Guest Post: “The Stage Before the Storm: Setting the Scene for The Queen’s Tears” by Elizabeth St. John

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I am pleased to welcome Elizabeth St. John back to my blog to share some information on the historical setting of her latest novel, “The Queen’s Tears.” I would like to thank Elizabeth St. John and The Coffee Pot Book Club for allowing me to participate in this blog tour.

Ask most people to name an era of English history, and you’ll probably hear Tudors, Tudors, Tudors. Then perhaps the Civil War, with its Roundheads and Cavaliers. The Stuarts who sit between them, James I and his queen, Anna of Denmark, and Charles I with his beloved Duke of Buckingham, tend to get lost in the gap. I feel sorry that they are so overlooked, because I think they were quite glorious, and certainly responsible for the huge cultural shift that took place in Britain in the 1600s.

Consider what was happening. Science and exploration were advancing fast. Ships were pushing out across the Atlantic, and the first English settlements were taking root in the New World. But what really takes my breath away is what happened in the arts.

The Jacobean court expanded into culture. Collectors travelled overseas to bring back paintings, sculpture and antiquities. Architecture became a thing, and buildings such as Whitehall’s Banqueting Hall were erected. Queen Anna commissioned masques that were more than just staged plays with dancing courtiers. These were extravaganzas, with words by Ben Jonson and ornate, inventive sets and costumes by Inigo Jones, plus music, dance and stage machinery that left audiences gasping. Gorgeous jewellery and clothing became the norm rather than the exception. And, let’s be honest, there was a great deal of partying.

Anna was the glittering centre of it all. She was no quiet consort, but a patron, a performer and a force. When she died in 1619, an era ended with her.

The Queen’s Tears begins on that night, but it doesn’t stay there. The story exposes the relationship between King James and his favourite, the Duke of Buckingham, and then moves quickly into the reign of Charles I and the extraordinary political acumen that Buckingham displayed in holding onto his position. And the court changed with them. The bawdy revelry from James I’s time gave way to an environment infinitely more polished: King Charles had a connoisseur’s eye, and a favourite who collected art, titles and admirers with equal appetite.

Nowhere is that clearer than in the paintings of the era. Portraits became the selfies of the 1600s, and everyone who mattered wanted one or was in one. A theme throughout The Queen’s Tears is an enigmatic portrait of Anne Villiers, Countess of Moreton, from the studio of Anthony van Dyck, a Flemish painter who would come to define the look of Charles’s court. Van Dyck turned his sitters into silk, pearl and effortless elegance. One look at a portrait on your wall, whether by Van Dyck himself or from his very busy studio, told that you knew who was who, and probably they knew you. In other words, it was social media in oils…friend the right faces and display them in your home, and visitors were impressed.

Many of the historical scenes in The Queen’s Tears are set at court. It’s where my characters were at their best, at their most dazzling, most ambitious, and often most dangerous. Barbara Villiers and her family operated best in this quicksand world, where a smile one day could turn into betrayal the next, and creditors and enemies hid behind every decorated awning.

But the period carried shadows, and so does the book.

At its heart, the Tower of London looms, sinister and unforgiving, a place to hide secrets that must never be found. The Irish wars dragged on in a bleak, costly struggle, far from the revels, yet politically at the heart of court. Underlying it all was a quieter, more ominous tension between Crown and subjects that would one day explode into civil war. Nobody dancing in the Banqueting Hall masques could have known what was coming. But I knew, and so, I hope, will my readers, as the music plays a little too loudly and the dissonance echoes around the painted chamber.

That is the historical setting for The Queen’s Tears: dazzling on the surface, troubled underneath.

Blurb:

A stolen crown jewel and an enigmatic portrait force two women to confront the devastating choices they made for love—and summon the courage to live with the truth.

1619: Barbara, Lady Villiers, at the bidding of her brother-in-law, the Duke of Buckingham, has stolen the dying Queen Anna’s jewels—and kept the greatest prize for herself. The Queen’s Tears, a brooch of extraordinary value, torments her: too dangerous to sell, too priceless to discard, and possibly her only means of securing her children’s future. When the family fortunes are shattered, Barbara faces an impossible choice: remain loyal to Buckingham—or betray him by confessing the theft to King Charles.

Present Day: Julia Darke opens her Cotswolds bookshop to start life over peacefully. Instead, a Van Dyck portrait of Barbara’s daughter, with tantalising signs of the missing Queen’s Tears hidden in plain sight, brings her face-to-face with Oliver Villiers, the Oxford art conservator she once loved and walked away from.

Reluctantly drawn together to uncover Barbara’s secret, Julia and Oliver follow the trail of the Queen’s Tears—and the closer Julia comes to Barbara’s truth, the harder it becomes to hide from her own.

Inspired by the true stories of Queen Anna of Denmark’s stolen jewels and a missing Van Dyck painting, The Queen’s Tears weaves history, fiction, and family research across the centuries. Readers of The Lydiard Chronicles will find old favourites—and a new heroine following in their footsteps.

Buy Link:

Universal Buy Link: https://geni.us/TheQueensTears

This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

Author Bio:

Elizabeth St.John’s acclaimed historical fiction brings to life her ancestors—remarkable women linked to England’s royalty—offering unique insights into Medieval, Tudor, and Stuart times. Her novels unfold not just as a traditional series, but as an interlocking web of lives: The Lydiard Chronicles—including the celebrated The Lady of the Tower—The Godmother’s Secret, and The King’s Intelligencer explore everything from the English Civil War to the mystery of the Princes in the Tower. Her newest novel, The Queen’s Tears, a dual timeline pursuing a stolen crown jewel, reunites favourite characters from the seventeenth century with a present-day bookstore owner heroine.

At the heart of her writing is the transformation of real ancestral histories into narratives of historical continuity. She follows threads of legacy through generations, guided as much by wills, letters, portraits, country churches, ruined castles, manor houses, and lost gardens as by imagination. Locations become constant companions through time, while characters whisper across centuries—their decisions resonating in the lives of their descendants to reveal how choices shape legacies. Grounded in historic sites like Lydiard Park and the Tower of London, her work creates a living archival flow that continues to flourish as the past yields its secrets.

Elizabeth divides her time between California, England, and the past, surrounded by books, gardens, and animals, with a slightly bewildered, ever-supportive husband beside her.

Author Links:

Website: https://www.elizabethjstjohn.com/

Twitter / X: https://x.com/ElizStJohn

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElizabethJStJohn/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elizabethjstjohn/

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/elizabethstjohn.bsky.social

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/elizabeth-st-john

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@elizabethjstjohn

Amazon Author Page: https://geni.us/AmazonElizabethStJohn

Goodreads: https://geni.us/GoodreadsElizStJohn

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethjstjohn/  

Book Review: “The Once and Future Sex: Going Medieval on Women’s Roles in Society” by Eleanor Janega

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For centuries, we have wondered what makes the ideal woman. Our modern ideal of what a woman should be has changed slightly over recent years, but how much have our ideas changed over time? The best way to see how our ideas have evolved over time is to examine how other eras of history viewed women. Take, for example, the Medieval era. What was it like to be an ideal medieval woman? How should women love, and how should they appear to men? In other words, how were medieval women supposed to be in a very male-dominated world? Eleanor Janega examines these questions in her book, “The Once and Future Sex: Going Medieval on Women’s Roles in Society.”

I have been following Eleanor Janega online for a few years now, and I have heard about this particular book, but I had yet to read it. I decided to give it a shot because I wanted to see what new information Janega would provide on the subject of medieval women.

As Janega explains in her introduction, this book is broken down into five sections: the ancient philosophy that influenced how medieval scholars viewed women, how men looked at women, how women were expected to love, women’s working roles in society, and why understanding how medieval women were viewed matters for the modern world. We begin with the philosophy of Greece and Rome, as well as ancient Christian theology, to better understand what medieval scholars thought of men and women and the opposite sex. We then look at different examples of women throughout history, like Eve, the Virgin Mary, and Helen of Troy, to show what the ideal standard of beauty was and what medieval motherhood was idolized.

We get to see how women were expected to make love and to express love towards their husbands in order to have children. But women did more than get married and have children. They had jobs, so Janega takes the time to explore different occupations women could do outside of the household for any class, from commoners to queens to even nuns. Finally, we explore how our views on women have changed and how, by studying medieval women, we can strive to build a better future for the women who come after us.

I found this a rather enjoyable read, full of tons of information that I did not know. It gave me a better appreciation for the women of the past. If you want to study more about medieval women, I highly recommend you read “The Once and Future Sex: Going Medieval on Women’s Roles in Society” by Eleanor Janega.

Book Review: “J’Accuse: A Medieval Crime and a Servant Girl Who Changed History” by Jennifer D. Thibodeaux

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In 1429, two women’s lives changed for different reasons. For Joan of Arc, it was the year that she led the French to victory and crowned the dauphin King Charles VII of France. In Normandy, it was the year that a young servant girl was violently attacked. The servant girl, Jeanne Corviere, decided to fight against her abuser in court. Her case would forever change the history of Rouen, where the trial was held. What is Jeanne’s story, and what were the results of her trial? Jennifer D. Thibodeaux tells Jeanne’s tale in her book, “J’Accuse: A Medieval Crime and a Servant Girl Who Changed History.”

I would like to thank Godine and Net Galley for sending me a copy of this book. I am always in search of books that provide information about obscure stories from history, so when I saw that this book was about a case of a servant girl and her attackers, it caught my eye. I wanted to see what new information Thibodeaux could provide for this period.

We begin with the day that Jeanne Corviere was attacked by Exupere Le Mire, who had asked Jeanne to help his wife deliver a baby. That was a lie, as Le Mire viciously attacked Jeanne in the woods and left her severely injured. She made her way to the nearest town, and while she was healing, decided that she would sue Exupere Le Mire for compensation. Thibodeaux explains the different types of rape cases while explaining how a woman’s role in society could change how the case was handled. Another aspect that would alter Jeanne’s case was something known as the Privilege of Saint Romain, which allowed the clergy of Rouen to select a prisoner to be released from prison and his or her crimes to be eliminated.

Thibodeaux takes her readers on a journey, telling Jeanne’s story over the course of a decade. We are also introduced to figures behind the scenes that fought either for Jeanne or for Le Mire. She also chooses to pair Jeanne’s story with Joan of Arc’s tragic tale of her trial and execution. While it does provide more context to the overall story of France while Jeanne’s trial was ongoing, it felt a bit distracting to me. I wanted to focus on Jeanne’s story, and it felt as if her story took a back seat for a little bit.

Overall, this was a fine book. I did learn a lot about Jeanne Corviere and her case, and the book was easy to follow. Thibodeaux clearly did her research for such an obscure case. If you want to read a book about a medieval legal case, I recommend you read “J’Accuse: A Medieval Crime and a Servant Girl Who Changed History” by Jennifer D. Thibodeaux.

Book Review: “Mistress of the Monarchy: The Life of Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster” by Alison Weir

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If you have been studying the Tudors for any length of time, you probably know the origins of the dynasty. The young Henry Tudor, son of Margaret Beaufort, defeats King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field to become King Henry VII. While the story of the Tudors is a fascinating one, there is a second story that does not get enough attention, and that is how the Beaufort family was founded. It all starts with a love story between John of Gaunt, the son of Edward III and Philippa of Hainault, and his long-time mistress and sister-in-law to Geoffrey Chaucer, Katherine Swynford. Katherine has always been seen as a side character in history, until now. Alison Weir tells Katherine’s story in her biography, “Mistress of the Monarchy: The Life of Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster” by Alison Weir. 

I have heard about this book for years, but I had not read it until now. I found this book in a used bookstore and finally decided to give it a shot. I have read novels that have featured John and Katherine’s love story, but this is the first time I have read a biography about Katherine herself, so I was excited to learn more. 

Katherine Swynford started life as Katherine de Roet, the daughter of Sir Paon de Roet, a family that had connections to Philippa of Hainault in France. Her sister, Philippa, would marry Geoffrey Chaucer, the author of The Canterbury Tales and an ally of John of Gaunt. Katherine was destined to marry Sir Hugh Swynford, and they had four children: Margaret, Blanche, Sir Thomas Swynford, and Dorothy. While Katherine was married to Hugh Swynford, she would help John of Gaunt and his first wife, Blanche of Lancaster, raise their children, including the future King Henry IV, Elizabeth Lancaster, and Philippa Lancaster, who would become Queen of Portugal. 

Katherine and John each had successful first marriages, but things changed when both Blanche and Hugh died. Katherine remained a widow in John’s household, whereas John remarried Constance of Castile and began a fight for the Castilian throne. During this time, John and Katherine fell in love and had children of their own, who would be known as the Beauforts: John, Jean, Henry, and Thomas. While John and Katherine tried to keep their relationship on the down low, England was changing with the death of King Edward III and the rise of Richard II, the Black Prince’s son and heir. Katherine and John had to navigate the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 and Richard II vs. the Lords Appellant, which included young Henry Bolingbroke, the future Henry IV. Katherine and John shocked England when, after Constance died, John married Katherine, and their Beaufort children were considered legitimate. Weir follows Katherine after John’s death and shows how the Beaufort children continue their legacy, becoming part of the Tudor dynasty and changing English history forever.

Overall, I found this an extremely enjoyable biography that brought a woman who was rather obscure to light. It cemented for me that John of Gaunt truly loved Katherine Swynford. If you want to read a biography about a romance that changed English history, I recommend you read “Mistress of the Monarchy: The Life of Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster” by Alison Weir.

Guest Post: “The Challenges Elizabeth I Had to Face” by Janet Wertman

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Today, I am pleased to welcome Janet Wertman back to my blog to share some challenges that Elizabeth I had to face as a young queen as part of  the blog tour for her latest novel, “What Love E’er Meant.” I would like to thank Janet Wertman and The Coffee Pot Book Club for allowing me to participate in this blog tour. 

At the start of her reign, Elizabeth’s main challenge was misogyny; indeed, she encountered it on every level. Despite her razor-sharp intelligence and unique abilities, she still had to constantly overcome men’s belief that a woman was too emotional, too intellectually lacking, too weak – simply too flawed – to rule. Admittedly, England had just endured Mary’s disastrous reign, during which marriage to a foreign prince had led to joining his stupid war and losing Calais. And for nothing: Mary had thought to placate God by burning heretics in His name, but He still withheld the son she craved enough to believe she carried. No, Englishmen did not want a reprise: they wanted Elizabeth to marry. An Englishman. Quickly.  

She bought delay by using their own prejudices and arguments against them. Her Council and Parliament might press, but she had the perfect response: it would be foolish for her to wade into such a serious matter with “so shallow a wit”. Faced with such impeccable logic, they showed her patience. 

Then she bought power by asserting it. She had to claim all of its indicia – or have it taken away from her. She knew long before the Scottish Ambassador would famously articulate it years later that she had to be both king and queen and not only queen. She went right up to the line of what was allowed in her behavior with Robert Dudley, at least in part to remind people that she was entitled to do as she pleased.  

She also bought power by limiting her subjects’ ability to disagree or moralize. As her grandfather had shown, solvency was power: she funded her government and court out of Crown revenues, so that she needed Parliament only for extraordinary items. This allowed her to call very few Parliaments, only 13 over her 44-45 years on the throne, which sharply limited their ability to try to condition her subsidies on some concession (like her agreement to marry or name a successor) or exert other pressure.   

At the same time, she bought loyalty by valuing advice and demonstrations of love (or seeming to). She created opportunities for people to see and interact with her, paying rapt attention in a ritual that was as exhausting for her as it was gratifying to them.  

And she bought magic by acknowledging her femininity and using the advantages it offered. Admittedly, these were not many – but she embraced the courtly rules that required all men to love their queen more than any other woman, and elevated that imperative to an art form. 

In all, this first half of Elizabeth’s reign gave her the practice she would need to truly become Gloriana. Just as her youth forged her for the throne, the throne itself forged her for greatness. While a strategic marriage could get her out of any jam, she could afford to make mistakes: it was all part of learning the lessons that would help her survive the second half of her reign, when the world would come against her. But that’s for the next book…  

Blurb: 

A new queen must prove she deserves the throne God gave her, while the path everyone insists will secure it might cost her everything. 

Against all odds, Elizabeth Tudor has become Queen of England. Determined to fulfill what she sees as a divine responsibility, she sets out to heal a country ravaged by religious discord, war, and debt – and vindicate the legacy of Anne Boleyn, the mother who did not deserve her fate. 

But Elizabeth’s crown is not fully secure: to the Catholic world, her cousin Mary Stuart is the rightful Queen of England, and there are rumblings to put her there. Shoring up defenses requires that Elizabeth challenge France’s control of Scotland and Spain’s dominance on the seas, as well as calm internal strife. Above the din of menace, one question dominates all others: who will she marry? 

William Cecil, her trusted Secretary of State, urges her to secure an alliance through a strategic match. Robert Dudley, the love of her life, pressures her to choose him. And Mary herself presents a cautionary tale. In the end, Elizabeth chooses not as a woman but as a queen, and learns the sobering truth of sovereignty: to rule is to stand alone. 

What Love E’er Meant, the searing second volume in the Regina Trilogy, captures a young queen’s struggle to balance love and power, duty and desire…and the profound cost of choosing crown over heart. 

Buy Links: 

Amazon & Apple Ebook Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/4XqdD7  

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/what-love-e-er-meant?  

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/what-love-eer-meant-janet-wertman/1151015402  

Author Bio: 

Janet Wertman’s critically acclaimed, character-driven historical novels reflect a passion for the Tudor era she had harbored since she stayed up late at age eight to watch The Six Wives of Henry VIII and Elizabeth R.  

Her Seymour Saga trilogy (Jane the Quene, The Path to Somerset, The Boy King) took her deep into one of the era’s central families – and now her follow-up Regina series (Nothing Proved and What Love E’er Meant out now, Forever Gloriana to come) explores Elizabeth’s journey from bastard to icon. 

She shares interesting takes on the Tudors at http://www.janetwertman.com  and her YouTube channel @TooMuchTudor. 

Author Links: 

Website: https://janetwertman.com  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/janetwertmanauthor/  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janetwertman/  

https://www.instagram.com/toomuchtudor

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/janetwertman.bsky.social  

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/janetwertman/  

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/janet-wertman  

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@janetwertman  

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TooMuchTudor  

Amazon Author Page:  

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Janet-Wertman/author/B01CUSMWFA

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2028387.Janet_Ambrosi_Wertman  

Book Review: “Princesses of the Later Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Plantagenets” by Sharon Bennett Connolly

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The typical image of a medieval princess often comes from fairy tales. They are seen as damsels in distress, waiting in a tower for their charming prince to whisk them away to create power alliances between their two countries and live happily ever after. Let’s be real, this is nothing but a fantasy. Some princesses did have happy marriages, but they weren’t wasting away in towers. They were learning how to be diplomats and rulers of their own domains, whether countries or counties. The stories of the Plantagenet princesses are especially colorful, and Sharon Bennett Connolly continues to tell their tales in the second book in her duology, “Princesses of the Later Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Plantagenets.”

I would like to thank Pen and Sword Books for sending me a copy of this book. I enjoyed the first book in this duology, “Princesses of the Early Middle Ages,” so I wanted to see how she would conclude the duology. I know more about the later Plantagenets, so I was interested to see what new information Connolly would provide to this field of study.

This title traces the daughters of King Henry III to the daughters of King Edward IV. As those who study the Plantagenets already know, two, technically three, kings did not have daughters during this period: King Henry V, King Henry VI, and, if we extend the timeline past the reign of Edward IV, Richard III. We begin with the daughters of Henry III and his wife Eleanor of Provence, who often do not get much attention since Henry III had to deal with Simon de Montfort, rebuilding Westminster Abbey, and the Provisions of Oxford. They had three daughters, Margaret, Beatrice, and Katherine (who died young). Margaret would marry Alexander III of Scotland, and Beatrice married John II, Duke of Brittany. After the death of Henry III, his son Edward I became king, alongside his wife and queen, Eleanor of Castile, whose death would later be immortalized through the Eleanor Crosses. The couple would only have one living male heir, the future Edward II, but they did have five daughters who survived infancy: Eleanor, Joan of Acre, Margaret, Mary of Woodstock, and Elizabeth of Rhuddlan. Mary of Woodstock was the only daughter who did not marry, as she was reluctantly destined to be a nun. Eleanor married twice, to King Alfonso III of Aragon and Count Henry III of Bar; Joan of Acre married Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, and then married secretly to Ralph de Monthermer. Margaret married John II, Duke of Brabant, a strong alliance marriage. Finally, Elizabeth of Rhuddlan married twice, to John I, Count of Holland, and to Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford.

Edward II would marry Isabella of France, and amidst the conflict with the favorites Piers Gaveston and Hugh le Despenser the Younger, the couple would have an heir, Edward III, John of Eltham, Earl of Cornwall, plus their two daughters, Eleanor of Woodstock and Joan of the Tower. Joan of the Tower would marry King David II of Scotland, while Eleanor of Woodstock would marry Reynald II, Count of Guelders. Edward III and his wife Philippa of Hainault would have five daughters, but only one of them reached her forties. Isabella, the eldest and the one who took the longest to get married, finally tied the knot with Enguerrand VIII, Lord of Coucy. Joan of the Tower was betrothed to Pedro, Prince of Castile, but on her way to Spain, she died of the Black Death. Blanche died as an infant, and Margaret of Windsor would be a child bride of John Hastings, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, before she died at a young age. Finally, Mary of Waltham would marry John IV, Duke of Brittany.

Connolly explores the life of Richard II before his cousin Henry Bolingbroke became Henry IV. Before he was created king, Henry IV and his first wife Mary de Bohun had two daughters, Blanche and Philippa, whose lives would change forever once their father became King of England. Blanche married Louis III, Elector Palatine, and Philippa married Eric Pomerania, King of Denmark and Sweden. Finally, Connolly explores the lives of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville’s daughters. Before their father Edward IV died suddenly in 1482, they each had a different path than the one they actually took. Elizabeth of York, the eldest daughter, would marry Henry VII and help found the Tudor dynasty. Cecily of York married twice, to Ralph Scrope and John, Viscount Welles, while Anne of York married Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey and Duke of Norfolk. Catherine of York married William Courtenay, Earl of Devon, and Bridget of York would become a nun.

This just scratches the surface of the amount of information Connolly includes in this book. She also includes illegitimate daughters, which adds even more depth to the past. I loved learning about the daughters of the later Plantagenet kings, and now I want to learn even more. If you enjoyed reading the first book in this duology or if you just want to learn more about Plantagenet princesses, I highly recommend you read “ Princesses of the Later Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Plantagenets” by Sharon Bennett Connolly.

Book Review: “Women Who Ruled The World: 5000 Years of Female Monarchy” by Elizabeth Norton

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Who runs the world? For most of human history, the typical answer is a King, Prince, Emperor, Sultan, or President. In short, male rulers. However, if we take a deeper dive into world history, we will see cases of women ruling their own countries. We think of women ruling as an anomaly, but in some parts of the world, it is quite common. How did these women come to power and fight for their right to rule? Elizabeth Norton explores centuries of ladies who held power in some way in her latest book, “Women Who Ruled the World: 5000 Years of Female Monarchy.”

I have been a big fan of Elizabeth Norton’s previous books and the information she shares about her travels around the world. When I saw that she was writing a book about female monarchies around the world, it caught my attention. I am a sucker for learning about female rulers, but I tend to focus on medieval European leaders. I wanted to expand my knowledge of world history, so when I read the description of this book, it sounded perfect for me.

To cover such a swath of women’s history, Norton has selected a few women to highlight in chapters dedicated to aspects of their reigns. You have your queens who took control for the men in their lives, those who took the throne for themselves, child queens, warrior queens, queens who were both famous and infamous, rulers who had to deal with colonization, empresses, and the queens of the 21st century. We begin in ancient Egypt and explore every continent, except Antarctica, from 5000 years ago to the modern day.

While there are some women whose names are familiar to me, such as Matilda of England, Cleopatra VII of Egypt, Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth I of England, Isabel I of Castile, Victoria of the United Kingdom, and Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, the majority of these women were new to me. You have the ancient queens like Merneith, Hatshepsut, and Arsinoe IV of Egypt, the Kandakes of Kush, and Zenobia of Palmyra. We get to explore further into European royalty with Margrete I of Denmark, Charlotte of Cyprus, Blanche II and Leonor of Navarre, Elizaveta and Catherine II of Russia, Tamar of Georgia, Jeanne of France, Maria Theresia of Austria-Hungary, and Juana la Beltraneja. Further east, we get to explore the lives of Wu Zetian of China, the 8 empresses who ruled Japan, as well as the rulers of Bora Bora, Bhopal, Sydney, Madagascar, and Tonga. Finally, we also get to learn about the Rain Queens of the Balobedu and the last queen of Hawaii, Lili ‘uokalani.

This was a delightful read full of fascinating female rulers. I must applaud Norton for the copious amount of research that went into this book and how easy it was to read. It gives readers like me a chance to explore different cultures through the lives of colorful queens. If you want a unique read about other cultures and centuries of female rulers, you must read “Women Who Ruled the World: 5000 Years of Female Monarchy” by Elizabeth Norton.

Book Review: “The Pirate Queen” by Ariel Lawhon

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When we think about pirates, we often think of the scallywags of the late 17th and early 18th century. We think about predominantly men who sailed in the tropical waters of the New World, stealing and pillaging while drinking rum and avoiding the navies of Spain, France, and England. While this image is relatively accurate, piracy has been an occupation for centuries,s and it was not just a job for men. There were some famous women pirates like Anne Bonny and Mary Read, but there is one who does not get a lot of attention. Her name is Grace O’Malley, the pirate queen of 16th-century Ireland, who met with Queen Elizabeth I. How did Grace become a pirate, and what were the circumstances of her legendary meeting with Queen Elizabeth I? Ariel Lawhon explores the life of this extraordinary woman in her latest novel, “The Pirate Queen.”

I would like to thank Doubleday and Net Galley for sending me a copy of this novel. I have heard of Grace o’Malley in previous books that I have read about Elizabeth I, but I didn’t know much about Grace. When I heard that there was going to be a novel about her life, I knew I wanted to read it. This is the first time I have read a novel by Ariel Lawhon, so I was excited to see how she would tell Grace’s story.

This novel is very unique in the way the story is told. It is based on the Trinity knot, in which Grace’s story is told in three separate parts: Maiden, Mother, and Matriarch. Each chapter focuses on one of the stages of Grace’s life. Grace O’Malley, also known as Grainne O’Malley, was the daughter of Eoin O’Malley, The O’Malley, and his wife Maeve. Grace also has an illegitimate brother named Donal, who is basically her best friend. All Grace wants to do is sail the seas like her father, but her gender hinders her ability to do so. To her family, she is a pawn in the marriage market to make a strong alliance with the O’Flaherty clan.

Through the Mother storyline, we see Grace’s tumultuous relationship with her first husband, Donal O’Flaherty, who likes to pick fights with everyone. Grace does not love her husband, but a childhood friend, Richard Bourke. However, Grace is a mother of three and a woman who is willing to fight on the sea for her family, even if it means she gains powerful enemies, including the Governor of Connaught, Sir Richard Bingham.

I enjoyed this book, even though the format took me a minute to get used to, as I prefer a novel in chronological order. The actual story was compelling,g and Grace was a strong female lead; I just wish we got to see more of her pirate antics. Overall, I had a lot of fun reading this book, and I hope Lawhon continues writing about women in the 16th century and further back. If you want a novel about a female pirate, I suggest you check out “The Pirate Queen” by Ariel Lawhon.

Book Review: “The Undying Lamb” by Paul Brous

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A single child can frighten kings and the pope just by existing. The year is 1230, and Europe is on fire with war and the repercussions of the Crusades. Caught in the middle are a baby boy and his protectors who must get to a safe location before forces who want to see the baby dead catch up to them. On top of it all, the Cathars are in danger of being eliminated due to their beliefs. Can the child and his protectors escape Rome, or will the child be killed? Will the Cathars survive,e or will they be persecuted for what they believe? Paul Brous explores these topics in his novel, “The Undying Lamb.”

I want to thank Rising Action and Net Galley for sending me a copy of this novel. I like reading about new aspects of medieval Europe. I saw this novel was going to feature a storyline featuring the Cathars, who don’t get much attention from casual history lovers. I wanted to see how he would tell the tale of the Cathars and how the story of a child everyone wants dead would be incorporated into this narrative.

We begin with an extensive glossary of terms used in this book, which includes phrases in Latin, Occitan, French, Sardu, and Italian, which I found extremely useful and showed how much research Brous poured into this novel before I started reading. The actual story starts with Sibilia meeting the mysterious Robin. They are given the task of protecting a baby they call Will, but his identity is the Grail Child, one whom people fear will bring forth the Apocalypse. The mission was put together by Pope Gregory IX and his right-hand man, Cardinal Goffredo Castiglioni, to protect Will from people like Blanche of Castile, who fears that the child would be a threat to her son,n while King Henry III of England threatens to invade France.

To make matters worse, you have the church going after the Cathars during the Albigensian Crusade. While many of the Cathars have been eliminated by the time of this novel, there are still pockets of resistance. Now, the church is sending an inquisition after one such group. So while we have the Grail Child storyline, we also have the Cathar storyline with multiple points of view. 

Personally, I think that the plotlines included in this novel would have been better as two separate novels so that the ideas could have been developed fully. Either that or have an ending that alludes to a sequel novel. Overall, it was an okay read for me; I just felt like he had too many ideas for one novel. If you want to read a decent medieval novel that explores a different aspect of the past, you might enjoy “The Undying Lamb” by Paul Brous.

Book Review: “The King’s Mother” by Annie Garthwaite

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The year is 1461, and a new king sits on England’s throne. Edward IV has earned his right to sit on the throne by winning the crown at the Battle of Towton. Now, he must fight for his throne against the Lancastrians and his own family. However, there is one woman who stands firmly by his side: his mother Cecily, Dowager Duchess of York. She earned another title the day he was crowned, that of the King’s Mother. As Edward fights his own battles, so too does Cecily to protect her family. Annie Garthwaite concludes Cecily’s story in her novel, “The King’s Mother.”

I remember reading “Cecily” five years ago and thoroughly enjoying myself. Cecily was such an amazing debut novel, and I was so excited to see how Garthwaite would conclude her story. 

We begin with the aftermath of Towton, the battle that secured the crown for the Yorkist cause for a while. Cecily finally believes that her family is safe, for now. But as the King’s mother, she knows that the position is fragile, as war can begin again at any moment, especially with Marguerite of Anjou still at large. Edward is arranging his court and is looking for a wife- well, a legal wife, because he was already technically married to one, Eleanor Talbot, but that surely would not become an issue later on, right? While there were plans for Edward to marry a French princess so they could create an alliance, Edward chose an English widow named Elizabeth Woodville to be his wife and queen. To say Cecily and Elizabeth got along like oil and water would be an understatement. 

This marriage caused a rift between Edward and his cousin/top advisor, Warwick, and in the end, Edward had to face off against Warwick, Marguerite, and his brother George. While Edward is able to fight back against Warwick and Marguerite, ending the Lancastrian cause for a while, it is his feud with his brother George that would have deadly consequences and tear the family that Cecily fought so hard to protect apart. With Edward’s sudden death, her only remaining son, Richard, goes from protector of Edward’s sons to the King of England, until he is defeated by the usurper Henry Tudor. 

To tell this story of the short-lived Yorkist dynasty and the rise of the Tudors through Cecily’s eyes was engrossing, heartbreaking, and a tremendous read. Cecily was not some wallflower, but a fierce protector of her family who earned the right to be considered the first King’s Mother. If you loved “Cecily” as much as I did, I wholeheartedly encourage you to read “The King’s Mother” by Annie Garthwaite.