Lady on the coin

This book has been read, minor wear and creasing to front cover, minor markings on back cover. No markings inner pages, spine intact, no creases. """A secret love affair like no other… As a child living in exile in France, Frances Stuart was accustomed to threadbare dresses and going hungry. Yet everything changed when her cousin Charles arrives to visit and Frances' world is turned upside down. The Restoration of the monarchy quickly raises Charles II far higher than anything Frances ever dreamed of. Several years later, Frances arrives in Court to attend to Charles' wife, Queen Catherine, as a lady-in-waiting and once again, her path collides with the man who is now King. At sixteen, she is already renowned for her beauty and vivaciousness and Charles cannot help but take notice of Frances. The King rapidly becomes obsessed with her, and it is not long before whispers begin to circulate that Frances has supplanted the famous Barbara Castlemaine as mistress to the monarch. So strong is her power that gossip suggests were the Queen to die, Frances would almost certainly take her place. Aware of the King's interest, and knowing that to offend Charles would be to put her out of favour at Court, Frances plays a dangerous game of flirtation – keeping her man close whilst also maintaining a safe distance. But it's not long before Charles begins to grow impatient and Frances soon finds herself rapidly running out of ways to keep him at bay. The arrival of the young Duke of Lennox and Richmond at Court unexpectedly presents Frances with a way of escaping the corner into which she has backed herself. To do so threatens her position as the King's favourite and risks incurring his rage, but surely such a risk is worth it for the man she loves…"" Good Reads" """Margaret Campbell Wood was born on 17 February 1891 in Rotherfield, Sussex, England, UK. She was the youngest of ten children, who had a happy childhood in the Sussex country side. She was eventually educated at small private schools in Paris and London. She married Peter Barnes in 1917,( a furniture salesman), and the couple had two sons, Michael and John. Michael, a Royal Armoured Corps Lieutenant, was killed during WW II. She died on 1 April 1962 in Yarmouth, Isle of Wight. Her books are historical novels, called Shadows of the Crown, that follow the history of the English Crown. The majority of her books were written between the 1940's and 1950's. Her last and posthumous novel Lady on the Coin was finished by the novelist Hebe Elsna"" Good Reads"