Queen of this Realm

📖 The Scoop

"She was destined to rule a nation that would dazzle the world--if she could conquer her own reckless desires. Elizabeth the First came to the throne of England by a twisting path marked by grave dangers. Declared illegitimate by her father, the mighty Henry VIII, in a power play that altered the face of Europe; almost destroyed by the treachery of her first great romance, Thomas Seymour, and his marriage to her own stepmother, Elizabeth was placed in mortal jeopardy when her half-brother Edward's life ended shortly after his accession to the Crown. Under the harsh reign of her half-sister, the Catholic ruler known to Protestants as 'Bloody Mary,' Elizabeth was sentenced to the dread Tower of London--yet still she prevailed, by the sheer brilliance of her political instincts, her canny patience and determined moderation. Now Bloody Mary was dead, and England was Elizabeth's at last. But the cool-headed young monarch was also a hot-blooded woman, driven by an enduring passion for the dashing courtier Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Hers was an obsession that might have provoked her to any means--even violence--to keep Robin Dudley by her side--if she decided to risk her beloved country's commonweal ... As magnificently resonant as any tale of Shakespeare, as intimate and moving as the greatest of bestselling fiction, Queen of This Realm reveals the truth behind the legend of the first Elizabeth, and carries it to new and glowing heights. In this, the second of a remarkable new series in which Jean Plaidy turns to the great queens of England, she has brought to life the most epic story in the history of England--as well as of women in supreme power."--Dust jacket.

Genre: Fiction / General (fancy, right?)