The Lady of the Tower by Elizabeth St. John

I had been reading a lot of mystery murders and psychological thrillers so when I saw this as a free Amazon download I knew the time was right for historical fiction.

The reign of James I was a tumultuous one and it was difficult for those who were around the Court to keep their heads, their careers or their virtue. For Lucy however the danger and animosity came within her very own family - her sister Barbara leading the pack, hating Lucy with a vengeance even when it seemed that there was no reason for Barbara who had it all to be jealous of Lucy.

Lucy catches the eye of the Earl of Suffolk but it was not to be and she had to find a path for herself. Most women of the time would have fallen into the arms of any other man but Lucy had ideas that with her wealth of knowledge of plants and herbs, ample knowledge of the medications of the time that she could forge a life for herself. It was not exactly how it turned out to be but she did find a faithful husband and had an eventful life within the Court.

Not a smooth one though. Her husband was drawn into scheme after scheme by the King and lost everything and Lucy was once again bereft. In a world full of scheming women and men Lucy had to fight to stay afloat, now not just for herself but for her young family.

Descriptive of the Court and the intrigues of the Duke of Buckingham who literally ruled the court and King James, the story of Lucy's life from the time she was a little girl was a very emotional read.

For lovers of historical fiction, this book is a must.