At the Mercy of the Queen by Anne Clinard Barnhill

Instead, Mary falls in love with a man who is completely unsuitable.

No matter how hard the queen tries to push her into his arms, Mary refuses. But while Oxford seems to be everything the queen admires: clever, polished and wealthy, Mary knows him to be lecherous, cruel, and full of treachery.

The most likely prospect: Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford. The queen loves Mary like a daughter, and, like any good mother, she wants her to make a powerful match. Unfortunately this novel is marred overall by stilted dialogue, character inconsistencies, and an unlikely and incomplete resolution.From Anne Barnhill, the author of At the Mercy of the Queen, comes the gripping tale of Mary Shelton, Elizabeth I's young cousin and ward, set against the glittering backdrop of the Elizabethan courtMistress Mary Shelton is Queen Elizabeth's favorite ward, enjoying every privilege the position affords. The conclusion of her tale requires significant suspension of disbelief.įans of Tudor court stories will appreciate Barnhill’s fine descriptions of pageantry and her effective depiction of Henry and Anne and their relationship.

Leaving court, Madge finds herself married to a Norfolk landowner but carrying a lover’s child. Anne miscarries a son, and her well-known downfall is accurately charted. The king’s affair with Madge is brief, and he is inclined to marry her to Norris. Madge agrees but assures Arthur that she will lie first with him before going to Henry - his acceptance of this offer is a hint of the breaches in logic that follow. To prevent this, she urges Madge to become the king’s mistress, as Anne’s sister Mary once was. (The title-challenged author erroneously refers to them as “Sir Wyatt” and “Sir Norris.”) But ever since her arrival in London, Madge has fancied only one man - Arthur Brandon, a duke’s illegitimate son.Īfter Anne bears a daughter rather than the longed-for son, she begins to fear that Henry’s straying eye will alight upon an enemy - plain-faced Jane Seymour. As well as befriending court luminary Sir Thomas Wyatt, she is courted by the obnoxiously lecherous courtier Sir Henry Norris. As she settles into court life, she also has cause to be wary of the ambitious Boleyns, who expect her to aid their advancement. An excited participant in Anne’s coronation, she soon discovers her cousin’s uneven temper and determination to keep King Henry in thrall to her. Margaret “Madge” Shelton of Norfolk, Anne Boleyn’s pretty 14-year-old cousin, becomes lady-in-waiting to the new queen, accompanied to court by her nurse and her dog.

At the Mercy of the Queen by Anne Clinard Barnhill