Showing posts with label The Tudor Secret. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Tudor Secret. Show all posts

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Favorite Historical Novels

I've always been fascinated with history. Mostly early American history, but I spread out to other eras and countries from time to time. Thanks to blogging, I have the chance to learn about many historical novels. Here are some of my favorites.


Loss of Innocence by Anne Newton Walther was one of the first books I read when I began reviewing. I didn't even have this blog yet, so I was reviewing for a book review site. Set during the French Revolution, it is a sequel to Walther's A Time for Treason. You can read my review here.

Faith and Honor by Robin Maderich is the first book in the author's Honor trilogy. Colonial America is one of my favorite settings for stories, and this eloquently written book captured the fashion, the language, and tense situation of Colonial Boston . You can read my review here.

I was introduced to the work of C.W. Gortner through Pump Up Your Book. I've reviewed his books and helped him promote two of them. It's hard for me to say one of his books is a favorite over the other, because his eloquent writing style and his attention to detail fill every one I've read. The Tudor Secret, however, appeals to my love of mysteries too.


Set during the summer of 1553, foundling Brendan Prescott's chance meeting with Princess Elizabeth pulls him into a world of danger and intrigue. The style of this one is a bit more casual than Gortner's usual fair, but it is a superbly told story that will captivate readers. My review can be found here.


Lovers of Tudor England will most likely know the work of Margaret George. C.W. Gortner turned me onto her work, and I helped the author promote her novel, Elizabeth I.  George set this novel thirty years into the queen's reign. This allowed me to rediscover a piece of history I am familiar with from my travels to North Carolina each summer, because in this novel, Sir Walter Raleigh visits Queen Elizabeth to announce the colony on Roanoke Island has disappeared. Recently, a new clue surfaced regarding the disappearance of this colony. You can read my review of Elizabeth I here. The giveaway, however, is over.

Blogging has also allowed me to find some great World War II and post-World War II novels.

A Despicable Profession by John Knoerle is set in 1946, when America is celebrating its victory over the Germans. This outstanding historical spy novel--while not my typical historical read--blew me away. I loved it beginning to end. I shared it with my father-in-law, who also enjoyed it. He liked it so much, I bought the first book in this series for him as a birthday gift. I'm trying to make room in my schedule to read that one too.


I believe Copper Fire by Suzanne Woods Fisher is the first World War II era novel I read for this blog. It is the second in her Copper Star Series, and the book that made me a fan of her work.

After Louisa Gordon receives a telegram from the International Red Cross Training Service that her young cousin, Elizabeth has been released from a German concentration camp, she decides to go to Germany to collect her cousin and bring her back to the States. She is also eager to discover the whereabouts of Nazi sympathizer, Friedrich Mueller, who fled Copper Springs, AZ. If you love strong heroines, this is a great book. You can read my review here.

There are many other historical novels I've enjoyed through the years, but to share all of them here would make this a novel in and of itself. I didn't include any of my favorite Civil War novels because there are so many the list needs a post all its own.

What are your top three favorite historical novels?  

Friday, February 25, 2011

Book Review: The Tudor Secret by C.W. Gortner

Be swept into a world of half-truths, lies, and murder in The Tudor Secret, by acclaimed historical novelist, C.W. Gortner.

It is the summer of 1553. The foundling, Brendan Prescott, who was raised by the powerful Dudley family, is summoned to court to be the squire to Robert Dudley. The Dudleys had never shown him any kindness in the past, so he approaches his new role with a heavy dose of trepidation.

A chance meeting with Princess Elizabeth finds Brendan drawn into the middle of the danger and intrigue that surrounds her world. Her brother, King Edward VI, is dying, and Elizabeth is determined to see him, despite those who wish to capture her and her half-sister, Princess Mary, to prevent them from ever taking the throne.

Brendan is promised the key to unlocking the secrets to his mysterious past; but with the help of an orphaned stable-boy and a lady-in-waiting, his primary goal is to protect Princess Elizabeth, at any and all cost.

I've read Gortner's The Last Queen and The Confessions of Catherine de Medici. I helped the author promote the latter of the two. Since the first book, I have been a huge fan of his work, so I was thrilled when he contacted me and requested my help in promoting his latest release.

While Gortner's previous novels have focused on strong women who defied convention, the spotlight of The Tudor Secret, is a fictional male character with a mysterious past who becomes an important player in protecting Princess Elizabeth and her half-sister Princess Mary. Though Elizabeth is a dominant figure throughout the story, for the first time, Gortner places his bet upon his a character of his own imagination to carry the day. And carry the day, he did.

Brendan is a sympathetic character from the start. A foundling, he was raised by the powerful Dudleys. It is odd that he would be brought to court by those who seemed to despise him. Brendan soon becomes entangled in a plot that involves the Dudleys, the dying King Edward VI, Elizabeth, and her protector, William Cecil. He is instantly taken by the Princess, and pledges his life to her service.

Along the way, Brendan meets Peregrine, an orphaned stable boy who brings back memories of his youth. Peregrine became one of my favorite characters. I'm hoping we see more of him as this series progresses.

Gortner has always had an eloquent style, but here he loosens the reins a bit and provides the reader with a lighter, and superbly told story of intrigue and suspense. When you believe you've uncovered the secrets, a new twist is introduced, which begs you to continue reading, no matter the hour.

I truly enjoyed The Tudor Secret and am eager for the release of the next book. Lovers of historical fiction, the Tudor era, and stories filled with action and suspense, will want to pick up a copy of this one.

Title:  The Tudor Secret (The Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles)
Author:  C.W. Gortner
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
ISBN-10: 0312658508
ISBN-13: 978-0312658502
SRP:  $14.99 (paperback)

Also available in a hardcover, audio, and a Kindle edition.



The author paid me to promote The Tudor Secret through a virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book! I received no monetary compensation to provide this review.