Elizabeth Camperdowne lives in Tudor England with her father and very strict aunt in a crumbling castle: Stonetron Castle. Destined to be married off at a very young age, our red-haired twelve-year-old heroine has before her a future of an arranged marriage to a man many years older than herself, and looking after her children to continue the family line.
Then her future husband turns out to be an 18-year-old drunk, who has secretly married a chambermaid. Elizabeth does not conform, and due to her bad behaviour, she is sent to Trumpton Hall, a school for rich young ladies to learn manners. There she meets her cousin, Katherine Howard.
Her cousin is the oldest and most beautiful of the girls and she teases Eliza about her red hair. Eliza has a hard time at the school; she believes she and the young, handsome music teacher are in love, and then discovers that he has been pretending while seeing Katherine.
At the age of 15 she and Katherine are sent to the court of Henry VIII. They are both ladies-in-waiting to the new queen, Anne of Cleeves. When she is rejected by the king, Katherine takes her place.
Court life is dangerous, but how dangerous will it get for Katherine?
This book is a real eye-opener on the Tudor court. It shows an entirely different side to what happened to Katherine Howard. The characters are very vividly imagined and are most entertaining.
I would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves history and drama.
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