The Forbidden Queen

1415: The jewel in the French crown, Katherine de Valois, is waiting under lock and key for King Henry V. While he's been slaughtering her kinsmen in Agincourt, Katherine has been praying for marriage to save her from her misery. But the brutal King is one of war. It is her crown he wants not her innocent love. For Katherine, a pawn in a ruthless political game, England is a lion's den of greed, avarice and mistrust. And when the magnificent King leaves her widowed at twenty-one she is a prize ripe for the taking. Her heart is on her sleeve, her young son the future monarch, and her hand in marriage worth a kingdom. This is a deadly game; one the Dowager Queen must learn fast. The players Duke of Gloucester, Edmund Beaufort and Owen Tudor are circling. Who will have her? Who will stop her? Who will ruin her?

When Thelma is bored, she decides to become a queen but the responsibilities are so great that she soon has a royal headache.

Her power is forbidden. But she's next in line for the throne. When Princess Kalleah is born with a forbidden magic power, her mother takes her into hiding to keep her safe. Now, at eighteen, she is back to claim her throne. People with Kalleah's deadly power aren't allowed into the city of Baylore, let alone the palace. If she is to rule, her people will need to overcome centuries of prejudice against the forbidden races. But the timing for her return could not be worse. Baylore was once a haven for the magic races that were persecuted and killed in other lands. Now, a small but dangerous group calling themselves Truthbringers have stirred up public sentiment against all magic--not just the forbidden races. If Kalleah can't claim her rightful place on the throne, the once-peaceful city of Baylore will fall to chaos. Hatred and bigotry threaten to overthrow everything Baylore once stood for. But as she seeks support in her bid for the throne, she faces enemies at every turn. Can Kalleah win the throne and hold Baylore together? Or have the Truthbringers already sown the seeds of discontent too deep?

An innocent pawn A kingdom without a king A new dynasty will reign… 1415. The jewel in the French crown, Katherine de Valois, is waiting under lock and key for King Henry V. While he's been slaughtering her kinsmen in Agincourt, Katherine has been praying for marriage to save her from her misery. But the brutal king wants her crown, not her innocent love. For Katherine, England is a lion's den of greed, avarice and mistrust. And when she is widowed at twenty-one, she becomes a prize ripe for the taking—her young son the future monarch, her hand in marriage worth a kingdom. This is a deadly political game, one the dowager queen must learn fast. The players—the Duke of Gloucester, Edmund Beaufort and Owen Tudor—are circling. Who will have her? Who will ruin her? This is the story of Katherine de Valois. "Anne O'Brien has joined the exclusive club of excellent historical novelists." —Sunday Express "An absolutely gripping tale that is both superbly written and meticulously researched." —The Sun

She's lost everything-her throne, her home, and nearly her life. But her people still need her. When Kalleah flees for her life, leaving the throne to her enemy, she's not about to go into hiding. Her country is in trouble. Itrea's oldest enemy is back, poised to conquer the country that long defied them, and no one else realizes it. Unless Kalleah can raise an army of her own, her country will be taken without a fight. Larkhaven is where she will bide her time and gather support-but the coastal city is not the safe retreat she expects. Enemies have overrun Larkhaven, and they are silencing all who speak out against them. If Kalleah is to save her country, she must start with reclaiming Larkhaven. But her time is running out. Enemy reinforcements are on their way, and as soon as they arrive, the city is lost. War is coming, and Itrea is poised to fall. The chances of success are too slim-Kalleah's people are badly outnumbered and untrained. But Kalleah will not give up without a fight.

A child born in the plague year of 1348, abandoned and raised within the oppressive walls of a convent, Alice Perrers refused to take the veil, convinced that a greater destiny awaited her. Ambitious and quick witted, she rose above her obscure beginnings to become the infamous mistress of Edward III. But always, essentially, she was alone... Early in Alice’s life, a chance meeting with royalty changes everything: Kindly Queen Philippa, deeply in love with her husband but gravely ill, chooses Alice as a lady-in-waiting. Under the queen’s watchful eye, Alice dares to speak her mind. She demands to be taken seriously. She even flirts with the dynamic, much older king. But she is torn when her vibrant spirit captures his interest...and leads her to a betrayal she never intended. In Edward’s private chambers, Alice discovers the pleasures and paradoxes of her position. She is the queen’s confidante and the king’s lover, yet she can rely only on herself. It is a divided role she was destined to play, and she vows to play it until the bitter end. Even as she is swept up in Edward’s lavish and magnificent court, amassing wealth and influence for herself, becoming an enemy of his power-hungry son John of Gaunt, and a sparring partner to resourceful diplomat William de Windsor, she anticipates the day when the political winds will turn against her. For when her detractors voice their hatred,and accusations of treason swirl around her,threatening to destroy everything she has achieved, who will stand by Alice then? Includes a readers guide

Cruel beetle fashionista, Lucretia Cutter, is at large with her yellow ladybird spies - and she has a devious plan. Darkus, Virginia and Bertolt are determined to stop her, but Darkus's dad is dead set against their involvement. Hope rests on Novak, Lucretia's daughter and a Hollywood actress, but the beetle diva is always one scuttle ahead ...

Long ago the world fell into twilight, when the great empires of old consumed each other in sorcerous cataclysms. In the south the Star Towers fell, swallowed by the sea, while the black glaciers descended upon the northern holdfasts, entombing the cities of Min-Ceruth in ice and sorcery. Then from the ancient empire of Menekar the paladins of Ama came, putting every surviving sorcerer to the sword and cleansing their taint from the land for the radiant glory of their lord. The pulse of magic slowed, fading like the heartbeat of a dying man. But after a thousand years it has begun to quicken again. In a small fishing village a boy with strange powers comes of age . . . A young queen rises in the west, fanning the long-smoldering embers of magic into a blaze once more . . . Something of great importance is stolen - or freed - from the mysterious Empire of Swords and Flowers . . . And the immortals who survived the ancient cataclysms bestir themselves, casting about for why the world is suddenly changing . . .

I have lived the life of a princess since the day I was born. But it did not bring me what I wanted. I am still trapped. My beloved Ned speaks of love, freedom, a future. To walk with him in the forest, our raven soaring above us, is my only joy. But my father plans that I shall be betrothed to the King and I am afraid. Queens of England have a habit of dying. I have no desire to take the throne, no wish to find myself in the Tower of London. Wife, Queen - I fear it will bring me to my knees. "Not many of us will have given Lady Jane Grey much more than a passing thought, and not many history textbooks give her much more than a passing line. This nine-day queen, the 16-year-old victim of plotting and intrigue during a particularly bloody and turbulent period of Tudor history, is easily overlooked, sandwiched between the brief and sorry kingship of Edward VI, and the heady, bloody reign of Mary I. Like any good storyteller, Pauline Francis asks the simple questions: what could her life have possibly been like? How did she thing and feel, love and hate? She answers them in full with a visceral, mesmerising debut novel that brings this little-regarded historical character to life. The story of Jane's brief and tragic life is told in her own voice and that of her admirer, Ned. The fate of these star-crossed lovers – he a Catholic from a disgraced Catholic family and she an extreme Protestant with Royal blood – is relayed through a series of thrilling, climactic tableaux in haunting, lyrical style." - Elaine Williams, TES Magazine Winner Highland Children's Book Award 2008. Shortlisted Leeds Book Awards 2008. Shortlisted Leicester Book of the Year Award 2008

From Jeanne Kalogridis, the bestselling author of I, Mona Lisa and The Borgia Bride, comes a new novel that tells the passionate story of a queen who loved not wisely . . . but all too well. Confidante of Nostradamus, scheming mother-in-law to Mary, Queen of Scots, and architect of the bloody St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, Catherine de Medici is one of the most maligned monarchs in history. In her latest historical fiction, Jeanne Kalogridis tells Catherine's story—that of a tender young girl, destined to be a pawn in Machiavellian games. Born into one of Florence's most powerful families, Catherine was soon left a fabulously rich heiress by the early deaths of her parents. Violent conflict rent the city state and she found herself imprisoned and threatened by her family's enemies before finally being released and married off to the handsome Prince Henry of France. Overshadowed by her husband's mistress, the gorgeous, conniving Diane de Poitiers, and unable to bear children, Catherine resorted to the dark arts of sorcery to win Henry's love and enhance her fertility—for which she would pay a price. Against the lavish and decadent backdrop of the French court, and Catherine's blood-soaked visions of the future, Kalogridis reveals the great love and desire Catherine bore for her husband, Henry, and her stark determination to keep her sons on the throne.