At the King's Pleasure (Secrets of the Tudor Court)

K
ATE EMERSON
is the award-winning author of the Secrets of the Tudor Court series:
The Pleasure Palace, Between Two Queens,
and
By Royal Decree
.

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COVER DESIGN BY LISA LITWACK • COVER ILLUSTRATION BY LARRY ROSTANT

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“Emerson captures the pageantry and the politics of the Tudor court, portraying real-life characters who negotiated turbulent times, and giving historical-fiction fans a first-rate read.”

—Booklist

“I love this series and continue to be awestruck by each and every book. . . .”

—Historically Obsessed

“No one knows the unusual customs and dangerous characters of the Tudor court like Kate Emerson.”

—Karen Harper, author of
The Irish Princess

“Explores the tempestuous world of the Tudor court.”

—Publishers Weekly

“Another captivating novel. . . . Emerson skillfully manages to keep Elizabeth’s life as the central point and never loses track of her faith in love and happy endings.”

—Romantic Times
(4 stars)

“Appealing . . . a refreshingly willful, sexually liberated heroine.”

—Publishers Weekly

“Emerson wields a sure pen when it comes to Tudor England and laces the story with just the right amount of period detail. Presenting the tempestuous and often scandalous court through the eyes of Bess Brooke . . . the author paints a confident, realistic picture of the king. . . . A valuable addition to the current popular interest in all things Tudor England.”

—Historical Novels Review

“Emerson writes such fresh and interesting takes on the Tudor period with her focus on figures that are not often written about. . . . Unique and interesting . . . an enjoyable and fresh read on the Tudor period.”

—Examiner.com

“Another beautifully written Tudor secret love that before I never even knew existed. It was everything I could have hoped it to be and more.”

—Historically Obsessed

“Emerson skillfully crafts a strong heroine who maintains careful command of her sexuality and independence. Nan’s behavior is as brave as it is scandalous for the time, and Emerson makes readers appreciate the consequences of Nan’s choices.”

—Publishers Weekly

“Emerson’s sharp eye for court nuances, intrigues, and passions thrusts readers straight into Nan’s life, and the swift pace will sweep you along.”

—Romantic Times

“Emerson creates a riveting historical novel of the perils of the Tudor court, vividly fictionalizing historical characters and breathing new life into their personalities and predicaments.”

—Booklist

“Jane Popyncourt is not the idealistically virginal heroine but a skillful player in the intrigues of the Tudor court, who manages to get what she wants without selling too much of herself in the bargain. It is this heroine that separates the book from the pack.”

—Publishers Weekly

“This beautifully researched novel [is] the first in a fascinating new historical series. History, love, lust, power ambitions—
The Pleasure Palace
is a pleasure indeed.”

—Karen Harper, author of
The Irish Princess

“Rich and lushly detailed, teeming with passion and intrigue, this is a novel in which you can happily immerse yourself in another time and place.”

—RT Reviews

All the gripping historical novels in the
Secrets of the Tudor Court
series are also available as eBooks

Also by Kate Emerson

The Pleasure Palace

Between Two Queens

By Royal Decree

Gallery Books
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1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2011 by Kathy Lynn Emerson

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Gallery Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

First Gallery Books trade paperback edition January 2012

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.

Manufactured in the United States of America

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Emerson, Kate.

At the king’s pleasure/Kate Emerson.—1st Gallery Books trade pbk. ed.
p. cm.
1. Ladies-in-waiting—Great Britain—Fiction. 2. Mistresses—Great Britain—
Fiction. 3. Nobility—England—Fiction. 4. Buckingham, Edward Stafford, Duke of,
1478–1521—Fiction. 5. Henry VIII, King of England, 1491–1547—Fiction.
6. Great Britain—Court and courtiers—Fiction. 7. Great Britain—Kings and
rulers—Paramours—Fiction. 8. Great Britain—History—Henry VIII, 1509–1547—
Fiction. I. Title. II. Title: At the king’s pleasure.
PS3555.M414S424 2011
813'.54—dc22
2011010993