The felines in my life who kept me company. Am I so weird that I thank my cats? Indeed, I am!
David, for never doubting and never complaining.
Fred Tribuzzo and John Scognamiglio for saying, Yes!
AUTHOR’S NOTE
The Bianca Goddard Mysteries take place in London during the 1540s in the final years of Henry VIII’s reign. His legacy as king can be characterized as extraordinary not only in the religious changes that shaped future England, but also in the political intrigues that defined his tenure.
In 1543, Henry was fifty-two years old, obese, and in failing health. At the time of Book 1, The Alchemist’s Daughter, he is courting Katherine Parr, his sixth and final wife. That summer, Henry made plans for an invasion of France scheduled for the following year.
The citizens of Tudor England dealt with poverty, war, greed, and the whims of a petulant monarch. It is in this world that Bianca must survive. And while Bianca rarely involves herself in matters of political intrigue, its effects are felt every day in the lives of the general population.
The Bianca Goddard Series focuses on the commoners of Tudor London and how they navigated Henry’s strange and brutal policies. In many ways, their existence echoes our own—the focus is on a government controlled by the elite few, but the more interesting story, in my opinion, is about the common man.
I tried to capture the feeling of the time, and I apologize if my attempts at merging period words and syntax fall short of smooth readability. If when the reader sees “ye” and pronounces it more like the “ye” in “yellow,” it will flow easier. It is an ongoing dilemma deciding how to approach dialogue from this time period. I could ignore the obvious or sprinkle it in; either way, I am sure to offend someone.
Several words were taken from a glossary of Thomas Dekker’s works, and some, I simply made up.
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Copyright © 2015 by Mary Lawrence
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eISBN-13: 978-1-61773-711-4
eISBN-10: 1-61773-711-9
First Kensington Electronic Edition: May 2015
ISBN: 978-1-6177-3710-7
The Alchemist's Daughter Page 28