There was once a queen who possessed a magnificent garden, filled with many varied flowers. One day, she fell ill and her doctors had little hope of a recovery. Only one of them said that a cure existed: the loveliest rose in the world. If it was found and brought to the queen, she would be saved. But where was the loveliest rose? And what was she called? No one knew, but they went looking. Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) was a Danish author, poet and artist. Celebrated for children’s literature, his most cherished fairy tales include "The Emperor's New Clothes", "The Little Mermaid", "The Nightingale", "The Steadfast Tin Soldier", "The Snow Queen", "The Ugly Duckling" and "The Little Match Girl". His books have been translated into every living language, and today there is no child or adult that has not met Andersen's whimsical characters. His fairy tales have been adapted to stage and screen countless times, most notably by Disney with the animated films "The Little Mermaid" in 1989 and "Frozen", which is loosely based on "The Snow Queen", in 2013. Thanks to Andersen's contribution to children's literature, his birth date, April 2, is celebrated as International Children's Book Day.

Rosamund was born in poverty and rose to become one of the beauties of her age. She captured the King’s heart thus drawing herself into a dangerous rivalry with his wife, the formidable Eleanor. Henry II shows his devotion to Rosamund, his fair rose, by building a bower safe within a maze and making her the richest woman of her age. Rosamund must risk the wrath of Eleanor and the church, and run the gauntlet of moral persecution in a society that was unforgiving towards women.Now, in this new historical fiction, Rosamund’s life in 12th Century England has been vividly imagined This is not just a romantic, historical romp, it’s a story as tragic and timeless as it is scandalous!