ELIZABETH ST JOHN – on loyalty, family bonds, love, and betrayal in the decadent Stuart Court.
What was life like for Lucy St John, a beautiful orphaned girl of English high society in the early days of the rule of James 1, times of glittering pageantry and cutthroat ambition, when the most dangerous thing one could do was to fall in love?
In The Lady of the Tower, a dramatic story is told through the eyes of the author’s ancestor Lucy, using her family’s surviving diaries, letters, and court papers.
In order to tell this story, author Elizabeth St John, who was brought up in England but now lives in California, has tracked down family papers from Lydiard Park to the Tower of London. Although her ancestors sold a few mansions and country homes along the way – it’s hard to keep a good castle going these days – Elizabeth’s family still occupy them, in the shape of portraits, memoirs, and gardens that carry their imprint.
