I got this slightly-battered hardcover at a local thrift shop. I remember reading lots of Victoria Holt's books when I was in my teens, so there's some nostalgia going on here! This isn't one of her gothic romances or mysteries, though; it's historical fiction about Lettice, Countess of Essex and Countess of Leicester, whose husbands included two men in whom Queen Elizabeth I was very interested... The Queen could not forgive the Countess for this, but it seems her ire did not extend to outright banishment (or worse) - and as it turned out Lettice outlived Elizabeth by some 30 years, enjoying a reasonably comfortable life despite some ups and downs, and dying at a ripe old age. Few people in that turbulent age could say the same!

I left this book on a bench in the entrance to the Dracut Council for Aging on Mammoth Dr.; hope someone enjoys it!

[See other recent releases in MA here.]

*** Released for the 2018 Royalty release challenge. ***