Stealing Athena

Stealing Athena traces the parallel stories of Mary, Lady Elgin, wife of Thomas Bruce, Lord Elgin of the famous Elgin marbles, and Aspasia, courtesan of Pericles, general and statesman of the ancient Greek era of the building of the Parthenon. Mary and Aspasia are two women who devote themselves to the fulfillment of their mates' aspirations for fame and glory, despite the trials they have to endure. The Elgin marbles were collected during the reign of George III. The beautiful carvings and friezes from the Parthenon risked ruin by conquering Ottoman armies. The Elgins, posted in Turkey on an ambassadorship, risk all to collect the priceless marble carvings under Napoleon's very nose, to cart them back to England to enrich the fine art of the country. Not all agree that the marbles are worth collecting, or even that they are the original works. But Thomas holds fast to his dream, despite losing virtually everything in the process. The Elgin marbles are viewable today in a dusty corner of the British museum, but the story behind them is far from dusty. While this is a novel, the historical setting and much of the action is true. The story of Pericles and Aspasia is fainter in recorded history, but the parallel tale of the mind behind the building of the Parthenon and his improbable lover lends focus to both stories of women experiencing love, loss, jealousy, suspicion and manipulation for their partners' greater glory.

The Queen's Lover

The Queen's Lover takes readers back to Catherine of Valois' world of intrigue, indulgence and madness amid the reign of her father and mother, Charles VI and Isabeau. The French King is mad, the Queen accused of a life of debauchery. Their children are forgotten until Catherine is pegged for a royal marriage to the larger-than-life King of England Henry V. A royal messenger catches her eye, Owain Tudor, displaced member of the royal house of conquered Wales. Love rules Owain's and Catherine's relationship from the first, although it cannot be realized because of her royal marriage. Her son Harry (later Henry VI) inherits the combined kingdom of England and France, the first ruler to do so, but her brother Charles has his own claim on the French throne. When her husband dies an untimely death, does the door to love open after all?

Her Highness' First Murder

Thirteen-year-old Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth I) and Simon, teenage son of the former physician to Henry VIII, search for clues in a string of strange murders in Her Highness' First Murder. This book weaves lots of period details into a great detective story set among the waning years of Henry's reign. The religious upheavals in the period have created fear and uncertainty among both the hidden Catholics and bold Protestants. A killer roams the London area, showing religious fervor in a murderous way. Is the killer a commoner, or a gentleman? Elizabeth and Simon team up with the Captain of the King's Welsh Guard to solve the heinous crimes before another victim appears. A great page-turner!