Марта не желае да бъде гувернантка, но какъв друг избор има самотното бедно момиче? Когато стъпва в студения замък Мелин и се сблъсква с мрачния му господар Конън и неговата своенравна дъщеря, тя още не знае, че скоро ще срещне и сянката на Владетелката на замъка; че ще последва Конън в тъмната страна на любовта; и че накрая…

Марта не желае да бъде гувернантка, но какъв друг избор има самотното бедно момиче?

Когато стъпва в студения замък Мелин и се сблъсква с мрачния му господар Конън и неговата своенравна дъщеря, тя още не знае, че скоро ще срещне и сянката на Владетелката на замъка; че ще последва Конън в тъмната страна на любовта; и че накрая…

The young Princess Victoria, strictly confined within the boundaries of Kensington Palace, is being moulded for her awesome future as Queen of England. Surrounded by her dolls and closely guarded by her domineering mother and faithful governess, she slowly becomes aware of the bitter conflicts that surround her.

The jealous and scheming Duke of Cumberland is a constant threat to her rightful accession … her mother’s sinister friend, Sir John Conroy, makes her uneasy … and the bickering between her mother and the king seems neverending.

Growing up is proving difficult for the princess. She longs for her eighteenth birthday when at last she will be free to rule the nation as she pleases and to re-acquaint herself with the gallant Prince Albert.

On the morning of 20th June 1837, an eighteen-year-old girl is called from her bed to be told that she is Queen of England. The Victorian age has begun.

The young queen’s first few years are beset with court scandal and malicious gossip: there is the unsavoury Flora Hastings affair, a source of extreme embarrassment to the queen; the eternal conflict between Victoria and her mother, and the young queen’s hatred of Sir John Conroy, her mother’s close friend.

Then there is the Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne – ‘Lord M’ – worldly cynic and constant companion to the queen, himself a veteran of many a latter-day scandal. He proves to be her guiding light – until the dashing Prince Albert appears and she falls hopelessly in love …

From the time they were in their cradles, Victoria and Albert were destined for each other. However, the passive Albert is well aware that marriage to a quick-tempered, demonstrative young woman like Victoria could result in unnecessary scenes and stormy court feuds.

And he is right. The young Queen, as well has having to endure her constant pregnancies, is in perpetual revolt against any encroachment on her position – and Albert is doing just that.

Despite attempts on her life and crises like the Crimean War and the Indian Mutiny, her family – Albert and their nine children – is her prime concern. The Victorian age is truly under way – but the real power behind the throne was the queen’s husband.

Albert is dead and the queen is preparing to spend the rest of her life in mourning. Yet the last years of her reign are to be momentous years.

Palmerston, then Gladstone and Disraeli, govern her empire through the high noon of its heyday.

The court at Windsor, Balmoral, Osborne or Buckingham Palace is perpetually shocked by the Prince of Wales, forever in pursuit of horses, women and scandal, the heady harbinger of Edwardian years to come.

Princess Victoria knows from a young age that she will almost certainly become Queen of England. Her mother, also acutely aware of Victoria's destiny, keep the princess under a watchful eye against dangers of scheming uncles—always, she constantly reminds her daughter, working for the good of Victoria. But during this protective (but stifling) custody it is the company of Victoria's sister Feodore, her governess Baroness Lezhen, and visits to her revered Uncle Leopold that makes life bearable as she waits impatiently for her eighteenth birthday, when she will be free. In fact, not long after this milestone, Victoria is crowned queen, beginning the longest reign that England's throne has ever known with the heartfelt promise, “I will be good.” The affectionate and energetic Victoria is instantly beloved by the English people and delighted with her prime minister, and she adapts to her new role during the early years of her reign. But the greatest change is yet to come. When Uncle Leopold's favorite nephew, Albert, becomes Victoria's husband, one of history's great romances begins. The mirthful Victoria and the serious, studious Albert become a devoted pair, and Victoria comes to be guided by Albert's political advice and his high moral standards. As the government changes leadership, the empire expands, and Victoria and Albert's family grows, we see Victoria evolve from a headstrong young princess into one of the world's great monarchs and, eventually, into a reclusive widow, as well. She struggles throughout her life to subdue her quick temper, protect her family, and keep her trusted advisers close at hand, but it is always the great warmth of their “little queen” that endears her to her subjects and her loyalty and honesty that she relies on to guide her reign.

ANNE BOLEYN'S CLAIM TO FAME is distinct from that of every other woman in English history. It was for the love of Anne Boleyn that Henry VIII enacted a massive schism in the Catholic Church, renouncing the authority of the Pope and setting himself as the head of the Church of England—a move that shifted religious boundaries permanently. It was for the love of Anne Boleyn that Henry risked international war and domestic turmoil by leaving his wife of twenty years, Katharine of Aragon, which set a precedent for divorce in the English court. It was for the love of Anne Boleyn that Henry struggled bitterly with his advisors for six long years to make their union legitimate. Yet Anne Boleyn paid the ultimate price for Henry's mighty love. Three years after she was married to the king, she was beheaded at his orders. In this extraordinary tale of political treachery and romantic obsession, bestselling author Jean Plaidy spins Anne's story as never before. Weaving together impeccable historical research and an intuitive grasp of Anne's voice, Plaidy conjures courtly life in all its brocaded finery, complete with feasts and balls, deceptions and betrayals, political backstabbing and religious fanaticism. This guide is designed to help direct your reading group's discussion of .

After a childhood spent soaking up the sophistication and romantic intrigue of the fashionable French court, Anne Boleyn returns to her native England, expecting life to calm down considerably. Before long, the dark-eyed, wild-haired beauty finds herself in the court of King Henry VIII with none other than England's monarch fixated on her. Willful, proud, and virtuous, Anne will not play mistress to any man— even a king—who is already married. And so the desperate pursuit begins. Henry is up against his most trusted advisors, his queen, her royal Spanish family, the pontiff in Rome, and an increasingly critical public, as he turns his court upside-down to find a way to possess what he truly desires. And when Anne finally gives in to Henry's onslaught, she finds herself in a deadly game at the intersection of power and desire, where no amount of love or devotion will guarantee her safety. In Anne's unforgetable voice, explores her astonishing career from the confines of the tower where she ekes out her last days, pondering what she could have done differently, and how she might have escaped her world-renowned fate as the first—but not the last—of Henry's wives to be executed.

Eleanor of Aquitaine remains as intriguing today as she has in centuries past. In the inimitable Jean Plaidy brings this fascinating queen to life, allowing Eleanor to tell the captivating story of her life and loves in this fictional “memoir.”

Intelligent, independent, and beautiful, at age fifteen Eleanor was named Duchess of Aquitaine, the richest province in Europe. She became Queen of France upon marrying King Louis VII, but their tepid union ended when Eleanor met Henry II, the first Plantagenet King of England. Their tempestuous pairing produced many sons and daughters—two of whom would reign over England—and generated a legend unsurpassed.

A majestic and sweeping story set against a backdrop of medieval politics, intrigue, and strife, is filled with fascinating themes: love, passion, betrayal, loyalty, and heartbreak. This guide is designed to help direct your reading group’s discussion of Jean Plaidy’s unforgettable novel.

Anne Neville, daughter of the Earl of Warwick, first met and befriended Richard, Duke of Gloucester, at her father's castle, where he had been sent to learn the arts of chivalry and war. Anne's father, known as the Kingmaker, had set Richard's brother, Edward the Fourth, on the throne and was his strongest supporter until the king's marriage brought the rapacious Woodville family on to the scene. Disaster followed and the Earl of Warwick turned Kingmaker once again. But this time he was to use Anne as a bargaining counter in a treaty. She now faced a future which she dreaded with a man whom she already feared and by now she was in love with Richard...