Publishers are offering a good selection of new books on royal topics next month. Here's a sneak peek. (As always, publication dates are subject to change.)
The Kings & Queens of Anglo-Saxon England by Timothy Venning. Includes Hengest, Aethelburh, Enfleda, Alfred the Great, and Harold Godwineson.
Blood Sisters: The Women Behind the Wars of the Roses by Sarah Gristwood. About seven women, including Marguerite of Anjou, wife of Henry VI; Cecily Neville, mother of Edward IV; and Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII.
Jane Seymour by David Loades. Biography of Henry VIII's third wife, mother of his son Edward VI.
Arsinoë of Egypt and Macedon: A Royal Life by Elizabeth Donnelly Carney. Biography of the powerful Arsinoe II (c. 316-c.270 BC).
The Murder of Cleopatra: History's Greatest Cold Case by Pat Brown. Argues that Egyptian pharaoh Cleopatra did not commit suicide but was brutally murdered.
Shadow on the Crown: A Novel by Patricia Bracewell. In 1002, Emma of Normandy weds King Athelred of England, but her love for another man and the threat of a Viking invasion jeopardize her crown and her life. First book in planned trilogy.
Temple of a Thousand Faces by John Shors. Historical fiction set in Cambodia. After narrowly escaping death at the hands of conquering Cham king Indravarman, Prince Jayavar of the Khmer people tries to amass an army.
The full list of new royalty books will be published on the Royalty.nu Books page on February 1.
If I could only read one of the books listed above, it would be difficult to choose because I want to read them all! But I think I would pick Temple of a Thousand Faces because I enjoyed John Shors' earlier novel Beneath a Marble Sky, about the story behind the Taj Mahal. Which book would you choose?
I won an advance copy of "Shadow on the Crown" and it' s very good so far.
Congratulations – that's a nice prize! I've just noticed that it's the first book in a planned trilogy; I should mention that in the description.