King's Daughter » (Bargain)

Barbara Kyle, a classically trained actor, enjoyed a successful career in Canadian television and theater before turning her hand to writing fiction. She and her husband live in Ontario, where she teaches popular writing seminars and workshops.

Upon the death of her father, Henry VIII, Queen Mary assumes the throne after a long exile. Her first order of business is to wed the devout Prince Philip of Spain, creating a powerful alliance that will transform Mary's fanatical dream of ridding England of Protestantism into terrifying reality. And so begins the reign of Bloody Mary...

Even as she plans for her own nuptials, Isabel Thornleigh is helping to lay the groundwork to overthrow Mary and bring Elizabeth to power. But none of the secrets Isabel has discovered compares to the truths hidden in her own family. With her beloved father imprisoned by Queen Mary, only Carlos Valverde-a Spanish soldier of fortune-can help Isabel. Now with England's future at stake, Isabel risks all to change the course of history...

Praise for The Queen's Lady

"Swiftly draws you into the tumult of Renaissance England...a big, fast-paced novel that won't let you down. I loved it!" —Diane Haeger

"Weaves a fast-paced plot through some of the most harrowing years of English history." —Judith Merkle Riley

"Excellent, exciting, compellingly readable." —Ellen Jones

Publishers Weekly

In her follow-up to The Queen's Lady , Canadian actress-novelist Kyle brings a theatrical flair to the 16th-century story of Isabel Thornleigh, a young English bride-to-be who gets caught up in Catholic Queen Mary's war against English heretics. When her father, merchant and courtier Thomas Thornleigh, is identified as a Protestant heretic, he pleads with Isabel to flee with her mother to Antwerp. Instead, Isabel abandons her plans for marriage and stays behind in England to save her father and country. As she spies for the forces plotting to overthrow the queen-including her husband-to-be, Martin St. Leger-Isabel also collaborates with a savage mercenary to free her father from jail. Isabel's quest culminates in the Wyatt rebellion of 1554, the rebel leaders' unsuccessful attempt to overthrow Queen Mary and prevent her marriage to King Philip of Spain. Kyle ably unfurls a complex and fast-paced plot, mixing history with vibrant characters for a brisk, entertaining read. (Mar.)

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