Philippa Gregory

In 1539 Henry VIII is an ageing, sick king who desperately wants another male heir. He needs to marry again and the chosen bride is Anne of Cleves. The later years of Henry's life are chronicled by Anne of Cleves and Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford.

A delightful collection of short stories from an author better known for her historical novels. A TV chef who specializes in outrageous cakes tempts a monk; a surprise visitor invites mayhem into the perfect minimalist flat; and a woman explains her unique view of straying husbands.

The story of Katharine of Aragon, born Catalina, the Spanish Infanta. Betrothed to Arthur, Prince of Wales at the age of four and raised to be Queen of England. When Arthur dies as a very young man the only way to fulfil her destiny is by marrying his younger brother, Henry.

A man of humble birth, John Tradescant became the greatest gardener of his day and loyal servant to kings and politicians. This wonderful novel transports us back into his world, to a time of intrigue, change and upheaval. Book 1 of series.

Lily Valance wants to forget the war. She's determined to enjoy the world of the 1920s, with its music, singing, laughter and pleasure. But her husband's horrors of World War 1 overshadow their lives as the truth of what took place in the mud and darkness bring him and all who love him to a terrible reckoning…

In the Dower house two children are being raised in protected innocence. They are equal claimants to the inheritance of Wideacre; tied by a secret childhood betrothal but forbidden to marry, yet only one can inherit the estate.  Book 2 of series.

As an heir to the Plantagenets, Margaret of York is seen by the King's mother as a powerful threat to the Tudor claim to the throne. Caught between the old and the new, Margaret must find her own way, concealing deep within her the knowledge that an old curse cast upon all the Tudors is slowly coming true...

Jane Grey was Queen of England for nine days. She was put on the throne ahead of the king’s half-sister Mary, who quickly claimed her crown and locked Jane in the Tower. When Jane refused to betray her Protestant faith, Mary sent her to the executioner’s block. There Jane turned her father’s greedy, failed grab for power into her own brave and tragic martyrdom.

When Ruth marries she realises that she can never measure up to her Mother-in-law. Faced with isolation, deceit and betrayal Ruth starts to doubt her own sanity in this tense thriller.

Meridon, a Romany girl, is determined to escape the hardship of her childhood. Riding bareback in a show, while her sister risks her life on the trapeze, she dedicates herself to freeing them from danger and poverty.  Book 3 of series.

Today, when we think of women of the past, we often think of the 1800s and 1900s - crinolines and stage coaches, bonnets and balls - a time when women were told they were naturally inferior to men, and must stay at home while men went out to work and have fun.

HUGE MISTAKE! There is so much more to women's history than bonnets and big dresses! Ordinary women have been doing extraordinary things FOR EVER - it just didn't make the history books (written by men!).

Join multi-award-winning author Philippa Gregory as she tells the story of ordinary English women, making history for 900 years. Meet farmers, highwaywomen, pirates, 'female husbands', slaves, soldiers, criminals, writers, inventors, rioters and more - protesting, working, playing, taking risks, getting rich (and getting even!). Their story is one of ingenuity, diversity, rebellion, survival - and sisterhood.

Did you know that there are more penises than women in the Bayeux Tapestry?

That the Peasant’s Revolt was started and propelled by women, protesting a tax on women?

Or that celebrated naturalist Charles Darwin believed not just that women were naturally inferior to men but that they’d evolve to become ever more inferior?

These are just a few of the startling findings you will learn from reading Philippa Gregory’s Normal Women. In this ambitious and ground-breaking book, she tells the story of our nation over 900 years, but for the very first time women – some fifty per cent of the population – are no longer invisible in this history of England, but are at its beating heart.

Set in the court of Henry VIII, this is the story of Mary Boleyn, who was once a rival to her sister Anne for the affections of the King.

When Mary, Queen of Scots fled to England in 1568 she expected her cousin, Elizabeth 1st, to help her regain Scotland. Instead she was given into the custody of George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury and his new wife, Bess of Hardwick. This is the story of Mary's nineteen-year imprisonment told by Mary, George and Bess.

There is bitter enmity between the daughters of Henry VIII as each struggles for power. Hannah, a naïve looking, young woman from the court is sent by Robert Dudley to spy on Mary. Once there Hannah realises the depth of Mary's religious commitment which will have such tragic consequences later. This is a commercial recording published by Isis Audio Books 2003.

Margaret Beaufort, the child-bride of Edmund Tudor, widowed and a mother at only fourteen, is determined to turn her lonely life into a triumph. She sets her heart on putting her son on the throne of England regardless of the cost to herself, to England, and even to the little boy.

In 1787 Frances enters the world of Bristol Merchants and finds her life and fortune dependent on the trade of sugar, rum and slaves.

England is in turmoil in the approach to the Civil War and John Tradescant the Younger flees from the chaos and travels to the colony of Virginia in America.  Book 2 of series

A portrait of the early years of Elizabeth I's reign when she faces the threat of the French invading Scotland, a possible challengeby Mary Queen of Scots for the throne of England, and her passion for the convicted traitor Robert Dudley.

The eldest daughter of Edward IV, the young princess Elizabeth, faces a conflict of loyalties when she is forced into marriage with Henry VII. She must reconcile her slowly growing love for him with her loyalty to the House of York, and choose between her mother's rebellion and her husband's tyranny.

Wideacre Hall is the ancestral home of the Laceys, loved by all the family especially Beatrice, the daughter of the family. With a huge capacity for evil she is prepared to go to any lengths to make Wideacre hers.  Book 1 of series