The Queen's Favourite: Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester (The Tudor Court, Book 1) is an unforgettable portrait of a man reviled by history but who was so much more than a courtier taking advantage of a too indulgent queen.
Robert Dudley is a child of the Tudor Court and he knows first-hand how dangerous it can be: his ruthless, tax-collecting grandfather was executed by Henry VIII and his father executed by Queen Mary I for his part in the Lady Jane Grey affair. So with a family name tainted by treason, Robert knows he must use all his talents to rise. One of his talents is making himself indispensable to Queen Elizabeth, who soon finds she cannot live without him by her side.
But to many in England, and indeed, within the court, Robert is nothing but a rogue, a villain, a gypsy, always looking to see what he can pick up. And he's going to have a hard time convincing his enemies that there's more to him than just a gold-digger.
Robert believes he can become King - all he needs to do is persuade Elizabeth Tudor to marry him. But with Elizabeth determined to be a virgin queen, Robert discovers this is no easy task. He must be prepared to make great sacrifices to win his prize.
Laura Dowers is a British writer of historical fiction and the author of a new novel The Woman in Room Three. An enthusiastic amateur historian since a teenager, Laura has spent the last twenty years exploring notorious characters from the Tudor era and attempting to rehabilitate their reputations by writing their side of the stories rather than the ones that are so familiar to lovers of this period. She’s also written about Ancient Rome and 1930s England. Her latest novel represents a new direction for her, being a homage to the Sensation fiction writers of the mid-nineteenth-century, such as Wilkie Collins and Mary Elizabeth Braddon.
Shakespeare lover, fan of classic British sci-fi shows and an adoring servant of two cats, Laura lives in London.