Dangerous court intrigue and affairs of the heart collide as renowned novelist Jean Plaidy tells the story of Katherine Parr, the last of Henry VIII's six queens.
Henry VIII's fifth wife, Katherine Howard, was both foolish and unfaithful, and she paid for it with her life. Henry vowed that his sixth wife would be different, and she was. Katherine Parr was twice widowed and thirty-one years old. A thoughtful, well-read lady, she was known at court for her unblemished reputation and her kind heart. She had hoped to marry for love and had set her heart on Thomas Seymour, the dashing brother...

One of history's most complex and alluring women comes to life in this classic novel by the
legendary Jean Plaidy.

Young Anne Boleyn was not beautiful but she was irresistible, capturing the hearts of kings and commoners alike. Daughter of an ambitious country lord, Anne was sent to France to learn sophistication, and then to court to marry well and raise the family's fortunes. She soon surpassed even their greatest expectations. Although his queen was loving and loyal, King Henry VIII swore he would put her aside and make Anne his wife. And so he did, though the divorce would tear...

From princesses to country girls to actresses the loves of Charles II come to life.
Ten years after Charles I was deposed and executed, his son, Charles II, regains the throne after many years in exile. Charles is determined not only to restore the monarchy but also to revive a society that has suffered under many years of Puritan rule, when everything from theater to Christmas festivals was illegal. As king, Charles II throws himself into the gaiety of court life, becoming a patron of the arts and a consummate lover of women. He first secures a strong dynastic alliance by marrying...

One powerful king. Two tragic queens.
In the court of Henry VIII, it was dangerous for a woman to catch the king s eye. Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard were cousins. Both were beautiful women, though very different in temperament. They each learned that Henry s passion was all-consuming and fickle.
Sophisticated Anne Boleyn, raised in the decadent court of France, was in love with another man when King Henry claimed her as his own. Being his mistress gave her a position of power; being his queen put her life in jeopardy. Her younger cousin, Catherine Howard, was only fifteen when she...

Burn the murderess
So begins Jean Plaidy s The Captive Queen of Scots, the epic tale of the Scottish Queen Mary Stuart, cousin to Queen Elizabeth of England. After her husband, Lord Darnley, is murdered, suspicion falls on Mary and her lover, the Earl of Bothwell. A Catholic in a land of stern Protestants, Mary finds herself in the middle of a revolt, as her bloodthirsty subjects call for her arrest and execution. In disgrace, she flees her Scottish persecutors for England, where she appeals to Queen Elizabeth for mercy, but to no avail. Throughout Mary s long years as the Queen s...

Katherine of Valois was born a princess, the daughter of King Charles VI of France. But by the time Katherine was old enough to know him, her father had come to be called "Charles the Mad," given to unpredictable fits of insanity. The young princess lived a secluded life, awaiting her father's sane moments and suffering through the mad ones, as her mother took up with her uncle and their futures became more and more uncertain. Katherine's fortunes appeared to be changing when, at nineteen, she was married to King Henry V of England. Within two years, she gave birth to an heir--but her...

The ageing Catherine de' Medici has arranged the marriage of her beautiful Catholic daughter Margot to the uncouth Huguenot King Henry of Navarre. Margot, still desperately in love with Henry de Guise, refuses to utter her vows. But even Catherine is unabl

Katharine Parr has unwittingly become the last pawn in King Henry VIII's ambitions for an heir. Already twice widowed, Katharine finally dared to hope that she might find love with the dashing Thomas Seymour. But, Henry has decided he must have a sixth wif

Married to Ferdinand after continual fears and disappointments, Isabella triumphed over every danger, convinced of her true destiny. Ambitious and unfaithful, Ferdinand longed to lead his troops against the Moorish strongholds. Isabella knew a united Spain

From exile and war to love and loss--every dynasty has a beginning.
Henry Tudor was not born to the throne of England. Having come of age in a time of political turmoil and danger, the man who would become Henry VII spent fourteen years in exile in Brittany before returning triumphantly to the Dorset coast with a small army and decisively winning the Battle of Bosworth Field--ending the War of the Roses once and for all and launching the infamous Tudor dynasty.
As Henry's claim to the throne was tenuous, his marriage to Elizabeth of York, daughter and direct heir of King Edward IV,...