"In lively, absorbing prose that rivals the finest literary fiction, prize-winning historian Carolly Erickson recreates the life of the notorious Tudor king, Henry VIII. In his youth as a charming national hero, his reign as a monstrous king, and his final days as a tottering old man, Erickson draws a thoroughly convincing portrait of one of English history's most notorious characters."
"To this day Marie Antoinette remains one of history's most misunderstood heroines. How she triumphed over the petty jealousies and backstairs rivalries of the court, how she sustained a good-hearted but malleable king, and how she was transformed from French queen to Austrian 'whore,' is the story told with skill and fascinating detail."
"Her Little Majesty is a fresh and fascinating portrait of the diminutive monarch who ruled the vast British empire for over 60 years. Award-winning biographer and historian, Carolly Erickson, transports you behind the walls of Buckingham Palace to introduce you to the quirky, loveable Queen Victoria-revealed only to her closest associates. Emotionally deprived, inadequately educated, and socially isolated for much of her life, young Victoria felt ill-prepared to ascend the throne. But the 19-year-old queen met her coronation day with outward dignity and confidence-then went home to bathe her pet dog. Even though her frequent temper tantrums and neurotic obsessions would have critics repeatedly fearing for her sanity, she became a powerful ruler, relentlessly leading her country through devastating wars and sweeping political reform. Carolly Erickson draws on diaries, letters, and historical documents to pen this dramatic account of England's popular matriarch and the turbulent era that carries her name. Narrator Nelson Runger will hold you enthralled as the glory and the adversities of the Victorian age unfold."
"The bestselling author of The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette and The Last Wife of Henry VIII returns with an enchanting novel about one of the most seductive women in history: Josephine Bonaparte, first wife of Napoleon.
Born on the Caribbean island of Martinique, Josephine had an exotic Creole appeal that would ultimately propel her to reign over an empire as wife of the most powerful man in the world. But her life is a story of ambition and danger, of luck and a ferocious will to survive. Married young to an arrogant French aristocrat who died during the Terror, Josephine also narrowly missed losing her head to the guillotine. But her extraordinary charm, sensuality, and natural cunning helped her become mistress to some of the most powerful politicians in post-Revolutionary France.
Soon she had married the much younger General Bonaparte, whose armies garnered France an empire that ran from Europe to Africa and the New World and who crowned himself and his wife Emperor and Empress of France. He dominated on the battlefield, and she presided over the worlds of fashion and glamour. But Josephine’s heart belonged to another man—the mysterious, compelling stranger who had won her as a girl in Martinique."
"From New York Times bestselling author of The Last Wife of Henry VIII, a novel about Catherine Howard, wife of Henry's later years
Amid the turbulent, faction-ridden late reign of the fearsome Henry, eager high-spirited Catherine Howard caught the king's eye—but not before she had been the sensual plaything of at least three other men. Ignorant of her past, seeing only her youthful exuberance and believing that she could make him happy, he married her—only to discover, too late, that her heart belonged to his gentleman usher Tom Culpeper.
As the net of court intrigue tightens around her, and with the Tudor succession yet again in peril because of Prince Edward's severe illness, Queen Catherine struggles to give the angry, bloated and impotent king a son. But when her relations turn against her, she finds herself doomed, just as her cousin Anne Boleyn was, to face the executioner.
The Unfaithful Queen lays bare the dark underbelly of the Tudor court, with its sugared rivalries and bitter struggles for power, where a girl of noble family could find herself sent to labor among the turnspits in the kitchens or—should fortune favor her—be exalted to the throne."
"Elizabeth was not just Queen, she was ruler. In an age of male supremacy she, by sheer force of character, became not only the unchallenged leader of the English but also the first leader of an empire upon which the sun never set. Erickson's biography tells the truth about this extraordinary woman and profiles some amazing people-their personalities and culture."
"Prize-winning historian and biographer, Carolly Erickson has created an eminently readable biography that recognizes the humanity of Great Catherine-Empress of Russia-with her majesty and immense capability. Dispelling some of the myths surrounding her voracious sexual appetite, the biographer portrays Catherine as a lonely woman far ahead of her time-achieving greatness in an era when women were executed on a husband's whim."
"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."
"Her Little Majesty is a fresh and fascinating portrait of the diminutive monarch who ruled the vast British empire for over 60 years. Award-winning biographer and historian, Carolly Erickson, transports you behind the walls of Buckingham Palace to introduce you to the quirky, loveable Queen Victoria-revealed only to her closest associates. Emotionally deprived, inadequately educated, and socially isolated for much of her life, young Victoria felt ill-prepared to ascend the throne. But the 19-year-old queen met her coronation day with outward dignity and confidence-then went home to bathe her pet dog. Even though her frequent temper tantrums and neurotic obsessions would have critics repeatedly fearing for her sanity, she became a powerful ruler, relentlessly leading her country through devastating wars and sweeping political reform. Carolly Erickson draws on diaries, letters, and historical documents to pen this dramatic account of England's popular matriarch and the turbulent era that carries her name. Narrator Nelson Runger will hold you enthralled as the glory and the adversities of the Victorian age unfold."
"A powerful ruler, an alluring young woman, a scandal that would rock the nation: Anne Boleyn's life story sounds more like a juicy TV docu-drama than a chapter of English history. Although she is not of noble birth or even especially beautiful, Anne Boleyn manages to rise to the very pinnacle of the English aristocracy. Renowned for her extraordinarily vivid recreations of historical events, Carolly Erickson brings out the full fascinating story of the enigmatic Anne Boleyn. Erickson paints an engaging portrait of this intriguing woman and her tragic life, from her early education in court intrigue, through her courtship and controversial marriage to Henry VIII, to the day she mounts the scaffold. With her expertise in the Tudor period, her sensitivity to sexual and political nuance, and her eminently readable prose style, Carolly Erickson is the ideal biographer for the elusive Anne Boleyn. Narrator Simon Prebble's elegant performance evokes all of the bittersweet drama of Boleyn's exceptional life and the tumultuous times in which she lived."
"Acclaimed biographer Carolly Erickson brings history vibrantly to life with
her powerful flesh-and-blood portrait of Charles Stuart, the Young Pretender to the British throne. Courageously attempting to conquer England, this significant figure in Scottish history divides the troubled British kingdom and disturbs decadent monarchies throughout the entire European continent.
Convinced he was meant to be king, handsome 24-year-old Charles secretly gathers a motley band of rebels in the Highlands of Scotland. He marches his undisciplined troops fearlessly through the English heartland in a daring military campaign, gathering grassroots support along the way. But even as victory appears within his grasp, his ragtag army begins disintegrating.
The much-celebrated prince is forced to finish his life in humiliating exile—
tormented by disappointment and forever clinging to the belief only he should rule England. Carefully researched, historian Carolly Erickson’s crisp prose reads as well as a thrilling novel.
“Erickson [is] a gifted writer with a novelistic flair for detail.”—San Francisco Chronicle"
"The tumult and opulence of England's Regency era burst from the pages in this work of literary nonfiction by acclaimed author Carolly Erickson. When dementia forces King George III to vacate his throne, the kingdom slips into a decade marked with excess, scandal, and riots. King George has suffered bouts of mental instability before, but in 1810 he shows no signs of recovering. Public and government business halts as word of his condition leaks out. Hoping to control the crisis, Parliament appoints the king's unpopular son Prince George IV as Regent or caretaker. But for the next nine years, this substitute ruler shocks the nation with his drunkenness, his mistresses, and his wanton spending. From seething mobs in the streets to Lucullan feasts in drawing rooms, historian Carolly Erickson vividly captures the nation in a troubled transition. With narrator Simon Prebble's dramatic performance, the splendor and intrigue of Regency England are as enthralling as the most entertaining novel."
