The May Bride - Softcover

Suzannah Dunn

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0349139466 ISBN 13: 9780349139463

Publisher: Abacus, 2015

Synopsis

I didn't stand a chance: looking back over thirteen years, that's what I see. In the very first instant, I was won over, and of course I was: I was fifteen and had been nowhere and done nothing, whereas Katherine was twenty-one and yellow-silk-clad and just married to the golden boy...

Jane Seymour is a shy, dutiful fifteen-year-old when her eldest brother, Edward, brings his bride home to Wolf Hall. Katherine Filliol is the perfect match for Edward, as well as being a breath of fresh air for the Seymour family, and Jane is captivated by the older girl. Over the course of a long, hot country summer, the two become close friends and allies, while Edward is busy building alliances at court and advancing his career.

However, only two years later, the family is torn apart by a dreadful allegation made by Edward against his wife. The repercussions for all the Seymours are incalculable, not least for Katherine herself. When Jane is sent away, to serve Katharine of Aragon, she is forced to witness another wife being put aside, with terrible consequences. Changed forever by what happened to Katherine Filliol, Jane comes to understand that in a world where power is held entirely by men, there is a way in which she can still hold true to herself.

About this title

Review:

[The May Bride] gives the doomed Jane a new and fresh voice, with plenty of fascinating period detail (Sunday Mirror)

A cut above the rest (Independent)

Thoughtful and original . . . Dunn's writing is sharp and often surprising and her characterisation is excellent (History Today)

Frankly, I'm tiring of the Tudor industry - but this delightful novel stands out from the mob . . . Dunn lights up one of history's forgotten corners (Kate Saunders Saga)

Dunn skilfully transports the reader to the oppressive atmosphere of Wolf Hall, seat of the Seymour family in Tudor England, and the heavy-handedness with which men treat their womenfolk (Lady)

Book Description:

From the bestselling author of The Confession of Katherine Howard, the story of two years at the Seymour family home, Wolf Hall, that changed Jane Seymour's life for ever.

'I loved this powerful book and can't recommend highly enough' Martina Cole

About this edition

• Publisher: Abacus
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0349139466
• ISBN 13: 9780349139463
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 400