Duchesses, Princes and Mistresses...oh my!!!

US Release Date: June 1, 2009

Seventeen-year-old Henry VIII was "a youngling, he cares for nothing but girls and hunting." Over the years, this didn’t change much. Henry was considered a demi-god by his subjects, so each woman he chose was someone who had managed to stand out in a crowd of stunning ladies. Looking good was not enough (indeed, many of Henry’s lovers were considered unattractive); she had to have something extra special to keep the King’s interest. And Henry’s women were every bit as intriguing as the man himself. In this book Henry’s mistresses are rescued from obscurity. The 16th century was a time of profound changes in religion and society across Europe—and some of Henry’s lovers were at the forefront of influencing these events.


US Release Date: May 1, 2009

Elizabeth Longford has chosen a group of Victorian women who, in their actions or writing, challenged the repressive rules of established society. They include Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë, whose cloistered lives were illuminated by the vividness of their creative genius; Josephine Butler, who brought about the end of the infamous Contagious Diseases Acts; Annie Besant, who campaigned vigorously for the rights of women subject to unreasonable husbands or harsh employers; Harriet Beecher Stowe, whose novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin brought the cruelties of slavery to the world’s attention; and James Barry, born Margaret Bulkley, medical reformer and arguably the first British female to qualify as a suregon. This is a fascinating account of a crucial period of struggle for women’s rights and of some of the remarkable personalities who took part.


US Release Date: June 2, 2009

Two murdered princes; a powerful queen betrayed; a nobleman riding towards his certain death...

The story of the Princes in the Tower has been one of the most fascinating - and most brutal - murder mysteries in history for more than five hundred years.

In a brilliant feat of historical daring, Emma Darwin has recreated the terrible, exhilarating world of the two youngest victims of the War of the Roses: the power struggles and passion that lay behind their birth, the danger into which they fell, the profoundly moving days before their imprisonment, and the ultimate betrayal of their innocence.

In A Secret Alchemy, three voices speak: that of Elizabeth Woodville, the beautiful widow of King Edward IV; of her brother Anthony, surrogate father to the doomed Prince Edward and his brother Dickon; and that of present-day historian Una Pryor. Orphaned, and herself brought up in a family where secrets and rivalries threaten her world, Una's experience of tragedy, betrayal and lost love help her unlock the long-buried secrets that led to the princes' deaths.

Weaving their stories together, Emma Darwin brilliantly evokes how the violence and glamour of past ages live on within our present.


UK Release Date: May 28, 2009

Disguise is a dangerous game . . .

After a lifetime as a wallflower Harriet, the Duchess of Berrow, is finally seeking a little pleasure of her own. And where better to begin than at the house of one of the most disreputable men in the country, Lord Strange?

However, the high-stakes games of lust and chance that rule Strange’s household mean that to cross the threshold could entirely ruin her reputation. So Harriet swaps her hoops and corsets for a pair of breeches and transforms herself into a young male relative of the Duke of Villiers.

Before she knows it she’s writing bawdy missives on behalf of a young actress, not to mention winning card games played by the most powerful men in England.

But when she starts attracting male attention, Harriet must decide whether to stay in her disguise – or to reveal that she's really a duchess by night . . .

8 comments:

  1. I preordered "A Secret Alchemy" from Amazon, the story was really appealing - now I see that I made a good choice. Thanks for your fine review!

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  2. Awesome.. a book on The Princes in the Tower.. Looking forward to that one by Emma Darwin!

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  3. I've read A Secret Alchemy (UK edition) and really enjoyed it.

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  4. Why do I even bother to keep a wish list? I think I should simply print out your blog and be done with it. Looks like you picked some winners . . . again!

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  5. I love these reviews.. keep em coming. I will always return here for my next Historical Fiction book! Thank you!

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  6. You have been given an award over on my blog: http://www.blacklinsreadingroomreviewsandmore.com/2009/03/08/sunday-salon/the-sunday-salon-a-wonderful-surprise/. . . Come and check it out! :)

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  7. Oh, you are so bad for my wishlist Amy...

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  8. I love these posts, but they're horrible for my wishlists!

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