The Queen's Handmaiden
- Author: Jennifer Ashley
- Publisher: Berkley
- Year: 2007
- FictionDB Listing : [1]
- Goodreads Listing : [2]
Book Description
A novel of the early years of Elizabeth Tudor -- as told by the spirited niece of her real-life governess.
Her name is Eloise Rousell
Daughter of a well-bred lady and a strolling player, she lived her early years in peaceful obscurity. But then her father died -- and her new stepfather wanted none of her. So she was sent to her aunt, Kat Ashley -- governess to the young Elizabeth Tudor.
In the tumultuous household of the princess in exile, Eloise finds her destiny -- best friend, confidante, lady-in-waiting, and favored seamstress of the fiery girl who would become the greatest monarch of all time.
Through a decade of plots and counter-plots, tragedies and triumphs, Eloise, like her aunt, is a constant in Elizabeth's life. Risking her heart -- and her head -- in service to the cause of seeing Elizabeth on the throne, Eloise is a bright, brave, sprightly witness to history. This is her story.
