The Virgin's Daughter (Tudor Legacy #1)
By Laura Andersen
368 pages | May 26th 2015 | Ballantine Books
Perfect for fans of Philippa Gregory and Alison Weir, The Virgin's Daughter is the first book in a captivating new saga about the next generation of Tudor royals, which poses the thrilling question: What if Elizabeth I, the celebrated Virgin Queen, gave birth to a legitimate heir?
Since the death of her brother, William, Elizabeth I has ruled England. She’s made the necessary alliances, married Philip of Spain, and produced a successor: her only daughter, Anne Isabella, Princess of Wales. Elizabeth knows that her beloved Anabel will be a political pawn across Europe unless she can convince Philip to grant her a divorce, freeing him to remarry and give Spain its own heir. But the enemies of England have even greater plans for the princess, a plot that will put Anabel’s very life and the security of the nation in peril. Only those closest to Elizabeth—her longtime confidante Minuette, her advisor and friend Dominic, and the couple’s grown children—can be trusted to carry forth a most delicate and dangerous mission. Yet, all of the queen’s maneuverings may ultimately prove her undoing.
I will start by saying that while I enjoy historical fiction and alternate story lines I also enjoy history a great deal. That being said I was hesitant to even give this book a change the moment I read the blurb line 'Since the death of her brother, William' given the fact that I know Queen Elizabeth I brother was Edward. I blinked in confusion staring at it for a moment before I realized that this was a completely alternate universe where Willaim was a fictional son of Anne Boleyn from the author's The Boleyn King book.
So beware although it indicates that it's the first in a series, it's really not! It's a So spin off of the author's other series. Either way, I decided to give the book a shot, but I will recommend to other readers that you start with the others books first to best understand the whole alternate world the book is set in.
It was worth a read though, this story of how Elizabeth I life might have been was well written, intriguing and enjoyable. Those who have a thirst for accurate historical interpretation will likely not enjoy the spin of the tale but I found to my surprise that I did!
Laura Andersen has one husband, four children, and a college degree in English that she puts to non-profitable use by reading everything she can lay her hands on. Books, shoes, and travel are her fiscal downfalls, which she justifies because all three ‘take you places.’ She loves the ocean (but not sand), forests (but not camping), good food (but not cooking), and shopping (there is no downside.) She lives in Massachusetts with her family.
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