Queen's Gambit - Rilegato

Fremantle, Elizabeth

Rilegato

ISBN 10: 147670306X ISBN 13: 9781476703060

Casa editrice: Simon & Schuster, 2013

Riassunto

This brilliant historical fiction debut takes you into the heart of the Tudor court and the life and loves of the clever, charismatic Katherine Parr, Henry VIII’s sixth and last wife.

Widowed for the second time at age thirty-one Katherine Parr falls deeply for the dashing courtier Thomas Seymour and hopes at last to marry for love. However, obliged to return to court, she attracts the attentions of the ailing, egotistical, and dangerously powerful Henry VIII, who dispatches his love rival, Seymour, to the Continent. No one is in a position to refuse a royal proposal so, haunted by the fates of his previous wives—two executions, two annulments, one death in childbirth—Katherine must wed Henry and become his sixth queen.

Katherine has to employ all her instincts to navigate the treachery of the court, drawing a tight circle of women around her, including her stepdaughter, Meg, traumatized by events from their past that are shrouded in secrecy, and their loyal servant Dot, who knows and sees more than she understands. With the Catholic faction on the rise once more, reformers being burned for heresy, and those close to the king vying for position, Katherine’s survival seems unlikely. Yet as she treads the razor’s edge of court intrigue, she never quite gives up on love.

Su questo libro

Recensione:

"Spellbinding . . . fascinating . . . Smart, sensual and suspenseful as a thriller, Gambit is a must-read for Philippa Gregory fans--and heralds a brilliant new player in the court of royal fiction." (People)

"This is a superbly written novel . . . Fremantle is surely a major new voice in historical fiction and this book is the answer to the question about what Hilary Mantel fans should read while waiting for the final part of her trilogy." (The Bookseller)

“Wildly entertaining . . . lively, gamey, gripped with tension . . . one of the best historical novels I’ve read.” (Liz Smith)

"In Queen’s Gambit, Parr had hoped, after her much older second husband died, to be able to marry for love. Instead, she finds herself shackled to a violent, ill, grossly overweight Henry, while pining for the handsome Thomas Seymour. Parr is too smart to indulge in an affair like her doomed predecessor, but her reformist religious views could just as easily get her killed. . . . A subplot involving Parr’s maid, Dot Fownten (a real historical figure), is particularly well done. In this case, physical labor aside, downstairs in the palace may be the safer place to be." (Washington Post)

“Filled with all the intrigue, fear and secrecy that Tudor-era aficionados love, Fremantle’s earthy, vivid descriptions bring the era and her characters—especially wise and compassionate Katherine—to life.” (Romantic Times)

"A promising debut." (Historical Novels Review)

“Fremantle’s vivid, finely detailed reconstruction of Katherine Parr’s marriage to Henry VIII is a guaranteed best seller [that] fills the void just when historical fiction fans were beginning to feel the dearth of new works.” (Library Journal)

“Intrigue, romance, and treachery abound in Fremantle’s debut novel . . . . This compulsively readable fictional biography of the ultimate survivor is infused with the type of meticulous attention to historical detailing that discerning fans of Alison Weir and Philippa Gregory have come to expect in the Tudor canon.” (Booklist)

"Fremantle . . . navigates Tudor terrain with aplomb." (Publishers Weekly)

"Sins, secrets and guilt dominate the landscape of British writer Fremantle’s debut . . . [her] emphasis is on intrigue, character portraits and the texture of mid-16th-century life. Solid and sympathetic." (Kirkus Reviews)

L'autore:

Elizabeth Fremantle is the author of Sisters of Treason, Queen’s Gambit, and Watch the Lady, and has contributed to Vogue, The Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair, The Sunday Times (London), and other publications. She has also reviewed fiction for The Sunday Express. She lives in London, England.

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Simon & Schuster
• Data di pubblicazione: 2013
• ISBN 10: 147670306X
• ISBN 13: 9781476703060
• Rilegatura: Copertina rigida
• Numero di pagine: 424