Free (Kindle) The King's Bed by Margaret Campbell Barnes [Tudor Wars Drama w/Romance]

[ATDrake]

The King's Bed by the late English author Margaret Campbell Barnes (Fantastic Fiction) is her vintage standalone historical personal drama novel with strong f/m romantic elements set during the transition from the Wars of the Roses under Richard III to the Tudor ascension under Henry VII, centred around a young woman who becomes swept up in the turbulent events as she becomes enamoured of a man who is closely involved with them due to a lingering secret (don't read the customer reviews unless you want to be spoiled for it) which may destroy their lives as well as happiness, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Endeavour Press.

This was originally published in 1961 by Macdonald & Co. Apparently the author was quite popular back in the day but has now fallen into relative obscurity (though her books are also being reprinted by Sourcebooks' Landmark imprint as well as Endeavour), and IIRC, one of the MR Romance thread-goers once recommended her to me as a quality historical author who did a good deal of research and incorporated the romantic elements into the plot rather than focusing primarily on the romances (which personally I'm not interested in).

Anyway, if you're interested, there's some reviews of her stuff at the Historical Novel Society, which seems to regard her work highly, and a brief but informative author spotlight in the comments at this blog.

Currently free @ Amazon (available to Canadians & in the UK and pretty much everywhere else Amazon sells worldwide, since this is being done via their KDP Select exclusive-or-else program)

Description
For seventeen-year-old Tansy Marsh, life centres upon her father’s inn, The White Boar, in Leicester.

Richard III sits upon the throne of England, and all seems well.

But the threat of the would-be usurper, Henry Tudor, looms like a gathering storm. And soon the eye of that storm is uncomfortably close to Tansy, disrupting her reassuringly ordinary life.

Once King Richard is defeated, that life becomes even less ordinary.

For Tansy has met Dickon Broome, the man who will change her existence forever.

And while life goes on under the Tudor, Dickon has particular reason to bear a grudge.

Meanwhile in Leicester, Tansy’s beloved father dies, and she is left at the mercy of her self-absorbed, self-interested stepmother.

Until her stepmother also dies, in a most horrible way, and Tansy finds herself terrifyingly close to the centre of that drama.

It soon becomes clear that there is nothing more for Tansy in her childhood home. She travels to London, to Dickon, and to a future that will be marked by some of the most noted events in England’s history.

For Dickon, Broome is not quite all that he seems, and the quality that sets him apart forces him to take some difficult decisions; decisions that affect Tansy as much as himself.

While the couple seems happy, Dickon’s secret has the power to destroy them. Will he allow that to happen, or will he come to terms with some of the nation’s most famous historic events, and live out a quiet and happy life with his beloved Tansy?

Only one man can decide.

[badgoodDeb]

Yeah, I've heard the author's name, and the subject interests me, so I picked it up. Thanks!