The Queen's Command

by Maggie Osborne

Lady Nellanor, a noble beauty at the court of Queen Elizabeth I, loses both her husband and her celebrated guardian, Lord Dudley, within the space of a few months. An orphan whose birth is shrouded in mystery, she had anticipated receiving her inheritance from Dudley, a casket containing information pertaining to her parentage. Dudley's widow, however, realizing that the letters include matters of political significance, sells them to envoys of Prince Philip of Spain. Sent to retrieve the cache by a furious Queen Elizabeth, Lady Nellanor and Lord William Steele are promised a rich reward if they succeed; death if they fail. In the adventures that befall them, they must choose between their growing love for each other and their loyalty to the Queen.

Genres: Historical, Romance, Historical Fiction

324 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

aka
Margaret St. George

Maggie Osborne is the author of I Do, I Do, I Do and Silver Lining, as well as more than forty contemporary and historical romance novels written as Maggie Osborne and Margaret St. George. She has won numerous awards from Romantic Times, Affaire de Coeur, BookraK, the Colorado Romance Writers, and Coeur du Bois, among others. Osborne won the RITA for long historical from the Romance Writers of America in 1998. Maggie lives in a resort town in the Colorado mountains with her husband, one mule, two horses, one cat, and one dog, all of whom are a lot of aggravation, but she loves them anyway.

Reviews

[Sam I AMNreader · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was an easy entertaining read. The mystery / action aspect of it was kind of blah but I did like when the leads interacted.

[Mark Gaulding · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun read and I thought an interesting between the lines and informed discussion/debate of the true nature Virgin Queen which I am surprised to see in this genre (romance). I also thought the author's attempts at evoking pleasant smells (the heroine always smells like honey and roses) was curious. Because the more she made these attempts the more I wondered what all the awful smells must have been like. I kept thinking what exactly does the hero, "Will", smell like if she "Nell" the heroine, smelled so great. She did mention once that the smell of apple made "Nell" think of her lover "Will's" breath. With no dentists? Two references were made to dental hygiene which I also found interesting....a cloth to wash teeth and a bone which priests used to pick/clean their teeth. I think these curious additions about how people groomed (or lack thereof) themselves made this a cut above your typical romance novel. I wish someone would finally write a book that talks about how awful people must have smelled, though. Because I'm always left even more curious because of the absence of that discussion in most books.

[Paden Lane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't normally read books like this, but I thought this was amazing!

[Ambrosia Sullivan]

First Published on The Purple Booker

If you are looking for a light, easy to read book and don't mind a little romance, you'll enjoy the Queen's command. This book is a light romance, and a fairly breezy read over all, although I found a few chapters a little slow. A big reason I am on the fence about this one (thus the three star rating), is that Elizabeth really does not seem to be "herself".

While I concede she is not the main character she is a big player, after all it says "A novel of Elizabeth of England". She was so catty and so shrewish in my opinion to Nell, because of the ward-ship to Dudley, that I wanted to kick her Royal shins. Yes, we know Elizabeth and Dudley had an intense kind of relationship. Yes, we know Elizabeth had the Tudor temper from time to time, but to me some of the outbursts in this one are just plain childish.

With those things being said...

... it is still a good enough read. If you aren't as dedicated to historical personage as I am,you likely won't notice as many as the issues with Elizabeth and just appreciated the story with Nell. I have to say it was interesting to look at how much mistrust (and so on) went on between the Spanish and the English. Will is a solid character, one I felt a a connection with almost right away, where it took me a little longer to connect with Nell. The book is very descriptive over all and makes it easy to imagine the scenes that take place as well.

So overall without giving anything away, it is an alright read and if you are a Historical  Fiction/Romance fan you will probably have fun with this one.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't expect to like this book because I am not a huge fan of light romances. This book is about Nellanor Amesly, ward of the recently deceased Robert Dudley. She has a complicated relationship with Queen Elizabeth and feels as though she can never do enough to please her. Queen Elizabeth sends her on a mission to recover some letters belonging to Robert Dudley. This is complicated because Dudley told Nellanor that these letters would be her legacy. She is sent on her mission with a handsome (of course!) Lord named Will Steele. The interactions between the two were fun and believable. This was a light and entertaining read but one worth the time that I will keep and read again. Elizabeth was portrayed as someone with complex emotions who had a reason for what she did, even if you are unsure exactly what the reason could have been.

[Sherry · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining historical romance that takes place in the court of Queen Elizabeth. Queen Elizabeth commands Nellanor Amesly, ward of Robert Dudley to retrieve a silver casket of personal letters allegedly written by Queen Elizabeth that were stolen by agents of Spain. As Nell's accomplice, Elizabeth sends handsome (of course) Will Steele. High adventure, lots of swashbuckling, and wild coach rides.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much of the historical facts are correct. The main character is fiction as far as I can figure out. Good ending.

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book about Elizabethan England. Lightly written with some hot spots and action.

[Marlena · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light and easy read. A historical romance which wasn't always predictable, which I liked. The story was fast paced, so the few boring parts were at least over quickly.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good historical love story.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 - unusual romance with a good plot. Well-written, set in Elizabethean England.

"Quite possibly she had encountered that rarest and most foolish of
animals, a man who spoke his mind."

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

First, I’m not a fan of books about Tudor England, but this is well written and has an interesting mystery.