Maid of the King's Court Audiobook By Lucy Worsley cover art

Maid of the King's Court

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

Maid of the King's Court

By: Lucy Worsley
Narrated by: Elizabeth Knowelden
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $20.00

Buy for $20.00

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

In the vibrant, volatile court of Henry VIII, can even the most willful young woman direct her own fate and follow her heart in a world ruled by powerful men?

Clever, headstrong Elizabeth Rose Camperdowne knows her duty. As the sole heiress to an old but impoverished noble family, Eliza must marry a man of wealth and title - it's the only fate for a girl of her standing. But when a surprising turn of events lands her in the royal court as a maid of honor to Anne of Cleves, Eliza is drawn into the dizzying, dangerous orbit of Henry the Eighth and struggles to distinguish friend from foe. Is her glamorous flirt of a cousin, Katherine Howard, an ally in this deceptive place, or is she Eliza's worst enemy? And then there's Ned Barsby, the king's handsome page, who is entirely unsuitable for Eliza but impossible to ignore. British historian Lucy Worsley provides a vivid, romantic glimpse of the treachery, tragedy, and thrills of life in the Tudor court.

©2016 Lucy Worsley (P)2016 Brilliance Audio Fiction Historical Historical Fiction History & Culture Literature & Fiction Romance Royalty Heartfelt
All stars
Most relevant  
Lucy Worsley brings a wealth of research and insight to this imagining of the life of her fictional Elizabeth Camperdowne. I would reserve this for older teens due to some mature sexual content. The ending is predictable but it is nevertheless an enjoyable listen, full of rich background and decorations worthy of the age.

Good stuff

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
What an adventure to read! Please give us more stories like this!!! I finished it in 3 days!

Phenomenal

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This book is marketed as a book for teens/young adult, but I feel the themes in this story are largely adult. Chapter 21 in particular talks about Eliza feeling the the King’s “wood” pressed against her backside. It also talks about maids sneaking off into closets with young men, and the king’s impotence. It has a good story line and The voice-acting was great, but I would not allow a teen to read this.

NOT a Youth Book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Lucy Worsley is SO entertaining on TV and she knows such a lot about life in the past. In her notes, she says she conceived this novel to make Katherine Howard come alive as a person, not just the "silly girl" she is often dismissed as. (She was only 19 when she was executed and modern research has shown that teenagers are not particularly good at making judgements.)

I was SO DISAPPOINTED therefore, that certain KEY facts about Katherine Howard's life were LEFT OUT!

What could Lucy Worsley have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Certain KEY FIGURES in Katherine's story should have been portrayed in this novel, viz. LADY ROCHFORD (Anne Boleyn sister-in-law) who acted as procuress for Katherine's lovers, Francis DEREHAM the music master AND TOM CULPEPPER, who was the lover dallying with Katherine while she was Queen.

Recent research has suggested that Culpepper raped Katherine when she was 13, and then blackmailed her about it when she became Queen, demanding sexual favors in return for his silence.

I DON'T think these facts would have turned Katherine into a martyr, but have made her MORE INTERESTING!!

What about Elizabeth Knowelden’s performance did you like?

Her voices were very good.

Do you think Maid of the King's Court needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No. I think it needs to be rewritten along the lines above. Personally, I found the narrator distracting because she was so much like Princess Elizabeth. I think it would have been more helpful to find someone who had ordinary brown hair and therefore DIDN'T resemble anyone famous. That could easily be done with a few tweaks.

Any additional comments?

Unfortunately, I am so disappointed by the quality of this book, I DON'T think I will be reading any more books by Lucy Worsley.

Such a pity it ignored the facts

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
If you like stories of simpering, stupid maidens that could not possibly have any basis in fact, of dumb clucks that learn nothing about themselves or the world they live in and to top it off, preposterous endings that only romantic schoolgirls might appreciate, then by all means have at this drivel. Otherwise, spend a credit on one of the author's non fiction works. This is brainless junk.

WAY too stupid to live... WAY to boring to listen..

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.