The Second Duchess

A dazzling tale of love, sumptuous splendour and conspiracy in the Italian Renaissance court of Ferrara, from the author of The Flower Reader. Perfect for fans of The White Queen and Sarah Dunant.

Think The Other Boleyn Girl meets Rebecca

C.S. Harris, author of the Sebastian St Cyr mystery series

The Second Duchess is one of those rare books that have everything; an engaging plot, well drawn characters, luxurious locations and a thrilling final denouement. This book will delight fans of historical fiction and offers something a little different from other books of the genre.

The historical mystery at the heart of this excellent novel kept me turning pages late into the night, even as I admonished myself to slow down and savour the feast for the senses laid out on each page.  The story was compelling and the voice utterly intriguing

Brenda Rickman Vantrease, author of The Heretic's Wife

Elizabeth Loupas lives near the Elm Fork of the Trinity River, half way between Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas.  She hates housework, cold weather and wearing shoes.  She loves gardening, animals and popcorn.  Not surprisingly she lives in a state of happy, barefoot chaos with her delightful and slightly bemused husband.

A dazzling tale of love, sumptuous splendour and conspiracy in the Italian Renaissance court of Ferrara, from the brilliant author of The Flower Reader. 
 
Barbara of Austria is plain, quick-witted and sensible. She also desperately needs a husband, for unmarried at twenty-six, she is about to be packed off to a convent, like her sisters before her. 
 
So it is that she seizes what seems to be her last chance - a proposal of marriage from Alfonso d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, Lucrezia Borgia's grandson, clever, handsome, powerful - and widely believed to have murdered his first wife, Lucrezia de Medici. 
 
Barbara goes into her marriage clear-eyed, fascinated by her dangerous, enigmatic new husband - and increasingly - recklessly - driven to discover the truth about the death of his first duchess.

The Flower Reader

Dangerous secrets lead a passionate young woman into a maze of murder and conspiracy in the court of Mary, Queen of Scots

Loupas' historical novel bursts with murder, intrigue and conspiracy theories. Tudor enthusiasts take note.

This is a real bodice-ripping yarn with generous doses of love, honour, betrayal and tragedy.  With Scotland’s shimmering light as its backdrop, this is a ‘must read’ for the summer holidays.

A beautifully written and intriguing story...I would not hesitate to recommend it to both individual readers and reading groups...Elizabeth Loupas is definitely an author to watch out for

Evocative, dramatic and intense, this beautifully written - at times dark - tale brings a refreshing twist to this key historical time

I loved The Flower Reader. A magical and thrilling tale, set in the court of one of history's most beguiling queens, it has the pace and intrigue of a CJ Sansom mystery and the sensuous passon of Philippa Gregory's Tudor romances. A story of love and murder that has all the dark enchantment and dangerous beauty of deadly nightshade.

Loupas channels Philippa Gregory with this 16th-century historical romance.

Elizabeth Loupas lives near the Elm Fork of the Trinity River, half way between Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas.  She hates housework, cold weather and wearing shoes.  She loves gardening, animals and popcorn.  Not surprisingly she lives in a state of happy, barefoot chaos with her delightful and slightly bemused husband, her herb garden, her popcorn popper and two beagles.

With her dying breath, Mary of Guise entrusts a silver casket containing explosive secret papers to the young Scottish heiress, Rinette Leslie. She makes Rinette promise to keep the casket hidden and only to give it to Mary, Queen of Scots, now on her way home from France to ascend the throne. 
 
But Rinette makes a terrible mistake - she cannot resist showing it to her beloved young husband, before consigning the casket to its hiding place. This fatal decision will lead them into a maze of conspiracy and murder, in which they - and the beautiful castle by the sea, which is Rinette's inheritance - become the targets of ruthless men who seek to possess the casket at all costs. 
 
Unable to tell friend from foe at court, and desperate to protect the queen's secrets, Rinette has one powerful weapon which may save her - the ancient art of floramancy, through which she can interpret the language of flowers and sometimes predict the future. But if the flowers should stay silent, who can she trust then?

Elizabeth Loupas

Elizabeth Loupas just gets better and better. Renaissance Florence springs to life in all its gorgeous, treacherous glory when a brave street urchin finds herself neck deep in Medici blood-lust. A dash of magic, a maze of murder, a heroine to root for, and a villain who needs to die - this is historical fiction at its most compelling.

Kate Quinn, author of The Serpent and the Pearl and The Lion and the Rose

Elizabeth Loupas works her own particular alchemy on her readers as she brings the heady elements of the Medici court to life - fascinating!

Marina Fiorato, bestselling author of The Botticelli Secret

The ingenious little touches don’t stop at the historical detail or the character formation though; Elizabeth has writing tricks to share too. At one point Ruan is vehemently accused of his past, permitting the narrative to cleverly conversationally-inform us of his background without that awkward appearance of telling him what he already knows. Smooth! Ladies, if you're looking for that elusive holiday read that punches above its apparent weight here it is: satisfying with romance in proportion and deaths by poisoning and garrotting thrown in… What more could we ask?

A compelling story of intrigue, passion, and murder in the Medici Court, from the author of The Flower Reader and The Second Duchess. Perfect for fans of Philippa Gregory and Sarah Dunant. 
 
Florence, 1574 
 
Fighting for survival in the teeming city of Florence, Chiara Nerini sets out to sell her dead father’s rare alchemical equipment. Instead she is imprisoned and forcibly initiated as a virgin acolyte by the alchemy-obsessed Prince Francesco, heir to the red lily crown of the Medici. 
 
Francesco believes her purity to be an essential element in his quest for eternal life. He will keep her in luxury, but his price is her freedom and a vow of celibacy that can be broken only by death. 
 
Chiara must seek a safe path through the labyrinth of Francesco’s deadly court. But to do so means to cast her lot with the mysterious English alchemist who calls himself Ruanno. Can Chiara trust him with her secrets... even her love... or will he prove to be her most treacherous enemy of all?

Elizabeth Loupas

Praise for The Red Lily Crown

Elizabeth Loupas just gets better and better. Renaissance Florence springs to life in all its gorgeous, treacherous glory when a brave street urchin finds herself neck deep in Medici blood-lust. A dash of magic, a m ...

Elizabeth Loupas works her own particular alchemy on her readers as she brings the heady elements of the Medici court to life - fascinating!

The ingenious little touches don’t stop at the historical detail or the character formation though; Elizabeth has writing tricks to share too. At one point Ruan is vehemently accused of his past, permitting the narr ...

Elizabeth Loupas just gets better and better. Renaissance Florence springs to life in all its gorgeous, treacherous glory when a brave street urchin finds herself neck deep in Medici blood-lust. A dash of magic, a m ...

Elizabeth Loupas works her own particular alchemy on her readers as she brings the heady elements of the Medici court to life - fascinating!

The ingenious little touches don’t stop at the historical detail or the character formation though; Elizabeth has writing tricks to share too. At one point Ruan is vehemently accused of his past, permitting the narr ...

Elizabeth Loupas just gets better and better. Renaissance Florence springs to life in all its gorgeous, treacherous glory when a brave street urchin finds herself neck deep in Medici blood-lust. A dash of magic, a m ...

Elizabeth Loupas works her own particular alchemy on her readers as she brings the heady elements of the Medici court to life - fascinating!

The ingenious little touches don’t stop at the historical detail or the character formation though; Elizabeth has writing tricks to share too. At one point Ruan is vehemently accused of his past, permitting the narr ...

Books by Elizabeth Loupas

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter