Silver drizzle veiled the stone walls rising from the moat's stagnant water. To the north, the White Tower glistened but bade no welcome for all its shining...
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The Blurb
London, 1609. Lucy St.John, a highborn orphan at the glittering court of King James, is drawn into a dangerous affair with the Earl of Suffolk—a fateful choice that creates powerful enemies. Betrayed by her sister, Barbara and cast out in disgrace by the formidable Countess of Rochester, the Earl's vengeful sister, Lucy’s life at court is shattered.
Armed with her intelligence, education, and skill in healing, she refuses to accept defeat. In a world where women’s fates are often sealed by the ambitions of men, Lucy fights her way back into society. An unexpected marriage elevates her to the position of mistress of the Tower of London, where she faces the harsh realities of plague, political upheaval, and tragic executions of both enemies---and friends. Inside the walls of the Tower, she tends to aristocratic prisoners and criminals alike, confronting the stark brutality of the world around her.
As Barbara's fortunes rise through a marriage into the powerful Villiers family, Lucy is drawn into a dangerous game of power and survival. Her sister’s alliance with the king’s favourite, the Duke of Buckingham, promises wealth and influence but brings treachery and peril that could destroy Lucy and everything she holds dear.
In a court rife with deceit, ambition, and shifting loyalties, Lucy must navigate a perilous path, fighting to protect her honour, her family, and her very survival.
Based on the true story of Elizabeth St.John’s ancestor, Lucy St.John, this critically acclaimed novel offers a vivid portrayal of one woman’s resilience in the face of betrayal, and her courageous journey through the turbulent politics of seventeenth-century England.
My Review
The Lady of the Tower is the first book in the Lydiard Chronicles series. Based on the true story of the author's ancestors, The Lady of the Tower tells us of Lucy St. John and covers the period 1603 - 1630.
The book begins with Lucy living with her Aunt Joan and sister Barbara, following the death of her mother. Barbara is the aunt's favourite and they both treat Lucy very badly. All Lucy wants is to live her life quietly and tend her physic garden without drawing the attention of her unkind relatives and later, the attentions of the court of James I.
I very much enjoyed watching Lucy grow and mature through this novel. As a character I liked her very much. She is a tenderhearted, intelligent and caring girl who carries these attributes with her throughout her life. All this makes her a very likeable character and I was rooting for her every step of the way.
One of the things the author presented very well was the ambition and vying for position in the royal court. She describes this in a tangible way and the reader can observe the sycophantic behaviour of many of the characters in the novel. I loved the way that Lucy always remained true to herself. She wanted no part of this world although it was impossible for her to ignore.
Following marriage she finds herself mistress of The Tower of London and we consistently see Lucy's kindheartedness. She continues to tend her garden and uses her herbal cures for the good and health of the Tower's prisoners.
I liked the way that each chapter begins with either one of her physic recipes or a letter from Lucy. This gave the novel and authenticity and allowed me to hear Lucy's voice.
The book has been well written and researched and I enjoyed reading it very much. The author has a storyteller's instinct and thus the book reads easily and well. She has woven fact into highly readable fiction.
I am now looking forward to reading the next book in this series, By Love Divided.
Book Details:
ISBN: 978 1523417889
Publisher: Falcon Historical
Formats: e-book, audio, hardback and paperback (currently available on Kindle Unlimited)
No. of Pages: 393 (paperback)
Purchase Links
About the Series
This blog tour was actually for all three books in the series. Time only permitted me to read one but I thought on this occasion that you might like to know a little more about the series as a whole.
Duty, passion, and power collide in The Lydiard Chronicles, a gripping trilogy inspired by true events. Follow three courageous women—survivors, strategists, and storytellers—who defy the constraints of society to shape their family’s fate and England’s future. Their voices echo through time. Their legacy changed a nation.
The Lydiard Chronicles is an award-winning, best-selling historical family saga which brings to life the remarkable true stories of the St.John family. Spanning three compelling novels—The Lady of the Tower, By Love Divided, and Written in Their Stars—the series follows the legacy of resilient and intelligent women who lived as spies, courtiers, and diarists during England’s most turbulent century, navigating the quicksand of love and war, political upheaval, and personal sacrifice.
Bound by fierce family loyalty and unforgettable love, the women of The Lydiard Chronicles defy the limits of their time with passion, courage, and unshakable independence. They endured captivity in the Tower of London, exile in the Louvre Palace, and the heart-wrenching divisions of the English Civil War—fighting not just for survival, but for their beliefs, their families, and the right to choose their own fate. Meticulously researched and vividly told, this epic saga reveals how these women created history from the shadows, leaving a legacy of resilience, defiance, and enduring influence.
Rooted in original diaries, letters, and family papers, The Lydiard Chronicles offers an intimate, biographical portrait of women who moved behind the scenes of power. Serving as trusted secret agents, military wives, and confidantes of kings, they were deeply engaged in the political and religious conflicts of their time. Through tragedy and triumph, the women of The Lydiard Chronicles shape their destinies—and the fate of a nation—in this richly researched and vividly told historical epic.
About the Author
Elizabeth St.John’s critically acclaimed historical fiction novels tell the stories of her ancestors: extraordinary women whose intriguing kinship with England's kings and queens brings an intimately unique perspective to Medieval, Tudor, and Stuart times.
Inspired by family archives and residences from Lydiard Park to the Tower of London, Elizabeth spends much of her time exploring ancestral portraits, diaries, and lost gardens. And encountering the occasional ghost. But that’s another story.
Living between California, England, and the past, Elizabeth is the International Ambassador for The Friends of Lydiard Park, an English charity dedicated to conserving and enhancing this beautiful centuries-old country house and park. As a curator for The Lydiard Archives, she is constantly looking for an undiscovered treasure to inspire her next novel.
Elizabeth's works include The Lydiard Chronicles, a family saga set in 17th-century England during the Civil War, and The Godmother's Secret, which unravels the medieval mystery of the missing princes in the Tower of London. Her latest release, The King’s Intelligencer, follows Franny Apsley in the treacherous court of Charles II as she risks everything to uncover the dangerous truth behind the discovery of the princes’ bones.
You can also find Elizabeth at:
(ARC/media courtesy of The Coffee Pot Book Club)
(all opinions are my own)
