A queen brought low by love compromised and power abused – the tragedy of Mary Tudor. These are desperate times for Mary Tudor. As England’s first ruling queen, her joy should be complete when she marries Philip, the dashing Prince of Spain. But despite her ardent devotion, he’s making it painfully obvious that he cares little for his new wife – and her struggle to produce an heir only makes him colder towards him. Lonely and depressed, Mary begins to vent her anguish on her people – and England becomes a place of cruelty, persecution and fear. Mary’s terrible fall from grace is seen through the eyes of Rafael, a Spanish sundial maker who is part of the Prince’s flamboyant entourage. He becomes the one person that she trusts, but his life – and new-found love – will be caught in the chaos that follows…

Jane Seymour finds herself in the midst of scandal and intrigue at Wolf Hall, in Suzannah Dunn's masterful new novel of the Tudor Era.Jane Seymour is a shy, dutiful fifteen-year-old when her eldest brother, Edward, brings his bride home to Wolf Hall. Katherine Filliol is the perfect match for Edward, as well as being a breath of fresh air for the Seymour family, and Jane is captivated by the older girl.Only two years later, however, the family is torn apart by a dreadful allegation—that Katherine has had an affair with the Seymour patriarch. The repercussions for all the Seymours are incalculable, not least for Katherine herself. When Jane is sent away to serve Katharine of Aragon, she is forced to witness another wife being put aside, with terrible consequences.Changed forever by what happened to Katherine Filliol, Jane comes to understand that, in a world where power is held entirely by men, there is a way in which she can still hold true to herself.

A tremendously vivid, page-turning and plausible novel that depicts the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn, the most spirited, independent and courageous of Henry?s queens, as viewed from both the bedrooms and the kitchens of the Tudor court. Everyone knows the story of Anne Boleyn. Henry VIII divorced his longstanding, long-suffering, older, Spanish wife for a young, black-eyed English beauty, and, in doing so, severed England from Rome and indeed from the rest of the western world. Then, when Henry had what he wanted, he managed a mere three years of marriage before beheading his wife for alleged adultery with several men, among them his own best friend and her own brother. This is the context for Suzannah Dunn's wonderful new novel, which is about ? and told by ? two women: Anne Boleyn, king's mistress and fated queen; and Lucy Cornwallis, the king's confectioner, an employee of the very highest status, who made the centrepiece of each of the feasts to mark the important occasions in...

The tragic, moving, and gripping story of the ascendanceand fall of Katherine Howard, fifth wife of Henry VIII,and the best friend she nearly dragged down with herWhen twelve-year-old Katherine Howard comes to livein the Duchess of Norfolk's household she could not bemore different than her poor relation, Cat Tilney. Yet,of all their companions, it is Cat, watchful and ambitious, to whom theseemingly frivolous young girl confides. When Katherine is summonedto the royal court at seventeen--to become, months later, the wife ofHenry VIII after he casts off his previous queen--she leaves behind anex-lover, Francis, with whom Cat is soon passionately involved.But a future that seems assured for the pampered new queen andher maid-in-waiting lasts a brief year and a half, only to be imperiledby improper acts and scandalous allegations of girlhood love affairs.Imprisoned in the Tower and hoping to escape a most terrible fate, afrightened, desperate Katherine...

A gripping novel of love, passion, betrayal and heartbreak. Katherine Parr survived Henry VIII to find true love with Thomas Seymour – only to realise that her love was based on a lie. Clever, sensible and well-liked, Katherine Parr trod a knife edge of diplomacy and risk during her marriage to an ageing, cantankerous King Henry. When he died, she was in her late thirties and love, it seemed, had passed her by. Until, that is, the popular Thomas Seymour – bold, handsome, witty and irresistible – began a relentless courtship that won her heart. Kate fell passionately in love for the first time in her life and, also for the first time, threw caution to the wind with a marriage that shocked the worldly courtiers around her. But all too soon it becomes obvious that Thomas has plans beyond his marriage for the young, capricious, quick-witted heir to the throne – Elizabeth – and that in his quest for power, he might even be prepared to betray his now pregnant wife… Kate's whirlwind romance is witnessed and recounted by her closest friend, Catherine, Duchess of Suffolk, who lives through the tumultuous years after Henry's death at Kate's side. A sharp and canny courtier in her own right, Cathy is keenly aware of the political realities of life at court and is, apparently, a loyal supporter of her friend. As her story weaves its way through that of Kate and Thomas's heady passion and tragic denouement, however, it gradually becomes clear that Cathy has her own tale of betrayal and regret to tell… **Review 'My, what a story...delightfully vulgar and utterly compelling.' The Times 'Mesmerising and beautifully written.' Scotsman 'Suzannah Dunn...weaves a kind of love story that is both moving and believable. This is the Tudor world as seldom seen...The result is historical chick lit at its most charming.' Telegraph 'Dunn [sheds] possible new light on Katharine's marriage to Thomas Seymour and her final days are treated with sympathy and skill.' The Tablet About the Author Suzannah Dunn is the author of ten novels in the United Kingdom, including The Sixth Wife and The Queen of Subtleties, both published in the United States as well. She lives in Brighton, England.

The best book yet from this witty writer In these ten stories, Suzannah Dunn shows her considerable talent for writing short fiction Wonderfully funny, clever observations of womens' lives: Auntie Fay comes to Spain for the summer, survives on insulin injections, tans to the hue of a blood blister and routinely saves the skins of Renee and her unfortunate family; the sixth form do Pembrokeshire, on a field trip of stale cigarettes, smuggled scotch, and finally, mutiny; a young woman remembers her first real love -- for the ghost of her aunt's boyfriend Dunn is poised to win a major prize -Venus Flaring was called in by the Booker judges

The unforgettable story of Lady Jane Grey's imprisonment in the Tower of London, after ruling England for only nine days . . .Escorting the nine-day queen Lady Jane Grey across the Tower of London from throne room into imprisonment is Elizabeth Tilney, who surprised even herself by volunteering for the job. All Elizabeth knows is she's keen to be away from home; she could do with some breathing space. And anyway, it won't be for long: everyone knows Jane will go free as soon as the victorious new queen is crowned. Which is a good thing because the two sixteen-year-olds, cooped up together in a room in the Gentleman Gaoler's house, couldn't be less compatible. Protestant Jane is an icily self-composed idealist, and Catholic Elizabeth is . . . well, anything but.They are united though by their disdain for the seventeen-year-old boy to whom Jane has recently been married: petulant, noisily-aggrieved Guildford Dudley, held prisoner in a neighboring tower and keen to...