Simon & Schuster
Featuring: Lady Catherine Grey; Elizabeth Freemantle; Lady Jane Grey
448 pages ISBN: 1476703094 EAN: 9781476703091 Kindle: B00GEEB93I Hardcover / e-Book Add to Wish List
Even though I am fascinated with this period of history, I
was still a little apprehensive about reading yet another
novel about it. So much has been written of the Tudors and
their times. Some of the books I have read are superficial
and inadequately researched or read like a history lesson.
Not SISTERS OF TREASON by Elizabeth Fremantle. The
historical facts are there, but so carefully woven into
the
story that it flows beautifully.
This novel never gets dull. In fact, I had to take breaks
because the characters are "always walking on the edge of
a
sword." Even when they are experiencing relatively calm
periods in their lives, the tension remains. I have to
admit, several times I wanted to go look up these little-
known sisters and find out what had happened to them.
Thank
goodness, I resisted. I was completely engaged in the
story
until the end.
The sisters are both, in their own way, devoted to their
elder sister, Lady Jane Grey, who is declared Queen in the
interim between Edward II and Mary Tudor. After she and
their father is executed as traitors, these sisters and
their mother must pretend to be loyal to Queen Mary to
stay
alive.
Lady Katherine Grey is a frivolous, impulsive flirt who
falls in love easily. Lady Mary Grey is tiny and has a
twisted back and in this age, physical perfection is
equated with holiness. By many she is considered a work of
the devil. Queen Mary keeps her as her lap doll or "pet
monkey," and she overhears many secrets. Because of their
royal blood, neither sister can marry without the Queen's
permission. To do so would be an act of treason.
After Queen Mary dies and is replaced by Queen Elizabeth
I,
they breathe a sigh of relief. At least, they think, they
share the same religion with Elizabeth and will not be
burned at the stake as heretics. But the Tudor blood in
their veins makes them dangerous to Queen Elizabeth. She
must keep them close and watched so they will not become a
rallying point for rebels.
Fans of Philippa Gregory's books will enjoy this
historical
gem by Elizabeth Fremantle. I for one will be looking up
her previous novel, Queen's Gambit, and look forward to
any other offerings from her. If you love English
historical fiction, you must read SISTERS OF TREASON.
From the author of Queen’s Gambit, which People magazine
called, “A must-read for Philippa Gregory fans,” a
gripping
historical novel about two sisters who tread as
dangerously
close to the crown as their tragic sister, Lady Jane Grey,
executed after just nine days on the throne.
Early in Mary Tudor’s turbulent reign, Lady Catherine and
Lady Mary Grey are reeling after the brutal execution of
their elder seventeen-year-old sister, Lady Jane Grey, and
the succession is by no means stable. In Sisters of
Treason,
Elizabeth Freemantle brings these young women to life in a
spellbinding Tudor tale of love and politics.
Neither sister is well suited to a dangerous life at
court.
Flirtatious Lady Catherine, thought to be the true heir,
cannot control her compulsion to love and be loved. Her
sister, clever Lady Mary, has a crooked spine and a tiny
stature in an age when physical perfection equates to
goodness—and both girls have inherited the Tudor blood
that
is more curse than blessing. For either girl to marry
without royal permission would be a potentially fatal
political act. It is the royal portrait painter, Levina
Teerlinc, who helps the girls survive these troubled
times.
She becomes their mentor and confidante, but when the
Queen’s sister, the hot-headed Elizabeth, inherits the
crown, life at court becomes increasingly treacherous for
the surviving Grey sisters. Ultimately each young woman
must
decide how far she will go to defy her Queen, risk her
life,
and find the safety and love she longs for.
© 2003-2024 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy