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Nancy’s Year In Books

Nancy’s 2023 Year in Books

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Nancy Bilyeau

Goodreads Author

Born

in Chicago, Illinois, The United States

March 08

Website

http://www.nancybilyeau.com

Twitter

tudorscribe

Genre

Historical Thriller, Mystery & Thrillers, Historical Fiction

Influences

Daphne du Maurier, Norah Lofts, Katherine Neville, Mary Renault, A.S. ...more

Member Since

June 2011

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If you tell Nancy Bilyeau that reading one of her historical novels of suspense is like strapping yourself into a time machine, you'll make her a happy woman. She loves crafting immersive historical stories, whether it's Jazz Age New York City in "The Orchid Hour," the 18th-century European porcelain workshops and art galleries in "The Blue" or "The Fugitive Colours," or Henry VIII's tumultuous England in "The Crown," "The Chalice," and "The Tapestry."

A magazine editor who has worked on the staffs of "Rolling Stone" and "Entertainment Weekly," Nancy drew on her journalism experience to research "The Orchid Hour," which includes real-life figures such as Lucky Luciano, Arnold Rothstein, and Lous Buchalter. While working as deputy editor of ...more

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Combine Editions
Nancy Bilyeau’s books

Average rating: 3.89 · 15,233 ratings · 2,323 reviews · 15 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Crown (Joanna Stafford, #1) 3.84 avg rating — 4,312 ratings — published 2012 — 46 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Blue (Genevieve Planché, #1) 3.89 avg rating — 3,534 ratings — published 2018 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dreamland 3.86 avg rating — 2,695 ratings — published 2020 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Chalice (Joanna Stafford, #2) 3.87 avg rating — 1,906 ratings — published 2013 — 30 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Tapestry (Joanna Stafford, #3) 4.01 avg rating — 1,017 ratings — published 2015 — 17 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Fugitive Colours (Genevieve Planché, #2) 3.98 avg rating — 535 ratings — published 2022 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Ghost of Madison Avenue 3.96 avg rating — 483 ratings — published 2019 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Orchid Hour 4.10 avg rating — 446 ratings — published 2023 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	THE GENEVIEVE PLANCHÉ COLLECTION a captivating historical fiction series with adventure and mystery 4.26 avg rating — 62 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Untitled (Genevieve Planché, #3) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Nancy Bilyeau's Blog

A Discount on 'The Orchid Hour'

For the next few days, my historical novel 'The Orchid Hour' is having a deep discount: It costs $.099/£0.99 as an ebook on amazon in the US and the UK.
To download, click here

The novel was the Gold Category Winner for Historical Mystery at the 2023 Historical Fiction Company Book of the Year Contest.
Here is the review that accompanied the award:

"The Orchid Hour" is more than a convention

Series by Nancy Bilyeau

Joanna Stafford (3 books)
by

Nancy Bilyeau (Goodreads Author)

3.87 avg rating — 7,235 ratings

Genevieve Planché (3 books)
by

Nancy Bilyeau (Goodreads Author)

3.90 avg rating — 4,069 ratings

Nancy is Currently Reading

Nancy Bilyeau is currently reading

Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery

by Brom (Goodreads Author)

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Sep 28, 2024 07:27AM

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The Fate of Mercy Alban

by Wendy Webb (Goodreads Author)

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Sep 27, 2024 12:29AM

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The Witches of Santo Stefano

by Wendy Webb (Goodreads Author)

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Sep 24, 2024 01:14AM

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Nancy Bilyeau rated a book it was amazing Death at the Sign of the Rook (Jackson Brodie #6) by Kate Atkinson	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Fantastic story This novel truly has it all: wit, poignancy, drama, atmosphere, well rounded characters, and an intriguing mystery running through it.
23 hours, 20 min ago · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Death at the Sign of the Rook by Kate Atkinson. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Death at the Sign of the Rook by Kate Atkinson
Nancy Bilyeau has read The Glass-Blowers by Daphne du Maurier	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 28, 2024 03:42PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Glass-Blowers by Daphne du Maurier. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Glass-Blowers by Daphne du Maurier
Nancy Bilyeau is currently reading Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Brom (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 28, 2024 07:27AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Slewfoot by Brom. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Slewfoot by Brom
Nancy Bilyeau is currently reading The Fate of Mercy Alban by Wendy Webb (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 27, 2024 12:29AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Fate of Mercy Alban by Wendy Webb. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Fate of Mercy Alban by Wendy Webb
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Sep 24, 2024 09:21AM · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of In the Garden of Monsters by Crystal King. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — In the Garden of Monsters by Crystal King
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Sep 24, 2024 01:14AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Witches of Santo Stefano by Wendy Webb. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Witches of Santo Stefano by Wendy Webb
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Quotes by Nancy Bilyeau (?)

“When a burning is announced, the taverns off Smithfield Square order extra barrels of ale, but when the person to be executed is a woman and one of noble birth, the ale comes by the cartload.”
― Nancy Bilyeau, The Crown

3 likes

“It wasn’t until the twelfth century that blue found a place on artists’ palettes, when they began to create it through grinding up certain stones. Every Madonna in a medieval painting wore blue robes, every stained glass window contained blue. It’s as if all men decided, at once, that blue was the color of…” I mull the right word… “the divine.”
― Nancy Bilyeau, The Blue

2 likes

“The human heart is always drawn by love.' He hesitated again. It's you, he said. I am in love with you.”
― Nancy Bilyeau, The Chalice

tags: edmund-sommerville, joanna-stafford

2 likes

See all Nancy Bilyeau's quotes »

Polls

What book about the Tudors or Tudor England would you like to read in May 2015?

The Creation of Anne Boleyn: A New Look at England's Most Notorious Queen by Susan Bordo

14 votes, 21.9%

The Crown by Nancy Bilyeau

11 votes, 17.2%

Henry VIII's Last Love: The Extraordinary Life of Katherine Willoughby, Lady-in-Waiting to the Tudors by David Baldwin

9 votes, 14.1%

Edward VI: The Lost King of England by Chris Skidmore

8 votes, 12.5%

To the Tower Born: A Novel of the Lost Princes by Robin Maxwell

5 votes, 7.8%

Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel

4 votes, 6.3%

The Queen's Bed: An Intimate History of Elizabeth's Court by Anna Whitelock

3 votes, 4.7%

The Wild Queen by Carolyn Meyer

2 votes, 3.1%

The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory

2 votes, 3.1%

The Forgotten Tudor Women: Margaret Douglas, Mary Howard & Mary Shelton by Sylvia Barbara Soberton

2 votes, 3.1%

Pilgrimage of Grace by Geoffrey Moorhouse

1 vote, 1.6%

The Six Wives & Many Mistresses of Henry VIII: The Womens' Stories by Amy Licence

1 vote, 1.6%

All the Queen's Players by Jane Feather

1 vote, 1.6%

The King's Pleasure by Norah Lofts

1 vote, 1.6%

My Lady of Cleves: A Novel of Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves by Margaret Campbell Barnes

0 votes, 0.0%

64 total votes

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Nancy’s Quotes

“[I]f I were turned out of the realm in my petticoat I were able to live in any place in Christendom.”
― Elizabeth I Tudor

11 likes

3 likes

“A faint acrid smell drifted in through the window, from the cannon fire. But through it all the walls of my prison cell never trembled. The walls of the Tower are the thickest in the land and they never, ever tremble”
― Nancy Bilyeau, The Crown

1 likes