Joanna Hickson - The Tudor Crown

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Contents

Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2018

Copyright Joanna Hickson 2018

Cover illustrations Shutterstock.com

Cover design HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2018

Joanna Hickson asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the authors imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780008139735

Ebook Edition May 2018 ISBN: 9780008139742

Version: 2018-11-06

My books have an uncanny habit of following the timeline of the birth of my grandchildren and this one is dedicated to the beautiful Fern Ashton, another precious joy in my life to coincide with the publication of The Tudor Crown!

Joanna spent twenty-five years at the BBC writing and presenting for radio and television. Gripped by Shakespeares historical plays, Joanna originally began researching King Henry Vs fair Kate as a schoolgirl and the story of Catherine de Valois and the Tudor genesis went on to become her first historical novel, The Agincourt Bride. Joanna is now an internationally bestselling novelist with a legion of fans around the globe. The Tudor Crown is her fifth novel. She lives in Wiltshire and is married with a large family.

Follow Joanna on Facebook or Twitter @joannahickson.

The Agincourt Bride

The Tudor Bride

Red Rose, White Rose

First of the Tudors

A great tale the golden thread that led to the crown of England Conn Iggulden

An intriguing tale, told with confidence The Times

Rich and warm Sunday Express

Colourful and vivid Elizabeth Chadwick

A big-hearted and engrossing novel Elizabeth Fremantle

Thoroughly engrossing The Lady

A gripping and emotional story Woman

A bewitching first novel alive with historical detail Good Housekeeping

An enthralling blend of fact and fiction, drama and danger, passion and politics Lancashire Evening Post

If you enjoyed The Tudor Crown, look out for Joanna Hicksons other compelling Tudor novels, all available to buy now

Click here to buy now

[The Agincourt Bride [ePub edition] 978-0-00-744698-8

[The Tudor bride [ePub edition] 978-0-00-744700-8

[RED ROSE, WHITE ROSE [ePub edition] 978-0-00-744702-2

[FIRST OF THE TUDORS [ePub edition] 978-0-00-813971-1

T OSSING SPRAY FROM HER bow, the little cog swooped into another deep trough then ploughed her way up to the next luminous white crest. The wind folded the night around us with sighs and groans, turning the black ocean into a fearsome monster. We were sailing into a nameless void over waves as high as castle walls; leaving behind everything I had ever known, with faint hope of return.

The helmsman hauled on the whipstaff, swiping salt water from his beard with the other hand. The Marie Gwyn may be a small ship, my lord, but she is sturdy. She swims like a porpoise.

Only while on the surface, grunted my uncle, lending his arm to steady the jerking rudder. Visibility was restricted to the narrow beam of one horn lantern and the scant reflected light of a sickle moon, which frequently disappeared behind racing clouds. Stars too appeared and disappeared like guttering candles, making navigation well nigh impossible. Clearly our safety could not be guaranteed in these conditions. After countless crossings of the English Channel Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke, could read the weather signs as well as any sailor and I detected his uneasiness about what lay ahead. But it had been essential to leave harbour under cover of darkness in order to escape our Yorkist enemies.

I was clinging to a cleat on the windward bulwark of the aftcastle, feeling the swell and spill beneath me as the small ship danced from crest to crest. It was the first time I had been to sea and I was filled with a mixture of fear and exhilaration.