A child born in the plague year of 1348, abandoned and raised within the oppressive walls of a convent, Alice Perrers refused to take the veil, convinced that a greater destiny awaited her. Ambitious and quick witted, she rose above her obscure beginnings to become the infamous mistress of Edward III. But always, essentially, she was alone... Early in Alice’s life, a chance meeting with royalty changes everything: Kindly Queen Philippa, deeply in love with her husband but gravely ill, chooses Alice as a lady-in-waiting. Under the queen’s watchful eye, Alice dares to speak her mind. She demands to be taken seriously. She even flirts with the dynamic, much older king. But she is torn when her vibrant spirit captures his interest...and leads her to a betrayal she never intended. In Edward’s private chambers, Alice discovers the pleasures and paradoxes of her position. She is the queen’s confidante and the king’s lover, yet she can rely only on herself. It is a divided role she was destined to play, and she vows to play it until the bitter end. Even as she is swept up in Edward’s lavish and magnificent court, amassing wealth and influence for herself, becoming an enemy of his power-hungry son John of Gaunt, and a sparring partner to resourceful diplomat William de Windsor, she anticipates the day when the political winds will turn against her. For when her detractors voice their hatred,and accusations of treason swirl around her,threatening to destroy everything she has achieved, who will stand by Alice then? Includes a readers guide

History paints her as a low–born, unattractive, grasping and greedy woman who used her position of power with King Edward purely for her own ends. This stunning novel rewrites perceptions and brings us Alice Perrers as you've never seen her before! Taken from the gutter by the Queen of England and given a role much above her station, Alice can ignore the jealous whispers if it means she's one step closer...to becoming somebody. A woman of history. Like no other woman of the court, confident, bold and forthright, the infamous Alice Perrers soon finds herself in the path of the King himself. But is she driven by power, politics or love? Her enemies want her banished. The King wants her as his mistress. Alice is on the road to infamy and there's no turning back.

A Sunday Times BestsellerEngland’s Forgotten Queens ‘O’Brien cleverly intertwines the personal and political in this enjoyable, gripping tale.’ The Times

Kari Sperring's first novel was a finalist for the Crawford Award, a Tiptree Award Honor Book, a LOCUS Recommended First Novel, and the winner of the Sydney J. Bounds Award for Best Newcomer. Now she returns to the same amazing and atmospheric world with an entirely new story set several hundred years after the earth-shaking events of Living With Ghosts. When a wealthy young woman, obsessed with a childhood vision of a magical Shining Palace, sets out with her true love to search for a legendary land, she discovers the devastated WorldBelow - the realm of the Grass King - and the terrifying Cadre, who take her prisoner, and demand she either restore the king's concubine... or replace her.

In the second title of The Troy Game series, love and revenge are set against the very fabric of time itself as a warrior waits for his opportunity to finish what was started centuries before.

Taken from her people. Claimed by an alpha. Forced into a new life. In a time before tools of metal and houses of wood, tooth and claw rule the wild places of the world. The Moon People have been enemies to Netya's kind for as long as the stars can remember. They are monsters, demons, men and women who take the shapes of beasts. The murderers of her father. An outsider taken as a prize by the pack, Netya must overcome suspicion, rivalry, and the division of her own heart as she grows to realise that monsters wear many different faces. Among the Moon People she uncovers the potential of a life she never knew existed. The chance for a woman to become something more than a prize, or a mother, or a concubine. But as the alpha and others vie for her heart, the powerful huntress Vaya seeks to purge Netya from her pack. Before Netya can decide where she belongs, she must endure the trials of love, hatred, and heartbreak. The girl taken as a trophy must become a woman. 170,700 words in length. Contains explicit sexual content.

Acclaimed and beloved historical novelist Norah Lofts brings to life the danger, romance, and intrigue of the Tudor court that forever altered the course of English history. The king first noticed Anne Boleyn as a heartbroken sixteen-year-old, sullen and beautiful after a thwarted romance with the son of the Earl of Northumberland. "All eyes and hair," a courtier had said disparagingly of her, but when King Henry VIII fell for young Anne, nothing could keep him from what he desired. Against common sense and the urgings of his most trusted advisors, Henry defied all, blindly following his passion for Anne, using the power he held over the bodies and souls of all who reside in his realm and beyond. Anne's ascent to the throne elevates her from lady-in-waiting to the highest position a woman could attain, but her life spirals out of control when Henry is driven to desperate acts of betrayal and violence. The consequences of Anne's rise to power and eventual demise are felt well beyond the inner circle of the court. Loyalties, to church, to queen, to country, are tested, and -- in the wake of the king's volatile passions -- can be an unpredictable matter of life and death. First published in 1963 and adored by readers for generations, Lofts' lush and moving portrayal of the ambitious and doomed Anne Boleyn will continue to reign as a classic retelling of this epic chapter of history vividly brought to life.