GENRE: historical epic incorporating 17th century royalty, aristocracy, and events.
ELEVATOR PITCH: A king’s bastard son and a court beauty confront adversity and triumphs in a sweeping tale of ambition, treachery, and passion.
SUMMARY: King Charles II’s unexpected death thrusts his unpopular brother James, a Catholic convert, on to England’s throne. At the start of his reign he orders the brutal execution of his nephew the Duke of Monmouth—witnessed by the young Lady Diana de Vere. Another nephew, Charles Beauclerk (Charles II’s illegitimate son by actress Nell Gwyn) rebels at the king’s plan to marry him to a Catholic heiress. In a secret pact with Lady Diana’s father, the Protestant Lord Oxford, Charles promises to marry her when he comes of age. He then exchanges the strife and scandals of Whitehall Palace for foreign battlefields, serving with distinction at the bloody Siege of Belgrade.
Diana’s father joins other lords in deposing the King, whose Dutch son-in-law William of Orange invades England and claims the crown for himself and his wife Mary—a reluctant and conflicted Queen. Returning to his cousins’ court as a war hero, Charles struggles to pay off his mother’s many creditors and encounters Diana, now one the Queen’s favorite ladies. Their eventual marriage is one of strife and thwarted ambition, especially after Queen Mary’s tragic death from smallpox and the accession of her sister Queen Anne. In palace corridors and within their own household the young duke and duchess confront betrayals, scandals, and tragedies that threaten to divide them. Neither the privileges of birth nor proximity to the throne can ensure their security, their advancement—or their happiness.
Locations and Time Period 1684-1704. England and Holland, royal palaces, great houses, theatres, taverns, Tower of London. France, Palace of Versailles. European battlefield.
Main characters and actors who might be right for them
- Lady Diana de Vere: Saoirse Ronan
- Charles Beauclerk, Duke of St Albans: Ben Barnes or Jeremy Irvine
- Queen Mary II: Andrea Riseborough or Emily Blunt
- Aubrey de Vere, Earl of Oxford: Alan Rickman or Jeremy Irons
- Diana, Countess of Oxford: Rosamund Pike or Kate Winslet
- King William II (Prince William of Orange): Christian Bale
- King James II: Jeremy Northam
Additional info:
Publication date: April 14, 2015
Margaret Porter is an award-winning, bestselling novelist whose lifelong study of British history inspires her fiction and her travels. A former stage actress, she has also worked in film, television, and radio. A Pledge of Better Times is her 12th novel. www.margaretporter.com
Video Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/cSYSAhhHWn0
- “Meticulously researched, an impressive cast of real-life characters brought to vibrant life. A masterful writer.” Award-winning author M. Reed McCall
- “Elegant prose and vivid detail . . . A Pledge of Better Times sweeps you into late Stuart England.” Marci Jefferson, author of Enchantress of Paris
Contact
Publisher gallicapress (at) gmail.com
Author margaret (at) margaretporter.com