Title: The Godmother’s Secret

Author: Elizabeth St. John

Blurb:

What if you knew what happened to the Princes in the Tower. Would you tell? Or would you forever keep the secret?

November, 1470: Westminster Abbey. Lady Elysabeth Scrope faces a perilous royal duty when ordered into sanctuary with Elizabeth Woodville–witness the birth of Edward IV’s Yorkist son. Margaret Beaufort, Elysabeth’s sister, is desperately seeking a pardon for her exiled son Henry Tudor. Strategically, she coerces Lancastrian Elysabeth to be appointed godmother to Prince Edward, embedding her in the heart of the Plantagenets and uniting them in a destiny of impossible choices and heartbreaking conflict.

Bound by blood and torn by honour, when the king dies and Elysabeth delivers her young godson into the Tower of London to prepare for his coronation, she is engulfed in political turmoil. Within months, the prince and his brother have disappeared, Richard III is declared king, and Margaret conspires with Henry Tudor to invade England and claim the throne. Desperate to protect her godson, Elysabeth battles the intrigue, betrayal and power of the last medieval court, defying her husband and her sister under her godmother’s sacred oath to keep Prince Edward safe.

Were the princes murdered by their uncle, Richard III? Was the rebel Duke of Buckingham to blame? Or did Margaret Beaufort mastermind their disappearance to usher in the Tudor dynasty? Of anyone at the royal court, Elysabeth has the most to lose–and the most to gain–by keeping secret the fate of the Princes in the Tower.

Inspired by England’s most enduring historical mystery, Elizabeth St. John, best-selling author of The Lydiard Chronicles, blends her own family history with known facts and centuries of speculation to create an intriguing alternative story illuminating the disappearance of the Princes in the Tower.

Buy Links:

This title is on #KindleUnlimited.

Universal Link: https://geni.us/GodmothersSecret

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B9YM4JF5

Amazon US:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B9YM4JF5

Amazon CA:  https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0B9YM4JF5

Amazon AU:  https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0B9YM4JF5

Review:

Having lately become interested in the War of the Roses, The Godmother’s Secret was the perfect novel to cap off my recent historical obsession. It’s also exceptionally apt that there is discussion about testing the DNA of what is to be thought to be the skeletons of the lost princes with King Charles III’s permission.

In terms of the novel itself, I loved the fact it was told from a female perspective and someone who cared deeply for the princes. It must have been exceedingly frustrating for Elysbeth to continually come up against so many barriers when she simply wanted to make sure these two young boys were cared for. I felt a great deal of sadness for her and anger on her behalf, especially at the Duke of Buckingham.

Another fantastic historical read for anyone interested in this time period. I’ll definitely be looking for other titles by Miss St. John in the future!

About the Author:

Elizabeth St. John spends her time between California, England, and the past. An acclaimed author, historian, and genealogist, she has tracked down family papers and residences from Lydiard Park and Nottingham Castle to Richmond Palace and the Tower of London to inspire her novels. Although the family sold a few country homes along the way (it’s hard to keep a good castle going these days), Elizabeth’s family still occupy them— in the form of portraits, memoirs, and gardens that carry their legacy. And the occasional ghost. But that’s a different story.

Having spent a significant part of her life with her seventeenth-century family while writing The Lydiard Chronicles trilogy and Counterpoint series, Elizabeth St. John is now discovering new family stories with her fifteenth-century namesake Elysabeth St. John Scrope, and her half-sister, Margaret Beaufort.

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