The Boy King

Tragedy and political machinations in England’s volatile Tudor court mark Wertman’s (Jane the Quene) elegant final installment of her Seymour Saga trilogy. In 1547 at age nine, Edward VI, the son of Jane Seymour and Henry VIII, is crowned king after the death of his infamous father. Under the strict eye of his uncle Edward Seymour, the Duke of Somerset, little Edward is a prisoner of interminable court rituals and a puppet of religious and political opportunists. Edward is determined to keep England Protestant, as his father wished, but his 18-year-old half-sister, Mary, threatens a return to Catholicism. Somerset is on precarious ground, surrounded by scheming nobles competing for power and prestige—including his disaffected younger brother, Tom—who believe the weak and sickly Edward can be overthrown easily. Kept mostly in the dark about the intrigue around him, Edward takes solace in his 13-year-old half-sister, Elizabeth, who has been branded a bastard unable to ascend to the throne. Wertman channels her expert knowledge of history into sumptuous details of strategic marriages, Edward’s coronation, and the everyday paranoia rampant during the boy king’s short life. Fans of historical fiction will enjoy this exquisite blend of fact and fiction. (Self-published)