Showing results by author "Jean Plaidy" in All Categories

Scotland has been torn apart by civil war, and the young and passionate Catholic Mary Queen of Scots is in the hands of her enemies. Under duress, Mary abdicates in favour of her son, James VI, and flees to England for safety, boldly seeking refuge with her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I. But Elizabeth has never trusted the ambitious Catholic queen and has Mary imprisoned.

When William X dies, the duchy of Aquitaine is left to his 15-year-old daughter, Eleanor. But such a position for an unmarried woman puts the whole kingdom at risk. So on his deathbed William made a will that would ensure his daughter’s protection: he promised her hand in marriage to the future King of France. Eleanor grows into a romantic and beautiful queen, but she has inherited the will of a king, determined to rule Aquitaine using her husband’s power as King of France. Her

One of history's most complex and alluring women, Anne Boleyn was irresistible to kings and commoners alike. Daughter of an ambitious country lord, Anne was sent to France to marry well and raise the family's fortunes. She soon surpassed even their greatest expectations when King Henry VIII swore he would put aside his loyal queen to make Anne his wife.

Reckoned by those about him to be the most handsome man in the country, Edward IV has risen to the throne with the help of Warwick, the kingmaker. But even Warwick’s trusted advice cannot convince the king to ignore his passion for the beautiful widow Elizabeth Woodville – and when she refuses to become his mistress the two are married. Beloved of the people, Edward proves himself to be a strong king. Despite his mistresses, Elizabeth is loyal to the illustrious king, provding him with many children....

Isabella and Ferdinand rule over a newly united Spain, steadfast in their determination to build a powerful state. During the final years of Isabella’s reign, Ferdinand looks to his daughters to further his ambitions, but his wife finds herself torn between his brilliant plans and her love for her children. As events unfold, the sovereigns begin to feel that there must be a curse on the royal house – misfortune strikes at the heart of their family and tragedy after tragedy befalls the Daughter of Spain.

William the Conqueror 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.

At just six days old, Mary Stuart became Queen of Scots. At just six years old, she was betrothed to the Dauphin Francois, the future King of France. Reluctantly leaving Scotland, Mary is raised in the decadent French court in preparation for becoming the Queen of France. But her reign with Francois is short-lived. Widowed at 18 years old, Mary is once again forced to leave her home to return to Scotland. Now a Catholic queen in a Protestant country, Mary must rule with caution and choose her next husband prudently.

The news of Henry III's death reached his son Edward on the long road home from the Holy Land. Now he was England's king and a man fit for his destiny. Through all the years of his reign, through stark personal tragedy and chill forebodings as his son grew into a weak, corrupted price, Edward I strove to weld a nation united from England, Scotland and Wales.

At just 18, Lucrezia Borgia, the alluring daughter of the Pope, has already had her life touched by dishonour and tragic loss. In the decadent society of 15th-century Rome, violence is commonplace and scandal is never far from the infamous Borgia family. In the aftermath of her brother Giovanni’s brutal murder, Lucrezia knows she must build a life for herself if she is to break away from the corrupt world her family is tied to.

Fifteenth-century Spain is rent with intrigue and threatened by civil war. Here, the young Isabella becomes the pawn of her half-crazed mother and a virtual prisoner at the licentious court of her half-brother, Henry IV. At just sixteen years old, is she already fated to be the victim of the Queen's revenge, the Archbishop's ambition and the lust of lecherous Don Pedro Girón?

At the age of 15, Marie Antoinette, beautiful and charming bride to the impotent Dauphin, is plunged into the intrigue of Versailles. Frivolous and reckless, she flouts the strict and demanding etiquette of the glittering court and discovers the true nature of love, hate and jealousy. But the clouds of revolution are overhead, and Marie Antoinette, who wishes only to enjoy life, learns too late that the price of her enjoyment is very high.

The young Princess Victoria, strictly confined within the boundaries of Kensington Palace, is being moulded for her awesome future as Queen of England. Surrounded by her dolls and closely guarded by her domineering mother and faithful governess, she slowly becomes aware of the bitter conflicts that surround her. The jealous and scheming Duke of Cumberland is a constant threat to her rightful accession …her mother’s sinister friend, Sir John Conroy, makes her uneasy … and the bickering between her mother and the king seems never-ending.

Princess Mary Rose is the youngest sister of King Henry VIII, and one of the few people whom he adores unconditionally. She is the golden child of the Tudor family and is granted her every wish. Except when it comes to marriage. Locked in a political showdown with France, Henry decides to offer up his pampered sister to secure peace between the two mighty kingdoms, and she is unwillingly sent to France to marry the ailing King Louis.

Albert is dead and the queen is preparing to spend the rest of her life in mourning. Yet the last years of her reign are to be momentous ones. Palmerston, then Gladstone and Disraeli, govern her empire through the high noon of its heyday. However, the court at Windsor, Balmoral, Osborne at Buckingham Palace is perpetually shocked by the actions of the queen’s son, the Prince of Wales. Forever in pursuit of horses, women and scandal, this is the heady harbinger of Edwardian years to come.

When Henry VI becomes king, it is soon clear that he would be more suited to a quiet life. Richard, Duke of York, is convinced that he would make a better king and has more right to the crown. But Margaret of Anjou, Henry’s new French wife, is a formidable woman who is just as determined to keep Henry on the throne. Most powerful of all is the Earl of Warwick, and with his support of Richard of York the War of the Roses begins.

Edward the Second has been barbarously murdered in Berkeley Castle on the orders of his wife Queen Isabella and her lover, and 15-year-old Edward the Third is now king. Young Edward has already fallen in love with Philippa of Hainault and, to prevent him enquiring into the details of his father’s death, Isabella allows the marriage to take place. While some suggest that Edward has a claim on the French throne, he is reluctant to pursue it.

At the age of 32, Richard the Lionheart has finally succeeded Henry II to the English throne. And, against his father’s wishes, he intends to make Berengaria, daughter of the King of Navarre, his Queen. But first he must fulfil his vow to his country to win back Jerusalem for the Christian world. Leaving England to begin his crusade, Richard entrusts his kingdom to his brother, John, who casts covetous eyes on the crown, and his sister, Joanna, who is willing to defy even a king.

The death of The Conqueror left three sons to inherit his power and his wealth. Normandy for Robert, England for Rufus, and for Henry, the youngest, 5,000 pounds of silver. The three were natural rivals. The feckless Robert lost his Norman dukedom in an orgy of impulsive extravagance. Red-haired Rufus scandalized the court with his perverse sexuality and contempt for the Church. And Henry - cleverest of all - awaited his chance to fulfill his father’s prophecy and assume the mantle of The Lion of Justice.

Edward II's first act on coming to the throne is to recall Piers Gaveston from exile, and the new king's devotion to the shrewd and avaricious young man soon becomes a scandal. It is assumed that when Edward marries one of the most beautiful princesses in Europe his inclinations will change, but nothing can make him swerve from his attachment to Gaveston, who is clearly making the most of royal favour. The new Queen Isabella, accustomed to adulation, is bitterly humiliated; and she is not a woman to forget.

In a castle in the mountains outside Rome, Lucrezia Borgia is born into history's most notorious family. Her father, who is to become Pope Alexander VI, receives his first daughter warmly, and her brothers, Cesare and Giovanni, are devoted to her. As Lucrezia matures into a beautiful young woman, her brothers are ever more protective and become fierce rivals for her attention.