The Tudors: The King, the Queen, and the Mistress by Michael Hirst, Anne Gracie 

A king torn between two women could lead to a kingdom torn. 

Troubled by religious unrest in his kingdom and changing alliances with other countries, weighing most on King Henry VIII of England's mind is his impending divorce to Queen Katherine of Aragon. The matter is of extreme urgency, as the king desires an heir and has just met the woman who holds his destiny -- Lady Anne Boleyn, eighteen and in the flower of youthful beauty. But was their meeting by chance, or part of a plan devised by her father for the furthering of his family? 

As the new romance blooms, it causes heartache for the queen and headaches for the king's personal chaplain, Cardinal Wolsey, who once worked on behalf of the kingdom to organize diplomatic talks, but now toils to obtain the Church's approval for the king's divorce. As loyalties are questioned and the Church's influence is threatened by the emboldened king, the fate of the kingdom lies in the balance. 

An irresistible story of love, lust, ambition, and political intrigue, this novelization of season one of The Tudors introduces us to a young, virile king of one of the most powerful nations in the world, and the women who will cause him to forever alter the course of history.

The Tudor Wife by Emily Purdy

A lustful king. A thirst for power. The terrible price of revenge…

Encompassing the reigns of four of Henry's wives, from the doomed Anne to the reckless Katherine Howard, The Tudor Wife is an unforgettable story of ambition, lust, and jealousy.

Shy, plain Lady Jane Parker feels out of place in Henry VIII's court, which is filled with debauchery and scandal. But a marriage match with the handsome George Boleyn leaves her overjoyed… until she meets his sister Anne.

George is devoted to his sister; and as Anne Boleyn's circle of admirers grows, so does Jane's resentment. Becoming Henry's queen makes Anne the most powerful woman in England; but it also makes her vulnerable. When he begins to tire of his mercurial wife who will not provide a male heir, the stage is set for the ultimate betrayal…

Divulging the secrets behind the reigns of Henry's wives, from the doomed Anne to the reckless Katherine Howard, The Tudor Wife is a sumptuous and seductive novel, perfect for fans of The Tudors and Philippa Gregory.

The Pleasure Palace (Secrets of the Tudor Court #1) by Kate Emerson

Beautiful. Seductive. Innocent. Jane Popyncourt was brought to the court as a child to be ward of the king and a companion to his daughters -- the princesses Margaret and Mary. With no money of her own, Jane could not hope for a powerful marriage, or perhaps even marriage at all. But as she grows into a lovely young woman, she still receives flattering attention from the virile young men flocking to serve the handsome new king, Henry VIII, who has recently married Catherine of Aragon. Then a dashing French prisoner of war, cousin to the king of France, is brought to London, and Jane finds she cannot help giving some of her heart -- and more -- to a man she can never marry. But the Tudor court is filled with dangers as well as seductions, and there are mysteries surrounding Jane's birth that have made her deadly enemies. Can she cultivate her beauty and her amorous wiles to guide her along a perilous path and bring her at last to happiness? Basing her gripping tale on the life of the real Jane Popyncourt, gifted author Kate Emerson brings the Tudor monarchs, their family, and their courtiers to brilliant life in this vibrant new novel.

   JanePopincourt was a French maid-of-honour at the royal court of Louis XII and later of Francis I. For around twelve years, she had a position at the English court, first in the reign of Henry VII, as a distinguished tutor engaged to teach French to the princesses Margaret and Mary; and later in 1509, on the accession of Henry VIII, she was appointed a maid-of-honour to his wife, Catherine of Aragon. In 1514, there were rumors that Jane had become the King's mistress.

During the Battle of the Spurs in 1513, the King's troops captured a number of French nobles, notably Louis I d'Orléans, duke of Longueville. It is unknown if the Duke had met Jane at the French court, but as her countryman they seem to have been introduced upon his arrival at the English court and they soon began a liaison. Although he was technically a hostage, he was used as a supplementary ambassador in arranging the marriage of Mary Tudor and Louis XII, and was treated with respect as such. This damaged the reputation of Jane, who was probably then in her mid-to-late twenties, an age by which a woman would have been expected to be married. When the Duke returned to France in 1514, Jane remained at the English court and appears to have begun a brief affair with Henry VIII.However, she seems to have wanted to return home. It has also been speculated that she was no longer welcome at the English court. She was listed as an attendant to Henry's sister, Princess Mary, who was about to become the queen of France. When Louis XII saw her name, he is said to have preferred that she be incinerated, and would not permit such an immoral woman to attend to his new wife.

Jane remained in England until 1516, when she returned to France. She is said to have reignited her affair with the Duke and received a parting gift of £100 from Henry.

The Red Queen (The Cousins' War #2) by Philippa Gregory

The second book in Philippa's stunning new trilogy, The Cousins War, brings to life the story of Margaret Beaufort, a shadowy and mysterious character in the first book of the series - The White Queen - but who now takes centre stage in the bitter struggle of The War of the Roses. 

Heiress to the red rose of Lancaster, Margaret Beaufort never surrenders her belief that her house is the true ruler of England and that she has a great destiny before her. Her ambitions are disappointed when her sainted cousin Henry VI fails to recognize her as a kindred spirit, and she is even more dismayed when he sinks into madness. Her mother mocks her plans, revealing that Margaret will always be burdened with the reputation of her father, one of the most famously incompetent English commanders in France. But worst of all for Margaret is when she discovers that her mother is sending her to a loveless marriage in remote Wales. 

Married to a man twice her age, quickly widowed, and a mother at only fourteen, Margaret is determined to turn her lonely life into a triumph. She sets her heart on putting her son on the throne of England regardless of the cost to herself, to England, and even to the little boy. Disregarding rival heirs and the overwhelming power of the York dynasty, she names him Henry, like the king; sends him into exile; and pledges him in marriage to her enemy Elizabeth of York’s daughter. As the political tides constantly move and shift, Margaret charts her own way through another loveless marriage, treacherous alliances, and secret plots. She feigns loyalty to the usurper Richard III and even carries his wife’s train at her coronation. 

Widowed a second time, Margaret marries the ruthless, deceitful Thomas, Lord Stanley, and her fate stands on the knife edge of his will. Gambling her life that he will support her, she then masterminds one of the greatest rebellions of the time—all the while knowing that her son has grown to manhood, recruited an army, and now waits for his opportunity to win the greatest prize. 

In a novel of conspiracy, passion, and coldhearted ambition, number one bestselling author Philippa Gregory has brought to life the story of a proud and determined woman who believes that she alone is destined, by her piety and lineage, to shape the course of history.

Philippa Gregory's entrhalling novel brings to life a proud and determined woman who believes that she alone is destined to shape the course of history.

Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby (31 May 1443 – 29 June 1509), was the mother of King Henry VII and paternal grandmother of King Henry VIII of England. She was a key figure in the Wars of the Roses and an influential matriarch of the House of Tudor. She founded two prominent Cambridge Colleges; Christ's College in 1505, and St John's College in 1511.

The confession of Katherine Howard by Suzannah Dunn.

                When twelve-year-old Katherine Howard comes to live in the Duchess of Norfolk’s household, poor relation

Cat Tilney is deeply suspicious of her. The two girls couldn’t be more different: Cat, watchful and ambitious; Katherine, interested only in clothes and boys. Their companions are in thrall to Katherine, but it’s Cat in whom Katherine confides. Summoned to court at seventeen, Katherine leaves Cat in the company of her ex-lover, Francis, with whom Cat begins a serious love affair.

Within months, the king has set aside his latest wife for Katherine. The future seems assured for the new queen and her maid-in-waiting, although Cat would feel more confident if Katherine hadn’t embarked on an affair with one of the king’s favoured attendants, Thomas Culpeper.

For a blissful year and a half, it seems that Katherine can have everything she wants. But then allegations are made about her girlhood love affairs. Desperately frightened, Katherine recounts a version of events which implicates Francis but which Cat knows to be a lie. With Francis imprisoned in the Tower, Cat alone knows the whole truth of Katherine Howard’s past.

From Suzannah Dunn, the critically acclaimed author of The Queen of Subtleties, The Sixth Wife and The Queen’s Sorrow, comes the tragic, gripping, and intensely moving story of Katherine Howard—the fifth wife of England’s King Henry VIII—and the best friend she nearly took down with her. The Confession of Katherine Howard is masterful historical fiction, ideal for fans of Phillipa Gregory and Allison Weir, bringing to rich, lustrous life the sights and sounds of the royal Tudor court while telling a story of passion, intrigue, betrayal, and destiny that will live in the reader’s memory long after the final page is turned.

Katherine Howard (1523 – 13 February 1542) was Queen of England from 1540 until 1541, as the fifth wife of Henry VIII who referred to her as his "rose without a thorn".Katherine married Henry on 28 July 1540, at Oatlands Palace, in Surrey, almost immediately after the annulment of his marriage to Anne of Cleves was arranged. Katherine was beheaded after less than two years of marriage to Henry on the grounds of treason for committing adultery while married to the King. She was the third of Henry's wives to have been a member of the English gentry instead of European nobility.