The Captive Queen of Scots: Mary, Queen of Scots A Novel of the Stuarts Book 6

Throughout mary’s long years as the queen’s prisoner, she conceives many bold plans for revenge and escaping to freedom—but the gallows of Fotheringhay Castle loom. After her husband, lord darnley, is murdered, suspicion falls on Mary and her lover, the Earl of Bothwell. Plaidy excels at blending history with romance and drama.

The new york times“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. Set against royal pageantry, and bloody uprising—and filled with conspiracies, passion, religious strife, heartbreak, and fascinating historical detail—The Captive Queen of Scots is an unforgettable tale of the intense rivalry between two powerful women of noble blood.

 . In disgrace, she flees her scottish persecutors for England, where she appeals to Queen Elizabeth for mercy, but to no avail. 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.

For a Queen's Love: The Stories of the Royal Wives of Philip II A Novel of the Tudors Book 8

Philip was a dark and troubled man, who, like many royals, had been robbed of his childhood. And finally, marriage again to a young bride Philip stole from his unbalanced son, sowing the seeds of brutal murder. His first marriage, brought him tragedy and a troublesome son, a romantic union with childlike Maria Manoela, Don Carlos.

Power-hungry monarch, and the tortured england of bloody mary, obsessive monster—who could love such a man?          Set against the glittering courts of sixteenth-century Europe, the Spain of the dreaded Inquisition, cold-blooded murderer, For a Queen’s Love is the story of Philip II of Spain—and of the women who loved him as a husband and father.

Then followed marriage with the jealously possessive Mary Tudor, a political union that ultimately failed to bring Philip an heir that would solidify the unified power he so deeply desired. But history is seldom what it seems, husband, father, murderer, we hear another side to the story of Philip II—the most powerful of kings who was at once fanatic, and in the hands of beloved author Jean Plaidy, and lover.

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The Merry Monarch's Wife: The Story of Catherine of Braganza Queens of England Book 9

The ninth novel in the beloved queens of england series, The Merry Monarch’s Wife brings Catherine of Braganza to life and plunges readers into the tumultuous world of Restoration England. She is also having great difficulty conceiving an heir, even as many of Charles’s well-known mistresses are bearing his children with ease.

Catherine is aware that courtiers close to Charles are asking him to divorce her and take another wife—yet she is determined to hold her title in the face of all odds. The country is eager for succession to be clear and certain: The next king will be the son of Charles II and his queen, Catherine of Braganza.

Charles ii is restored to the English throne, and his court is lively and even scandalous. Yet catherine, daughter of the king of Portugal and a Catholic, has never been popular with the English people.

The Murder in the Tower: The Story of Frances, Countess of Essex A Novel of the Stuarts Book 3

Her attempts to rid herself of an unwanted husband, and later to ensnare a lukewarm lover, have led her deep into the world of spell-makers and poisoners. But when the cunning and beautiful Frances Howard comes to court, a very dangerous liaison changes everything. After attracting his attention by falling from a horse in the tiltyard, Robert rises quickly through the ranks.

This is a woman to underestimate at great peril. But not until robert finds himself ensnared in one of Frances’s plots—imprisoned in the Tower of London and accused of murder—does he learn at last what she is truly capable of. Married against her will while still a child, Frances emerges from that experience a headstrong force of nature—determined to have her own way, no matter what the consequences.

The dashing robert Carr is a well-known favorite of King James I.

Royal Road to Fotheringhay: A Novel A Novel of the Stuarts Book 1

She spoke only french and was a devout Catholic in a land of stern Presbyterians. In haste, she married lord bothwell, the prime suspect in her husband’s murder, a move that outraged all of Scotland. At the age of twenty, she returned to Scotland, a place she barely knew. So mary was sent away from the land of her birth and raised in the sophisticated and glittering court of France.

Mary eventually remarried, hoping to find a loving ally in the Scottish Lord Darnley. Married in her teens to the dauphin François, she would become not only Queen of Scotland but Queen of France as well. Once home, the queen of Scots discovered she was a stranger in her own country. When her nobles rose against her, the disgraced Queen of Scots fled to England, hoping to be taken in by her cousin Elizabeth I.

When he died mysteriously, suspicion fell on Mary. The haunting story of the beautiful—and tragic—mary, Queen of Scots, as only legendary novelist Jean Plaidy could write it Mary Stuart became Queen of Scotland at the tender age of six days old. Her husband, died after only two years on the throne, always sickly, and there was no place for Mary in the court of the new king.

Unusually tall and slim, a writer of music and poetry, Mary was celebrated throughout Europe for her beauty and intellect. Her french-born mother, the queen regent, knew immediately that the infant queen would be a vulnerable pawn in the power struggle between Scotland’s clans and nobles. But darnley proved violent and untrustworthy.



Royal Sisters: The Story of the Daughters of James II A Novel of the Stuarts Book 5

Passive queen mary is subservient to her husband's wishes, a bold and domineering woman determined to subdue Anne, the queen-to-be, while Anne is desperate to please her childhood friend Sarah Churchill, and rule England herself. Intrigue and political drama run high as the sisters struggle to be reconciled with each other--and with the haunting memory of the father they have exiled.

But at the heart of the plot is a deep betrayal: the defection of the daughters James loves, Mary and Anne. Both raised protestant according to the wishes of England, the sisters support Protestant usurper William of Orange, Mary's husband, who lusts after the British crown. Two sisters change the course of a nation by forsaking the King—their own father.

England is on the verge of revolution. Antagonized by the catholicism of King James II, the people plot to drive him from the throne.

The Three Crowns: The Story of William and Mary A Novel of the Stuarts Book 4

But james’s devout catholicism, and desire to return Britain to the rule of Rome, does not sit well with his subjects and his time as king is sure to be short. Raised under the protestant guardianship of her uncle King Charles, James’s daughter Mary finds herself at fifteen facing a marriage to the Dutch and Protestant William of Orange, long prophesied to be destined for the throne.

When an empire is at stake, king charles ii has fathered numerous bastards, one woman stands between the past and the future In post-Restoration England, but not a single legitimate heir. Because of this, james, scotland, duke of York, is heir-presumptive to the thrones of England, his brother, and Ireland—the three crowns of Britain.

But can she follow her calling to rule britain without losing the love of her father? Captivating in its historical detail, and unforgettable in its dramatic depiction of relationships between monarchs and families, lush and sweeping in its scope, The Three Crowns is the singular story of the only joint sovereigns in British history.

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The Loves of Charles II: The Stuart Saga A Novel of the Stuarts Book 7

But when the politically ambitious lady castlemaine becomes too powerful, she is replaced by Louise de Kéroualle, a baby-faced French noblewoman who may have been sent to Charles’s court as a spy. Court intrigue and affairs of the heart weave together in this unforgettable page-turner. He first secures a strong dynastic alliance by marrying Catherine of Braganza, plain Portuguese princess who falls in love with her handsome husband and brings him great wealth, a shy, but can never give him the son he longs for.

As king, charles ii throws himself into the gaiety of court life, becoming a patron of the arts and a consummate lover of women. 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.

From princesses to country girls to actresses…the loves of Charles II come to life. Ten years after charles i was deposed and executed, Charles II, his son, regains the throne after many years in exile. His other great love, and louise’s rival, is Nell Gwyn, a stage actress who rises from the streets of London to become the king’s favorite and a hero of the working class.

For many years, his “untitled queen” is a bold and sensual older woman—Barbara, Countess of Castlemaine—whose husband is routinely paid to look the other way.

Loyal in Love: Henrietta Maria, Queen of Charles I Queens of England Book 1

Sent abroad, she finds herself living in a Protestant country that views her own faith—Catholicism—with deep suspicion. As the royal couple watch the fall of thomas wentworth, the rise of Puritanism, and Englishmen fight Englishmen, first Earl of Strafford, they are undeterred in their dedication to each other and in their belief in the divine rights of king and queen—even as spies lurk in their very own household.

Loyal in love offers an inside look at an unforgettable time in England’s history and at the life of a queen whose story of devotion and bravery has gone untold for too long. The daughter of henry iv of france, princess Henrietta Maria, becomes a pawn in a political strategy to stabilize relations between two countries when her father marries her to Charles I of England.

Henrietta is passionate about her faith, namely Oliver Cromwell and his Puritans, however, and soon politically powerful people, turn her loyalty to her religion into a focal point for civil war. Yet her new husband is a man of principle and integrity, and Henrietta and Charles fall deeply in love.

The Courts of Love: The Story of Eleanor of Aquitaine Queens of England Book 5

She was equally famous for her turbulent relationships, which included marriages to the kings of both France and England. When eleanor met the magnetic henry ii, the first plantagenet King of England, their stormy pairing set great change in motion—and produced many sons and daughters, two of whom would one day reign in their own right.

In this majestic and sweeping story, intrigue, set against a backdrop of medieval politics, Jean Plaidy weaves a tapestry of love, passion, betrayal, and strife, and heartbreak—and reveals the life of a most remarkable woman whose iron will and political savvy enabled her to hold her own against the most powerful men of her time.

When i look back over my long and tempestuous life, I can see that much of what happened to me—my triumphs and most of my misfortunes—was due to my passionate relationships with men. I was a woman who considered herself their equal—and in many ways their superior—but it seemed that I depended on them, while seeking to be the dominant partner—an attitude which could hardly be expected to bring about a harmonious existence.

Eleanor of aquitaine was revered for her superior intellect, extraordinary courage, and fierce loyalty. In 1137, eleanor became duchess of Aquitaine, at the age of fifteen, the richest province in Europe. As a child, eleanor reveled in her beloved grandfather’s Courts of Love, where troubadours sang of romantic devotion and passion filled the air.

A union with louis vii allowed her to ascend the French throne, yet he was a tepid and possessive man and no match for a young woman raised in the Courts of Love.

Courting Her Highness: The Story of Queen Anne A Novel of the Stuarts Book 2

This final novel of the stuarts from jean plaidy weaves larger-than-life characters through a dark maze of intrigue, love, and destruction, with nothing less than the future of the British Empire at stake. A private battle rages at court for the affections of a childless queen, who must soon name her successor—and thus determine the future of the British Empire.

Soon anne is crowned queen, but to court insiders, the name of the imminent sovereign is Sarah Churchill. Plain abigail seems the least likely challenger to Sarah’s place in her highness’s affections, but challenge it she does, in stealthy yet formidable ways. Anne is sickly and childless, the last of the Stuart line.

It is the beginning of the eighteenth century and William of Orange is dying. While anne engages in her private tug-of-war, the nation is obsessed with another, more public battle: succession. Beautiful, outspoken sarah has bewitched Anne and believes she is invincible—until she installs her poor cousin Abigail Hill into court as royal chambermaid.

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