Kindle Store > Books > Literature & Fiction > Historical Fiction > Biographical
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#30 in Books > Fiction > Biographical Fiction
This book is by far my best seller in the UK.
CHAPTER ONE
‘No, I won't marry that feeble, pocky old man.’ Mary Tudor stormed at her brother. For all that twenty-three-year-old Henry was the elder and had for five years been King of England, Mary was determined not to submit to his entreaties.
Now, sweetheart.’ Henry bent down from his great height and coaxed, ‘You know nothing about him. Louis, the French King may be no young stripling, but they say he's very rich. He'll be kind and loving, I doubt not. You will learn to be fond of him in time.’
‘I will not,’ Mary insisted. Louis was old and sickly; fifty-two to her eighteen. The thought of marrying such an old man appalled her. Henry was all sweet reasonableness now, but Mary knew that would soon change if she continued to defy him. Since becoming king, Henry had rapidly grown used to having his own way; he had not sacrificed himself on the marriage market. Instead, a few months after their father’s death, he had speedily married Catherine of Aragon, their brother Arthur’s pretty young widow, ignoring their late father’s advice. It had been a marriage made, at least, in part, for love.
Mary didn’t see why she should not also marry where she would, as rumour had it their sister Margaret was determined to do. Now nearly twenty-four, Margaret had set her heart on marrying the young and handsome Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus. Just fourteen, Margaret had married their father’s choice of King James IV of Scotland eleven years earlier, carrying with her the forlorn hope that this marriage alliance would bring to an end the interminable wars between England and Scotland.
Forlorn hope it had proved. For Margaret had been widowed just the previous year when King James had been killed fighting Henry’s army at the battle of Flodden.
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Italian
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Translation in progress.
Translated by Maria Giovanna Campob
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