Michael O’Mara Books Ltd – The Bell Bookshop https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk Henley-on-Thames Tue, 18 Jun 2024 12:13:37 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/cropped-Bell-Background-Blue-32x32.png Michael O’Mara Books Ltd – The Bell Bookshop https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk 32 32 Uncrowned Queen: The Fateful Life of Margaret Beaufort, Tudor Matriarch https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/product/uncrowned-queen-the-fateful-life-of-margaret-beaufort-tudor-matriarch/ Thu, 17 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/product/uncrowned-queen-the-fateful-life-of-margaret-beaufort-tudor-matriarch/ 28 January 1457. England is in the grip of the Wars of the Roses. Inside the walls of Pembroke Castle a thirteen-year-old girl gives birth to a boy. The ordeal nearly kills them both, forging a powerful bond that will see mother and son work together to found the most famous dynasty in British history: the Tudors.
___________

‘A compelling portrayal of a woman of extraordinary courage, vision and passion. A must read.’ – Tracy Borman
‘A pacy narrative, written with a clear love for and detailed knowledge of her subject.’ – Spectator
___________

As the battle for royal supremacy raged between the houses of Lancaster and York, Margaret Beaufort, who was descended from Edward III and proved to be a critical threat to the Yorkist cause, was forced to give up her son – she would be separated from him for fourteen years. Surrounded by conspiracies in the enemy Yorkist court, Margaret remained steadfast, only just escaping the headman’s axe as she plotted to overthrow Richard III and secure her son the throne. Against all odds, in 1485 Henry Tudor was victorious on the battlefield at Bosworth. Margaret’s unceasing efforts and royal blood saw her son crowned King Henry VII, and Margaret became the most powerful woman in England.

Nicola Tallis unmasks the many myths that have attached themselves to Margaret and reveals the real woman: an independent and vibrant character, who would risk everything to become Queen in all but name.

]]> Elizabeth’s Rival: The Tumultuous Tale of Lettice Knollys, Countess of Leicester https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/product/elizabeths-rival-the-tumultuous-tale-of-lettice-knollys-countess-of-leicester/ Thu, 15 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/product/elizabeths-rival-the-tumultuous-tale-of-lettice-knollys-countess-of-leicester/ ‘Nicola Tallis, one of our great popular historians.’ Alison Weir

The first biography of Lettice Knollys, one of the most prominent women of the Elizabethan era.

Cousin to Elizabeth I – and very likely also Henry VIII’s illegitimate granddaughter – Lettice Knollys had a life of dizzying highs and pitiful lows. Darling of the court, entangled in a love triangle with Robert Dudley and Elizabeth I, banished from court, plagued by scandals of affairs and murder, embroiled in treason, Lettice would go on to lose a husband and beloved son to the executioner’s axe. Living to the astonishing age of ninety-one, Lettice’s tale gives us a remarkable, personal lens on to the grand sweep of the Tudor Age, with those closest to her often at the heart of the events that defined it.

In the first ever biography of this extraordinary woman, Nicola Tallis’s dramatic narrative takes us through those events, including the religious turmoil, plots and intrigues of Mary, Queen of Scots, attempted coups, and bloody Irish conflicts, among others. Surviving well into the reign of Charles I, Lettice truly was the last of the great Elizabethans.

]]>