“Elias’s use of language to re-create the period is striking… A highly readable telling of a royal fall from grace.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Lively and engrossing… Rich with historical detail and political intrigue, Elizabeth of Bohemia is a complex portrait of a reluctant yet captivating queen.” — Foreword Reviews

October 1612. King James I seeks to expand England’s influence in Europe and offers Prince Frederic of the Palatinate his sixteen-year-old daughter Elizabeth’s hand. The fierce and intelligent Elizabeth moves to Heidelberg Castle with her new husband, where she turns a daughter’s duty into a wife’s ambition.

When the Hapsburg emperor is weakened, Elizabeth encourages Frederic to take over the royal duties in Prague, and in the process she becomes Queen of Bohemia. But the reign is brief. Within the year, Catholic Europe unites to take back the Hapsburg throne. Frederic, Elizabeth, and the children are forced to flee, and the exiled queen must summon all her strength to keep her family intact through tumultuous seasons of separation and heartache in The Hague.

With richly rendered characters and dialogue both penetrating and nuanced, Elizabeth of Bohemia offers a rare and delightful window into the Stuart period.

David Elias is an author based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He travelled extensively in the footsteps of Elizabeth of Bohemia to visit historical sites and examine artifacts in places such as the British Library, Heidelberg Castle, and St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague.

“Elias’ use of language to re-create the period is striking . . . A highly readable telling of a royal fall from grace.” — Kirkus Reviews

“[A] well-researched, extremely fluid novel deserving of librarian attention for inclusion in all active historical-fiction collections. Elizabeth emerges from these colorful pages as a woman of great strength . . . Greatly sensitive to readers’ needs and interests, Elias weaves together greater-picture details of European history and personal notes relevant to Elizabeth Stuart’s desires and setbacks to produce a solid, resonant depiction of a woman who made the best of trying circumstances.” — Booklist

“Lively and engrossing . . . Despite her beauty and sharp mind, Elizabeth is limited by regal obligations and her gender, and her inner conflicts are well-defined . . . Rich with historical detail and political intrigue, Elizabeth of Bohemia is a complex portrait of a reluctant yet captivating queen.” — Foreword Reviews

“This sweeping novel explores the life of a lesser-known historical figure whose descendants would go on to become kings and queens of Britain.” — Book Riot

“A wonderfully scripted and entertaining read from cover to cover, Elizabeth of Bohemia is certain to be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to community library Historical Fiction collections.” — Midwest Book Review