Historical Romance in Tudor Times

HOLY POISON

Above is the hero of the Holy Poison series, or at least the main hero as there are a few. Isn't he gorgeous?

A reader once told me that she was in love with Richard Summerville. He is the Earl and hero of my first historical romance novel, which turned into a six book series.

It is the most wonderful compliment a writer can have, that a character she had invented was so alive that a reader would fall in love with him. I am more than a little in love with him myself, to tell you the truth.

His love story is turbulent indeed, torn between his beliefs, his loyalty to his Queen and his love for the wife who betrayed him. There are other heroes in this series, and all are trying to survive the brutal reign of a Queen who, in a five year reign, managed to burn alive nearly three hundred Protestants in her efforts to return England to the Catholic Church of Rome.

Most people know that her father, King Henry VIII, broke away from the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church in order to divorce his wife, Queen Katherine of Aragon and Marry Anne Boleyn. But he was not a Protestant; he was still a Catholic, who kept up the rituals and beliefs, but without the authority of the Pope.

His daughter, whose mother was Katherine of Aragon, became Queen Mary I and was forever known as Bloody Mary. When I tried to put an advertisement on Facebook, they thought I was advertising alcohol and turned it down!

Someone said they didn't like the title, Holy Poison, but I think it is apt. There is a line in the first book that Mary had turned the communion wine into holy poison!

The first book, the Judas Pledge, was supposed to be a standalone novel, but having finished writing it, I couldn't stop there. All those other characters were crying out to tell their own stories.

The Judas Pledge is the first of the series. Imagine being a young girl, Bethany, living in the sixteenth century. You are only sixteen and for as long as you can remember, the religion of the country has been Protestant. You have never known anything else.

Your father is a wealthy merchant and a social climber. He has made a fortune and now wants a title in the family to complete the picture.

He will do almost anything to marry his remaining daughter, Bethany, to a man with a title, but Bethany is not so compliant as her sister, already tied to a cruel and unnatural man. When she attracts the attention of Richard, Earl of Summerville, her father is delighted.

What he does not know is that the Earl is a Catholic. Our merchant will do almost anything to get an Earl in the family, but he will not accept a Catholic no matter what. 

Bethany, however, is not so particular. Although the Earl tells her he is a Catholic, having never known anything other than Protestantism, she doesn't see a problem. She is not a religious person and besides, the Earl offers too much to refuse.

But when Mary Tudor wins the throne, Bethany finds it almost impossible to support her Catholic husband, even though she is rapidly falling in love with him.

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The Flawed Mistress is the second book in the series. This one concerns Rachel, Lady Rachel Stewart, featured in the first book as the favourite mistress of Lord Richard Summerville.

But there is more to Rachel than that. Her story is very tragic and very sad, her beauty being the bane of her life. She has been pursued since she was a child by men who wanted to use her for their own ends. 

But when she meets Richard Summerville, she finds in him the first real friend she ever had.

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In the Viscount's Birthright we meet two new characters, a new Earl, Lord Robert Roxham and Antonia, his father's ward. Lord Robert is estranged from his father, a brutal man who abused his mother. The estrangement was caused by Robert's father wanting him to marry his ward, Antonia. Robert has other ideas; he plans to marry Lady Camilla Stanton and is only waiting for his father to die before he can inherit and they can be married.

But when that day arrives, Robert discovers that things are not as plain sailing as he expects. His father, determined to have his own way, has made a Will demanding that he marry Antonia or his inheritance will go to his cousin.

He has nothing and neither has Antonia, but while she is willing to go and find work, he has nothing to offer anyone. They have no choice other than to marry, and strangely their dislike of each other begins to fade.

That is, until Camilla asks them to take her maid, Maisie, into their household.

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Betrayal is just that. The fourth book in the Holy Poison series is about yet another Earl, Lord Adrian Kennington. The characters in this story have all been betrayed by people they loved, especially Elizabeth, Adrian's wife and a woman he loves.

She had previously been betrothed to Elliot Sinclair, a young man from a fiercely Protestant family who were secretly helping Protestants to escape Queen Mary's religious persecution.

Unknown to the Sinclairs, Elliott was a secret Catholic and he betrayed his entire family. Elizabeth finds it very hard to trust, especially when Lord Richard Summerville turns up one day, telling Adrian that he must accept a position in Queen Mary's court.

Terrified that history will repeat itself, Elizabeth withdraws from Adrian and the once happy marriage begins to crumble.

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The Heretics is Book Number 5 in the Holy Poison series and it concerns Bethany's sister, Julia. Julia is trapped in a marriage to a cruel man and when a brief affair bears fruit, she knows her only option is to escape.

She steals her husband's jewellery and runs away, until she eventually arrives at the farm owned by Charles Carlisle. Charles is a farmer, not of the class that Julia is accustomed to, but that means nothing to her. He is kind and she quickly falls for him.

But when her husband discovers her whereabouts, they are forced to flee and find their way to an abandoned manor house. This house has secret places and they are told that the previous owner helped Protestants to escape to France.

Since Charles and Julia are both devoutly Protestant, they carry on that work, but while he becomes a major leader in the Protestant cause, Richard Summerville is Mary Tudor's right hand man and chief advisor. Julia's sister is married to Charles Carlisle's most deadly enemy.

Because Julia's fate is described in the first book, do not think you know the ending of this tale. There is a surprise in store.

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Consequences brings back the Earl of Summerville and his Countess. Together again, things have changed a lot since Elizabeth took the throne. And Richard's cousin, Anthony, who he raised and who was always part of their family, has turned against Bethany.

Three children are born to the couple and as they grow, Richard and Bethany come to understand how their own mistakes of the past will rear up and trample of their children's futures.

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The Final Confession of Richard, Earl of Summerville is a very short volume, not even long enough to be called a novella. I wrote it originally to entice subscribers to my mailing list, but I thought it should be read by all my readers. So I made it available as a standalone little tale, the last words of Richard as he searches his conscience for the sins he has committed during his lifetime.


All seven books are available as a set in kindle format and as audible. All the books are available individually in both kindle and paperback versions.

I hope you will read and enjoy, and perhaps fall in love with Richard Summerville.

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Copyright 2022 by Margaret Brazear