Overview

Now a major motion picture, Firebrand shows the tumultuous darker side to the marriages of the notorious King of England, Henry VIII, and the wife who survived. Widowed for the second time at age thirty-one, Katherine Parr falls deeply for the dashing courtier Thomas Seymour and hopes at last to marry for love. Instead, she attracts the amorous attentions of the ailing, egotistical, and dangerously powerful Henry VIII. No one is able to refuse a royal proposal. Haunted by the fates of his previous wives--two executions, two annulments, one death in childbirth--Katherine must wed Henry and rely on her wits and the help of her loyal servant Dot to survive the treacherous pitfalls of life as Henry's queen. Yet as she treads the razor's edge of court intrigue, she never quite gives up on love.

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9781668005361

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Reviews

A promising debut. -- Historical Novels Review Beautifully written and finely observed, this suspenseful tale of Henry the Eighth's last wife expertly conveys all the dangerous intensity and passion of the Tudor court. --Rachel Hore, author of A Place of Secrets Brings the decadent, conniving, back-stabbing world of the16th-century British court to brilliant life, revealing what one woman can teach us about the timeless art of survival. -- Oprah.com Elizabeth Fremantle's rich narrative breathes vibrant life into Henry VIII's most intriguing, intelligent and least known wife, Katherine Parr. --Anne Easter Smith author of A Rose for the Crown and Royal Mistress Fremantle . . . navigates Tudor terrain with aplomb. -- Publishers Weekly Sins, secrets and guilt dominate the landscape of British writer Fremantle's debut . . . [her] emphasis is on intrigue, character portraits and the texture of mid-16th-century life. Solid and sympathetic. -- Kirkus Reviews The Tudor court comes to life in this gripping story of Katherine Parr, the sixth wife of Henry VIII, where passion, secrecy and betrayal power the suspense. -- Woman & Home This is a superbly written novel . . . Fremantle is surely a major new voice in historical fiction and this book is the answer to the question about what Hilary Mantel fans should read while waiting for the final part of her trilogy. -- The Bookseller With a painter's eye for detail, Fremantle brings the dazzling, dangerous Tudor court to life and sheds an intriguing new light on Katherine Parr, one of history's great survivors. An enthralling tale of power and passion, loyalty and betrayal. --Elizabeth Wilhide, author of Ashenden Filled with all the intrigue, fear and secrecy that Tudor-era aficionados love, Fremantle's earthy, vivid descriptions bring the era and her characters--especially wise and compassionate Katherine--to life. -- Romantic Times Fremantle's vivid, finely detailed reconstruction of Katherine Parr's marriage to Henry VIII is a guaranteed best seller [that] fills the void just when historical fiction fans were beginning to feel the dearth of new works. -- Library Journal Intrigue, romance, and treachery abound in Fremantle's debut novel . . . . This compulsively readable fictional biography of the ultimate survivor is infused with the type of meticulous attention to historical detailing that discerning fans of Alison Weir and Philippa Gregory have come to expect in the Tudor canon. -- Booklist Wildly entertaining . . . lively, gamey, gripped with tension . . . one of the best historical novels I've read. --Liz Smith Queen's Gambit is a lovely, sensual, subtle read, telling the story of Katherine Parr with both rich imagination and scrupulous attention to factual detail. After reading this historical novel, you truly comprehend what it would mean to be the sixth wife of a dangerous man wielding absolute power. Katherine is no selfless nurse here, nor religious fanatic, but a complex and compelling person who both men and women were drawn to. This is a very impressive novel. --Nancy Bilyeau author of The Crown Queen's Gambit is an earthy, vivid portrait of Tudor England seen through the eyes of Henry VIII's last wife Katherine Parr and her loyal maid servant. Elizabeth Fremantle has added a richly written and engrossing novel to the endlessly fascinating story of the Tudors. --Stephanie Cowell author of Claude and Camille: A Novel of Monet All those wives, their fates and Henry's transformation from handsome young monarch to debauched obese tyrant continue to fascinate...Now Elizabeth Fremantle has returned to Henry's court with her debut novel Queen's Gambit. -- Express In Queen's Gambit, Parr had hoped, after her much older second husband died, to be able to marry for love. Instead, she finds herself shackled to a violent, ill, grossly overweight Henry, while pining for the handsome Thomas Seymour. Parr is too smart to indulge in an affair like her doomed predecessor, but her reformist religious views could just as easily get her killed. . . . A subplot involving Parr's maid, Dot Fownten (a real historical figure), is particularly well done. In this case, physical labor aside, downstairs in the palace may be the safer place to be. -- Washington Post Spellbinding . . . fascinating . . . Smart, sensual and suspenseful as a thriller, Gambit is a must-read for Philippa Gregory fans--and heralds a brilliant new player in the court of royal fiction. -- People

Author Information

Elizabeth Fremantle is the author of four Tudor novels: Queen's Gambit (now a major motion picture, Firebrand, starring Alicia Vikander and Jude Law), Sisters of Treason, Watch the Lady, and The Girl in the Glass Tower. As EC Fremantle she has written two gripping historical thrillers: The Poison Bed and The Honey and the Sting. Her contemporary short story, 'That Kind of Girl, ' was shortlisted for the Bridport Prize in 2021. She has worked for Elle and Vogue in Paris and London and contributed to many publications including Vanity Fair, The Sunday Times (London), the Financial Times, and The Wall Street Journal. She lives in London.

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