Forthcoming Books: 2012 edition

[boswellbaxter]

And I would hate to see this one be left out.

Her Highness, The Traitor by Susan Higginbotham (June 2012):

When Henry VIII dies, leaving behind his nine-year-old son as his heir, a deadly series of power struggles begins, transforming the lives of two women. Jane Dudley's husband, the Duke of Northumberland, becomes the most powerful man in England, while Frances Grey perchs with her daughter Jane dangerously close to the throne. But when Mary Tudor asserts her own right to the crown, Frances Grey and Jane Dudley find that the lives of their husbands and children are in mortal danger. The story of the women behind the crowning of Jane Grey, this novel is an illuminating tale of ambition gone awry.

[annis]

Not sure if it's been mentioned already, but I'm looking forward to this new novel by Lindsey davis, not a Falco, but set in ancient Rome during the reign of Emperor Domitian.

Press release blurb from Hodder:
"Under Lindsey Davis’ ever-skilful pen, ancient Rome and her subjects come alive. The brooding and despotic Domitian, the civil and military campaigns he masterminded, his courtiers, politicians and literati, the filth and flies that threatened a supposedly great civilization, even surreal aspects of bureaucracy … all are lifted out of near historical oblivion and given shape, colour and size. Madness, love, humour and the will to survive are the threads running through this engrossing and most entertaining realization of history."

More info here:
http://www.lindseydavis.co.uk/master&god.htm

[Berengaria]

[quote=""boswellbaxter""]And I would hate to see this one be left out.

Her Highness, The Traitor by Susan Higginbotham (June 2012):

When Henry VIII dies, leaving behind his nine-year-old son as his heir, a deadly series of power struggles begins, transforming the lives of two women. Jane Dudley's husband, the Duke of Northumberland, becomes the most powerful man in England, while Frances Grey perchs with her daughter Jane dangerously close to the throne. But when Mary Tudor asserts her own right to the crown, Frances Grey and Jane Dudley find that the lives of their husbands and children are in mortal danger. The story of the women behind the crowning of Jane Grey, this novel is an illuminating tale of ambition gone awry.[/quote]
So the title The Making of a Queen is an earlier working title? I had preordered the book, but wondered why the listing had no information on plot, and no cover photo.

[boswellbaxter]

[quote=""Berengaria""]So the title The Making of a Queen is an earlier working title? I had preordered the book, but wondered why the listing had no information on plot, and no cover photo.[/quote]

That's absolutely right! It was originally scheduled to come out in January, but someone (wouldn't know who) got her manuscript in a tad late.

[rebecca]

[quote=""boswellbaxter""]And I would hate to see this one be left out.

Her Highness, The Traitor by Susan Higginbotham (June 2012):

When Henry VIII dies, leaving behind his nine-year-old son as his heir, a deadly series of power struggles begins, transforming the lives of two women. Jane Dudley's husband, the Duke of Northumberland, becomes the most powerful man in England, while Frances Grey perchs with her daughter Jane dangerously close to the throne. But when Mary Tudor asserts her own right to the crown, Frances Grey and Jane Dudley find that the lives of their husbands and children are in mortal danger. The story of the women behind the crowning of Jane Grey, this novel is an illuminating tale of ambition gone awry.[/quote]

I will be keeping an eye out for it....But will it have the same cover? I am a bit of a cover slut and I like the look of this one. I even bought 'Wait for Me' DOD memoirs from the U.S because it had a better cover ..I know I am superficial that way...Covers matter.

Bec

[boswellbaxter]

[quote=""rebecca""]I will be keeping an eye out for it....But will it have the same cover? I am a bit of a cover slut and I like the look of this one. I even bought 'Wait for Me' DOD memoirs from the U.S because it had a better cover ..I know I am superficial that way...Covers matter.

Bec [/quote]


Unless some last-minute change takes place, this should be the final cover. And I do have duplicates of several books simply because I liked the cover on a different edition!

[LoobyG]

What a gorgeous cover BB, I'll look out for this one in June

[boswellbaxter]

[quote=""LoobyG""]What a gorgeous cover BB, I'll look out for this one in June [/quote]

Thanks, Looby!

[Tanzanite]

I've been on a little bit of a break with some family issues and moving (again!!) into a bigger apartment so my daughter could come to DC and live with me (although she's here she's now not sure she wants to stay...). Anyway, I have a long list of books to post, so on with the show!

Between Love and Honor by Alexandra Lapierre. US and UK release April 2012.
Between Love and Honor is a historical love story based on the facts of Czar Nicholas I of Russia’s 25-year struggle to contain the Muslims of the Caucasus Mountains. The book follows Jamal Eddin, son of the Jihadist warrior Imam Shamil, as he’s taken hostage by the Czar. The boy so impressed the Czar that he was raised alongside the Czar’s sons. He was encouraged to practice his religion – part of a plot by the Czar to place the boy as ruler in his father’s stead, bringing the interests of Russia to power – and he managed to incorporate Islam into courtly life among the glamorous Imperial set. All this changed, however, when he fell in love; the girl was from one of the most celebrated intellectual families in the Empire, and Jamal Eddin could have her hand only if he agreed to convert to Christianity. Deeply in love, he would willingly commit this act of apostasy. Despite the plans the Czar had for his protégé, Nicholas also agreed to the match; indeed, he promised to stand as godfather at Jamal Eddin’s baptism and best man at his wedding. Upon this news, 17 years after his kidnapping, Jamal’s father makes his move, but leaves the choice to his son: will he return to his village or remain with his love?

[Tanzanite]

Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel. UK release May 10, 2012.
The sequel to the Man Booker-winning Wolf Hall.

‘My boy Thomas, give him a dirty look and he’ll gouge your eye out. Trip him, and he’ll cut off your leg,’ says Walter Cromwell in the year 1500. ‘But if you don’t cut across him he’s a very gentleman. And he’ll stand anyone a drink.’

By 1535 Thomas Cromwell, the blacksmith’s son, is far from his humble origins. Chief Minister to Henry VIII, his fortunes have risen with those of Anne Boleyn, Henry’s second wife, for whose sake Henry has broken with Rome and created his own church. But Henry’s actions have forced England into dangerous isolation, and Anne has failed to do what she promised: bear a son to secure the Tudor line. When Henry visits Wolf Hall, Cromwell watches as Henry falls in love with the silent, plain Jane Seymour. The minister sees what is at stake: not just the king’s pleasure, but the safety of the nation. As he eases a way through the sexual politics of the court, its miasma of gossip, he must negotiate a ‘truth’ that will satisfy Henry and secure his own career. But neither minister nor king will emerge undamaged from the bloody theatre of Anne’s final days.

In ‘Bring up the Bodies’, sequel to the Man Booker Prize-winning ‘Wolf Hall’, Hilary Mantel explores one of the most mystifying and frightening episodes in English history: the destruction of Anne Boleyn. From history’s darkroom, this novel offers a speaking picture to the modern world, a vision of Tudor England so recognizable it defies archaism. It is the work of one of our great writers at the height of her powers.