{"id":28759,"date":"2026-05-09T11:03:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T09:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/?p=28759"},"modified":"2026-05-25T05:21:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T03:21:09","slug":"the-queens-scribe-by-amy-maroney-ink-and-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/the-queens-scribe-by-amy-maroney-ink-and-power\/","title":{"rendered":"The Queen\u2019s Scribe\u00a0by Amy Maroney: Ink and Power"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

History is often written by those in power but shaped, quietly and irrevocably, by those who stand close enough to witness it and are brave enough to remember it. So, is history defined by those who rule\u2026 or by those who bear witness?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our historical fiction anthology Courage: Tales of History, Mystery and Hope<\/a><\/em> showcases storytelling by Amy Maroney too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Today I turn to The Queen\u2019s Scribe<\/strong><\/em> by Amy Maroney, a novel that transports the reader to the sunlit yet treacherous world of medieval Cyprus, a place of beauty, wealth, and political undercurrents that ripple beneath every courtly exchange.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At its heart is Estelle, a young Frenchwoman tasked with educating Princess Charlotta, already marked by widowhood at the age of fifteen. Through Estelle\u2019s eyes we enter a world where knowledge is both privilege and danger, and where influence is rarely exercised openly. She is an outsider, yet not powerless as her intellect, resilience, and determination allow her to navigate a court shaped as much by intrigue as by tradition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maroney\u2019s strength lies in her ability to construct a world that feels both vivid and precise. The setting is not only decorative; it is integral to the narrative shaping behaviour, expectation, and consequence. Cyprus emerges not just as a backdrop but as a living force, its opulence shadowed by uncertainty, its beauty threaded with tension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What gives the novel its depth is its focus on perspective. Estelle is not a ruler, nor a figure of overt authority, yet her position allows her to observe, to interpret, and \u2014 most importantly \u2014 to record. In this, the act of writing itself becomes significant: the means of preserving truth in a world where truth is often obscured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is a theme that resonates deeply with me. In When Secrets Bloom<\/em> I explore how what is remembered \u2014 and what is deliberately left unsaid \u2014 shapes not only individual lives but the stories that endure. Across time and place, a question remains: who holds the narrative, and at what cost?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Queen\u2019s Scribe<\/strong><\/em> offers more than a journey into the past. It presents a layered exploration of voice, agency, and the power of observation within constrained spaces. It reminds us that influence does not always announce itself. It often works through ink, through memory, through those willing to observe and therefore see clearly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you read this book, I leave you with this question: is history defined by those who rule\u2026 or by those who bear witness?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

BUY LINKS: Amazon US<\/a> \/ Amazon UK<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amy Maroney<\/a> lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family, and spent many years as a writer and editor of nonfiction before turning her hand to historical fiction. When she’s not diving down research rabbit holes, she enjoys hiking, dancing, traveling, and reading. Amy is the author of the award-winning Miramonde Series. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

#HistoricalFiction #WomensHistory #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

History is often written by those in power but shaped, quietly and irrevocably, by those who stand close enough to witness, and brave enough to remember. Is history defined by those who rule\u2026 or by those who bear witness?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"History is often written by those in power but shaped, quietly and irrevocably, by those who stand close enough to witness, and brave enough to remember. Is history defined by those who rule\u2026 or by those who bear witness? #HistoricalFiction #BookLove #weekendreads","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1342,5519,6734],"tags":[5524,6668,6688,6665,6664],"class_list":["post-28759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-authors","category-book-reviews","category-courage-anthology","tag-bookreview","tag-historicalfiction","tag-weekendreads","tag-amy-maroney","tag-the-queens-scribe"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/queen-scribe.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":29040,"url":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/new-book-announcement-courage-tales-of-history-mystery-and-hope\/","url_meta":{"origin":28759,"position":0},"title":"COVER REVEAL! Courage: Tales of History, Mystery and Hope – 17 JUNE 2026","author":"Patricia Furstenberg","date":"09\/05\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"New Book Announcement - Courage: Tales of History, Mystery and Hope, a historical fiction anthology. 15 lives drawn from across time, each poised at the brink of fear. They endure. They remain.","rel":"","context":"In "Authors and books"","block_context":{"text":"Authors and books","link":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/category\/authors\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"COURAGE: Tales of History, Mystery and Hope","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/courage-cover-reveal3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":29314,"url":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/launching-courage-tales-of-history-mystery-and-hope-publication-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":28759,"position":1},"title":"Launching COURAGE: Tales of History, Mystery and Hope – Publication Day","author":"Patricia Furstenberg","date":"17\/06\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Courage: Tales of History, Mystery and Hope brings together award-winning authors and 15 different worlds separated by centuries but connected by a timeless human experience: courage.","rel":"","context":"In "Authors and books"","block_context":{"text":"Authors and books","link":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/category\/authors\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"https:\/\/mybook.to\/COURAGE-Anthology","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-COURAGE-FB.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-COURAGE-FB.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-COURAGE-FB.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-COURAGE-FB.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":29027,"url":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/courage-tales-of-history-mystery-and-hope-pre-order-now\/","url_meta":{"origin":28759,"position":2},"title":"Courage: Tales of History, Mystery and Hope, Pre-Order Now #CourageAnthology","author":"Patricia Furstenberg","date":"13\/05\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Pre-Order TODAY. This anthology gathers an extraordinary fellowship of historical storytellers, each lending their voice to a different century, a different trial. OUT 17 June.","rel":"","context":"In "Authors and books"","block_context":{"text":"Authors and books","link":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/category\/authors\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Courage: Tales of History, Mystery and Hope","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2026-COURAGE-General-3a.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2026-COURAGE-General-3a.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2026-COURAGE-General-3a.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":29338,"url":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/now-with-helen-hollick-what-happens-when-one-story-might-be-true\/","url_meta":{"origin":28759,"position":3},"title":"Now With Helen Hollick: What Happens When One Story Might Be True","author":"Patricia Furstenberg","date":"18\/06\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Delighted if you joined me today on Helen Hollick's blog to discover why I wrote Kate's Letter for Courage, Tales of History, Mystery and Hope. Read an extract.","rel":"","context":"In "Authors and books"","block_context":{"text":"Authors and books","link":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/category\/authors\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Kate's Letter by Patricia Furstenberg in the historical fiction anthology Courage: Tales of History, Mystery and Hope","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Kates-Letter-Patricia-Furstenberg-Courage-Anthology.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":28753,"url":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/ascent-a-story-of-danger-adversity-and-love-by-cathie-dunn\/","url_meta":{"origin":28759,"position":4},"title":"Ascent: A story of danger, adversity, and love by Cathie Dunn","author":"Patricia Furstenberg","date":"18\/04\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"When the world is remade around us, do we shape it in return\u2026 or are we shaped beyond recognition? #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog","rel":"","context":"In "Authors and books"","block_context":{"text":"Authors and books","link":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/category\/authors\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ascent by Cathie Dunn","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Ascent-by-Cathie-Dunn2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":28763,"url":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/the-kings-intelligencer-by-elizabeth-st-john-beneath-velvet-and-bone\/","url_meta":{"origin":28759,"position":5},"title":"The King\u2019s Intelligencer\u00a0by Elizabeth St John: Beneath Velvet and Bone","author":"Patricia Furstenberg","date":"02\/06\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The King\u2019s Intelligencer\u00a0by Elizabeth St John: Beneath Velvet and Bone. But when truth threatens the stability of power, is it ever truly allowed to emerge\u2026 or only ever tolerated in fragments? #TuesdayBookBlog","rel":"","context":"In "Authors and books"","block_context":{"text":"Authors and books","link":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/category\/authors\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/The-Kings-Intelligencer-by-Elizabeth-St-John.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9Kh37-7tR","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28759"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28759\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29101,"href":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28759\/revisions\/29101"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}