Bilyeau’s debut tackles the fracas that ensued when King Henry VIII began persecuting Catholics and other groups he saw as a threat to his reign. Joanna Stafford, a novice nun from a fallen noble family, defies the rules of her convent and travels to London to bear witness to the burning at the stake of her favorite cousin, Margaret, who has been convicted of treason. At the execution, Joanna encounters her father, who hastens Margaret’s death with gunpowder. Father and daughter are taken to the infamous Tower of London, where Joanna is held for months until an ambitious bishop, Stephen Gardiner, threatens her father with torture and death unless Joanna returns to her priory on a covert mission to retrieve a possibly apocryphal royal crown purported to be hidden on priory grounds. Despite Bilyeau’s intriguing main story line, the narrative becomes sidetracked by a subplot involving Lord Chester, the boorish father of the priory’s Sister Christina. Unfortunately, stock crazy characters and some glaring plot holes derail a promising story about one woman’s love for God and family. (Jan.)
The Crown
Narrated by Nicola Barber
Nancy BilyeauUnabridged — 14 hours, 45 minutes
The Crown
Narrated by Nicola Barber
Nancy BilyeauUnabridged — 14 hours, 45 minutes
Overview
In this debut historical thriller, an aristocratic young nun must find a legendary crown in order to save her father's life and preserve all she holds dear.
When novitiate Joanna Stafford learns her rebel cousin is condemned by King Henry VIII to be burned at the stake, she makes the decision to break the sacred rule of enclosure and flee her Dominican order in Dartford to stand at her cousin's side.
Arrested for interfering with king's justice, Joanna, along with her father, Sir Richard Stafford, is sent to the Tower of London. Joanna's father is brutally tortured by Stephen Gardiner, the Bishop of Winchester, who leads the Catholic faction bent on saving England's monasteries from destruction. In order to save her father, Joanna must submit to Gardiner's will and become a pawn in the struggle between religious extremes. Gardiner forces Joanna to return to Dartford Priory with a mission: find the long-hidden crown worn by Saxon King Athelstan in AD 937 during the historic battle that first united Britain. Gardiner believes the crown itself to possess a mystical power that will halt the Reformation.
Uncovering only dark betrayals and murder at Dartford, Joanna flees with Brother Edmund, a troubled young friar, and with time running out, their hunt for the crown leads them through royal castles, to Stonehenge, and finally to the tomb of the mysterious King Athelstan under Malmesbury Abbey. There Joanna learns the true secret of the crown-a secret tracing all the way back to Golgotha and the relics of the Passion-and must finally determine who to trust and how far she is willing to go to protect a way of life that she passionately loves.
Editorial Reviews
An engrossing thriller…[the] extensive historical research shines.” – Entertainment Weekly
“Part The Da Vinci Code, part The Other Boleyn Girl, it will keep you guessing until the very end!” – Woman’s Day, Book Pick of the Month
“Bilyeau deftly weaves extensive historical research throughout, but the real draw of this suspenseful novel is its juicy blend of lust, murder, conspiracy, and betrayal.” – O, The Oprah Magazine
“[An] inventive thriller…A captivating heroine, Stafford will have you eagerly following every step of her quest.” – Parade
“[A] captivating thriller.” – All You
“The right sort of action to lure fans of historical fiction: righteous nuns, evil bishops, real-world figures and a potential burning at the stake.” – Time Out New York
“When her cousin is condemned to death by King Henry VIII, daring young nun Joanna risks everything to be by her side.” – People Magazine
“History buffs will delight in the details interwoven in the story.” – Times Record News
“I’m loving ‘The Crown.’” – Redbook
“Bilyeau weaves her breathtaking story though a string of events to a pleasing conclusion while giving the reader a more thorough understanding of a complicated bit of history. Historical fiction as it should be.” – Florida Times-Union
A must read...Part The Da Vinci Code, part The Other Boleyn Girl, it will keep you guessing until the very end! —Book Pick of the Month
All the ingredients for a thriller: murder, violence, intrigue, sex, and religious fanatics.
Strong character development, realistic historical detail, and an atmosphere of pervasive tension coupled to a fast-paced plot make it compulsively readable.
Novitiate Joanna breaks her vows to leave her cloister and come to the aid of her cousin Margaret, convicted of treason against King Henry VII and sentenced to hang. Joanna is subsequently thrown into the Tower of London with her father and released with a secret mission—return to her priory and find a legendary, mystical relic for the bishop. If she succeeds, her father will be freed as well; until then, he will be tortured to ensure her compliance. Along the way, Joanna is assisted by a handsome constable and a somber monk, both with hidden agendas and secret passions. VERDICT Debut author Bilyeau promises a historical thriller with suspense, intrigue, and mystery—the delivery, however, is sometimes lacking. While the plot is compelling, the author drags out her story with multiple, concurrent subplots. This book will appeal to fans of Dan Brown and Philippa Gregory, if they can dedicate themselves to the 400-plus pages.—Jennifer Funk, McKendree Univ. Lib., Lebanon, IL
Bilyeau's venture into Tudor territory veers away from Henry VIII to explore a more obscure aspect of his reign, the dismantling of England's monasteries and convents. A young noblewoman, Joanna Stafford, is brought by her father to Dartford Priory, where she enters the novitiate. Soon thereafter, thanks to a foolhardy attempt to render aid to her condemned cousin Margaret, Joanna and her father are confined to the Tower, where they languish for several months. Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester, engineers Joanna's release and return to Dartford, but not without extracting from her a terrible admission: concealed somewhere at the priory is a sacred relic, the Crown of King Athelstan, England's last great Saxon monarch. Her father will remain in the Tower until Joanna locates and secures the Crown for Gardiner, who, he says, intends to use its mysterious power to, somehow, thwart King Henry's rampage against Roman Catholicism and its religious orders. Accompanying Joanna to Dartford are two other agents of the Bishop, the recently dispossessed Dominican friars Brother Richard and Brother Edmund. Back at Dartford, Joanna's search for the Crown yields no clues, until a visitor, Lord Chester, drunkenly spots a telling tapestry and collapses in terror. Sometime that night Chester is murdered. Brother Edmond is accused, but cleared when Lady Chester leaves a suicide note confessing her own guilt. When Henry's operatives appear at Dartford it is clear that Cromwell, Henry's chief minister and Gardiner's sworn enemy, is aware of the Athelstan Crown's existence; its links to Charlemagne and Christ himself; and its unique proclivity: to bring invincibility to anyone of royal blood who is pure, and death to anyone who is not. Only when Richard, Edmund and Joanna join forces can they trace the legend of Athelstan to its roots in another monastery, but their faith and trust in the Bishop known as Wily Winchester will be severely tested. This fast-paced debut delivers Tudor intrigue and mystical thrills in one satisfying package—and leaves room for a sequel.
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940169908329 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Blackstone Audio, Inc. |
| Publication date: | 01/10/2012 |
| Series: | Joanna Stafford , #1 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
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