In the next novel from Nancy Bilyeau after her acclaimed debut The Crown, novice Joanna Stafford plunges into an even more dangerous conspiracy as she comes up against some of the most powerful men of her era.
In 1538, England is in the midst of bloody power struggles between crown and cross that threaten to tear the country apart. Joanna Stafford has seen what lies inside the king’s torture rooms and risks imprisonment again, when she is caught up in a shadowy international plot targeting the King. As the power plays turn vicious, Joanna understands she may have to assume her role in a prophecy foretold by three different seers, each more omniscient than the last.
Joanna realizes the life of Henry VIII as well as the future of Christendom are in her hands—hands that must someday hold the chalice that lays at the center of these deadly prophecies…
Praise for The Chalice
"Rarely have the terrors of Henry VIII's reformation been so exciting. Court intrigue, bloody executions, and haunting emotional entanglements create a heady brew of mystery and adventure that sweeps us from the devastation of the ransacked cloisters to the dangerous spy centers of London and the Low Countries, as ex-novice Joanna Stafford fights to save her way of life and fulfill an ancient prophecy, before everything she loves is destroyed." - C.W. Gortner, author of The Queen's Vow
The Chalice offers a fresh, dynamic look into Tudor England's most powerful, volatile personalities: Henry VIII, the Duke of Norfolk, Stephen Gardiner and Bloody Mary Tudor. Heroine and former nun Joanna Stafford is beautiful, bold and in lethal danger. Bilyeau writes compellingly of people and places that demand your attention and don't let you go even after the last exciting page. - Karen Harper, author of Mistress of Mourning
"An exciting and satisfying novel of historical suspense that cements Nancy Bilyeau as one of the genre's rising stars. The indominable Joanna Stafford is back with a cast of powerful and fascinating characters and a memorable story that is gripping while you are reading and haunting after you are done. Bravo! The Chalice is a fabulous read." - M.J. Rose, author of The Reincarnationist
About the Author
Nancy Bilyeau, author of The Crown, is a writer and magazine editor who has worked on the staffs of InStyle, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, and Good Housekeeping. Her latest position is features editor of Du Jour magazine. A native of the Midwest, she graduated from the University of Michigan. She lives in New York City with her husband and two children.
"Rarely have the terrors of Henry VIII's reformation been so exciting. Court intrigue, bloody executions, and haunting emotional entanglements create a heady brew of mystery and adventure that sweeps us from the devastation of the ransacked cloisters to the dangerous spy centers of London and the Low Countries, as ex-novice Joanna Stafford fights to save her way of life and fulfill an ancient prophecy, before everything she loves is destroyed." - C.W. Gortner, author of The Queen's Vow
The Chalice offers a fresh, dynamic look into Tudor England's most powerful, volatile personalities: Henry VIII, the Duke of Norfolk, Stephen Gardiner and Bloody Mary Tudor. Heroine and former nun Joanna Stafford is beautiful, bold and in lethal danger. Bilyeau writes compellingly of people and places that demand your attention and don't let you go even after the last exciting page. - Karen Harper, author of Mistress of Mourning
"An exciting and satisfying novel of historical suspense that cements Nancy Bilyeau as one of the genre's rising stars. The indominable Joanna Stafford is back with a cast of powerful and fascinating characters and a memorable story that is gripping while you are reading and haunting after you are done. Bravo! The Chalice is a fabulous read." - M.J. Rose, author of The Reincarnationist
About the Author
Nancy Bilyeau, author of The Crown, is a writer and magazine editor who has worked on the staffs of InStyle, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, and Good Housekeeping. Her latest position is features editor of Du Jour magazine. A native of the Midwest, she graduated from the University of Michigan. She lives in New York City with her husband and two children.
For more information, please visit Nancy Bilyeau's website. You can also follow her on Facebook and Twitter.
Publication Date: March 5, 2013
Touchstone PublishingHardcover; 512pISBN-10: 1476708657
Link to Tour Schedule: http://hfvirtualbooktours.com/thechalicevirtualtour/
Twitter Hashtag: #TheChaliceVirtualTour
Twitter Hashtag: #TheChaliceVirtualTour
My Thoughts
The Chalice by Nancy Bilyeau is the next book after The Crown, featuring Joanna Stafford and a few other characters introduced in The Crown. Impeccably researched by the author, the reader is drawn into King Henry VIII's world. It is in the time of the reformation and the King has had numerous monasteries destroyed and the religious treasures taken to fill the his coffers. So with no religious order to belong to, Joanna is living her life pretty quietly, with a little boy that her father has entrusted into Joanna's care.
The excommunication of King Henry VIII by the Pope, the possible invasion of England by Holy Roman Emperor Charles and the French King François, the marriage of the Henry VIII to Anne of Cleves all play a part in this story. More a political story than a religious one, in which Joanna has to choose between the love she has for her family and the two men in her life, a priest and a sheriff. She is told she needs to fulfill three prophecies in a diabolical plot that horrifies her but finds she does not have a choice but to comply...
It is not until at least 2/3 of the way through the book that the reader really finds out the role that the coveted chalice plays. I really enjoyed this second book more than The Crown,and that was an excellent story. Ms.Bilyeau's research and her love of telling a great story, different than the usual Tudor tale, that shows through in this great novel. I highly recommend it for the historical fiction fan.
I received a copy of this book for review and was not monetarily compensated for my review.
The Chalice by Nancy Bilyeau is the next book after The Crown, featuring Joanna Stafford and a few other characters introduced in The Crown. Impeccably researched by the author, the reader is drawn into King Henry VIII's world. It is in the time of the reformation and the King has had numerous monasteries destroyed and the religious treasures taken to fill the his coffers. So with no religious order to belong to, Joanna is living her life pretty quietly, with a little boy that her father has entrusted into Joanna's care.
The excommunication of King Henry VIII by the Pope, the possible invasion of England by Holy Roman Emperor Charles and the French King François, the marriage of the Henry VIII to Anne of Cleves all play a part in this story. More a political story than a religious one, in which Joanna has to choose between the love she has for her family and the two men in her life, a priest and a sheriff. She is told she needs to fulfill three prophecies in a diabolical plot that horrifies her but finds she does not have a choice but to comply...
It is not until at least 2/3 of the way through the book that the reader really finds out the role that the coveted chalice plays. I really enjoyed this second book more than The Crown,and that was an excellent story. Ms.Bilyeau's research and her love of telling a great story, different than the usual Tudor tale, that shows through in this great novel. I highly recommend it for the historical fiction fan.
I received a copy of this book for review and was not monetarily compensated for my review.
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