The Lady of the Tower by Elizabeth St. John - #bookreview #blogtour

 

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

Amazon UK

Amazon US

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:

Author Website

Instagram

Bluesky

(ARC/media courtesy of The Coffee Pot Book Club)

(all opinions are my own)

The Devil's Slave by Tracy Borman - #BookReview

The amber seemed to glow as Frances held it up to the candle that burned on her dresser. The beads were perfectly smooth and round, yet as the light shone through them, she could see the myriad dark flecks and shadows that made each one unique.

The rosary had been a gift from Queen Anne, who had slipped it quietly into her hands as Frances had taken her leave from court. "Keep faith," she had whispered, bending forward to kiss Frances on both cheeks. As she slowly threaded the beads through her fingers now, Frances wondered if Anne, too, would continue to abide by the faith that had bound her to the plotters - had made her countenance the murder of her husband and son.

***

Frances Gorges was accused of witchcraft - and she survived. But if her torturers at the court of King James discover she is pregnant with the child of Tom Wintour, her lover executed for his part in the Gunpowder Plot, it will mean certain death.

Then Frances is offered an escape: marriage. She will not be expected to sleep with her new husband, only to give up the cause for which Tom died.

But even when she is surrounded by the venomous dangers of life at court, Frances finds old loyalties hard to deny...

Compelling, sensual, suspenseful, The Devil's Slave is a novel of family, power and heartbreaking dilemmas. It is also a surprising, thrilling love story.

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I actually finished reading this at the end of last year but have not had a space on the blog in which to upload it. This is the second part of the Frances Gorges trilogy, and follows on from The King's Witch which I have previously read and enjoyed.

The book begins sedately with Frances living a quiet life in the countryside, along with her husband and young son, George. Together, they return to the court of King James I where the plot gains both pace and tension, right through to the final chapter. As the book progresses, I wondered how all of this would end for Frances, and the author maintained the tension right up to the denouement.

As would be expected from the pen of Ms. Borman, who is a well-respected historian and the author of several non-fiction titles, it is obvious to the reader that this novel, along with it's predecessor, has been written following extensive research. As an academic the author has been able to use her skills and knowledge and has crafted her novel with intelligence and prowess. 

The characters in the novel are based on real historical figures and the author has brought her characters to life on the page in a way that makes them utterly believable.

I am so pleased that there is another book in this series, The Fallen Angel, as I am already keenly anticipating what happens in Frances' story next.

ISBN: 978 1473662513

Publisher: Hodder Paperbacks

Formats: e-book, audio and paperback

No. of Pages: 432 (paperback)

About the Author:

Tracy studied and taught history at the University of Hull and was awarded a PHD in 1997. She went on to a successful career in heritage and have worked for a range of historic properties and national heritage organisations, including the Heritage Lottery Fund, The National Archives and English Heritage. She is now Chief Executive of the Heritage Education Trust, a charity that encourages children to visit and learn from historic properties through the Sandford Award scheme. She is also joint Chief Curator for Historic Royal Palaces, the charity that manages Hampton Court Palace, the Tower of London, Kensington Palace, Kew Palace, the Banqueting House, Whitehall and Hillsborough Castle. In July 2022, she was nominated Chancellor of Bishop Grosseteste University, Lincoln.

She often appears on television and radio, and is a regular contributor to history magazines, notably BBC History. She gives talks on her books across the country. 

She is proud to be a trustee of The Buccleuch Living Heritage Trust and The National Archives Foundation, as well as a Patron of Lavenham Library, the Friends of Marble Hill House and the Chalke Valley History Festival, and Patron (Historical) of the Vectis Archaeological Trust.  In 2017 she was awarded an honorary degree (DLit) from the University of Hull; in 2020  was made an Honorary Fellow in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Queen Mary University of London; and in 2021 she was made an Honorary Professor at Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln. She is also a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

(author photo and bio info courtesy of the author's own website)