Queen's Ransom (Ursula Blanchard Mysteries) [Kindle Edition]

Fiona Buckley (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A woman with a '90s attitude living in the 1560s--that's Ursula Blanchard, the heroine of Buckley's jaunty historical mystery series, of which this is the third entry (after To Shield the Queen and The Doublet Affair). This time out, the 27-year-old lady-in-waiting is sent on a dangerous mission to France on the brink of civil war. In an effort to mitigate the threats from Spain and France, 28-year-old Queen Elizabeth I wishes to negotiate accords among the warring French Catholics and Protestants, and to secure her support among the latter. Since Ursula had planned to accompany the father of her deceased husband (Luke Blanchard) on a trip to retrieve his young ward from the Loire valley, Elizabeth entrusts her with a letter to be personally delivered to Catherine, Queen of France. Never mind that Ursula is a young woman vulnerable to harm or that she's taken on a task that many find unsuitable for a lady. On her guard, she sets out for Paris to complete her mission. She soon realizes that the "protection" she's traveling with may not be on her side: the senior Blanchard's shifty behavior and suspicious guardians leave her feeling unsure whom she can trust. Adventure (and coincidence) abound, as she encounters her estranged second husband, Matthew de la Roche, who's at the forefront of the raging religious battle. Buckley's amusingly modern characters mesh successfully with the well-researched, though at times contrived, plot, and readers will be wrapped up in the 16th- century thrill of pitfalls lurking around every corner. (Jan.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

One of Queen Elizabeth's ladies-in-waiting, Ursula Blanchard, spies for her sovereign (as in To Shield the Queen), this time in France. Her mission there places her in the midst of religious and political turmoil. An excellent historical.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 2021 KB
• Print Length: 356 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0743489098
• Publisher: Scribner (February 21, 2001)
• Sold by: Simon and Schuster Digital Sales Inc
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000FC0T6S
• Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #90,804 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent installment in this thrilling Elizabethean mystery, December 16, 1999

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Queen's Ransom: A Mystery at Queen Elizabeth I's Court Featuring Ursula Blanchard (Hardcover)

In 1562, Elizabeth I is twenty-eight years old. She is about the same age as Ursula Blanchard, her Lady of the Presence Chamber. However, Ursula is a spy who has done things that deeply bother her conscience and eat at her soul. To cleanse herself, Ursula goes to France for a bit of needed respite. She accompanies the father of her first spouse, who plans to return home with his ward, the woman intended to wed his son.

France is unsafe, as civil war between the Papists and the Huguenots is imminent. Just before she leaves for the continent, Ursula meets with her Royal Highness. Elizabeth gives Ursula a message to deliver to the French Queen Catherine de Medici. The English monarch offers to mediate between the two warring factions. Ursula is unaware that she is the bait to return a traitor to England. That person happens to be her spouse, loyal to Mary.

QUEEN'S RANSOME, the third installment in the mysteries at the court of Queen Elizabeth I is a fantastic historical fiction novel filled with royal intrigue. Readers gain an insightful look at France on the brink of internal religious wars. Although clearly a product of her times, Ursula retains independence fed by her belief she can accomplish anything. Readers will fully relish the woman as she travels life,s path. Renowned for her characterizations, Fiona Buckley is a creative storyteller who makes the Elizabethan era fun to read about in her novels.

Hariet Klausner

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Atmospheric and well-written, February 8, 2000

By 

Lynn Harnett (Marathon, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Queen's Ransom: A Mystery at Queen Elizabeth I's Court Featuring Ursula Blanchard (Hardcover)

Fiona Buckley's third historical mystery featuring Ursula Blanchard, lady-in-waiting (and sometime spy) to Queen Elizabeth I, "Queen's Ransom," takes place in the 1560s, mostly in France where war is brewing between Catholics and Heugenots. Accompanying her dead husband's father to fetch his niece from the troubled land, Ursula is asked by Elizabeth to carry an offer of mediation to Catherine, Queen Mother and Regent of France. Though she dislikes her father-in-law, Luke Blanchard, who was against his son's marriage and has spurned his young granddaughter, Ursula agrees to go partly in hopes of seeing her second husband, a leader of the Catholic faction in France. Joined by love, separated by politics, their relationship has several times landed them on opposite sides of armed and clandestine engagements (in previous books). The tradition continues as Ursula soon realizes she is immersed in treachery, murder at her heels. Lively period intrigue supplies subplots as well as the main story; Ursula is quick and brave but also a woman of her times, and the setting is vivid, brutal and atmospheric even to the contrasting feel of the countryside between France and England.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another compelling look at the intrigues of court., May 29, 2000

By 

Sharon Wylie (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Queen's Ransom: A Mystery at Queen Elizabeth I's Court Featuring Ursula Blanchard (Hardcover)

This is an outstanding mystery series for lovers of historical fiction, and although this entry may lack the punch of the first two (there seemed to be too few real surprises) the book is still a worthwhile read. The mystery is solid and interesting, the characters are complex, and the description of time and place is unbeatable.

Best of all, Fiona Buckley is an extremely good writer, a true pleasure to read. Unfortunately, Scribner's proofreaders seem to be letting her down--I noticed several typos (including a "teh" in place of "the"). Spell-check, anyone?