The Poison Bed

by Elizabeth Fremantle

Overview

A spellbinding thriller set in the Jacobean Court of 1615 surrounding a famed couple imprisoned on suspicion of murder—but was it Lord Robert or Lady Frances who committed the crime?

A marriage. A murder. One of them did it. Which of them will die for it?

In the autumn of 1615, scandal rocks the Jacobean court, when a celebrated couple, Robert and Frances Carr, are imprisoned on suspicion of murder. Frances is young, captivating, and from a notorious family. She has been rescued from an abusive marriage by Robert, and is determined to make a new life for herself. Whatever the price.

Robert is one of the richest and most famous men in the kingdom. He has risen from nothing to become one of the country’s most powerful men. But to get to the top, you cannot help making enemies.

Some believe she is innocent; others think her wicked or insane. He claims no knowledge of the murder. The king suspects them both, though it is his secret at stake. Now a man is dead. And someone must pay with their life.

Who is telling the truth? Who has the most to lose? And who is willing to commit murder?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781643131238
Publisher:	Pegasus Books
Publication date:	04/02/2019
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	453,073
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Elizabeth Fremantle is the acclaimed author of Sisters of Treason, Queen's Gambit, Watch the Lady, and The Poison Bed (also available from Pegasus Books) and she has contributed to Vogue, the Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair, and the Sunday Times (London). She lives in London.

Editorial Reviews

…engaging…The novel's depiction of the Jacobean age has the vivid, cleverly constructed and always faintly unreal quality of a stage set. Fremantle doesn't elide the differences between the present and the past in favor of a kind of immediacy, but rather presents the period as a cabinet of curiosities. Not for a moment do we feel we are in anything other than a foreign land, where things are not merely different but antiquated to the point of absurdity. Within the first dozen pages we have had a dowry, a duel and a privy council. Throughout, the author's eye for gleaming edges and the textures of flesh provides much to admire—objects and bodies in particular have a forceful and occasionally grotesque presence on the page.

The New York Times Book Review - Sarah Perry

★ 02/25/2019

Set in England during the reign of James I, this craftily constructed historical from Fremantle (Queen’s Gambit) makes deft use of a real-life crime that provoked “a scandal that rocked the Jacobean court and was one of the initial cracks that would eventually lead to the devastation of the Stuart monarchy,” according to an author’s note. Fremantle creates suspense by delaying the revelation of the poisoning victim’s identity, unfolding the story through alternating sections told from the differing perspectives of the two main suspects: Robert Carr, who may have been James I’s secret lover, and Carr’s wife, Frances Howard. The origins of their relationship and the resulting intrigue that led to the fatal poisoning is recounted in flashbacks, as Carr and Howard are introduced while prisoners in the Tower of London, interrogated separately in the hopes of eliciting a confession that will implicate both of them. Fremantle does a masterly job of recreating the feel of the period, along with making the atmosphere of suspicion and plotting palpable. Readers will eagerly await her next historical. Agent: Jane Gregory, David Higham Assoc. (U.K.). (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"Deliciously sinister. A toxic blend of glamour, intrigue, and ambition."

Andrew Taylor

"Rich in historical detail. Bound to please fans of court intrigue."

Booklist

"Fremantle has taken the love story of Lady Frances Howard and Robert Carr in 1615 England and made it indelible. Fremantle’s gift is in reimagining the emotions and circumstances of Frances and Robert. Will stick with you long after you turn the last page."

Mystery Scene

"Gripping and fascinating. Fremantle is a master."

author of 'The Daughters of Ireland' Santa Montefiore

"Engaging. The novel’s depiction of the Jacobean age has the vivid, cleverly constructed and always faintly unreal quality of a stage set."

New York Times Book Review

"A riveting tale, giving us a new take on an old mystery, with her unique, accomplished skill. Her characters live, an age is evoked, and the story surges on with vivid pace. I cannot recommend this highly enough."

Alison Weir

"Like all the best writers of historical thrillers, Elizabeth Fremantle weaves together documented fact with sensitively imagined fiction to create a novel that helps us understand a time and place better. It doesn't matter if you guess whodunit, early or late. The tale is in the telling, and so is the readerly enjoyment. If your idea of a great summer read is closer to The Miniaturist than Gone Girl, I highly recommend The Poison Bed."

NPR

"A Jacobean Gone Girl—dark and deeply satisfying, The Poison Bed is a tale of monstrous intrigue and murder."

Miranda Carter

"Fremantle is one of the most electric writers working in the historical space today."

CrimeReads

"A thoroughly compelling tale of sexually-charged intrigue and murder. Once started, impossible to put down."

Minette Walters

"Gripping and fascinating. Fremantle is a master."

Santa Montefiore

"Rich in historical detail. Bound to please fans of court intrigue."

Booklist

Political machinations behind the English and Scottish thrones come to life through the magical voices of Karen Cass and Steve West, both experienced narrators of court-centered intrigue. The crisp tones of Cass contrast with the deep, smoky voice of West as scandal rocks the Jacobean court in 1615. West portrays Robert Carr, the king’s lover, with passion. West’s soft burr for Carr teases and entices the listener’s ears. Cass gives sharp enunciation to Frances Howard, wife of Carr and daughter of one of the most powerful houses of England. Conspiracy and murder are afoot in the court of James I. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

JULY 2019 - AudioFile