Alison Weir

It's 1152 and a beautiful woman of 30 is riding southwards through what is now France, leaving behind her crown, her two young daughters and a shattered marriage to Louis of France. This woman is Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine, and her sole purpose now is to return to her vast duchy and marry the man she loves, Henry Plantagenet.

It begins with young Tom Wolsey, the bright and brilliant son of a Suffolk tradesman, sent to study at Oxford at just eleven years old.

It ends with a disgraced cardinal, cast from the King's side and estranged from the woman he loves.

The years in between tell the story of a scholar and a lover, a father and a priest. From the court of Henry VIII, Tom builds a powerful empire of church and state. At home in London, away from prying eyes, he finds joy in a secret second life.

But when King Henry, his cherished friend, demands the ultimate sacrifice, what will Wolsey choose?

The year is 1562. Lady Catherine Grey, cousin of Elizabeth I, and her husband have been arrested - their crime is to have secretly married and produced a child who might threaten the Queen's title. Alone in her chamber at the Tower of London, Catherine hears ghostly voices; echoes, she thinks, of a crime committed in the same room where she is imprisoned…

Elizabeth of York was one of the key figures of the Wars of the Roses. She married Henry Tudor to bring peace to a war-torn England. Alison Weir builds a portrait of this beloved queen, placing her in the context of the magnificent, ceremonious, often brutal world she inhabited.

AN ENGLISH PRINCESS, BORN INTO A WAR BETWEEN TWO FAMILIES. Eldest daughter of the royal House of York, Elizabeth dreams of a crown to call her own. But when her beloved father, King Edward, dies suddenly, her destiny is rewritten. Her family's enemies close in. Two young princes are murdered in the Tower. Then her uncle seizes power - and vows to make Elizabeth his queen. But another claimant seeks the throne, the upstart son of the rival royal House of Lancaster. Marriage to this Henry Tudor would unite the white rose of York and the red of Lancaster - and change everything. A great new age awaits. Now Elizabeth must choose her allies - and husband - wisely, and fight for her right to rule. 

In this short prequel to Elizabeth of York, The Last White Rose, the young princess is born - and the future of England hangs in the balance.

The Palace of Westminster, 1466. As the Queen of England lies in her chamber, exhausted from childbirth, the court awaits news of the longed-for heir...

King Edward prays for a son to ensure the succession of his line. Godfather Warwick knows his influence over the King cannot last. Grandmother Cecily hopes her new grandchild will one day bring great fortune to England. Lord Hastings fears the growing hostility within King Edward's inner circle. The boy Henry does not yet know his own significance. Uncle Richard visits the new baby - and dreams that night of a golden crown...

Lady Jane Grey was a pawn in a dynastic game with the highest stakes. Growing up with the future Queen Elizabeth, her honesty, intelligence and strength of character carry her through all the vicious twists of Tudor power politics, to her nine-day reign and its unbearably poignant conclusion...

Katherine Swynford’s story provides unique insights into the life of a medieval woman. An important person in her own right, she made her own choices, flouted convention and took control of her own destiny.

Elizabeth Tudor is daughter to Henry VIII, the most powerful king England has ever known. She is destined to ascend the throne, and deferred to as the King's heiress, but that all changes when her mother Anne Boleyn - Henry`s great passion and folly - is executed for treason. Elizabeth 's life alters in a heartbeat but she is determined to survive, to foil those who want to destroy her and to reclaim her birthright . . .

The imprisonment and execution of Queen Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII's second wife, in 1536 was unprecedented in English history. This is a richly researched and detailed portrait of the last days of one of the most influential and important figures in English history.

The Wars of the Roses, between the houses of Lancaster and York was characterised by treachery, deceit and bloody battles. This gripping account focuses on Henry VI, the pious king whose mental instability led to political chaos, and his wife Margaret of Anjou, who took up her arms in her husband’s cause and battled in a violent man's world.

Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox; her mother was a queen, her father an earl, and she herself was the granddaughter, niece, cousin and grandmother of monarchs. Beautiful and tempestuous, she created scandal by falling in love with unsuitable men. Fortunately, the marriage arranged for her turned into a love match.

Mary Boleyn was overshadowed by her younger sister Anne, whom famously married Henry VIII. Yet despite almost being lost in history Mary Boleyn was a fascinating woman whose life, courage and determination is recounted in this detailed portrayal.

Alison Weir reveals the lives of five of England's queens in the century after the Norman Conquest. Beginning with Matilda of Flanders, who supported William the Conqueror in 1066, these Norman queens emerge as hugely influential figures and fascinating characters.

More than four hundred years ago, seven people - five of them women - were beheaded in the Tower of London. Three had been queens of England. The others were found guilty of treason. Why were such important people put to death? This gripping book tells their stories. Quick Reads.