Extraits

What is the point of love if it does not make us kind ?

What is the point of being sisters if we do not guard each others ?

Baynard's Castle, London, England, November 1501

I am to wear white and green, as a Tudor princess. Really, I think of myself as the one and only Tudor princess, for my sister Mary is too young to do more than be brought in by her nurse at suppertime, and taken out again. I make sure Mary's nursemaids are quite clear that she is to be shown to our new sister-in-law and then go. There is no profit in letting her sit up at the table, or gorge on crystallized plums. Rich things make her sick and if she gets tired she will bawl. She is only five years old, far too young for state occasions. Unlike me; I am all but twelve. I have to play my part in the wedding ; it would not be complete without me. My lady grandmother, the king's mother, said so herself.

When men have authority over women, women can be brought very low—and they will be brought very low. We spent our time admiring and envying each other and we should have been guiding and protecting each other"

“There is only one bond that I trust: between a woman and her sisters. We never take our eyes off each other. In love and in rivalry, we always think of each other.”

There is nothing but the gleam of mysterious light—not dawn and yet not starlight—where the unlit earth meets the night-black sky, and the only sound is the haunting call of the owls.

You too might find that your women friends are your truest friends, your sisters are the keepers of your memories and hopes for the future.