‘If I held my whole kingdom in one hand and my son in the other, I would toss them both to the bottom of the sea before I would let them impede me.’ 

Sixteenth-century Princess Jeanne d’Albret is twice royal: her uncle is King of France, her father King of Navarre. She is small, she is often ill – yet she won’t allow that to define her. 

As a child, she is carried to the altar at the French king’s command – but she and her mother have a secret plan to get their own way… Soon a new king is on the French throne. And when a second arranged marriage is forced on her, Jeanne is surprised by bliss. She can’t stop talking or thinking about Antoine, first prince of the blood; she throws her whole self into their life together, even when the battlefield parts them. 

Fiery and stubborn, wherever she goes, Jeanne is reminded of her famous poet-mother, protector of reformers, who could not break with the Catholic church despite her attraction to the new religious ideas. Jeanne resolves to go further – and let nothing stop her. But what will this mean for her precious marriage? 

As the Civil Wars break out – the Wars of Religion – and Jeanne commits to the Huguenots, will her adored husband take the same path? How can she fend off the Pope, the Guises – and the wily, evasive Queen Mother of France, Catherine de Médicis, while struggling for her son’s rights and future? 

Tracy Ryan’s second novel in the Queens of Navarre trilogy is a story of both flesh and spirit, of passion and obsession, and their often devastating consequences for self and others. 

Praise for The Queen’s Apprenticeship, Queens of Navarre Book One: 

‘a triumphant foray into historical fiction… a compelling exploration of patriarchy, privilege and resistance in Renaissance France, set amid a vividly sketched milieu … with convincing fictional characters.’ Cheryl Akle, The Australian 

‘the brilliant depth of character we want when reading historical fiction … a buoyancy of storytelling.’ Jessie Tu, Sydney Morning Herald