Olejar Books

hilippa Gregory–™s dazzling new novel looks at the captive years of Mary Queen of Scots. Mary, in flight from rebels in Scotland, has trusted her cousin Elizabeth I–™s promise of sanctuary; but she finds herself imprisoned as the enforced guest of George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, and his dominant wife, Bess of Hardwick. The newly married couple welcome the doomed queen, certain that serving as her hosts and jailors will bring them nothing but advantage in the competitive world of Tudor England. To their horror they find that their home becomes the epicentre of intrigue against Elizabeth, and even their own loyalty comes under suspicion. If their marriage is threatened by George–™s hopeless admiration for the beautiful young queen, they will face ruin. But if his devotion to the Queen of England is compromised by his love for the Queen of Scots, he will face the gallows. The English lords conspire with Spain, the Duke of Northumberland and the Northern earls to free Mary from imprisonment, a plot that will be the greatest threat Elizabeth has ever faced. But then the great spy-master Cecil sets the trap to catch them all, setting the Scots queen on the road to her death at Fotheringay. Here is a story of two women fighting for one man, of two queens competing for dominance, and of one remarkable woman who is prepared to die rather than deny her principles or need for freedom.