Publisher's Synopsis
The Tudor court of Henry VIII is a glittering and dangerous nest of intriguing courtiers and self promoting nobles. The old king, a worn out and ailing shadow of his former glory, is determined to prepare his son for the throne, and to prepare the country for his son. While he had inherited a rich kingdom, at peace with the other powers and strong in its one Catholic religion, four decades, six queens and numerous wars had taken a heavy toll. Mid-sixteenth century England was a great European power, but its treasury was depleted, its populous torn between the Catholic religion and the reform, and the lords of England knew that their king was dying. In 1545, the prince is seven and had been raised among the women of the court. The king has decreed that his beloved son Edward should leave the company of women, and begin his training and growth toward manhood. A call has gone out to several lords around the realm, that their sons shall join the new court of the young prince. Henry Brandon, the son of the king's great friend, the Duke of Suffolk arrives. As do Seymour cousins, a mischievous Lord Mountjoy, amiable Henry Sidney and one Irish boy. From far away Upper Ossory in the unruly counties outside of Dublin, arrives Barnaby Fitzpatrick, to study and grow up with Prince Edward. They become lifelong friends and young Barnaby enjoys a unique perspective of this talented prince as he grows toward adulthood as King Edward VI. Edward is always under the guidance, or pressure, of advisers who may or may not have the best interests of their king and country at heart. Whether it is the "Good Duke," his uncle Edward Seymour, or John Dudley, the intimidating earl of Warwick, the young king must grow wise at a young age or he will prove the ruin of England.
