Other editions of book The Tangled Skein

This eBook edition of "The Tangled Skein" has been formatted to the highest digital standards and adjusted for readability on all devices.The tangled skein arises from Mary's love for the Robert d'Esclade, fifth Duke of Wessex, said to be the people's choice as King Consort. Wessex is chivalrous and charming, but semi-betrothed to Lady Ursula Glynde, whom he has not seen since her infancy. Wessex is repelled by the idea of having his wife thrust upon him and purposely avoids Lady Ursula. Unknown to Wessex, the Queen jealously guards him against Ursula, who is extremely beautiful.

In The Tangled Skein, Baroness Orczy does not paint Queen Mary nearly so black as she is usually portrayed. Indeed Mary is depicted as so passionately loving as to be almost lovable, a woman of strong emotions, invariably swayed by justice. The tangling of the skein is due to Mary’s supposititious love for Robert d’Esclade, fifth Duke of Wessex, whom the people of England desire to become King Consort. He is the embodiment of all chivalry, and every virtue dear to the heart of an Englishman. He is, so far, fancy free, but beyond deep respect for, and loyalty to, his Queen, he has no other feeling, and the idea of marriage with her merely for political reasons is repulsive to him. He is at the same time half betrothed, but not bindingly, to Lady Ursula Glynde, whom he has not seen since her babyhood. Wessex is repelled by the idea of having his wife thrust upon him in any way, and purposely avoids the girl, in which he is, unknown to himself, aided and abetted by the Queen, who tries jealously to guard him against falling a victim to Ursula’s undoubted fascinations.* Add to this trio, the powerful Cardinal Moreno and Phillip II of Spain and the skein only becomes more tangled. * - summary from Wikipedia

The Tangled Skein was Baroness Orczy's second novel. First published under the title In Mary's Reign in 1901, it was re-released under the title The Tangled Skein in 1907, following the success of The Scarlet Pimpernel. The book is a period romance and is dedicated to "my little son Jack" (who was born in 1899). In The Tangled Skein, Queen Mary is characterized as a loving woman with a strong sense of justice. Odin’s Library Classics is dedicated to bringing the world the best of humankind’s literature from throughout the ages. Carefully selected, each work is unabridged from classic works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or drama.

Even Noailles, in his letters to his royal master, admits that the weather was glorious, and that the climatic conditions left nothing to be desired. Even Noailles! Noailles, who detested England as the land of humid atmospheres and ill-dressed women! Renard, who was more of a diplomatist and kept his opinions on the fogs and wenches of Old England very much to himself, declared enthusiastically in his letter to the Emperor Charles V, dated October 2nd, 1553, that never had he seen the sky so blue, the sun so bright, nor the people of this barbarous island more merry than on the memorable first day of East Molesey Fair: as all who will, may read for themselves in Vol. III of the Granvelle Papers:— "Aulcungs ne pourroient contempler ciel plus bleu soleil plus brillianct ni peuple plus joieult." Yet what have we to do with the opinions of these noble ambassadors of great and mighty foreign monarchs? Our own chroniclers tell us that East Molesey Fair was the maddest, merriest, happiest time the goodly folk of the Thames Valley had had within memory of the oldest inhabitant. Was not good Queene Marye, beloved daughter of the great King Henry VIII, crowned at last? crowned in Westminster Abbey, as all her loyal subjects had desired that she should be, despite His Grace of Northumberland and his treasonable faction, whom God and the Queene's most lawful Majesty would punish all in good time? In the meanwhile let us be joyful and make merry! Such a motley crowd as never was seen. Here's a sheriff from London City, pompous and dignified in dark doublet and hose, with scarlet mantle and velvet cap; beside him his lady trips right merrily, her damask kirtle held well above her high-heeled shoes, her flowered paniers looped in the latest style, with just the suggestion of a farthingale beneath her robes, to give dignity to her figure and value to the slimness of her waist. Here a couple of solemn burgesses in velvet cloaks edged with fur, and richly slashed doublets, are discussing the latest political events; whilst a group of Hampton merchants, more soberly clad, appraise the wares of a cutler lately hailed from Spain.

Baroness Orczy was a novelist, playwright and artist born in Hungary to Baron Felix Orczy a well known composer and conductor. Orczy became famous in 1905 when she published The Scarlet Pimpernel and still is best known for his adventures. With the background of the Reign of Terror in the French Revolution her swashbuckling hero Sir Percy Blakeney represents the original hero with a secret identity. Her novels are Racy as she frequently favors historical fiction.