Books by Jean Plaidy

On the morning of 20th June 1837, an eighteen-year-old girl is called from her bed to be told that she is Queen of England. Then there is the Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne - 'Lord M' - worldly cynic and constant companion to the queen, himself a veteran of many a latter-day scandal.

The young Princess Victoria, strictly confined within the boundaries of Kensington Palace, is being moulded for her awesome future as Queen of England. The jealous and scheming Duke of Cumberland is a constant threat to her rightful accession . her mother's sinister friend, Sir John Conroy, makes her uneasy .

The young Spanish widow, Katharine of Aragon, has become the pawn between two powerful monarchies. After less than a year as the wife of the frail Prince Arthur, the question of whether the marriage was ever consummated will decide both her fate and England's.

The ageing Catherine de' Medici has arranged the marriage of her beautiful Catholic daughter Margot to the uncouth Huguenot King Henry of Navarre.

After twelve years of marriage, the once fortuitous union of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon has declined into a loveless stalemate. Their only child, Mary, is disregarded as a suitable heir, and Henry's need for a legitimate son to protect the Tudor throne has turned him into a callous and greatly feared ruler.