The King's Damsel
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3.9 • 12 Ratings
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
Handmaid. Spy. Mistress. Anxious to secure his own success at the glittering court of Henry VIII, heiress Tamsin Lodge’s ambitious guardian obtains her a position as maid of honor to young Princess Mary Tudor. Tamsin soon comes to love the neglected child, but in the Tudor court, not even a princess is secure. Mary’s father is besotted with the lovely Anne Boleyn, and the girl’s future has grown perilous. Plotting to be Mary’s eyes and ears, Tamsin joins Anne’s service, but the handsome silk worker who is her co-conspirator may be her undoing. While marriage with a merchant is unthinkable, she cannot resist Rafe Pinckney’s embraces. When Tamsin also attracts the lusty Henry, she must choose between loyalty and desire. . . . With Anne’s jealousy growing dangerous, can Tamsin survive the schemes and seductions that surround her?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In 1525, heiress Thomasine Lodge,13, loses control of her money, property, and person when her guardianship is purchased from King Henry VIII by Sir Lionel Daggett. Thomasine is sent to attend Henry's daughter, the young Princess Mary, and ordered to use her wiles to become the king's mistress and advance Sir Lionel's political career. She defies him, but years later her unswerving loyalty to the politically declining Mary leads her to the court of Anne Boleyn as a spy, where Thomasine learns there are many advantages to warming Henry's bed after all. Sparked by an actual letter written by a Spanish ambassador in 1534, Emerson (At the King's Pleasure) creates a believable scenario rich in accurate detail where her fictional Thomasine strolls comfortably next to real-life figures. Historical fiction fans will enjoy the political manipulations and court intrigues, but romance fans will be disappointed by perfunctory sexual tension, scant romance, and a happy ending that feels like an afterthought.
