England, 1554. In the wake of the failed Wyatt Rebellion, a vengeful Queen Mary has ordered all conspirators captured and executed. Among the imprisoned is her own sister, twenty-one-year-old Princess Elizabeth. Though she protests her innocence, Elizabeth’s brave stand only angers Mary more.
Elizabeth longs to gain her liberty—and her sister’s crown. In Honor and Richard Thornleigh and their son, Adam, the young princess has loyal allies. Disgusted by Queen Mary’s proclaimed intent to burn heretics, Honor visits Elizabeth in the Tower and they quickly become friends. And when Adam foils a would-be assassin, Elizabeth’s gratitude swells into a powerful—and mutual—attraction. But while Honor is willing to risk her own safety for her future queen, aiding in a new rebellion against the wrathful Mary will soon lead her to an impossible choice…
Riveting, masterfully written, and rich in intricate details, The Queen’s Captive brings one of history’s most fascinating and treacherous periods to vibrant, passionate life.
Praise for the novels of Barbara Kyle
“Weaves a fast-paced plot through some of the most harrowing years of English history.”—Judith Merkle Riley on The Queen’s Lady
“Excellent, exciting, compellingly readable.” —Ellen Jones on The Queen’s Lady
“Unfurls a complex and fast-paced plot, mixing history with vibrant characters.”--Publishers Weekly on The King’s Daughter
Bloody Queen Mary has ascended the throne of England, following the thwarted Wyatt Rebellion that attempted to stop her marrying Prince Philip of Spain. She is determined to convert the country back to Catholicism by burning Protestants at the stake. Honor Thornleigh and her husband, Richard, have been pardoned by the queen for their involvement in the rebellion, and they return to England, but they are not content to sit back and do nothing: Richard works in Parliament to overturn anti-Protestant bills, and Honor uses her contacts to spy, while their son, Adam, robs the exchequer, all in the name of their queen—the future Queen Elizabeth. Honor and Richard and their associates plot to remove Mary from the throne, but Honor finds that the price to do so may be too high. The third in a series about the Thornleighs, Kyle’s novel is an exciting, detailed historical tale of the intrigue and political maneuvering in the Tudor court. --Hilary Hatton
How do you make God laugh? Make a plan. I studied acting in the classical theatre program (Shakespeare, Shaw, Moliere, etc.) at the National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal, planning a "distinguished stage career" - then spent the next twenty years acting mostly on television in made-for-TV movies, sit-coms, and soap opera. I thoroughly enjoyed all that TV work, though, and I did use my stage training too, performing in dozens of plays across Canada and in the US. I loved being an actor.
It felt like a natural extension of my acting to create characters for fiction, and in 2008 Kensington Books published my first historical novel, "The Queen's Lady". Set in the court of Henry VIII, "The Queen's Lady" features Honor Larke, a (fictional) ward of (the real) Sir Thomas More. More was a brilliant scholar and a loving father, but as chancellor of England he banned books and burned men. My story turns on Honor's passionate conflict with her once-beloved guardian as she tries to save More's victims, enlisting rogue ship-captain Richard Thornleigh in her missions.
Readers found these characters so engaging, I wrote a sequel, "The King's Daughter," (2009) featuring Honor and Richard's daughter, Isabel. When Henry VIII's bitter daughter, Queen Mary, launches her reign with a vow to annihilate heretics, Isabel Thornleigh must act quickly to save her family. Determined to rescue her father from prison, she entrusts her mission, and herself, to a ruthless soldier of fortune, Carlos Valverde.
The third book in this "Thornleigh" series is "The Queen's Captive" (2010). When Queen Mary releases her 20-year-old sister Princess Elizabeth from the Tower, hoping she'll make a false move and condemn herself, Honor Thornleigh returns from exile with Richard and their seafaring son, Adam, to help Elizabeth in the fight of her life. Playing a dangerous game as a double agent, aware that a false move of her own will expose her past as a condemned heretic, Honor finds her task made harder when Adam and Elizabeth fall in love. To save her family and Elizabeth, and herself, Honor must turn a headstrong princess into a queen before "Bloody Mary" destroys them all.
Newest in the "Thornleigh Saga" is book 4: "The Queen's Gamble" (2011). Isabel, the Thornleighs' daughter, returns to London from the New World with her Spanish husband Carlos Valverde and their young son, and is swept up in the first international crisis of the young Queen's Elizabeth reign: the French, who control Scotland, have landed troops along England's border, threatening an invasion. The Queen recruits Isabel to take money secretly to aid the Scottish rebel faction trying to drive out the French. But when Carlos is sent to Scotland as a Spanish military advisor to the French troops, he and Isabel find they are on opposite sides in this deadly war - and the Queen has made their little boy her hostage.
I love writing about the Tudor period, whose "on the make" characters and life-and-death intrigues - to say nothing of the era's religious paranoia - speak deeply to our own time. I hope you'll agree, and will enjoy being caught up in the passions and setbacks, adventures and strivings of the Thornleigh family - Honor, Richard, Isabel, and Adam - as they befriend, and sometimes betray, their willful kings and queens.
I'm also very excited at the release of my new contemporary novel, "Entrapped," as an e-book. "Entrapped" is a thriller of high stakes: life and death, love, and oil. Set in Alberta, it's the story of Liv Gardner, an ambitious young oil executive intent on stopping farmer Tom Wainwright who is sabotaging her rigs after a spill of lethal "sour" gas poisoned his wife. Desperate to save the company she built, Liv plants evidence to frame Tom. But when the evidence is used to indict him for a murder he didn't commit, Liv alone can save him.
Thanks for taking the time to find out about my books. I do hope you'll enjoy reading them!
Barbara Kyle has written a gripping novel that will hold your attention for all 450 pages. The story follows the lives of two families, the Thornleigh's and the Grenville's. These are the only non-historical figures in the book. All other characters are real people from history. Princess Elizabeth, Queen Mary, Lord St. Loe, etc. What I enjoyed was how well Ms. Kyle weaves the true historical story into the lives of these two families, the Thornleigh's in support of Princess Elizabeth and the Grenville's in support of Queen Mary. She adds a twist in that the two families hate each other because of the death of the Grenville's father at the hands of Richard Thornleigh.
The truth of history is that Queen Mary hated her sister Elizabeth. She tried her best to have her removed from the line of succession to the throne by claiming she was the bastard child of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn and thus not truly of royal blood. This was not a valid reason to withhold the throne, but it was the one that Mary held to.
Unfortunately Queen Mary received the title Bloody Mary because she burned at the stake more than 300 people (both men and women) whom she deemed traitors because they refused to acknowledge the Catholic Church as the one true Church. It seems as though Queen Mary wanted to displace the Anglican Church as the Church of England with the Catholic Church. She further strengthen this task by marrying King Philip of Spain. So, religious intolerance became a huge issue in England.
Bloody Mary was not the favorite of the common people of the realm. They instead preferred Princess Elizabeth, whom they rightly knew loved the people and cared more for them than her own life and fortune.
A group of Noblemen attempted to overthrow Queen Mary and make Elizabeth the new Queen. That rebellion was crushed and Mary had Elizabeth imprisoned.
This is where our story begins. Elizabeth locked away under house arrest. Survivors of the rebellion contact Richard and Honor Thornleigh (whom had fled to France) and asked them to return to help nurture Elizabeth and encourage her through this difficult time.
The Thornleigh's and their son Adam return to do all that they can. Barbara Kyle weaves a wonderful novel that takes us through years of struggle and spying as well as much deception and plotting. In the middle of all this Adam Thornleigh falls in love with Princess Elizabeth. She in turn falls in love with him.
The Grenville's are unhappy that the Thornleigh's have returned and John Grenville makes it his duty to see them brought to justice and hanged for the murder of his father. He uses his relationship with Queen Mary to push his own agenda.
Ms. Kyle does a masterful job of weaving intrigue, suspense, loyalty, treachery and betrayal into a novel that you can't put down. You will be drawn in to the lives of the Thornleigh's and Princess Elizabeth and stay up late reading because you want to know how it all ends. There are enough twists and turns to keep anyone guessing.
We do know from History that Elizabeth becomes Queen, but just how that happens is what you will find so fascinating as you real this well done novel.
Enjoy!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: The Queen's Captive (Paperback)
The recent Wyatt rebellion was put down harshly by Queen Mary's supporters. However, the monarch believes her younger half-sister Princess Elizabeth was the impetus for the revolt. Angry, Mary imprisons her sibling.
Learning in Antwerp what has happened to Elizabeth, Honor and Richard Thornleigh and their son Adam return to London to aid the beleaguered princess and to keep her from acting rash at a time indiscretion is the only means of surviving her older sister. . Honor takes a position as a laundress in Elizabeth's household to help the young impetuous princess stay in control of herself. At the same time, her husband and her son work serendipitously but diligently to further the Protestant cause while Bloody Mary pushes the country deeper into a religious civil war. While Elizabeth and Adam are attracted to one another, Honor risks her life to save her family, her princess and her nation from disaster.
The thriller Thornleigh historical fiction saga (see The Queen's Lady and The King's Daughter) continues with Bloody Mary's reaction to the failed Wyatt rebellion. In spite of the period having been done a zillion times (see the works of Carolyn Erickson and Alison Weir, for instance), Barbara Kyle keeps her account fresh and manages to throw a few terrific spins including the attraction between the Princess and Adam. Fast-paced yet loaded with descriptors that take the audience to mid sixteenth century England during the internal religious conflict, fans who cannot get enough Elizabethan will appreciate this strong tale of the future queen locked away by her step sister; the irony being she does likewise years later with another Mary.
Harriet Klausner
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: The Queen's Captive (Paperback)
In the third book of the Thornleigh family saga, Barbara Kyle weaves a truly remarkable story of love, loyalty, sacrifice, and intrigue. Clearly with The Queen's Captive, Kyle has ascended to the pinnacle of historical fiction. She has no peer.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
