Robin Maxwell's debut novel introduces Anne Boleyn and her daughter,
Elizabeth: one was queen for a thousand days, the other for more than
forty years. Both were passionate, headstrong women, loved and hated by
Henry VIII.
At the beginning of Elizabeth's reign, her mother's private diary is
given to her by a mysterious lady. In reading it, the young ruler --
herself embroiled in a dangerous love affair -- discovers a great deal
about her much maligned mother.
Through Anne's writing, Elizabeth finds an echo of her own dramatic life
as a powerful young woman at the center of England's male establishment
and, with the knowledge gained from it, makes a resolution that will
change the course of history.
"A wonderfully juicy historical novel so convincing that it's difficult
to believe it is the author's first. . . . Maxwell brings . . . all of
bloody Tudor England vividly to life." - Publishers Weekly (starred
review)
"An historical fiction classic. Beware: this is truly addictive
reading." -- Michelle Moran, author of Madame Tussaud
"Dazzling. Historical fiction at its finest." - C. W. Gortner, author of
The Confessions of Catherine de' Medici
