Bøker av Laura Dowers

The entire Thomas Wolsey trilogy in one edition!Master WolseyThe rise of England's most notorious priest, from his days as an Oxford scholar to his becoming Cardinal.Power & GloryThomas Wolsey is at the pinnacle of his career and has great ambitions for the economic and political stability of Europe. He stages the most spectacular event of the Tudor Age, the international summit that has gone down in history as The Field of Cloth of Gold. But will Wolsey's Universal Peace ever become a reality?ForsakenThe world is in tumult and is proving more than one very talented man can handle. Europe is in a state of flux as power shifts first one way, then the other, and Thomas Wolsey is having trouble keeping up. Not only that, but life is being made difficult at home as King Henry's conscience about his marriage to Katherine of Aragon begins to trouble him. Thomas is faced with an impossible task: when all the odds are stacked against him, he must get Henry his divorce so he can marry Wolsey's avowed enemy, Anne Boleyn.

Three novels in one omnibus edition!THE QUEEN'S FAVOURITERobert Dudley's charm and cunning enable him to navigate the treacherous waters of courtly intrigue and become the favoured courtier of Queen Elizabeth. But the bond they share becomes increasingly complicated as Robert's personal and political ambitions start to drive a wedge between them. And yet, even as he schemes to gain more power and influence, Robert never loses sight of his loyalty to the queen.THE QUEEN'S REBELRobert Devereux, Earl of Essex, is a charismatic nobleman who becomes consumed by his own ambition and desire for power. As his relationship with Elizabeth deteriorates, he makes a daring attempt to seize the throne, leading to a dramatic confrontation that, if successful, will alter the course of English history forever.THE QUEEN'S SPYMASTERA vivid portrait of Sir Francis Walsingham's shadowycareer as he navigates a treacherous landscape of political intrigue and religious conflict. As Queen Elizabeth's trusted advisor, Walsingham must rely on his wits and cunning to uncover numerous plots against the queen's life and remove her most dangerous enemy: Mary, Queen of Scots.Also included are two short stories: The Queen's Rival and The Queen's Poet.

Rome's new hero may prove to be her greatest enemy yet!The tyrant king, Lucius Tarquinius, is banished from Rome and the republic is born. But Rome is still a divided nation and it's not long before tensions between the classes begin to rise.Into this turbulent arena strides Caius Marcius, a young patrician who despises the plebeians. His mother, Volumnia, consulted the Sibyl before his birth and learned that her son had a glorious destiny. In Ancient Rome, that means being a great warrior and so she trains him to be the ultimate soldier. Caius wins battle after battle and the people's respect.But not the people's love. Caius's proud, unforgiving nature angers the people and they exile him from Rome, from his family and friends, and most importantly, from his mother.Without her, there is only one person Caius can turn to - Rome's fiercest enemy.Rome needs to watch out! Caius Marcius Coriolanus is returning with an army who will raze his former home to the ground.Only one woman can save Rome from total destruction, but she may have to sacrifice the thing she holds most dear to do it.

Rome, 6th Century BC, is a brutal place.Battles with neighbouring tribes are common and kings can be easily thrust from their thrones, through diplomacy or at the point of a sword, it doesn't really matter.When Lucomo, first of the Tarquins, is brutally murdered by hired assassins, his adopted son Servius takes the throne without the approval of the senate. Over time, he earns their trust, but his unelected accession rankles with Lucomo's grandson, Lucius.Lucius believes the throne should be his and he's prepared to do whatever it takes to get it. And so, he and his lover set out on a path that will lead them to commit murder, regicide and usurpation.Lucius is King of Rome, but there's a shadow darkening his victory. A terrible curse plagues the family while a prophecy foretells the fall of the Tarquins.Can Lucius defy the Fates and secure the throne for the Tarquin dynasty?Or can the Roman Republic be seen, flexing its muscles, on the horizon?

England in the sixteenth century is a country in turmoil.King Henry VIII's Reformation has left England divided between Catholics and Protestants. Most of the those who cling to the Old Faith are content to conform to the laws of the land. But there are some Catholics who wonder where their allegiance lies - to England's heretic queen or to the Pope? Francis Walsingham has no such doubts. As French ambassador, he witnesses the savagery of the St Bartholomew's Eve massacre, when Catholics slaughtered Protestants in their thousands, and he is determined England will never suffer the same fate. He begins to create an elaborate network of spies who will keep him informed of Catholic plots against Elizabeth, especially those that have Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots at their heart.Walsingham's mission is clear: to protect Elizabeth I from her enemies by whatever means necessary!

A WOMAN WRONGFULLY INCARCERATED. A DOCTOR FIGHTING TO FREE HER.London, 1864. Dr Felix Cowdrey is working in a London free hospital, and hating every minute of it. So many of his patientshave illnesses and injuries that cannot be treated, and his inability to help them pains him deeply.Then he meets Dr Miles Wakefield who offers him a position at his private lunatic asylum in Essex. Intrigued by the opportunityto work with patients who have damaged minds rather than bodies, Felix accepts, and sets out for Flete House.Enjoying an early success with a female inmate, Felix believes he has finally found his vocation. But the return of a youngwoman to the madhouse's best bedroom sets Felix on a new path that will expose a shocking family secret and uncover adeadly conspiracy that will change his life forever.

1588. The Spanish Armada has been defeated, but Elizabeth Tudor is griefstricken.The Earl of Leicester has died and Elizabeth feels entirely alone. But at her court there is a young man who will chase her nightmares away and, she hopes, will be her adoring slave. Enter Robert Devereux, the Earl of Essex.But Elizabeth is no longer young and doesn't command the affection she once did. Robert has no intention of becoming Elizabeth's slave. He has very real ambitions of his own, ambitions that will threaten the queen herself.Surrounded by a generation of courtiers who are tired of worshipping an irritable old hag, Elizabeth knows they are looking forward to the day when a man sits on the throne of England.For Robert, that day cannot come soon enough. If he cannot sit on the throne himself, then he is determined to be the power behind it, even if it means taking Elizabeth's crown by force.But Elizabeth is ready to fight for her throne.In the dangerous world of the Tudor court, there aren't any prizes for coming second. Robert must succeed or die.

Robert Dudley is born into a family tainted by treason but one that is determined to rise high once more. Placed by his ambitious father, the duke of Northumberland, in the royal household, Robert spends his childhood years as playmate to the children of Henry VIII: Edward and Elizabeth Tudor. Robert watches as his father grows in both power and influence and is determined to be just like him. But when the duke attempts to make Lady Jane Grey his puppet queen, he discovers that Mary Tudor, eldest daughter of Henry VIII, is a formidable opponent. His coup having failed, the duke is imprisoned and sentenced to death, while his sons are kept confined in the Tower of London. Some of them will never leave it alive. But when the last of the Tudors, Elizabeth, ascends the throne, Robert's fortunes change for the better. Their friendship is quickly renewed, and Robert and Elizabeth soon set tongues wagging across Europe with talk of their scandalous behaviour. Unwilling to make him her husband but not prepared to let him have any other woman, Elizabeth keeps Robert jealously by her side. Forced to live a double life, Robert must sacrifice the thing he desires most: a family to carry on the Dudley name. He throws himself into state affairs, desperate to become a statesman before it is too late. Can Robert earn the respect he has always craved? Or is he doomed to be forever known as the despised favourite of a Tudor queen?

1485. The world has changed.Henry VII sits on England's throne following his defeat of King Richard III at Bosworth Field.Enter Thomas Wolsey, a young man with a great deal of brains and even greater ambition. Despite his reputation for brilliance at Magdalen College, Thomas cannot help feeling he deserves more than Oxford can offer and leaves to seek new challenges elsewhere.Moving from master to master, Thomas moves higher up the social ladder with each job until finally, he is in reach of the highest master in the land: the King of England himself!But Thomas has no idea how treacherous the Tudor Court can be. His swift rise from butcher's son to man of influence creates enemies at court, chief among them the king's mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort.Thomas can only hope and pray fortune will stay on his side.