Tuesday, August 14, 2012

New Release Tuesday

Tuesday is always an exciting day in the world of books, the day new titles hit book stores and eager readers grab up their favorite author's new releases. Today starts a couple months of new releases I'm looking forward to with two historical fiction releases.

The Kingmaker's Daughter by Philippa Gregory continues her series on England's War of the Roses. I've already read about brothers Edward IV and Richard III and the illustrious Plantagenet's and I am really enjoying hearing the tale from voice of the women in their lives. This novel continues the tale with the story of the Neville sisters, Isabel and Anne.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

The Kingmaker's Daughter (The Cousins' War #4)Spies, poison, and curses surround her…. Is there anyone she can trust? In The Kingmaker’s Daughter, #1 New York Timesbestselling author Philippa Gregory presents a novel of conspiracy and a fight to the death for love and power at the court of Edward IV of England.

The Kingmaker’s Daughter is the gripping story of the daughters of the man known as the “Kingmaker,” Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick: the most powerful magnate in fifteenth-century England. Without a son and heir, he uses his daughters Anne and Isabel as pawns in his political games, and they grow up to be influential players in their own right. In this novel, her first sister story since The Other Boleyn Girl, Philippa Gregory explores the lives of two fascinating young women.

At the court of Edward IV and his beautiful queen, Elizabeth Woodville, Anne grows from a delightful child to become ever more fearful and desperate when her father makes war on his former friends. Married at age fourteen, she is soon left widowed and fatherless, her mother in sanctuary and her sister married to the enemy. Anne manages her own escape by marrying Richard, Duke of Gloucester, but her choice will set her on a collision course with the overwhelming power of the royal family and will cost the lives of those she loves most in the world, including her precious only son, Prince Edward. Ultimately, the kingmaker’s daughter will achieve her father’s greatest ambition.




Michelle Moran is a recently discovered author. I finished her book Madame Tussaud : A Novel of the French Revolution  last month and really loved it. Moran did a fantastic job with research and the story was beautifully told. In her newest novel The Second Empress, Moran delves into the reign of Napoleon, an era which I have read little about so I'm really excited for this one.

Synopsis from Goodreads:
The Second Empress: A Novel of Napoleon's Court

National bestselling author Michelle Moran returns to Paris, this time under the rule of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte as he casts aside his beautiful wife to marry a Hapsburg princess he hopes will bear him a royal heir

  After the bloody French Revolution, Emperor Napoleon’s power is absolute. When Marie-Louise, the eighteen year old daughter of the King of Austria, is told that the Emperor has demanded her hand in marriage, her father presents her with a terrible choice: marry the cruel, capricious Napoleon, leaving the man she loves and her home forever, or say no, and plunge her country into war.

Marie-Louise knows what she must do, and she travels to France, determined to be a good wife despite Napoleon’s reputation. But lavish parties greet her in Paris, and at the extravagant French court, she finds many rivals for her husband’s affection, including Napoleon’s first wife, Joséphine, and his sister Pauline, the only woman as ambitious as the emperor himself. Beloved by some and infamous to many, Pauline is fiercely loyal to her brother. She is also convinced that Napoleon is destined to become the modern Pharaoh of Egypt. Indeed, her greatest hope is to rule alongside him as his queen—a brother-sister marriage just as the ancient Egyptian royals practiced. Determined to see this dream come to pass, Pauline embarks on a campaign to undermine the new empress and convince Napoleon to divorce Marie-Louise.

As Pauline's insightful Haitian servant, Paul, watches these two women clash, he is torn between his love for Pauline and his sympathy for Marie-Louise. But there are greater concerns than Pauline's jealousy plaguing the court of France. While Napoleon becomes increasingly desperate for an heir, the empire's peace looks increasingly unstable. When war once again sweeps the continent and bloodshed threatens Marie-Louise’s family in Austria, the second Empress is forced to make choices that will determine her place in history—and change the course of her life.

Based on primary resources from the time, The Second Empress takes readers back to Napoleon’s empire, where royals and servants alike live at the whim of one man, and two women vie to change their destinies.

4 comments:

  1. Lovely site! New follower here, you can find me over at Rainy Day Reads.

    Christine
    www.rainydayreads.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Christine! I'm already a follower and you have a beautiful blog!

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  3. Thanks, I am going to look out for the Phillipa Gregory.
    Have a great week!

    ReplyDelete