Anne of Brittany

When Anne of Brittany's father dies in 1488, she becomes Duchess of Brittany, her country's ruler at age eleven. For the next three years, the unmarried, orphaned duchess is pursued by suitors while Brittany is invaded by its larger, more powerful neighbor of France. With no other way out, at age fourteen she agrees to marry Charles VIII, King of France, to save her country. Better to be a queen than a prisoner . . . Unexpectedly, a passionate relationship ensues. Yet Charles cannot shake off bad habits he has brought into their marriage, and Anne cannot help him in his darkest area of struggle. Together, they introduce the wonders of the Italian Renaissance to France, building one of Europe's most glorious fifteenth century courts at their royal residence in Amboise, in the heart of the Loire Valley. But year after year they fail to achieve the one most important aim they must accomplish to secure the future of their kingdom. As they desperately attempt to make their shared dream come true, an unexpected twist of fate irrevocably changes the fortunes of both Anne and Charles. Contains mature themes.

Anne, Duchess of Brittany, is the love of King Louis XII of France's life. Too bad he's already married. While his annulment proceedings create Europe's most sensational scandal of 1498, Anne returns to Brittany to take back control of her duchy that her late husband, Charles VIII, King of France, had wrested from her. At age twenty-one, Anne is sovereign ruler of Brittany as well as Europe's most wealthy widow. But can she maintain Brittany's independence from France if she accepts Louis's offer to make her Queen of France once more? With Italian arrivals to the French court from Cesare Borgia to Niccolò Machiavelli, Anne and Louis's story unfolds as the feudal era gives way to the dawn of the Renaissance. Their love for each other tested by conflicting duties to their respective countries, the two rulers struggle to navigate a collision course that will reshape the map of sixteenth-century Europe. Contains mature themes.