Book News March 2022

Daughters of the North: Jean Gordon and Mary, Queen of Scots 

Hardcover – 17 March 2022 (UK) & 17 May 2022 (US)

Mary, Queen of Scots’ marriage to the Earl of Bothwell is notorious. Less known is Bothwell’s first wife, Jean Gordon, who extricated herself from their marriage and survived the intrigue of the Queen’s court. <BR><BR> Daughters of the North reframes this turbulent period in history by focusing on Jean, who became Countess of Sutherland. Follow her from the intrigues of Mary’s court to the blood feuds and clan battles of the Far North of Scotland, from her place as the daughter of the ‘King of the North’ to her disastrous union with the infamous Earl of Bothwell – and her lasting legacy to the Earldom of Sutherland.

Maria Theresa: The Habsburg Empress in Her Time 

Hardcover – 18 January 2022 (US) & 15 March 2022 (UK)

A major new biography of the iconic Austrian empress that challenges the many myths about her life and rule.

Embroidering Her Truth: Mary, Queen of Scots and the Language of Power 

Kindle Edition – 17 March 2022 (US & UK)

At her execution Mary, Queen of Scots wore red. Widely known as the colour of strength and passion, it was in fact worn by Mary as the Catholic symbol of martyrdom.

In sixteenth-century Europe women’s voices were suppressed and silenced. Even for a queen like Mary, her prime duty was to bear sons. In an age when textiles expressed power, Mary exploited them to emphasise her female agency. From her lavishly embroidered gowns as the prospective wife of the French Dauphin to the fashion dolls she used to encourage a Marian style at the Scottish court and the subversive messages she embroidered in captivity for her supporters, Mary used textiles to advance her political agenda, affirm her royal lineage and tell her own story.

In this eloquent cultural biography, Clare Hunter exquisitely blends history, politics and memoir to tell the story of a queen in her own voice.

The Queen: The Life and Times of Elizabeth II 

Hardcover – 8 March 2022 (US & UK)

It is unlikely that we will ever see a monarch reign so long or so effectively again, holding together a disparate group of nations, each with its own aspirations, customs and traditions.

From her uncle’s abdication to the marriage of Princess Diana and Prince Charles, this intriguing biography includes all the ups and downs of Queen Elizabeth’s long life.

In Search of a Kingdom: Francis Drake, Elizabeth I, and the Perilous Birth of the British Empire 

Paperback – 29 March 2022 (US) & 28 April 2022 (UK)

In 1580, sailing on Elizabeth’s covert orders, Drake became the first captain to circumnavigate the earth successfully. (Ferdinand Magellan had died in his attempt.) Part exploring expedition, part raiding mission, Drake’s audacious around-the-world journey in the Golden Hind reached Patagonia, the Pacific Coast of present-day California and Oregon, the Spice Islands, Java, and Africa. Almost a decade later, Elizabeth called upon Drake again. As the devil-may-care vice admiral of the English fleet, Drake dramatically defeated the once-invincible Spanish Armada, spurring the British Empire’s ascent and permanently wounding its greatest rival.

The relationship between Drake and Elizabeth is the missing link in our understanding of the rise of the British Empire, and its importance has not been fully described or appreciated. Framed around Drake’s key voyages as a window into this crucial moment in British history, In Search of a Kingdom is a rousing adventure narrative entwining epic historical themes with intimate passions.

Cleopatra: The Queen Who Challenged Rome and Conquered Eternity 

Paperback – 15 March 2022 (US) & 28 April 2022 (UK)

Cleopatra focuses on a twenty-year period that marked a sweeping change in Roman history, beginning with the assassination of Julius Caesar that led to the end of the Republic, and ending with the suicides of Antony and Cleopatra and the birth of the Augustan Empire. Angela brings the people, stories, customs, and traditions of this fascinating period alive as he transports us to the chaotic streets of the capital of the ancient world, the exotic port of Alexandria in Egypt, and to the bloody battlefields where an empire was won and lost.

The People’s Princess 

Paperback – 31 March 2022 (UK) & 17 May 2022 (US)

The stunning new historical novel from the author of the bestselling Before the Crown. Perfect for fans of Gill Paul, Wendy Holden, Pam Jenoff and Jennifer Robson!

Buckingham Palace, 1981

Her engagement to Prince Charles is a dream come true for Lady Diana Spencer but marrying the heir to the throne is not all that it seems. Alone and bored in the palace, she resents the stuffy courtiers who are intent on instructing her about her new role as Princess of Wales…

But when she discovers a diary written in the 1800s by Princess Charlotte of Wales, a young woman born into a gilded cage so like herself, Diana is drawn into the story of Charlotte’s reckless love affairs and fraught relationship with her father, the Prince Regent.

As she reads the diary, Diana can see many parallels with her own life and future as Princess of Wales.

The story allows a behind-the-scenes glimpse of life in the palace, the tensions in Diana’s relationship with the royal family during the engagement, and the wedding itself.

Hitler’s Spy Princess: The Extraordinary Life of Stephanie von Hohenlohe 

Paperback – 3 March 2022 (UK)

A portrait of Stephanie von Hohenlohe (1891-1972), notorious as a secret go-between and even a professional blackmailer. Despite being the illegitimate daughter of a Jewish parents, Stephanie always claimed to be of pure Aryan descent, and began a career of social climbing from a young age. She acquired a title through marriage to a nobleman, became a columnist and mistress for Lord Rothermere, then infiltrated the Reichs Chancellery itself to get to know Hitler personally. Soon enough, Hitler would begin to employ her on secret diplomatic missions, for which she was awarded the Golden Insignia and given a castle in Austria. After chasing her then lover to the USA and at the point of being expelled as a spy, she began another affair with the head of the US immigration authority to avoid deportation. It was only after the Second World War that she returned to Germany, where she began a successful media career. A tale of lovers and manipulation, cleverness and deceit, there is no dull moment in Stephanie von Hohenlohe’s dubious rise, as expertly told here by acclaimed German author Martha Schad.