Secrets of the Tudor Court by Darcey Bonnette

Secrets of the Tudor Court by Darcey Bonnette. Secrets of The Tudor Court

(Avon, 2011.)

A bit about the book:

When young Mary Howard arrives at the grand court of King Henry VIII to attend his mistress, Anne Boleyn, she is overjoyed. Mary is certain Anne will one day become Queen. But Mary has witnessed the kings fickle nature before and knows how quickly he can turn on those he claims to love.

Despite all of Mary’s efforts to please him, she soon becomes a victim of the King’s wrath. Not until she becomes betrothed to Henry Fitzroy, the Duke of Richmond and illegitimate son to the King, does Mary find the love and approval she’s been seeking.

 But when Mary believes she is finally free, the tides turn. She has uncovered an intricate web of secrets within the palace walls, secrets that she must guard with her life…

Novel Kicks’ verdict: 

The Tudor/Elizabethan eras are two of my favourite eras to study so therefore this book immediately appealed. I couldn’t stop reading (even though it suffers from long chapters; my personal pet hate with books.) I felt it was a good balance of drama and historical fiction and offers a different perspective on that era.

The character of Mary is one where you remain sympathetic toward throughout. Norfolk is the type of person you never wish to meet; he’s a proper villain. This book develops the main characters well.

It explores how women were seen and used for political/personal gain and also how they were seen after and it does this well. Overall, I think it’s a good and original interpretation of history.

 

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Laura
I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.

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