"One of the Best Books of 2016" - Open Letters Monthly; Finalist, 2016 Novel of the Year - Underground Book Reviews; Semi-Finalist - 2017 M.M. Bennetts Award
All Jane Seymour wants is a husband; but when she catches the eye of a volatile king, she is pulled deep into the Tudor court's realm of plot and intrigue....
England. 1535. Jane Seymour is 27 years old and increasingly desperate to marry and secure her place in the world. When the court visits Wolf Hall, the Seymour ancestral manor, Jane has the perfect opportunity to shine: her diligence, efficiency, and newfound poise are sure to finally attract a suitor.
Meanwhile, King Henry VIII is 45 and increasingly desperate for an heir. He changed his country's religion to leave his first wife, a princess of Spain, for Anne Boleyn -- but she too has failed to provide a son. As Henry begins to fear he is cursed, Jane Seymour's honesty and innocence conjure in him the hope of redemption.
Thomas Cromwell, an ambitious clerk whose political prowess keeps the King's changing desires satisfied, sees in Jane Seymour the perfect answer to the unrest threatening England: he engineers the plot that ends with Jane becoming the King's third wife. For Jane, who believes herself virtuous and her actions justified, miscarriages early in her marriage shake her confidence. How can a woman who has committed no wrong bear the guilt of how she unseated her predecessor?
Writer, fun person, wine lover, author of mysteries Tyger, Tyger and Fascinating Rhythm, co-author of Howdunit: Book of Poisons. And I'm a great cook!
Jane the Quene and Sparkling Wine Jane the Quene and Sparkling Wine No. We didn’t spell Jane the Quene wrong. It’s how she spelled her name on the birth announcements for her son, Edward Tudor. The book, by Janet Wertman, is a fictionalized... https://t.co/wsZ4EQUAMp
Listed as "One of the Best Books of 2016" by Open Letters Monthly; Finalist, 2016 Novel of the Year - Underground Book Reviews; Semi-Finalist, M.M. Bennetts 2017 Award for Historical Fiction; Readers' Award, Chill With a Book; Honoree, BRAG Medallion.
"Wertman describes the pageantry, gowns, and architecture of pre-Elizabethan England; presents an ample cast of nobles and ladies-in-waiting; and exposes the tense religious turmoil and malicious political machinations of the Tudor court... This enticing, historically accurate story lends immediacy to the events." - Publishers Weekly
"A touching and insightful reading experience." - Historical Novel Society
"In her remarkable debut novel, Janet Wertman comes as close to capturing this elusive figure as any novelist has yet done." - Open Letters Monthly, an Arts and Literature Review
"Janet Wertman meets the challenge of writing a story with a predetermined end, yet maintaining a hold on her audience until the last page is turned" - The Review
"Janet Wertman delivers pages of beautiful prose in a well-researched first book...Freaking amazing." - Underground Book Reviews
"This is an author who is fiercely passionate about her subject matter and respects that even the smallest details merit her attention." - Historical Fiction Reader