The Tower (e-book) (used book) | Flora Carr | bookbook.eu

Description

The summer of 1567.  Scotland is  plagued by  turmoil; the country is tearing itself apart. Fresh from the battlefield, a pregnant Mary  Queen  of Scots is dragged out of her palace by rebel Scottish lords and sent to Lochleven, a castle situated in the middle of a vast loch. Her infant son and heir Prince James is captured by her enemies. She does not know if she will ever see him again. But she is not alone. Jane and Cuckoo, two very different chambermaids, will accompany her. When they arrive at Lochleven,  the men around Mary smell the blood. But it’s not just the men. Her female captors, including Margaret Erskine, a formidable courtier in her fifties and former mistress to the king, they all want her dead. Instead, they settle on the abdication of her throne.  

An 11-month imprisonment follows. The women are moved to the tower of the castle, the tower becoming their entire world. They share everything: their food, their beds, even their periods are in sync. Mary finds solace and inspiration in her women; they lift her out of her darkness. But when Lady Seton arrives, Mary’s childhood friend, the delicate balance between them is upended. Seton’s instant dislike of Jane masks something carnal and unspoken, and the tension between the women rises. All of them want to stay close to Mary, all of them want a place in history. But all of them want above all, for Mary to escape. And they will risk anything to do so