Genre: Historical Mystery Series: Joanna Stafford, Book Three
In THE CROWN, Sister Joanna Stafford searched for a Dark Ages relic that could save her priory from Cromwell’s advancing army of destruction. In THE CHALICE, Joanna was drawn into an international conspiracy against Henry VIII himself as she struggled to learn the truth behind a prophecy of his destruction.
Now, in THE TAPESTRY, Joanna Stafford finally chooses her own destiny.
After her Dominican priory in Dartford closed forever—collateral damage in tyrannical King Henry VIII’s quest to overthrow the Catholic Church—Joanna resolves to live a quiet and honorable life weaving tapestries, shunning dangerous quests and conspiracies. Until she is summoned to Whitehall Palace, where her tapestry weaving has drawn the King’s attention.
Joanna is uncomfortable serving the King, and fears for her life in a court bursting with hidden agendas and a casual disregard for the virtues she holds dear. Her suspicions are confirmed when an assassin attempts to kill her moments after arriving at Whitehall.
Struggling to stay ahead of her most formidable enemy yet, an unknown one, she becomes entangled in dangerous court politics. Her dear friend Catherine Howard is rumored to be the King’s mistress. Joanna is determined to protect young, beautiful, naïve Catherine from becoming the King’s next wife and, possibly, victim.
Set in a world of royal banquets and feasts, tournament jousts, ship voyages, and Tower Hill executions, this thrilling tale finds Joanna in her most dangerous situation yet, as she attempts to decide the life she wants to live: nun or wife, spy or subject, rebel or courtier. Joanna Stafford must finally choose
Nancy Bilyeau has worked on the staffs of InStyle, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, and Ladies Home Journal. She is currently the executive editor of DuJour magazine. Her screenplays have placed in several prominent industry competitions. Two scripts reached the semi-finalist round of the Nicholl Fellowships of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. Her screenplay "Zenobia" placed with the American Zoetrope competition, and "Loving Marys" reached the finalist stage of Scriptapalooza. A native of the Midwest, she earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan. THE CROWN, her first novel, was published in 2012; the sequel, THE CHALICE, followed in 2013. THE TAPESTRY will be released in March 2015.
Nancy lives in New York City with her husband and two children. Stay in touch with her on Twitter at @tudorscribe. For more information please visit Nancy Bilyeau's website.
Series: Joanna Stafford, Book Two
Genre: Historical Mystery
A curse to kill a king, a fight to save a nation. Follow young Joanna Stafford right into the dark heart of King Henry VIII's court in this stunning Tudor thriller.
England, 1538. The nation is reeling after the ruthless dissolution of the monasteries by King Henry VIII.
Cast out of Dartford Priory, Joanna Stafford - feisty, courageous, but scarred by her recent encounter with rebellion at court - is trying to live a quiet life with her five-year-old charge, Arthur. But family connections draw her dangerously close to a treasonous plot and, repelled by violence and the whispered conspiracies around her, Joanna seeks a life with a man who loves her. But, no matter how hard she tries, she cannot escape the spreading darkness of her destiny. She must make a choice between those she cares for most, and taking her part in a mysterious prophecy foretold by three compelling seers.
Joanna embarks upon a testing journey, and, as she deciphers the meaning at the core of the prophecy, she learns that the fate of a king and the freedom of a nation rest in her hands.
Praise for The Chalice
"Expect treason, treachery, martyrs and more." — Choice magazine
"A time in which no one at all can be trusted and everyday life is laced with horror. Bilyeau paints this picture very, very well." — Reviewing the Evidence
"Bilyeau creates the atmosphere of 1530s London superbly." — Catholic Herald
"Bilyeau continues from her first novel the subtle, complex development of Joanna Stafford's character and combines that with a fast-paced, unexpected plot to hold the reader's interest on every page. — Historical Novel Society
"Joanna Stafford is a young novice caught up in power struggles familiar to readers of Hilary Mantel and C.J. Sansom, but with elements of magic that echo the historical thrillers of Kate Mosse." — S.J. PARRIS, author of HERESY, PROPHECY, AND SACRILEGE
"Second in this compelling and highly readable Tudor thriller series following the 16th century adventures of (now cast out) nun Joanna Stafford. Treason, conspiracies and a dangerous prophecy draw Joanna back from the quiet life she had made for herself after being cast out of Dartford Priory - but she isn’t prepared for the gravity of the situation she finds herself in or the responsibility she now holds. Nancy Bilyeau has followed up her impressive debut with an accomplished historical thriller perfect for fans of C. J. Sansom, Philippa Gregory and S. J. Parris." — Lovereading UK
“Sharply observed, cleverly paced and sympathetically written, this book more than fulfils the promise of THE CROWN, itself named as last year's most impressive debut novel by the CWA Ellis Peters judges. If Joanna Stafford is to return to see out the final years of Henry's tempestuous reign and the accession of his Catholic daughter Mary, I am sure I will not be alone in waiting eagerly for her.” — crimereview.co.uk
“A stunning debut. One of the best historical novels I have ever read — ALISON WEIR
THE CHALICE offers a fresh, dynamic look into Tudor England's most powerful, volatile personalities: Henry VIII, the Duke of Norfolk, Stephen Gardiner and Bloody Mary Tudor. Heroine and former nun Joanna Stafford is beautiful, bold and in lethal danger. Bilyeau writes compellingly of people and places that demand your attention and don't let you go even after the last exciting page” — KAREN HARPER, bestselling author of MISTRESS OF MOURNING
“Rarely have the terrors of Henry VIII's reformation been so exciting. Court intrigue, bloody executions, and haunting emotional entanglements create a heady brew of mystery and adventure that sweeps us from the devastation of the ransacked cloisters to the dangerous spy centers of London and the Low Countries, as ex-novice Joanna Stafford fights to save her way of life and fulfill an ancient prophecy, before everything she loves is destroyed.” — C.W. GORTNER, author of THE QUEEN'S VOW
“Bilyeau paints a moving portrait of Catholicism during the Reformation and of reclusive, spiritual people adjusting to the world outside the cloister. This intriguing and suspenseful historical novel pairs well with C. J. Sansom's Dissolution (2003) and has the insightful feminine perspective of Brenda Rickman Vantrease's The Heretic's Wife (2010).” — BOOKLIST
“As in The Crown, Bilyeau's writing style means that the story reads almost flawlessly. The narrative really makes the reader throw themselves into the story, and makes it so the book is really difficult to put down. I was really very impressed with Bilyeau's writing (As I was in The Crown), and honestly can't recommend this book highly enough.” — LOYALTY BINDS ME
“THE CHALICE is a compelling and pacey time machine to the 16th Century. And when you're returned to the present, you'll have enjoyed an adventure and gained a new perspective on a past you'd wrongly thought to be a done deal.” — Andrew Pyper, author of THE DEMONOLOGIST
“The Chalice is a gripping, tightly-plotted mystery, with a beguiling heroine at its heart, that vividly conjures up the complex dangers of Reformation England. Bilyeau's deftness of touch and complete control over her complex material make for a truly exciting and compelling read.”— ELIZABETH FREMANTLE author of QUEEN'S GAMBIT
“THE CHALICE is brimming with sinister portents, twisted allegiances, religious superstition and political intrigue. It's a darkly fascinating Tudor brew that leaves you thirsting for more.” — PATRICIA BRACEWELL, author of SHADOW ON THE CROWN
Nancy Bilyeau has worked on the staffs of InStyle, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, and Ladies Home Journal. She is currently the executive editor of DuJour magazine. Her screenplays have placed in several prominent industry competitions. Two scripts reached the semi-finalist round of the Nicholl Fellowships of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. Her screenplay "Zenobia" placed with the American Zoetrope competition, and "Loving Marys" reached the finalist stage of Scriptapalooza. A native of the Midwest, she earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan. THE CROWN, her first novel, was published in 2012; the sequel, THE CHALICE, followed in 2013.
Some earlier milestones: In 1661, Nancy's ancestor, Pierre Billiou, emigrated from France to what was then New Amsterdam when he and his family sailed on the St. Jean de Baptiste to escape persecution for their Protestant beliefs. Pierre built the first stone house on Staten Island and is considered the borough's founder. His little white house is on the national register of historic homes and is still standing to this day.
Nancy lives in New York City with her husband and two children.
Today we are pleased to be hosting Nancy Bilyeau as part of the blog tour for her book, The Chalice, which I reviewed yesterday. We are also hosting a giveaway of the book, so make sure you check out all the details of how to enter below.
Take it away, Nancy!
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I did not begin my first novel, The Crown, with use of first-person point-of-view. In 2005, when I joined a fiction workshop to work on a thriller, I had a setting—Tudor England—but hadn’t settled on a main character. Once I decided to write about a young Dominican novice at the height (or depths, depending on how you look at it) of the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s, I plunged into research of late medieval nuns and wrote the first few chapters in the third person. Although the plot quickly took form, I wasn’t happy with my writing. The character’s voice wasn’t strong enough.
Until I switched to first person.
I went back and told the story over again, but this time from inside the perspective of Sister Joanna Stafford. A new confidence flowed onto the keyboard. I felt I “had” her now. I could write this book. Five years later, I sold The Crown to Touchstone/Simon&Schuster and nine foreign publishers. Then I wrote The Chalice, the next book in my series, which came out earlier this month.
I’ve since become something of an aficionado of First Person, particularly in historical fiction and thrillers but also in other sorts of novels. In this guest post I’d like to share my favorite books using this point of view and what I believe makes each case special.
I’ve read The Persian Boy four times because there is something mesmerizing about this story of the beautiful young Persian eunuch who becomes the prized lover of King Darius, followed by Alexander the Great. I think what astounds me most about Mary Renault’s skill is how closely I relate to Bagoas, the main character, even though we are separated by millennia, gender, sexual preference—everything you can think of. Bagoas is the son of a noble family and in the first chapter he is a child who sees his father murdered and his mother leap to her death when a political rival destroys the family. Bagoas is sold into slavery, made a eunuch through mutilation, and later raped by the age of 12.
Yet although he is rightly bitter about his fate throughout the novel, Bagoas does not tell his tale solely from the view of a victim and he is not always a good person. Bagoas is vain and manipulative—and, most of all, he is arrogant. In the first paragraph of The Persian Boy, Renault establishes that characteristic while making beautiful use of detail:
“Lest anyone should think I am a son of nobody, sold off by some peasant farmer in a drought year, I may say our line is an old one, though it ends with me. My father was Artembares son of Araxis, of the Pasargadai, Kyros’ old royal tribe. Three of our family fought for him, when he set the Persians over the Medes. We held our land eight generations, in the hills west above Susa. I was ten years old, and learning a warrior’s skills, when I was taken away.”
Now I’d like to share with you the opening paragraph of another of my favorite historical novels, I, Claudius. Robert Graves created an unforgettable character in an accidental Roman emperor, a despised member of an imperial family ruling Rome at its height. What’s interesting about this conception of Claudius is although his family and even his friends look down on him, we the readers, from inside his perspective, become aware of his intelligence, compassion and his self-deprecation. Claudius is the most blue-blooded of all but a man of utter humility. Contrast Claudius’s perspective of himself with Bagoas’s in the first paragraph of the novel:
“I. Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus This-that-and-the-other (for I shall not trouble you yet with all my titles) who was once, and not so long ago either, known to my friends and relatives and associates as ‘Claudius the Idiot,’ or ‘That Claudius,’ or ‘Claudius the Stammerer,’ or ‘Clau-Clau-Claudius,’ or at best as ‘Poor Uncle Claudius,’ am now about to write this strange history of my life, starting from my earliest childhood and continuing year by year until I reach the fateful point of change where, some eight years ago, at the age of fifty-one, I suddenly found myself caught in what I may call the ‘golden predicament,’ from which I have never since become disentangled.”
Interesting, isn’t it?
Nancy Bilyeau
What first person also enables an author to do is to build suspense and tension from inside the mind of the narrator. This, may I emphasize, is not easy to do. Writers in third-person can jump around and let the reader know that bad things are coming, that the main character is headed for trouble before the main character realizes it himself. The reader can get ahead of the protagonist. But that simply can’t happen in the first person.
Allow me to share with you a longer passage, not from the beginning but from nearly the end of the fantastic novel Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier. In this passage the narrator, the young second wife of Maxim de Winter, has arrived after a long drive to London at the home of the unknown Dr. Baker. The body of first wife, Rebecca, was recently recovered in a boat sunk off the shore of Cornwall and suddenly an accidental death is not looking so accidental. There is an inquest, and following it information is revealed that Rebecca saw a Dr. Baker shortly before she died and told no one. What the de Winters, their adversary Favell, and the county official Colonel Julyan learn in their interview with Dr. Baker will decide the fate of the narrator’s husband, whom she desperately loves. He could either be freed from suspicion, or if this interview yields a motive for murder, swiftly arrested, on his way to the gallows.
Here they have just found the house of Dr. Baker and rung the bell:
“It tinkled somewhere in the back premises. There was a long pause. A very young maid opened the door to us. She looked startled at the sight of so many of us.
“Doctor Baker?” said Colonel Julyan.
“Yes, Sir, will you come in?
“She opened a door on the left of the hall as we went in. It would be the drawing-room, not much used in the summer. There was a portrait of a very plain dark woman on the wall. I wondered if it was Mrs. Baker. The chintz covers on the chairs and on the sofa were new and shiny. On the mantelpiece were photographs of two schoolboys with round, smiling faces. There was a very large wireless in the corner of the room by the window. Cords trailed from it, and bits of aerial. Favell examined the portrait on the wall. Colonel Julyan went and stood by the empty fireplace. Maxim and I looked out the window. I could see a deck-chair under a tree, and the back of a woman’s head. The tennis courts must be round the corner. I could hear the boys shouting to one another. A very old Scotch terrier was scratching himself in the middle of a path. We waited there for about five minutes. It was as thought I was living the life of some other person and had come to this house to call for a subscription to a charity. It was not like anything I had ever known. I had no feeling, no pain.”
What leaves me breathless about this passage is how du Maurier builds the scene with detail after detail, never a generic or predictable observation but very specific descriptions. You are in this room, unlike any other room. The main character is feeling unbearable tension and that rises slowly through the passage until the end when it suddenly leaps off the page and grabs you by the throat. This is a section not so much written as crafted, as if du Maurier were a composer.
And, finally, because I believe first person can also be most effective when it is simplest, the opening paragraph of Lee Child’s novel from the point of view of Jack Reacher, Killing Floor:
“I was arrested in Eno’s Diner. At twelve o’clock. I was eating eggs and drinking coffee. A late breakfast, not lunch. I was wet and tired after a long walk in heavy rain. All the way from the highway to the edge of town.”
There are countless ways to enjoy first person in fiction—these are just a handful of my favorites but I hope you, too, are enthralled by these masters of the craft. Thank you for having me as a guest poster on Historical Tapestry.
- to participate, just leave a comment, maybe about whether you like or don't like books told in the first person. Don't forget to include your email address in your comment.
- one entry per household
- open to US only
- closes 7 April midnight GMT
I don't think I have made any secret of the fact that I am a bit Tudored out and so I am being very selective about the books that I read that are set during the Tudor period of British history. When I saw that this book was coming out though, there was no question for me as to whether I would read this or not. Bilyeau's debut novel, The Chalice, which features a novice nun named Joanne Stafford who comes from a disgraced noble family was a good read for me last year but I did have some issues with the pacing.
Everything I enjoyed about The Crown was present, but The Chalice is by far the stronger book of the two. The pacing is strong and consistent, the mystery is interesting, the plot twists and turns, the historical facts are fascinating and the characters are captivating!
After the dissolution of the monasteries, former novice Joanna Stafford is trying to make a home for herself in the town of Dartford in Kent. It is difficult to be out in the community, especially given that the town isn't particularly welcoming to the former nuns and friars. In addition to the former sisters who share her life, Joanna also has custody of a young boy, Arthur, who is the son of her cousin who was executed for committing treason in the previous book.
Joanna knows that she needs to find a way to make a living and so has a plan to start producing tapestries. She just needs her loom to arrive from the low countries and she will be able to start working and live a nice, quiet life with the only dilemma for her being her love life. At the end of The Chalice things were kind of unresolved, which made sense given that Joanne had a religious vocation. She definitely felt a strong connection to Geoffrey Scovill, a constable that she met when he saved her from a mob at the beginning of the last book, and a strong emotional connection to Brother Edmund, the apothecary who is a constant in her life.
When her cousin and his wife suddenly show up in Dartford with an invitation for both Joanna and Arthur to visit with them, it is a surprise to Joanna. She has no intention of being drawn back into the world that comes with being a member of one of England's most infamous families and related to many of the other noble families like the Howards. Only agreeing to accompany her cousin as long as she does not have to attend Court, Joanna goes with them to London.
Despite her protests, Joanna is drawn into a complicated plot that relies strongly on a prophecy that concerns her. Suddenly her quiet life is a long way behind her as she finds herself faced with the responsibility of trying to restore the Catholic faith to England. The last thing that Joanna wants is to fulfil the terms of the prophecy but life conspires to bring Joanna to a place where she has very little choice. The plot is constantly evolving and bringing Joanna into different situations, even having her travelling to Flanders. Joanna is not always blindly following fate, for want of a better word, especially once there are people starting to die around her. There were a couple of times when she did do a couple of things that had me shaking my head, but she is also able to find a resolution to the prophecy that enables her to be who she wants to be. I did find the resolution to be very interesting, especially with the way that Joanna was introduced to both Anne of Cleves and Catherine Howard. I would think that Joanne will be back at court with everything that we know is going to happen regarding those two women in the future.
One of the pieces of history that I learned about during reading this book was about a law that was passed by Henry VIII that prevented anyone who had taken religious vows from being able to marry. Once again this left those former nuns and brothers with few options. They could no longer fulfil their religious obligations but they also could not become fully immersed in secular life either and it had very interesting implications for the story.
Once again, the book ends with some ambiguity in relation to Joanna's future. Which just left me with one major question when I finished the book ...when is the next one out?
In the next novel from Nancy Bilyeau after her acclaimed debut The Crown, novice Joanna Stafford plunges into an even more dangerous conspiracy as she comes up against some of the most powerful men of her era.
In 1538, England is in the midst of bloody power struggles between crown and cross that threaten to tear the country apart. Joanna Stafford has seen what lies inside the king’s torture rooms and risks imprisonment again, when she is caught up in a shadowy international plot targeting the King. As the power plays turn vicious, Joanna understands she may have to assume her role in a prophecy foretold by three different seers, each more omniscient than the last.
Joanna realizes the life of Henry VIII as well as the future of Christendom are in her hands—hands that must someday hold the chalice that lays at the center of these deadly prophecies…
An aristocratic young nun must find a legendary crown in order to save her father—and preserve the Catholic faith from Cromwell’s ruthless terror. The year is 1537. . .
Joanna Stafford, a Dominican nun, learns that her favorite cousin has been condemned by Henry VIII to be burned at the stake. Defying the sacred rule of enclosure, Joanna leaves the priory to stand at her cousin’s side. Arrested for interfering with the king’s justice, Joanna, along with her father, is sent to the Tower of London.
The ruthless Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester, takes terrifying steps to force Joanna to agree to spy for him: to save her father’s life she must find an ancient relic—a crown so powerful, it may hold the ability to end the Reformation. Accompanied by two monks, Joanna returns home to Dartford Priory and searches in secret for this long-lost piece of history worn by the Saxon King Athelstan in 937 during the historic battle that first united Britain.
But Dartford Priory has become a dangerous place, and when more than one dead body is uncovered, Joanna departs with a sensitive young monk, Brother Edmund, to search elsewhere for the legendary crown. From royal castles with tapestry-filled rooms to Stonehenge to Malmesbury Abbey, the final resting place of King Athelstan, Joanna and Brother Edmund must hurry to find the crown if they want to keep Joanna’s father alive. At Malmesbury, secrets of the crown are revealed that bring to light the fates of the Black Prince, Richard the Lionhearted, and Katherine of Aragon’s first husband, Arthur. The crown’s intensity and strength are beyond the earthly realm and it must not fall into the wrong hands.
With Cromwell’s troops threatening to shutter her priory, bright and bold Joanna must now decide who she can trust with the secret of the crown so that she may save herself, her family, and her sacred way of life. This provocative story melds heart-stopping suspense with historical detail and brings to life the poignant dramas of women and men at a fascinating and critical moment in England’s past.
When a young novice nun sneaks out of her convent to go to London she sets off a change of events that she couldn't even begin to imagine. Sister Joanne Stafford is a member of the aristocratic, once mighty, Stafford family. Her cousin has been implicated in treason and has therefore been sentenced to burn. Joanne is determined that her beloved cousin will not die alone. Once she reaches London, she is caught up in a rough crowd and is only saved when a young constable named Geoffrey Scovill steps in.
Once her identity is revealed, she find herself in the custody of the king, housed in the foreboding grounds of the Tower. After a prolonged stay, she is given a way out by no lesser figure of Stephen Gardiner, the Bishop of Winchester - she must find the holy relic, the crown of Athelstan and let him know where it is. In the process, she might just be able to ensure that Dartford convent is not closed during the reformation. She is released from custody and sent back to Dartford convent in the company of two Brothers - Edmund and Richard.
As Joanna searches the priory for clues as to the location of the crown, the clues seem to be even more confusing. Confusion gives why to fear though when there is a murder at the Priory. There are secrets everywhere, even within the priory. Sister Joanna must unravel them all, even knowing that if she does unravel the biggest secret of all, there may be tragic consequences.
In order to find out more about the elusive relic, Joanna finds herself travelling from the priory to other religious institutions, to the homes of family and interacting with people from the world that she had left behind when she acted upon her religious vocation.
For the most part, this book was an entertaining read. There were a few times when the pacing was a bit uneven, but Joanna and her accomplices are interesting enough to overlook that most of the time. I did wonder if we were heading into love triangle territory for a little while when Geoffrey kept on appearing in the most unlikely of places, but in the end any romantic undertones were very subtle, and the characters acted appropriately.
The author has said that she is working on the next book to feature Sister Joanna and I have to say that the ending left the direction of the next book quite open, so I will be reading along to see what happens next.
When I got the first pitch to read this book, one of the blurbs compared this book to both Dan Brown and Philippa Gregory and when you added in the fact that I am, in fact, pretty much Tudored out, and I wasn't all that fussed about it! When I read the pitch again the second time I received one, I decided to give it ago and I am glad that I did.
Whilst this novel is set firmly within the Tudor reign of Henry VIII, it is different from so many of the other Tudor novels out there. Our main character, Sister Joanne Stafford, is from the aristocratic Stafford family, and yes, Henry, Katherine of Aragorn, Princess Mary and several other famous names are found in the pages of the book. In many other books with this setting, the big issues like the reformation of the monasteries form part of the story of Henry and his family, whereas in this book it is the reformation and the people that are affected directly by it that take centre stage and Henry and co are the sideshow. It is a refreshing point of difference!
Rating 4/5
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Would you like to read this book? We are excited to be hosting a giveaway of one copy of the book.
Giveaway Details
- to participate, just leave a comment
- one entry per household
- open to US only
- closes 11 March midnight GMT
Nancy Bilyeau has worked on the staffs of Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, and Good Housekeeping. Most recently, she served as deputy editor at InStyle magazine. Her screenplays have placed in several prominent industry competitions. Two scripts reached the semi-finalist round of the Nicholl Fellowships of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. Her screenplay "Loving Marys" reached the finalist stage with Page International Screenwriting Awards and Scriptapalooza. A native of the Midwest, she earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan. The Crown is her first novel, and she has finished writing the sequel to The Crown, which is called The Chalice.
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Nancy Bilyeau has worked on the staffs of InStyle, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, and Ladies Home Journal. She is currently the executive editor of DuJour magazine. Her screenplays have placed in several prominent industry competitions. Two scripts reached the semi-finalist round of the Nicholl Fellowships of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. Her screenplay "Zenobia" placed with the American Zoetrope competition, and "Loving Marys" reached the finalist stage of Scriptapalooza. A native of the Midwest, she earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan. THE CROWN, her first novel, was published in 2012; the sequel, THE CHALICE, followed in 2013. THE TAPESTRY will be released in March 2015.
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