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THE BRIDE PRICE ($1.99, ISBN 978-0984816872) is volume 1 of the THWARTED QUEEN series, the saga of the Yorks, Lancasters and Nevilles, whose family feud started the Wars of the Roses. Told by Lady Cecylee Neville (1415-1495). The thwarted Queen. This tale of Cecylee’s girlhood will appeal to readers of YA novels.

Cecylee is the apple of her mother’s eye. The seventh daughter, she is the only one left unmarried by 1424, the year she turns nine. In her father’s eyes, however, she is merely a valuable pawn in the game of marriage. The Earl of Westmorland is so anxious for her marriage to take place, he locks his daughter up in the castle keep. But what about Cecylee? Does she want to marry 13-year-old Richard of York? Does she want to marry at all? For by the age of ten, Cecylee has already experienced too much violence at the hands of men.

The book can be ordered on Amazon as an e-book. It is also available on Goodreads, Smashwords and Barnes & Noble.

ONE SEED SOWN ($2.99, ISBN 978-0984816941) is volume 2 of the THWARTED QUEEN series. This tale of Cecylee’s love-affair with an archer on the Rouen garrison will appeal to readers of Historical Romance.

During the summer of 1441, when Cecylee is 26 years old, her husband Richard sets off for Pontoise to teach the French a lesson. Cecylee is left to hold court in the castle of Rouen with the wives of Richard’s generals. Her life laps placidly onward during those sleepy days of high summer, when suddenly, a mysterious young man appears. Cecylee’s private name for him is M. Beaujambs, because of his long, and very shapely legs, but history knows him as Blaybourne. Who is he? Is he an aristocrat of the House of Savoy? Or the son of a humble blacksmith? And if the latter, where did he get his exquisite manners? And his university education? And what is he doing in Rouen?

The book can be ordered on Amazon as an e-book. It is also available on Goodreads, Smashwords and Barnes & Noble.

THE GILDED CAGE ($2.99, ISBN 978-0984816958 and $9.99, ISBN 978-0984816927)  is volume 3 of the THWARTED QUEEN series. This tale of Richard of York’s political career, and its tragic impact upon his wife Cecylee, will intrigue readers who enjoy political biography. Set during the end of the Hundred Years War and the beginning of the Wars of the Roses we see Richard inherit the political mantle of his mentor Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, and become the people’s champion. The rambunctious Londoners are unhappy that their country has become mired in misrule due to the ineptitude of a King prone to fits of madness. Nor are they better pleased by the attempts of the King’s French wife to maneuver herself into power, especially as she was responsible for England’s losses in France. But can Richard and Cecylee prevail? Everywhere, their enemies lurk in the shadows.

The book can be ordered on Amazon as an e-book or a paperback. It is also available on Goodreads, Smashwords, CreateSpace RedRoom and Barnes & Noble.

TWO MURDERS REAPED ($2.99, ISBN 978-0984816965 and $9.99, ISBN 978-0984816934) is volume 4 of the THWARTED QUEEN series. This tale of what happened to Cecylee after her husband’s death will appeal to those who enjoy historical biography, and provides a complement to Anne Easter Smith’s novel about Cecylee Neville.  After the murder of her husband, the House of York regroups under her bastard son Edward, who wins two decisive battles, and becomes King Edward IV. Cecylee is in her element. As the young king’s mother, her views and opinions carry weight.
But Cecylee’s contentment does not last long. Edward makes a disastrous marriage, and his new wife displaces Cecylee as Queen of England. Titling herself Queen by Right, Cecylee refuses to move out of the Queen’s apartments. Worse follows. Cecylee loathes her coldly beautiful daughter-in-law, and nicknames her The Serpent. One day, she spills a secret that should have remained locked in her heart.

The book can be ordered on Amazon as an e-book or a paperback. It is also available on Goodreads, Smashwords, CreateSpace RedRoom and Barnes & Noble.

ROSE OF RABY ($9.99, ISBN 978-0984816903) comprises volumes 1 and 2 of the THWARTED QUEEN series. This tale of Cecylee’s girlhood and subsequent romance will appeal to readers of historical romance.Cecylee is the apple of her mother’s eye. In her father’s eyes, however, she is merely a valuable pawn in the game of marriage. But does Cecylee wish to marry the boy her father has picked out for her? Does she wish to marry at all? For at the age of ten, she has already experienced too much violence at the hands of men. Several years later, when Cecylee is twenty-six years old and the wife of Richard, Duke of York, a mysterious young man rides into her life. Who is he? And what is he doing in Rouen? By turns baffled and enchanted, Cecylee finds herself confronted by an intriguing challenge.

The book can be ordered on Amazon as a paperback. It is also available on Goodreads, CreateSpace RedRoom and Barnes & Noble.

THWARTED QUEEN ($9.99, ISBN 978-0984816910) is the entire narrative of the life of Lady Cecylee Neville (1415-1495), Duchess of York, Abbess and mother of Richard III and Edward IV. The event that fuels the narrative is Cecylee’s encounter with Blaybourne, a handsome archer, when she is twenty-six years old.  This love affair produces a child (the “One Seed” of Book II), who becomes King Edward IV.   But how does a public figure like Cecylee, whose position depends upon the goodwill of her husband, carry off such an affair? The duke could have locked her up, or disposed of this illegitimate son. But Richard does neither, keeping her firmly by his side as he tries to make his voice heard in the tumultuous years that encompass the end of the Hundred Years War – during which England loses all of her possessions in France – and the opening phase of the Wars of the Roses. This book is filled with many voices, not least those of the Londoners, who forged their political destiny by engaging in public debate with the powerful aristocrats of the time. By their courageous acts, these fifteenth-century Londoners set the stage for American Democracy.

The book can be ordered on Amazon as an e-book. It is also available on Goodreads, Smashwords and Barnes & Noble.

To learn more about the background of Cynthia’s novels, please click on an image below.