Tudor Fiction

The Gropes are an old English family based in Northumberland, separated from the rest of society and as eccentric as they come. It is a line dominated by strong-willed and oversexed women, determined to produce more female heirs regardless of whether their desired partners are willing.... At the dawn of the new millennium, timid and gormless teenager Esmond is abducted and lured to Grope Hall by a descendant of the Gropes.

Peter Diamond, head of Bath CID, takes a city break in Vienna, but everything goes wrong and his companion, Paloma, calls a halt to their relationship. Meanwhile, strange things are happening to jobbing musician Mel Farran, who finds himself scouted by methods closer to the spy world than the concert platform. The chance of joining a once-famous string quartet in a residency at Bath Spa University is too tempting for Mel to refuse. Then a body is found in the city canal, and the only clue to the dead woman's identity is the tattoo of a music note on one of her teeth.

In 1837, Briarwood Plantation was abandoned when Ezra Woodbine slaughtered his fiancee's entire family. After nearly two centuries, life returns to Briarwood. But for how long? Serena Decatur is a thirty-year-old Black woman trapped in a life she never asked for. Widowed, underemployed, drowning in debt, she is living with her in-laws in the small town where she grew up. Bestselling horror author Jacob McGinnas wants to dig into the secrets of Briarwood and write a new book, perhaps the literary masterwork that will etch his name in the lists of great authors.

Dear Listener: My new story begins on a terror-filled night when two babies - identical twin girls of noble birth - are separated. One grows to womanhood as the frail, manipulative ward of the handsome young earl of Harcourt. The other becomes an enchanting, street-smart urchin who earns her way as a traveling player on the streets of England and France. The two girls' paths might never again have crossed if Harcourt hadn't run into Miranda in the midst of an exuberant performance.

1572. Europe is in turmoil. A vengeful faction of exiled English Catholics is scattered about the continent, plotting to overthrow Queen Elizabeth and install her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots on the throne. And in the Netherlands, the streets are red with the blood of those who dare to oppose the brutal Spanish occupation. But amid the unrest, one resourceful young woman has made a lucrative enterprise...Scottish-born Fenella Doorn salvages crippled vessels.

A German Princess with a guilty secret. The King is in love with Anna's portrait, but she has none of the accomplishments he seeks in a new bride. She prays she will please Henry, for the balance of power in Europe rests on this marriage alliance. But Anna's past is never far from her thoughts, and the rumours rife at court could be her downfall. Everyone knows the King won't stand for a problem queen. Anna of Kleve. The fourth of Henry's Queens. Her story.

At just 19, Katheryn Howard is quick to trust and fall in love. She comes to court. She sings, she dances. She captures the heart of the King. Henry declares she is his rose without a thorn. But Katheryn has a past of which he knows nothing. It comes back increasingly to haunt her. For those who share her secrets are waiting in the shadows, whispering words of love...and blackmail.

Banished to the Midwatch Institute for Orphans, Runaways and Unwanted Girls, Maggie Fishbone is sure she’s in for a life of drudgery. But she quickly discovers there’s more to the Midwatch than meets the eye … The city shimmers with jewels and secrets, and soon Maggie is thrust into an adventure that takes her deep underground, high above the clouds and face to face with danger itself.

Welcome to Chapel Croft. For Rev Jack Brooks and teenage daughter Flo it's supposed to be a fresh start. New job, new home. But, as Jack knows, the past isn't easily forgotten. And in a close-knit community where the residents seem as proud as they are haunted by Chapel Croft's history, Jack must tread carefully. Ancient superstitions as well as a mistrust of outsiders will be hard to overcome.

New York Times best-selling author Virginia Henley writes titillating romance novels. In the prim and proper days of England’s past, sexy vixen Catherine “Cat” Seton Spencer designs dresses for Queen Elizabeth. But in her spare time, she makes the rounds in London looking to satisfy her unquenchable lust. Little does Cat know, she’s on a collision course with the roguish Patrick Hepburn, Lord Stewart of Scotland—and he means to claim her as his own.

Crete, May 1941. In the face of a German invasion, Sergeant Jack Tanner is embroiled in a deadly game of survival that will test his resolve more than ever before. Not only has he fallen out with his commander but he has mortally offended Alopex, a powerful local chieftain. As if that wasn't enough, Tanner and the rest of his battalion are caught in vicious close-quarter fighting against crack German paratroopers.

A nightmare discovery in the boot of a stolen BMW plunges car thief Danny Stapleton into the worst trouble of his life. What links his misfortune to the mysterious disappearance of an art teacher at a private school for girls in Chichester? Orders from above push Peter Diamond of Bath CID into investigating a police corruption case in the Chichester force, and he soon finds himself reluctantly dealing with spirited schoolgirls, eccentric artists and his formidable old colleague, Hen Mallin.

The Tudor dynasty presided over one of the most dynamic periods in English history, an era that witnessed courtly conspiracies and public executions, religious reformation and exploration. Its fearsome monarchs transformed England from a minor medieval kingdom into a major player on the world stage. The Tudors reveals the complex personalities behind this powerful family, and the passions and jealousies that spurred them on.

Maitland, 1889. When nineteen-year-old Constance Montague wakes one Wednesday she expects the day to unfold like any other. Breakfast with her grandmother Nell and her mother Faith, a meeting in Maitland with the ladies of the Benevolent Society, perhaps a gentle stroll along the banks of the Hunter River. But this Wednesday is different. Nell has vanished. Concerned, Connie determines to track Nell down and follows a lead to Old Government House in Parramatta, now a guest house. There, to her astonishment she finds her grandmother holding court.

Bree Johnston has given up trying to be the perfect lawyer. It's time to focus on her own dreams, so she decides to leave the city and set up an alpaca farm and wool shop. Her grandmother Rose might be her only supporter, but that's fine. Bree's done trying to win her parents' approval. She finds the perfect property in the charming small town of Wagtail Ridge but gets more than she bargained for when sparks start flying with the handsome real estate agent.

A woman torn between love and duty. Two husbands dead, a boy and a sick man. And now Katharine is free to make her own choice. The ageing king's eye falls upon her. She cannot refuse him, or betray that she wanted another. She becomes the sixth wife - a queen and a friend. Henry loves and trusts her. But Katharine is hiding another secret in her heart, a deeply held faith that could see her burn.

Elizabeth I has acceded to the throne of England, a position she has waited and schemed for all her life. She is surrounded by advisers, all convinced that a young woman cannot form political judgements. Elizabeth feels that she can rely on just one man: her oldest friend, Robert Dudley. It is soon plain that he is more than merely a friend.

Here is a stunning novel set in the Tudor court, as the rivalry between Queen Mary and her half-sister, Elizabeth, is played out against a background of betrayal, conflict and passion.

London, 1593. Five years on from the Armada and England is taking its first faltering steps towards a future as a global power. Nicholas Shelby – reluctant spy and maverick physician – and his companion Bianca Merton are settling into a life on Bankside. But in London there is always a plot afoot.... Robert Cecil, the Queen’s spymaster, once again recruits Nicholas to embark on a dangerous undercover mission that will take him to the back alleys of Marrakech in search of a missing informer.

Doctor John Dee and Margaretta, assisted by his pupil Christopher, are charged with unraveling the mystery. But then there is a kidnapping, a ransom threat and more bodies appear. Amongst secrets and rumors, the scandal of the Seymour Affair threatens to resurface. Elizabeth's road to the throne could be ruined and with that comes the fall of the Tudor Dynasty. Can John Dee keep Elizabeth's secret before it casts a shadow over them all?