Norah Lofts

Kit Shelfanger relishes his solitary life in a secluded farmhouse in the rugged English countryside, but the sudden appearance of his nephew Jamie and Jamie's ambitious and passionate wife leads to disaster.

Katharine of Aragon is a proud Spanish beauty who became Queen of England. From the moment of Katharine's betrothal to Arthur, Prince of Wales, she looked upon herself as the future Queen of England. But, Arthur died just after their marriage and it was as the wife of his brother, Henry VIII, that she went to her Coronation. This delightful, richly tapestried novel tells of her life with Henry - the many happy years; the birth of their daughter, Mary Tudor; her popularity with the people and, above all, her constant and unswerving love for the King. But after nearly twenty years, Henry - his eyes affixed firmly on the ambitious young Anne Boleyn - repudiated their marriage, submitted Katharine to the humilations of a 'trial' and banished her from his life. "The King's Pleasure" is a brilliant re-creation of one of history's greatest tragedies. This is a story which will impress Katharine in the reader's mind as a noble woman and great Queen.(

"Crown of Aloes" is presented as a personal chronicle. Within the framework of known fact and detail drawn from hitherto unexploited contemporary Spanish sources, a novelist's imagination and understanding have provided motives, thoughts, and private conversations, helping to build up the fascinating character Isabella must have been. Her fortunes were varied indeed: she knew acute poverty, faced anxiety and danger with high courage, gave much, suffered much, lived to the full. At the end she was mainly aware of her failures. It was left to others to realize how spectacular her successes had been.

A biography of the blacksmith's daughter who married a wealthy English nobleman and became involved in a love affair with Admiral Horatio Nelson.

A Victorian suspense novel that has it all - a heartless father, a passionate love affair, murder, and mental collapse! LOVERS ALL UNTRUE is a macabre tale of vengeance ... of love, hate, and silent terror. To the outside world the upper-middle-class Drapers seemed to be a perfectly normal small-town family. But they were not - not at all. Especially one of them! And what should be easy and natural in the life of Marion, a passionate 17-year-old blossoming woman, is not, and any defiance towards her stern, repressive father will send her circumstances from bad to worse. Norah Lofts draws us into the struggles of this intelligent but desperate young woman, trying to survive under the stifling presence of her controlling father, searching for escape through love. Once again Lofts proves herself a mistress of suspense as she weaves the chilling story to its suspenseful climax.

A tale inspired by the Third Crusade is told from the viewpoint of a companion minstrel and describes the relationships between King Richard and two strong women including his possessive mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and Berengaria, the Princess of Navarre.

Follows Sir Walter Raleigh's relationship with the two women who dominated his life: Elizabeth, his queen, and Bess, her lady-in-waiting.

When Daisy Holt was dismissed from her post as a nursemaid she set off cheerfully into the jungle of mid-Victorian London. When Kitty Hammond, proprietress of the 'select establishment' off Leicester Square discovered her she was quick to realise that Daisy had a rare talent and would make a successful entertainer. And there it was that she met the impoverished artist John Skelton. To him Daisy represented the perfect model - the one to inspire his work. But Daisy fell completely and hopelessly in love with him - a love which was to launch her on a stormy career in which luxury, admiration and suffering were all to play a part ...

Another excellent tale from Norah Lofts about the the old Suffolk country house of Nethergate. At first it provided a welcome refuge for young Isabella de Savigny, fleeing from the terror of revolutionary France. But she was treated with subtle cruelty by Lady Rosaleen Franklin and despised by Martha Pratt, the lady's maid, then she is seduced by the son of the house. She is forced to take drastic and degrading measures to keep herself alive. I would suggest that you read 'Jassy' before starting 'Nethergate' as this book seems to be the sequel.

A small town in Suffolk finds itself under siege when it is terrorized by a macabre and brutal rapist. "The man was a loving husband and father, however outside his home he personified evil with each rape that he committed. The only thing that each victim can remember is the claw that he uses during each attack. With each brutal or deadly attack that is committed, police and the townspeople are terrified that they might be next..." [From "Softwear" at GoodReads.com.] Some critics have called this novel anti-feminist because Lofts shifts the focus of the subject [rape] from the victim to the wider impact on the community at large; how it alters perceptions of social responsibility and acceptable behavior. She expands to demonstrate economic shifts as well, such as how the fear of being on the street at night benefits taxi companies yet dampens business for local bars and restaurants.

...a vague feeling of uneasiness...a child’s macabre drawings...dull thuds on the back stairs...a glimpse of faces under the whitewash on the attic wall... There were no screams in the night, no objects flying through the air, no murderous, disembodied voices—but Gad’s Hall was haunted just the same. For the Spender family, the ancient, beautifully kept house had seemed a godsend, an incredible bargain, almost a gift from its owner—a kindly man who merely wanted someone to protect the family homestead, to make Gad’s come alive again. And it did. But a door had been opened into the past. And soon a strong-willed, sensible woman would be overtaken by irrational feelings she could not control. All because of the unspeakable secret kept by the women who had lived at Gad’s Hall more than a century ago...

Sorrel Kingaby runs her father's business...but that is a rare and shocking thing in the 1800s. Sorrel becomes involved with smugglers...far too involved with one smuggler and lays herself open to blackmail.

They left the tyranny of England for the freedom of the American frontier. But sins of lust and secrets of the heart shadowed their journey into the brave, new land.... ELI MAKERS -- a blond giant who worshiped his land and his God -- but not his wife. LINDA -- whose radiant beauty had tempted many a heart, but who lived in fear of her stern husband's wrath. PHILIP -- hopelessly torn with love and desire for Linda, joined the expedition just to be near her. JUDITH -- her passion for Philip was strong enough to endure even his worship of another woman.