The King's Sisters - Sarah Kennedy

The King’s Sisters continues the story of Catherine Havens.  It’s now 1542, and another queen, Catherine Howard, has been beheaded for adultery.  Although young Prince Edward is growing, and the line of Tudor succession seems secure, the king falls into a deep melancholy and questions the faith and loyalty of those around him.     Catherine has found herself in a unique position as a married former nun.  Now she is a wealthy widow.  She has two children, a boy who has successfully joined the young prince’s household and a daughter who lives with her at Richmond Palace, home to Henry’s cast-off fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, now designated “The King’s Beloved Sister.”  Catherine also enjoys the attentions of widower Benjamin Davies, and in the festive court atmosphere, she has furtively indulged her passion for him.  But England has changed again.   Anne of Cleves hopes for reinstatement as queen—until questions arise about the finances of the houses she keeps.  Catherine, as one of the king’s “reformed sisters,” is singled out, just as she realizes that she is carrying a third child.     The King’s Sisters explores the Tudor court under an aging Henry VIII.  He now has a son and heir, but his two daughters remain players in the political intrigues.  The Cross and the Crown series follows the very private Catherine as she is thrust into the scheming.  She is skilled enough to serve a former queen, but this may be the very quality that endangers her future. Sarah Kennedy opens magical windows into the world of Tudor's England and brings it to life in vibrant colors and unforgettable reverberations. She reinvents the genre of historical fiction of that period giving voice to women of all ages, social classes, and economic standing. She writes with astounding detail of material culture and deft psychological insight about the experiences of women from the royal sisters to maids and confidants amidst whom the feisty protagonist Catherine Haven sparkles in the full richness of her empowered self, in the delicious shades of her moods, intelligence, warm motherhood and sensuality. This third novel in the series soars to new heights and we follow the heroine breathlessly on her suspenseful, sometimes reckless, always riveting journey. Domnica Radulescu, author of Train to Trieste and Black Sea Twilight.