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Fall of the House of Queens
From the moment William Somers first set foot in Henry VIII's palace, his heart belonged to a beautiful kitchen maid and his loyalty to a great king. But fools are destined to witness history, not make it, and so William must watch and jest as Henry pushes aside a loyal wife for a woman capable of bringing a kingdom to its knees. But when William's dearest friend Mabel is forced to bend to an equally cruel fate in the forgotten depths of the kitchens will he find the strength to defend her?
309 pages, ebook
Published March 24, 2017
10 people are currently reading
176 people want to read
About the author
Shelly Talcott
1 book12 followersHello, let me tell you a little about myself. I have been writing my entire life but only recently did I decide to pursue my passion as a career. With the help of many amazing people I published the first book in The Shattered Rose series, ‘Fall of the House of Queens’ on March 25th 2017. There will be two more books in The Shattered Rose series, ‘Crowns Will Fall’ and ‘In the Shadow of the Sun’ which I am currently working on. I am a wife and a mother to two awesome kids that help keep me humble and grounded while motivating me to go for my dreams and to try to be the best person I can be. I want to teach them to be kind and caring.
I love animals and dream of running a no kill animal sanctuary someday.
At home we have a Great Pyrenees named Woofy and several cats that spend their days sleeping and lounging around the house.
Not only do I love to write but I also am an avid reader. My tastes are varied but I tend to read a lot of non fiction and biographies.
I like art and am a huge fan of a good ghost story.
I am honored that you stopped by my author page an I invite you to visit the worlds I have created in my books. I hope you enjoy the stories within the pages and get to know the characters that make that world their home.
I love animals and dream of running a no kill animal sanctuary someday.
At home we have a Great Pyrenees named Woofy and several cats that spend their days sleeping and lounging around the house.
Not only do I love to write but I also am an avid reader. My tastes are varied but I tend to read a lot of non fiction and biographies.
I like art and am a huge fan of a good ghost story.
I am honored that you stopped by my author page an I invite you to visit the worlds I have created in my books. I hope you enjoy the stories within the pages and get to know the characters that make that world their home.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 16, 2018
It was okay as a telling of the story of Henry the VIII.
Not great for the story of William Somers.
I know the story of Henry the VIII, and if I want to read another one, I will just read a straight-up third-person narrative. What intrigued me about THIS book was that I might be able to delve into a different character, with a familiar story as the background.
That was not what I got.
William Somers was simply a glorified narrator to the story of the king. He was not even the main character of his own story!!! Honestly, I did not even have the time to get to care about him, or any of the servants surrounding him, because they were all -- himself included -- minor characters that got very little time in the spotlight. I need to care about THEM. Tell THEIR story, not Henry's.
As for the rest of it, it was a lot of tell, tell, tell, tell, TELL, and very little show. It was basic narration, basic writing with very little dialogue -- and the dialogue we did occasionally get was not also incredibly basic and had no real character to it. It was mostly just a slightly more interesting take on a timeline, not really a richly involved tale of interest.
Not great for the story of William Somers.
I know the story of Henry the VIII, and if I want to read another one, I will just read a straight-up third-person narrative. What intrigued me about THIS book was that I might be able to delve into a different character, with a familiar story as the background.
That was not what I got.
William Somers was simply a glorified narrator to the story of the king. He was not even the main character of his own story!!! Honestly, I did not even have the time to get to care about him, or any of the servants surrounding him, because they were all -- himself included -- minor characters that got very little time in the spotlight. I need to care about THEM. Tell THEIR story, not Henry's.
As for the rest of it, it was a lot of tell, tell, tell, tell, TELL, and very little show. It was basic narration, basic writing with very little dialogue -- and the dialogue we did occasionally get was not also incredibly basic and had no real character to it. It was mostly just a slightly more interesting take on a timeline, not really a richly involved tale of interest.
April 2, 2017
A different point of view from a character not often written about.
I found this an interesting and different take on the usual Tudor period,
and the court of Henry VIii. Some of the facts were different than historical
books I've read, but still and all a good book.
I found this an interesting and different take on the usual Tudor period,
and the court of Henry VIii. Some of the facts were different than historical
books I've read, but still and all a good book.
May 2, 2017
Fall of the House of Queens is a newly released piece of fiction by author, Shelly Talcott about the court of Henry VIII and the king’s relationship with his six queens. The story is written in the first person through the eyes of the King’s fool, William Somers. The only other book I have read written from the perspective of Somers was, The Autobiography of Henry VIII by Margaret George.
Who was William Somers? Somers was a fool at Henry VIII’s court from June 1535 and remained in the service of Edward VI and Mary I and died early in Elizabeth I’s reign, on 15 June 1560.
In July 1535, the Imperial Ambassador, Eustace Chapuys wrote that Henry VIII was so angry with Somers that he nearly killed him:
“He the other day nearly murdered his own fool, a simple and innocent man, because he happened to speak well in his presence of the Queen and Princess, and called the concubine “ribaude” [whore] and her daughter “bastard.” He has now been banished from Court, and has gone to the Grand Esquire, who has sheltered and hidden him.”
When Chapuys referred to ‘the Queen and Princess’ he is talking about Katherine of Aragon and her daughter, Mary. The concubine is, of course, Anne Boleyn.
In this book I was surprised that Will was actually a friend of Queen Anne Boleyn and was able to visit his brother-in-law, Sir William Kingston (yes, in this book he is) and convince him to get him a secret meeting with the ill-fated queen who he grew to love after the removal of Katherine of Aragon. Somers appears to have liked each of Henry’s queens, except for Jane. He both despised and feared Jane.
Jane Seymour’s charecter in this story was unlike any portrayal of her that I have ever read. While Anne Boleyn had been accused of witch craft it was actually Jane who was practicing the dark arts and had darkness in her soul. This new outlook on Jane was refreshing as she’s always shown as the innocent girl who was forced into the king’s arms.
If you prefer to read only non-fiction books on this dynasty I will tell you now that this book is not for you. While the historical liberties taken at first bothered me I quickly got over it by the superb storytelling of Talcott.
Talcott is upfront about this saying that she played fast and loose with some historical dates and events in interest of telling a good story. If you are well- versed in the subject they will stand out rather quickly. I saw it as a test of my knowledge. However, if you are new to the subject please feel free to peruse my website to find the real story.
I would rate this book 5 out of 5 stars.
Who was William Somers? Somers was a fool at Henry VIII’s court from June 1535 and remained in the service of Edward VI and Mary I and died early in Elizabeth I’s reign, on 15 June 1560.
In July 1535, the Imperial Ambassador, Eustace Chapuys wrote that Henry VIII was so angry with Somers that he nearly killed him:
“He the other day nearly murdered his own fool, a simple and innocent man, because he happened to speak well in his presence of the Queen and Princess, and called the concubine “ribaude” [whore] and her daughter “bastard.” He has now been banished from Court, and has gone to the Grand Esquire, who has sheltered and hidden him.”
When Chapuys referred to ‘the Queen and Princess’ he is talking about Katherine of Aragon and her daughter, Mary. The concubine is, of course, Anne Boleyn.
In this book I was surprised that Will was actually a friend of Queen Anne Boleyn and was able to visit his brother-in-law, Sir William Kingston (yes, in this book he is) and convince him to get him a secret meeting with the ill-fated queen who he grew to love after the removal of Katherine of Aragon. Somers appears to have liked each of Henry’s queens, except for Jane. He both despised and feared Jane.
Jane Seymour’s charecter in this story was unlike any portrayal of her that I have ever read. While Anne Boleyn had been accused of witch craft it was actually Jane who was practicing the dark arts and had darkness in her soul. This new outlook on Jane was refreshing as she’s always shown as the innocent girl who was forced into the king’s arms.
If you prefer to read only non-fiction books on this dynasty I will tell you now that this book is not for you. While the historical liberties taken at first bothered me I quickly got over it by the superb storytelling of Talcott.
Talcott is upfront about this saying that she played fast and loose with some historical dates and events in interest of telling a good story. If you are well- versed in the subject they will stand out rather quickly. I saw it as a test of my knowledge. However, if you are new to the subject please feel free to peruse my website to find the real story.
I would rate this book 5 out of 5 stars.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews