After two contemporary novels earlier in the day, let's continue our look at recent arrivals with some historical fiction.
Shortlisted for the CWA Ellis Peters Historical Dagger award, The Crown
"London, 1537. When Joanna Stafford learns her cousin is about to be burned at the stake for rebelling against Henry VIII, she makes a decision that will change not only her life, but quite possibly the fate of a nation. It will mean turning her back on everything she knows, for Joanna is a novice at Dartford Priory, and to save her family she must break the sacred rule of enclosure.
As her mission takes her from the Tower of London and the last whispered words of a queen to clandestine assignations and the royal court, she becomes entangled with a secret whose deadly past stretches farther back than anyone had imagined."
Also published today is the sequel to The Crown - The Chalice
"1538, and the nation is reeling after Henry VIII's ruthless dissolution of the monasteries. Cast out of Dartford Priory, Joanna Stafford is trying to live a quiet life ... but family connections draw her dangerously close to a treasonous plot, and repelled by violence and the whispered conspiracies around her, Joanna seeks a life with a man who loves her. But no matter how hard she tries, she cannot escape the spreading darkness of her destiny.
She must make a choice between those she cares for most and taking her part in a mysterious prophecy made by three compelling sisters. Joanna embarks upon a testing journey, and as she deciphers the meaning at the core of the prophecy, she learns that the fate of a king and the freedom of a nation rest in her hands."
