Make Merry at Court …with three Tudor Christmas stories!In Blythe Gifford’s Christmas at Court, Sir John Talbot and Lady Alice’s secret betrothal must wait until Henry Tudor claims the throne. Next in Secrets of the Queen’s Lady by Jenni Fletcher, the lady-in-waiting to Anne of Cleves is unexpectedly reunited with a handsome–younger–diplomat at the palace’s festivities! And in His Mistletoe … Mistletoe Lady by Amanda McCabe, Catherine seeks help from a mysterious Spaniard to free her father in time for Christmas!
“A romantic, well-researched treat of a novel”
–All About Romance on Rumors at Court by Blythe Gifford
“This book was another example of how books are truly magic”
–The Blossom Twins on An Unconventional Countess by Jenni Fletcher
“Amanda McCabe is a sterling storyteller”
–Fresh Fiction on Secrets of a Wallflower by Amanda McCabe
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Make Merry at Court
…with three Tudor Christmas stories!
Christmas at Court by Blythe Gifford
Sir John Talbot and Lady Alice’s secret betrothal must wait until Henry Tudor claims the throne.
Set during the Christmas seasons of 1483-1485, while King Richard III struggles to keep his throne against Henry Tudor’s threat. Alice and John enter a betrothal set up by their fathers. Those gentlemen profess their loyalty to Richard while working quietly to help Henry take the throne. During that first Christmas, John and Alice get to know each other a little. There is attraction and a tentative friendship, and each is wary of trusting the other. The next time they see each other is Christmas 1484. The tensions at Court are palpable as rumors of Henry’s plans run rife. A year apart has allowed doubts to creep in about each other’s commitment, but time spent together eases some of those doubts. By Christmas of 1485, Henry is now king, but John and Alice cannot marry until the king keeps his promise to marry Princess Elizabeth. To complicate matters, John’s father has come up with a new plan that may put an end to their betrothal.
I liked both John and Alice. Alice is sweet but not naïve, especially after living at Court. While she accepts her father’s dictates about who to marry, she is intelligent enough to deduce the politics behind it. I liked how Alice confronted John and insisted on knowing the whole story. She is also smart enough to keep her wits about her in the paranoid atmosphere and stay out of trouble. John is suspicious of Alice at first, especially when he realizes her intelligence, and worries that she might play both sides. I liked seeing the relationship develop, with a little more depth each Christmas. The third year is especially trying as they try to move their future forward. I loved seeing John stand up to his father and take matters into his own hands. Once they are away from the Court’s intrigues, I think John and Alice will be happy together.
I enjoyed seeing the Tudor Christmas traditions and learning a few things I didn’t know about betrothals of the period. I also enjoyed the historical bits about Henry’s rise to the throne. Most of it I knew, but the treatment was different than other things I’ve read.
Secrets of the Queen’s Lady by Jenni Fletcher
The lady-in-waiting to Anne of Cleves is unexpectedly reunited with a handsome—younger—diplomat at the palace’s festivities!
1540 – Henry VIII and Katherine Howard are King and Queen in this story, while Anne of Cleves is now the king’s “favored sister.” The widowed Lady Pippa is one of Anne’s ladies-in-waiting, a position she took after her husband’s death. Pippa’s marriage was a miserable one, and she swore she would not marry again. Just before Christmas, a young diplomat arrived to invite Anne to join the King and Queen for Christmas. Pippa was surprised to see Lord Christopher, who she’d known ten years earlier when he was a lad of seventeen.
The development of the relationship between Kit and Pippa was a rocky one. Kit remembered Pippa very well – he’s compared other women to her for years. His brother wants Kit to marry a young woman he picked out, but Kit isn’t interested. He only has eyes for Pippa. Meanwhile, Pippa resists Kit as hard as she can. She is seven years older than he is, was reviled by her husband because she didn’t give him a child, and doesn’t want to risk another marriage. She does everything she can to push Kit away. I ached for Kit because he loves Pippa, but he can’t get through to her. I loved that her age and childlessness didn’t bother him at all. There were some emotional scenes as he tried to convince her of his love. Pippa frequently frustrated me with her refusal to give him a chance. Her husband’s cruelty deeply affected her self-confidence. I wanted to shake her each time she lied to him about her feelings. I loved how she received some eye-opening advice from Anne and some unexpected help when she decided. The ending was terrific. I would have liked an epilogue to see where they ended up.
His Mistletoe Lady by Amanda McCabe
Catherine seeks help from a mysterious Spaniard to free her father in time for Christmas!
1554 – Queen Mary and King Philip. It is early in Queen Mary’s reign, shortly after her marriage to Philip. This is a happy time for her: a rebellion against her rule has been stopped, she expects her first child (she believes), and it is Christmas. It’s not all sweetness and light – the English resent the presence of her husband’s Spanish countrymen, and intrigue still runs rampant.
Catherine and her mother, a former lady-in-waiting to the Queen’s mother, travel to London at the Queen’s request. Catherine’s father resides in prison, accused of participating in the rebellion. Catherine and Elena hope that the Queen will help them. Don Diego is another recent arrival at Court. He is on a secret mission to gather intelligence about threats to the Queen.
I liked the development of the romance between Catherine and Diego. Drawn together from the moment they met, both are initially cautious. Catherine believes that the wealthy and handsome Diego is beyond her reach, especially with her father’s imprisonment. Diego knows the truth about her father’s situation and tries to stay away for her protection. The holiday revelries throw them together fairly often, and they find much in common, including a growing attraction. I loved Diego’s kindness, and there are several sweet scenes of them together.
Intrigue swirls around the court, and Catherine finds herself the focus of several warnings. A former neighbor makes a nuisance of himself, and I felt Catherine’s unease whenever she was around him. Her mother reminds her of their precarious position, telling Catherine to be on guard. But when Catherine gets caught up in another attempt on the Queen, will Diego be able to save her? I loved the ending, with Catherine’s strength of will and Diego’s determination. Their big moment shows excellent potential for their future.
This collection of novellas gives a peek into the intrigue and uncertainty of courtiers during three different time periods in the reign of the Tudor family. All three stories did an excellent job of describing the palaces, fashions, famous people, political plots, and Christmastime traditions of the Tudor period. I could just imagine the ladies as they tried to carefully plan for their futures amidst the uncertainty of the palace intrigue.
Blythe Gifford’s story Christmas at Court highlighted just how dangerous it was during the reign of Richard III, especially for those who supported Henry Tudor. Lady Alice’s and Sir John’s secret betrothal can only be fulfilled if Henry takes the throne. This was the most intense of the stories, as the main characters, and many of the real people from history, were under the constant strain of tip-toeing around Richard to stay alive across the several Christmases of his reign.
In Secrets of the Queen’s Lady by Jenni Fletcher, Lady Philippa is one of Anne of Cleves’ ladies-in-waiting, after Henry VIII has set aside Queen Anne and Lady Philippa’s husband has died. Lady Philippa gets a second chance at love when the younger diplomat Sir Christopher returns from abroad. While they once shared a brief friendship, Philippa is reluctant to trust another man after her disastrous first marriage. This was an interesting look into the household of Anne of Cleves after she was replaced as queen.
His Mistletoe Lady by Amanda McCabe features more intrigue, this time during the reign of Queen Mary. A rebellion against Mary and the influence of her new husband, Philip, the King of Spain, has just been put down. However, spies on both sides are at work at the court during the Christmas season. Lady Catherine finds the visiting Spaniard Don Diego fascinating, but she must take care to do all she can to help her father who is in the Tower of London accused of being one of the rebels. This was an unusual story for me in that it showed Queen Mary in a sympathetic light during the happiest moments of her reign.
All three stories bring to light the Christmas traditions of the time, many of which are still practiced today. The romances are sweet and help to bring hope and security to the couples in the stories and bring the reader a heart-warming feeling for Christmas or any time of year.
TUDOR CHRISTMAS TIDINGS is a wonderful holiday treat. Three stories by Blythe Gifford, Jenni Fletcher, and Amanda McCabe are full of tradition, food, atmosphere, and romance set against a powerful, sometimes dangerous, time in English history. McCabe’s sweet story highlighting closed off Spaniard Diego and Catherine, a young woman whose father is jailed for treason, stands out because of its focus on Queen Mary’s Catholic reign. Of course, things are never as simple as they seem on the surface. I am a huge fan of historical fiction but have not read a lot tales set in Tudor England. TUDOR CHRISTMAS TIDINGS offers me a nice change of pace and is a nice addition to anyone’s holiday themed reading list.
I gratefully received a copy of this title from the author and voluntarily shared my thoughts here.
i just love christmas stories, and with 3 stories in one book this was perfection. my favorite was Catherine and Deigo! Such a wonderful book.