Secrets of the Tudor Court: The Pleasure Palace
Eight-year-old Jane Popyncourt travels with her mother from France to the English court of Henry VII. She is raised with the royal children, teaching them French. When her mother dies unexpectedly, Jane is left with no money, but becomes a favorite of Princess Mary, whom she serves. Learning since childhood the treacherous ways of court life and the temperamental nature of the Tudors, she strives to please those around her until a French prisoner captures her attention. The Duc de Longueville, a handsome married man, stirs Jane. She starts an affair with him to the dismay of her friends and the delight of the new king, Henry VIII. He uses Jane as a spy, a mission that causes friction, but a role that also may help her solve the mystery of her mother’s death. Emerson creates a riveting historical novel of the perils of the Tudor Court, vividly fictionalizing historical characters and breathing new life into their personalities and predicaments. --Patty Engelmann