(Updated June 2014)
The Wars of the Roses http://www.historicalnovels.info/Wars-of-the-Roses.html
Elizabeth Ashworth, By Loyalty Bound
(2013), about an
heiress who becomes the mistress of Richard, Duke of Gloucester, later King
Richard III.
(2013), about an
heiress who becomes the mistress of Richard, Duke of Gloucester, later King
Richard III.
Vanora Bennett, Figures in Silk (2008), about two
daughters of a silk merchant: Jane Shore, who would become the mistress of King
Edward IV, and her sister.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, The Last of the Barons (1843), about the
power struggle between King Edward IV and the Earl of Warwick. Download for free
Toby Clements, Kingmaker: Winter Pilgrims (2014), about a
young nun and the young monk who rescues her, who are forced to flee amid the
Wars of the Roses;
Emma Darwin, A Secret Alchemy (2008), about the
Princes in the Tower, from the perspective of their mother, Elizabeth
Woodville, their uncle Anthony Woodville, and a fictional modern-day researcher
Posie Graeme-Evans, The Innocent (2004), about a
mistress of Edward IV;
Philippa Gregory, The White Queen (2009), a
sympathetic novel about Elizabeth Woodville, Edward IV's queen and the mother
of the Princes in the Tower;
Philippa Gregory, The Red Queen (2010), about the
ambitious Margaret Beaufort, mother of King Henry VII, who became king after
defeating Richard III on the battlefield.
Philippa Gregory, The Lady of the Rivers (2011), about
Jacquetta Woodville, whose life changes when her daughter Elizabeth secretly
marries King Edward IV of England.
Philippa Gregory, The Kingmaker’s Daughter (2012), about Anne and
Isabel Neville, the daughters of the Earl of Warwick during the Wars of the
Roses.
Susan Higginbotham, The Stolen Crown (2010),
about Katherine Woodville, whose sister Elizabeth secretly marries King Edward
IV.
Susan Higginbotham, The Queen of Last Hopes (2011), about
Margaret of Anjou, the French wife of King Henry VI, and Queen of England
during the Wars of the Roses.
Conn Iggulden, Stormbird (2013), about Henry VI and the Wars of
the Roses;
Terence Morgan, The Shadow Prince (2012), about Perkin
Warbeck.
Anne O'Brien, The Virgin Widow (2010), about Anne Neville, whose
father uses her as a political pawn during the Wars of the Roses.
(2010), about Anne Neville, whose
father uses her as a political pawn during the Wars of the Roses.
Sharon Kay Penman, The Sunne in Splendour (1982), a
stand-alone novel about King Richard III, from his childhood to his death in
battle. Review
Jean Plaidy, The Red Rose of Anjou (1982), about Margaret of Anjou; see
also The Sun in Splendour, about the Battle on Bosworth, and Uneasy Lies the Head, about Henry Tudor
(1982), about Margaret of Anjou; see
also The Sun in Splendour, about the Battle on Bosworth, and Uneasy Lies the Head, about Henry Tudor
Anne Easter Smith, Daughter of York (2008), about the
Princess Margaret, the sister of Edward IV and Richard III, and her marriage to
Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy.
Anne Easter Smith, The King's Grace (2009), a novel
which imagines the life of Grace Plantagenet, an illegitimate daughter of
Edward IV, during the years when Perkin Warbeck attempted to take the throne
from Henry VII. Review
Anne Easter Smith, Queen by Right (2011), about Cecily
Neville, who married Richard of York. See also Royal
Mistress (2013), about Edward IV's mistress Jane Shore. Review
Robert Louis Stevenson, The Black Arrow: A
Tale of the Two Roses (1883), an adventure novel set during
the Wars of the Roses. Free to download
Brian Wainwright, The Adventures of Alianore Audeley (2005), a humorous
historical novel about a woman spy during the Wars of the Roses.
Sandra Worth, The Rose of York: Love and War (2003), about
Richard III. See also The
King's Daughter (2008), about Elizabeth of York
P.C. Doherty, The Fate of the Princes (1990), dying friend
and confidant of Richard III tells the story of the Princes in the Tower.
(1990), dying friend
and confidant of Richard III tells the story of the Princes in the Tower.
K.E. Martin, The Woodville Connection (2013), about a
knight asked by Richard of Gloucester to help an elderly man accused of
murdering a child prove his innocence by finding the real killer.
Julian Rathbone, Kings of Albion (2000), about a
group of Indian travellers looking for a missing relative in England during the
fifteenth century Wars of the Roses.
Kate Sedley, The Goldsmith's Daughter (2001), a former monk turned peddler
is asked by Richard, the Duke of Gloucester, to investigate a case of poisoning
in an attempt to prove the innocence of a relation of King Edward's mistress,
Jane Shore; #10 in the Roger the Chapman series.
(2001), a former monk turned peddler
is asked by Richard, the Duke of Gloucester, to investigate a case of poisoning
in an attempt to prove the innocence of a relation of King Edward's mistress,
Jane Shore; #10 in the Roger the Chapman series.
Josephine Tey, The Daughter of Time (1951), a bedridden
Scotland Yard detective tries to solve the mystery of the Princes in the Tower
and clear the name of Richard III. Review
Gillian Bagwell, Venus in Winter (2013), about Bess
of Hardwick, whose three marriages during the reign of Henry VIII make her a
wealthy and powerful woman.
Ros Barber, The Marlowe Papers (2013), a novel in
verse form which imagines that Christopher Marlowe faked his death to avoid
being convicted of heresy and continued to write plays under Shakespeare's
name.
Jenny Barden, The Lost Duchess (2013), about a lady-in-waiting in
Queen Elizabeth's court who travels to the New World as part of the Roanoke
Colony founded by Sir Walter Raleigh.
(2013), about a lady-in-waiting in
Queen Elizabeth's court who travels to the New World as part of the Roanoke
Colony founded by Sir Walter Raleigh.
Anne Clinard Barnhill, At the Mercy of the Queen (2012), about Lady
Margaret Shelton, a cousin of Anne Boleyn who goes to Henry VIII's court as
Anne's lady-in-waiting.
Anne Clinard Barnhill, Queen Elizabeth’s Daughter (2014), about Mary Shelton, a ward of
Elizabeth I, who comes into conflict with the queen over her choice of a
husband.
Jesse Blackadder, The Raven's Heart (2011), about a
young woman raised as a boy who becomes a confidante and spy for Mary, Queen of
Scots.
D.L. Bogdan, The Sumerton Women (2012), about two
young women whose dreams are shattered when Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn bring
religious upheaval to England.
D.L. Bogdan, The Forgotten Queen (2013), about
Margaret Tudor, who married King James IV of Scotland.
Anthony Burgess, A Dead Man in Deptford, about Christopher
Marlowe, the Elizabethan playwright who was Shakespeare's contemporary and may
have been a government spy. Review
John Buchan, Blanket of the Dark, about a young man
who discovers he is royal and is being used as the pawn of men who wish to
overthrow King Henry VIII.
Sandra Byrd, Roses Have Thorns (2013), about Elin
von Snakenborg, a Swedish noblewoman in the court of Elizabeth I.
Robert Carter, Armada (1988), about the struggle of Elizabethan
England to become a naval power, from the perspective of two seafaring brothers
from Devon,
Mavis Cheek, Amenable
Women
(2008), about a widow who, writing a history of the village where Anne of
Cleves lived after her divorce, hears tales of her life from her portrait in
the Louvre. Review
Warwick Collins, The Sonnets (2008), about the
young Will Shakespeare during the years when he wrote his sonnets, inspired by
the "dark lady."
Stephanie Cowell, Nicholas Cooke, about a young actor
in Shakespeare's theatre company who wants to be a doctor and a priest.
Jim Crace, Harvest (2013), about disaster in an English
village. (Booker Prize shortlist 2013) Review
Suzannah Dunn, The Queen of Subtleties, about a woman who
served as Henry VIII's confectioner, sculpting "subtleties" out of
sugar, during the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn.
Suzannah Dunn, The Sixth Wife, about Katherine
Parr, whose subsequent marriage to the handsome and ambitious Thomas Seymour
held its own risks.
Suzannah Dunn, The Queen's Sorrow (2008), about a
Spanish maker of sundials who accompanies Philip of Spain to England when he
marries Mary Tudor.
Suzannah Dunn, The Confession of Katherine Howard (2010), about Henry VIII’s fifth wife
(2010), about Henry VIII’s fifth wife
Dorothy Dunnett, The Game of Kings, the sixteenth
century adventures of a knavish but patriotic Scottish swordsman; #1 in the
Lymond Chronicles.
Kate Emerson, The Pleasure Palace (2009), about Jane
Popyngcourt, a companion of Henry VII's daughters, who becomes the mistress of
a French prisoner of war; #1 in the Secrets of the Tudor Court series. See
also: Between Two
Queens, By Royal Decree, At the King’s Pleasure, The King’s Damsel, Royal
Inheritance
Carolly Erickson, The Favored Queen (2011), about Jane
Seymour. Review
Carolly Erickson, Rival to the Queen (2010), about
Lettice Knollys, the second wife of Elizabeth I's favorite Robert Dudley. Review or Author Interview
Ford Madox Ford, The Fifth Queen (1906) about Katharine
Howard. (Free download)
James Forrester, Sacred Treason (2010), a thriller
about Anne Boleyn's first marriage and her interest in Luther's teachings; #1
in the Clarenceux trilogy. See also The Roots of Betrayal and The Final Sacrament
Elizabeth Fremantle, Queen’s Gambit (2013), about
Katharine Parr. See also Sisters of Treason (2014), about Lady
Jane Grey's sisters during the reigns of Mary Tudor and Elizabeth I
Laurien Gardner, The Spanish Bride: A Novel of Catherine of Aragon, about Henry VIII's
first wife, who believed she had married her chivalrous ideal. See also A Lady Raised High: A Novel of Anne Boleyn and Plain Jane: A Novel of Jane Seymour
Margaret George, Mary, Queen of Scotland and the Isles (2011), about Mary
Queen of Scots. See also Elizabeth I (2011) Review
Rosemary Goring, After Flodden (2013), about a Scottish survivor of
the Battle of Flodden Field and the woman who asks him to help her find out
whether her brother survived the battle.
(2013), about a Scottish survivor of
the Battle of Flodden Field and the woman who asks him to help her find out
whether her brother survived the battle.
Winston Graham, The Grove of Eagles, (1963) set during the
Spanish Armada.
Philippa Gregory, The Other Queen (2008), about Mary,
Queen of Scots, during her imprisonment.
Philippa Gregory, The Other Boleyn Girl, about Mary Boleyn
and her sister Anne
Philippa Gregory, The Queen's Fool (2003), about a
young woman who dresses as a boy to serve in the Renaissance court of Queen
Elizabeth I.
Philippa Gregory, The Virgin's Lover, about Amy Dudley,
the wife of Queen Elizabeth's admirer Robert Dudley; shows Queen Elizabeth in a
less flattering light than most novels about her.
Philippa Gregory, The Constant Princess, about Katherine of
Aragon.
Philippa Gregory, The Boleyn Inheritance, about Anne of
Cleves and Katherine Howard
Philippa Gregory, The Wise Woman, a nun who must fend
for herself after her convent closes.
Philippa Gregory, The White Princess (2013), about
Elizabeth of York, the sister of the "Princes in the Tower" and wife
of Henry VII, the first Tudor king. Review
Sarah Gristwood, The Girl in the Mirror (2011), about a French
girl who grows up in London, disguised as a boy and becomes drawn into the
intrigue surrounding the Earl of Essex;
Diane Haeger, The Secret Bride, about Mary Tudor,
the younger sister of King Henry VIII. See also The Queen's Mistake, about Catherine
Howard, and The Queen’s Rival, about Elizabeth
Blount
Karen Harper, The Queen's Governess (2010), about
Katherine Ashley, who was hired by Thomas Cromwell as a spy and lady-in-waiting
to Anne Boleyn, who became Elizabeth’s governess.
Karen Harper, Shakespeare’s Mistress (2009), about Anne
Whatley, betrothed to William Shakespeare a few days before he was forced to
wed the pregnant Anne Hathaway. Review
Karen Harper, The Irish Princess (2011), about
Elizabeth Fitzgerald, an Irish princess whose family is brutally repressed by
Henry VIII, but who eventually becomes a trusted lady-in-waiting to Elizabeth
I.
Susan Higginbotham, Her Highness, The Traitor (2012), about Lady
Jane Grey.
C.C. Humphreys, The French Executioner (2001), about a
French swordsman hired to behead Anne Boleyn, and his vow to bury her six-fingered
hand. See also Blood Ties
C.C. Humphreys, Shakespeare's Rebel (2013), about a
friend of Shakespeare who hopes to avoid being caught up with the court
intrigues and military adventures of the Earl of Essex.
Geoffrey James, Sorcerer: A Novel of Queen Elizabeth's Alchemist (2013), about the
flight of Dr. John Dee in 1584 after he turns from respectable scientific
pursuits to forbidden magic.
Faye Kellerman, The Quality of Mercy (1989), about the
daughter of Queen Elizabeth's physician who meets young Will Shakespeare and
goes adventuring with him.
Barbara Kyle, The Queen's Lady (2008), about a lady-in-waiting
to Catherine of Aragon who enlists a sea captain in her risky efforts to aid
her mistress. See also The
King's Daughter The
Queen's Captive The
Queen's Gamble and
Blood
Between Queens
Morgan Llywelyn, The Last Prince of Ireland (1992) about Donal
Cam O'Sullivan and the Battle of Kinsale in 1601, in which England established
its sovereignty over Ireland. See also Grania: She-King of the Irish Seas, based on the life
of a pirate in sixteenth century Ireland.
Elizabeth Loupas, The Flower Reader (2012), about a
Scottish woman who can see the future and whose husband is murdered after she
is given a mysterious casket to deliver to Mary Queen of Scots.
Marie Macpherson, The First Blast of the Trumpet (2012), about Scottish
reformer John Knox
Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall (2009), about Thomas Cromwell, who
becomes King Henry VIII's adviser after Cardinal Wolsey's downfall. Review See also its sequel Bring
Up the Bodies (2012) Review .
Robert Nye, The Voyage of the Destiny (2003), about the
final voyage of Sir Walter Raleigh.
Sonia Overall, A Likeness (2005), about a
humbly born portrait painter struggling to make his fortune in Elizabethan
England with the help of a courtesan who likes paint.
Jean Plaidy, Queen of This Realm (1984), about Queen
Elizabeth I.
James Pool, E. Rex: Tudor England's Young King (2010), about Henry VIII's son and
heir, Edward, from the age of seven when his training to become king begins;
(2010), about Henry VIII's son and
heir, Edward, from the age of seven when his training to become king begins;
Emily Purdy, The Tudor Throne (2011) about Mary
and Elizabeth Tudor. See also The Tudor Wife about George and
Anne Boleyn and A Court Affair about Robert Dudley
and his wife Amy Robsart.
Leon Rooke, Shakespeare's Dog, about Shakespeare and his wife,
narrated by their dog. Review .
, about Shakespeare and his wife,
narrated by their dog. Review .
John Stack, Armada (2012), about a captain in Sir Francis
Drake's navy who is a secret Catholic and, when the Spanish Armada attacks,
must face his estranged father, who is fighting for the Spanish.
Nigel Tranter, Marie and Mary (2004), about two
queens who ruled Scotland during the sixteenth century: Marie de Guise, who
succeeded her husband James V, and Mary Queen of Scots.
Brenda Rickman Vantrease, The Heretic's Wife (2010), about a
woman who, with her brother, manages a bookseller's shop selling forbidden
translations of the Bible.
Peter Walker, The Courier's Tale (2010), about the
courier who carries messages to Cardinal Reginald Pole in Rome as Henry VIII
contemplates the break with Rome. Review
Alison Weir, Innocent Traitor (2007), about Lady
Jane Grey, who was Queen of England for nine days. See also The Lady Elizabeth (2008), about
Elizabeth Tudor and A
Dangerous Inheritance
(2012) about Lady Catherine Grey.
Jeane Westin, The Virgin's Daughters (2009), about Lady
Katherine Grey and Mistress Mary Rogers, ladies-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth.
See also His Last Letter about Queen Elizabeth
and Robert Dudley and The Spymaster’s Daughter about Lady Frances Sidney, Francis Walsingham’s
daughter
Virginia Woolf, Orlando (1928), a literary novel about a young
man in the Elizabethan age who decides never to grow old and, during a later
century, is transformed into a woman.
Sandra Worth, Pale Rose of England (2011), about Lady
Catherine Gordon, Perkin Warbeck’s wife.
Tudor Mysteries and Thrillers
Fiona Buckley, To Shield the Queen (1997) about a
noblewoman who fails to prevent the death of Amy Dudley, wife of Queen
Elizabeth's favourite;
Amanda Carmack, Murder at Hatfield House (2013), about a
musician's daughter who investigates the death of Queen Mary’s envoy in the
house where Princess Elizabeth is confined in 1558.
Rory Clements, Martyr (2009), a thriller featuring John
Shakespeare, Will's elder brother, searching for an assassin sent by the
Spanish to kill Queen Elizabeth. Review
Michelle Diener, In a Treacherous Court (2011), a thriller
which imagines how artist Susanna Horenbout and Henry VIII's courtier John
Parker might have met. Review
James Forrester, Sacred Treason (2010), about a
Catholic herald who takes charge of a dangerous book and shortly afterward is
arrested as Queen Elizabeth's councillors investigate plots against her
Philip Gooden, That Sleep of Death (2000), about an
aspiring actor who discovers his host's father was murdered in a manner that
echoes "Hamlet,"
C.W. Gortner, The Tudor Secret (2011), about a spy
for Elizabeth during Edward VI’s reign.
Karen Harper, Mistress of Mourning (2012), about a
young widow asked by Henry VII's queen to investigate the sudden death of
Prince Arthur in 1501.
Victoria Lamb, The Queen's Secret (2012), about a singer
who, while spying on the Earl of Leicester for Queen Elizabeth, discovers a
conspiracy to murder the queen;
Margaret Lawrence, Roanoke (2009), about a man sent by Queen
Elizabeth's advisers to the doomed colony of Roanoke to get information about a
legendary treasure.
Edward Marston, The Queen's Head (1988), a stage manager for an
Elizabethan theatre company investigates the murder of one of his players; #1
in the Nicholas Bracewell series.
(1988), a stage manager for an
Elizabethan theatre company investigates the murder of one of his players; #1
in the Nicholas Bracewell series.
Matthew Reilly, The Tournament (2013), Elizabeth
Tudor and her tutor Roger Ascham travel to a chess tournament in Constantinople
in 1546 where Ascham a murder.
Phil Rickman, The Bones of Avalon (2011), Doctor John
Dee and Robert Dudley find out what happened to King Arthur's bones after the
dissolution of Glastonbury Abbey. Review
C.J. Sansom, Dissolution (2003), a lawyer in
Henry VIII’s court investigates the murder of an official involved in the
dissolution of the monasteries; Review
Lloyd Shepherd, The English Monster (2012), about a
Thames River Police officer investigating murders in 1811 which link back to
the first English slaving voyage during Elizabeth I's reign in 1564
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