In Keeper of the Queen’s Jewels, two women with opposing allegiances are bound together by desperate circumstances: one must birth a son to secure the throne. The other hides a dangerous secret that could cost them their lives.
No longer the meek and mild, ineffectual queen of the history books, JANE SEYMOUR is reimagined as a woman on the precipice—one misplaced step away from oblivion.
In the maid’s dormitory, MARGERY HORSMAN struggles as she comes to terms with the fallout of her careless words, uttered recklessly in a fit of envy and greed, ending in the ruin and death of her first love. Surrounded, yet feeling alone and abandoned, Margery searches for her place in the world. When a young widower still grieving over the loss of his wife asks for her hand, Margery steps into a role she never imagined, that of mother to a half-orphaned boy.
As religious rebellion threatens to tear the country in two, fortune’s wheel turns, and formerly rising stars of the Tudor Court tumble. Amid the upheaval, a queen and her devoted maid will unite to preserve the legacy of ANNE BOLEYN for England’s once and future Queen: Gloriana.
“The characters that Dillard presents are every bit as richly crafted as the sketches made of these absorbing individuals produced by the skillful hand of Hans Holbein. They are shaped by a forensic understanding and respect of the historical record, combined with a rare and often overwhelming grasp upon the messy makeup of the human spirit. This is an exquisite gem of a book, cut and polished to perfection. A dazzling triumph.”
—Dr Owen Emmerson, author of The Boleyns of Hever Castle
Adrienne Dillard 