I could not love this man, knowing that he would not listen to me, knowing that I was not allowed even to show him my sadness. He was the father of my children and yet he would have no interest in the...
I can’t sleep, he says so quietly that only I can hear. I can’t sleep. I can’t sleep. I can’t sleep. Nor I. You neither? No. Truly? Yes. He sighs a deep sigh, as if he is relieved. Is this love then?...
I am the daughter of a water goddess. I am a woman with water in her veins and power in her breeding. I am a woman who makes things happen, and I am not defeated yet. I am not defeated by a boy with a...
I am exhorted to be virtuous and fertile. The people see me indicated as the choice of God for Queen of England. Choirs sing as I enter the city, rose petals are showered down on me. I am myself, my o...
I am a woman with water in her veins and power in her breeding. I am a woman who makes things happen, and I am not defeated yet. I am not defeated by a boy with a newly won crown, and no man will ever...
How? I murmur. It feels as if I am talking in my sleep, floating down a stream of sleep. How can I conquer the worst fear?You just decide, she says simply. Just decide that you are not going to be a f...
Historical fiction is a hybrid, a blending of reported reality, reasonable speculation, psychological truth, and the author’s imagination.
His little gestures of affection, his hand in the small of her aching back, her head brushing his shoulder. When she was with child, she used to cling to him for comfort, and he was always tender with...
Her sadness had given her a serenity which had not been there before. It was as if she had learned a hard lesson: that chances in life would not fall into her lap like ripe cherries.
Her confidence is extraordinary, her impertinence unforgivable, her words terribly true.
He treats her as if he would spare her any fatigue, as if he has dedicated his life to her happiness.
He is a very cautious man, and he believes wholeheartedly in nothing.
Good Evening , Sir John. I hope that you will accept a little gift from me.'I should be honored, Your Majesty.'I want to give you a little carved stool from my privy chambers. A pretty little piece fr...
God speaks to us individually, each and every one of us, that we need neither pope nor priest, nor bleeding statue, to find our way to faith. God is calling and we only have to listen. There are no cl...
Go with the knowledge that I will think of you every time I lift your boy from his bed, every time I kneel for my prayers, every time I order my horse, every hour of every day.
Getting a woman into power is not the point—it’s getting a good woman into power who thinks and cares about what she does.
For most of my life i have been adored by fools and hated by people of good sense, and they all make up stories about me in which I am either a saint or a whore. But I am above these judgments, I am a...
For a moment out eyes meet, but we exchange nothing except a grim determination to get this parting over, to get this exile under way, to keep this precious boy safe. I suppose that Jasper is the only...
For a moment I felt the terror. The deep primeval terror of something one does not understand, something which is against nature or, at the least, against everything one has ever seen or known before.
Eyes downcast, she went past me without a glance. Dismissively her gown brushed my knees as if I should have drawn further back, out of her way, as if everyone should always step back to let Anne thro...