"It's the beginning of the eighteenth century and William of Orange is dying. Soon Anne is crowned queen, but to court insiders, the name of the imminent sovereign is Sarah. Beautiful, outspoken Sarah Churchill had bewitched Anne through the auspices of the Duke of Marlborough, Sarah's husband and perhaps the greatest military genius England has ever known. Sarah believes she is invincible, and she is, until she installs a poor relation of hers into court as royal chambermaid. Plain Abigail Hill seems the least likely challenger to Sarah's place in her Highness's affections--but challenge it she does, in stealthy yet formidable ways. While Anne engages in her private tug-of-war, the nation is obsessed with another, more public battle: succesion. Anne is sickly and childless, the last of the Stuart line. This final novel of the Stuarts weaves larger-than-life characters through a dark maze of intrigue, love, and destruction, with nothing less than the future of the British Empire at stake"-- Provided by publisher.
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