SUZANNAH DUNN

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. Over the course of a long, hot country summer, the two become close friends and allies, while Edward is busy building alliances at court and advancing his career. However, only two years later, the family is torn apart by a dreadful allegation made by Edward against his wife. 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.

María Tudor —reina de Inglaterra e Irlanda, y reina consorte de España— se siente desdichada. Su marido, Felipe II, no la ama y tampoco consigue hacer realidad su sueño de ser madre. La alegría que los ingleses vivieron con su coronación se ve ensombrecida por el furor religioso que domina su vida, mientras se encienden sangrientas hogueras por todo el país. Rafael —un sevillano que acude con la Corte de Felipe II a Inglaterra para construir un reloj de sol en Palacio— será testigo de la trágica historia de María Tudor. Y surgirá entre ellos una proximidad que se va haciendo más estrecha a medida que la Reina ejerce el poder de manera más cruel y sanguinaria. Casi sin darse cuenta, Rafael y su nuevo amor se verán envueltos en el caos que sacude toda Inglaterra. "

La inteligente y piadosa Katherine Parr, sexta y última esposa de Enrique VIII, ha conseguido sobrevivir a un turbulento matrimonio. Sin embargo, pocos meses después de la muerte del viejo rey, el ambicioso y apuesto Thomas Seymour se gana su corazon: un precipitado idilio que echara por tierra cuatro años de precauciones y volvera en su contra a quienes mas queria. En una epoca en donde la menor indiscrecion podia acarrearla prision y la muerte, el amor es un lujo que ni siquiera una reina puede permitirse.La inteligente y piadosa Katherine Parr, sexta y última esposa de Enrique VIII, ha conseguido sobrevivir a un turbulento matrimonio. Sin embargo, pocos meses después de la muerte del viejo rey, el ambicioso y apuesto Thomas Seymour se gana su corazon: un precipitado idilio que echara por tierra cuatro años de precauciones y volvera en su contra a quienes mas queria. En una epoca en donde la menor indiscrecion podia acarrearla prision y la muerte, el amor es un lujo que ni siquiera una reina puede permitirse.

La bella, ambiciosa y testaruda Ana Bolena conmocionó a la sociedad inglesa de su tiempo, pero tras provocar el divorcio de Enrique VIII se gana muchos enemigos, y fuerzas poderosas se confabularán para hacerle pagar un alto precio. Mientras tanto en las cocinas de palacio, Lucy Cornwallis, pastelera del rey, se entrega a sus quehaceres. Ella sola, entre doscientos hombres, convierte el azucar en fantasticas figuras para las celebraciones reales y sortea las complicaciones de la vida cortesana. Pero tambien Lucy y su confidente, el musico Mark Smeaton, se veran atrapados en el torbellino que amenaza a la nueva reina y que podria acabar con todos sus sueños...La historia de Ana Bolena ha sido contada muchas veces pero nunca de una forma tan terrenal, tan plausible, contada directamente desde los dormitorios y las cocinas de Enrique VIIILa bella, ambiciosa y testaruda Ana Bolena conmocionó a la sociedad inglesa de su tiempo, pero tras provocar el divorcio de Enrique VIII se gana muchos enemigos, y fuerzas poderosas se confabularán para hacerle pagar un alto precio. Mientras tanto en las cocinas de palacio, Lucy Cornwallis, pastelera del rey, se entrega a sus quehaceres. Ella sola, entre doscientos hombres, convierte el azucar en fantasticas figuras para las celebraciones reales y sortea las complicaciones de la vida cortesana. Pero tambien Lucy y su confidente, el musico Mark Smeaton, se veran atrapados en el torbellino que amenaza a la nueva reina y que podria acabar con todos sus sueños...La historia de Ana Bolena ha sido contada muchas veces pero nunca de una forma tan terrenal, tan plausible, contada directamente desde los dormitorios y las cocinas de Enrique VIII

I didn't stand a chance: looking back over thirteen years, that's what I see. In the very first instant, I was won over, and of course I was: I was fifteen and had been nowhere and done nothing, whereas Katherine was twenty-one and yellow-silk-clad and just married to the golden boy...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. Over the course of a long, hot country summer, the two become close friends and allies, while Edward is busy building alliances at court and advancing his career. However, only two years later, the family is torn apart by a dreadful allegation made by Edward against his wife. 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‚ plausible novel that depicts the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn‚ the most spirited‚ independent and courageous of Henry VIII′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 the Church in 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‚ amongst 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 Anne′s ascent. There′s another link between them‚ though: the lovely Mark Smeaton‚ wunderkind musician‚ the innocent on whom‚ ultimately‚ Anne′s downfall hinged.