Judith Arnopp's Blog, page 12

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on July 19, 2023 16:30

The Godmother's Secret by Elizabeth St.John – Audiobook Release Special – July 18th - 20th, 2023

Book Title: The Godmother’s Secret

Author: Elizabeth St.John

Publication Date: 4th October, 2022 (print)

Publisher: Falcon Historical (print)

Page Length: 361 pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

Audiobook:

Narrator: Elizabeth St.John

Publication Date: 27th June, 2023 (audio)

Publisher: Tantor Media (audio)

Audio Length: 11 hours 59 minutes

Hashtags: #HistoricalFiction #PrincesInTheTower #Audiobook #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub

Website: Twitter: Facebook: LinkedIn: Instagram: Book Bub: Amazon Author Page: Goodreads:

The Godmother’s Secret

By Elizabeth St.John

Audiobook narrated by Elizabeth St.John

"An extremely well-written book with depth and complexity to the main characters. The author says she wanted to write a book about family love and tolerance, and a woman's loyalty and courage. She has done so. This is the best book I've read in ages!"

The Ricardian Bulletin, Richard III Society

"The authenticity and historical research displayed within this story is immense and exquisite. Ms. St. John is sure to be a newfound favorite for fans of not only this fractious time in English history, but of all historical fans who adore rich, immersive prose."

Historical Fiction Company 2022 Book of the Year

"A very enjoyable read. The historical veracity is impeccable, and Elysabeth is a likeable, admirable character who faces interesting dilemmas with love and courage."

Historical Novel Society

If you knew the fate of the Princes in the Tower, would you tell? Or forever keep the secret?

May 1483: The Tower of London. When King Edward IV dies and Lady Elysabeth Scrope delivers her young godson, Edward V, into the Tower of London to prepare for his coronation, she is engulfed in political turmoil. Within months, the prince and his brother have disappeared, Richard III is declared king, and Elysabeth’s sister Margaret Beaufort conspires with her son Henry Tudor to invade England and claim the throne.

Desperate to protect her godson, Elysabeth battles the intrigue, betrayal, and power of the last medieval court, defying her Yorkist husband and her Lancastrian sister under her godmother’s sacred oath to keep Prince Edward safe. Bound by blood and rent by honour, Elysabeth is torn between King Richard and Margaret Beaufort, knowing that if her loyalty is questioned, she is in peril of losing everything—including her life.

Were the princes murdered by their uncle, Richard III? Did Margaret Beaufort mastermind their disappearance to usher in the Tudor dynasty? Or did the young boys vanish for their own safety? Of anyone at the royal court, Elysabeth has the most to lose–and the most to gain–by keeping secret the fate of the Princes in the Tower.

Inspired by England’s most enduring historical mystery, Elizabeth St.John blends her family history with known facts and centuries of speculation to create an intriguing story about what happened to the Princes in the Tower.

LISTEN TO A SAMPLE

Summer 1483 | The Tower of London

At the wharf, we disembark with those who have permission to visit the Tower; some to serve in the bakehouses and kitchens, others arriving to work at the mint or the armory. I pull out the passes and grip them tightly. As we inch towards the Byward Gate, we follow behind a crowd of country women carrying baskets of berries and produce. Even in times of crisis, the Tower must still eat.

I dip into my purse, pull out a handful of coin. One is the newly minted angel with Ned’s likeness on it. “For luck,” I whisper to myself, “for luck.”

“Here.” I thrust the money at the woman standing next to me holding a panier of fragrant wild strawberries nesting in hay. “I’ll take your berries. For this.”

She gawps at me, and I know I am overpaying. But at what cost comes access?

“Give them to me,” I command.

The woman shuts her mouth and hands me her basket. We are at the Byward Gate. I take Meg’s arm.

“Your business?” The guard is taller than me by a foot, with shoulders as wide as the gate, it seems.

“We are taking a gift of berries to the princes,” I say, my throat dry.

“From who?” The guard demands. “And where are your passes?”

“From their uncle, the Duke of Gloucester.” I thrust the papers at him, hold the basket close.

“They ain’t allowed visitors.”

“We are not visitors,” I snap back. “We are family.”

The guard snatches the paper, mouths each word carefully. “Godmother, eh?”

“Godmother,” I reply firmly.

He eyes us both. Meg smiles winningly. I grip the panier so tightly my knuckles turn white, and I have to loosen my fingers. If I don’t see Ned now, I don’t know when I will get this close to him again.

We are holding up the crowd behind us, and I am teetering in the yes-or-no balance of the guard’s thinking.

Let. Me. Pass.

“Go on.”

We are through. We walk under the portcullis, and a bubble of glee rises in my chest and threatens to burst from my mouth in laughter. I swallow it back. I also remember another time I entered through this gate, parading on horseback with Harry and Ned as I triumphantly delivered my godson into the Tower to prepare for his coronation. Pride before a fall, I tell myself. Pride before a fall.

“This way,” I say to Meg. We trudge up the cobblestoned slope to the entry by the Garden Tower, and there are more guards, yet we are not stopped. If we were allowed through the Byward Gate, we must have permission to have come this far. It is an advantage to be a woman. For we are not questioned when we are serving such a menial purpose as bringing food to prisoners. Or perhaps there is no more need to guard a bastard king without prospects or throne.

Audiobook Buy Link: https://geni.us/TGSAudible

The ebook is available to read on Kindle Unlimited.

Universal Buy Link:

Elizabeth St.John’s critically acclaimed historical fiction novels tell the stories of her ancestors: extraordinary women whose intriguing kinship with England's kings and queens brings an intimately unique perspective to Medieval, Tudor, and Stuart times.

Inspired by family archives and residences from Lydiard Park to the Tower of London, Elizabeth spends much of her time exploring ancestral portraits, diaries, and lost gardens. And encountering the occasional ghost. But that’s another story.

Living between California, England, and the past, Elizabeth is the International Ambassador for The Friends of Lydiard Park, an English charity dedicated to conserving and enhancing this beautiful centuries-old country house and park. As a curator for The Lydiard Archives, she is constantly looking for an undiscovered treasure to inspire her next novel.

Elizabeth's books include her trilogy, The Lydiard Chronicles, set in 17th Century England during the Civil War, and her newest release, The Godmother's Secret, which explores the medieval mystery of the missing Princes in the Tower of London.

1 like · Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on July 19, 2023 00:38

July 4, 2023

The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour presents: The King's Champion by Nancy Northcott

Book Title: The King’s Champion

Series: The Boar King’s Honor Trilogy

Author: Nancy Northcott

Publication Date: May 1, 2023

Publisher: Falstaff Books

Page Length: 378

Genre: Historical fantasy with romantic elements

Twitter Handle: @NancyNorthcott @cathiedunn

Instagram Handle: @NancyNorthcottAuthor @thecoffeepotbookclub

The King’s Champion

Nancy Northcott

The Boar King’s Honor Trilogy

A wizard’s misplaced trust

A king wrongly blamed

A bloodline cursed until they clear the king’s name.

Book 3: The King’s Champion

Caught up in the desperate evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from France in the summer of 1940, photojournalist Kate Shaw witnesses death and destruction that trigger disturbing visions. She doesn’t believe in magic and tries to pass them off as survivor guilt or an overactive imagination, but the increasingly intense visions force her to accept that she is not only magically Gifted but a seer.

In Dover, she meets her distant cousin Sebastian Mainwaring, Earl of Hawkstowe and an officer in the British Army. He’s also a seer and is desperate to recruit her rare Gift for the war effort. The fall of France leaves Britain standing alone as the full weight of Nazi military might threatens. Kate’s untrained Gift flares out of control, forcing her to accept Sebastian’s help in conquering it as her ethics compel her to use her ability for the cause that is right.

As this fledgling wizard comes into her own, her visions warn of an impending German invasion, Operation Sealion, which British intelligence confirms. At the same time, desire to help Sebastian, who’s doomed by a family curse arising from a centuries-old murder, leads Kate to a shadowy afterworld between life and death and the trapped, fading souls who are the roots of her family’s story. From the bloody battlefields of France to the salons of London, Kate and Sebastian race against time to free his family’s cursed souls and to stop an invasion that could doom the Allied cause.

The King’s Champion concludes Nancy’s Northcott’s exciting Boar King’s Honor Trilogy.

Excerpt From Chapter 1– Dunkirk beach

Dodging blastcraters, rubble, and wrecked autos, the soldiers double-timed it through theruined streets. Kate set her jaw against fatigue and kept up.

At last, theycame to the end of the pavement. Dunes a short distance away flanked the accessto the beach. Each dune had a machine gun emplacement atop it covering theapproach. The unit rushed past them, and the men in front pulled up short. Onlybecause there was room to the sides did those behind them avoid a collision.

“Sweet Christ,”the man beside Kate breathed.

She couldn’tblame him—or the ones who had stopped so abruptly.

The beach wascovered with men. Thousands of them. Standing, sitting, or lying on the sand oron stretchers, they waited for the promised ships.

Somehow, shehadn’t expected there to be so many left. But she did know Britain needed everyone of them. Hitler would surely aim there next.

Kate’s throattightened. She opened the camera and snapped several photos of the crowdedbeach. It would take a miracle to transport all these men away. But Britainwould need every one of them in the coming days.

If she went onan early boat, she would take a slot one of them should have.

Thirsk steppedout of the throng streaming toward the beach. “Come with me, Miss Shaw.”

Following him,she gazed over the sea of men on the sand. They should go before her. But ifthe Nazis broke through before she boarded a ship, she and everyone elseremaining would become prisoners.

The UnitedStates was neutral. Of course, Norway, Holland, and Belgium had been neutraltoo. Now they were occupied. Yet Germany wanted the US to stay out of the war.At least, the cynical side of her thought, until the Nazis had conqueredeveryone else. So the Germans had no reason to hurt her and every reason tosend her safely home.

Kate swallowedhard. She had to do what was right. “Corporal Thirsk, would you do me a favor?”

He lookedbaffled, probably wondering how he could do anything for anyone on this crowdedbeach.

Kate offeredhim her pack. “If you would see this gets to Lew Banks and Consolidated NewsUnion in London, at number seventeen Manchester Square, suite B, I wouldappreciate it. The story of this retreat needs to reach CNU, to be published.”

“Why can’t youtake it?”

“You men shouldgo first. I’ll take the last boat. Do a few interviews, maybe—”

“Bollocks tothat. My orders are to see you make it back.” As though to emphasize hisresolve, he caught her arm.

It was just herluck to pick someone chivalrous. If she could shake him, though, someone elsemight listen. In the distance, coming nearer, the silhouettes of ships andsmaller boats darkened the sunset-dappled water.

Hurry, she thought.Foolish, as they were undoubtedly coming as fast as they could.

Thirsk led herpast a man sprawled on the beach. Stepping around him, Kate realized he wasdead. So was the one a few feet away. And there was an arm. A riddled torso.Another body, with the left side of his body gone and the sand beneath himblood-soaked.

They were justlying there? But…of course. Because there was nowhere to put them.

Her stomachrevolted. She clenched her teeth.

I will not be sick. I will not be sick.

She’d thoughtshe had learned to bear such sights. Yet the men dying here, with rescue on theway, somehow made their mangled bodies worse.

Seekingsomewhere safe to look, she turned her eyes toward the sea. The water lookedunusually calm, moving in slight, gentle swells instead of waves. A man stoodchest-deep in the water, as though waiting. Beyond him…a floating corpse. Bitsof corpses.

Dear God.

Kate swallowedhard and gritted her teeth. This beach might be the road to salvation, but itlooked like a slice of hell.

Thirsk marchedher up to a man barking orders about staying in line. He wore the samebattledress as everyone else but had a Royal Navy patch sewn to the top of hissleeve.

“Join a queue,”the man barked, leveling his sidearm.

Kate froze.

Thirsk,unperturbed said, “Happy to, once this lady has seen whoever’s in command.”

The man jerkedhis head to his right. “Royal Navy. Foot o’ the mole.”

“Really,” Katesaid, “there’s no need—”

A great,dread-laden shout from the waiting men drowned the words. As the queuesscattered along the water’s edge, the drone of aircraft engines and the screamof Stuka divebombers’ sirens drowned their shouts. Messerschmitts strafed thewaiting men.

“Bloody soddingblighters.” Thirsk pulled Kate back from the water. “Get down,” he ordered.

She was alreadydiving for the sand, useless though that was with no shelter. Around them, menlay down, pulling corpses over them as though for shields. Others fired back atthe planes with their rifles though the attackers were well out of range.

Don’t see us, don’t see us, don’t see us. Hard to believe they wouldn’t though. Even in the fading light,everyone’s brown battledress must stand out against the sand.

“Stay down,”Thirsk shouted, dropping down on top of her.

Wishing hercameras were under her, she complied. But she couldn’t help peeking under hisarm at the beach to the east.

Far down thesand, something hit the ground. An instant later, it disappeared in a spray ofsand. Then came a thundering, concussive roar. Men flew in all directions, and thensomething hurled Kate. Everything went dark.

This series is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

Universal Buy Links:

The Herald of Day

Universal Buy Link

The Steel Rose

Universal Buy Link

The King’s Champion

Universal Buy Link

Nancy Northcott’s childhood ambition was to grow up and become Wonder Woman. Around fourth grade, she realized it was too late to acquire Amazon genes, but she still loved comic books, science fiction, fantasy, history, and romance.

Nancy earned her undergraduate degree in history and particularly enjoyed a summer spent studying Tudor and Stuart England at the University of Oxford. She has given presentations on the Wars of the Roses and Richard III to university classes studying Shakespeare’s play about that king. In addition, she has taught college courses on science fiction, fantasy, and society.

The Boar King’s Honor historical fantasy trilogy combines Nancy’s love of history and magic with her interest in Richard III. She also writes traditional romantic suspense, romantic spy adventures, and two other speculative fiction series, the Light Mage Wars paranormal romances and, with Jeanne Adams, the Outcast Station space mystery series.

Social Media Links:

Website: https://www.NancyNorthcott.com

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/NancyNorthcott

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nancynorthcottstreetteam

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nancynorthcottauthor/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/nancynorthcott/

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/nancy-northcott

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Nancy-Northcott/author/B00ITY5KLS

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3468806.Nancy_Northcott

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on July 04, 2023 16:30

June 15, 2023

The Godmother's Secret by Elizabeth St.John – Audiobook Release Special – July 18th - 20th, 2023

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on June 15, 2023 00:51

June 13, 2023

A FREE story from the archive - The King is in his Counting House -by Judith Arnopp

The King is in his Counting House

Judith Arnopp

In a glorious garden green

Saw I sitting a comely queen

Among the flowers that freshe been.

She gathered a flower and sat between.

The lily-white rose me thought I saw,

The lily-white rose me thought I saw.

(The lily-white rose: Davies, Medieval Lyrics, no. 156)

Secrets, everybody has them. I collect other peoples. I hug them to myself and gloat at the power knowledge brings. It began when I was knee high. I saw my father humping a dairymaid and, instead of creeping away, I tarried, taking notes and adding to my store of wisdom. That day I learned, not just that the female servants were mine to dally with, but that knowledge could be used as leverage. From that moment I made it my business to become intimate with the secrets of the household. On reaching the cusp of manhood, a little friendly blackmail eased Mary from the kitchens nicely between my sheets. A month or so later when she ran weeping to my mother with a belly full of troubles, she was sent off in disgrace. I was inconsolable, until I spied her sister, Martha, stealing eggs from the pantry.

Now I am an usher at the royal court, and still I watch. I am unnoticed, hovering like a fly on the wall or a pigeon in the rafters. I linger on stairways, concealed behind tapestries, listening, gleaning, ever alert for the biggest secrets of all. Usually the things I hear are hardly worth the knowing but, every so often, I learn something significant enough to ignite a kingdom … or bring down a king.

I have no love for our king. Henry, the seventh of that name, is not well-loved except, perhaps, by his mother. His instincts are those of a tradesman. He spends his days hunched over account books, his shirts threadbare at the elbow and his fingers stained with ink. For a king he takes an ignoble delight in his heaped coffers but the man fascinates me and I follow him close, discovering what I can.

***

It was quite by chance that I saw him in the gardens, drenching Lady Katherine Gordon in his tainted breath. I watched them as they processed amid the lavender, stopping now and again to exclaim at the flowers. The king plucked a rose and I noted how she drew back from him as she accepted it. Yellow-toothed Henry patted her hand before offering his arm and escorting her onward. She blushed uncomfortably and, my curiosity piqued, I waited and watched as they wandered by.

Oh my! She was fair, the skin of her milk and honey breasts quivering above the square cut bodice. She glistened like a jewel and, of all the king’s treasures, I envied him only this one. I would have squandered my fortune to unpeel her like an orange and feast upon her flesh. Lady Gordon was the object of my heart’s desire. I was never far from her, always watching, always yearning. Had I chosen to I could have bartered my silence for the pleasures of her body and she would not have denied me for Katherine Gordon had a secret that she didn’t want told.

A splash of colour in the orchard and the queen appeared, her ladies gathered around her like fallen apples beneath a tree. The king espied his wife approaching and stepped back from his quarry, the back of his hand brushing her breast, as if by chance. Katherine sank to her knees at the queen’s approach, her velvet train marred with dirt and twigs.

I watched them, a trio of untold truths, and wondered what they whispered of. Their bodies spoke a language of their own. Lady Katherine stood beside the queen, seeking the respite that her royal presence offered from the attentions of the king.

I have affection for our Queen Elizabeth and on that day she was like an exquisite white rose, plucked and for too long starved of water. Her eyes were sad and I knew she could not love the king, who had slaughtered her family. I wished to staunch her unshed tears.

As for Henry, he was the king of secrets. Like me he was a lover of intrigue and his spies were everywhere. He little realised that his own secrets were not safe. When his back was turned Men whispered of how he’d shat in his breeches when King Richard confronted him at Bosworth battle. We knew he lived each day in fear of the assassin’s knife and there were many, myself among them, who would have loved to sink a blade between his shoulders. That is why he did not ride freely among the people. Instead he stayed within his palace and kept about him a guard so heavy that an army couldn’t breach it.

***

Henry shuffled his feet, a shopkeeper beside the natural majesty of his queen. He offered her his arm and I watched them process about the garden. Beneath the façade, he resented her, the beloved of the people. I have seen his face blanch when the common folk

called down a blessing when she passed by. As the eldest surviving child of York, Henry owed his throne to her good breeding. Those who murmured against him were soothed by the knowledge that Elizabeth’s son would follow after. They trusted in the thick blood of York to dilute the tainted stuff of Tudor.

***

The queen laughed merrily, drawing my eye from Henry. She was as fair as the summer sky and I was reluctant to use her secret against her … unless I had to. She was the sister of the one they called the pretender, although there are some who swore his false claims to be true. It was last summer, before they imprisoned Warbeck in the Tower that I found myself privy to the queen’s greatest secret.

Henry, in his magnanimity, had given his prisoner, Warbeck the freedom of the court. I call it freedom but his movements were restricted and he was watched like a hawk. I thought it shameful to see a prince kept among jesters and fools, regarded by all as a figure of fun. Henry was secretly shaken by the pretender’s claims and he was forbidden the company of the queen for a single meeting between the prisoner and his sister could end his rule forever. I had heard Henry call out in the night; his dreams haunted both by those he’d had slain … and those he hadn’t.

When I saw the queen go swiftly into the garden, I followed her and secreted myself away. At first I thought it a lover’s tryst but, when the sun crept from behind a cloud and revealed the face of her companion, my heart began to thump, slow and loud. This was what I had waited for. I sat unmoving, scarcely breathing.

Warbeck stood up when he heard the queen’s soft step. He whipped off his cap.

‘Richard?’ I heard her whisper and they stood, a foot apart, for a long moment before he fell to his knees. While he planted kisses on the back of her hand, her other went out to hesitantly caress his fair hair. Then she gently bade him rise.

‘Elizabeth?’ he murmured, ‘you know me then?’ She did not speak and so he continued.

‘You have grown as fair as Father always said you would, Bess. Do you recall that day when the Frenchman had just jilted you and you were feeling downhearted? I remember Father swearing the Dauphin would come to regret it, for you would grow to be the fairest princess in Christendom!’

A single tear fell upon her cheek.

‘I never wanted marriage with France but it hurt to be discarded all the same,’ she smiled.

‘… and then Uncle Richard gave you a puppy to cheer you …what was his name? Ceasar … Brutus?’

‘Rufus,’ Elizabeth laughed, ‘and didn’t Mother hate him for chewing her new slippers? Two heads, identical in colour, came together at the shared memory. They did not let go the other’s hand but clung on, loath to be parted.

I was empowered. Elizabeth, the queen, had recognised the pretender as her brother. Warbeck was, indeed, the lost prince. It was the answer to York’s prayers. With the queen’s testimony the Plantagenets could knock old Harry from his throne.

I wiped sweat from my brow and watched the couple rise and stroll about the knot garden. I strained to listen and I heard Warbeck say,

‘Will you speak out in my defence, Bess?’ I willed her to answer ‘yes,’ but the queen dropped her head and I saw her shoulders were shaking. At last, she lifted a stricken face to her brother.

‘How can I, Richard? We cannot win out against Henry and if I speak against him he will have me put away, and how can I depose my own son for my brother’s cause? The king is a ruthless man and his retribution would be thorough. I would never see my children again! I would lose everything! My position, my reputation, entirely destroyed! No Richard, there is no chance of success, you must renounce your claims and I will beg Henry for clemency. Persuade him that you are the impostor he says you are. I will entreat him to allow you to retire to the country with Katherine and you can be happy there together. A country squire and his wife; it will be better than prison …or worse.’

Richard’s head went up, his bearing regal.

‘I cannot believe that this is a daughter of York speaking! You know I can never give up my rightful place, Bess. Father would want me to fight Henry to the death and so I shall. I must, and if you will not help me, I will do so without you.’

I heard her speak, proud and determined through her girlish tears.

‘Father would not want you to fight against me and my sons.’

Her tears fell freely now but he did not offer comfort. He knew that all the hopes he had placed on this one meeting had been in vain. Their newfound friendship was crumbling. He let loose a great cry, mixed of anger and anxiety.

‘You will lose, Richard …’ she cried after him as he ran from her presence. She sat down abruptly on the arbour seat and her maid crept up beside her to push a kerchief into her hand.

I remained hidden, dithering on how best to use this knowledge. The country seethed with unrest. I could raise support for Warbeck and help him terminate the Tudor regime but, in backing him, I would lose all chance of winning Katherine. She would become Warbeck’s queen and even further from my reach. If I betrayed him to the man I hated, Henry would show him no mercy, and yet I knew he would reward me well. With Warbeck sentenced to a life of darkness in the Tower, I could offer comfort to his lady. Slowly but surely, hook by hook, I could loosen her stays and ease her into my bed.

***

But now, as I watched her in the garden, I realised I had a rival. His tryst spoiled, the king excused himself to scuttle back to his account books. He bowed over the queen’s hand and then lingered over Katherine’s. When he rose, he left a string of royal spittle on her wrist. I noticed her wipe it on the back of her gown as he shuffled away. The women seemed relieved that he was gone, and breathed more easily as they seated themselves in an arbour.

The red and white roses cascaded above and behind, twining with honeysuckle and late columbines.

‘This is where I saw him last,’ murmured the queen and they cast their eyes about the garden to make sure that none could hear. In my hiding place I pricked up my ears.

‘You are lucky, your majesty, for I, his wedded wife, saw him not at all, not once they had him in the tower.’

Elizabeth placed her hand on Katherine’s. ‘If I could have changed anything, believe that I would have.’

‘I know, I know.’ Katherine replied, her tears trembling like raindrops on the edge of a leaf. ‘How did he seem when you saw him?’

The queen thought for a little, remembering so as to set the picture just right.

‘At first, we were like strangers, each nervous of the other. I hadn’t seen him since he was ten years old and had, for so long, believed him dead. Now, I cannot believe I gave credit to Henry’s tales that my uncle Richard had had my brothers killed. At first, I was afraid I should not know him and, at the same time, I was afraid that I should. I expect he felt the same. It was confusing, a mix of longing and dread, for so much depended upon me knowing him.’

‘So much,’ Katherine whispered, ‘yet, in the end, it meant nothing.’ The queen ignored the barb and continued.

‘As I came along between the lavender, he was sitting just here, where we are now. I recognised the tilt of his head and the way his hair glinted in the sun, the exact shade that Richard’s had been. Then, when he looked up at the sound of my footstep, I knew for certain it was he, the same eyes, same nose. Oh, yes, I knew straight away. As we spoke together, afraid at every moment of discovery, he wracked his brains trying to remember things from his childhood that only I would know. It meant much that I believed in him but he wasted his breath. I should have known him anywhere. I thought that, if I could persuade the king that Richard would make no more claims to the throne, he would at least spare his life, but he would not hear of it. Richard was a threat and so Richard had to die.’

I watched Katherine shred her lace kerchief to pieces in her lap. Her head was down but I could see her chin wobbling. Large drops fell upon her hands.

‘I could not bring myself to believe it would happen,’ she wept. ‘I was certain help would come from somewhere. I was on my knees, night and day, begging for God’s mercy, for a reprieve. And now I can only pray for his heavenly redemption.’ Her voice broke off into an ugly sob and the queen put her arm across her bowed shoulders.

‘At least you have the boy,’ she whispered and I saw Katherine’s head come up sharply.

‘How can you know of that?’

The queen smiled. ‘It is as well, in my position, to know everything that goes on, my dear. I am glad your son thrives, he is my nephew and some day, perhaps, he can take his place at court.’

‘He can never take his rightful place,’ I heard Katherine say, ‘not so long as a son of yours lives.’

I drew in my breath sharply as Elizabeth withdrew her arm.

‘My son will rule after his father, the king. And if I have anything to do with it, Arthur will make a fine king, in the mould of his grandfather, Edward. He will rule in the Yorkist way. Your son, Lady Gordon, will not rule. Take my advice; you must give up all idea of him inheriting the throne. If you want him to live, he must never reveal his identity, not unless you wish to see him swing like his father.’

Katherine dropped her hostility, it fell at her feet like a hot coal. ‘Forgive me, your majesty; I am overwrought. Tell me, Madam, does the king know?’

The queen patted Katherine’s hand and they were friends again. ‘No, no, and he will never hear it from me. I could do nothing for my brother and it gives me some comfort to protect his child.’

Lady Gordon smiled upon her queen. ‘I am not able to see my son for more than a few weeks in the year. I would leave the court but the k…the king will not hear of it. I am kept in what he calls ‘honourable confinement.’’

‘I know that also, Katherine, and you have my condolence. I realise that your confinement suits the king’s purposes very well. It is unlike Henry to dally with women but, you have my blessing and the honour of his attention brings you some worldly comforts, does it not? I hear you have a fine white palfrey and you are well clothed and I noticed he lets you win at cards, something that is quite against his principles. That can be no small supplement to a gentlewoman’s income.’

This news did not please me. I shuddered at the thought of my lovely flower, crushed beneath the body of the king. She was his whore and paid well for her services but there are some comforts a woman could surely do without. I should have moved against him when I’d had the chance. In ridding myself of one rival I had gained a greater one. But, a son … this was news indeed.

I clawed the knowledge away.

The women kissed and parted, the queen returning to the palace leaving Katherine wilting like a lenten lily in the arbour. Slipping from concealment, my heartbeat increased as I approached her. I had never dared to speak to her before. She was weeping quietly. I cleared my throat,

‘Lady?’ I murmured, adopting horrified tones. ‘Are you injured? Can I be of assistance?’

She looked up, a vision of heaven, and fumbled with her kerchief.

‘Allow me, Lady Gordon,’ I said, revelling at the feel of her name on my tongue. ‘I notice your own kerchief is of little use.’

She looked up at me, her blue eyes blurred with tears. My pulse raced, my loins stirred.

‘Thank you, Sir,’ she said, ‘but, you have the advantage of me and I am afraid I do not know your name.’

She wiped her tears on my kerchief. I felt myself blessed.

‘My name, dear lady, is James Strangeways. I am gentleman usher to the king. Forgive me, lady, but I …I knew your husband, Perkin …or Richard, as he was to his friends.’

I was lying. I had been no friend to the pretender but her answering smile was like sunshine, illuminating my world.

Author’s note

Sometime between the last days of Richard III’s reign and Henry the VII’s early years on the throne, the two young sons of Edward IV disappeared. Their names were Edward, Prince of Wales and Richard, Duke of York. The new king put it about that they had been slaughtered by their uncle, the previous king, Richard III. However, during Henry’s reign, a man with many loyal followers claimed to be the younger of those princes. Despite his princely demeanour, detailed knowledge of the court of his father, Edward IV, he was dismissed by Henry as a pretender. He was declared to be the son of a Flemish boatman and, prior to his execution, admitted as much. The family of a felon suffered much less if the accused admitted his guilt.

His wife, the Lady Katherine Gordon, was kept at Henry’s court in ‘honourable confinement.’ She served as lady-in-waiting to Elizabeth of York (the sister of the lost princes) until the queen’s death in 1503. After that she remained at court as Henry’s companion, some say paramour, but there is no evidence of this apart from a few hints at intimacy and grants of land and wealth that she received.

It is not recorded what became of the son that she bore to Perkin Warbeck (or Richard of York) but today the Perkins family, who live on the Gower peninsular in Wales, trace their family tree back to the son of Peter Osbeck of Tournai. This tale, more legend than story, becomes more solid when one considers the end of Katherine’s life.

After Henry’s death in 1509, Katherine married the first of two subsequent husbands. The first, James Strangeways, the narrator of my story, died six years after the wedding and she was then married to Mattthew Craddock, the Earl of Worcester’s deputy in South Wales, who died in 1531. She settled near Swansea, just eight miles from the home of the Perkins family in Reynoldston on the Gower peninsular.

©copyrightJuditharnopp2010

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on June 13, 2023 09:39

June 7, 2023

New Release from Tony Riches - Tudor Historical Fiction!

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.”

Links:

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C78KDRK3

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C78KDRK3

Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0C78KDRK3

Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0C78KDRK3

Author Bio

Tony Riches is a full-time UK author of Tudor historical fiction. He lives with his wife in Pembrokeshire, West Wales and is a specialist in the lives of the early Tudors. As well as his new Elizabethan series,

Tony’s historical fiction novels include the best-selling Tudor trilogy and his Brandon trilogy, (about Charles Brandon and his wives).

For more information about Tony’s books please visit his website

tonyriches.com and his blog, The Writing Desk and find him on

Facebook and Twitter@tonyriches

Like • 1 comment • flag

Published on June 07, 2023 11:11

May 31, 2023

The Coffee Pot Blog Tour casts the spotlight on Lucy the Suffragist by Vicky Adin

Book Title: Lucy

Series: The Art of Secrets Series

Author: Vicky Adin

Publication Date: 14 May 2023

Publisher: AM Publishing NZ

Page Length: 327

Genre: Dual-timeline historical fiction

Twitter Handle: @vickyadin @cathiedunn

Instagram Handle: @thecoffeepotbookclub

Hashtags: #dualtimeline #historicalfiction #LucyTheSuffragist #WomensRights #BookBlast #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub

Universal Link: Amazon UK: Amazon US: Amazon CA: Amazon AU:

Lucy

Vicky Adin

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).

This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

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.

Delve into the new dual-timeline series, The Art of Secrets, family sagas about finding your roots… or

Become engrossed in The New Zealand Immigrant Collection, suspenseful family saga fiction uncovering the mysteries, the lies and the challenges of the past.

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.

Social Media Links:

Website: www.vickyadin.co.nz

Twitter: https://twitter.com/VickyAdin

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VickyAdinAuthor/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vicky-adin-82b74513/

Pinterest: https://nz.pinterest.com/nzvicky/

Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/2tUG9co

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6543974.Vicky_Adin

1 like · Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on May 31, 2023 16:30

May 28, 2023

The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tours present: Cold Blows the Wind by Catherine Meyrick

Book Title: Cold Blows the Wind

Author: Catherine Meyrick

Publication Date: 28 April 2022

Publisher: Courante Publishing

Page Length: 425

Genre: Historical Fiction, Biographical Fiction, Women’s Fiction, Australian Fiction

Twitter Handle: @cameyrick1 @cathiedunn

Instagram Handle: @catherinemeyrickhistorical @thecoffeepotbookclub

Universal Link: Barnes and Noble: Waterstones: Kobo: Apple:

Cold Blows the Wind

Catherine Meyrick

Blurb:

Hobart Town 1878 – a vibrant town drawing people from every corner of the earth where, with confidence and a flair for storytelling, a person can be whoever he or she wants. Almost.

Ellen Thompson is young, vivacious and unmarried, with a six-month-old baby. Despite her fierce attachment to her family, boisterous and unashamed of their convict origins, Ellen dreams of marriage and disappearing into the ranks of the respectable. Then she meets Harry Woods.

Harry, newly arrived in Hobart Town from Western Australia, has come to help his aging father, ‘the Old Man of the Mountain’ who for more than twenty years has guided climbers on Mount Wellington. Harry sees in Ellen a chance to remake his life.

But, in Hobart Town, the past is never far away, never truly forgotten. When the past collides with Ellen’s dreams, she is forced to confront everything in life a woman fears most.

Based on a period in the lives of the author’s great-great-grandparents, Sarah Ellen Thompson and Henry Watkins Woods, Cold Blows the Wind is not a romance but it is a story of love – a mother’s love for her children, a woman’s love for her family and, those most troublesome loves of all, for the men in her life. It is a story of the enduring strength of the human spirit.

Excerpt

Ellen glanced ahead to check whether she needed to cross the street before she got to the Rob Roy, slowing her step at the sight of George and Alice standing with that skinny rat, Dan Rogers. George held a bundle in his arms too, a squirming bundle.

Ellen hurried up to them, scowling as she looked from George to Dan. ‘What’s going on here?’

George grinned at her. ‘We thought we’d give young Billy some air.’ There was a glitter in his eyes. ‘And then we ran into my mate, Dan, here.’ He nodded toward Dan. ‘That’s right, isn’t it, Dan?’

Dan nodded his head furiously.

‘And Dan was saying what a fine lad Billy is.’

Ellen raised her eyebrows. ‘Was he?’ She passed her parcel to Alice and took Billy, settling him on her hip and pressed her nose against his hair, breathing in deeply. She looked up to see Dan Roger’s forced smile.

‘Tell her yourself, Dan.’ George grinned.

The Adam’s apple in Dan’s scrawny neck bobbed up and down as he swallowed. ‘He’s a grand lad, he certainly is.’ There was strain around his eyes.

Ellen wondered what George had threatened him with.

‘I know,’ she said, still unsmiling. ‘He takes after his mother’s family.’

‘And Dan was saying he wants to give you something for the lad.’

Ellen pressed her lips tight shut against the laughter bubbling up. She almost felt sorry for the skinny gutter rat.

Dan’s eyes had bulged with surprise but he obediently put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a shilling. ‘Sorry, Ellen, I’m a bit short at the moment.’

‘Not so short you can’t buy a mate a drink for old time’s sake.’ George threw his arm over Dan’s shoulder and steered him into the bar.

Ellen held tight to the coin. She’d buy Billy a toy, that brightly coloured spinning top she had seen in the window of the pawnshop. She could already hear his burbling laugh.

Alice beside her, Ellen walked smartly across the street ahead of a couple of carts trundling down the hill. ‘How did George manage that?’

‘He asked him how his mate Hawkes was and Dan’s knees went wobbly.’

‘I’ll remember that if there’s a next time.’ She had forgotten Dan Rogers was related to Hawkes. Will and George had done a month in gaol three years ago for the hiding they had given him. Rogers should remember that Thompsons never forgot a wrong.

‘George said he’d get him to make up for being rude to you.’

‘I wish the mongrel wasn’t rude to me in the first place.’

‘Perhaps he’s sweet on you,’ Alice said.

‘What? No. He’s just a nasty little rat picking on someone he thinks is weaker.’ She stopped and stared at her sister. She was only eight years old. ‘Where did you get the idea boys behave like that? You’re too young …’

‘From you and Mary Ann. I listen.’ Alice skipped along beside Ellen.

They turned into Watchhouse Lane, past the mercifully quiet Sunday School on the corner. The children bellowing out their raucous hymns on Sunday mornings made sleeping late almost impossible.

‘Anyway.’ Alice spun around and skipped backwards as she spoke. ‘George said, with Easter coming, we should go up to the Springs and see Grannie and Mr Woods.’

‘Oooh, that would be good. We can all go and make a real party of it.’

‘Mr Woods has his son staying with him.’

‘I didn’t know he had a son.’

‘He’s come from wherever Mr Woods was from, but he’s old.’

Halfway along the lane, Ellen pushed open the gate with her foot. ‘I suppose he would be. Mr Woods is ancient. How do you know all this?’

Alice skipped in and stood holding the door for Ellen. ‘I listen.’ She grinned.

‘As long as you learn from what you hear,’ Ellen said, hoping her sister would learn enough not to get involved with feckless men.

Catherine Meyrick is an Australian writer of romantic historical fiction. She lives in Melbourne but grew up in Ballarat, a large regional city steeped in history. Until recently she worked as a customer service librarian at her local library. She has a Master of Arts in history and is also an obsessive genealogist.

When she is not writing, reading and researching, Catherine enjoys gardening, the cinema and music of all sorts from early music and classical to folk and country & western. And, not least, taking photos of the family cat to post on Instagram.

Website: https://catherinemeyrick.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cameyrick1

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CatherineMeyrickAuthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catherinemeyrickhistorical/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com.au/catherinemeyrick15/

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/catherine-meyrick

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B07B8VXWYQ

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17798235.Catherine_Meyrick

Universal Link: Amazon UK: Amazon US: Amazon CA: Amazon AU:

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on May 28, 2023 16:30

May 24, 2023

The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour presents: Alternate Endings – an Historical Writers Forum Anthology

Book Title: Alternate Endings – A Short Story Anthology of Historical What Ifs

Publication Date: November 1st, 2022

Publisher: Historical Writers Forum

Page Length: 360

Genre: alternate history

Tour Schedule page:

Alternate Endings

A Short Story Anthology of Historical What Ifs

by Salina B Baker, Stephanie Churchill (Foreword), Sharon Bennett Connolly, Elizabeth Corbett, Virginia Crow, Cathie Dunn, Karen Heenan, Michael Ross, and Samantha Wilcoxson

Blurb:

We all know the past is the past, but what if you could change history?

We asked eight historical authors to set aside the facts and rewrite the history they love. The results couldn’t be more tantalizing.

What if Julius Caesar never conquered Gaul?

What if Arthur Tudor lived and his little brother never became King Henry VIII?

What if Abigail Adams persuaded the Continental Congress in 1776 to give women the right to vote and to own property?

Dive in to our collection of eight short stories as we explore the alternate endings of events set in ancient Rome, Britain, the United States, and France.

An anthology of the Historical Writers Forum.

This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

Samantha Wilcoxson is an author of emotive biographical fiction and strives to help readers connect with history's unsung heroes. She also writes nonfiction for Pen & Sword History.

Samantha loves sharing trips to historic places with her family and spending time by the lake with a glass of wine. Her most recent work is Women of the American Revolution, which explores the lives of 18th century women, and she is currently working on a biography of James Alexander Hamilton.

Historian Sharon Bennett Connolly is the best-selling author of five non-fiction history books, with a new release coming soon.

A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, Sharon has studied history academically and just for fun – and has even worked as a tour guide at a castle. She writes the popular history blog, www.historytheinterestingbits.com.

Sharon regularly gives talks on women's history; she is a feature writer for All About History magazine and her TV work includes Australian Television's 'Who Do You Think You Are?'

Cathie Dunn writes historical fiction, mystery, and romance. The focus of her historical fiction novels is on strong women through time.

She loves researching for her novels, delving into history books, and visiting castles and historic sites.

Cathie's stories have garnered awards and praise from reviewers and readers for their authentic description of the past.

As an only child, Karen Heenan learned early that boredom was the enemy. Shortly after she discovered perpetual motion, and has rarely been seen holding still since.

She lives in Lansdowne, PA, just outside Philadelphia, where she grows much of her own food and makes her own clothes. She is accompanied on her quest for self-sufficiency by a very patient husband and an ever-changing number of cats.

One constant: she is always writing her next book.

Salina Baker is a multiple award winning author and avid student of Colonial America and the American Revolution.

Her lifelong passion for history and all things supernatural led her to write historical fantasy. Reading, extensive traveling and graveyard prowling with her husband keep that passion alive.

Salina lives in Austin, Texas.

Virginia Crow is an award-winning Scottish author who grew up in Orkney and now lives in Caithness.

Her favourite genres to write are fantasy and historical fiction, sometimes mixing the two together. Her academic passions are theology and history, her undergraduate degree in the former and her postgraduate degree in the latter, and aspects of these frequently appear within her writings.

When not writing, Virginia is usually to be found teaching music. She believes wholeheartedly in the power of music, especially as a tool of inspiration, and music is often playing when she writes. Her life is governed by two spaniels, Orlando and Jess, and she enjoys exploring the Caithness countryside with these canine sidekicks.

She loves cheese, music, and films, but hates mushrooms.

website

Elizabeth K. Corbett is an author, book reviewer, and historian who has recently published a short story, “Marie Thérèse Remembers.” She is currently working on her debut novel, a gothic romance set in Jacksonian America.

When she is not writing, she teaches academic writing, something she is very passionate about. She believes in empowering students to express themselves and speak their truth through writing. Additionally, she is a women’s historian who studies the lives of women in eighteenth and nineteenth century North America. Mostly, she is fascinated by the lives of the lesser known women in history.

A resident of gorgeous coastal New Jersey, she takes inspiration from the local history to write her historical fiction. She is an avid reader who adores tea and coffee. website

After serving time as a corporate paralegal in Washington, D.C., then staying home to raise her children, Stephanie Churchill stumbled upon writing, a career path she never saw coming.

As a result of writing a long-winded review of the book Lionheart, Stephanie became fast friends with its New York Times best-selling author, Sharon Kay Penman, who uttered the fateful words, “Have you ever thought about writing?”

Stephanie’s books are filled with action and romance, loyalty and betrayal. Her writing takes on a cadence that is sometimes literary, sometimes genre fiction, relying on deeply-drawn and complex characters while exploring the subtleties of imperfect people living in a gritty, sometimes dark world.

She lives in the Minneapolis area with her husband, two children, and two dogs while trying to survive the murderous intentions of a Minnesota winter. website

Website

Best selling author Michael Ross is a lover of history and great stories.

He's a retired software engineer turned author, with three children and five grandchildren, living in Newton, Kansas with his wife of forty years. He was born in Lubbock, Texas, and still loves Texas.

Michael attended Rice University as an undergraduate, and Portland State University for his graduate degree. He has degrees in computer science, software engineering, and German. In his spare time, Michael loves to go fishing, riding horses, and play with his grandchildren, who are currently all under six years old.

Twitter: Facebook:

Universal Link Amazon UK: Amazon US: Amazon CA: Amazon AU:

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on May 24, 2023 16:30

May 4, 2023

The next step on Amy Maroney's Coffee Pot Book Club Book Tour: The Queen's Scribe

Book Title: The Queen’s Scribe

Series: Sea and Stone Chronicles

Author: Amy Maroney

Publication Date: April 25, 2023

Publisher: Artelan Press

Page Length: 388

Genre: Historical fiction

Tour Schedule Page:

The Queen’s Scribe

Amy Maroney

A broken promise. A bitter conflict. And a woman’s elusive chance to love or die.

1458. Young Frenchwoman Estelle de Montavon sails to Cyprus imagining a bright future as tutor to a princess. Instead, she is betrayed by those she loves most—and forced into a dangerous new world of scheming courtiers, vicious power struggles, and the terrifying threat of war.

Determined to flee, Estelle enlists the help of an attractive and mysterious falconer. But on the eve of her escape, fortune’s wheel turns again. She gains entry to Queen Charlotta’s inner circle as a trusted scribe and interpreter, fighting her way to dizzying heights of influence.

Enemies old and new rise from the shadows as Estelle navigates a royal game of cat and mouse between the queen and her powerful half-brother, who wants the throne for himself.

When war comes to the island, Estelle faces a brutal reckoning for her loyalty to the queen. Will the impossible choice looming ahead be her doom—or her salvation?

With this richly-told story of courage, loyalty, and the sustaining power of love, Amy Maroney brings a mesmerizing and forgotten world to vivid life. The Queen’s Scribe is a stand-alone novel in the Sea and Stone Chronicles collection.

Praise for the Sea and Stone Chronicles:

“Island of Gold is a nimbly told story with impeccable pacing.” —Historical Novel Society, Editor’s Choice Review

“Sea of Shadows is stunning. A compelling tale of love, honor, and conviction.”—Reader’s Favorite Review

Amy Maroney is the author of the award-winning Miramonde Series, the story of a Renaissance-era female artist and the modern day scholar on her trail.

This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

A Forgotten Queen: Uncovering the Extraordinary Life of Charlotta of Cyprus

My new novel, The Queen’s Scribe, features Queen Charlotta of Cyprus, a fifteenth century monarch with an astonishing story of personal ambition, courage, and dedication to her kingdom. But what exactly was her kingdom? How did it come to be? And why did it vanish just a few centuries after it began?

The Lusignan Court of Cyprus got its start in the early middle ages, when the island was under the control of the Eastern Roman Empire. In the 7th century, Arab forces began invading Cyprus, triggering a period of instability and violence. In 965, the Byzantines “reconquered” Cyprus for Christendom. In 1195, Richard the Lionheart seized control of the island. He sold Cyprus to the Knights Templar, who then sold it to Guy de Lusignan, the King of Jerusalem.

Guy de Lusignan established the Kingdom of Cyprus and brought the Latin world’s Catholicism to the island, endowing it with supremacy over the Greek Orthodox church. Lusignan Kings would reign over Cyprus until 1489, and the tension between Latin and Greek culture was a hallmark of the dynasty’s rule.

BELLAPAIS ABBEY, DEPOSIT PHOTOS STANDARD LICENSE

The Lusignans decreed that French was now the official language of Cyprus, taking precedence over Greek. A new noble class made up primarily of French people (known locally as Franks or Latins) took over. They forced commoners to become their serfs and persecuted Cypriots for their adherence to traditional beliefs and rituals.

With its prime location in the eastern Mediterranean, Cyprus was a very important point of trade; it was also a key stopover point for European pilgrims venturing to the Holy Land. Its main port city of Famagusta attracted merchants from all over Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

The evolution of language in Cyprus during this time fascinated me during my research. Though French became the language of high administration, Greek remained the language of everyday life. In port towns, people communicated in French, Arabic, and Italian. Over the years, all of these languages converged.

The fourteenth-century historian and scribe Makhairas of Cyprus complained that under the Lusignans, “we (Cypriots) write both French and Greek in such a way that no one in the world can say what our language is.” In fact, the French spoken in Cyprus was so distorted that native French speakers visiting from Europe could not understand it. This fact underpins the plot of The Queen’s Scribe, which features a fictional French heroine whose skills as a scribe and interpreter become essential to Queen Charlotta.

ST. HILARION CASTLE RUINS, DEPOSIT PHOTOS STANDARD LICENSE

As difficult as life was for Cypriots under Frankish rule, the elites enjoyed outrageous levels of privilege, wealth, and leisure. Cyprus was famous for its production of luxury fabrics such as camlet (a blend of silk and wool), cloth-of-gold, and embroidered silks. In my research, I saw records of purchase for such goods by Western European nobles and royalty. Local artisans made intricate artificial birds of metal, and goldsmiths produced fine jewelry for export all over Europe.

The Kings of Lusignan and their courtiers were obsessed with falconry and hunting. The German traveler Ludolf von Suchen visited Cyprus in the mid-fourteenth century and observed nobles playing in tournaments, jousting, and hunting daily. He wrote that wild rams were hunted and caught with “leopards” (these were likely cheetahs) during mountain hunting expeditions that could last up to a month. He described a nobleman who owned more than 500 hounds; 250 servants were in charge of the animals. King Jacques I of Cyprus reportedly owned 300 falcons and 24 “leopards” (again, probably cheetahs), some of which he took hunting on a daily basis.

All of this was a drain on the royal coffers, as were the increasing attacks on Cyprus by Venetians, Genoese, Turks, and Egyptians. By 1458, when the fifteen-year-old, widowed Queen Charlotta ascended the throne, the Lusignan dynasty was weakened by war, debt, corruption, and betrayal.

ARCHBISHOP’S PALACE IN NICOSIA, WHERE QUEEN CHARLOTTA’S HALF-BROTHER JACCO LIVED, DEPOSIT PHOTOS STANDARD LICENSE

Though she faced these complications with tremendous ambition and courage, the queen’s greatest test came from her power-hungry half-brother, Jacco. In his quest for the crown, he launched a civil war against Charlotta, further hobbling the Cypriot court. When Queen Charlotta’s second husband Louis of Savoy proved a dismal leader, she left him in a seaside fortress and sailed around the Mediterranean begging allies to help save her kingdom. Her tenacity and courage earned respect and attention from some of Europe’s most powerful leaders, but in the end, she could not protect her crown.

Amy Maroney studied English Literature at Boston University and worked for many years as a writer and editor of nonfiction. She lives in Oregon, U.S.A. with her family. When she’s not diving down research rabbit holes, she enjoys hiking, dancing, traveling, and reading.

Amy is the author of The Miramonde Series, an Amazon-bestselling historical mystery trilogy about a Renaissance-era female artist and the modern-day scholar on her trail. Amy’s award-winning historical adventure/romance series, Sea and Stone Chronicles, is set in medieval Rhodes and Cyprus.

An enthusiastic advocate for independent publishing, Amy is a member of the Alliance of Independent Authors and the Historical Novel Society.

Website: Twitter: Facebook: LinkedIn: Instagram: Pinterest: Book Bub: Amazon Author Page: Goodreads: