"fascinating look at the court of Queen Elizabeth over time"

The younger sister of the late Lady Jane Grey, Lady Katherine Grey admires Queen Elizabeth and vows to be loyal and faithful especially to the monarch's decree that her female retinue must remain virtuous. Lady Katherine has no problem remaining pure as no man attracts her enough to give away her virginity.

However, when Elizabeth falls in love with Sir Robert Dudley, Katherine assumes that frees her from her vow of chastity just like the queen she emulates. Katherine falls in love with the Earl of Hereford, but Queen Elizabeth begins to suspect her of seditious acts to take the throne like her sister did.

Over time, Elizabeth turns increasingly acrimonious as she cannot fully act on her love for Essex. Her Lady in Waiting Mary Rogers understands firsthand what that means as she loves the queen's godson, but that could mean death for both of them.

Although a look at Queen Elizabeth through how her Ladies in Waiting sees her has been over done, as well as the Grey sisters (see the Alison Weir's novels), Jeane Westin provides a fascinating look at the court over time. The Queen becomes angrier and frustrated but not as much as her Ladies in Waiting, who know that love is a seditious act. Well written, fans who cannot get enough of Elizabethan Era historical fiction will want to read THE VIRGIN'S DAUGHTERS trying to remain loyal to their Queen but also struggling to survive falling in love in the "Court of Elizabeth I".

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted October 10, 2009

Summary

The story of Elizabeth I, as it's never been told before—through the eyes of two ladies-in-waiting closest to her...

In a court filled with repressed sexual longing, scandal, and intrigue, Lady Katherine Grey is Elizabeth's most faithful servant. When the young queen is smitten by the dashing Robert Dudley, Katherine must choose between duty and desire—as her secret passion for a handsome earl threatens to turn Elizabeth against her. Once the queen becomes a bitter and capricious monarch, another lady-in-waiting, Mistress Mary Rogers, offers the queen comfort. But even Mary cannot remain impervious to the court's sexual tension—and as Elizabeth gives her doomed heart to the mercurial Earl of Essex, Mary is drawn to the queen's rakish godson...