Mary Kessel

A mystery novelist devises an insurance scam with his wife's lover – but things aren't exactly as they seem.

Mary Stuart, who was named Queen of Scotland when she was only six days old, is the last Roman Catholic ruler of Scotland. She is imprisoned at the age of 23 by her cousin Elizabeth Tudor, the English Queen and her arch adversary. Nineteen years later the life of Mary is to be ended on the scaffold and with her execution the last threat to Elizabeth's throne has been removed. The two Queens with their contrasting personalities make a dramatic counterpoint to history.

1526年のある夜、グリニッチ宮殿の舞踏会で、ヘンリー八世は、アン・ブリンの美しい姿をみそめた。正妻カサリンとの間に子供のいないことに不満を感じていたヘンリーは、次第にアンに近づいていった。しかし、愛を告げるヘンリーを、アンは冷たく断った。自分の婚約者を左遷し、姉のメリーを身ごもらしたままに放っているヘンリーを、アンはむしろ憎んでいた。ヘンリーは、あきらめず王妃の侍女として宮廷に召しあげた。

After he is orphaned by an air raid on Port Said during the Suez Crisis, a young boy attempts to go by himself from the Suez Canal to Durban in South Africa where his nearest relative, Aunt Jane, lives. On the way he meets a variety of different people who help or hinder his journey - including an ageing diamond smuggler.