King's Witch Trilogy – serie

Already a great historian, Tracy Borman proves with this thrilling debut novel that she is also a born storyteller.As she helps to nurse the dying Queen Elizabeth, Frances Gorges longs for the fields and ancient woods of her parents' Hampshire estate, where she has learned to use the flowers and herbs to become a much-loved healer.Frances is happy to stay in her beloved countryside when the new King arrives from Scotland, bringing change, fear and suspicion. His court may be shockingly decadent, but James's religion is Puritan, intolerant of all the old ways; he has already put to death many men for treason and women for witchcraft.So when her ambitious uncle forcibly brings Frances to court, she is trapped in a claustrophobic world of intrigue and betrayal - and a ready target for the twisted scheming of Lord Cecil, the King's first minister.Surrounded by mortal dangers, Frances finds happiness only with the precocious young Princess Elizabeth, and Tom Wintour, the one courtier she can trust. Or can she?'Watch out Philippa Gregory and Alison Weir, I can see a new contender for the Queen of Historical Fiction!' Netgalley reviewer'A fascinating read, felt very true to time period but with that personal touch . . . Five stars' Jeannie Zelos book reviews

'So vividly evoked that you are there, living the story'Alison Weir***Frances Gorges was accused of witchcraft - and she survived. But if her torturers at the court of King James discover she is pregnant with the child of Tom Wintour, her lover executed for his part in the Gunpowder Plot, it will mean certain death.Then Frances is offered an escape: marriage. She will not be expected to sleep with her new husband, only to give up the cause for which Tom died.But even when she is surrounded by the venomous dangers of life at court, Frances finds old loyalties hard to deny... Compelling, sensual, suspenseful, The Devil's Slave is a novel of family, power and heartbreaking dilemmas. It is also a surprising, thrilling love story.***'A lively, entertaining novel'The Sunday Times'Powerfully accomplished and vividly detailed... I swallowed this book in two great gulps'Sarah Gristwood, author of Game of Queens'Rich evocation of 17th Century lifeThe Times'Empathetic and knowledgeable'Daily Mail

'An outstanding page-turner . . . historical fiction at its absolute best' - Alison Weir'An engaging heroine . . . and Borman's depiction of Villiers, with all his ruthless charisma, is striking' - The Sunday Times_____________________________________________Frances Gorges seems destined to be happy at last. King James has apparently lost his appetite for hunting witches, so the medical skills and herbal knowledge that saw Frances accused of witchcraft no longer seem to hang over her like a death sentence. The King would rather be hunting stag and boar - and Frances's beloved husband Thomas is firmly established in the royal household as the Master of Buckhounds. Their family is growing and their estates are secure.But life at court is never without intrigue, jealousy and danger for long, and a new arrival turns the world upside down.George Villiers is a young man with the face of an angel - and as his many enemies are about to discover, the cunning heart of a devil.Soon James is totally in thrall to this charismatic new lover. All the King's former favourites are crushed by Villiers' lies and ruthless scheming. Thomas's life is made a misery and Frances is back under suspicion as Villiers - rapidly made the Earl of Buckingham - moves to secure the hand and fortune of her friend Katherine Manners.Appalled at the courtier's greed and ambition and the King's weakness and lust, Frances finds herself drawn back towards her old friend Sir Walter Raleigh and his last, desperate plot to see a Catholic monarch on the throne. And then her troubles really begin...The Fallen Angel is a standalone novel of thrilling power and emotional drama. It is also the concluding volume in the King's Witch trilogy, establishing Tracy Borman as one of our leading writers of historical fiction.***PRE-ORDER THE HOUSE OF BOLEYN NOW! ***'Unexpected twists and turns with every page . . . masterfully crafted' - Nicola Tallis'Lots of fascinating detail and insight into James's backstabbing court . . . enjoyable' - The Times'Lush, wholly convincing and utterly gripping. Fact and fiction have rarely been blent so seamlessly' - Sarah Gristwood