The Queen’s Handmaid
April 7th, 2014. Filed under: Monday's Musings.The Queen’s Handmaid
By Tracy L. Higley
From the servant halls of Cleopatra’s Egyptian palace to the courts of Herod the Great, Lydia will serve two queens to see prophecy fulfilled.
Alexandria, Egypt 39 BC
Orphaned at birth, Lydia was raised as a servant in Cleopatra’s palace, working hard to please while keeping everyone at arm’s length. She’s been rejected and left with a broken heart too many times in her short life.
But then her dying mentor entrusts her with secret writings of the prophet Daniel and charges her to deliver this vital information to those watching for the promised King of Israel. Lydia must leave the nearest thing she’s had to a family and flee to Jerusalem. Once in the Holy City, she attaches herself to the newly appointed king, Herod the Great, as handmaid to Queen Mariamme.
Trapped among the scheming women of Herod’s political family—his sister, his wife, and their mothers—and forced to serve in the palace to protect her treasure, Lydia must deliver the scrolls before dark forces warring against the truth destroy all hope of the coming Messiah.
ISLAND BREEZES
Lydia, Cleopatra’s handmaid, has drawn Cleopatra’s disfavor. Her beauty has become a handicap.
Lydia was being mentored and schooled by an old Jewish man. On is death bed he gives her some ancient scrolls to deliver.
After Lydia manages to get away from Cleo to become a handmaid to Herod’s wife, she spends years trying to deliver the scrolls.
While in Herod’s household she discovers her parentage. At the same time she is in the midst of political intrigues and endangered. She just about gives up on ever delivering the scrolls. All she wants is to be delivered from Herod’s household, but is it possible?
Once again Ms. Higley has brought historical people to life with her stories. Thank you, Ms. Higley.
***A special thank you to litfuse for providing a review copy.***
Tracy L. Higley started her first novel at age eight and has been hooked on writing ever since. She has authored many novels, including Garden of Madness and So Shines the Night. Tracy is currently pursuing a graduate degree in Ancient History and has traveled through Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Italy, researching her novels and falling into adventures.
See Tracy’s travel journals and more at: tracyhigley.com