The Uncrowned Queen (Short story prequel to The King's Concubine)
Anne O'Brien
Language: English
Pages: 72
ISBN: B007EAK13K
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
'Anne O’Brien has joined the exclusive club of excellent historical novelists.’ - Sunday Express
Her path to the throne is paved with treason… 1330.
Philippa of Hainault may be married to King Edward III but she’s penniless and powerless. England quivers in the clutches of the Dowager Queen Isabella and her darkly ambitious lover Lord Mortimer while her husband rots in jail, a prisoner at Mortimer’s hand. It will take a courageous young man to emerge from the shadows and rise up against this formidable pair.
Philippa won’t sit back and see Edward puppeteered. She is determined to see justice done. It’s her words whispered into the young King Edward’s ear that will see the battle for England’s throne commence.
Mightier have fallen. Treason threatens. The victor’s prize is England…failure is death.
It’s a powerful union that ties Philippa and Edward in this darkly captivating short story but will it always be so?
Praise for Anne O’Brien:
‘One of the best writers around…she outdoes even Philippa Gregory’ The Sun
‘Her writing is highly evocative of the time period… O’Brien has produced an epic tale’ Historical Novel Society
‘Anne O’Brien’s novels give a voice to the “silent” women of history’ Yorkshire Post
‘Once again O’Brien proves herself a medieval history magician, conjuring up a sizzling, sweeping story’ Lancashire Evening Post
‘An exciting and intriguing story of love and historical politics. If you enjoy Philippa Gregory and Alison Weir you will love Anne O'Brien’ We Love This Book
‘A brilliantly researched and well-told story; you won’t be able to put this book down’ Candis
‘A fast paced historical drama that is full of suspense.’ Essentials
The Christine Brooke-Rose Omnibus: Four Novels: Out, Such, Between, Thru
Discover exactly that. I hope you are sleeping and eating and not worrying. Not worrying! My laughter had a tearful quality. Not worrying, with my husband threatened with treason against his father? How typical of a man to inform his wife of his inner fears, and then hope she would not worry! I am well, I wrote staunchly. So is the infant, who is far too lively for my comfort. I miss you. Come to me when it is over, if you can. Never doubt my love and my thoughts are with you, day and night.
Sense before I turn him over to you.’ Edward looked up from the sleeping infant, across to where I waited. ‘What a blessing you are to me. I knew it from the start: I will have Philippa, with her warm heart and ample hips, for she will bear me good sons.’ I flushed, as bright as the crimson ground of Edward’s tunic on which the golden lions undulated and pranced, as he bent to replace the baby with greatest care. ‘How long …?’ I began to ask. But Edward proceeded to prowl around the room, so I.
Cheeks and lank hair of pale mouse. The sallow skin that glowed after a sunny day on Margaret and Jeanne and baby Isabelle looked merely dull on me. Nor was I very tall, even for my age. Jeanne and Isabelle, younger than I, would soon outgrow me. I was, my mother the Countess of Hainault frequently observed, a plain and wholesome daughter. Jeanne, in moments of sisterly bile, labelled me a poor dab of a girl. Isabella had wanted the Hainault dowry and did not care which sister became the bride,.
Books, unusually, held no attraction for me and stitching was merely something to do to keep my hands busy. My mind was far from Woodstock, and I was afraid. I fretted. I paced as much as I could until my ever-swollen ankles drove me to bed. And still I fretted as my mind was free to consider the dangers that Edward must face. His position was deplorable, and all created by Mortimer. What if …? If one thought started with that hopeless question, it was more like a score. What if Kent’s.
Compassionate but her voice held the tone of a military commander. ‘You must not, my lady.’ ‘What would it matter? Who would know?’ Tears were unnervingly close. ‘It would matter. This is how it is done. You do not leave these rooms. You have no contact with any man.’ She led me, protesting all the way, back to my inner chamber. ‘Then how can I speak with him?’ I had no intention of allowing Edward to leave without some form of communication passing between us. I suddenly thought, a ray of.