#HistFicThursdays - The Queen’s Scribe - Amy Maroney - Guest Post

 

It's #HistFicThursdays, and I'm super-excited to be welcoming back Amy Maroney, as part of her Coffee Pot Book Club tour. Find out about the setting for her fabulous new book, The Queen's Scribe, in the guest post below. But first, let's meet the book...

Blurb

A broken promise. A bitter conflict. And a woman’s elusive chance to love or die.

 

1458. Young Frenchwoman Estelle de Montavon sails to Cyprus imagining a bright future as tutor to a princess. Instead, she is betrayed by those she loves most—and forced into a dangerous new world of scheming courtiers, vicious power struggles, and the terrifying threat of war.

 

Determined to flee, Estelle enlists the help of an attractive and mysterious falconer. But on the eve of her escape, fortune’s wheel turns again. She gains entry to Queen Charlotta’s inner circle as a trusted scribe and interpreter, fighting her way to dizzying heights of influence. 

 

Enemies old and new rise from the shadows as Estelle navigates a royal game of cat and mouse between the queen and her powerful half-brother, who wants the throne for himself.

 

When war comes to the island, Estelle faces a brutal reckoning for her loyalty to the queen. Will the impossible choice looming ahead be her doom—or her salvation?

 

With this richly-told story of courage, loyalty, and the sustaining power of love, Amy Maroney brings a mesmerizing and forgotten world to vivid life. The Queen’s Scribe is a stand-alone novel in the Sea and Stone Chronicles collection.

Praise for the Sea and Stone Chronicles:

“Island of Gold is a nimbly told story with impeccable pacing.”

—Historical Novel Society, Editor’s Choice Review

“Sea of Shadows is stunning. A compelling tale of love, honor, and conviction.”

—Reader’s Favorite Review

 

Amy Maroney is the author of the award-winning Miramonde Series, the story of a Renaissance-era female artist and the modern day scholar on her trail.

The Queen's Scribe is available on #KindleUnlimited via this universal link.

Guest Post

Take a Journey to Medieval Cyprus with The Queen’s Scribe

When I first began research for the Sea and Stone Chronicles, I focused on 15th-century Rhodes, Greece, during the rule of the Knights Hospitaller of St. John. I was particularly interested in how ordinary people, especially women, coped under the dominion of the knights. 

At the same time, I kept a parallel line of research dedicated to the island of Cyprus, simply because I constantly unearthed references to the knights’ activities on that island. Digging deeper, I soon realized I’d stumbled upon a rich chapter of history: the medieval rule of the Lusignan Kings, a French dynasty that reigned over the Kingdom of Cyprus. 

I soon discovered that the court of the Lusignans was rife with intrigue, murder, and revenge. As I devoured one jaw-dropping detail after another, I decided to set The Queen’s Scribe in Cyprus to take advantage of this extraordinary treasure-trove of drama.

Located at the maritime crossroads of Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, Cyprus has long been a coveted gem of the Mediterranean, fought over by an endless series of conquerors. In 1195, Richard the Lionheart swooped in and seized control of Cyprus from the Byzantine Christians who had, in turn, wrested control of Cyprus from Arab forces. He sold Cyprus to the Knights Templar, who then sold it to Guy de Lusignan, the King of Jerusalem. 

The Lusignans would rule Cyprus until 1489. They made French the official language of Cyprus, and a new noble class made up mostly of French people (known locally as Franks or Latins) took over. They forced commoners into serfdom and persecuted Cypriots for their adherence to traditional beliefs and rituals.

Nicosia Old Town

Meanwhile, money from tariffs, trade, and travelers enriched the Lusignans’ royal coffers. Medieval pilgrimage routes typically took people from ports in Western Europe to Rhodes, then Cyprus, then Jerusalem, so there was a thriving “tourist” industry serving these travelers in both islands. Cyprus was also an important stopover point for merchants from Asia, the Middle East, and Africa who sold spices, cotton, rugs, and other goods to Europeans.

Though French became the language of high administration in Cyprus, Greek remained the language of everyday life. In port towns, people also communicated in Arabic and Italian. Over the years, all of these languages converged into one common dialect, which a chronicler of the time called “a strange soup of languages.” 

At the same time, the French spoken in Cyprus became so distorted that native French speakers visiting from Europe could not understand it. This fact underpins the plot of The Queen’s Scribe, which features a fictional French heroine, Estelle de Montavon, whose skills as a scribe and interpreter become essential to the Cypriot Queen Charlotta.

St. Hilarion Castle Ruins

The Lusignans and their courtiers enjoyed immense privilege, wealth, and leisure. Cyprus was famous for its production of luxury fabrics such as camlet (a blend of silk and wool), cloth-of-gold, and embroidered silks. Royal and noble families of western Europe purchased these fabrics for their ceremonial garments, along with fine jewelry, artificial birds made of metal, and carved wooden items crafted by Cypriot artisans. 

The Lusignans were obsessed with falconry and hunting. A German traveller visiting Cyprus in the mid-fourteenth century observed nobles playing in tournaments, jousting, and hunting daily. He wrote that the king owned hundreds of falcons and that wild rams were hunted and caught with “leopards” (historians believe these large cats were likely cheetahs) during hunting expeditions in the rugged Troodos Mountains. 

Royal entertainment also included musical performances. The Cyprus Codex is the largest known surviving single source of medieval courtly music. Made up of both sacred and secular music, it was probably created for the Lusignans in the early 1400s by an unknown French composer or composers. 

 

All of this excess took its toll on the Lusignan court’s finances, as did the increasing attacks on Cyprus by Venetians, Genoese, Turks, and Egyptians. The fatal blow was an invasion by Egyptian Mamluks in 1426, during which King Janus was taken captive. The court had to find 200,000 ducats to ransom him, becoming indebted to various Western allies as a result. By 1458, when the fifteen-year-old, widowed Queen Charlotta ascended the throne, the Lusignan dynasty was weakened by war, debt, and corruption, and betrayal. 

Kyrenia Fortress

Though she faced these challenges with tremendous energy and courage, Queen Charlotta’s greatest test came from her power-hungry half-brother, Jacco, who wanted the throne for himself. Soon civil war, a siege, and the ruthless murders of Queen Charlotta’s stalwart supporters further hobbled the Cypriot court. 

When Queen Charlotta’s second husband, Louis of Savoy, proved a dismal leader, she left him in Cyprus and sailed across the Mediterranean beseeching allies to help protect her crown. Her ambition and tenacity earned respect and attention from some of Europe’s most powerful leaders, but in the end, she could not save her throne. 

Like so many other women in history, Queen Charlotta has been lost to history for too long. I hope The Queen’s Scribe helps bring her story back into the light.

Now, let's meet the author:

Amy Maroney studied English Literature at Boston University and worked for many years as a writer and editor of nonfiction. She lives in Oregon, U.S.A. with her family. When she’s not diving down research rabbit holes, she enjoys hiking, dancing, traveling, and reading. 

Amy is the author of The Miramonde Series, an Amazon-bestselling historical mystery trilogy about a Renaissance-era female artist and the modern-day scholar on her trail. Amy’s award-winning historical adventure/romance series, Sea and Stone Chronicles, is set in medieval Rhodes and Cyprus. 

An enthusiastic advocate for independent publishing, Amy is a member of the Alliance of Independent Authors and the Historical Novel Society.

You can follow Amy on these links:

Website - Twitter - Facebook - LinkedIn - Instagram - Pinterest - BookBub - Amazon - Goodreads

Keep up with the rest of the The Queen's Scribe tour stops by clicking on the banner below: