Lauren Johnson – författare

Joe älskar Kung Fu mer än allt annat. Varje kväll går han till träningshallen för att träna. Men när hallen plötsligt har stängt bestämmer sig Joe för att satsa på basket och går med i skolans basketlag. Men laget är inte särskilt bra och saknar disciplin. Kanske kan Joes kunskaper i Kung Fu hjälpa dem att vinna?

1193. A crusader returns to his home in Nottinghamshire, to find the land divided. England is torn between the land-owning Norman lords and their English subjects, the country crippled by years of taxation and the long absence of its king. The
crusader's name is Robin of Locksley. Following a youth spent with lowborn friends Robin is determined to settle into the role his father wanted for him: a lord dispensing justice to the county. But a false rumour of his death in the East has
stolen Robin's lands from him, and the justice meted out by his fellow lords hardly seems to deserve the name. When
Robin is compelled by a neighboring lord to condemn his childhood friends for a crime they did not commit, he realises that he must choose between the need to regain his lost inheritance and his desire to help the commons of Nottinghamshire.

In this lucidly imagined and carefully researched recreation of the era of King Richard 'the Lionheart', Robin seeks the support of common-born and noble to defy the self-serving lords who oppose him, but it soon becomes clear that he can accomplish more outside the law than within it...

In this her first novel, Lauren Johnson's knowledge as a historian brings a vividness to the project, presenting us with an authentic depiction of the sights, sounds, conflicts and furies that defined this era. A story of redemption, loss,
romance and adventure, this novel will excite and enthral.

The King is dead: long live the King. In 1509, Henry VII was succeeded by his son Henry VIII, second monarch of the house of Tudor. But this is not the familiar Tudor world of Protestantism and playwrights. Decades before the Reformation, ancient traditions persist: boy bishops, pilgrimage, Corpus Christi pageants, the jewel-decked shrine at Canterbury. So Great a Prince offers a fascinating glimpse of a country and people that at first appear alien – in calendar and clothing, in counting the hours by bell toll – but which on closer examination are recognisably and understandably human. Lauren Johnson tells the story of 1509 not just from the perspective of king and court, but of merchant and ploughman; apprentice and laundress; husbandman and foreign worker. She looks at these early Tudor lives through the rhythms of the ritual year, juxtaposing political events in Westminster and the palaces of southeast England with the liturgical and agricultural events that punctuated the year for the ordinary people of England.

A thrilling new account of the tragic life and troubled times of Henry VI. ''The best life of Henry VI now in print'' DAN JONES. ''Vivid, absorbing and richly detailed'' HELEN CASTOR. ''A well-crafted moving account of a tragic reign'' MICHAEL JONES. First-born son of a warrior father who defeated the French at Agincourt, Henry VI of the House Lancaster inherited the crown not only of England but also of France, at a time when Plantagenet dominance over the Valois dynasty was at its glorious height. And yet, by the time he was done to death in the Tower of London in 1471, France was lost, his throne had been seized by his rival, Edward IV of the House of York, and his kingdom had descended into the violent chaos of the Wars of the Roses. Henry VI is perhaps the most troubled of English monarchs, a pious, gentle, well-intentioned man who was plagued by bouts of mental illness. In Shadow King, Lauren Johnson tells his remarkable and sometimes shocking story in a fast-paced and colourful narrative that captures both the poignancy of Henry''s life and the tumultuous and bloody nature of the times in which he lived.

A thrilling new account of the tragic life and troubled times of Henry VI. 'The best life of Henry VI now in print' DAN JONES. 'Vivid, absorbing and richly detailed' HELEN CASTOR. 'A well-crafted moving account of a tragic reign' MICHAEL JONES. First-born son of a warrior father who defeated the French at Agincourt, Henry VI of the House Lancaster inherited the crown not only of England but also of France, at a time when Plantagenet dominance over the Valois dynasty was at its glorious height. And yet, by the time he was done to death in the Tower of London in 1471, France was lost, his throne had been seized by his rival, Edward IV of the House of York, and his kingdom had descended into the violent chaos of the Wars of the Roses. Henry VI is perhaps the most troubled of English monarchs, a pious, gentle, well-intentioned man who was plagued by bouts of mental illness. In Shadow King, Lauren Johnson tells his remarkable and sometimes shocking story in a fast-paced and colourful narrative that captures both the poignancy of Henry's life and the tumultuous and bloody nature of the times in which he lived.

Survivor. Rebel. Conspirator. Mother and grandmother of kings. Margaret Beaufort was one of the most remarkable and influential women of the Middle Ages.Born the daughter of the Duke of Somerset into a century of conflict, and a descendant of Edward III, she was married at twelve; a mother, orphan and widow at thirteen; and rode the vicissitudes of the Wars of the Roses, and two further marriages, to see her only son Henry ascend the throne of England as the first monarch of the Tudor dynasty. She helped to bring about the marriage of Henry VII to Elizabeth of York, a union that helped heal the wounds of a bitterly divided nation. During Henry's reign, she exerted considerable influence at court, and played a part in the upbringing of her grandson, the future Henry VIII.She was a lifelong artistic patron and supporter of academia. In old age she founded a professorship of divinity and two colleges at Cambridge University. By the time of her death in June 1509, she had outlived by two months the son whose birth fifty-two years previously had so nearly killed her. Lauren Johnson's life of Margaret Beaufort brings its subject vividly and memorably to life. She delineates the decades of political upheaval that were the backdrop to her long and resilient career, and highlights the shrewdness that kept her afloat amid the churning waters of a brutal civil war, but she also tells Margaret's story with a profound and touching humanity. This was a woman whose body had to endure the trauma of childbirth when she was little more than a child; who saw her baby boy on only a handful of occasions before he reached manhood; who braved decades of danger and uncertainty, but succeeded in guiding her son through courage, political astuteness and sheer persistence to the greatest prize of all: the crown of England.

Survivor. Rebel. Conspirator. Mother and grandmother of kings. Margaret Beaufort was one of the most remarkable and influential women of the Middle Ages.Margaret was born into a century of conflict. The daughter of the Duke of Somerset and a descendant of Edward III, she was married at twelve; a mother, orphan and widow at thirteen. She rode the vicissitudes of the Wars of the Roses, and two further marriages, to see her only son Henry ascend the throne of England as the first monarch of the Tudor dynasty. Margaret helped to bring about the marriage of Henry VII to Elizabeth of York, a union that helped heal the wounds of a bitterly divided nation.During Henry’s reign, she exerted considerable influence at court and played a part in the upbringing of her grandson, the future Henry VIII. She was a lifelong artistic patron and supporter of academia. By the time of her death in June 1509, Margaret had outlived by two months the son whose birth had so nearly killed her.Lauren Johnson’s life of Margaret Beaufort brings its subject vividly and memorably to life. She delineates the decades of political upheaval that were the backdrop to Margaret’s long and resilient career, but also tells her story with a profound and touching humanity. This was a woman who endured the trauma of childbirth when she was little more than a child herself; who saw her baby on only a handful of occasions before he reached manhood; who braved decades of danger and uncertainty, and who succeeded in guiding her son – through courage, political astuteness and sheer persistence – to the greatest prize of all: the crown of England.

Survivor. Rebel. Conspirator. Mother and grandmother of kings. Margaret Beaufort was one of the most remarkable and influential women of the Middle Ages.Margaret was born into a century of conflict. The daughter of the Duke of Somerset and a descendant of Edward III, she was married at twelve; a mother, orphan and widow at thirteen. She rode the vicissitudes of the Wars of the Roses, and two further marriages, to see her only son Henry ascend the throne of England as the first monarch of the Tudor dynasty. Margaret helped to bring about the marriage of Henry VII to Elizabeth of York, a union that helped heal the wounds of a bitterly divided nation.During Henry’s reign, she exerted considerable influence at court and played a part in the upbringing of her grandson, the future Henry VIII. She was a lifelong artistic patron and supporter of academia. By the time of her death in June 1509, Margaret had outlived by two months the son whose birth had so nearly killed her.Lauren Johnson’s life of Margaret Beaufort brings its subject vividly and memorably to life. She delineates the decades of political upheaval that were the backdrop to Margaret’s long and resilient career, but also tells her story with a profound and touching humanity. This was a woman who endured the trauma of childbirth when she was little more than a child herself; who saw her baby on only a handful of occasions before he reached manhood; who braved decades of danger and uncertainty, and who succeeded in guiding her son – through courage, political astuteness and sheer persistence – to the greatest prize of all: the crown of England.

It's 2008 and Lizi just can't catch a break. On the heels of a nasty divorce and a paltry settlement agreement - barely enough to reload her Starbucks card - Lizi is laid off from her job during the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Flat broke, Lizi takes a job at Whole Foods where she meets Frankie, a twenty-seven-year-old artist half her age whose overly simplistic worldview is exactly what Lizi needs to get on with her life. But after an unfortunate incident involving her ex-husband, his pregnant girlfriend, and a carton of cage-free eggs, Lizi finds herself, once again, out of a job. So what does a fifty-four-year-old woman with no money, no job, and no prospects do? She sells all her possessions and goes to Paris in search of her long-lost dream: to write her first novel. But when the airline loses her luggage and offers her a meal voucher for the famed Hotel Jolie, Lizi pounces on the opportunity while unwittingly setting off a chain of events which land her at the center of the notorious Harry Winston jewel heist. And when her young partner-in-crime joins her in Paris, the two must outrun the Serbian mafia while trying not to trip over the dead bodies left in their wake.