Frances Gorges seems destined to be happy at last.
King James has apparently lost his appetite for hunting witches, so the medical skills and herbal knowledge that saw Frances accused of witchcraft no longer seem to hang over her like a death sentence. The King would rather be hunting stag and boar – and Frances’s beloved husband Thomas is firmly established in the royal household as the Master of Buckhounds. Their family is growing and their estates are secure.
But life at court is never without intrigue, jealousy and danger for long, and a new arrival turns the world upside down.
George Villiers is a young man with the face of an angel – and as his many enemies are about to discover, the cunning heart of a devil.
Soon James is totally in thrall to this charismatic new lover. All the King’s former favourites are crushed by Villiers’ lies and ruthless scheming. Thomas’s life is made a misery and Frances is back under suspicion as Villiers – rapidly made the Earl of Buckingham – moves to secure the hand and fortune of her friend Katherine Manners.
Appalled at the courtier’s greed and ambition and the King’s weakness and lust, Frances finds herself drawn back towards her old friend Sir Walter Raleigh and his last, desperate plot to see a Catholic monarch on the throne. And then her troubles really begin…
The Fallen Angel is a standalone novel of thrilling power and emotional drama. It is also the concluding volume in the King’s Witch trilogy, establishing Tracy Borman as one of our leading writers of historical fiction.
(P) 2020 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd
King James has apparently lost his appetite for hunting witches, so the medical skills and herbal knowledge that saw Frances accused of witchcraft no longer seem to hang over her like a death sentence. The King would rather be hunting stag and boar – and Frances’s beloved husband Thomas is firmly established in the royal household as the Master of Buckhounds. Their family is growing and their estates are secure.
But life at court is never without intrigue, jealousy and danger for long, and a new arrival turns the world upside down.
George Villiers is a young man with the face of an angel – and as his many enemies are about to discover, the cunning heart of a devil.
Soon James is totally in thrall to this charismatic new lover. All the King’s former favourites are crushed by Villiers’ lies and ruthless scheming. Thomas’s life is made a misery and Frances is back under suspicion as Villiers – rapidly made the Earl of Buckingham – moves to secure the hand and fortune of her friend Katherine Manners.
Appalled at the courtier’s greed and ambition and the King’s weakness and lust, Frances finds herself drawn back towards her old friend Sir Walter Raleigh and his last, desperate plot to see a Catholic monarch on the throne. And then her troubles really begin…
The Fallen Angel is a standalone novel of thrilling power and emotional drama. It is also the concluding volume in the King’s Witch trilogy, establishing Tracy Borman as one of our leading writers of historical fiction.
(P) 2020 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd
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Reviews
Brings unexpected twists and turns with every page, leaving readers in no doubt that Tracy Borman is the mistress of intrigue and suspense as she brings the schemings and power struggles of the Jacobean court vividly to life. With a masterfully crafted plot that keeps readers enthralled until the very end, Borman's meticulous art for storytelling is unbeatable. A truly stunning narrative that's pure gold for lovers of historical fiction
Once again, Tracy Borman has given us an outstanding page-turner, a stunning novel of the corrupt and dangerous Jacobean court, in which a courageous heroine pits her wits against a very nasty and determined villain. This is historical fiction at its absolute best. A fitting end to a fabulous trilogy!
George Villiers, the Duke of Buckingham, swaggers onto centre stage in the concluding part of Tracy Borman's Frances Gorges trilogy... lots of fascinating detail and insight into James's backstabbing court... an enjoyable read
Frances remains an engaging heroine and Borman's depiction of Villiers, with all his ruthless charisma, is striking
Tracy Borman's The Fallen Angel is the third in her trilogy of novels set in the compelling, claustrophobic, world of the Jacobean court, where her heroine, herbalist Frances Gorges, is in danger of falling foul of James I's witchcraft laws. As a serious historian and Joint Chief Curator of Historic Royal Palaces, Borman might easily have been mired in the records. Instead she uses them to invent an utterly compelling alternative reality. It's lush, wholly convincing and utterly gripping. Fact and fiction have rarely been blent so seamlessly
