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Jean Plaidy

Unforgettable in its dramatic depiction of relationships between monarchs and families, this series delves into the scandal and betrayal behind the Stuart family during their reign.

If you like Philippa Gregory, you will love this mesmerising historical novel from international multi-million copy bestseller Jean Plaidy. The Queen's Favourites follows the stories of the three women at the heart of the Stuart Court and the ever-changing power struggle that dominates their relationships with one another... 
 
'Jean Plaidy, by the skilful blending of superb storytelling and meticulous attention to authenticity of detail and depth of characterisation has become one of the country's most widely read novelists.' -- Sunday Times 
'Full-blooded, dramatic, exciting.' -- Observer 
'Outstanding' -- Vanity Fair 
'I was gripped from the first page' -- ***** Reader review 
'A riveting read' -- ***** Reader review 
'Great story - could not put it' -- ***** Reader review 
'Unputdownable!!' -- ***** Reader review 
 
************************************************** 
It is the beginning of the eighteenth century and William of Orange is dying. Soon Anne is crowned Queen, but court insiders know that the power behind the sovereign is Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough. 
 
Beautiful, outspoken Sarah controls Anne and believes herself to be invincible, until she installs her poor cousin Abigail Hill in court as royal chambermaid. Plain Abigail seems the least likely rival for Sarah's place in Anne's affections, but Sarah has underestimated her. 
 
 While Anne engages in her private battles, the nation is obsessed with another, more public one: succession. Anne is sickly and childless, the last of the Stuart line. Who will reign when she is gone?

The Queen's Favourites

(The Stuart saga book 7): the enthralling story of the real power behind the throne from the undisputed Queen of British historical fiction

Constance Heaven

Lose yourself in this beautifully written, emotional and enthralling novel from much loved author Constance Heaven. It conjures up the glittering society and changing times of the 1870s in London and Russia so wonderfully, you'll feel as if you are there yourself! 
 
'Heady romance with glittering background' -- SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 
'Readable and atmospheric' -- DUBLIN TIMES 
'Excellent! Difficult to put down' - ***** Reader review 
'Exciting read' - ***** Reader review 
'A great novel from a great writer' - ***** Reader review 
 
*************************************************************************** 
Louise Defour's life is idyllic: as the love-child of a British diplomat and Russian dancer, she wants for nothing. 
But when her parents are killed, she finds herself penniless and alone, and must travel to England to meet a half-sister who does not even know of her existence. 
 
There, she becomes part of the world of the mysterious Daniel and Christine Hunter - with a potentially destructive effect.

The Love Child

a sweeping historical novel set in Russia and England in the 1870s

Martyn Waites

The fully authorised chilling sequel to Susan Hill's bestselling ghost-story, The Woman in Black, released in 2012 as a film featuring Daniel Radcliffe. This is the book the follow-up film starring Jeremy Irvine (War Horse) and Phoebe Fox is based on. 
 
Autumn 1940, World War Two. Bombs are raining down, destroying the cities of Britain. 
 
The evacuations begin, and soon children are being taken to the country for safety. Teacher Eve Parkins is in charge of one such group. The children are scared and Eve does her best to calm them, but the truth is that she too is haunted by a personal tragedy she cannot put behind her. 
 
Their destination is Eel Marsh House. Desolate and forlorn, it is situated on a causeway and is sinking into the treacherous tidal marshes that surround it. 
 
Far from home and with no alternative, Eve and the children move in. 
 
But soon it becomes apparent that there is someone else in the house with them, someone Eve can't see but who is far more deadly than any number of German bombs ... 
 
 
The Woman in Black.

The Woman in Black: Angel of Death

Journey through the reign of William the Conqueror and his sons as they fight to keep civil war at bay and their line on the throne.

This is the third and final book in The Norman Trilogy and tells the story of the last days of the reign of Henry I. 
 
His son and wife are dead, and Henry hastily remarries a woman more than thirty years his junior in the hope of producing a male heir and securing the succession. 
 
If he fails, the throne will pass to Matilda, and Henry fears that his nobles will not willingly serve a woman. But after his death this feckless daughter becomes the focus of a line of would-be kings and soon the country is plunged into a bitter civil war that only a child can undo. 
 
‘Jean Plaidy, by the skilful blending of superb storytelling and meticulous attention to authenticity of detail and depth of characterisation has become one of the country’s most widely read novelists.’ Sunday Times 
 
‘Full-blooded, dramatic, exciting.’ Observer 
 
‘Plaidy excels at blending history with romance and drama.’ New York Times 
 
‘Outstanding’ Vanity Fair

The Passionate Enemies

(Norman Series)

Incredibly detailed, exciting and vibrant is Plaidy's thrilling Queen of England series which depicts the lives of each queen beginning with Queen Henrietta Maria.

One of the country's most widely read novelists - the first volume in the Queens of England series. 
 
Despite the dangers of practicing her faith in the staunchly Protestant England, pretty Queen Henrietta Maria refuses to cast aside her Catholicism, so she finds little favour among the people. She is impetuous and loving, fond of fashionable clothes and gossip, and Charles, a family man of principle and integrity, is entirely devoted to her. 
 
But their happy if controversial marriage is soon under threat when Henrietta is renounced as a puppet of Rome and charged with leading Protestant England back to Rome. 
 
Soon her enemies swarm and the spies in her household prove too much. Only her loyalty and love for Charles can hope to keep him from the road to regicide.

Myself, My Enemy

(Queen of England Series)

Alexander Kent

Fans of Patrick O'Brian and C. S. Forester will love this captivating, vivid and exciting page-turner from multi-million copy seller Alexander Kent - guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat! 
 
'Shipwreck, survival... a spirited battle... a splendid yarn' -- Times 
'One of our foremost writers of naval fiction' -- Sunday Times 
'Alexander Keen is a master of his craft' -- ***** Reader review 
'Seamless fiction at its best' -- ***** Reader review 
'Another great story, gripping to the end' -- ***** Reader review 
'Difficult to put down' -- ***** Reader review 
'Superb' -- ***** Reader review 
************************************************************************************************ 
1811: After two and a half months of precious peace in Cornwall with his beloved mistress Catherine, Admiral Richard Bolitho is once again summoned to London. 
 
In defence of an Empire, the Admiralty must quell the unrest in America - or face the war with those who were once friends. For when diplomacy fails, the cannon will speak. 
 
For his daring mission, Bolitho must call on the loyalty of his most trusted officers - and the trust of those he loves the most. Distance too is their enemy, as the Indomitable leads the fleet from Plymouth towards the rich merchant grounds of the Americas. 
 
In the troubled seas from Antigua north to Halifax, Admiral Bolitho's revolutionary 'flying squadron' will face their first and harshest test. For a country's freedom. 
 
For a hero's right to turn his back on the sea ...

For My Country's Freedom

(The Richard Bolitho adventures: 23): another thrilling Bolitho adventure from the master storyteller of the sea

From one of the most distinguished English authors of historical fiction comes a series that explores the lives of eleven Georgian figures. Beginning with the beautiful Sophia Dorothea, darling of Celle, and ending with Victoria's rise to become Queen of England.

The tenth book in the Georgian series is an entertaining work of historical fiction. 
 
Like his brothers, William, Duke of Clarence, has had his share of romance and intrigue. And when he falls in love with Dorothy Jordan, the notorious Irish comic of the Drury Lane Theatre, gossipmongers are ecstatic, for William is not the only one with a shady past. Dorothy's notorious offstage life combined with William's less than decorous behaviour will make great copy for the scandal sheets, while their affair lasts. 
 
But everyone is surprised when the casual dalliance develops into a twenty year marriage in all but name. William’s penchant for living beyond his means ensures that Dorothy can never leave the theatre as her income is a necessity for the couple. This becomes a contentious issue as she wants nothing more than to be a full time mother. 
 
Eventually, William leaves the family and seeks to meet his obligations to the state. Meanwhile, Dorothy, abandoned by her lover and ignored by the many children she had fought so hard to raise, must live out the remainder of her days alone in France.

Goddess of the Green Room

(Georgian Series)

The fifth book in the Georgian series. 
 
George III was certain that the shadowy charm of Hannah, the vital beauty of Sarah, would cease to torment him once he was married to Charlotte. But Charlotte was unexciting, and he could not help his heart beating faster every time he saw a beautiful woman. 
 
Surrounded by the great and the notorious, the King was beset by political anxieties, humiliated by the loss of the American colonies, and distressed at the scandals in the royal family. 
 
The King’s sister was tried for treason and adultery, but the greatest scandal of all was created by his eldest son-the handsome, willful, pleasure-seeking Prince of Wales…

The Third George

Diana Gabaldon

World War II nurse Claire Randall finds herself transported back to 1743 where she meets young Scottish soldier Jamie Fraser, and the two travel from Scotland to America taking part in some of the most momentous events of the time.

Read the first three books in the million-copy bestselling Outlander series that inspired the TV show. 
 
What if your future was the past? 
 
Book 1: Outlander 
1946, and Claire Randall goes to the Scottish Highlands with her husband Frank. It’s a second honeymoon, a chance to learn how war has changed them and to re-establish their loving marriage. 
 
But one afternoon, Claire walks through a circle of standing stones and vanishes into 1743, where the first person she meets is a British army officer - her husband’s six-times great-grandfather. 
 
Unfortunately, Black Jack Randall is not the man his descendant is, and while trying to escape him, Claire falls into the hands of a gang of Scottish outlaws, and finds herself a Sassenach - an outlander - in danger from both Jacobites and Redcoats. 
 
Marooned amid danger, passion and violence, her only chance of safety lies in Jamie Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior. What begins in compulsion becomes urgent need, and Claire finds herself torn between two very different men, in two irreconcilable lives. 
 
Book 2: Dragonfly in Amber 
For twenty years Claire Randall has kept her secrets. But now she is returning with her grown daughter to the majesty of Scotland's mist-shrouded hills. Here Claire plans to reveal a truth as stunning as the events that gave it birth: about the mystery of an ancient circle of standing stones, about a love that transcends the boundaries of time, and about James Fraser, a warrior whose gallantry once drew the young Claire from the security of her century to the dangers of his. 
 
Now a legacy of blood and desire will test her beautiful daughter as Claire's spellbinding journey continues in the intrigue-ridden court of Charles Edward Stuart, in a race to thwart a doomed uprising, and in a desperate fight to save both the child and the man she loves. 
 
Book 3: Voyager 
Jamie Fraser is lying on the battlefield of Culloden, where he rises wounded, to face execution or imprisonment. Either prospect pales beside the pain of loss - his wife is gone. Forever. 
 
But sometimes forever is shorter than one thinks. In 1746, Claire Fraser made a perilous journey through time, leaving her young husband to die at Culloden, in order to protect their unborn child. In 1968, Claire has just been struck through the heart, discovering that Jamie Fraser didn’t die in battle. 
 
But where is Jamie now? With the help of her grown daughter, Claire sets out to find the man who was her life - and might be once again.

An Outlander Collection

Books 1-3

THE SECOND NOVEL IN THE BESTSELLING OUTLANDER SERIES - now a major new TV series. 
 
For twenty years Claire Randall has kept her secrets. But now she is returning with her grown daughter to the majesty of Scotland's mist-shrouded hills. Here Claire plans to reveal a truth as stunning as the events that gave it birth: about the mystery of an ancient circle of standing stones, about a love that transcends the boundaries of time, and about James Fraser, a warrior whose gallantry once drew the young Claire from the security of her century to the dangers of his. 
 
Now a legacy of blood and desire will test her beautiful daughter as Claire's spellbinding journey continues in the intrigue-ridden court of Charles Edward Stuart, in a race to thwart a doomed uprising, and in a desperate fight to save both the child and the man she loves.

Dragonfly In Amber

(Outlander 2)

Leslie Thomas

They came on a distant, secret night, armed and ready to kill. Their ghosts are still with us today. 
 
In June 1942 a party of German saboteurs landed by submarine in the United States of America. They were betrayed and executed within eight weeks of their landing. Their treacherous leader served a prison sentence and then disappeared. 
 
Orders for New York takes this historical fact as its starting point and tells the story of Michael Findlater, a British journalist who is in the USA researching for a book. Invited to meet his ex-wife Madelaine for the first time since their divorce and to see his twelve-year-old daughter, Findlater finds he is in fact being recruited for a well-paid secret mission. 
 
Madelaine's father-in-law, a wealthy and successful newspaper proprietor, wants him to take on theassignment of finding the vanished Nazi saboteur, Peter Karl Hine, and writing his story. Spurred on partly by the huge reward on offer and partly by curiosity, Findlater embarks on his quest and rapidly discovers that there are ruthless parties involved, who will stop at nothing to prevent him. 
 
This is an enthralling and astonishing new novel, from the author of The Magic Army and The Adventures of Goodnight and Loving.

Orders For New York

Marie Joseph

Fans of Katie Flynn, Rosie Clarke and Catherine Cookson will love this enchanting and moving saga set in Lancashire from bestselling and prizewinning author Marie Joseph. The perfect piece of escapism! 
 
'Marie Joseph is an amazing success story' - WOMAN'S WEEKLY 
'Marie Joseph's descriptions and turn of phrase are a joy to read...' -- ***** Reader review 
'Compelling and very readable - recommended for an afternoon relaxing read.' -- ***** Reader review 
'Typical Marie Joseph page turner.' -- ***** Reader review 
 
****************************************** 
NOTHING COULD STOP HER FINDING LOVE...COULD IT? 
 
When her stepmother was killed suddenly two years ago, Emma Sparrow found herself having to run the household and look after her father and her three step-siblings, as well as hold down a full time job. 
 
Now twenty, she is a woman of unbreakable spirit and quiet pride, and nothing - not the drabness of her life in a small Lancashire town, not the relentless drudgery of her home life nor the boredom of her job in a factory - can stop her from reaching for the stars. 
 
But Emma's happiness lies with Simon Martin, and Simon is the boss's son. Between them stand the differences of class and background - a huge gulf that threatens to destroy Emma's one chance for a true and lasting love. Not to mention the fact that Simon is already in a relationship with a very nice girl called Chloe. 
 
Can Emma find that better, more exciting and fulfilling life she dreams of?

Emma Sparrow

the heart-warming and uplifting story of one woman’s search for a better life…and a true and lasting love

Anika Scott

Brought to you by Penguin. 
_____________________________________________ 
'FINDING CLARA is the kind of novel we need now more than ever, [and] achieves what the best historical fiction can . . . pushing us to see ourselves in that past, demanding: Who would you have been then? What would you have done? Unflinching and absorbing, [it] does not let you look away.' Sarah Blake, New York Times bestselling author of THE POSTMISTRESS 
_____________________________________________ 
1946. The ruins of Essen, Germany. A place that can't quite believe the Second World War has been lost. 
 
There's Clara. Once a wartime icon and heiress to the Falkenberg iron works, she now finds herself on the run from the Allied authorities, accused by the zealous Allied occupiers of complicity in her father's war crimes. 
 
There's Jakob. A charming black marketeer, badly wounded in the war but determined to help what's left of his family survive the peace. 
 
There's Willy. A teenage boy diligently guarding a mine full of Wehrmacht supplies, his only friend a canary named Gertrud. Convinced the war isn't over, he refuses to surrender his post. 
 
When Clara returns to her hometown expecting to find her best friend, she finds everything she once knew in ruins. But in war-ravaged Germany, it's not just the buildings that are scarred: everyone is changed, everyone lives in the wreckage of their own past. 
 
To survive, Clara must hide who she is. But to live, she must face up to the truth of what she's done. 
_____________________________________________ 
'What a great debut! It still haunts me, days after finishing it.' Liz Trenow, author of The Poppy Factory and The Silk Weaver 
 
'Anika Scott's finely drawn characters in FINDING CLARA bring to life not only the struggle to rise from the ashes of war, but also the depth of resolve often required to gain redemption. Illuminating and beautifully rendered.' Susan Meissner, author of The Last Year of the War 
 
'Meticulously researched and plotted like a noir thriller, Finding Clara tells a different story of WWII - of characters grappling with their own guilt and driven by the question of what they could have done to change the past.' Jessica Shattuck, author of The Women in the Castle 
 
'A moving story of courage and everyday heroism rising to meet unbearable challenges.' Alex Marwood, author of The Wicked Girls 
_____________________________________________ 
© Anika Scott 2020 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

Finding Clara

a page-turning epic set in the aftermath of World War II

Joseph

Fans of Katie Flynn, Rosie Harris and Catherine Cookson will love this compelling and captivating saga by bestselling and prizewinning author Marie Joseph. When you're a woman in a man's world, you've got to do everything you can to make a way for yourself... 
 
'Marie Joseph is an amazing success story' -- Woman's Weekly 
'She is a winner every time she writes' -- Manchester Evening News 
'Compelling' -- ***** Reader review 
'Another Marie Joseph page-turner' -- ***** Reader review 
'Never ceases to pull at your heartstrings' -- ***** Reader review 
*************************************************************************************************** 
IN A MAN'S WORLD, WILL HER PASSION AND STEELY DETERMINATION BE A HELP OR A HINDRANCE? 
 
At the turn of the century, the North of England is a hard, bleak world. A world where joy and love are in short supply - where men are resigned and women oppressed. 
 
Strong-willed and spirited, rebellious and beautiful, Maggie Craig flies in the face of the harshness of that world... 
 
Will her passion cost her dearly?

Maggie Craig

a powerful and stirring turn-of-the-century northern saga about a woman’s determination from bestseller Marie Joseph

Judith Saxton

A young girl's search for her identity and for a love that can overcome her past. 
 
Questa Adamson is stranded in Italy for the duration of the Second World War. When she finally returns to England she is haunted by terrible memories. She finds that the safe childhood world she remembers has disappeared and that she is as alone in her home country as she has been in Italy. 
 
She also finds that she has inherited a tumbledown manor house in Shropshire and is determined to restore the estate to its former glory, despite rationing and post-war austerity. And when she meets her mysterious neighbor, Marcus, it seems as if she might, at last, begin to drop her guard and learn to love. 
 
But loving Marcus brings its own special difficulties and Questa soon finds herself faced with an extraordinary and painful choice.

The Blue And Distant Hills

When the exotic stranger walked into the loveless Clancy household, he brought a gift to innocent seventeen-year-old Annie that neither her five brothers, nor her brutal father, had ever given her ... tenderness. And, like many before her, Annie pays the price for its sweetness. 
 
An outcast from her home and adrift in a harsh world, it would take a long time for Annie to trust a man again ... 
 
Inspired by Marie Joseph's storytelling magic, and set in the wild and sweeping Lancashire countryside, The Travelling Man is another of her gripping, page-turning sagas.

The Travelling Man

A story of greed, duplicity, romance and intrigue, and a mystery said to have brought down the french monarchy. 
 
The world shook at the eruption of the French Revolution, a revolution, some say, precipitated by a single factor: the theft of the Diamond Necklace which, it seemed, had been commissioned for Marie Antoinette and helped to bring both her and King Louis XVI to the guillotine. 
 
But behind the scandal was a complex and daring conspiracy involving a Prince of the Royal House of France, the charming and deceitful countess Jeanne de Valois, and the infamous Comte de Cagliostro – all pawns in a secret, devious plot for wealth and supremacy in Europe. 
 
‘Jean Plaidy, by the skilful blending of superb storytelling and meticulous attention to authenticity of detail and depth of characterisation has become one of the country’s most widely read novelists.’ Sunday Times 
 
‘Full-blooded, dramatic, exciting.’ Observer 
 
‘Plaidy excels at blending history with romance and drama.’ New York Times 
 
‘Outstanding’ Vanity Fair

The Queen of Diamonds

If you like Katie Flynn, Rosie Clarke and Catherine Cookson, you will love this captivating and heart -warming saga by bestselling and prizewinning author Marie Joseph. We meet Daisy Bell again (A Better World Than This) - in the aftermath of war, can she build a new life? 
 
'Marie Joseph is an amazing success story' -- Woman's Weekly 
'Marie Joseph has the same rare, magical gift as Catherine Cookson for turning everyday people with everyday lives into the stuff of fascination.' -- Kent Evening Post 
'She is a winner every time she writes' -- Manchester Evening News 
'Marie Joseph's descriptions and turn of phrase are a joy to read...' -- ***** Reader review 
'Loved this story, pure escapism' -- ***** Reader review 
'Compelling and very readable - recommended for an afternoon relaxing read.' -- ***** Reader 
********************************************************* 
IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY, CAN SHE BUILD A NEW LIFE? 
 
1947: The war is over, finally. 
 
Life at Daisy Penny's Blackpool boarding house, Shangri-La, is good - as good as it can be when you've got to feed your family and guests on rations and your husband is sickly. But still she carries on... 
 
However, when tragedy strikes, the indomitable Daisy makes the difficult decision to cut her ties, sell her boarding-house in Blackpool and start a new life in the country. 
 
Has she the strength to start afresh? 
 
Daisy's story started in A Better World Than This, which won the Romantic Novelists' Award.

A World Apart

a moving and emotional Lancashire saga about one woman’s resolve to start afresh

A SAGA OF A YOUNG GIRL'S STRUGGLE FOR SURVIVAL ON THE ISLAND OF JERSEY DURING THE NAZI SECOND WORLD WAR OCCUPATION. After the death of Rochelle Dubois's parents, she is adopted by their employer, Charles Laurient, and together she and Charles work to rear his treasured rare orchids. But when war breaks out, Rochelle is left to do her best for herself and her precious seedlings, for Charles is taken away by the Germans. The arrival of his son Laurie from America could be her salvation.

This Royal Breed

Let bestselling and prizewinning author Marie Joseph take you to another world and lose yourself in this beautifully written and mesmerising saga about love against all odds. Fans of Katie Flynn, Rosie Harris and Catherine Cookson will not be disappointed. 
 
'Marie Joseph is an amazing success story' -- Woman's Weekly 
'She is a winner every time she writes' -- Manchester Evening News 
'I love Marie Joseph books and this one did not disappoint.' -- ***** Reader review 
'Loved this story, pure escapism' -- ***** Reader review 
'Compelling and very readable - recommended for an afternoon relaxing read.' -- ***** Reader 
 
*********************************************************************************** 
WORLDS APART, BUT DRAWN TO EACH OTHER... 
 
Their lives could not have been more different. Jenny was the girl from the meat shop, born into squalor and defeat. Paul Tunstall was a soldier and a gentleman, arrogant and charming, with his silver-light eyes and boyish smile. 
And yet from the moment they met there was a spark between them - and their separate lives of pain and loneliness seemed to beckon to each other. 
 
Will love win out, against all odds?

A Leaf in the Wind

an emotional, enthralling and incredibly moving love story from bestselling saga author Marie Joseph

The first book in the Norman Trilogy chronicles the life of William the Conquerer. 
 
This glorious novel chronicles the life of William the Conqueror, the bastard son of the Duke of Normandy, from childhood until his death in 1087. 
 
He is destined to succeed his father as the Duke of Normandy but questions about his legitimacy mean he consistently faces challenges from potential usurpers in the Duchy to retain the title. He marries Matilda, the equally intelligent and ambitious daughter of the King of Flanders, and together they have many children. 
 
In 1066, he crosses the channel from Normandy to England and seizes the crown from King Harold, Edward the Confessor’s popular successor. This is the roller coaster account of his efforts to become sovereign and the events in his life afterwards, including his turbulent relationships with various members of his family.

The Bastard King

At the power and mercy of the court her life was a struggle to keep the Queen's Secret. 
 
Katherine of Valois is born a princess, the daughter of King Charles VI of France. But by the time Katherine is old enough to know her father, he is called “Charles the Mad,” given to unpredictable fits of insanity. Aged 19, she marries Henry V of England in what was a happy but tragically brief union ending with his untimely death. 
 
As Joan of Arc incites the French to overthrow the English, Katherine’s loyalty to England is intensely scrutinised so much so her baby son, the new king, is taken from her and she was forbidden to re-marry. The young Queen is alone and desolate. But when she meets handsome Owen Tudor, her life is changed forever as she is drawn into a dangerous but irresistible love…

The Queen's Secret

It is New Year's Eve 1936 when Wesley Battersby leaves his pretty wife Amy to go and live with Clara Marsden. 
 
Ashamed and frightened, Amy struggles with loneliness and hardship while Wesley is spending his money on buying the love of the flighty Clara. But Amy's warmth and vitality win her friends who give her renewed courage and confidence. And when the frivolous Clara leaves Wesley in search of a wealthier replacement, he realizes his foolish mistake and returns home, but to a woman changed almost beyond recognition ...

Since He Went Away

Historical romance at its very best: fans of Philippa Gregory will love this captivating journey back in time from multi-million copy and international bestselling author Jean Plaidy. 
 
'Jean Plaidy conveys the texture of various patches of the past with such rich complexity' - Guardian 
'These books are page-turners; they offer a wonderful way to learn about history... and their stories will remain with you for ever' -- Daily Express 
'Every bit as exciting and moving today as they were when first written.' -- Woman &amp; Home 
'Unputdownable, educational and a great read' -- ***** Reader review 
'Excellent as always!' -- ***** Reader review 
******************************************************************** 
1666: Charles II is rapturously welcomed back on the throne after years in exile. 
 
Needing funds he marries the wealthy Portuguese princess, Catherine of Braganza. But this is an unsuccessful match as the princess fails to provide him with an heir and the dowry never materializes. Although Charles always treats her with the utmost kindness, Catherine has to tolerate his many mistresses, notably the promiscuous beauty Barbara Castelmaine. 
 
The plot unfolds against a background of the Plague, the Popish Plot and the Great Fire of London where underlying religious tensions promise to cause problems for the King. 
 
 When his Catholic brother, James, looks likely to succeed him, the people rise up against Catholics. Even Queen Catherine is in danger when she is accused of plotting to kill her husband. 
 
Will this restored monarchy be able to hold on to power?

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