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Queens, Concubines and Coquettes
In The Gilded Chamber, by this month's featured author, Rebecca Kohn, Esther uses her feminine wiles to win the deliverance of her people, but other heroines have been less magnanimous. This month we look at some of the most memorable literary heroines including Becky Sharp and Moll Flanders.
Click on the title to find out more about the book.
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The Gilded Chamber
Related from the perspective of Esther herself, The Gilded Chamber is a wonderfully evocative retelling of the Biblical Book of Esther. The reader is immediately submerged into the magical setting of the ancient Persian city of Susa, where we follow Esther’s transformation from a young Jewish orphan into a noble and judicous queen.
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The Fourth Queen
When Helen Gloag runs away from her Scottish village in 1769 to seek a new life overseas, she never imagines what fate has in store for her. Yet before the year is out she will have become Queen of Morocco, one of four wives of the cruel and charismatic Emperor Sidi Mohammed.…
Based on a true story, The Fourth Queen is a compulsive account of an extraordinary time and place, and of an impulsive young woman’s journey towards maturity and love.
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Forever Amber
As a beautiful 16 year-old, alone and pregnant in the capital, Amber St Clare's start in London promises little, but her determination - and her fair face - are to serve her well. Between outbreaks of plague, and the Great Fire, Amber sees all sides of life, whether from inside prison wall or from the king's bedchamber. Yet as Amber learns more of the city and the world, it seems her most important lessons come from her own spirit. |
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The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders
Born and abandoned in Newgate Prison, Moll Flanders is forced to make her own way in life. She duly embarks on a career that includes husband-hunting, incest, bigamy, prostitution and pick-pocketing, until her crimes eventually catch up with her. One of the earliest and most vivid female narrators in the history of the English novel, Moll recounts her adventures with irresistible wit and candour – and enough guile that the reader is left uncertain whether she is ultimately a redeemed sinner or a successful opportunist. |
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Vanity Fair
No one is better equipped in the struggle for wealth and worldly success than the alluring and ruthless Becky Sharp, who defies her impoverished background to clamber up the class ladder. Her sentimental companion Amelia, however, longs only for caddish soldier George. As the two heroines make their way through the tawdry glamour of Regency society, battles – military and domestic – are fought, fortunes made and lost. The one steadfast and honourable figure in this corrupt world is Dobbin with his devotion to Amelia, bringing pathos and depth to Thackeray’s gloriously satirical epic of love and social adventure. |
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Author interviews
