Authors: Pauline Francis
Traitor's Kiss (21 page)
Within five years of this scandal â with the exception of Elizabeth, her servants, Mary, Robert Dudley and Mistress Ellen â all the other real people were dead: Thomas Seymour was executed for treason in March, 1549. His brother Edward was executed for treason in 1551. Lady Jane Grey, her husband Guildford Dudley, and his father John Dudley, were executed for treason by Queen Mary in 1554. Archbishop Thomas Cranmer was burned at the stake by Queen Mary in 1556.
Elizabeth was safe until her sister Mary became Queen in 1554 and sent her â with Robert Dudley â to the Tower for a suspected Protestant plot. She narrowly escaped execution, becoming Queen of England upon Mary's death in 1558 at the age of twenty-five. Elizabeth ruled for forty-four years. She never married. Robert Dudley, Kat Ashley and Blanche Parry remained faithful servants until their natural deaths. Elizabeth never forgave Robert Tyrwhitt, and when she became Queen, she banished him from court for the rest of his life.
Acknowledgements
I want to thank my family for their constant interest and support â especially my husband â also Megan Larkin and Anne Finnis for their comments on the manuscript.
A special thanks to Sam Whisker, chef and patissière, who made me a sugar rose as I watched her â and let me glimpse the pleasures and pitfalls of a world I know nothing about.
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The Young Elizabeth
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Mistress Blanche
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The Tudor Age
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,
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About the Author
Pauline Francis has worked as a school librarian and a French teacher, and spent time in Africa translating books before becoming a writer herself. She has written educational stories, such as
Sam Stars at Shakespeare's Globe
, focusing on her favourite subject, the sixteenth century, and retold classics such as
Oliver Twist
. She has written for young people learning English as a foreign language. This is her third novel for Young Adults. Her first â
Raven Queen
â a tale of love and tragedy based on the life of Lady Jane Grey, is set several years after the events in
Traitor's Kiss
.
Pauline is married with two grown-up children, and lives in Hertfordshire.
To find out more about Pauline Francis, visit her website:
paulinefrancis.co.uk
Usborne Quicklinks
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If you loved
Traitor's Kiss
don't miss
Raven Queen
by Pauline Francis
ePub ISBN 9781409531944
I have lived the life of a princess since the day I was born. But it did not bring me what I wanted. I am still trapped.
My beloved Ned speaks of love, freedom, a future. To walk with him in the forest, our raven soaring above us, is my only joy. But my father plans that I shall be betrothed to the King and I am afraid. Queens of England have a habit of dying. I have no desire to take the throne, no wish to find myself in the Tower of London.
Wife, Queen â I fear it will bring me to my knees.
Raven Queen
weaves a mesmerizing tale of love and tragedy based on the life of Lady Jane Grey, all too often remembered as just a line in a history book.
Praise for
Raven Queen
“Written in timeless language with a hint of the poetic in the spare prose, the book underpins the love story with thoughtful imagery and symbolism⦠The book has an enduring theme of religious intolerance, makes the 16th-century vivid and ends with an unforgettable twist”.
The Sunday Times
“Francis' alternating first-person narrative weaves a fascinating story.”
Bookseller's Choice, The Bookseller
“A visceral, mesmerizing debut novelâ¦relayed through a series of thrilling, climactic tableaux in haunting, lyrical style.”
TES Magazine
“An utterly fabulous readâ¦Philippa Gregory for a younger audience.”
Rachel Forward, Gardners Books
“This stunning and lyrical tale will hold readers captive and haunt them long after the last page has been turned.”
Becky Stradwick, Borders
For more compelling tales of love and courage visit
www.usborne.com/fiction
This ebook edition first published in the UK in 2011 by Usborne Publishing Ltd., Usborne House, 83-85 Saffron Hill, London EC1N 8RT, England.
www.usborne.com
Copyright © Pauline Francis, 2011.
The right of Pauline Francis to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
Cover photography: PhotoAlto / Alamy
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This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ePub ISBN 9781409538301
Batch no. 00510-04