A remarkable historical story and true to its era.

If you think you are restricted as a women today, read this! You will soon discover the women in the past’s centuries who would embrace this life today.

The author gives a brilliant rounded picture back in the day, I loved her writing style.

This is a historical fiction that was too difficult to plunge into and give even half a chance. Unfortunately. I’d say that I didn’t have the patience to agonise through this one, and get to the end.

I really enjoyed this historical literary book and the writing style. This is a book for fans of historical fiction.

After many years, I finally tried to read this one. I didn't read long. I was very frustrated by this one, so I ended up putting it down. I am planning to try to read it in the future, but right now I am not in the right place.

Quite disappointing. I've enjoyed two of Elizabeth Fremantle's previous books Queen's Gambit and Sisters of Treason so was surprised by how much this book didn't grip me and was even boring. Nothing happened until 3/4 of the way through and even then I wasn't feeling it. The majority of the book was presumably a set-up of our main character but I found her flat and not well developed even after 300 pages... And the secondary character never became someone I cared about either. Shame.

An interesting fictionalized account of
one of Elizabeth 1st potential heirs. A difficult time to be a woman without the country divided between wanting you on the throne or dead.

Good book. Good author. Loved the characters and the plot. Look forward to reading more of her work.

The Girl in the Glass Tower by Elizabeth Fremantle

Title - The Girl in the Glass Tower
Author - Elizabeth Fremantle
Published - Feb '17
Publisher - Penguin
Genre - #History
Pages - 464
Price on Amazon - Paperback - £7.74 Kindle - £4.99
ISBN - 1405920041

Arbella Stuart is a royal who lives at Hardwick Hall, she cannot leave. Trapped behind the huge glass windows of Hardwick Hall Arbella longs to be free. But with half the country wanting her to take the throne and the other half wanting her dead so her cousin can take the throne and become the Scottish King.

All Arbella wants is to be free from her evil grandmother, she longs to ride her horses and be free to love who she wants. But to be free she needs to learn how to navigate the treacherous waters of the kingdom's power plays or he might just end up dead.

To be honest, I found this book to be quiet slow, I struggled to get into it and must admit I couldn't finish it. For this reason, I am unable to give a full review. I can say I will not read this book again and I would not recommend it either.

Thank You to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating - One out of Five Stars
Would I Read Again? - No
Would I Recommend? - No
Would I read other books by the same author? - Yes

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This is the story of Arbella Stuart, potential heir to the British throne after Queen Elizabeth I, who was held prisoner by her grandmother under the guise of protecting her from those who'd want to harm her. Historical fiction is always a tricky subject, especially when it included real-life characters. Elizabeth Fremantle has managed to weave a tale of intrigue about Arbella's life through the words of her friend and court poetess Aemilia Lanyer. Well worth a read!

I loved this book!
I am a huge fan of the Tudor period and have read Sarah Gristwood's non fiction book on Arbella Stuart which Elizabeth Fremantle refers to in her author's note.
Arbella was born in 1575, a cousin of Elizabeth I and her successor James I. Neither monarch trusted her as she was a threat to their throne as others plotted to elevate her to queen.
Arbella is a fascinating character and I sympathised with her situation as she used food to gain control over her life as she was powerless in the other aspects which were prescribed by others.
The book uses the relationship with a female poet to explore the situation of women in the sixteenth century. I enjoyed seeing how the characters were brought to life through the dual narratives of Arbella and Ami as their lives interweave. Aemilia/Emilia Lanyer was a real person at the Tudor and Stuart court but there is no documented evidence of the two women being friends.
My dissertation at university was on witchcraft so I was interested to see how the social dynamics were described in relation to the suspicion and accusation of Ami. Faith plays a large role in the book as England was still developing the Church of England, and we see how the Catholic Gunpowder Plot could have changed history.
There is an overwhelming sadness in this book which is a combination of the excellent story telling and the heart breaking facts of Arbella's life. Reading about her tragic life, it is a harsh reminder that family politics can be tricky and that social status does not confer happiness.

This is an engaging, absorbing read. A historical fictional account on the life of Lady Arabella Stuart, who was brought up by her controlling grandmother after the death of her parents. It is beautifully written thriller, and had me hooked from the start. It weaves the stories of Arabella and the Elizabethan poet Aemilia Lanier, who finds Lady Arabella's memoir in the Tower of London after her unfortunate death.
A real page turner and a must read for fans of historical fiction, this will surely not disappoint. Fremantle has written a fabulous book about Elizabeth I cousin, who was once a potential succesor to the throne. I love historical fiction, but this is the first book about Arabella Stuart that i have read and throughly enjoyed. Will look out for more of Elizabeth Freemantle's work. Highly recommended.

ABSORBING & EDUCATIONAL TALE OF THE LADY WHO COULD HAVE CHANGED UK HISTORY:
A fictional account of the life of Lady Arbella Stuart, thought at one point to be a serious contender for the throne of England, as a successor to Elizabeth I. Yet surprisingly little has been written about her to bring her to the general public's attention.
The novel is based on surviving papers and, although a work of fiction, the lifestyle depicted in the novel is probably very close to reality.
The book makes for a fascinating read. I sympathised with Arbella's plight: a Court full of rumours and gossip, intrigue and plotting for position following the Succession, her life was never her own. Every movement she made would either lay her open to kidnap and capture, or alternatively leave her open to accusations of conspiracy.
From the novel (supported by historical records) we are presented with a young girl who really had no self interest in becoming Queen. But many within her Household did have ambitions for her which served their own selfish ends.
An absorbing story which makes the reader empathise with Arbella's plight amidst the turmoil of the politics in play in the race to succeed Elizabeth I.
I would recommend this book in particular to those who like historical fiction.

This is literary historical fiction styled into the form of a thriller. Fremantle writes a historical account about two real life women about whom little is known, to delineate the hardships and powerlessness that women faced, even if they are high born, it really is a man's world. Arbella Stuart is the potential heir to Queen Elizabeth's throne, imprisoned in a glass tower at Hardwick Hall by the ambitious and scheming Bess Hardwick, the Countess of Shrewsbury. Aemilia 'Ami' Lanyer is a poet and mistress of Henry Hunsdon, a cousin to the Queen. A pregnant Ami is married off to Alphonso Lanyer. The author weaves fictional connections between these two strong, independent and educated women that span the courts of Elizabeth I and James I, documenting the political intrigues, religious factions, the conspiracies and the plots, the culture and the rampant paranoia that pervades the historical period.

Alphonso dies, leaving Ami single and a widow, living with debts and in poverty and struggling to bring up her son, Henry. Ami is a woman with secrets that threaten to consume her, her neighbours eye her with suspicion, and there is much talk of witches. There are references that Ami is possibly Shakespeare's Dark Lady. She comes across papers and a partial fragmented memoir of Arbella, living a cloistered life, rendered powerless and open to the machinations of family and other groups, which leaves Ami feeling decidedly guilty. We learn of Arbella through the device of the memoir, the betrayals and her isolated, thwarted life. Arbella is condemned by her familial links to royalty, serving to seal her tragic personal history as her fate lies in the hands of others, she is free to make no decisions and all hopes for marriage and happiness are cruelly dashed. The only thing she has control over is her body.

Fremantle gives us in depth insights into this turbulent historical period with detailed descriptions. Her characters are complex, shaped by the prejudices and attitudes of the time. I was fascinated with portrayal and development of Arbella and Ami, women who have much in common as they attempt to throw off the chains that bind and whose lives get dangerously entangled. This is a great book to read if you are interested in little known Tudor and Stuart history. Many thanks to Penguin Michael Joseph for an ARC.

I always applaud the authors who weave a fiction tale using real historical figures, as to make the book a good one a lot of research has to be done and the writer has to be good at blending fiction with fact..I think Elizabeth Fremantle has done that well with this book. I am fairly well acquainted with the story of Bess of Hardwick, but much less well acquainted with the story of her granddaughter, Arbella Stuart, whose tragic life unfolds after her friend Aemila Lanyer (another historical figure who little is known about) finds Arbella's memoirs after her death. The two women's stories become intertwined through Ami's (Aemilia) reading of the memoirs whilst her own story is told. I enjoyed the book and it has made me want to find out more about the two pivotal figures in the novel, but at times (especially at the beginning) found it a bit confusing.

I requested this book from Netgalley on a whim, but I’m glad I did! It’s a historical epic, spanning two Royal Families, two centuries and two rather remarkable women who did their best to throw off the constraints of the era, but who, unfortunately, history has forgotten.
The heroine of the story is Lady Arbella Stuart, cousin to Queen Elizabeth I and, at one time, thought to be the childless Queen’s successor (though the throne eventually went to Mary, Queen of Scots’ son, James. Confession: I didn’t even know she existed before reading this, but her story is fascinating, and Fremantle portrays it well, sucking you into the tragic life of this troubled young woman as she is confined throughout her childhood and eventually imprisoned for marrying against the king’s will.
The characters in the novel are really well drawn. Fremantle really gets under the skin of Arbella, and the secondary characters are convincing, believable and in some cases make you care about them after only a couple of sentences. As a study of shifting power, betrayal and the constant paranoia that came from being a member of the royal family, it’s fascinating- especially when it comes to the women that inhabited the strict Tudor hierarchy. From Arbella’s strict grandmother, Lady Bess, who refuses to show her affection, but who dragged the family up from nothing, to Aemilia, the poetess whose story intersects with Arbella’s, the heart of the story is about women struggling to survive in a harsh and male-dominated world.
Ami’s story is just as interesting as Arbella’s. Though they only barely knew each other, their stories intersect throughout as the novel builds to its ultimately tragic conclusion. Aemilia was the first woman to be recognised as a poet in England, thanks to the book of poetry she published during her time as Henry Hunsdon’s mistress- but in the story we see her as an older woman who is struggling with her debts and trying to establish herself as a woman in a society where fear of witches was rife. I really liked her as a character- she’s warm, determined and resourceful- and as the story unfolds we learn more about the secrets she is keeping, too: secrets that have the potential to ruin her.
Though the story can, at times, drag a little- especially when it comes to Arbella’s imprisonment- the ending is exciting, and the plot densely woven enough to merit a second reading. Fremantle has a knack for creating complicated characters that you really care about, where nobody is as black and white as they might first appear, and several turn out to surprise you later on. Arbella and Ami are strong, capable women who did the best they could with the times they lived in, and Fremantle makes their story- and Arbella’s tragic ending- just as compelling as it should.

Elizabethan poet Aemilia Lanier stumbles across Lady Arbella’s memoir after her death in the Tower of London. Impoverished and riddled with guilt over the death of her friend, Ami explores the life of the woman whose lineage kept her trapped in a gilded cage. A woman who risked everything for freedom and lost.

Lady Arbella has always been a shadowy figure in history, one I knew very little about. I was intrigued by this woman who, in her time, had been seen as a sizeable threat to the English throne after Elizabeth I’s death, but has now been more or less forgotten. The Girl in the Glass Tower puts Lady Arbella front and center, using a fictional memoir written by the Lady herself to shine some light on her history, and the events that lead to her imprisonment and death in the Tower of London. That’s not a spoiler, by the way. You’ve had over 400 years to catch up.

The Girl in the Glass Tower starts off a little slow, but Elizabeth Fremantle does an excellent job of weaving historical facts and fictional aspects together to create a detailed and captivating account of the life of Lady Arbella. Portrayed as an intelligent, strong willed young woman, damaged by a neglectful upbringing and the complete inability to control her own destiny, Arbella really does come to life in Fremantle’s hands. There are lovely descriptions of her childhood, her heartbreaking relationship with her grandmother, the formidable Bess of Hardwick, and life in the Elizabethan country house described as “more glass than wall”. Arbellla’s hardships and misfortunes are more than just forgotten historical facts; you feel for this poor woman, who longed for nothing more than to spend her days reading and ridding her horse, but who is instead used mercilessly as a pawn in everyone else’s schemes for power.

Whilst Arbella’s portrayal was captivating, I was disappointed by Ami’s story, whom I never felt that invested in. I was frustrated whenever the story shifted it’s focus from Arbella to Ami, because it was far too distracting to be enjoyable. I can see the appeal of using her as a framing device, but I think the novel would have benefited from spending less time on Ami, and so I wasn’t a fan of the format. It was also hard to keep track of all the figures that came and went sometimes.

Overall, I found The Girl in the Glass Tower to be an enjoyable read, and I’d recommend it to fans of historical fiction that take place at the center stage of history, and anyone curious about the life of Lady Arbella. Trust me, the novel is a far more entertaining read than her Wikipedia page.

The Lady Arbella was the only child of Charles Stuart which made her, along with the Grey sisters, a possible contender for the English throne. Having been orphaned at a young age, Arbella is raised in comfort and privilege, with the very best education to prepare her to be queen, by her domineering maternal grandmother, Elizabeth Cavendish (better known as ‘Bess of Hardwick’). However her royal blood is more a curse than a gift for Arbella, as she is forced to live cloistered away from the world behind the towering glass windows of Hardwick Hall. If she ever wishes to break free she must learn to navigate a treacherous game of power, intrigue and danger.

History has largely forgotten poor Arbella and it would seem her contemporaries also wrote her off as cold, aloof and mad! So I think it is wonderful that Fremantle chose to showcase her in this book. Fremantle paints Arbella as a clever, strong-willed, but naïve woman, who actually has a lot of passion and love just no one to share it with. And there is little wonder she may have grown to be cold, aloof and mentally unstable, when she had no family or true friends to speak of other than her grandmother. Now while her grandmother may have cared for and protected Arbella, heartbreakingly it was more as an investment rather than she had any true love for her.

Again Fremantle has delivered a well-written and believable glimpse into the intrigue and danger of the Elizabethan and early Stuart period in English history. Through Arbella we see a life within a gilded cage – in fact, Fremantle brings it to life so well I was often left feeling claustrophobic and hopeless; as I’m sure poor Arbella did too. Cleverly Fremantle has balanced this feeling by having a second narrator Ami (based on a court poet and mistress), who looks back on her old friend Arbella’s life by lovingly reading through her papers; which were thoughtlessly discarded after her death. While Ami does have her own troubles and is racked with guilt over her friend’s sad end, I felt she does offer a more hopeful and healthier perspective.

Overall, I thought The Girl in the Glass Tower was another fascinating read, that really grabbed at my heartstrings and had me truly invested in the lives of Arbella and Ami. I can’t wait to read more by Elizabeth Fremantle.

Arbella Stuart is of the royal blood and potentially an heir to Elizabeth I. In order to keep her safe, Arbella is in the care of her grandmother Bess of Hardwick and kept far away from court and any Catholic sympathisers who may wish to influence her. Whilst young Arbella tries to rebel, her older self becomes resigned to her fate. Upon the death of Elizabeth Arbella is summoned to court as a cousin of the new king, however falling in love with a distant relative is seen as defiance. Arbella's tale is told by Amaelia Lanyer, a disgraced female poet who lived at court but now must make her way in the world as best she can.

Having read the terrific biography of Arbella Stuart by Sarah Gristwood, I was aware of the character, her connections to the throne and the miserable life she seems to have led. Whilst this book is a completely fictionalised account, it does show evidence of excellent research. I particularly liked the idea that Arbella identified with Katherine Grey and this is an explanation of how Arbells seemed to slip into madness and starve herself to death. The interesting character is Bess of Hardwick, a woman who married well and ended up as one of the richest people in England, she was powerful and complex before her time. Amaelia Lanyer is a character about whom little is known but she was a successful poet and some think she is the 'dark-eyed beauty' of Shakespearean fame. Steeped in knowledge of everyday life at court, in the houses of rich and poor alike, this is excellent historical fiction.

Sorry it has taken so long, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Fantastic historical fiction from this established author.

Easy to read with characters I had not read much about. Arabella Tudor is the believed successor of Elizabeth I and spends all of her life waiting for this to happen. Very descriptive it is the final piece in the Tudor historical lineage.

Recommended - thank you to author, publisher and net galley for my copy.