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Author: Carolly Erickson | Website

Distinguished historian Carolly Erickson is the author ofThe Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette, The First Elizabeth, Great Catherine, Alexandra and many other prize-winning works of fiction and nonfiction. She lives in Hawaii.

 


Published Works & Book Reviews

The Favored Queen

From The New York Times bestselling author of The Last Wife of Henry VIII comes a powerful and moving novel about Jane Seymour, third wife of Henry VIII, who married him only days after the execution of Anne Boleyn and ultimately lost her own life in giving him the son he badly needed to guarantee the Tudor succession

Born into an ambitious noble family, young Jane Seymour is sent to Court as a Maid of Honor to Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s aging queen. She is devoted to her mistress and watches with empathy as the calculating Anne Boleyn contrives to supplant her as queen. Anne’s single-minded intriguing threatens all who stand in her way; she does not hesitate to arrange the murder of a woman who knows a secret so dark that, if revealed, would make it impossible for the king to marry Anne.

Once Anne becomes queen, no one at court is safe, and Jane herself becomes the victim of Anne’s venomous rage when she suspects Jane has become the object of the king’s lust. Henry, fearing that Anne’s inability to give him a son is a sign of divine wrath, asks Jane to become his next queen. Deeply reluctant to embark on such a dangerous course, Jane must choose between her heart and her loyalty to the king.

Acclaimed biographer and bestselling novelist Carolly Erickson weaves another of her irresistible historical entertainments about the queen who finally gave Henry VIII his longed for heir, set against the excitement and danger of the Tudor Court.

Reviewer: Danya
Review: Dec 26, 2011
Genre(s): Historical Fiction
Jane Seymour started out as a Maid of Honor to Catherine, Henry the VIII"s Spanish wife. She watched Catherine struggle to give Henry the prince he so strongly desired, and fail multiple times. Anne Boleyn, another of Catherine's Maids, schemed her way to Henry's affections, overthrowing a marriage and the Catholic church, only to fail herself in the goal of a prince for England. Jane Seymour finds herself th

Rival to the Queen

Powerful, dramatic and full of the rich history that has made Carolly Erickson s novels perennial bestsellers, this is the story of the only woman to ever stand up to the ...

Reviewer: Danya
Review: Nov 2, 2010
Genre(s): Historical Fiction
The romance between Queen Elizabeth and Robert Dudley is a story that has survived the centuries, but what about the woman who married Robert, Lettice Knollys, Elizabeth's own cousin. Lettice Knollys and Queen Elizabeth had a tumultous relationship from the beginning, as Queen Elizabeth was fond of being the most beautiful and most adored woman in her court. Robert Dudley won his advancements by making Queen

The Memoirs of Mary Queen of Scots

Born Queen of Scotland, married as a girl to the invalid young King of France, Mary took the reins of the unruly king dom of Scotland as a young widow and fought to keep her throne. A second marriage to her handsome but dissolute cousin Lord Darnley ended in murder and scandal, while a third to the dash - ing Lord Bothwell, the love of her life, gave her joy but widened the scandal and surrounded her with enduring ill repute.
 

Unable to rise above the violence and disorder that swirled around her, Mary escaped to England—only to find herself a prisoner of her ruthless, merciless cousin Queen Elizabeth.

Here, in her own riveting account, is the enchanting woman whose name still evokes excitement and compassion—and whose death under the headsman’s axe still draws forth our sorrow.

Reviewer: Danya
Review: Aug 3, 2009
Genre(s): Historical Fiction
Mary was born Queen of Scots, raised in France, and died in England. With her marriage to Francis, Mary's story starts off. Her life in France took a downward turn after Francis died, leaving Mary ready to return to Scotland and her people. Unfortunately, Mary's poor choices in men lead her to marry Darnley who threatens not only her hold on the crown but her life as well. Forced to run, Mary flees to her cou

The Tsarina's Daughter

From the bestselling author of The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette comes a dramatic novel and powerful love story about the last Russian imperial family.>

It is 1989 and Daria Gradov is an elderly grandmother living in the rural West. What neighbors and even her children don’t know, however, is that she is not who she claims to be—the widow of a Russian immigrant of modest means. In actuality she began her life as the Grand Duchess Tatiana, known as Tania to her parents, Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra.

And so begins the latest entrancing historical entertainment by Carolly Erickson. At its center is young Tania, who lives a life of incomparable luxury in pre-Revolutionary Russia, from the magnificence of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg to the family’s private enclave outside the capital. Tania is one of four daughters, and the birth of her younger brother Alexei is both a blessing and a curse. When he is diagnosed with hemophilia and the key to his survival lies in the mysterious power of the illiterate monk Rasputin, it is merely an omen of much worse things to come. Soon war breaks out and revolution sweeps the family from power and into claustrophobic imprisonment in Siberia. Into Tania’s world comes a young soldier whose life she helps to save and who becomes her partner in daring plans to rescue the imperial family from certain death.

Reviewer: Terri
Review: Dec 7, 2008
Genre(s): Historical Fiction
Tania is the second of four daughters of Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra. She was born in 1898 and lives in a rapidly changing world where the wealth of her family will not protect her. One of her first memories is the war against Japan. While the Russian people began that war with hope and confidence, it ended with turmoil and a growing need for change. In this backdrop, Tania grow

Reviewer: Danni
Review: Oct 1, 2007
Genre(s): Historical Fiction
Rose Thatcher is whom she was born. The details of Rose/Josephine's life are richly drawn and despite the slow start, pull you into her world. Rose acquaintance with the Lt. Scipion du Roure began when she was 15. Unfortunately, she is married off to her cousin, Alexandre Beauharnais, her Aunt Edmee's son so their relationship is a platonic love. After bearing him two children, Alexandre dies while Rose narr

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