The King's Daughter

After being in exile due to her religious beliefs, Queen Mary sits on the English throne. Her strategic objective is cleanse England of her late father's heresy; returning the country back to true Christianity and away from the abomination of Protestantism. Thus her first major act as queen is to marry Catholic true believer Prince Philip of Spain to forge a real Christian alliance. As Mary leads a religious cleansing leading to her reputation as Bloody Mary, others plan her overthrow. For instance rebel Isabel Thornleigh wants to save the life of her father merchant Thomas rotting in a prison for allegedly being a Protestant. To do so she ignores her father's plea for her and her mom to travel to Antwerp for religious freedom, ends her betrothal, and begins seeking a means of removing Mary from the throne before she marries Philip; and replace her with her half sister protestant Princess Elizabeth. She quickly realizes she is a dreamer with no hope of success until she meets Spanish mercenary Carlos Valverde. Their efforts and others lead to the failed 1554 Wyatt rebellion. The follow up to THE QUEEN'S LADY is a terrific mid sixteenth century historical that brings to life the religious cleansing under the reign of Bloody Mary as well as the counter insurgency. The story line is fast-paced and filled with action using real events to focus the plot on; while also containing a strong lead female character caught up in the power struggle of the post King Henry era. The romance between Carlos and Isabel rightfully takes a back seat to the tumultuous times that sweep up seemingly everyone culminating in the failed Wyatt revolt. Harriet Klausner

Exciting, on the edge of your chair history. This is by far the best depicition of the unholy reign of terror during the realm of Queen Mary of England (1553). Blending fascinating fact and fiction,the author creates a tale of dangerous friendships and betrayals. A young girl,in love,is caught up in the fate of the various historical figures. Chapter after chapter you are stunned by her efforts of trying to save her father's life and helping the cause, only to realize those efforts have given a mysterious traitor the opportunity to kill her father. The characters are amazing. One slips through the fingers of justice; befriends our heroine, only to have his twisted obsession bring on his downfall. I didn't want it to end.