Lisa Hilton Books

A new portrait that casts the queen as she saw herself: not as an exceptional woman, but as an exceptional ruler Queen Elizabeth I was all too happy to play on courtly conventions of gender when it suited her "weak and feeble woman's body" to do so for political gain. But in "Elizabeth," historian Lisa Hilton offers ample evidence why those famous words should not be taken at face value. With new research out of France, Italy, Russia, and Turkey, Hilton's fresh interpretation is of a queen who saw herself primarily as a Renaissance prince and used Machiavellian statecraft to secure that position. A decade since the last major biography, this "Elizabeth "breaks new ground and depicts a queen who was much less constrained by her femininity than most treatments claim. For readers of David Starkey and Alison Weir, it will provide a new, complex perspective on Elizabeth's emotional and sexual life. It's a fascinating journey that shows how a marginalized newly crowned queen, whose European contemporaries considered her to be the illegitimate ruler of a pariah nation, ultimately adapted to become England's first recognizably modern head of state.

In 1682, a young woman in the throes of a passionate affair flees her parents' home in Surrey to seek a new life in London. A scandal in its own right, but this is no ordinary young woman- Lady Henrietta Berkeley is the daughter of one of England's most powerful men, and her lover is her own sister's husband... Inspired by this scandal, Aphra Behn would go on to write Love Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister, arguably the first novel in English literature. An immediate bestseller, it propelled Behn out of poverty and disgrace, yet she remains an enigma, the facts about her life continually disputed. In The Scandal of the Century, Lisa Hilton interweaves the story of these two rebellious and ruthless women. Against the backdrop of seventeenth-century England, with its strict traditional conventions of love, duty and identity, she shows just how far these women would go to break free.

The bestselling author and historian Lisa Hilton picks up the mythical 'City of Ladies' where the medieval writer Christine de Pisan left off, continuing a conversation about gender and greatness that began more than six hundred years ago.

The shockingly audacious conclusion to the international bestselling phenomenon that began with Maestra.

In 15th century Florence, orphaned Mura learn that hermagical heritage makes her a precious prize in this vividly researched historical drama of love, betrayal, and witchcraft Five-year-old Mura is a strange and bewitching child. Daughter of a Nordic mother and Spanish father, she has been tutored in both Arabic and the ancient mythology of the north. But when her widower father is taken by the Inquisition, Mura is sold to a Genoese slaver. In the port of Savona, Mura's androgynous looks and unusual abilities fetch a high price. She is bought as a house slave for the powerful Medici, arriving in Florence as the city prepares for war against the French. When the family are forced to flee, Mura finds herself gifted to the notorious Lioness of Romagna, Countess Caterina Sforza. Beautiful, ruthless, and intelligent, the Countess is fascinated by Mura's arcane knowledge. As the Lioness educates her further in the arts of alchemy, potions, and poisons, Mura becomes a potent weapon in the Machiavellian intrigues of the Renaissance court."

Hilton, Lisa

Everything you thought you knew about Maestra...You don't. Judith Rashleigh returns in the stunning new thriller from the author of the worldwide # 1 bestseller, Maestra.

A world that drips with wealth. A dangerous conspiracy that opens doors. A woman who knows what she wants - and exactly how to get it. Shockingly original and darkly decadent, Maestra is like nothing else you've ever read...

Athenais de Montespan, the official mistress of Louis XIV, became a prominent figure during the glorious "splendid century." Charming, witty, and cunning, she eclipsed the King's own spouse, earning the title of "the real Queen of France" and symbolizing the height of French culture in the seventeenth century. Athenais's affair with the King scandalized Europe, while her patronage supported many cultural leaders of the time. As a mother, she became an ancestor to most royal houses in Europe. In this compelling biography, Lisa Hilton chronicles Athenais's life, detailing her unhappy marriage to a gamester nobleman and her entry into the complex world of court politics. Her brilliant seduction of Louis transformed him from a shy young monarch into the legendary Sun King. Throughout the "age Montespan," she skillfully navigated court intrigues, countering the schemes of courtiers and rival lovers seeking to displace her. Athenais's influence began to wane during the Affair of the Poisons, a bizarre witch-hunt that exposed conspiracies among the nobility. Although the mystery remains unresolved, her alleged involvement in the dark dealings of sorcerers and poisoners led to a dramatic fall from grace, almost as swift as her rise to power.