The Queen's Handmaiden
A novel of the early years of Elizabeth Tudor-as told by the spirited niece of her real-life governess.
Her name is Eloise Rousell
. Daughter of a well-bred lady and a strolling player, she lived her early years in peaceful obscurity. But then her father died-and her new stepfather wanted none of her. So she was sent to her aunt, Kat Ashley-governess to the young Elizabeth Tudor.
In the tumultuous household of the princess in exile, Eloise finds her destiny- best friend, confidante, lady-in-waiting, and favored seamstress of the fiery girl who would become the greatest monarch of all time.
Through a decade of plots and counter-plots, tragedies and triumphs, Eloise, like her aunt, is a constant in Elizabeth's life. Risking her heart- and her head-in service to the cause of seeing Elizabeth on the throne, Eloise is a bright, brave, sprightly witness to history. This is her story.
Her name is Eloise Rousell
. Daughter of a well-bred lady and a strolling player, she lived her early years in peaceful obscurity. But then her father died-and her new stepfather wanted none of her. So she was sent to her aunt, Kat Ashley-governess to the young Elizabeth Tudor.
In the tumultuous household of the princess in exile, Eloise finds her destiny- best friend, confidante, lady-in-waiting, and favored seamstress of the fiery girl who would become the greatest monarch of all time.
Through a decade of plots and counter-plots, tragedies and triumphs, Eloise, like her aunt, is a constant in Elizabeth's life. Risking her heart- and her head-in service to the cause of seeing Elizabeth on the throne, Eloise is a bright, brave, sprightly witness to history. This is her story.
FictionHistorical
RELEASED2007
PUBLISHERPenguin
LENGTH336
LANGUAGEEN
Jennifer Ashley Gardner dreamed of being a published writer since the age of eight, writing love stories before she knew what romances were. She wrote fantasy and science fiction while in college, and after obtaining her master's degree in English literature, and a job in the real world, she decided to stop dreaming and try to be a full-time published author. She published the first short story she ever submitted in Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine, which gave her the false illusion that getting published was easy. After many more submissions and rejections, she sold her first novel in 2002, and made her second sale to Berkley with a series of historical mysteries. She writes historical, paranormal, and contemporary romance as Jennifer Ashley; mysteries as Ashley Gardner; and paranormal romance and urban fantasy as Allyson James. Her novels have won RWA's RITA award, the Golden Quill, RT Reviewer's Choice awards, and the Prism award, among others. Her novels have been also been translated into nearly a dozen European and Asian languages. She has traveled and lived all over the world, including in Europe and Japan, and now resides in sunny Arizona with her soul mate, an avid reader himself, in a houseful of books. She enjoys writing and reading above all else, but her hobbies include cooking, hiking, playing flute and guitar, painting, and building miniature rooms and dollhouses.
The Queen's Handmaiden
A novel of the early years of Elizabeth Tudor-as told by the spirited niece of her real-life governess.
Her name is Eloise Rousell
. Daughter of a well-bred lady and a strolling player, she lived her early years in peaceful obscurity. But then her father died-and her new stepfather wanted none of her. So she was sent to her aunt, Kat Ashley-governess to the young Elizabeth Tudor.
In the tumultuous household of the princess in exile, Eloise finds her destiny- best friend, confidante, lady-in-waiting, and favored seamstress of the fiery girl who would become the greatest monarch of all time.
Through a decade of plots and counter-plots, tragedies and triumphs, Eloise, like her aunt, is a constant in Elizabeth's life. Risking her heart- and her head-in service to the cause of seeing Elizabeth on the throne, Eloise is a bright, brave, sprightly witness to history. This is her story.
Her name is Eloise Rousell
. Daughter of a well-bred lady and a strolling player, she lived her early years in peaceful obscurity. But then her father died-and her new stepfather wanted none of her. So she was sent to her aunt, Kat Ashley-governess to the young Elizabeth Tudor.
In the tumultuous household of the princess in exile, Eloise finds her destiny- best friend, confidante, lady-in-waiting, and favored seamstress of the fiery girl who would become the greatest monarch of all time.
Through a decade of plots and counter-plots, tragedies and triumphs, Eloise, like her aunt, is a constant in Elizabeth's life. Risking her heart- and her head-in service to the cause of seeing Elizabeth on the throne, Eloise is a bright, brave, sprightly witness to history. This is her story.
FictionHistorical
RELEASED2007
PUBLISHERPenguin
LENGTH336
LANGUAGEEN
Jennifer Ashley Gardner dreamed of being a published writer since the age of eight, writing love stories before she knew what romances were. She wrote fantasy and science fiction while in college, and after obtaining her master's degree in English literature, and a job in the real world, she decided to stop dreaming and try to be a full-time published author. She published the first short story she ever submitted in Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine, which gave her the false illusion that getting published was easy. After many more submissions and rejections, she sold her first novel in 2002, and made her second sale to Berkley with a series of historical mysteries. She writes historical, paranormal, and contemporary romance as Jennifer Ashley; mysteries as Ashley Gardner; and paranormal romance and urban fantasy as Allyson James. Her novels have won RWA's RITA award, the Golden Quill, RT Reviewer's Choice awards, and the Prism award, among others. Her novels have been also been translated into nearly a dozen European and Asian languages. She has traveled and lived all over the world, including in Europe and Japan, and now resides in sunny Arizona with her soul mate, an avid reader himself, in a houseful of books. She enjoys writing and reading above all else, but her hobbies include cooking, hiking, playing flute and guitar, painting, and building miniature rooms and dollhouses.
