Royal Mistress


Book Description

From the author of A Rose for the Crown and Daughter of York comes another engrossing historical novel of the York family in the Wars of the Roses, telling the fascinating story of the rise and fall of the final and favorite mistress of Edward IV. Jane Lambert, the quick-witted and alluring daughter of a silk merchant, is twenty-two and still unmarried. When Jane’s father finally finds her a match, she’s married off to the dull, older silk merchant William Shore. Marriage doesn’t stop Jane from flirtation, however, and when the king’s chamberlain, Will Hastings, comes to her husband’s shop, Will knows King Edward will find her irresistible. Edward IV has everything: power, majestic bearing, superior military leadership, a sensual nature, and charisma. And with Jane as his mistress, he also finds true happiness. But when his hedonistic tendencies get in the way of being the strong leader England needs, his life, as well as those of Jane and Will Hastings, hangs in the balance. Jane must rely on her talents to survive as the new monarch, Richard III, bent on reforming his brother’s licentious court, ascends the throne. This dramatic tale has been an inspiration to poets and playwrights for five hundred years, and, as told through the unique perspective of a woman plucked from obscurity and thrust into a life of notoriety, Royal Mistress is sure to enthrall today’s historical fiction lovers as well.




The Goldsmith's Wife


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Into the Fire


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There is a secret hidden within a body, burning within the flames, that will change history forever. 2014: In the French city of Orléans, a manâe(tm)s charred corpse is found in a burned-out hotel, stripped of all ID. Police captain Inà ̈s Picaut must hunt down his killer before others fall prey to the fire. She has only one clue: the name of a woman who has been dead for over five hundred years. 1429: Joan of Arc is taking the war to the English. They want her dead but the only way to reach her is through a fiercely loyal inner circle - until undercover spy Tomas Rustbeard finally earns her trustâe¦ The myths of the past hold the key to the mystery of the present, but how many must die before the truth is laid bare?




The Mysterious Mistress


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Jane Shore often gets just a byline in history. We know her name, and that she was the mistress of a king. But who was this woman caputred for the stage by Shakespeare in 'Richard III', fictionalised by Jean Plaidy and others? Where did she come from? And how was it that having been mistress to the most powerful man in the land, she ended her years in prison and poverty? Jane Shore was born into a family of merchants and was married early, to William Shore. Having already attempted to get her marriage annulled - citing William's impotence - once she became involved with Edward IV it was inevitable that her marriage was dissolved. She is said to have been a benign influence - 'where men were out of favour, she would bring them in his grace' wrote Thomas More - even intervening to save Eton College and King's College from destruction. When the king died, her position became very vulnerable. Sorcery, treason, penance, imprisonment, poverty, escape and execution were key elements in the rest of Jane's life. Margaret Crosland draws on literary, historical and artistic sources to explore Jane's life both before and after Edward's demise.







Re-Presenting 'Jane' Shore


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Re-Presenting 'Jane' Shore analyzes the representation of the mistress of Edward IV of England, known to us as 'Jane' Shore (c. 1445-c. 1527). The daughter of a well-to-do merchant, she left her merchant husband to become the king's concubine. After Edward's death, his brother, later Richard III, charged her with witchcraft and harlotry, prompting Thomas More to include her in his exposition of Richard's perfidies in The History of Richard III. Since then, Jane Shore has been a frequent subject of, among others, poets (Thomas Churchyard and Thomas Deloney), playwrights (Shakespeare and Nicholas Rowe), and novelists (Guy Padget and Jean Plaidy). Scott examines the anxiety in Anglo-American culture generated when sex and politics intersect, using the case of 'Jane' Shore to show how history is compromised and complicated by context. In doing so, she reveals how women continue to be deployed as symbols rather than as actors on the larger stage of the drama that is politics.




Jane Shore


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Nicholas Rowe (1674-1718) was an English dramatist, poet and miscellaneous writer. The future English poet was educated first at Highgate School, and then at Westminster School under the guidance of a Dr. Busby. In 1688, he became a King's scholar, which was followed by his entrance into Middle Temple in 1691. Rowe acted as under-secretary (1709-1711) to the duke of Queensberry when he was principal secretary of state for Scotland. On the accession of George I he was made a surveyor of customs, and in 1715 he succeeded Nahum Tate as poet laureate. He was also appointed clerk of the council to the Prince of Wales, and in 1718 was nominated by Lord Chancellor Parker as clerk of the presentations in Chancery. He wrote occasional verses addressed to Godolphin and Halifax, adapted some of the odes of Horace to fit contemporary events, and translated the Caractres of Jean de La Bruyere and the Callipaedia of Claude Quillet. He also wrote a memoir of Boileau prefixed to a translation of the Lutrin. His other works include: The Ambitious Stepmother (1700), Tamerlane (1702), The Fair Penitent (1703) and Jane Shore: A Tragedy (1714).




The Fair Penitent


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