Книги автора: Vanora Bennett

A sumptuous wedding feast, two advantageous marriages and a blessing from the golden kingWhen silk merchant John Lambert marries off his two beautiful daughters, their fortunes are set to change forever. Elder daughter Jane starts a notorious liaison with Edward IV, while her sister, Isabel, as the new silkweaver to the court, becomes privy to its most intimate secrets. Could they hold the keys to power in this time of uncertainty?Vanora Bennett brings to life a time of passions and politics, a time of turmoil and tension, a world in flux and a country up for grabs.

Set in late fourteenth century England, Vanora Bennett's rich, dramatic new novel presents an England uncannily like our own.The country is in turmoil, The King is in debt to the City, and the old order had broken down – a time of opportunity indeed, for those who can seize the moment.The king's mistress, Alice Perrers, becomes the virtual ruler of the country from his sickbed. Disliked and despised by the Black Prince and his cronies, her strong connections to the merchants make her a natural ally for the king's ambitious second son, John of Gaunt.Together they create a powerful position in the city for one of his henchmen, Geoffrey Chaucer.In this moment of opportunity, Alice throws herself into her new role and the riches that lay before her, but Chaucer, even though her lover and friend, is uneasy over what he can foresee of the conspiracies around them.At the centre of these troubled times and political unrest stands the remarkable figure of a woman who, having escaped the plague which killed her whole family, is certain she is untouchable, and a man who learns that cleverness and ambition may for him sit too uneasily with decency and honesty.

Perfect for fans of ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’, this is a remarkable love story with a background of religious and political turmoil in Tudor England.The year is 1527. Hans Holbein makes his first visit to England, sent by the great Erasmus to paint Thomas More, courtier, scholar, patron, and his family. More's splendid house on the river in Chelsea is at the centre of Tudor society, frequented by distinguished astronomers, artists, politicians and men of religion, as well as wards of court, protégés and many others.Two visitors to the great house find themselves irresistibly drawn to Meg Giggs, one of More's foster daughters. John Clement – dark, tall, elegant – studying to be a doctor, is a man of compelling presence and mysterious background. The other man is Holbein himself – warm, ebullient, radical and a painter of great renown. Meg finds herself powerfully drawn to these two wildly contrasting men. She will love one, and marry the other.A wonderful, rich novel, presenting the atmosphere of this Tudor household as rarely achieved, with an astounding ability to present to us the world of Holbein's paintings as well as a gallery of vividly realised characters.

A sumptuous wedding feast, two advantageous marriages and a blessing from the golden kingWhen silk merchant John Lambert marries off his two beautiful daughters, their fortunes are set to change forever. Elder daughter Jane starts a notorious liaison with Edward IV, while her sister, Isabel, as the new silkweaver to the court, becomes privy to its most intimate secrets. Could they hold the keys to power in this time of uncertainty?Vanora Bennett brings to life a time of passions and politics, a time of turmoil and tension, a world in flux and a country up for grabs.

The story of a great queen, a woman of enormous courage who made her own rules, and a true survivor. This is the first in a series of early medieval novels by Vanora Bennett, the author of Portrait of an Unknown Woman.Catherine de Valois, daughter of the French king, is born in troubled times. Brought up in a the stormy and unstable environment of the court, her only friend is the remarkable poet and writer Christine de Pizan.Catherine is married off to Henry V as part of a treaty honouring his victory over France, and is destined to be a trophy wife. Terrified at the idea of being married to a man who is at once a foreigner, an enemy and a rough soldier, Catherine nevertheless does her duty. Within two years she is widowed, and mother of the future King of England and France – even though her brother has already claimed the French crown for himself.Caught between warring factions, Catherine finds support from Owain Tudor, controller of her household – a dangerous support as rumours of their relationship would jeopardise her right to keep her child.To save her son, and herself, she must turn away from her love and all that is familiar and safe to find another way forward.

A sumptuous wedding feast, two advantageous marriages and a blessing from the golden kingWhen silk merchant John Lambert marries off his two beautiful daughters, their fortunes are set to change forever. Elder daughter Jane starts a notorious liaison with Edward IV, while her sister, Isabel, as the new silkweaver to the court, becomes privy to its most intimate secrets. Could they hold the keys to power in this time of uncertainty?Vanora Bennett brings to life a time of passions and politics, a time of turmoil and tension, a world in flux and a country up for grabs.

Set in late fourteenth century England, Vanora Bennett's rich, dramatic new novel presents an England uncannily like our own.The country is in turmoil, The King is in debt to the City, and the old order had broken down – a time of opportunity indeed, for those who can seize the moment.The king's mistress, Alice Perrers, becomes the virtual ruler of the country from his sickbed. Disliked and despised by the Black Prince and his cronies, her strong connections to the merchants make her a natural ally for the king's ambitious second son, John of Gaunt.Together they create a powerful position in the city for one of his henchmen, Geoffrey Chaucer.In this moment of opportunity, Alice throws herself into her new role and the riches that lay before her, but Chaucer, even though her lover and friend, is uneasy over what he can foresee of the conspiracies around them.At the centre of these troubled times and political unrest stands the remarkable figure of a woman who, having escaped the plague which killed her whole family, is certain she is untouchable, and a man who learns that cleverness and ambition may for him sit too uneasily with decency and honesty.

Perfect for fans of ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’, this is a remarkable love story with a background of religious and political turmoil in Tudor England.The year is 1527. Hans Holbein makes his first visit to England, sent by the great Erasmus to paint Thomas More, courtier, scholar, patron, and his family. More's splendid house on the river in Chelsea is at the centre of Tudor society, frequented by distinguished astronomers, artists, politicians and men of religion, as well as wards of court, protégés and many others.Two visitors to the great house find themselves irresistibly drawn to Meg Giggs, one of More's foster daughters. John Clement – dark, tall, elegant – studying to be a doctor, is a man of compelling presence and mysterious background. The other man is Holbein himself – warm, ebullient, radical and a painter of great renown. Meg finds herself powerfully drawn to these two wildly contrasting men. She will love one, and marry the other.A wonderful, rich novel, presenting the atmosphere of this Tudor household as rarely achieved, with an astounding ability to present to us the world of Holbein's paintings as well as a gallery of vividly realised characters.

A sumptuous wedding feast, two advantageous marriages and a blessing from the golden kingWhen silk merchant John Lambert marries off his two beautiful daughters, their fortunes are set to change forever. Elder daughter Jane starts a notorious liaison with Edward IV, while her sister, Isabel, as the new silkweaver to the court, becomes privy to its most intimate secrets. Could they hold the keys to power in this time of uncertainty?Vanora Bennett brings to life a time of passions and politics, a time of turmoil and tension, a world in flux and a country up for grabs.

The story of a great queen, a woman of enormous courage who made her own rules, and a true survivor. This is the first in a series of early medieval novels by Vanora Bennett, the author of Portrait of an Unknown Woman.Catherine de Valois, daughter of the French king, is born in troubled times. Brought up in a the stormy and unstable environment of the court, her only friend is the remarkable poet and writer Christine de Pizan.Catherine is married off to Henry V as part of a treaty honouring his victory over France, and is destined to be a trophy wife. Terrified at the idea of being married to a man who is at once a foreigner, an enemy and a rough soldier, Catherine nevertheless does her duty. Within two years she is widowed, and mother of the future King of England and France – even though her brother has already claimed the French crown for himself.Caught between warring factions, Catherine finds support from Owain Tudor, controller of her household – a dangerous support as rumours of their relationship would jeopardise her right to keep her child.To save her son, and herself, she must turn away from her love and all that is familiar and safe to find another way forward.