Please join Elizabeth Fremantle as she tours the blogosphere for Queen’s Gambit from August 12 – September 13.

Queen's Gambit2Publication Date: August 6, 2013
Simon & Schuster
Hardcover; 432p
ISBN-10: 147670306X

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. However, obliged to return to court, she attracts the attentions of the ailing, egotistical, and dangerously powerful Henry VIII, who dispatches his love rival, Seymour, to the Continent. No one is in a position to refuse a royal proposal so, haunted by the fates of his previous wives—two executions, two annulments, one death in childbirth—Katherine must wed Henry and become his sixth queen.

Katherine has to employ all her instincts to navigate the treachery of the court, drawing a tight circle of women around her, including her stepdaughter, Meg, traumatized by events from their past that are shrouded in secrecy, and their loyal servant Dot, who knows and sees more than she understands. With the Catholic faction on the rise once more, reformers being burned for heresy, and those close to the king vying for position, Katherine’s survival seems unlikely. Yet as she treads the razor’s edge of court intrigue, she never quite gives up on love.

Praise for Queen’s Gambit

“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)

“Wildly entertaining…lively, gamey, gripped with tension…one of the best historical novels I’ve read.”
(Liz Smith)

“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)

“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)

“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)

“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)

“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)

“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)

“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)

“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)

“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)

Videos

Official Book Trailer

Elizabeth Fremantle introduces us to Katherine Parr

Visit Hampton Court with Elizabeth Fremantle

Buy Links

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Books-a-Million
IndieBound
Bookish

About the AuthorElizabeth Fremantle

Elizabeth Fremantle holds a first class degree in English and an MA in Creative Writing from Birkbeck College London. She has contributed as a fashion editor to various publications including Vogue, Elle and The Sunday Times. QUEEN’S GAMBIT is her debut novel and is the first in a Tudor trilogy. The second novel, SISTERS OF TREASON, will be released in 2014. She lives in London.

For more about Elizabeth and her future projects, please visit her website. You can also follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and Pinterest.

Virtual Book Tour Schedule

Monday, August 12
Feature & Giveaway at Passages to the Past

Tuesday, August 13
Review & Giveaway at A Bookish Affair
Review & Giveaway at Flashlight Commentary

Wednesday, August 14
Review at The Library of Alexandra
Review & Giveaway at Confessions of an Avid Reader

Thursday, August 15
Review at From Left to Write

Friday, August 16
Review & Giveaway at Unabridged Chick

Monday, August 19
Review & Interview at A Chick Who Reads

Tuesday, August 20
Review & Giveaway at Book-alicious Mama

Wednesday, August 21
Review at The Happy Booker

Thursday, August 22
Review & Giveaway at Oh, for the Hook of a Book!

Friday, August 23
Review & Giveaway at vvb32 Reads
Interview at The Happy Booker

Monday, August 26
Review & Giveaway at Peeking Between the Pages

Tuesday, August 27
Review at Sharon’s Garden of Book Reviews

Wednesday, August 28
Review at Medieval Bookworm

Thursday, August 29
Review at The Musings of ALMYBNENR

Friday, August 30
Review & Giveaway at The Tudor Book Blog

Monday, September 2
Feature & Giveaway at The True Book Addict
Interview at Layered Pages

Tuesday, September 3
Review at CelticLady’s Reviews
Review & Giveaway at The Maiden’s Court

Wednesday, September 4
Review at Booktalk & More
Interview at The Tudor Book Blog

Thursday, September 5
Review at A Book Geek

Friday, September 6
Review at History Undressed
Review at Impressions in Ink
Review & Giveaway at Drey’s Library
Review & Giveaway at Always with a Book

Monday, September 9
Review at She Is Too Fond of Books

Tuesday, September 10
Review & Giveaway at Let Them Read Books

Wednesday, September 11
Review at So Many Books, So Little Time

Thursday, September 12
Review at Closed the Cover
Review at WTF Are You Reading?
Review at Carole’s Ramblings and Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell

Friday, September 13
Review & Giveaway at Books in the Burbs
Review & Giveaway at A Dream Within a Dream

Post-Tour

Monday, September 16
Review at A Bookish Libraria

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