_____________________________________________ 'Expect much enjoyment from this clever and
unusual novel' THE TIMES Historical Fiction Book of the Month 'An entertaining and often very
funny read with something to say about both the love of power and the power of love' SUNDAY
TIMES 'Neil Blackmore writes with a fizzy wit that bounds his characters off the page' BEN
ALDRIDGE The kingdom of love is a frightening place. A dangerous place. What kind of fool wants
to live there? How have I Francis Bacon well-known as the cleverest man in England been
caught in this trap? For years I survived the brutal games of the English court driven by the
whims of the idiot King James I - and finally I was winning. Forget what my friends Ben Jonson
and William Shakespeare say about love. I had that which men truly crave above all else: power.
But now at the moment of my greatest success a deadly alliance of my enemies has begun
closing in on me. Led by the King's beautiful and poisonous lover Carr this new alliance
threatens to turn our foolish King against me so that I may rot in the Tower. I refuse to go
down without a fight. I have concocted a brilliant new plan: I will find my own beguiling young
man and supplant Carr in the King's bed and take power for myself. All I need to do is find
him my beautiful and mysterious creature my perfect chess move. In the dangerous kingdom of
love those who understand desire win. And I intend to win at all costs.
_____________________________________________ 'Brilliant ... Like Wolf Hall meets Succession
... Scandalous politically perceptive and unexpectedly heartfelt' APPLE BOOKS
