The innocent : a novel

The year is 1450, a dangerous time in medieval Britain. Civil unrest is at its peak and the legitimacy of the royal family is suspect. Meanwhile, deep in the forests of western England, a baby is born. Powerful forces plot to kill both mother and child, but somehow the newborn girl survives. Her name is Anne. Fifteen years later, England emerges into a fragile but hopeful new age, with the charismatic young King Edward IV on the throne. Anne, now a young peasant girl, joins the household of a wealthy London merchant. Her unusual beauty provokes jealousy, lust, and intrigue, but Anne has a special quality that saves her: a vast knowledge of healing herbs. News of her extraordinary gift spreads, and she is called upon to save the ailing queen. Soon after, Anne is moved into the palace, where she finds her destiny with the man who will become the greatest love of her life -- the king himself. Review "Court intrigue, forbidden love, bags of incident and a glorious package, the first in a trilogy....I loved it." -- The Bookseller (UK) "As vibrant and exciting as a novel by Sharon Kay Penman or Roberta Gellis, The Innocent will transport you into Anne's world to totally experience the fifteenth century....Readers will be eagerly awaiting the sequel." -- Romantic Times About the Author Posie Graeme-Evans is the author of five novels, most recently The Island House . She has worked in the Australian film and television industry for the last thirty years as an editor, director, and producer on hundreds of primetime television programs, including "McLeod's Daughters" and "Hi-5." She lives in Tasmania with her husband and creative partner, Andrew Blaxland. Visit her website at www.posiegraemeevans.com. A sweeping saga of lust, conspiracy, and betrayal, The Innocent is a bold and gripping tale of forbidden love set in fifteenth-century England. The year is 1450, a dangerous time in medieval Britain. Civil unrest is at its peak and the legitimacy of the royal family is suspect. Meanwhile, deep in the forest of western England, a baby is born. Powerful forces plot to kill both mother and child, but somehow the newborn girl survives. Her name is Anne. Fifteen years later, England emerges into a fragile but hopeful new age, with the charismatic young King Edward IV on the throne. Anne, now a young peasant girl, joins the household of a wealthy London merchant. Her unusual beauty provokes jealousy, lust, and intrigue, but Anne has a special quality that saves her: a vast knowledge of herbs and healing. News of her extraordinary gift spreads, and she is called upon to save the ailing queen. Soon after, Anne is moved into the palace, where she finds her destiny with the man who will become the greatest love of her life -- the king himself. Anne is a young peasant girl in medieval Britain, whose ability to heal others with her knowledge of herbs brings her to the attention of young King Edward IV, and has unexpected results when she becomes a member of his household.