Book Details
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It’s midwinter in 1539, and former nun, Catherine Havens Overton, has just given birth to her second child, a daughter. The convent in which she was raised is now part of her husband's lands, lands that once belonged to Catherine's family. With a son, Robert, and her new daughter, Veronica, her life as the mistress of a great household should be complete.
But Henry VIII’s England has not been kind to many of the evicted members of religious houses. And in order to protect her old companions from the hostilities, Catherine has gathered about her a group of former nuns in hopes of providing them a chance to serve in the village of Havenston, her City of Ladies.
Catherine’s past haunts her. Her husband begins to suspect that Robert is not his child. Then the women of Overton House begin to disappear and one of them is found brutally murdered nearby. Seizing the moment, under the pretense of ensuring her safety, William forces Catherine to enter service at Hatfield House where the young Elizabeth Tudor lives.
Reluctantly, Catherine obeys, only to find herself serving not only the Protestant Elizabeth but also the shamed Catholic Mary Tudor. As the murders in Yorkshire continue to mount and her loyalty to the Tudor sisters grows more complicated, Catherine must uncover the secret of the killer and save her City of Ladies.
The King’s Sisters
Book Three of The Cross and the Crown series, coming from Knox Robinson Publishing in August 2015!
It’s 1542. Another queen is executed, the Catholic church is suppressed, and Henry VIII still rules over an increasingly unruly England. The boy who will be king is growing, and the line of Tudor succession seems secure.
Catherine Havens still has her friend Ann Smith to give her advice, but the laws of the land do not favor women–and unmarried women have few refuges. Former nuns have even fewer choices . . . and all of them involve risk.
In a world where love is labelled a sin and error is called heresy, will Catherine follow the rule of English law or the rule of her conscience? And can she escape the dangers of being one of The King’s Sisters?
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| Photo Credit: Rachel Fowler of RFD Photography |
Author Bio
Sarah Kennedy holds a Ph.D. in Renaissance Literature from Purdue University and an MFA in Creative Writing from Vermont College. The author of seven books of poems as well as The Altarpiece and City of Ladies, books one and two in The Cross and the Crown series, she has received individual artist grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Virginia Commission for the Arts, as well as an award for scholarship from the National Endowment for the Humanities. She teaches at Mary Baldwin College in Virginia. Her website is http://sarahkennedybooks.com/.
OTHER LINKS
http://www.knoxrobinsonpublishing.com/
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6538009.Sarah_Kennedy
https://twitter.com/KennedyNovels
My Review
The City of Ladies, second book in The Cross and the Crown series, continues the story of Catherine Havens Overton, a former nun, as the wife of William Overton and now has two children, Robert and baby Veronica. A former nuns and friends of Catherine's turn up murdered or missing, in order to protect her William insists that she become part of Henry VIII's children, Mary and Elizabeth's household.
Catherine takes over her duties but is forced to return to Overton House when William becomes ill, plus she is insistent on finding out about the missing women. With William so ill, he starts thinking that Robert is not his son and there are some in town that would call Catherine a witch because of her abilities to heal people with her potions and herbal recipes. Williams sister Margaret is a nasty woman and I really didn't like her at all...always accusing Catherine of one wrongdoing or another. The story takes many twists and turns which makes it a wonderful read.
This novel seamlessly carries on the story started in The Altarpiece, suspenseful and a page turner. The author is knowledgeable in the Tudor history and you can tell by the continuity from the first book to this one. There are characters that you have to either love or hate. I found Catherine to be a very strong woman who is ahead of her times on where a woman's place is. I thoroughly enjoyed this second novel and eagerly look forward to reading The King's Sisters, the third book in the trilogy.
I received a copy of the book for review and was not monetarily compensated for my review.
THE ALTARPIECE
It is 1535, and in the tumultuous years of King Henry VIII's break from Rome, the religious houses of England are being seized by force. Twenty-year-old Catherine Havens is a foundling and the adopted daughter of the prioress of the Priory of Mount Grace in a small Yorkshire village. Catherine, like her adoptive mother, has a gift for healing, and she is widely sought and admired for her knowledge.
Catherine’s hopes for a place at court have been dashed by the king’s divorce, and she has reluctantly taken the veil. In the remote North, the nuns enjoy the freedoms unavailable to other women. England is their home, but the times have changed, and now the few remaining nuns dread the arrival of the priory’s new owner, Robert Overton. When the priory’s costly altarpiece goes missing, Catherine and her friend Ann Smith find themselves under increased suspicion.
King Henry VIII’s soldiers have not had their fill of destruction, and when they return to Mount Grace to destroy the priory, Catherine must choose between the sacred calling of her past and the man who may represent her country’s future.
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